Soccer Scrimmaging Sister

Monday nights, and well most nights of the week, you can find our little family out at the soccer fields.  Evan had practice tonight.  His coach usually has the boys scrimmage most of practice.  Coach Walker is always asking parents and siblings if they want to play.  Tonight, I had Payton wear her shin guards and cleats so that she could play.  She's playing her first season of U-10 and I thought it would be a great way to help her learn.  She's played two seasons of U-8 and has done great.  Playing U-10 means that there are more players on a bigger field and each player has a more defined role in the game (that's what it means for our league anyways, I know all leagues are different).  While the boys were running drills before the scrimmage, the girls had some fun with bubbles.

Bubble blowing fun

Addi

Then, Payton hit the field with the boys.

Payton and Evan on the field together.

Payton knocked my socks off!  She got out there and played so hard.  She kept up with the boys as if she has always played on their team.  I LOVED it!  Watching Payton play really upped Evan's game.  He was not going to be outdone by his little sister.  He played some of the best soccer I've ever watched him play. I think we're going to have to make this a weekly event!!!  Payton and Coach Walker played against the rest of the team.

Scrimmaging

Meanwhile, there was a lot of silly going on at the sidelines.  Karsyn and Addi had way too much fun!  On an even sillier note, on the drive to soccer practice, Addi talked about going to a ranch the entire time.  She has really big dreams of milking a cow....AND she wants me to help her.

Addi colored princess pictures.

Karsyn colored Dora.

I tried to get them to look at the clouds, but toe watching is way more fun.  I was too timid to try.

They built all kinds of good things and we played restaurant. 

It was a very enjoyable evening for all of us!  Evan's coach was very impressed with Payton.  He told me that she is one heck of a player.  Next Monday, Jason will be able to go.  He'll get to scrimmage too. We made it home just before we got some bad weather in.  

Hope you had a great evening too!

Marching through The Last of March

I was kind of out of the blogging loop last week.  After a two week long tummy bug, I came down with strep throat. I am FINALLY feeling better!!!!  Even better, none of the kiddos or Jason have come down with strep.  I'm praying that they don't.  So, here's what you missed.  Last Sunday, my girlies looked way to cute in matching sister outfits for church.

Payton, Karsyn, & Addisyn

This was the best pic I could get of the girls, but I promise there was a lot of cuteness there.  As you can see, Karsyn's face is all broken out.  Her little rash got worse, so we took her to the doctor this week.  She's also had diaper rash on and off for a while now, so we wanted to get that checked too. We are quite certain that she's allergic to baby wipes. Yes, even the hypoallergenic wipes that we've used since she was born. We use them all the time to wipe her sweet little face.  From this point forward we won't be using them and we are in rush to get her potty trained.  The doctor said that if she wasn't as close as what she is to being in big girl panties, we would need to switch her to cloth diapers and to only use water wipes. She is ready, so I hope we can get it done!!!

Tuesday is the day that I came down with strep throat.  It was awful!!!  I've had strep quite a few times throughout my life and this was the worse case yet.  Fever, shakes, chills, neck pain, headache....I had it all. =(  Funny thing is, my best friend Kim had it at the same time and we haven't seen each other in a couple of weeks.

On Thursday, Addi had speech therapy.  As of that session, she has met all of the goals that Mrs. Susan has set for her.  She no longer is considered to have an Expressive Speech Delay!!!!  Yay!!!!!  Mrs. Susan gave us the option to continue on with speech therapy to work on Addi's sounds or we could be finished.  I elected for Addi to continue on, just to stay on the safe side.  I am just beyond excited and blessed that Addi is doing so well!

Daddy was off work on Friday and I was finally starting to feel like myself.  We had some errands to run in Tulsa.  I made Jason take a picture with me again.  I love his green eyes!!!

Addi just sneezed. lol

While we were out, we enjoyed Chinese food for lunch.  Addi LOVES fried rice!  Well....she loves it after she makes me take all of the peas out of it.

Yum!!!

Our Saturday was devoted to soccer.  That's how our little family does Spring. =)  We got an early morning phone call that Evan's game was cancelled.  Payton's game was in the afternoon and it was an away game.  I have to believe that the person in the soccer commission who was responsible for making the Girls U-10 schedule is not from our area of the state.  Payton's game was an hour away!!!  I am so glad that Jason was off of work, because we had a GPS fail.  We were led out to the middle of no where!!!!  Daddy was able to find our way and we made it to Payton's game before most of her team got there.

Here she is warming up.  She's in the middle.

Two other little girls had the need to run too.  They had to get their wiggles out before it was time to sit through the game.

Addi & Karsyn

It was Payton's first time to play U-10.  It's so different from U-8.  Payton played left wing and she did a great job.  She was super aggressive!  Here she is in action.

