Earning Wings. . .

Big Week. . . 

First of all, 

McCade's Team

Won!

He could have had wings that night, he was so darn happy.

(Mom with an attitude here for a moment)

I was getting a tad bit jumpy. The enitre first half went by and Mac didn't play except for kick off and kick off return.

I did learn something I didn't know though.

1) He is a better team player than I thought. He didn't say a word about not playing the first half.

2) He can CATCH! He was helping the QB warm up the first half. Had no clue he can catch. Must work on that. . . 

3) HE CAN THROW! He threw every pass back with a perfect spiral. 

Gotta find him a football position that requires less thinking.

He does amazing athletic things when he isn't thinking too hard.

Seems to be a family problem. . . 

Oh buddy, please stay home!

That ball is so enticing. . . 

Love the stripey socks!

If you count the spring season (that was hard and long), they broke an 11 game losing streak that night.

Hoo and Ray!

The other earned wings this week come from Dallin.

It was the EAGLE PROJECT!

On my birthday we drove up and got the 'before' pictures.

 The project was to take things like this and install stairs to prevent injury. They have had several injuries at Camp Cumorah. It gets wet, and people fall. 

This is Kenny who runs the camp. He is a very nice man.

They had cut temporary stairs, but they needed something more permanent and durable.

In the end there were 4 sets of stairs that needed to be installed, as well as 25-28 stairs.

He sat down with his Eagle Project Coach, his Dad, and drew a map and planned it out.

He got volunteers. He talked to them and planned what needed to be done.

We didn't help except when given a specific assignment by Dallin.

You see, an Eagle Project isn't about work, it is about leadership and planning. 

We couldn't help him unless asked. 

It was hard to watch him struggle, especially when he talked in front of groups and the inevitable brain freeze happened.

We didn't step in. We let him struggle. 

Sometimes he pulled through, sometimes he failed. 

But the struggle was his as we wanted the award to be.

That day an army went to work.

He made sure they knew where to work and what to do.

He had them split into crews. 

One adult was in charge of each crew.

See that crew? The one working hard?

The one not sitting around and complaining?

Should I tell you there are two 12-year olds, one 13-year old and a 14-year old on that crew?

Not a video game, not an iPod, not one of them resting or complaining.

You know what I like best about this picture?

No adults.

Kids working.

Honestly working HARD!

Here he is, leading.

And when the work was done, we had lunch.

The boyscouts built the fire. I don't think any adults were actually paying attention to that. They heard the words 'hot dog roast', wandered off and found willows, whittled them down, started the fire and waited for me to produce the hot dogs and fixings.

The End Result:

This is the closest I come to a group picture.
We anticipated it would take up 5 hours to do the work. It took about 2 hours. Once it was done, the volunteers disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. 
I ended up with TONS of leftover food.

Scouts are told to 'leave no trace'.

We left a BIG trace.

But we also left the campground a much safer place.

Things I have learned:

1) The Eagle is the ONLY award given by the Boy Scouts of America that can be taken away - at ANY time. If you don't continue to live to the standards you promise to live, they can and will take it away. I have seen it. 

2) People want strong leadership. Strong leadership promotes hard work. Hard work promotes amazing results very quickly.

3) Dallin will be an amazing Eagle Scout!

Now we must finish the paperwork, and he must stand in front of the Board of Review and answer their questions and talk about his project. He will be asked about the scout law and the scout oath. He will be grilled.

Thinking on his feet isn't easy for him.

It will be hard for him.

I will worry and be stressed out.

He will do it, and he will be better for it because life is hard. 

We do hard things.

-danielle

Can I be in two places at once? PLEASE!

Okay,

If I were to be totally honest,

If I could be in two places at once I would wish to be in three or four.

There is just so much to do and dividing myself to hit the best things, since I cannot it all is never easy.

I am not sure I always get it right.

I am not sure I did it right this last week, but in the end everything worked out.

McCade had a football game.

I wish the coaches and the players would find a way to work together. The kids are trying, the coaches are trying but in the end they are all frustrated. It is not a good thing.

Emotions get wonky and things get worse.

I can't do anything to fix it, but I will keep hoping and praying McCade is learning something from this.

Even if it is exactly how he doesn't want to act to others.

We won't bother with the score, just drop some pictures.

That is him back there, #50, intense and ready to go.

He is the one with HEART on his team.

Jeez, I hope he grows. . . Although these will make for some funny pictures later on. 

See? Again the guy is much bigger than he is.

Okay, see the wrap on the leg? It is ice. I guess he got tangled and got someone else's knee in the side of his. He wasn't really that hurt, but I think with the yelling and lopsided score and frustration he had just had enough.

