Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Luke's 1st Grade Picture

I cannot believe that my little boys are going to be 7 this year! And I really love this picture of Luke because it shows off one of the passages of childhood- losing those front teeth! Luke lost one of his teeth in line at school. His teacher very kindly taped it to a piece of paper and sent it home for the tooth fairy to pay up. Lucky for Luke, the tooth fairy decided that losing your tooth in line at school was so awesome that she paid up and left the tooth for safe keeping. Luke was a bit disappointed that the tooth fairy did not leave him his expected $20. I think Luke needs to get a fair market appraisal on what an individual tooth is really valued at. Cause I have it from a very reliable source that the tooth fairy's fair market estimate is substantially lower than that!

Friday, January 7, 2011

My Say

One of the purposes of my blog has been to post items about my kids and try and keep everyone up to date on the happenings of our family. And for all intents and purposes, I am well aware that for the most part, this blog is really mine and my kids journal.

This post is going to be a little bit different. I feel the need for myself to put into writing some of the thoughts I have about the past few years and the effect it has had on me and my children. Never in my wildest dreams did I think fifteen years ago when I married my husband in the San Diego temple, that I would be faced with one of life's biggest challenges- to accept and move on after your supposed eternal companion lies, cheats and ultimately betrays all promises made. 

But even more so than that challenge has been to feel the betrayal and the hurt that comes with it from friends and family who you thought would be supportive and sensitive to a situation which they would never want to find themselves in. Would you like your husband of fifteen years to cheat on you with someone that you have grown up with and loved like family? That betrayal is hard to deal with. But even worse is to read comments and congratulations to the recently engaged happy couple. What is there really to celebrate about a relationship that is based on destroying a family. That had it's beginnings in betrayal, deception, secrecy and lies. I find it hard to see where the happiness is for two children who have to deal with a broken family. Have we really departed so far from the path of right that as long as people "get married" and make it legal, then everything is okay?

I would love to believe in the cliche that cheaters never prosper or that somehow kharma etc. will come back to balance out the wrongs. But I am also a realist and accept the fact that people do not always get justice or fairness in a situation. That often times, people who do the wrong thing never really have to suffer the consequences for their actions. I get it. But I do hope at the very least that a guilty conscience will sometimes niggle at both of them for what they have done. Maybe, maybe not.

Life goes on and I have had my say. But I know that I cannot offer up my congratulations to them or any wishes for future happiness. Just can't. 

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Holidays Are The Time For Family

No matter where I have been in the world, I have always looked on Thanksgiving and Christmas as a time to be with family. Sometime it is family you are directly related to, sometimes it is family you married in to and sometimes it is with people who connect with you in such a way that they become family.

Thanksgiving this year was held at my sister Kari's house. The following day, my sister Jenny and her family came down to Bakersfield from Sacramento. We try and take a picture each year of my dad with all of the grandchildren. 

 Another tradition which I try and keep going is honoring and remembering family who are not able to be with us during this holiday season. And may I record for those in the know..... it just would not be Christmas without walking up and down the rows of graves at Greenlawn cemetary with my Dad looking for his parents graves. After 40 minutes of looking, I now have the official map from Greenlawn in my possession. Next year is going to be a little different, I hope!









Merry Christmas Mom!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Adam 1st Grade Picture

Adam- Age 6. 1st Grade Picture. Little Red School House. I am not sure if this kid has ever taken a bad picture. He is cuteness inside and out.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

My Luke

Why do I love this picture of Luke? Well, perhaps it is because it captures in a moment what Luke is somewhat about. He is a very conservative, careful child. He observes life and then decides if he will participate in it. He is reserved with new people in his life. I tell people to not get offended when he gives you the stink eye because that is just his way of assessing your importance to him. He is highly intelligent and his constant questions about who, what and why tax my ability to endure to the end. Sometimes at the end of a long day I put a temporary restraining order on question time until the following day.

You have to love a kid though who comes up with classic lines such as "Mom, when you have no birthdays, you are dead."

Friday, October 15, 2010

The Boys and Soccer

This year, Adam and Luke were adamant that they wanted to play soccer; okay so Adam was adamant, Luke is just along for the ride.

I made sure that they both got on the same team; they are the mighty Blue Sharks. Their coach is fantastic. His name is Bernardo and his wife Katie is the team mom. The team consists of eight little boys with Adam and Luke being the youngest two; the oldest boys are seven and in 2nd grade. The team puts in a great effort but have not been very successful on the "win" side. Adam and Luke are a bit tenative in going after the ball. Adam has turned out to be a great goal keeper. He is willing to sacrifice himself by placing his body in the way of an incoming kick. One ball connected with his upper body and I think people from two fields over heard the sound. Credit to Adam though, he did not have to come off the field for cry/breather. Luke loves to play the game but really does not see the value in practices. You can usually find him in the pack somewhere around the ball. He is a bit afraid of dribbling past defenders but is not afraid to give the ball a mighty wack to the sidelines. Luke requires a fair amount of "resting" during the game. I did catch Adam on the field during a recent game pulling the drawstring out of his shorts and trying to loop it over his head whilst still wearing the shorts. He almost got the job done because he does have a lot of string to play with as his shorts could probably fit both he and Luke in them. Needless to say, I did have to tell him that was not a good look for the game and might just hinder some play action. I don't think anyone plays well with their shorts up around their neck, do you?

So here are some pics of my soccer boys. Note Adam and his shirt 1/2 in and 1/2 out. It is supposed to be tucked in all the way!


Wednesday, September 1, 2010

1ST Day of 1ST Grade

Two posts in a row. See if I can keep this winning streak going. My little boys in 1st grade. Before I know it, I will be sitting at High School graduation and saying what all parents before me have said.... where has the time gone? I am trying my best to document the big moments; I often don't hit 100% but I try. I am trying my very best to just enjoy the little moments and the time together. Moments such as when Luke tells me yesterday, "Mom, when you don't have anymore birthdays, you are dead!" Profound thoughts coming from that little head. But Adam, not to be outdone, interjects this wisdom, "yeah, and when you are dead, you lay flat on your back and don't blink your eyes."

Luke's teacher this year is Mrs.Smith; and 7 days into the new school year and Luke is already seeing and testing what her boundaries are. This usually lasts the first month at school after which Luke becomes a model student.

Adam continues to have Mrs.Billiard as his teacher. At first (second and maybe even third, let's go there) his teacher seems to be a bit past the teaching thing; She can't be younger than about 75. But Adam loves her and is doing well in school. In fact, Adam is a constant surprise in terms of his academic level of achievement. Not that I thought he was remedial but I just had observed in the past his lack of attention to what was going on in the classroom. But osmosis seems to have won out in his case because apparently it is all getting through.

PS. Luke refused to stand in the grass in front of the school sign because there was a bit of dew left on it and he did not want it dripping on his foot. He continues his reign of high maintenance! Also note, no smile at his desk. He was not sure he was liking 1st grade. Mostly because he was not allowed to play his DS Nintendo there. The sacrifices that must be made for an education!