Sports Sports Sports

Ok here we go with the fall sports sports sports everyone. 

It's a lot, and I love it. It also gives me so many butterflies. 

Avery called me a "soccer mom" the other day, and I was like: girl no, I am a soccer COACH. There's a difference. A soccer mom gets to enjoy the show from afar. I get to/have to participate in the things, mentally, physically.  

I "volunteer" with the high school team, which means I go to practices when I can. I sit on the bench with the team during games and support the girls, but also let Gio bounce ideas around as I stand there and nod and give my two cents. 

I am learning a lot about coaching. I have gained an appreciation for our different coaching styles, and specifically a confidence in my own style.  

Lots of pregame nerves going on here. 

Out of nowhere, Evan joined the cross country team. He has so much fun with his team. He also leads the pack (of the Blaine kids). 

We also signed up for Fall Baseball since he didn't get a chance to play spring ball. 

This involves a lot driving. The whole sports season is driving kids around and around: but even more difficult than driving is:

Listening to my kids complain that they don't want to go - dragging feet, grumbling, moaning. There is a lot of mental load going on with listening to children not want to do the sports.

It gives me butterflies. 

I just have to trust the process. 

So often when the practice/game is over they are amped! also sometimes they are dejected and disappointed. 

Either way they come back with a load of emotions to sift through, good and bad. 

Like today I was subbing, and after school Avery begged me to not make her go to practice, and my battery was too low to give a crap, so I let her skip and she came home and slept for 4 hours. 

Just whatever. 

I don't own children that love to do the sports after practice is over. They never do the sports on their own for pleasure. Does everyone else's children out there come home and enthusiastically continue to "play" the sport? 

Well, this makes it sound like the sports is all negative, and why do we do it. But this is just a little cubed root of venting about the overload of the season, but the majority of sports is exciting and good. 

The absence of sports makes us pine to be in the sports. It's just a study in "doing hard things is so good". It makes the grass greener. 

Plus the friendships, the muscles, the triumphs, the after game snacks...

Baseball costumes are the cutest of all sports costumes. 

I am also coaching Andrew's team. It is so hard because those boys are in a scattered state of soccer execution. There is so much to learn and teach. They get beat more often than not, so there's a lot of "sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn" mentality. 

Why are they SO hard to teach? I have been doing this for 20 years, and I have never had this level of confusion about a simple drill. 

They can not listen. The most simple drills are above their heads. I have said "this drill isn't rocket science" so many times, it's now an inside joke. If the drill has more than one or two components, they turn into big giant dummies. 

BUT also, we are starting to bond and have fun together. Today was picture day, so it was a little bit of behind the scenes silliness and camaraderie. They are actually having fun, which is the whole point I guess.

This is the only picture I have of Andrew soccer because I am too busy with my clipboard to take pics. But this Saturday we were losing by one million, so I was just sitting on the bench letting go of control, and took a picture of Andrew being an awesome goalie. He's so good at pouncing on the ball! You would be surprised at how many goalies forget to use their hands/full body. 

Evan: "Look mom, I found the center of mass."

I had to stop in the middle of this blog post to help Avery edit an essay that's due tomorrow. 

"When Imagination Takes Over Logic" is the topic. 

I remember I used to have to stop mid blog post to like, change diapers or keep babies alive. 

I have a "friend" who always lists off how busy she is and details every move she has to make to get her kids to places, and I die inside as I'm nodding because I don't totally care, and we all are busy,

 BUT I'm going to copy her and tell my blog about how busy Wednesday October 11 2023 is:

At 4:00, go watch Evan run in his cross country meet at Hovander. 

When he's done, take him and Logan to get some dinner, then drop them off at Joe Martin stadium for baseball practice at 6:00 (ps he loves that field bc it's the semi-pro stadium and is so cool.)

Drive to Meridian HS for Avery's soccer game at 7:00. 

Ooh I hope Lindsay can give her a ride to the bus at 5:00 bc I will be gone. 

