Betcha Didn't Know...

I have been tagged for the first time ever! Thanks, Jenny.
So, without further ado, 5 things you may not know about me...

1. When I was young (like 10 years old) I wanted to be a Rockette when I grew up. Forget that I was 6 inches too short, don't stomp on my dreams, it could happen!

2. I am madly in love with my husband. Okay, maybe that's not a big secret,
but it's still a big part of who I am. We knew after the first week that we
were meant to be together!
(Quick info on the picture: This was taken at our Ward party last year.
Ty got the Arab garb when he was deployed in 2006. I chose this picture for two reasons.
First, it really shows his sense of humor. And second, this is Ty's laptop and
this is the only picture of him on it, except for the one from the football post.)

3. I am terrified of thunder. Okay, I know this isn't a picture of
thunder, but you can't take a picture of thunder, so this is the next
best thing!

4. My first car was a bright yellow 1972 VW flat-back sedan.
All my real pictures of the bus are in storage, so I'm using pictures from a
car show. My car's model is the 2nd from the front and the color is that last one
in the back. I loved that car!

5. I still sleep with a teddy bear. His name is Terry and I have
had him since I was 10. My Grandpa Jones gave him to me.

So there you have it. Now you know everything there is to know about me.
Now I am tagging: Keirra, Rebecca, Aurie, Rochelle, and Tylynn.
I can't wait to see what you have to tell us!

The Streak Ends

Ty was ready for our fifth game last night. We were all very hyped, as this game decided who gets to remain undefeated.


Tristan was hustling it to make sure he gave his all during the game.

See the excitement on his face?

The boys worked hard during their pre-game scrimmage to ensure that they would be ready to face the un-defeated Taylorview 2 team. Tristan just pushed this kid out of his way and ran right through the line. Tristan got a lot of play time, so that made it so much fun to watch.

We lost the game, but in the boys' defense, the refs made some really bad calls. When even I can tell the calls were off, you know it was a bad call. The boys played their butts off. And even when it was obvious we were going to lose, they kept their spirits up. I was impressed with how the coaches reacted. They played all the boys. Then, in the after game meeting, instead of freaking out because they lost the game (I honestly thought they would, after the way they harped on the importance of this game) they told the boys that they were so proud of them. The coaches pointed out that all the plays our boys made were solid, well executed plays. They pointed out the yardage we gained, that there were no fumbles, and every pass was caught with ease. I was proud of the boys and I was proud of the coaches.

I'm So Excited!

Ty is the best husband ever! Remember a few posts ago, I started complaining about how my camera had crapped out? Well, on Saturday, after the kids' last game, Ty said out of the blue, "Hey, let's go look at cameras." Ummm... okay. He decided that we should go to Farr's, a high-end jewelry/electronics/collectibles store, to check out their cameras. We had Zach with us, so it was a little nerve-wracking for me. You know, expensive merchandise, active 5 year old, not a good mix. Anyway, Ty was talking to the guy behind the counter and I was half-listening as I also kept an eye on Zach who was hanging out on a bean bag in the television department. Behind the camera bar was two shelves with several cameras. The bottom shelf had lots of the small, point-and-shoot, credit card sized cameras with two or three of the nicer cameras. The top shelf was filled with high-end, fancy big lens cameras. To my surprise, Ty asked Mike (my new friend from Farr's) to give him the run-down on the prices on the top shelf. I absently thought it was kinda rude to get the guy's hopes up for a big sale when all Ty would really want to buy was one of the small cameras, while I run over to tell Zachary to quit jumping on the bean bag. When I came back, Ty had one of the really nice cameras in his hands and is checking out the features. Before I knew it, Ty said, "We'll take it!" Wha? Then, he decided to take the extra lens because if we bought them at the same time, we got it for half-price. Mike also threw in a 2 gig SD card and gave us a discount on a bag to hold all my nice, new stuff. I couldn't believe it! My recently tight husband just bought me a very expensive camera. The great thing about it is, it's idiot proof. Sure, there are a lot of awesome features, but they are easy to use and give great results. Here, let me give you some examples:

Indoor portrait:

Action shots:
My cute dog:
Outdoor portraits:
Can you believe how great this camera is? I LOVE it!!!

Giving My Time

I have such a great opportunity this year. For the first time, I am able to volunteer in my kids' classrooms! It is so much fun. I don't have to find sitters for younger children, so I am available the entire time Zach is in Kindergarten.

