Pirate Ball!

After each practice, the coaches award a "Pirate Ball." Today, D-man was the recipient. The coaches commented how he never complains and how hard he worked on all the drills today. Unfortunately, he wasn't focused on all the positive, but bummed that he didn't get to practice at wide receiver at all today (the position he wants to play.) But, later in the evening he was proud of the Pirate Ball and even slept with it. We just keep focusing on telling him how proud we are of him, how hard he is working, and that we love him. This entire football experience is definitely a journey for him, and us. 

Simple Pleasures

This afternoon I am truly thankful for some simple pleasures. And when you think about it, all these small things add up to make life pretty darn good. 

1. Being close enough to the school that D-man can leave the after school program and bike home. 

2. Knowing the D-man can be home without me at the house and be ok. 

3. Walking into the house and having D-man with all his football gear on and doing his homework (without even being asked!). 

4. T-man so excited that it is raining so he can use his rain poncho part of his backpack. 

5. Signing T-man up for soccer with 5 boys from the neighborhood. 

6. Sitting on the front porch enjoying a glass of vino and taking it all in. 

Weekend Wrap-up

Two movie nights. 

Marshall ran a 5k cross country race. 

I ran an NWU lend-a-hand Day. 

1st football game for D-man (he was a captain). 

D-man had a birthday party.

Two afternoons at the pool with friends. 

Fantasy football draft for me. 

Busy weekend, but still time to chill out at home. 

Team Dinner

Every Thursday night during the season, the 9-year-old Pirate Football Team has a team dinner. The first dinner was held at the coach's Dad house. These pictures don't do the view justice, but the deck, yard, and view were amazing. D-man actually commented that Nana could sit on the deck all night. 

We had a nice time and it was good to meet some parents. The team was horsing around and overall, D-man is not good at this and only had an ok time. He's also very bummed as he is not a starter and we had tears last night. It's a lot of work and it's hard not being the best. Wish us luck tomorrow. 

First Day of School

Boys were up early. Walked with a bunch of families to school. Loved that Marshall was one of 4 Dada in the group. Here's to a great year! 

The Last Day of Summer

It's truly hard to believe the boys start school tomorrow. Today was such a typical summer morning for us - me working early, one boy sleeping in, and taking them to camp late. But then I picked them up early and we headed to the school open house to meet their teachers (which I've been told are both very good) and drop off supplies. The boys were most excited to see their SAC (after school program) leaders.

We then headed to Denver to meet our old nanny for an early dinner. We met on Broadway and then walked a few blocks (always an opportunity for life education when walking on Broadway) to a cute pizzeria. D-man was quite impressed with the atmosphere and the service. T-man picked out the coolest shaped table in the place. And yes, that is a Denver police office paying for his pizza in the background. 

We runs walked back down Broadway and went to Sweet Action ice cream which has some ridiculous flavors - I had Stranahan's Whiskey Brittle and Maggie had Honey jalepeno pickle! It was so great to catch up with Maggie on her brief stop in Denver. She spent the summer traveling throughout Europe and spent the last 6 walking across Spain! Now she is off to graduate school in Ireland. Oh to be 22 again! 

It was a bittersweet night tucking in the boys. While the school year will bring routine back to our lives, it signals another summer in the books. When I tucked in D-man, he said it will be tough to beat this summer. T-man asked why the summer went so quickly, but the days go by slowly. It is so true T-man, the days are long, but the years are short. I got a little misty-eyes tucking my little guy in - just a reminder of how lucky we are to have such wonderful boys. I think the rainbow on our drive home was a reminder of the amazing summer we had.

Engagement Couples

We hosted the "engagement couples" tonight. It was fun to show off the new house and catch up with all of them. From showing off our ugliest wedding gift the first time we got together to showing off our kids, my how things have changed.

 

Louisville Street Faire

For 9 Friday nights in the summer, Louisville holds their Street Faire with free music, food stands, adult beverages, vendors, and a kid zone.  Tonight was the last event for 2013 and we had yet to be to one. So, we headed downtown around 7 and had a great time. Good food. Good beers. Hamster ball. And we even got to enjoy a few minutes of the free music (even though that was the most boring part according to T-man). 

A great way to kick off the weekend before school starts.  

