Girls night at the BYU soccer game!

Faith's team decided to all go to the women's BYU soccer game a couple weeks ago. I thought that sounded great and went with her. It was really fun to go together just the two of us and hang out. The game was good, although it wound up being a tie 0-0.
I did notice in the next couple games that Faith's team had that Faith really learned from those BYU women. She uses her head whenever she can now and has been really working on controlling the ball. I am very proud of her and glad she learned something in the middle of a fun night. Of course we had to go out for slushies afterwards! What is a girls night without treats! I am very grateful for my daughter and as scary as it is, it is fun to see her growing up into a beautiful girl.

Goals and Goalies

As most of you know, soccer is a big part of the Ward Family each and every fall (and all year in Faith's case). So far in the season we have been able to watch each of our children score goals, which is wonderful and amazing for their confidence level! I have found that my kids not only like to score goals, but to save them as well. That is something they did not get from me. I never had any desire to be goalie and I always sit there watching them play goalie saying, "please don't let them score on my child." Gavin has done a great job this season being goalie and his younger brother Brayden has followed in his footsteps. Gavin had one game where he was goalie the whole game and didn't get scored on at all. He stopped at least 20 goals and made several kids flip over the ball. I was very proud of him (not just for making the kids flip over, but for not being afraid.) His season ended on Saturday and ended with him scoring a goal. Not bad at all!
Faith is just awesome and her team is doing so great this year! Her games are so much fun to watch, and I keep thinking I can't have the baby yet, I don't want to miss seeing her play. She has a real passion for the game, like her mother, and is as agressive as she needs to be. I am so proud of her, and of all of them. Landon can't wait to get into soccer and have his own team!

Rain Gutter Regatta

On the 15th of September the cub scouts had the Rain Gutter Regatta. Gavin made his boat and was very excited to see how his first Regatta experience would go. He did great! He took 4th place, although Doug gave him some pointers on a different way to blow his boat before the last race, and he didn't do as well. So, in my opinion he could have taken third if it wasn't for his father. Of course without a little guidance from his father the boat wouldn't have raced near as well I am sure. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and as a bonus Gavin recieved his wolf badge along with a gold arrow and two silver arrows. He really loves scouts and I am grateful for the way it teaches the boys to set and achieve goals in life along with the sense of accomplishment they feel as they make things like pinewood derby cars and regatta boats.

Ella the beauty!

Well, it's finally happened! Brayden has found the girl he is going to marry.
About a week into the new school year Brayden came home to tell me a story of how he saved the lunchboxes for the class and rescued Ella the Beauty. I asked him who Ella was and what made her a beauty. His reply was that Ella sat next to him in his school class and that she was such a beauty because of the nice things she does for him. In his words, "It's like she wakes up and thinks what can I do for Brayden today." I was glad to know that it wasn't only her looks that made her beautiful to him. Then he told me how they do nice things for each other all day long. Last Friday he was sick and couldn't go to school. He was so mad at me for making him stay home, and finally I asked him if he wanted to get Ella sick. He said "no" and then was okay about staying home. Then Sunday I had him start a journal that I told him I thought we should update once a week. He wrote all about Ella the Beauty. My little Brayden makes me smile!

First Day of School 2010

I am so grateful for the priesthood. The first day of school was wonderful, but just a few days before both Gavin and Faith were feeling a little nervous. Scratch that, Gavin was really nervous, but thanks to Father's blessings I sent three happy and excited kids off to school. Then I had one that I packed a lunch for who was crushed to find out that he had to leave the kids at school and return home with just Mommy to play with all day long.
Gavin has been thrilled with his teacher and says that she is the best teacher ever. I am so thankful for that, especially after last year. He also has a lot of wonderful friends from the ward in his class which I am so very happy about. Brayden couldn't wait to go to school and even though he didn't know anyone in his class he was thrilled at the prospect of making new friends. I really admire that kid's attitude. He had an incident at recess with a boy following him around pushing him. His big sister and older friend came to the rescue by talking/threatening the boy. There haven't been any problems since. Faith of course loves her teacher and is busy making new friends anywhere she goes.
I was so pleased to see big smiles on all three kids faces when we picked them up! After school we had a neighborhood swim party in the backyard completely unplanned, but lots of fun!

August camping adventures!

How grateful I am to have such wonderful friends in my life. We really have a lot of wonderful people around us. This summer, just as last summer, we went camping with our good friends the Hardy's. Landon was so funny last week, he saw them at church and pointed them out. "Look, there are the Hardy's. Nate is my Hardy, Alex is Brayden's Hardy and Shilo is your Hardy mommy." It is really nice to have them here. They have 5 kids, which we almost do too, all the same ages (or close) as our kids, which is great. Anyway, we love them and are grateful for the great friends they are and the opportunity we had to share an adventure in the great outdoors with them.
Of course what is a camping trip where everything is perfect. Now, I am not the kind of person to take an airmattress with me camping (that just isn't really camping), however being 8 months pregnant I thought it was a good idea to bring one. It was a good idea in theory, but it would have been better to bring one without a hole in it. I got on it and it went down a little, then of course Doug got on too and I have never fallen down so fast, it was like a ride at an amusement park. I laughed hysterically as I tried to get comfortable in the mess, but really I wound up on the ground with a rock in my back. The kids all slept soundly though. They had a great time exploring and making secret clubhouses. They got lost once, but said a prayer and everything was fine. They freaked me out a little by telling me that Brayden went off on his own, but luckily they got the direction he went wrong and Brayden knew right where he was going to get back to camp. It was a good learning experience for them all. Gavin was able to remain calm, he has a good sense of direction (obviously Brayden does too.)
The kids swam in the lake and tried to fish (poor Gavin caught one but didnt realize he was using the left handed reel that his mother got by mistake, so it got away.) Really I think it is the Hardy's bad luck, we always catch fish except when they are there, which is fine, although their daughter really wanted to catch one, so that would have been fun.
Anyway it was nice being up there with friends and I always enjoy the outdoors. There was a meteor shower the first night we were there and that was amazing to see.

Swimming 2010

I truly love summer! It is the most wonderful time of the year! We had so much fun at the Legacy Center this year and especially at Seven Peaks! My kids are little fish. Brayden really learned to swim by himself this year and couldn't wait to take off on his own. As a result Landon inherited the life jacket and all of a sudden got completely brave! He's been thinking he can do anything, jumping into the water by himself, going down the slides at Seven Peaks head first and wanting to run into the wave pool all by himself. He loved the wave pool so much and would love to splash into the waves. Gavin's favorite slide was the Jagged Edge, but I was so proud of him for going on all the tube slides that were enclosed. Usually he won't go on the enclosed dark ones, but this time he loved them! Brayden went on everything he could, he was one inch shy of the Jagged Edge, Sky Breaker and Free Fall, but he would have gone on them if he could! He is such a crazy, wonderful, funny kid. They were all sad to leave and would have stayed longer if they could have.