Here's a picture of Matthew from his game the other day..go Matthew! He's the one dribbling the ball.
Friday, January 13, 2012
It's Basketball Time Again!
It's that time of year again-time for basketball!!! I'm so excited for this season! Matthew has had 2 games so far and his team won both games! The first game I think Matthew was still getting back into the swing of things and remembering everything he learned from last year and this year's practices. The second game he was right there in it, taking the ball down the court, passing, rebounding. It was great to see him have so much FUN. That is what I love best about watching the boys play sports, when you watch them you can just tell they are having a blast. With the activities the boys do I often see other kids who look bored or just plain miserable. I feel awful when I see that, I wish they were having fun too! When you look at my boys they are smiling and jumping (and even dancing-MATTHEW! haha). I love it!
Here's a picture of Matthew from his game the other day..go Matthew! He's the one dribbling the ball.
Here's a picture of Matthew from his game the other day..go Matthew! He's the one dribbling the ball.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
It's been awhile!
I haven't written here for awhile! My inbox hasn't been flooded with people wondering where I've been or begging for updates so I'm sure you haven't been too upset, but I hope you at least missed my entries at least a little ;-).
Our family has been keeping pretty busy. I am definitely aware of the drawbacks of over scheduling our kids and I don't feel as if we are OVER scheduled, but some times it seems like we really do have quite a bit going on. It's all in a good way though. Sure, some days I have those.."I really wish we weren't doing anything today" kind of days but 99% of the time I can't wait for basketball days or cub scout days, or karate days. The boys feel the same way. I talked to them the other day about being over scheduled. I wanted to see where their minds were. Are they too tired-do they feel stressed-are there things they just don't like doing? I asked Matthew if he had to drop one activity which one would it be? He answered with "none!" The thought of not doing the activities he loves was just too much for him to even consider! I think it's all about balance. If you don't have any free days to just do "nothing" or just hang out as a family, well then I'd say you are stretching yourself too thin and definitely over scheduling your family. Luckily, though we keep busy with our activities, we do still get those days of hanging out in our PJs all day if we want to. If you have to drag your child to activities that are supposed to be fun for them, then I'd say it's not serving it's purpose. The reason that we have our kids in activities is for THEM. It's for them to have fun, to learn, to be active and healthy. School work is also a big thing to consider. Matthew and Riley both make wonderful grades in school. They surprise me with how smart they are! It's not surprising because I didn't think they were smart-I've always known they are, it's surprising because they amaze me each and every day with something that they know, or say, or do..they are just wonderful kids.
School has been going well for both Matthew and Riley this year! They are loving being in the same school and riding the bus together. Riley had a holiday concert at his school in December and it was the cutest most wonderful thing. I cried! The cutest part was that Riley was so happy to see me there. He kept smiling at me and waving to me in the crowd. Matthew is doing well too. He has over 100% in spelling and has maintained that the entire school year so far. He's also my little math whiz-he's even had to correct me a few times!
Matthew, as most of you know, is my New Year's Baby! He was born on January 1st, 2003. So, is everyone here as good at Math as Matthew is? That makes him 9 years old! I can hardly believe it, it feels strange to type! We had his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese with family and friends. We all had a lot of fun!
Cub Scouts is going great this year as well. Matthew is a Bear now! The Pinewood Derby is next weekend and we can't wait! It is probably the thing we look forward to the most all year with cub scouts. Matthew's car is going to be awesome! He is going to be painting it tomorrow. I don't want to reveal too much about it yet until it's all finished. We've had fun so far this year especially at the Halloween party. This past week the boys made toolboxes and it was a great time. Here is Matthew with his finished toolbox
Our Den Leaders are really nice and include Riley in everything we do. They let him build a toolbox as well!
Matthew and Riley also recently started Karate (actually Tang Soo Do to be officially correct). They are loving it! I love it too. It looks like a lot of fun-I wonder if the boys would mind mommy trying it? haha. It will be awhile before either of them can test for a belt but so far they are doing great. I think Matthew surprised me most of all because if you know him you know that he doesn't exactly have the greatest balance...let's just say-he falls down a lot..but so far at karate, he's been doing awesome! I think Riley's favorite part is the end of class when they make a fun obstacle course where the kids have to use different aspects of karate, it looks like fun and he's smiling the whole way through!
