Weekend sports

Yesterday after school was Emma's first volleyball game.  While she wasn't a starter, she did get to play in the 3rd set and got two great touches on the ball.  We're very proud of her as she has never played volleyball before, but really wanted to try this year - and made the team of 12 out of 29 people who tried out!  And she looked awfully darn cute in her uniform:)

(that's Emma's BFF Shelby that's smiling with her)

Today followed with Ian's first game with the Rainiers, he is 7 and in the Micro league. They play 3v3 - I forgot how fun that is to watch!  He was awesome out there - and scored 2 goals!  Way to go Ian!

We then made our way to Emma's game, where she had a phenomenal game - winning the ball behind the half-field and driving it all the way to her first goal of the season!  Great job to her as well!

  

A Captain among us

Breaking news:  last night after practice Emma and Brooklyn got in the car excited to tell us that they were chosen as Captains for their soccer team for the year!  Emma wanted it so badly, and she is very motivated. We're proud of you Emma, you deserve it!

Happenings around the house

Just some things I want to remember:

Ian started soccer a few weeks ago, and as he tells me all the time, "it's his most favorite sport".  He has tried baseball and basketball, but he keeps coming back to the soccer ball when given the chance.  One of my favorite pasttimes is watching he and Emma in the backyard passing the ball, and Emma showing him how to do headers.  He is going to be a beast on the field as he gets better and older - can't wait to watch it (first game is this Saturday!)  Jerseys were handed out this week, and ... hmmm ... not sure if there is a correlation, but he ended up with #4 (also Emma's number :)

We are all getting ready to head to Disneyland next Tuesday - super excited about it being the 4 T's first time to the Happiest Place On Earth!  It's also first plane rides for Nick and Ian, and they don't know it yet, but also another fun little surprise when we arrive :)  In preparation for the airport we decided to get all of the kids state issued ID cards (Emma already has one), it's always a good idea to have one to tuck in pockets when out and about away from home.  Should be an interesting trip to the DOL office on Saturday morning :)

We subjected Emma to a viewing of Silence of the Lambs last night.  She talks constantly of wanting to be a spy or FBI agent when she grows up, so initially we thought it could be interesting to watch.  I seem to have forgotten about when I first watched that movie:  and I went to bed with my door locked and dresser pushed up against it!  She was a little freaked, and it didn't help that we brought out the Halloween decorations earlier in the week.  RT has a 6-ft hooded creeper that is motion activated - and when you walk by, his face lights up and he has a truly scary repertoire of phrases and eerie laugh - a lot like Boris Karloff's in "Thriller".  RT's favorite thing is to place him in secret places to find when you least expect it.  You can guess where this is going... as soon as she said good night and started up the stairs to brush her teeth, she encountered him in the dark hallway of the stairs - and she jumped so far and screamed so loud, I almost peed my pants.  We truly did torture her last night :)

RT and I are finding little bits of fun time around the family vacations we have scheduled this month - Saturday night we are heading to the fair WITHOUT THE KIDS, just to actually walk through the exhibit halls and eat fair food!  Now that's a date I'm looking forward to :)  When we return from Disneyland we are heading back to Seabrook for the weekend - a little rejuvenation to look forward to:)
I just booked a week's stay at this all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for March 2013 - counting down the days! We will be celebrating RT's 40th birthday and a belated honeymoon:)

California here I(we) come...

Right back where I started from (remember that song?)  We left at 0-dark-30 hours (officially 3:38 am) on Friday morning and arrived in Sacramento at 2:30 pm - with a few stops along the way.  Not too shabby!  We made it from Seattle to Albany, Oregon by 7:30, which is when all of the children started coming to life.  RT and I were driving along I-5 and he said "I think I'm smelling cinnamon rolls", and I said "maple glazed cinnamon rolls?" and the next thing you knew, we were asking Siri where the closest donut shop was :)  Coincidentally, it was the very next exit!  Score!  Perfect way to get the kids out for a stretch as they were waking up, a fresh donut and first bathroom stop:

We continued onward through my favorite part of the drive in Oregon: though Roseburg down to Medford.  We stopped in Ashland, just the next town down from Medford, where they hold their gigantic annual Shakespeare festival - what a darling little town.  Total tourist trap, but quaint.  RT had contemplated a job there a few years back, so we stopped and looked around whilst dabbling in a dose of Starbucks:

(and some old dude totally walked right through our picture, squeezing past me like waaaay too close - and photo bombed a bunch of our pictures!) see his hand in the lower right?  What is with people?!?

