thank heavens for 4 day weekends!!

We have had a GREAT 4 day weekend, although technically tomorrow will be the 4th day so I guess maybe it's too soon to sprout such accolades..

We went to the Hopkington State Fair yesterday, it was SOOO fun, the rides were NOTHING like the LA fair so the kids were satisfied with just riding a few, we did the petting zoo, saw all the live stalk and the high light of the day is we ate FRIED TWINKIES and a FRIED SNICKERS BAR... they were actually pretty good.. My fave was the Twinkies and we probably wouldn't have even tried the stickers but Hunter can't have Twinkies due to his wacko allergy to artificial whipped topping.. but it was a GREAT day and I'm so glad we did it!

on another high note BRAD MADE THE A TEAM... no he's not going to jump into a Black van with Mr. T and the rest of "that A Team" he made the Varsity squad of Soccer.. he was pretty convinced he would be on the B team when the coach was calling off the roster because he thought he was reading guys off in alphabetical order.. he was wrong.. he was last on the roster.. Brad ALSO knows he'll need to work VERY hard to keep his spot (the boys were also told they could be "traded" at anytime for a B team player)... He is on cloud nine and even texted ME to tell me before he got home from practice (a sign he was VERY excited for sure.. texting your mom is so not cool!)

So that's whats going on here..

ta ta

I'm not old enough to have a TEENAGER!!!

So I'm figuring with my HUGELY busy week I have ahead of me I'm posting this a tad bit early but I just had to recognize we will have a TEENAGER in our midst come Friday... Brad will turn 13~!!! I can't believe it.. I use to listen to people say "savor these moments because they go SO FAST" I'm here to tell you ITS TRUE!!! as you can see in the above picture he's gotten rid of the glasses and LOVES LOVES LOVES his contacts believe it or not when he got his contacts a few weeks ago we made him cut his hair (because with out the glasses the hair was way in his eyes!) but he got to choose the style and he has a DEFINITE idea of what he wants (kinda shaggy obviously).. I am so proud of this boy, he gave his first talk in Sac. Meeting last week and I know was SO nervous but did a GREAT job.. and he'll die if he reads this but HE SHAVED FOR THE FIRST TIME SUN ALSO!!! he's needed it for a while and would roll his eyes (another pass time of his) at me when I suggested to him and Ben that it NEEDED to get done.. He's VERY motivated (for the moment anyway) that he wants to go to BYU so he can snowboard on a REAL mountain (and ya know learn stuff too) so he KNOWS he has to get GREAT grades.. for some reason I've had the thought heavy on my mind that I only have 5 more years with him here at home.. and if these 13 years have gone by in an instant I can't think of the next 5... I just love this kid of mine that is now taller than I am and quickly catching Ben... I can't wait to see what is in store for him and I know he is capable of anything he sets his mind to!!!

on another note.. I'm not old enough to have a teenager.. I'm even willing to admit my and Ben's parents aren't old enough to have a teenage Grandson.. I think he was birthed in the woods or something.. that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!! HA!

ta ta

Teenage attitude

So far all is going OK with the Dog.. he's getting use to going potty outside and is having fewer and fewer "accidents".. Ben wasn't feeling well today and stayed home and actually said he was sorry he felt I was complaining and that being home with the puppy "IS WORK" DUH!!! but at least he gets now that when he walks through the door HE is asked to take the dog out feed him etc. etc.. same for the kids..

for the Teenage attitude.. everyone says teenage girls are AWFUL but let me tell you the teenage boy i'm living with at the moment is about getting ON MY NERVES!!! He's either SO angry he's going to pinch someones head off (usually MINE!) or so upset he's in tears and these conditions can be MI LI-seconds from each other... Tonight's attitude was sparked by the dishwasher breaking down and he being asked to wash the dishes by hand (OH THE HORROR) I didn't even tell him that we had no dishwasher growing up and there were TWICE the children and we didn't use paper plates REGULARLY (wasn't that nice of me?) he so happily (NOT) reminded me that it was SUNDAY when we break out the REAL plates which is why we hate him!!!.. which he knows that statement ("you hate me!!") sets me off (which, duh, is why he says it!) He is a great kid.. gets good grades (when he tries.. don't get me started on the d+ he got on the progress report that he's raised to a B in 2 weeks.. only the slightest of efforts)... He's quiet and shy but He is the first to help at church and fulfill his priesthood and quarm duties at church.. He's very motivated at the moment to get his scouting stuff done so he can eventually get his Eagle.. BUT it's days like today that I want to lock him in his closet and throw away the key until he's 20.. OK rant over.. there will be no closet locking today (besides the fact that the boys don't even have a proper closet) all I have to say is if girls are harder (I'M in REAL Trouble here!!!)