She was in control of the ball most of the time that she was on the field.  I think she really impressed her coach.  I know she impressed her cheering section.

Go Big Blue!  Go Payton!!!

Payton's team tied 1-1!!!  It was such a fun game to watch!  Saturday evening, we met Grandma and Papa for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in their little town.  Then we headed over to their house for some fun.  Daddy and the kiddos loved getting bouncy on Grandma's trampoline. 

Karsyn, Daddy, & Addi

Payton high flying!

Evan jumps!!!

Daddy and the kids had so much fun jumping!  After they got all their bouncy out, we went inside and played, colored, and played the game Apples to Apples.  It's really fun!

Jason and I had nursery duty at church on Sunday.  We had Addi's class, so we took Karsyn along with us.  It was fun to watch Addi play with kids her age.  Addi really likes to play with the other kids, but she also likes to play by herself.  Karsyn thought she was just as big as everyone else in the class.  She jumped right in and thought she was a big girl.  She made fast friends and there was a little fight over who got to sit by Karsyn during video time. =)  Sunday afternoon, Payton had a make-up soccer game.  Her team won 3-0! Yay!  After Payton's game, we went to the mall.  Daddy's dress code is changing at work and we had to buy him new shirts.  Karsyn thought she was so funny when we got in daddy's car.  She got in the very back seat with Evan and Payton.  As you can see, her little rash is mostly cleared up.

Sorry girls, it's not safe to sit in the same seat belt!

Sweet Sisters!

That brings us to today.  It's Monday, but the kiddos don't have school.  Our school district, along with many others in our state, took a professional day so that our teachers and faculty can rally at the state capitol for more school funding.  Aunt Kary is going today and she said that our school district is bringing around 200 people!!!  I'm really hoping they make a huge difference.  Between that and the fight against Common Core, there is a lot of focus on education in Oklahoma right now.  I think it's a good thing!

Hope you had a great weekend!!!!

Shaping Up

It's time for an update on my weight loss.  Since the beginning of the year,  I have lost 33 pounds.  The first picture is from Christmas Eve, the second is from yesterday.

I still have quite a few more pounds to go before I reach my goal, but I can tell a difference.  So, here's what's working for me.  I try to eat as many fresh fruits and veggies as possible.  Here's a look at my fridge.

Yes, I totally know that diet pop is very bad for you.  I'm working on giving that up too!  But, having fresh fruits on hand really helps when I have a craving for sweets.  Fruit has become our substitute for chips.  We also eat lots of veggies.  Roasted veggies are our favorite!  Fresh fruits and veggies can get kind of pricey, so I usually comp sales prices at Wal-Mart.  I tend to use the Aldi's ad frequently.  

Roasted Zucchini - Yum!

What works best for me is if I stack my carbs.  I allow myself the most carbs for breakfast.  I'll have a few for lunch and then have a low carb dinner.  Most days, I eat high fiber oatmeal with about 3 chopped pecans.  I also toss in a handful of whatever kind of fruit I have on hand.  My favorite combination is cinnamon oatmeal with half of an apple.  Bananas are great too!  This morning,  I had blueberries.  It was so good!

 

With the exception of the time that I've had the stomach flu, I ride my exercise bike every day.  In a few weeks, I'm going to change up and start doing an exercise video.    

I know these are all super simple things, but it's really working for me!  I'd love to know some of your best tips!

Some People Are Worth Melting For.....And Some People are Worth Freezing For

Well....we FINALLY watched Frozen!  After checking the Redbox website multiple times today, there was finally a copy available for rent at our Wal-Mart.  I made a mad dash to the store and was able to rent it. Yay!!!  While I was there, I picked up nacho fixings.  After I got home, the kiddos took baths and Daddy made the queso. (I ate a low cal Mexican soup instead.  I'm down 33 pounds and nachos has way too many calories for a mommy who wants to hit the 50 pound mark by this summer.) We had a picnic in the living room and then it was time to push play.

The kiddos really enjoyed the movie.  Evan always cracks me up when we watch movies, because he has to state the obvious.  He just can't resist.  Payton always amazes me, because she pays attention to all of the little details and is able to make connections to the subplot.  Addi didn't get really into the movie until Olaf made his appearance.  After that, she sat and watched the rest of the movie very intently.  Karsyn watched some parts, but for the most part, she got up to play.  We all really liked it when Olaf said, "Some people are worth melting for."  It was such a cute movie!

Earlier today, Evan had his first soccer game.  While some people are worth melting for, Evan was totally worth freezing for this morning.  The high was 45, which I didn't think would be awful, but there was an unrelenting north wind.  My toes were numb while I watched Evan play. I was really glad that Jason stayed home with the girls.  They would not have been happy campers.  Here's Evan playing Goalie.