Matthew had his first basketball game of the season today. This is his second year playing basketball. He is on the blue team again and even got the same number he had last year. They looked good at their first game today and they won! The season is pretty short, only 8 games I believe. It should be a lot fun.
Well, this has turned into a pretty long entry. Hopefully I can keep up with this a little better in 2012-Happy New Year everyone!
Our family has been keeping pretty busy. I am definitely aware of the drawbacks of over scheduling our kids and I don't feel as if we are OVER scheduled, but some times it seems like we really do have quite a bit going on. It's all in a good way though. Sure, some days I have those.."I really wish we weren't doing anything today" kind of days but 99% of the time I can't wait for basketball days or cub scout days, or karate days. The boys feel the same way. I talked to them the other day about being over scheduled. I wanted to see where their minds were. Are they too tired-do they feel stressed-are there things they just don't like doing? I asked Matthew if he had to drop one activity which one would it be? He answered with "none!" The thought of not doing the activities he loves was just too much for him to even consider! I think it's all about balance. If you don't have any free days to just do "nothing" or just hang out as a family, well then I'd say you are stretching yourself too thin and definitely over scheduling your family. Luckily, though we keep busy with our activities, we do still get those days of hanging out in our PJs all day if we want to. If you have to drag your child to activities that are supposed to be fun for them, then I'd say it's not serving it's purpose. The reason that we have our kids in activities is for THEM. It's for them to have fun, to learn, to be active and healthy. School work is also a big thing to consider. Matthew and Riley both make wonderful grades in school. They surprise me with how smart they are! It's not surprising because I didn't think they were smart-I've always known they are, it's surprising because they amaze me each and every day with something that they know, or say, or do..they are just wonderful kids.
School has been going well for both Matthew and Riley this year! They are loving being in the same school and riding the bus together. Riley had a holiday concert at his school in December and it was the cutest most wonderful thing. I cried! The cutest part was that Riley was so happy to see me there. He kept smiling at me and waving to me in the crowd. Matthew is doing well too. He has over 100% in spelling and has maintained that the entire school year so far. He's also my little math whiz-he's even had to correct me a few times!
Matthew, as most of you know, is my New Year's Baby! He was born on January 1st, 2003. So, is everyone here as good at Math as Matthew is? That makes him 9 years old! I can hardly believe it, it feels strange to type! We had his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese with family and friends. We all had a lot of fun!
Cub Scouts is going great this year as well. Matthew is a Bear now! The Pinewood Derby is next weekend and we can't wait! It is probably the thing we look forward to the most all year with cub scouts. Matthew's car is going to be awesome! He is going to be painting it tomorrow. I don't want to reveal too much about it yet until it's all finished. We've had fun so far this year especially at the Halloween party. This past week the boys made toolboxes and it was a great time. Here is Matthew with his finished toolbox
Our Den Leaders are really nice and include Riley in everything we do. They let him build a toolbox as well!
Matthew and Riley also recently started Karate (actually Tang Soo Do to be officially correct). They are loving it! I love it too. It looks like a lot of fun-I wonder if the boys would mind mommy trying it? haha. It will be awhile before either of them can test for a belt but so far they are doing great. I think Matthew surprised me most of all because if you know him you know that he doesn't exactly have the greatest balance...let's just say-he falls down a lot..but so far at karate, he's been doing awesome! I think Riley's favorite part is the end of class when they make a fun obstacle course where the kids have to use different aspects of karate, it looks like fun and he's smiling the whole way through!
Matthew had his first basketball game of the season today. This is his second year playing basketball. He is on the blue team again and even got the same number he had last year. They looked good at their first game today and they won! The season is pretty short, only 8 games I believe. It should be a lot fun.
Well, this has turned into a pretty long entry. Hopefully I can keep up with this a little better in 2012-Happy New Year everyone!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Another School Year Has Begun!