On a totally unrelated note
He wants to get contacts, someone out there help me.. I didn't wear glasses until I was married so when I got contacts last year it was swell but I'm totally not sure at what age it would good.. I'm worried he won't "take care" of them or he'll put them in or out of his eye with dirty fingers etc.. I kind of thought when he hit High School but now I'm thinking 8th grade??? maybe this is a question for the Dr... if anyone has any thoughts PLEASE comment!!!
Thanks for listening!!
Ta Ta

letter of the law vs. spirit of the law

So Brad has been ready to advance in scouting getting both is first and second class rank advancement oh for about 6 months now.. the hold up.. his scout leader was out of town the whole summer (he's a law student) THEN he was promptly released (AFTER he returned) and was hard to track down for a few months to sign his book and for some reason NO ONE else would sit down and talk with the boy and vouch that he had done these seemingly simple things (which in reality each individual thing was not so hard the on the hole was ALLOT).. ANOTHER hitch was our then scoutmaster was working a job where he was working tons of hours and wasn't available for many weeks then he moved leaving us with out a scoutmaster and the combo of it all put the whole program into kind of a tale spin.. we NOW finally have a new scoutmaster and the boys really like him but he's REALLY into scouting which on the whole is an AWESOME thing BUT he's also a stickler; in Brad's scoutmaster conference to get the for mentioned 1st and 2nd class rank advancements he asked Brad to show him some kind of knot which was passed off with a date way back in December of last year Brad couldn't show him the knot and so he wouldn't pass off the conference.. I was supportive of the leader in front of Brad saying "YEA you need to work on those" but REALLY FRUSTRATED with in my own mind and thoughts (don't worry i'm repenting)..
THANKFULLY in our scout committee meeting today I repeated a condensed version of the whole saga of why it's taken so long for Brad and some of the other boys to get these seemingly simple rank advancements completed and WHY some of the recollection of the elements of the advancements might be a little fuzzy and he understood and said he'd consider the scoutmaster conference done and let him advance BUT he'd still work on those knots with Brad because in his words "its ridiculous for a 1st class scout to not know the **whatever i can't remember the name** knot" in which I whole heatedly agree..

The other issue we have in the Fox home.. Ben didn't really do scouts he went to scout camp a few years in a row and got the EXACT same merit badges each year. he doesn't even remember what rank he made it to.. he was very into soccer and he had some leaders that insisted he choose which he did.. Soccer.. and so although we whole heartly support Brad and want him to succeed in scouting, it's as long as he's into it etc. we aren't going to be the type of parents who will prevent him from getting his drivers license or what ever else parents are doing these days to bribe their boys into getting their Eagles.. I want brad to get his Eagle as long as HE wants to get his Eagle.. enough said on that my only point with this is when I told Ben what our Scoutmaster said about the knot he basically said knots are knots who needs to know more than one way to get two pieces of roap to stick together.. then I reminded him that he knew several knots to get a fishing hook to stay on the line etc.etc.. he then gave me that look.. and said.. "those are useful knots!" HAHAHA!!! i guess you remember whats important to you..

So the lesson learned here.. I'm not quite sure yet.. that maybe the letter of the law is always good and OFTEN necessary.. but when a Mom pleads your case in regards to the Spirit of the Law and is NICE and not bit&&y then allot can get done...
ta ta

pictures

we are at the library this morning, so it's time to catch up on some pictures..
Ok just so it proves i'm not totally anti baseball.. i have taken pic's of the kids..
above: brad batting below Hunter catching...

above: Hunter getting batting tips from his coach.. he's all wet because it was the hottest day of the year so far (around 90) and the field we were at turned on the hose for the boys to cool off.. i wasn't too sure about this idea but in the end it was probably the best thing that could have happened..

above; here's KayLea batting and then her on first base.. below: she always holds her helmet because it almsot falls off everytime she runs..

Our life as we know it..

Well, Soccer is in full blow, Brad and Hunter both had great games today... Hunter's team got a butt whippin pretty fierce; he's got a pretty young team and allot of them have never played before so i think he's a little frustrated but we keep telling him it's important for him to be a good example to the younger boys.. but we lost count at 8-0.. Brad's team won and Brad got his 2nd goal EVER! (he got his 1st goal ever last year) he did an awesome job and really shined in the 2nd half.. he's kind of new at playing forward and he is shinning!!!

