It Was Birdicide

So, I am on my way to football practice to pick up the boys. Just drivin', singin' along to the radio, mindin' my own beeswax. I notice sitting on the right side of the road, a beautiful, huge hawk. I thought, "Wow, isn't he pretty." and a random thought about how I haven't seen one in, like, forever. When all of a sudden, he spreads his great wings and takes to flight. Right into the middle of the road. I thought, "He'd better hurry, I'm gonna hit him," then, "NO! NO! NO!" It was like he was hovering right in front of my grill. Then we made contact. BAM! He bounced up onto the hood, right up against the front window on the passenger side. I'm gripping the steering wheel like it's trying to escape, my shoulders crunched up to my ears, and squinting my eyes. Like any of that is going to change the fact that a truly majestic bird is now sliding up my windshield, one wing straight up in the air. He reached the top and fell off onto the side of the road. If I hadn't been late picking up the boys, I would have stopped, though what I could do at this point is beyond me. When I got to the practice field, I checked the front end of the van to see if he'd dented it or left feathers or something. I mean, the bird was HUGE, so it was a distinct possibility. No damage could be seen, so I guess that's good. This whole time, I keep thinking, "I killed a hawk. I'm a bird killer. I'm gonna go to Hell for murder!" Okay, I didn't really think that last one, but I was feeling very guilty. As it turned out, practice ran over by about 10 minutes, so I wasn't late after all. By the time I got the boys loaded up in the van and started heading back, I decided, I wanted to drive by the scene of the heinous accident and see if maybe, if by some miracle, the bird was just stunned and had flown off. Nope. Still lying motionless on the side of the road. I slowed waaay down and was considering stopping when a car coming from the other direction pulled over in front of him and stopped. Well, I didn't want to admit to anybody that I was the one who destroyed such a beautiful part of nature, so I sped back up and moved on. I don't know if somebody moved him off the road or if animal control came and got him, but he wasn't there when I took Tristan to practice the next day.
So, I am trying to console myself, saying that he committed suicide because of the way he hovered in front of the car like that. I mean, hawks are smart, right? He must have wanted me to hit him, right? Right? Right?

It's a Little Bit Funny... This Feeling Inside

Am I weird? Am I the only one who feels this way? I walk Zachary to school every day and wait with him until the teachers come to pick the kids up. When I watch him go through those big double doors, I feel just a twinge of sadness. Or maybe it's melancholy. Whatever it is, it only lasts for a minute. It's kinda hard to turn and walk away, but by the time I reach the crosswalk, I'm fine again. Is that strange? Am I just a big baby? Or is it normal to want to hold on to your baby a little bit longer? *sigh* Maybe I just need to take the advise of Tristan's football coach and suck it up. *double sigh*

The First Game

Tonight was the Panthers' first game. It was AWESOME! I forgot how much I enjoyed going to sporting events. It was very exciting. Tristan is a maniac! He is on the defensive line which surprised me because he is so small. You should have seen some of the kids Tristan was up against. The first line up that Tristan was on the field, Mom, Dad, and I all said, "Oh my gosh, that kid is huge! Tristan is supposed to block him?" Then the play started and Tristan took the kid out!!! We didn't worry anymore after that.
The game was great. We scored the first touchdown and then the field goal. We kept the Rigby team back for most of the game, following up with another touchdown. We WON 13-0! The kids were amped. The coaches have a nice little tradition for after the games. They award 5 trophies for the MVP's. The kids keep them for the week and return them the day before the next game so they can be awarded again after the next game.
I didn't bother to bring my camera because it is so unreliable, but Kim was clicking away like crazy. (She handed the still camera to me for a while so she could video and I snapped a few shots myself. I WANT HER CAMERA!) Anyway, the point is, I have no pictures now, but she'll get them to me later.
Oh! And the kids made it onto the local news! Panthers Rule!!!