We had such a wonderful summer full of lazy days, busy days, and fun days. I was sad for it to come to an end but excited to start the school year again. It's been almost a full month of school already, I can't believe it! My boys started school at the end of August and this year Matthew is in 3rd grade and Riley is in kindergarten. So many great things come with back to school time. It may be extremely nerdy but I absolutely love getting together the school supplies and making lists and checking things off when they are completed. My husband has given me many things in the 12 years I've known him and of course the two greatest of those things are my sons, followed closely by a love of organizing and lists haha. So, ok maybe I don't love organizing and lists quite that much, but you get the idea. When the new school year starts of course that also brings with it my most favorite time of year, Fall (pumpkin patch here I come!!!), as well as Cub Scouts, fundraisers, Thursday packets, open house, picture day...so many great things!
The first day of school was such a big day for both of my boys. Riley was so excited to finally be going to the same school as his big brother. He has spent years talking about riding the bus with Matthew and Matthew walking him to his class and the time had finally come! Our school district now does full day kindergarten so both of my kids were off to a full day at school. They were both so happy the first day of school. They were excited to see their old friends again and especially to ride the bus together. I gave them each a huge hug and kiss and they were off, my two school boys, the first time together on the bus...
So far they are both really enjoying school. Each day when they get off the bus I ask them "So, what was the best thing about kindergarten/3rd grade today?" and I'm always excited to hear what they have to say. I was really anticipating open house, one of my favorite days of the school year. I love seeing their classrooms and having them show us around. This year was no exception! It was the first time we had two classrooms to visit! Matthew's class was first. Sitting in his chair was a "future me" he had made. It was so sweet that he made his future self have facial hair just like daddy's.
Then it was time to visit Riley's classroom. He had such fun showing us around. He made a self portrait as well and was so proud to stand next to it.
So, all in all it has been a great start to the new school year. I'm so proud of my boys and I hope they always keep their love of learning and their joy at sharing these things with me. I love them so very much. It's going to be a great school year!
The first day of school was such a big day for both of my boys. Riley was so excited to finally be going to the same school as his big brother. He has spent years talking about riding the bus with Matthew and Matthew walking him to his class and the time had finally come! Our school district now does full day kindergarten so both of my kids were off to a full day at school. They were both so happy the first day of school. They were excited to see their old friends again and especially to ride the bus together. I gave them each a huge hug and kiss and they were off, my two school boys, the first time together on the bus...
So far they are both really enjoying school. Each day when they get off the bus I ask them "So, what was the best thing about kindergarten/3rd grade today?" and I'm always excited to hear what they have to say. I was really anticipating open house, one of my favorite days of the school year. I love seeing their classrooms and having them show us around. This year was no exception! It was the first time we had two classrooms to visit! Matthew's class was first. Sitting in his chair was a "future me" he had made. It was so sweet that he made his future self have facial hair just like daddy's.
Then it was time to visit Riley's classroom. He had such fun showing us around. He made a self portrait as well and was so proud to stand next to it.
So, all in all it has been a great start to the new school year. I'm so proud of my boys and I hope they always keep their love of learning and their joy at sharing these things with me. I love them so very much. It's going to be a great school year!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Baseball!
Well, this season of baseball has ended. Riley's t ball ended over a month ago but I have been waiting to write this entry until Matthew's baseball season ended. He just had his end of the season picnic so the season is officially over. Matthew's season was so much longer than Riley's because he had a tournament after the regular season and then was picked to be part of the All Star team and do another tournament. Both boys had a wonderful time playing and I really enjoyed watching them play! Matthew was so proud of himself for making the All Star team. It was such a nice thing for him because he worked so hard and to see his hard work pay off was very rewarding for him. He was also very excited because one of his good friends from school was also on the All Stars team and they finally got to play together after having been on different teams during the regular season.
It's crazy how much they have grown since they started playing with the BYA. This is Matthew in his first season of t ball:
Here he is this year during the All Star tournament:
He has grown so much!!!
Here is Riley during his first season of t ball:
This is Riley during this season:
Time is just flying by. I think that's part of the reason I love photography so much, to capture these moments that are gone in the blink of an eye.
