Caleb's Big Day

Today you get 2 versions of the day's big activity... Doug's and mine.

Doug's version... Wow--my man Caleb "The Hulkster" was on fire today for his first ever wrestling match. He has been so excited to have his first match, and since several were cancelled, today was his BIG day. He made the most out of it by taking 1st place and going a perfect 3-0 on the day. I am very proud of Caleb. He has learned so much from his coaches since he started practicing a month ago.

Caleb was so excited that he called nana, papa, grandma, grandpa, aunt Amanda, Uncle Darryl, and his cousins Jacob and Josh on the way home to tell them the news. Kate nearly "lost her lunch" because of her nervous stomach, and as you can see in the picture she could hardly watch. I stood on the side of the mat each match and yelled and screamed. It was great and brought back memories from my high school coaching days. It sure was fun!

It was a great day! I am proud of you "Hulkster". I can't wait until next Saturday for our next match. Dad

And here is mine... Okay, I admit that back in October I suggested to Caleb he should try wrestling... I felt comfort in the fact that he would compete against others his exact size. And since the last wrestling event I had watched was at least 8 months before that, well I forgot the realities and, well, when your own "baby" is the one competing, the realities are so much worse... a practice room that smells so bad I only peek in, kids throwing each other down full force, and coaches that demand far more than I as a mom think my child can handle.

So he has been practicing for two months and LOVES it! Two times a week he comes home exhausted but thrilled! Well, today was his first tournament and Doug and I just prayed that by the end of the day, he would still want to wrestle. We told him we wanted him to try his best and that since he was new, he shouldn't be hard on himself if he didn't win. I thought I was going to get sick when I saw his number posted as the next one up.

Well... he won all three of his matches and finished 1st in his weight class!!! I never knew he could be so aggressive (I did watch... the picture is staged). He won all three by points and beamed with pride after each one. Yeah for Caleb! And yeah for his coaches, who are so encouraging and positive with him.

I was so busy packing a bag of activities to keep the others busy for the long day in the bleachers that I forgot the camera, so yeah to the mom who let us use her camera and emailed us the pictures! ~ Kate

Snow Day!

We finally had a little snow yesterday, most of which is gone today. The kids enjoyed the little time they had by making a snowman and snow boulders which I think were a start to a snowman that they never finished. Now they are the only outside reminder of yesterday's weather... the yard is green and brown again.

It was sleeting when the snowman picture was taken and so I only took one shot since I like my camera so here it is complete with Daddy's closed eyes and Brynn crying because she was cold.

Caleb and I chose to stay warm inside. I say, bring on Spring!

Calm Before the Storm

The day after Christmas Doug and I went on vacation together… no children. We are so grateful to his sister and her family for volunteering to watch our kids for the 6 days we were gone. We went on a cruise, which was the one thing on Doug’s “to do” list before the craziness of the coming year began (I’ll be explaining those plans in a future post); my “to do” was to lose 15 lbs and let’s just say I choose to begin that plan after the cruise).

We had a great time. We went with another couple (who left their three children at home too). My favorite part was being able to sit at a meal and eat without having to make 5 trips to the bathroom, without having to fuss at someone for continued use of the word “poop” and without needing to play 20 rounds of tic-tack-toe and losing on purpose. It was so nice have so much to do right there at our fingertips but to also have the choice to do nothing.

But next cruise, which we anticipate to be about 10 years from now, we both plan on making it to the top of the rock wall.

Happy New Year!

There has been so much going on here (and out of town) that I am a little behind. So I will start with Xmas. We spent Xmas Eve at my parents... making the long trek one street over for a fine feast of seafood. Xmas morning was first at home with Doug's parents, then to my parents where my brother, sister-in-law, and there two boys were, and then to Doug's sister's for lunch (she lives in our town too). It was fun and festive and not too hectic. Price got up at 2:30am ready to go... NOT HAPPENING! Evan got up at a decent Christmas morning hour and Brynn, well, we eventually woke the sleeping beauty up. Not pictured but favorites were Price's electric guitar, Evan's puzzles, Caleb's MP3 player, and Brynn's Pet Shop toys.