A Day of Firsts

Tristan and Samantha were all smiles as they prepared to go to their first day at a new school in a new town. Yesterday was back to school night where the kids had a chance to meet their teachers and find their classrooms. All the kids liked their teachers, which is a good thing. One of the reasons they are so happy looking in this picture is because they get to walk to school... all by themselves! It's been a couple years since we lived in a place where I felt comfortable letting them go alone.




Samantha was so nervous the night before. Her stomach was upset and she couldn't sleep.

Tristan is too cool to be nervous, but I was still yelling for him to go to sleep at 10 pm!















Zachary had such a hard time. He was so amped about going to school. He has been asking when school was going to start for the past 2 weeks. When he found out about back to school night, that was all I heard about for days.

He was part of the reason Tristan didn't go to sleep earlier. Zach just wouldn't shut up!

Today was rough because he is in afternoon Kindergarten. The older kids got to leave first thing in the morning and Zachary had to stay behind. He was soooo excited, he got dressed 3 times this morning.

I am not exaggerating when I say that he asked if it was time to go to school yet every 20-30 minutes for the next 3 hours. When it was finally time to go, I fairly had to run to keep up with him on the way to school.

I snapped this picture as a surprise as his little class was getting led into the building.

It was a bittersweet day for me. My baby is going to school! Last night, it hit me and I cried. A lot. Ty actually got mad and told me to get a grip. (That might have something to do with the fact that it was after 11 and he has to get up at a quarter to 5 in the morning to catch the bus for work!) I finally had to go out and cuddle my sleeping baby for a few minutes so I could sleep. I wasn't the only mom shedding a tear or two outside the doors to the school!

As a side note... I had another weird moment this afternoon. Do you have any idea how strange it is to have your kids going to the same elementary school you went to? It's a little Twilight Zone for me.

Happy Birthday Dear Sami...

Samantha was a little spoiled this year. She got to celebrate her birthday 3 times!
The Saturday before, she got to get together with a few of her friends and go to Leo's Place for pizza and fun. Leo's has a HUGE indoor play area for the kids to climb and play in. The girls had so much fun running and screaming and the boys had fun chasing and teasing.







Samantha wanted to have her hair all curly for her birthday, but all of our curlers are packed neatly in a box in a storage unit! But I had a brilliant idea: Rags! I remembered reading that in the "old days," ladies put their hair up in rags to achieve curls. They turned out pretty good, don't you think?







On Sunday, the entire family came over for cake and ice cream. Samantha had plenty of help opening her presents. It was nice having everybody together in one place. Well, everybody who lives close by, that is.
Even Grandma Tolman made an appearance.
Then, Samantha went home with Grandma Pam for her birthday sleepover and a day of shopping and other "girl" stuff on Monday.

All in all, Samantha had a great birthday!

Poor Puppy

This week, Mayzee had a VERY bad day. She went to the vet and came home a few ounces lighter. No puppies at our house! She felt so crummy. She couldn't even manage to hold her ears up!

She was very shocky. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she couldn't stop shaking. Once she got settled, we covered her with a towel to keep her warm.

Fourth of July in Idaho

My family has always been very patriotic. We always stand, remove our hats, and shed tears when the National Anthem is played. I was so happy to be home this year for the Fourth. And, yes, I cried when the Flag passed us by.





We had great seats on the parade route. Daddy has friends who live right on it and they have a big breakfast before the parade even begins. Even Mayzee got in on the celebration!

Movin'

Okay, I know we have been here for over a month, but I just barely got around to dumping the pictures off Ty's camera. I apologize for the quality, I don't get along with Ty's camera very well. Also, I can't seem to get the pictures to move and I put them in the window in the wrong order. Oh well.
Tristan was very proud of all the help he gave. He worked his butt off!

Here is the unit when we first started. I can't believe we got all our stuff in that little room. Now I just pray there is no fire, cuz just about everything we own is in that box!

Hit 'Em... HARD!!!