KayLea isn't playing quite yet, but she has a blast with this little boy Malcum (he's the cute blonde boy in the pic with all the kids) they have so much fun at Brad's practices (he's got a brother on Brad's team).. they are great friends!! it's very cute!

now for the weather.. Brad's game (which is not pictured today.. Brad's picture is from last week's game) it was cloudy and rainey and VERY COLD at Brad's game at Noon, come 3:00 for Hunter's game the sun came out so all of us who were sweatered down were roasting.. it's suppose to get down to 30 degrees tonight!!! Time to fill the Oil tank!!! Not looking forward to that but i'm kind of looking forward to the cooler weather!!!

ta ta for now!!!

How did this happen??
Bradley brought home today this program for "talented" kids.. i was thinking.. he just started Band how on earth would they know if he was "talented" and he's coming out of his shell but he still is one of the quitest, shy-est kids out there.. NO Talented means "SMART"... he scored in the top 98th percentile on the the necap (state standardized test) last year and in the top 97 percent in a Reading test they gave just for this program.. it's sponsored by John Hopkins University and i guess it's their alternative to GATE program (which is non-existant here) ther is an info meeting about it next week but the gist of it is they have a few after school "cram sessons" then go to take some test which could qualify them for Summer camps etc (braniac summer camp i'm assuming, science camp etc.) He really wants to do it (i think because his best friend Mackie is going to do it) and he's also very motivated by being one of the "smart kids" so i guess it's a good thing.. my only trepidation is that Standardized tests always freaked me out that i worry it's too much pressure for him.. if he stays in the program through out middle school 7th and 8th graders take the SAT or ACT (not the PSAT, PACT the ACTUAL COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM) and it's not cheep.. it cost's 35$ to apply then 50 for the test.. of coarse i have no clue how much the camp's are if he does get "invited" to any of those..
I guess i'm trying to remember that He isn't ME.. I wouldn't say school is a cake walk for him, he does great because he works very hard, but it comes to him way easier than it did for me...
I guess this is just another great adventure!!.. he and i had some time in the car last night while Hunter was at practice, he's turning into a great kid... i'm very lucky!!!
ta ta

1st day of School..

Went off with out a hitch, Brad isn't in the dark at the bus stop (at least until daylight savings next month).. and he loves his new school (until they switch to the new; new school in Jan or Feb).. this kid's schedule rivels any college one, they use a 6 day schedule and announce every morning which day they are on, for example, he only has band on day 2 and 4 but because he's on a 6 day schedule that means there will be the occassional week (probably every other) that he only has band once a week.. it's VERY ODD, the important stuff he has every other day, ie: math, science, etc. etc.. he's also taking International Language (I don't remember any language being offered when i was in 6th grade).. Brad seems very excited about the whole thing so i'm trying very hard not to completely freak out!! (at least in front of him!) the New Middle School is under construction and the word on the street (although no offical decision has been made yet) is that they will indeed witch mid year (probably jan or feb) i think it's fine because it will really only effect the teachers who will have to switch over their classes long hours etc. etc.. this middle school now is just falling down around them and is so outdated i think the sooner the better..

Anyway Hunter also had a great 1st day!! his comment was that his Teacher was allot nicer than everyone had told him, it's a good sign i think, and Hunter has resolved to have a new start this year and we've set some school goals right out of the shoot.. He's excited for them and he's also excited that if he keeps up with his goals he gets a later bedtime!!! so Hunter's Bus situation is hopefully going to get better, he was suppose to get home around 3:30 but didn't end up home until around 4:10 because he said of some "mis-placed" kids on his bus so hopefully it will all work it self out today...

KayLea was so excited for her 1st day at home with out the boys, i had my Visiting Teacher come by and she was down right rotten to her little girl (i think she was 18 or 19 months old).. it was very not like her because she usually loves the babies but she was not having it at all.. GRRRRR!!!

Pickin Blueberries

Well this morning we decided to go out and pick some blueberries.. the weather has cooled down a ton so it was such a great day to do this!!

the Kids had a blast, it didn't take long to completely fill our bucket.. i think we'll go a few more times the season ends Labor day so we have some time.. it wasn't the cheepest endevor but the blueberries are so good and it was only 1.80 per pound so it really wasn't too bad!

we had a great time!

the only down fall is that i lost my glasses.. i know your asking why wern't they on my face (something i'd ask the boys forsure!) well the sun was kind of glairing on my camera screen so i took them off so i could look through the viewfinder i slipped them over my shirt collar and they must have fallen off on our trek back to the booth to pay.. i've called them and left my number but i don't anticipate finding them.. oh, well i've been wanteing to get contacts anyway (although i really should have glasses also)..

Finally got the boys baseball pic's.. ok off in the mail they go to Grandparents... or maybe just to CA i'll bring them to AR with me net week...

I Survived Cub Scout day Camp!!!