The first class I started helping out in was Zach's Kinder class. I am there all afternoon. There are 22 little cuties in his class. Usually, I do letter recognition with the kids to get them ready for reading. It's so fun to watch their little minds work. I am surprised different their levels are. It ranges from a little boy who "counts" the cards I show him to a little girl who gives the letter name, sound, and an example, "Bee, buh, bird." It's so cute. I also assess and record the skills set booklets, run copies, and filing. I love Zach's teacher, so it's fun to be in the class.

Then I started reading groups in Tristan's class. I work there for the last hour of school. It's fun to see all the personalities of all the different kids. At that age, they start to get their more "grown up" attitudes and ideas.

I haven't had a chance to volunteer in Samantha's class yet. The first week I showed up and her teacher was out sick. The substitute didn't know what to do with me, so I left. Then this week, Samantha had a bad cold and had to go to the doctor. Strike two. Hopefully, I will get a chance to help next week.

I love being in the classroom. It's nice to have an idea of what is going on in the classes and seeing my kids with their peers. I feel so blessed to be able to volunteer this year. I hope it continues to be this much fun!

Where's That Jones Kid?

Time: 12 Noon
Place: Lincoln Field
Event: Tristan's team's 4th football game. We played Rexburg Grey this afternoon.
We were a little nervous as we were getting ready for the game. It had been raining off and on since about 2AM and thunder was starting to make its presence known. Would the game be canceled? We actually got really lucky. The sky cleared for the 2 hours of our game and it began raining again on the drive home. Thank you Tlaloc (He's the Aztec god of rain.)
Tristan had had a really good practice yesterday. He was chosen to lead the end of practice cheer (kinda like the MVP of practice) and was told he was being moved to first string. So it was exciting to see him trot on to the field the first time the defense was up. Tristan was amazing! He was NOT letting any of those red jerseys past him. He was a tackling fool. I didn't know he could hit like that! I spent much of the game screaming my head off because it really was a good game. (I forgot how much I used to love football games when I was in high school.) The boys were having so much fun. Tristan was going for the other team's knees like his life depended on it. In the last quarter, Tristan was called off the field. I think he thought he was being pulled for some instruction. When it became apparent that he wasn't going right back in, he went to the coach (I was observing this from my seat) and said, "Are you sending me back in, Coach? Are you sending me back in?" and I overheard the coach say, "No son, it's time to let some of the other boys play." YEAH COACH! I was so glad to see that they weren't pulling any of their old tricks.
After we won the game, (20-0) the team gathered for their mini team meeting. The coach had forgotten the trophies, so the coaches were just telling who they liked for the game today. Best defensive lineman, best offensive lineman, that sort of stuff. Soon, coach says, "What about the best tackles?" and another guy (one of the dads, I don't know what his name is, Lee's dad) jumped right in, "Where's that Jones kid! He was awesome!" I was proud to begin with, but it's nice to have someone else notice your kid's efforts, ya know? So, it's between Tristan and this other kids who made a major hit. One that we could hear an audible "Uuunnhhh" from the boy being tackled.
I'm so proud of all those boys for their team spirit, excellent sportsmanship, and 100% they put into every game. We have a good group of kids and a good group of parents. Plus, we're 4 and 0 and that ain't bad either!

Playing Rexburg

Yesterday, the boys played against Rexburg Red in Rexburg. It was a good game. All the boys got to play, and that's what's important to me. It was kind of a weird day. We expected it to be a little cool, but it was actually quite warm. Ty and I both got sunburns and we were very thirsty by the time the game was over. Ty's parents came to watch the game and Tristan was very excited to have Grandma and Grandpa there. We won the game 34-0. It was a really good game with the boys making some very good plays. It was a lot of fun to watch the boys having such a good time. I felt bad for the other team, though. The boys were trying so hard. You could tell such a difference between our "fans" and theirs. Even before our team started scoring. First of all, there were twice as many parents and such on our side, which surprised me because it was their "home" game. Then, every time our kids did a play, whether they did well or not, we were cheering them on, either with, "Good Job!" or "Great play!" or "Go Panthers!" on the good plays or "Good effort!" or "Good try!" or "Good job!" on the others, you know? There were no cheers coming from the other side at all. How are they supposed to stay fired up if their own parents seem so disinterested? We were maniacs on our side and they seemed kinda bored. I kinda wanted to go have a little parents' meeting with the moms and dads on that side. "Hello? These are your boys and they are playing their best. Show them some love, would ya?" Oh well, there's not much I can do about them, and our boys had SO MUCH fun! All in all, it was a good game and a good day.

Raising the Bar

Today was the first day back to practice for the Panthers. Tristan lit it up! He was on fire. He watched the ball like crazy and knocked down anybody who tried to get by him. His coach even commented, "Tristan, you're a monster out there today!" In your face, coaches! Hopefully Tristan can keep this fire burning and the coaches will see how much the boy wants to play.