Evan's coach this season likes to rotate the players through every position, so he won't exclusively play goalie.  This morning, he played Right Wing, Center Forward, Goalie and Defender.  He did a great job, but they played a well established team that has a lot of second year U-10 players. Evan's team has a lot of players that are new to the sport and that just aged up from U-8.  It was a rough game to watch.  Ouch!  Payton's game was cancelled.  I was a little glad, since it was so cold!
Hope you had a wonderful Saturday!

Take a Little Trip, Take a Little Trip With Me

This morning, we set off for our third and final Spring Break road trip.  Earlier in the week, we went to Missouri to pick up Jessi and to take Evan to the eye doctor.  We went back today to pick up Evan's glasses and to enjoy a little more time with J Bird. Nana and Papa followed us there. Usually, we always start our road trip off with a selfie.  I had decided not to take one today, since it was our 3rd trip in the week.  But, I found out my sister Becky was also taking a road trip, so we had a little fun.  I texted her this picture of most of our crew.

Team OK

Then, she texted me a picture of most of her crew.  The face Kyle is making cracks me up.

Team Texas

They were deep in the heart of Texas on their way to Katelyn's dance competition.  Becky sent me this picture of the Sam Houston Monument.

So, I sent her this picture of this big chief that's in Big Cabin, OK.  Sending each other crazy text messages made our trip even funner.

We took a quick bathroom break and then I took over the driver's seat.  We crossed state lines and then I was the lead car in our little caravan.  I have to admit, I was a little on the nervous side. I never really venture too far out of my driving comfort zone and this week, I did twice!  Plus, Jason was in the passenger seat - which is both a comfort and a source of stress.  Lastly, my dad was following me.  Yikes!!! Jason joked that he was going to take a nap and I couldn't even speak real words to him. lol.  I changed radio stations and the old Santana song "Low Rider" was playing.  (A few of the lyrics made a perfect post title, don't you think?)  The kiddos started dancing and my mood just instantly changed.  It also helped that I kind of knew where we were.  The only other time that I felt nervous during the drive was when I had to drive through my very first traffic circle.  My goodness, Missouri road engineers seem to love those things!!!  They are everywhere.  Our next stop was lunch.  We met Aunt Ashley, Uncle Chad, and Jessi for Chinese food.  As we were finishing up lunch, Evan asked Uncle Chad if he could ride his motorcycle.  This made me a thousand times more nervous than when I was driving, but I said yes.

They just went for a quick drive around the block.  Evan thought it was awesome!  Addi really wanted a turn, but we thought she was too little.  She got to sit on the bike and that was good enough for her.  You can see Aunt Ashley in this picture too.  I think Aunt Ashley, Aunt Becky and I all look a lot alike.  I think my girls look even more alike than my sisters and me.

 Then, it was Payton's turn. Jessi helped her get ready.

And then they were off.

Karsyn did not like the motorcycle.  She thought it was too loud.  She much preferred dancing with Papa Gene.

Karsyn and Papa

At this point, we all parted ways.  Nana and Papa headed to Branson.  Aunt Ashley was on her lunch break, so she went back to work.  Uncle Chad went to prepare for his upcoming St. Louis trip.  Our little family and Jessi took off for some fun in MO.  Our first stop was to the Vision Center.  Evan's new glasses are the same style as his old pair, only they have crimson accents instead of neon green.  We looked up a few different things to do and for the forth time this week, we decided to go to the park.

Karsyn

Payton

Jessi

Evan

Addi laughed the entire time she was on the swing!

Karsyn & Addi

The kids had so much fun!  After the park, we took Jessi back to her house and the kids had a hard good-bye.  They have grown up so close and it's not easy to say good bye when they know they won't see each other for at least a few weeks.  Unfortunately, there's just not much as a mama that I can do to make them feel better. 

We took an alternate route home that led us a short ways through Kansas.  Payton loves to explore as much as I do and she thought it was way too cool.  We had such a great time! 

Hanging Out With Cousins

For Spring Break fun today, we met up with Aunt Kary, Natalie, Emily, and Stephen.  We also met with my cousin Rita and her kiddos Robby, Erin, and Aeryn.  We tossed a lot of ideas of things to do around before we decided that we would go on a park date.  We met at the most popular park in town and soon realized that everyone else in our town had the same idea.  Don't let this picture of Emily fool you, there were kiddos EVERYWHERE!!!!  

Emily Faith

We decided to take our chances and head to another park across town.  We had much better luck and our favorite play area at that park was empty!  Yahoo!  The kiddos played and had a great time for nearly 2 hours.

The kiddos really loved spending time with their first and second cousins!  I can't wait for us to all meet up again.
Hope you had a great first day of Spring!