Sleepovers with Annie and Lewis

Jared and I have had a few "tense conversations" :) about how much I hate the skybed, and how much he loves it.  To me, it is pure ugly huge eyesore that he SURPRISED me with.  But even I have to admit this is a pretty cute scene.  Soren and Simone and the dogs sleeping together outside.  They all four really love this.

Go Bald or Go Home

I came home to this scene a few weeks ago!  So this was just hilarious.  I only feel bad that one of the kids buzzed his head the day before his brother's wedding.  His mom wasn't too happy about that.  

Last week the boys brought some clippers to school to finish off the last of their friends with hair.  They started buzzing him at lunch (way fun to have a crowd at school!)  but then the clippers got confiscated at school.  Miles said one of the friends sneaked into the office and grabbed them out of the drawer so they could finish it off.  Yikes, very gutsy move.  

Sorens Wheels

Having a caboose is a funny thing!  Two nights ago, I'm getting ready for bed after being gone all evening.  And Jared asks me where Soren is.  Its 9:30pm.  I am like, wait why are you asking me, I just got home!  And Jared realizes that he is at his friend Tommy's house still!  Yikes!

Then another funny thing.  Soren got a bike probably two years ago for his birthday.  We tried taking the training wheels off and I knew he just needed a little practice.  But who has time for that.  Lol.  So finally last week, we took them off.  He rode down the street first try.  I felt a lot of mom guilt that we didn't work with him on this earlier.  His friends are showing up with their mountain bikes by now and he has the starter bike with training wheels still and he is 7.  

Anyway, now he wants to ride everywhere!  He's so excited about his new found freedom!

He loves his little pack of friends on the street.  

playing hard wears a kid out!

They were so excited for the pool to open! 

Still loves his "Sign City" red blanket!

Track Season!

Track Season!  Monet did great this track season.  She qualified for State in the mile and 800m.  I'll write more about the state meet later because it isn't over yet!  The Davis invite is a competitive meet with some of the fastest girls in the state.  She came in 5th in the 800m.  She was so close all season to qualifying by time!

She killed it at Region!  Came in first in the 800m and 4th in the mile.

The way our coaches strategize getting girls to state is really smart.  So our region is the most competitive in the state for distance runners.  In order to qualify for State you either have to be under a set time (which is SUPER competitive) OR be in the top 4 in region.  At State yesterday 8 of the top 10 girls in the state were from our region.  So the competition disadvantages our girls even when they are in the top 10 in the state and should be there.  So to counteract this, as soon as a runner qualifies by time for state, the coaches take them out of the region race, since they don't need it to qualify.   So when Monet won the region 800m, Ali Bybee, Katie Bybee, Reagan Gardiner, Eliza Arrington, Taylor and Mckenzie Meldrum had already qualified by time so they weren't running.

That gave Monet and another LP teammate the opportunity to qualify at state.  In the mile, Monet raced really smart.  She knew that she needed to come out pretty fast and stay ahead because a lot of the other girls have a better kick at the end and can pass her on the last 50m.  It was such a battle!  I was so proud of her though because she held onto fourth place with some brutal competition!  She barely edged out a teammate by leaning forward.  Her same teammate took 2nd in state in the 3200 yesterday though so she is good!

Right before the race I was so nervous.  I knew that Monet REALLY wanted to participate at the state meet.  I know that Monet has the ability to make it happen.  But track is tricky because sometimes you are just off a little and even with determination things just don't go your way.  Every race at this level isn't a PR anymore.

So your mental game is super important too.  So on our way to the race, I saw the temple.  Simone and Soren were in the car with me.  So we pulled over and said a quick prayer that Monet would be able to do her best.  And after Simone looked at me and said, "Now she's going to make it for sure!"   it was so cute.

After the race Monet told Simone that when she was running she heard Simone's little voice cheering for her and it made her determined to go faster.  Simone was so proud.  Sweet sister moment.

Monet's Junior Lacrosse Season

First of all, Congratulations to Monet for being chosen for 1st team All-State!

She wasn't expecting that at all and was very excited to have that recognition.  Its fun to watch Monet play sports.  She hustles!  This year she ended the season with 74 ground balls! Just for reference because that probably means nothing to most people, but that is the highest of all the D1 teams. She's always had a knack for ground balls and she is super well-conditioned from track.  She'll go into a huddle of girls and usually come out with the ball.  We don't know how she even does it.  But she is persistent and can maneuver.

In past seasons she hasn't been a top scorer.  She had some of the best offensive players in the state on  her team so she didn't really need to score a ton.  Getting open in front of the goal is tough.  She doesn't have size to push people around.  But she learned a few tricks this year that helped her to get the goals.  She worked on her left handed shots.  So now she goes right, then left and even if the shot isn't that fast, it usually goes in.   She has had a lot of success with that.

Her defense is also really great because she doesn't wear out.  She can run and run and still have energy left.  So she wears out her opponents.  She led her team in both assists and caused turnovers this season.  She got to play defense a few times this season and even played goalie as well!  So funny.  That was definitely something new.  Our goalie Jess has had back issues.

The season also had some challenges.  She tried out for the Nationals team but didn't make it.  She didn't have great shots in the beginning of the tryout and was never able to scrimmage or be in a game setting which is where she really sets herself apart.  Brooke made it though!  Brooke has incredible speed and a super fast shot.  She's a great teammate and player.  We are excited for her.  Brooke is like a freight train when she is running.  There were a couple times when girls jumped in front of her when she was full speed.  We were all watching from the sidelines, like "Don't do it!" It didn't end well.

I think the girls had to figure out how to fill some big voids from their past season seniors.  That took a bit of time.  We played 4 of the top 5 teams during the regular season giving us one of the hardest schedules in the league.  We lost to all of them.  We had two other losses by one point each that were frustrating.  The first game, our first goal was called back in a very bewildering call.  The next was to a team we beat by 6 in the playoffs just a few days later.  We were happy to have some experienced refs in that game because sometimes a few bad calls changes the entire outcome of the game.

We have some incredible players who had major injuries that they were still recovering from.  A brand new coach.  Who was awesome!  We love Nina.  But it is tricky to know where everyone fits on the team and she had a lot to sort out.  I think they are going to have a great season next year!  I'm really excited for them.  We are going to miss our seniors though!  It was fun to have Sadie play varsity.  She had chosen to play JV in the past, even though she is a great player with excellent shots and passes.  Shelby was a standout on defense!  It was fun to see her progress!

Monet was also voted captain by her teammates.  She was very excited about that too.

One of MY favorite parts of the lacrosse season was hanging out on the field after the game and enjoying the evening!  All the friends and fans and little siblings passing the ball around and just having fun.  Plus, this was a beautiful (and cold) season.  So many pretty views.