Tristan and the other boys began real football practice this week. They got their pads and helmets on Friday, so this week has been all about full contact football.



They are having so much fun. I thought it would be difficult watching my baby slam into other kids and having other kids slam into him, but surprisingly, it's quite exciting! They have a funny little cheer that they do where one kid yells, "Hit 'em..." and the rest of the team respond, "HARD!" I found myself chanting it with them in my head. Yesterday was a scrimmage with the other Rocky Mountain 6th grade team. Tristan was squared off against his opponent (I'd tell you the position, if I knew what it was called!) and when "Hut!" was yelled, the other kid tried to get away from Tristan so he could be open and Tristan just NAILED him! I mean, took the kid out! I let out a whoop and jumped and clapped my hands before I realized what I was doing. I wondered, belatedly, if the mom standing next to me could be that kid's mom, and I almost felt guilty. Almost.

Now, my next order of business is to learn the positions so I can tell people what Tristan plays. That is, when they finally settle the boys into positions. I would also like to understand more about what is going on out on that field. I wonder if they make a "Football For Dummies" book I could read?
I do know that the boys need a lot of work and that coach is determined to make these boys the best they can be. He does not accept second best. One of his sayings is, "I don't care if you are the best or the worst kid on the field, as long as you are playing with heart. If you have heart the size of Texas and you give me your best, that's good enough for me." Now, that's not to say that he isn't out there yelling, "SUCK IT UP!" when there is a kid out there bawling cuz he got a cleat to the shin or whining about his helmet being too tight. "Get a haircut!" is his response to that one! It's so much fun watching these kids grow.
This purple jersey is not what the team will be wearing. This is the jersey from last year and we're just using them for work outs. The real thing will be Bonneville green and white. We have no idea when we might get those.
I have to give a holler to Kim Bily for these great pictures! Her son is also on the team and we have a lot of fun chatting during practice and laughing at the boys as they learn their plays and how to "tighten it up." Thanks Kim!

RSVP?

Okay, time for a complaining blog...
Why don't people ever RSVP? Especially if it says, "RSVP" right on the invitation?
I am very frustrated right now because Samantha invited 4 little girls to her party in two days and I haven't heard so much as "Boo!" from any of them. How am I supposed to know if they're coming? How do I know I won't have a crying child in 2 days? So, now I'm stuck trying to call these people to see if they're coming. There is a problem here though. We are new to the Ward and I don't know these girls' parents very well yet, and I have nobody's phone number! Luckily, I DO have the phone number of the Activities Days leader, so I have a call in to her to get the girls' number. But will she return my call? ACK!!!
So here is my plea to all of you out there, Please always, always respond to an RSVP. You will be saving the host such a HUGE headache!

Go Panthers!

Well, Tristan has had his first couple of football practices with Grid Kid and needless to say, the kid is hooked. They spent most of the time doing conditioning training yesterday and today, they started drills. There are about 30 kids on the team ranging from 60.5 pounds all the way up to 153 pounds. It's amazing to look at the difference. Tristan is a great runner (usually in the top 4 when they run sprints and distance run) and pretty good at blocking as well. It's a lot of fun watching those kids work. I must say however, I am a wee bit nervous about next week. The boys don't get their pads and helmets until Friday, so there isn't a lot of hitting and NO tackling. What am I gonna do when the first kid plows into my baby? I might just storm onto the field and kick the kid's @$*! More likely, I'll burst into tears and run onto the field to help him up. That probably won't get very good results either. During the parents' meeting yesterday, Coach opened by saying, "I will scream at your kids. The helmets make it hard for the boys to hear us, so we have to be loud, but mostly, we just like to yell." He also said that this is a hard hitting team. The entire goal is to get out there and ram into anything that moves. Nobody gets past his line. Yipe! I am gonna have to make some serious adjustments to my thought patterns if this is going to work! And I really want this to work. Tristan is just so jazzed. I love the energy and excitement he shows when he talks about football or works with his teammates. So, all I have to say for now is... "GO PANTHERS!!!"