What a Difference a Year Makes

A year ago this week we were selling our house, putting everything into storage, and moving into an apartment. Wile the journey took some unexpected turns, the end result has been great. We are very happy to be in Louisville (just announced as the 2nd best small town according to Money Magazine). We, of course, think it is great! 

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/best-places/ 

And today I'm thankful for a beer on the deck, cooking a meal with veggies from the Louisville Farmer's 

Market, and alfresco dining withy the family. It's good to be home. 

A 2-Mile Hike

An impromptu hike after breakfast. So great that this trailhead is only 10 minutes from our house. 

A Parent's Dilemma

This week D-man started to play tackle football. Although Marshall and I were not at all excited about him playing, with our football craziness  - we love college football, cheer on the Broncos, and I'm in two fantasy leagues - it's not surprising he wants to play. Last year when we watched the Louisville Parade of Lights, he saw the Louisville Pirates' float to by and told me "I want to play for them." There was likely no going back. 

On a positive note, we got the last remaining spot on the team. On a negative note, we got the last remaining spot on the team. 

D-man is one of 3 new kids on the team so it has been rough first week. After the first practice, he stated it wasn't what he thought it would be (even though we talked to him about the drills, how hard it would be, and the likely stern coaches. 

I cried on Monday night as I worried how my gentle-souled son was going to be "coached" to be aggressive. He's already going to grow up too quickly and here we are sending him off to grow up even faster. 

It's now Saturday morning and I've already dropped off D-man at his 8:00 practice - the 4th of the week (I guess I should be happy it's not every day practice like swim team). He's pretty quiet about practice and last night couldn't get to sleep. Part of me wants him to love it because it is so hard to see your own child so dejected. But, part of me wants him to get it out of his system and move on to the next thing. 

It's only the first week so we will see what happens. In the meantime, we will support and nuture our son and hope for the best - whatever that might be. 

Nature Camp

Boys finished up Nature Camp in Boulder. I realized this is kind of ironic given they have been at lakes 3 weeks this summer. But it is never bad to do more fishing, canoeing, and learning slack lining. 

Lakeside Amusement Park

The boys earned their Lakeside Amusement Park tickets through the library reading program. Tomorrow is the last day they are valid so we had to squeeze in a trip this week. It was a gorgeous evening and the lines were almost nonexistent. I always enjoy strolling through the park trying to think how the park was in its hey day. 

The favorite ride? One of the few pre-WWII roller coasters still in operation: the Cyclone. Old school fun. 

 

Count your Blessings

After a wonderful weekend with Marshall's family, there are several reasons to count our blessings. 

1. Lucky to have such a great extended family to laugh with, tell stories with, and have fun with. 

2. To have such a special place toast memories with the boys and their uncles, cousin, aunt, and grandparents. 

3. To have a beautiful last day at the cabin for tubing, paddle boarding, and hanging in the sun. 

4. To not have anyone sleeping in the tent last night when a dead tree came crashing down. 

5. To have flexible jobs that have allowed us to have another amazing summer and two boys that can live out of suitcases and sleep just about anywhere. 

Record-Breaking Day

It started raining on Thursday night and didn't stop until Friday afternoon. Te amount of rain that fell was a record for August 2nd in Coeur d' Alene. 

We survived by drinking beers in the rain, cooking, playing cards, and watching a movie. We tried to venture out in the boat, but it started raining harder as we attempted to  leave. By 4:00, the rain stopped and we ventured out to paddle board, kayak, and  wade. This was followed by warming up in the hot tub. 

The weather definitely made for a lazy day at the lake. 

21.5

Today's blog could have had a number of titles, but I stuck with the main activity of the day: biking. After a morning rain shower, D-man, Marshall, and I biked 15.5 miles from Plummer to Harrison. It's 7 miles downhill and then flat for he next 8 miles. It was a chilly ride, but a great day for a bike ride. We then picked up T-man and biked about 3 more miles in and them 3 miles back. Not surprisingly, he wasn't terribly excited about going, but we had a great time and wrapped up the trip with ice cream. 

The sun actually came out and happy hour on the dock with some sun. During that time, Uncle Matt showed up and they went "hunting for fish." It was quite funny to see this fish attacking Matthew and them all trying to catch the fish. 

The evening wrapped up with a nice hot tub under the rain on a cool evening by the lake.