CHARMY'S CHARMS

Soccer is here once again! This fall Jared and Mason are both playing. Jared's team call themselves the Spinning Llamas! (I know I know I told you they were the Kodiaks, but that was sooo last week!) Amd I have to tell you these guys are pretty darn good! So far, 3 games into the season, they are not just undefeated, they have never been scored against! This weekend, they won their game 12-0, one of which was scored by J! He was so excited! Mason is again playing PAKS which is the parents and kids soccer league, and is really enjoying it. He will finally be old enough to play on a team this spring--yeah!

It's finally here! After 2 long years of being a metal mouth, Matthew finally got his braces off, or at least most of them. They did leave a few brackets on in the back until he gets his retainer. Take a look and see what an awesome smile he has now!

BEFORE

DURING (I know, this is a keeper!)
AFTER
This week he gets his retainer, which is called "neon watermelon". Apparently, it looks just like a watermelon, seeds and all, but in neon colors. I didn't actually get to see the thing, and frankly I'm a little scared! But he is happy with his pick, so I guess that is all that matters, right?

And so the new School year begins and it promises to be a busy one! Matthew is starting the 9th grade at Riverglen Jr. High, and is in the 10th grade at TVMSC. He is taking 2 AP courses (Physics and Statistics) for college credit and Spanish 2. He is planning to try out for the "Pride and Prejudice" play next week, wish him luck! Matthew is really enjoying scouts. He got to go to Scout camp this summer and earned a couple merit bagdes there. He says he would love to go up to Camp Morrison next year as a counselor in training and then be a counselor the year after that. Matthew is hoping to get his Eagle Scout before he turns 16.


Sterling is in the 6th grade this year and is really off to an enthusiastic start. He is starting at a new school this year, Sienna,which is a K-8 school , and really likes his new teacher, Mrs. Miller but best of all he likes the new vending maching they put in because only the 6th graders can use it!!! Sterling is excited to be taking Pre-Algebra this year and he tells me he won't have any homework this year, only home fun! Sterling is beginning his training for a 5-K he plans to run with his dad later this fall. Sterling has really been enjoying 11-year old scouts this year, and has some very motivated leaders. He got to go up to Camp Morrison this summer for a day and is really excited to go up next year for the whole week! Sterling has just earned his 2nd Class badge and is hard at work on his 1st Class badge now.

Jared is also in the 6ht grade at Sienna. He and Sterling are in the same class and he is taking Pre-Algebra as well. Jared is looking forward to studying Ancient Civilization this year. Jared is playing soccer this fall and is a darn good little defender. His team so far is undefeated with scores of 7-0 and 9-0! Go Kodiaks! Jared is a Webelo scout this year and if all goes well, he will have his Webelos badge by the end of the month. He has enjoyed having his dad as one of his scout leaders. Jared is really glad that our pack combined with another ward, so that now he isn't the only scout in his age group, and has enjoyed getting re-acquainted with those boys, most of which he went to school with in the 1st grade.
Mason started Preschool last week at Amity Community Preschool, which is a montessori style preschool. And he is very proud of it! He really loves his teachers (there are 4 of them) and is very excited to have a whole bunch of new friends his age! He was most excited about "circle time" and the fact that he has his own cup and can get a drink of water any time he wants--all by himself! Mason is also playing soccer this fall and is looking forward to his birthday this week, he'll be 5 years old!

We waited all summer long to get Matthew's report card so we could have our report card celebration. Apparently, his report card was being held because they thought he hadn't turned in one of his textbooks. Once we finally cleared that up (which turned out to be their mistake) they finally released his report card, which by then was only a week until school started. And so off we went. I got the boys all dressed up and took them to The Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch. They all enjoyed it very much. We got to sit in Wally the Trolley, which we all thought was pretty fun, since we were headed to see Wall-E after lunch. It was really a fun time, but we missed having Darrell along, as he was still at fire camp in California. The boys all worked hard last year and we are so proud of each of them! Way to Go Boys!

Well, summer is gone, and I never got around to posting on all the fun things we did this summer. So I put together a few pictures to give you a hint of the great summer we had!

Being Saturday, we are all busy doing our Saturday work. Well, almost all of us. While I was folding laundry, I decided to go and check on the boys and here is what I found!

Mason dutifully pulling weeds!
Matthew almost done with mowing the lawn.
Jared giving Mason a lesson on pulling weeds.
Jared showing me he really did pull at least one weed!
Sterling out by the mailbox reading the paper?

You know what they say, a picture's worth a thousand words!!!

Today was Mason's last day of day care with Chrissy Baddley and two of her daughters--Cheyenne and Marissa, whom he has been with for over 2 years! It was a bittersweet goodbye and we will miss her tons, but luckily it is not forever-- we will see her at church every week! Chrissy is off to her new job on Monday at one of the local elementary schools, and in just 2 short weeks, Mason is off to Preshchool! He is really excited, but a little nervous about making new friends. He will be going to a Montesorri Preschool/kindergarten 2 days a week (on the days that I work, which makes it super convienient for us!)The program seems well suited for Mason, and the director there is fabulous! I think Mason will have a ton of fun! Thanks Chrissy for all you have done for us!!

While I was at work today, the kids decided to have their own photo shoot, here are the highlights. Enjoy!!!

This weekend, with Darrell in California again at fire camp, my friend Kapka and I, packed up, gathered the boys, and headed to the mountains. This time we decided to try out Warm Lake. I had been there 4 or 5 years ago with the young women and have wanted to go back. It was so beautiful there, although you can see how devastating the forest fires were last year! We got up there early evening, set up camp, and still had time to play at the beach for a while before dark.



After some fun at the beach, we headed back to the campsite for dinner. My boys are little fire bugs and spent most of their time standing around the fire either adding wood or poking at it. We didn't have to worry about being too cold, they kept the fire going nice and hot! After a long, cool night, once again the fire was going strong and kept that way until we had camp taken down! It took several buckets of water to finally put it out, that is how big it was!! When the boys weren't poking at the fire, they were off gathering more wood to keep it going. Finally around noon, we were ready to head back to the lake where we spent the afternoon, fishing, swimming, and climbing rocks. The boys even found a rope swing, which they absolutely loved!







When it was finally time to head home, we were all worn out! About half of us slept at least some of the way home. When we were all cleaned up and unpacked, guess what the boys wanted to do? Go swimming! Apparently all afternoon just wasn't enough for them. So we dropped Matthew off at the Stake Dance (he had other things on his mind!) and headed for Kapka's pool for a moonlight dip. It was a great weekend! And to top it off -- ALL the boys slept until after 8am this morning! That is a rare treat!!!

After months of waiting, the old beast is gone! As most of you know, we bought a new couch a few months ago and have planned on getting rid of the old one. Well, it finally happened. While I was at work last week, Darrell and the boys moved it to the back porch--weird, I know. The plan: to demolish it! And that they did! The boys spent the whole next day tearing it apart--fabric, lining, cushioning and all. Then when Darrell got home, they went at it with the axe and saw, cutting it up into small chunks. They had an absolute ball! And they were very proud of themselves. The excitement withered some when it came time to clean it all up, but the job is done and the couch is no longer the eyesore of our home!!!