Today was the completion of the Week of Cub Scout Day Camp... i survived my 5th year.. that's right i have been a Den Leader at day camp (in 3 different states) for 5 years and i have one more year... We all had fun.. KayLea had a blast at their "tot-lot" Bradley also had a blast, he got to hang out all week at the lake with the life guard.. he got to kayak (he wants one now!) Brad isn't a Cub Scout anymore but he's not quite old enough to be a youth leader (Den Chief) so we were so lucky that the life guard had his 11 year old son with him all week and so he was more than happy that he had someone to keep him company.. Bradley also earned his Kayak merit badge (yes, this lifeguard was one in a million!!!) although he can't technically be awarded it until he earns his 1st class (this is making Brad want to jump right on it!)... Hunter had so much fun his favorite was Archery and BB's... He also loved swimming (actually more like water play).. it was a great week..

Hunter making sawdust clay and doing the obstacle coarse

Brad Kayaking

KayLea during her skit (she was suppose to be scary.. i think it worked!) and her doing the obstacle coarse

That's all for now.. tomorrow is old home day we are suppose to get a couple of presidential candidates (tentative of coarse) and then a big fireworks show tomorrow night...

ta ta

Baseball has begun..

Believe it or not ALL 3 kids are playing baseball this season.. YES little KayLea is old enough to play T-Ball and although she wasn't sure about it all she shined today in her first game. She was so excited We found her a bright pink glove; a month or so ago we found a pink glove and then Brad said "hey it has an on/off button" we discovered it was complete with lights.. we passed on it (with KayLea in tears leaving the store) knowing KayLea would be paying way too much attention to her "light up glove" rather than the game.. so She was delighted when we found a Pink glove minus the lights. KayLea's team is the "Mini Pines" all the T-Ball teams are tree names.. very cute! She is very into it which is good because i was worried she wouldn't want to run but she even has stopped covering her face when she sees a ball coming her way.. remember baby steps!

The Boys are just as excited.. and Thankfully they are on the same team.. we had asked if this was possiable (technically Hunter misses the deadline by a few days but they over looked it since he was going up rather than down)... this will be so awesome that we only have to cart to two different teams rather than 3!

Bradley our lefty, has a great swing in him and is getting better at Catching... once he hits it you'd better watch out because he's pretty fast...

Hunter is excited to work on his running and is begging for a stop watch so he can run around the house and better his time.. He also has a great swing and although he doesn't really like running is learning that it's a necessary evil!..

Well this is our life for the next couple of months of saturday's (and tuesday nights for the boys)... i think KayLea only has 6 games but the boys have 8 and then play offs.. Oh YEA and the boys won their first game by a pretty great margin... KayLea's game they don't keep score and there isn't any outs or strikes (it really is great entertainment watching her team)..

(You can click on any picture to see a larger image)...

Pinewood Derby

Last night was pinewood Derby... both boys did pretty good.. they came in 7th and 8th out of 16 total, i think it was a good thing that they both came in so close to each other.. our biggest fear was that one would do much much better than the other... but they had a good time, Hunter is already stratagizing over what he'll do next year and Brad is a little sad i think that it was his last one!!! it was a fun night!!

Brad's car (grey shark) Hunter's Car (gold w/ stripes)

The proud dad w/ his boys!

one of the heats both boys raced in (one on each end)

Last day of Winter Activities

The boys have had such a blast doing Skiing and Snowboarding this past month... we got off to kind of a rocky start w/ not enough snow and it turned into a couple of cancellations because it was TOO COLD to go safely... Hunter today was ecstatic because he advanced enough to be able to go up the ski lift... Brad is getting good going down the "terrain" run where they have bumps and ramps for the snow boarders to "shred" down...

I have to say watching Hunter and Brad go down this huge run was a little UN-nerving but they are so good.. we are so lucky to be able to give them these experiences..

The boys going up the ski lift together

Brad "shredding" down the hill

Hunter going down the big hill

The big hill

My Winter Boys

Well today was only the 2nd winter activity sesson but the boys had a blast... we went and met them and they got to have some free time on the mountain we were so impressed with both boys!!! they both are so good... just another thing we are so thankful to be here... they are getting lots of great experiences we never got to have!!! i had some anxiety last year and i was afraid i would be a nervous wreck watching them but they were so good it made me very comfortable.. now we think we need to get them their own equiptment.. next year Hunter will be able to do Snow Boarding so it looks like we'll have to save our pennies and get them both snow boards and boots etc.. .. we might try to find a good deal at the end of the season...

Hunter speeding down the hill and then taking a rest while Brad took one more run... Brad hot doggin it down the hill then racing one of his friends.. they ended up tying!