Week in review…

Ok, this is how my kids differ from me. Gabe came home very tired and very discouraged when we got home late from his soccer game on Friday night. He was sad and truly upset and exhausted. Like fetal position on the couch sad and exhausted. But before going to bed he remembered that there was a 5k Saturday morning (which he hadn’t signed up for, mind you). Now when I am upset and exhausted pretty much the last thing on my mind at 10:30pm on a Friday night is the thought of getting up early on a dreary Saturday morning after a strenuous week of daily soccer/cross country practice, a cross country meet and a soccer game…in order to run a 5K for which I have not signed up for. Yeah. I can confidently say that it at that time of night, in that state of mind, running an early morning race would be approximately 2 places higher on my list as signing up for a non-mandatory root canal or deciding to clean out my garage. But he did it and he did it so well. Gabe is awesome.  It’s a known fact.
And check out his finish time. I can only dream.  Not too darn shabby for his tired little legs.

Benj went through traditional shearing of the head ..required of the high  school soccer team…
Before (Sniff)                      During                                  After

(Poor Benj has a pretty grueling schedule, since he is now getting up for early morning seminary and playing soccer every day.  On Tuesday he left the house at 6:15 for seminary and got home around 10:30pm after an away game.  That’s a long day with a lot of living packed in between. Which explains the car catnaps.  I love that he even sleeps in his crouched bushman pose). Benj never whines about everything he has to do and he never slows down or blows anything off because he is too tired. Another child who does not mimic me in any way.
Ella showed Finny some new tricks on the computer. (Sitting on the couch in front of a computer..ah yes, at last- there are my genes!)

Gabe at his cross country meet (he’s the one NOT in focus here..unlike the bus..which is crisply in focus-thank goodness!)

Gabe’s soccer game (where mom took more really terrible  token pictures).  This week wasn’t my finest hour, photography wise. Or really life-wise…but more on that in the next post.
 
Finny had a game at which I took moderately better photos (I seriously cannot get enough of the intensity on his little baby face when he plays. I imagine it will soon go from really cute to really intimidating. That kid means business.)


Gracie started playing the cello….she is so excited! We now have a string triplet  I just remembered while looking at these pictures that when Aaron and  were first married we saw some beautiful blonde little girls playing the Christmas carols at a department store while we were Christmas shopping in Salt Lake City.  I thought that they looked so impossibly ethereal and lovely. And now I have my own beautiful blonde little girl playing the cello. Life can be incredibly cool.

Ella mastered the coy royal wave from afar..don’t you want to eat her? Too bad! I already did. She was DE-licious.

And confirmed her status as Daddy’s Girl.

She also had a terrible cold..(yep I really jinxed us all by talking so happily about the 15 months of perfect health) and so she spent a lot of time in our bed or on the couch instead of her cribs for naps. (I would be lying if I didn’t say I kind of loved it..not the being sick part of course..it was just so sweet to watch her sleep again..)

In between all of this, everyone had school, piano lessons, church (Benj gave a really good talk last Sunday on the importance of education. I was so impressed!) and you know…chores…tail gating, eating and occasionally sleeping.  There is a lot of action coming out of this little hub of a house once the school year starts. We’re starting to hit our stride but I’m already ready for Thanksgiving break…or you know… TWO WEEKS IN SOUTH AFRICA…because check out what else happened this week…

YES!!! Whohoooo! Now I can focus all my energy on freaking out about leaving my family particularly my BABY for 2 weeks.  AAAAACK….That and flying for 18 hours…always my favourite activity.  The excitement is still far outweighing the nerves though. I haven’t been home in over 5 years! So excited to see my lovely country, my family, friends, meet my sweet nephews and see my baby sister get married. AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! AWESOME OVERLOAD.  Oh! And EAT! I get to eat again on the day that I leave…in TWO .WEEKS. We have been on the hateful diet for 3 weeks now and I must say..it hasn’t really been that bad at all this week. I still miss the normalcy of eating..well, normally but it’s not a big dramatic deal anymore. I’m not at all hungry, and it is extremely effective.  Aaron in particular looks so different! He is down about 30lbs in total. I am wearing clothes 3-4 sizes smaller than I was. I still have some to lose but I’m starting to feel more like myself and that is a great feeling. I don’t have great confidence in maintaining any loss that I  leave the country in a couple of weeks because.. South Africa? They have good food man. And I plan to eat every single thing they have to offer.
Anyway..I must say…my kids really have to stop doing stuff for a while so that I can turn this blog back over to some serious navel gazing.  Folks, I am feeling as it is long long overdue time for a character overhaul. I have come to the uncomfortable realization that I am not moving in the right direction as an individual..things need to change.  But change is so hard! Especially when you are inherently lazy, and impatient and judgmental and short tempered and hormonal and moderately insane but change must come. It simply must. I do not like who I am lately and I have a feeling that getting my soul back in shape is going to be a lot harder and more painful than even the HCG diet. But I’m also certain it will be a lot more rewarding.
Enough! More later! You have been forewarned.

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