The End of the Tooth Topic... I Hope.

Today was Zachary's big dentist appointment. We had to be at the Hospital at 6:15 so he could be ready for his 7:45 "surgery."
Let me pause here for a brief commercial break. If you need ANYTHING medical done in Bonneville County or the surrounding area, go to Mountain View Hospital in Idaho Falls. They are amazing! The staff was quick and courteous and the service was exceptional. We were VERY impressed with the service we received there today.
Okay, back to the show.
After being checked in, a very nice man escorted us back to the waiting room that was stocked with toys and books for the shorties to play with and keep occupied. We hadn't waited long when a nurse called us back. She was very sweet and treated Zachary like he was the most interesting and exciting person on the planet, but she did it in such a way that was not silly or patronizing. Zach took to her right away. We got Zach stripped down and in a gown and then had some time to kill, so the nurse brought us a Radio Flyer wagon so that Zach could have rides around the pre/post-op area. He had so much fun and elicited more than a few smiles from the staff and other patients. They also gave him a coloring book and crayons to keep him occupied. The nurse apologized that they had no teddy bears to give him. Apparently every child who comes in to get surgery or whatever, usually gets a special friend to keep him company and then take home after. However, they were back-ordered so no new friends this time.
At 7:45 on the dot, the anesthesiologist came out to answer any questions and then take Zach back. They had planned on giving him a little something-something to help him relax because kids freak out in situations like that, but Zach was just excited about the grand adventure he was on that the doctor decided to forgo the extra drugs. Zachary was wheeled through those double swinging doors with a big ol' smile on his face.
We waited in the cozy waiting room for about an hour before Bryce, sorry, Doctor Burtenshaw came out to tell us how it went. Everything was great. In fact, one of the teeth wasn't as bad as expected, so he didn't have to put a crown on that one. Then we got to go back to see our baby. The first nurse had warned us that small children have a really hard time when the come out of anesthesia. It's very disorienting for them and they tend to cry for about half and hour. They aren't in pain and they can't tell you what's wrong. They won't make eye contact. They are just freaked out and so they cry. So, as we were being led back, I was straining to hear my baby's distinctive cry, but when we got to the room, he was still passed out on the bed. He woke up a little when the nurse rubbed his back and he wanted hugs from both Ty and me and then he wanted the slushy that had been offered. He took one spoonful of that and promptly fell back asleep. Ty had a doctor's appointment just down the street, so he took off to go to that. Zach woke up enough to ask where Daddy went and was out again. The boy was TIRED! When Ty got back, we decided it was time for Zach to wake up, so we started talking to him and waking him up. He sat right up and looked brightly about the room. He didn't even squeeze out one tear. He said hi to Ty and me and then asked for more of his slushy (which was now just an orange drink, but he didn't care.)
Oh! I forgot to tell you, at one point, when Zach was still asleep, he shifted his position and the pulse-ox reader came off his toe. The machine began to beep its warning and in the time it took Ty to stand up, a nurse appeared to find out what was wrong. She was so FAST! That means alot to me, cuz when I was in hospital to deliver Samantha, the woman in the room next to me began to crash. Her baby's alarms had been going off like crazy, but the nurses in the nurses' station just kept turning them off remotely, never bothering to check on her or the baby. The baby was born with SEVERE brain damage and later died from injuries sustained due to those nurses' lack of professionalism. I was very happy to see her come to help so quickly.
We were checked out very quickly and after another short ride in the wagon to the front doors were on the road in a matter of minutes. Zach was STARVING and requested Sonic for lunch. He devoured his hamburger and french fries and spent the rest of the day running and playing with his friends and siblings, so I think he's just fine!
Zachary does have to go back to see Bryce in about a week to get a spacer put in where his molar was extracted when we were back in Vegas, but other than that, I believe the Dentist situation is over. YEAH!!!