Maybe Jim will be home by then. He's been away all week for his biyearly proficiency check in Vegas. He passed, of course, because he's the best pilot. 

Heidi will bring the baseball boys home at 8:00

Andrew has activity days 6:30 at Jamie's house. Lisa might have to take him and pick him up. I'll ask her. 

Depending on when Jim gets home, he will either go to the young men's activity or come watch Avery's game with me. Hopefully he comes with me because I haven't talked to him in days. We have lots to catch up on. 

After the game is over, drive to the school and wait for the bus of soccer to drop Avery off. Take Bea home. Taking Bea home used to be so easy. Now it's an extra step - how dare they move to a new neighborhood. 

This busy Wednesday sounds so fun! I don't have to be in charge of ANYTHING, I just get to watch and support and drive. It gives me good excited butterflies. Also thank goodness for friends and carpools. 

Around 9:00 we will all reconvene at our house (which will be a mess from all the coming and going). We will be reunited as a family after a major scattering. 

PS there is a giant war going on in Israel. 

Sports Sports Sports

The last few weeks of baseball we took the Chambers kids so that Jessica could have some hours of quiet with her new baby. They got a taste of the world of playing at ball fields, running around hither and yon unchecked. 

One night we hit up Paso after a long evening of sports sports sports.

Then when we take them home, we get to hold the baby. 

The second to last game against Lynden, Avery scored a goal! 

I am so happy for her. She is getting so good, figuring out what her weaknesses are and trying to improve. 

We've been soccering since we were little. This was the last year together. Next year in HIGH SCHOOL (everything's fine) most of these girls are doing volleyball. Only 4 are sticking with soccer. 

An evening at the beach...

A hike up Pine and Cedar Lakes in the rain. It felt so good.

Evan started to get the hang of hitting right at the end of the season. 

The trick was using George's bat. He said he felt confident with that bat - and that makes all the difference. Remember Dumbo and his lucky feather? Same thing. 

My sweet soccer team. I love them so much. 

And I'm crazy, but I miss soccer practice and seeing these kids every day. 

Andrew got stung by a bee on his ear while out clearing blackberry bushes in our back yard.

The end. Suddenly we are all done with sports. We went from one hundred things a day to nothing. It's awesome but also not awesome. I guess it's just time for a new season of our lives. 

May

Koda says hi. She's making sure I'm not leaving her. 

May is my favorite month. It's so full of all the delicious, wonderful things in this world:

flowers, baseball, friends, birthdays, sunshine, rain, firsts. 

First beach day!

Avery and Bea and Bailey are all reading the same "Keeper" series, and they are obsessed. It's so fun.

First dock jump!

First spit from the geooy ducks. 

Koda has been joining me and my friends on the trails. She has SO much fun. 

This was one of the many birthday parties in May.

Avery patiently waits through everyone else's birthdays until the 31st finally gets here and it's HER turn. 

Good times with the young women, watching a tennis match. 

Another trail with Roxanne and Koda. 

This was a first doing "Brown Pow" and it was HARD. 

Jim did the loop going the opposite way on his mountain bike. We high fived half way round. 

Tuesday we went to check out Baker Lake back country to see if it would be a good backpacking spot with the young women.

The first camp was so perfect and beautiful. It's an easy beginner trail and camp. It has everything. 

It felt so good to me, like the curtains had been opened. 

Look at this fun mountain toilet. 

Then we went to the second camp (another 2 miles down) to see which camp was better.

Right from the get, I had a weird, negative feeling about this camp.  It wasn't right. 

Then - around the same time that Koda was growling and barking (not totally aggressively, but uncharacteristically), I saw "an animal" walking through the trees. It looked like an ugly calico dog to me. That's the only way I can describe it. I said "what is that animal? is that Koda?"

But then Koda walked by from a different place, and I realized it was a wild animal of some kind. I yelled at Lisa "get over here!". 

I was spooked and wanted to get out of there. We made lots of loud noises and headed back down the trail. 

The weather was so crazy and beautiful. 

