Kick & Score, Undefeated & More

Ammon, Jonah, and Micah all participated in Spring Soccer in May and June. They loved it! Last fall they all played soccer for the first time, and I was in charge of the entire youth soccer program and Josh was a coach for the twins' team. But this spring, it was MUCH different! Neither Josh nor I were volunteers (a first!!). We enjoyed being stress-free and being able to just sit and watch our children play!

Ammon was in the league with kids from ages 8-14. He was on a pretty short team, and he was nervous to play against one of the teams with a very tall 14-year-old we nicknamed "sasquatch". But he learned that size isn't everything! He had the same coach as last fall, and his team had another undefeated season just like last fall!!! His short team was incredible to watch! They were fast runners, and they knew how to score!!! Ammon, along with two other boys, were the best scorers for the team. Ammon was a great soccer player, and he'd really improved a lot from when he first started playing last fall!

Jonah and Micah had a much more positive experience this time around, too! It's amazing the difference from 6 months ago--last fall their team only won one game, their team had a lot of inexperienced young boys, and the twins didn't like playing. This spring, their team consisted of four boys age 6 and three girls age 4. They had a fun coach, their team was undefeated all season, and they really liked playing! Jonah and Micah and their teammate Ryan were the best scorers for the team! Every game there was multiple scoring from each of them! That definitely made soccer more fun for them, too!
Kanyon was dismayed every game that he had to stay along the sidelines with Mom and Dad. He usually went over to the soccer shed and got "his" ball out to play with on the sidelines while his brothers were playing on the field so that he could be a part of the game, too!
It was a delight for me to watch all my boys participate in the sport, and I loved watching them excel at it and enjoy playing the game in the process!!!

Sons Day 2010

June 1 was the day where we treated the boys like kings, with new summer sandals, some yummy treats, and spoiling them with our time! 

the wrap-up (AKA the run-down)

The last week of school this year was the last week of May. It was a CRAZY week!!! Crazy as in running-around-to-hundreds-of-activities while trying not to appear like a chicken-running-around-with-its-head-cut-off. We managed to survive, and thankfully with our heads still in tact (but just barely). And it's taken me two months just to gather up enough courage to re-live it all by posting about it on my blog! Well--either that, or I'm just so far behind that it's taken me this long to finish May's photos to post on my blog. Take your pick!

In five days' time we had scheduled: Ammon's reader theater, Ammon's talent show, Ammon's field trip, Soccer practice and Soccer games for Jonah and Micah and Ammon, Ammon's fishing trip, Jonah & Micah's Kindergarten graduation, Kanyon's preschool party, Ammon's scouts, Ammon's 4-H, Kindergarten picnic, Ammon's brunch, Josh's school board meeting, Kala's PTO scheduled duties, and High School Graduation. And those were just planned-for things that were scheduled! During those same five days, our house arrived, our home was set on the foundation, the house-halves were connected, the excavator man came to back-fill the dirt around the house, the plumber came, and the electrician came. During that time, we were still living in our 200-square-foot camping trailer in the backyard, and we were making numerous trips back and forth to town each day to attend all the scheduled things plus try to be around the house as it was being put together. And of course, there was still our regular activities during those five days: Josh's work, my cleaning job, feeding the kids, washing the dishes, cleaning the house, washing the laundry, etc etc etc. It was STRESS-FUL!!!!

You want to know the best part about the week? When it was done!!!

Another school-year is over, and this past year has been my favorite one yet! My boys all had great teachers, they all had positive learning experiences, and I got to participate in each of their classrooms throughout the year! I loved this school-year!!! Other than the crazy-ness of the last week of school, I was sad to see the year come to an end already!

Ammon and his 4th grade teacher Ms. Schauss. He loved having her, and she thought Ammon was one of her favorite students ever!

The class brunch on the last day of school in Ammon's classroom:

Jonah and his Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Casterson. He truly enjoyed having her as his teacher because he liked her silly-ness! She said Jonah was such a conceptually-smart student and very nice!