At What Cost?

It's taken me a while to get to this post because of the strong feelings I have regarding the topic. I wanted to be able to be objective while also conveying my feelings on the matter. I hope that it comes across in the post and I don't just sound like a raving harpie. Well, now that you are all atwitter with curiosity, I'll get right to the point...

Tristan had his second game last Wednesday. The boys had been very fired up about the game because it was against the team that eliminated them in the playoffs last year. The coach had been ranting about this team and how we had to kick their butts and grab back the bragging rights. Some of the boys on the team were actually having a hard time because coach had made it into such an important game that they were afraid of making a mistake and "letting the team down." Tristan was not one of those boys. He was just pumped to get in there and kick some Eagle Rock butt. The energy level in the car on the way to the game was through the roof. We were taking Dylan to the game as well (Kim was going to be a little late so I had the boy.) The boys were chanting, cheering, and pumping their fists in the air all the way to Tautphus Park. Mom and I smiled a lot. They were just so much fun to listen to.

The boys are supposed to get to the game an hour early so they can warm up real good and get some plays worked on before the game. That extra hour just fired the boys up more.

Tristan plays defense, so he wasn't on for the first part of the game. When we got our first touchdown and subsequent field goal, we turned the ball over to Eagle Rock. Tristan still wasn't called to the field, but that's okay, there are 28 boys and everybody needs a chance to play. Ty showed up after the first quarter and joined us in cheering the team on. The second half began and still no Tristan on the field. We (Mom, Ty, Kim, and I) commented that it was strange that Tristan hadn't played yet, but we still weren't too worried.

Third quarter ended with still no play time for Tristan. Had he been overlooked? When forth quarter was about half over, Ty was more miffed than I and went over to the coaches to ask why the problem. He came back steaming. The coach he spoke to told him that we just had to win this game and that it wasn't just Tristan, 10 boys hadn't played yet! Ty's response, "You need to play those boys!" and he stalked back to us. Oh, BTW, the score was now us 14 them 12. The game continued and ended with no change to the players on the field.

I was irritated when I thought Tristan had been overlooked, but finding out that he had been intentionally left out along with 9 other kids had me steaming! We had won the all important game, so (most of) the boys were very excited as we joined together for the brief after-game meeting. Ty had left before the meeting commenting, "I'm gonna go now before I say something very stupid to one of those men." The coaches were all smiles and kept congratulating the boys on their victory. As I looked at the boys, most were happy, but there were some very disappointed boys sitting in that circle. Including my baby, who was trying very hard to keep it together and not cry in front of his teammates. After the trophies had been awarded and the team cheer had been yelled, we headed back to the car. Away from his teammates and out of the bright lights, Tristan finally broke down. I was SOO pissed off. Even now, my teeth are clenching as I write about it. I put my arm around my baby and with my own voice cracking, I tried to tell him that it was okay. He cried most of the was home. He commented, "I didn't even need to be there tonight," and, "I wanted to win, but not like this." I was STEAMING mad. I spent the entire night thinking up things to say and do to the coach, but very little sleeping happened.

How can a coach consider it a victory when he has broken the hearts of over a THIRD of his team? Didn't he say during our first practice that he didn't care if a kid was the greatest player on the team, if he played with heart, he would always get a chance to play? There were 10 little boys that night with great big hearts that had them stomped all over by a heartless, greedy coach. I wish I could talk to those men and make them see. But, honestly, what good would it do. First of all, it's done and nothing can change what's been done. Second, if I try to discuss this, I will get angry again and when I feel any emotion strongly, I cry. Joy, fear, anger, sadness? They all result with me in tears. How effective would that be? I would be brushed off as an emotional, over sensitive girl and wouldn't be taken seriously.

My father pointed out that we paid to have our son play on this team. "If you pay, you play!" was his admonition. I guess that's true, but I really don't care about the money. I care about the feelings of those little boys who wanted to play for love of the game. Who wanted to "show off" to their families and friends who had taken time out of their lives to support them. Who worked their butts off for the week before, only to be ignored on game night. GRRRRRR!!!!! As you can see, I still get worked up about this.

For days after, every time I thought about it, my stomach would tighten and my jaw would tighten. The coaches promised that every boy who didn't play last Wednesday would get their chance to play in our next game. That's good, I guess. The snotty girl in me says, "Yeah, since these games don't matter!" But what happens if we make the play-offs and we meet up with this team again? Will ten little boys be left out again for the sake of victory? Sure, we won the game, but at what cost?