The All Stars tournament was very exciting for Matthew. He got a snazzy new jersey with his name on it! His number has been the number 1 every year that he has played baseball and he got to keep that number for All Stars as well. I loved seeing both of the boys in their uniforms, they always look so cute. It was definitely neat to see Matthew wearing a jersey with his last name on the back.
I'm a proud mommy :-)
If enough kids in his age group sign up we will be starting baseball again in the fall for "fall ball" and if not then it will be Spring time again by the time we get around to more baseball. Until then, we have a lot of things to look forward to and I can't wait for everything we have coming up.
It's crazy how much they have grown since they started playing with the BYA. This is Matthew in his first season of t ball:
Here he is this year during the All Star tournament:
He has grown so much!!!
Here is Riley during his first season of t ball:
This is Riley during this season:
Time is just flying by. I think that's part of the reason I love photography so much, to capture these moments that are gone in the blink of an eye.
The All Stars tournament was very exciting for Matthew. He got a snazzy new jersey with his name on it! His number has been the number 1 every year that he has played baseball and he got to keep that number for All Stars as well. I loved seeing both of the boys in their uniforms, they always look so cute. It was definitely neat to see Matthew wearing a jersey with his last name on the back.
I'm a proud mommy :-)
If enough kids in his age group sign up we will be starting baseball again in the fall for "fall ball" and if not then it will be Spring time again by the time we get around to more baseball. Until then, we have a lot of things to look forward to and I can't wait for everything we have coming up.
Friday, July 22, 2011
thoughts
I love black and white photography and I love my family, so I decided to write a poem about them both. Here it is
I see in a filter of black and white
Like some long forgotten movie or a dark starry night
The most ordinary things are beautiful here
And the light that shines through the dark makes even little things clear
It captures the things so often unseen
Like that indescribable moment just as you wake from a dream
Words alone could never show these treasures most might never see
Like the veins in an Autumn leaf
Or the majesty of a worn out key
Like the wrinkles I love at the corner of your eyes
Or the joy of our sons successes after so many tries
Looking through something so small has given me a bigger view
Though I could search all the world and I would still come back to you
My husband and sons, my favorite subjects indeed
For you three boys are all this heart is ever going to need
I see in a filter of black and white
Like some long forgotten movie or a dark starry night
The most ordinary things are beautiful here
And the light that shines through the dark makes even little things clear
It captures the things so often unseen
Like that indescribable moment just as you wake from a dream
Words alone could never show these treasures most might never see
Like the veins in an Autumn leaf
Or the majesty of a worn out key
Like the wrinkles I love at the corner of your eyes
Or the joy of our sons successes after so many tries
Looking through something so small has given me a bigger view
Though I could search all the world and I would still come back to you
My husband and sons, my favorite subjects indeed
For you three boys are all this heart is ever going to need
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Father's Day!
This sunday, June 19th is Father's Day. It's time to celebrate Dad! I feel very fortunate that my sons have such a wonderful daddy. From the moment we knew I was pregnant with our first son, Matt had a connection with Matthew. He would talk to my belly and Matthew would kick like crazy when he heard daddy's voice. Now, here we are with 2 sons that just adore him.
Matt is a great dad for all the things he does from the little things to the big things. He is their biggest fan when it comes to sports, from helping out their teams to practicing with them in the yard. He is proud of their accomplishments at school and helps with their homework and projects. He attends and participates in every cub scout meeting. He dances to silly songs, plays funny games, and is the best water balloon match player you've ever seen.
I have so many wonderful memories and moments that I will never forget. I know the boys feel the same way. It makes me so happy for them to have such a loving, caring, and involved dad. I know that when they become dads themselves they will know exactly what a great dad should be, because they have the best one around.
Matt is a great dad for all the things he does from the little things to the big things. He is their biggest fan when it comes to sports, from helping out their teams to practicing with them in the yard. He is proud of their accomplishments at school and helps with their homework and projects. He attends and participates in every cub scout meeting. He dances to silly songs, plays funny games, and is the best water balloon match player you've ever seen.
I have so many wonderful memories and moments that I will never forget. I know the boys feel the same way. It makes me so happy for them to have such a loving, caring, and involved dad. I know that when they become dads themselves they will know exactly what a great dad should be, because they have the best one around.
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