The class during center time, working on mathematical block-building:

Micah and his Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Casterson. He also really enjoyed having her as his teacher because she makes him laugh. She said Micah is a very fast learner and a great reader. The class during snack/reading time at the end of the day:

Kanyon and his pre-school teacher Geri. He sure loved his teachers Geri and Cathy, they are excellent with young kids and special-needs children. I really admire them! Geri says Kanyon was so fun to have in class and was such a good boy!He loved playing outside during recess-time:

The school bus comes by way too early in the morning, so this past year Ammon almost always went to school with Grandma rather than ride the bus. Grandma has been the elementary school secretary for the past 2 years.

And every day, I dropped Jonah and Micah off myself in the afternoon for 1/2 day kindergarten. Kanyon went two mornings a week, and I dropped him off in the morning and picked him before lunch as well. At the end of each school day, the Big Yellow Taxi dropped my three older boys off last on its daily route. They arrived home about 5:10, and I almost always had dinner ready for them when they got off. It was nice to have a schedule to know and live by, but I'm grateful to have a break from it in the summer!!

Sometimes summers just don't seem long enough!!! And now, in just one more month, we'll be right back in another school year!

Congratulations, Congratulations

Double the pleasure, Double the fun...

That's what kindergarten was for my twin sons!

They loved their class, and were so sad when school was done...

As their mom, I felt happy, sad, and proud just at Kindergarten Graduation!!

Jonah

Micah

They were situated on opposite sides of the platform...

They both actually sang along with the songs during the program (this photo is proof because both of their mouths are open while singing)!

They've come a LONG way from THIS, and I'm SO glad!!!

Jonah's favorite song was "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" because every child got to rattle an egg-shaped shaker instrument for one whole verse!! Micah's favorite song was "If You're Happy and You Know It" because the kids didn't have to sing the last verse--the audience did. At the end of the musical program, they switched their tassles to the right side...

Jonah announcing his name in the microphone...

And then getting his diploma from the principal:

Micah announcing his name in the microphone...

And then getting his diploma from the principal (he was in a hurry to get out of there!):

My boys are ready for first grade!!!

Hombres que Mueven la Casa

(Out with the Old, In with the New: Part 10)

The morning of Wednesday, May 26 (the day after the house-halves came), a crew of 5 arrived to manually move the first half onto the foundation. The crew consisted of the hispanic foreman, 2 hispanic guys, 1 caucasion guy (AKA the lone gringo), and 1 hispanic kid. They were fascinating to watch. The foreman was bilingual, the other 3 hispanics spoke only Spanish, and the gringo spoke only English. I loved listening to them as they worked; it was so intriguing to watch as they worked well together beyond the language gap.

They were excellent workers and got the house ready in no time! They put together 3 long metal beams that started under the house and went all along the width of the foundation. Each cross-beam was set upon blocks and jacks and made level.

Then the house was set onto the 3 long cross-beams using sets of rollers that clamped onto each of the home's own 2 existing metal floor-beams.

Pulley systems were also attached to the home's beams in three locations and anchored to the foundation. The pulley systems consisted of thick metal chain on one half, wire cord on the other half, and a hand crank in the middle. (shown below on the left side of the photo)

The 2 hispanic guys and the lone gringo each manned a pulley system. As they hand-cranked the chain on the pulley, the house responded by slowly rolling forward on the cross-beams.

It was amazing to behold--my house was physically being moved by 3 men!!!

The foreman stood on the far-end of the house and could visually tell if the house was moving along straight. Multiple times he told the 2 hispanic guys to stop cranking for a minute so the gringo could catch up his end of the house. I thought this was hilarious!!! (I asked the gringo at the end of the day if he understood what the others were saying, and he said "I know enough Spanish to know when they're making fun of me"!!!! TOO funny!)

As the house neared the edges of the foundation, the crew was forced to work on the underside of the house, bending over or kneeling as they continued cranking the pulley.

I loved seeing progress!!! This was where the house had stood just two hours earlier:

When the house was positioned exactly above the foundations corners, the men removed 2/3 of the cross-beams that were no longer needed.

Then they began the slow process of lowering the home onto the foundation. Inch by inch, they jacked up the floor-beams, lowered the cross-beams, and lowered the home onto the cross-beams, then jacked up the floor-beams, lowered the cross-beams, and lowered the home, over and over and over again.

I sat on the far end of the house, watching it drop ever so slowly:

At the end of the day, the first half was completely installed! And if you were to ask me, I would've responded that the cup seemed half-full!
And it didn't take long before the cup was completely full...

...to be continued