Anyway... I digress.  We had to stop and take a picture of the "Welcome to California" sign and a cool shot of rolling hills:

We went rafting down the American River (basically in my old backyard, just about 10 blocks from my parents' house)

We attracted a whole lot of ducks with our goldfish crackers and pieces of strawberry pop tarts :)  And then the kids had a blast in my mom's pool - still the same slide from when I was probably 8 or 9, love that they had such a great time:

The girls trying to throw Nick in the pool :) 

 And here is my new favorite shot of my man: (damn he's hot)

We detoured through Lake Tahoe on the way home, and as RT calls it, we took the long-cut (not the short-cut) home.  We paid an arm and a leg to ride the Heavenly Ski Resort gondola to the top for this gorgeous view - and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.  Despite the slight anxiety that Trinity and I endured on the ride (with our backs to the lake both directions), it was a very cool sight.  We ended up staying in Klamath Falls that night and headed out at 6:00 am the next day for the rest of the drive home.  We managed to get home for Emma to make volleyball practice in the nick of time, which made her happy - she has to have 10 practices in before the first game, and had she missed it she would've only had 9 :)  It was a great trip all in all, and we are singing the praises of the DVD system and Wii ;)

Ready to road trip...

We are  leaving around 3:00 am tomorrow morning to road trip it to Sacramento.  We've told all the kids they can only take minimal amounts of clothing, and to each pack a small bag of fun stuff to help occupy them for the drive(s).  Of course, Emma and Trinity have given me the most slack - coordinating outfits, hair accessories, shoe options - puhleeze!  Strict orders... we will see if they can comply.  They have brainstormed (threatened) to stow their contraband clothing inside their "small bags" if they leave extra room.  Gotta love the outside-the-box thinking :) 

The title...

The title of this blog is one of RT's patented sayings "calm it down..." in his dreamy deep voice that I love so much...
Although it's usually not directed at the kids...
:)

Hey there.

I'm ready to blog again.  So much has happened the past year, so many happy things, that I'm ready to start documenting my(our) life to remember :)  Now that isn't to say that I have scrapbooked... sadly. But I have been keeping up on pictures and pocketing little mementos of this year to eventually fill up my(our) Project Life album.  I started out strong with weekly layouts, but petered out quickly - and have peacefully resigned myself to making monthly layouts.  You see, my little family of two has blossomed into a family of six :)  Emma and I have been blessed to find and love RT, Nick, Trinity and Ian.  Ready for pictures?  Here we go....

Christmas moustaches for everyone!

My first tattoo... damn it hurt!

Emma has a new Sis ;) - she's technically 11, but intellectually about 32 :)

We've played a lot of Guitar Hero.

We ride bikes and scooters around the neighborhood a lot!

Ian is has the best eye rolls around... he was hiding them under his cap this day :)

We've had a lot of food fights incidents - this was a pancake war.

Last December in Idaho.

Helping Ian make a Valentine's box for school - the kids love my craft room :)

San Juan Islands for RT's birthday in February.

Lots of trampoline fun, even at night:)

Emma gets a new little brudder :)

So cute.

Sounders soccer with my girl.

Mini golf for Ian's 7th birthday.

Fire pit and ribs in the backyard. Lots of s'mores the past 9 months.

We planted a garden... everything was consumed by the pumpkins and zucchini.

Jello pudding cones for Nick's birthday.

Indoor rock climbing. Tons of fun.

My beloved.

Trinity's 11th party.

Slip-n-slide fun in the backyard over the summer...

They have introduced dirt bikes and ATV's to Emma and me.

First family vacation to Seabrook, tons of fun.

The moment after we got engaged:)

Right before they went on the reverse bungee slingshot thingy!

Ian holding his dad's hat and glasses.

Fun at baseball and soccer games, and gymnastics meets.

Lots of rides on the Harley (this was Emma's first ever!)

Proud daddy of Trinity's end of year gymnastics banquet.

Working on the pond.

Emma sharing soccer moves with Ian.

Fun with a mini doughnut maker :)

Decorating for Trinity's party.

Stepsister fun.

Picking the kids up from a week-long camp (Burger King crowns, they were hungry :)

We are quite a technologically advanced family.

Jenga blocks used as dominoes.

RT playing cards with the kids.

Leavenworth last month - 100 degree day!

Almost 14. Sigh :(

He really rocks this hat.

We took the train to a Sounders game.

So our life is full. We have been busy, but a happy busy.  Em and I moved into RT's house over Christmas break and we were lucky that it's large enough to maintain individual bedrooms for all the kids and a craft room for me.  We have a lovely backyard where we spend a lot of time together.  We're getting married on October 27th, and delaying a honeymoon to coincide with RT's 40th birthday in late February - somewhere tropical :)  This Friday we are driving down to my mom's in Sacramento for a weekend by the pool and showing the fam around my hometown.  We will be detouring home through either Lake Tahoe or San Fran, haven't decided yet.  Later in September we're flying to Disneyland, RT's kids' first trip on a plane and first Disney taste... can't wait.  Oh, and if it's not obvious by now, I traded in my Passat for a Mazda CX9 - needed room for all of us in one vehicle :)  Love it, as we are preparing for our drive this weekend we just outfitted it with wireless headphones for the DVD system and we can even play the Wii in it!! Now that's cool!!  Hopefully that will pave the way for a smooth road trip :)

I'm happy.  Oh so happy.  Complete.  Loved beyond measure, compare or belief.  It's such a great life, and I'm so lucky to have found my RT.  More to come... :)