It was sunny, then rainy, then just cloudy. Then it rained WHILE sunny. 

We went back to the first camp, stripped our clothes, and took a dip. It felt so good even though it was so cold. About two minutes after we got dressed, it started hailing. 

When we got home, Evan was out on the driveway selling 

"tiny pencils".

It's not a top seller. For some reason. 

And THEN...

four days after the Baker Lake recon, I saw this:

Can you even believe this! 

Remember that bad feeling? Remember that animal I saw?

I really hope they take care of this situation, because that trail was so perfect for out backpacking trip. 

Moving on to "Friday Fake School".

As you know, Fridays are asynchronous. Which means it's a special day where the kids and their moms get to accomplish a day of school all on their own! 

It's terrible!

I used to really give it a good go, but now days, we just go on field trips and I take pictures of them "learning", then email the pics to their teachers. I know their teachers are also aware of the fakeness, so they say encouraging things like: "looks fantastic, thanks for sharing." 

This Fake School day, we went on a field trip with binoculars and some PNW animal pamphlets, and the kids found things like dandelions and butterflies and we called it a very successful day at SCHOOL. 

Also, we go on field trips pretty much every day, so whatever. 

Saturday was a sun up to sun down - everyone gets a sunburn -  kind of Saturday.

First we watched Evan play a baseball game (this pic is from another game when Andrew got to play CATCHER!). 

It was a fun, close game. But then we beat them which was awesome because we hate Lynden. 

Next was Hudson's birthday party at the Stake Park. 

Andrew fell asleep on his shoulder on the way home from picking up pizzas.

Hudson is a good buddy to sit still and let Andrew sleep. 

At the birthday party, they made this amazing fort.

It had a toilet (that they all peed in, of course) and a mailbox and a secret safe with something secret inside it. 

Here is the toilet. he's demonstrating how going number two would look. But let's put a PIN in THAT because I have a story about him going number two, and it did NOT look like this. 

After the party, we all went home for some down time, then us four adults went to Galbraith for a sunset session. Koda and Scout ran with Jim and Joe on their bikes and were absolutely pooped at the end of the sesh. 

As we drove home, the sky was entirely alight with pinks and purples. It was awesome.

Sunday after church and dinner, we did a recon tour of a camp site Jim and Joe are taking the deacons this weekend. We stuffed all my friends in the cars and drove up the back roads of Sumas Mountain.

The forest was carpeted with moss. 

It misted all over us in the most delightful way. 

Joe's jeep tore up this tree as he banzai'd his way up and down this sketchy part. 

On the drive home, somehow we ended up with all the girls (and Jim the driver) in one car, and all the nutso boys in the jeep with Joe. It was a tale of two rides home. My ride home was the most lovely and pleasant with my best friends and a side of random 90s songs. 

***

Ok, let's go back to the pin we put in Andrew "going number two". Prepare yourself. 

One day we were on a field trip at the rock pile. We were all having a lovely time, and then Andrew came running up to me: "I have to take a dump! I have to take a dump!"

We were very far from any bathroom, any car, any toilet. 

So I told him "just go, but don't get it on your clothes."

Confession: I kinda wanted to "see where this goes", so I wasn't a lot of help. Me and Lisa stood back and watched it unfold, and soon we were in actual tears, die laughing.

He took off his shoes, took off his pants, took off his SHIRT. I don't know why he took off his shirt, but he did. That's when I died laughing. 

Then he put his crocs back on and stood there with his legs spread and went number two.

 Buck naked, no squat, just standing there, going number two. The number twos dropped to the ground and he didn't know what to do next. 

Lisa gave me some tissues and I went to help him wipe. 

He yelled out "I'm sorry it has come to this!"

Then, "Everyone look away! ESPECIALLY YOU, LISA!"

We were dying. 

But then along came Scout and she ate up those number two logs before I could stop her. 

That sobered us RIGHT UP.

We stopped laughing and started yelling at that darn dog "NOOOO! SCOUT!"

So, yeah.