Shane went down to make sure he wasn't really hurt. After awhile I couldn't handle it anymore and told him if he was too hurt too play, that was his choice, BUT 

TO GET THE ICE OFF THAT KNEE!

He wasn't swollen. All that I was doing was stiffening up the bruise and slowing down the blood flow to help it heal. 

Then I asked him to consider going back out.

Ice came off.

He went out and played again, but not as hard as before.

But he did get back out there.

We will call it a little victory in the middle of a big loss.

See the look on Dallin's face?

Second from the left on the line, next to the guy in the red facemask.

That is the face of football.

#83, taking the guy down.

Now he has been added to the kickoff team.

(Do you LOVE the stripes on his socks? They make him look so cool!)

LOVE watching him play!

 

Tacey danced with the cheerleaders at homecoming this year. She is the one in the middle of the row on the 45 yd line.

Yep, the one you see get thrown around.

She replaced a teeny girl because she was the one able/willing/strong enough to do the tricks.

She was so excited, I was so happy!

(Well, not at the prospect of her falling on her head, but that she fought for what she wanted and got it!

(I didn't video this: couldn't be two places. Thanks to my Father-in-law for covering for me!)

That night was Homecoming.

Just like Prom, she went with Nick

More on that in another post. . . 

McCade took these, he did a pretty darn good job!

Nick wants to be a pilot, I think he was trying to look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun with those shades!

I just had to put this is. McCade kept taking pictures.

His brother wasn't all that happy about it!

Actually, both McCade and Dallin had been pretty amazing that day.

They both ran in the Spud Run 5K.
Dallin ran it in 23:39 coming in 10th overall, and 2nd in the 11-18 age division. 
McCade ran it in 24:06 coming in 14th overall, and 4th in the 11-18 age division.
Pretty darn good!

Why did I miss all this stuff?
Well, I was at a doTERRA convention. It was AMAZING. I came back with a whole new perspective, ready to find balance in my life. I goal is to sit down with each of the kids and make sure I understand what their goals are, what their priorities are. For a long time I have just assumed I knew what they are. It occurred to me that the contention in the house may be that I am not looking at things from their perspective like I thought I was. 
We are going to find out!
Then we are going to make goals as a family and work to help each other as well as ourselves.

I also learned that my current eating plan is probably responsible for every health issue I have. I currently can't eat anything other than dark leafy greens, fruits and whole grains without feeling guilty.
NEVER FEAR!
I am sure my over reaction will fade within the next few week and I will continue my love affair with brownies.

I also learned a lot of useful information about essential oils. It is very nice to feel empowered about my health and the health of my family.
-danielle

Can we PLEASE go back to summer?

Ugh, here we are already several weeks into school.

I want my summer back.

Now.

We had a very mild winter in Idaho last year, and I am seriously worried we are going to buried in snow this year. I am not looking forward to it.

We had our traditional summer vacation to California, it was so very needed. Shane didn't get to go for very long, and Tacey left early because she was worried about missing cheer practice.

Dallin, McCade & I stayed for a solid 10 days. It was wonderful.

But after we had been back a few weeks, and in an attempt to keep my tan and spend one more lazy summer day we went to Jensen's Grove. 

That is the Idaho version of a beach.

I took the kids right before school started for one last lazy-do-nothing day before the schedules of school kicked in.

Mac, my water baby was the only one who truly went swimming.

(I LOVE the water, but I restrict myself to pools & the Ocean. Those smaller bodies of water feel slimey to me. . . and when I can see the fish swim up to my leg I get weirded out. I can handle dolphins and sea lions, not so hip on those guppy-looking things.

Tacey brought her buddy, Abbey. Silly girls.

Dallin looks like this a lot, but even he enjoyed getting a bit of sun.

He even tried to catch those guppy things. ICK!

But then it happened. We had to go to school.

I think I dislike it more than they do!

Bic Mac, first day of 7th Grade.

Dallin is getting very big. I think I need to start taking his picture while standing on a stool, he is so tall now.

Pretty soon I will only be able to get pictures up his nose.

Dallin, first day of 8th Grade.

Tacey was ready for the beginning of her Junior Year. She is ready for a year of cheerleading and having a very busy social life, but not really looking forward to actually going to class and doing homework and stuff.

So here we are, almost a month later. 

Good news is we have all 'A's with one pesky 'B'.

Not bad for 22 classes between the three of them 

Lets hope that keeps up!

-danielle

Blood, Sweat and Bows

Okay, the continual catch-up! 

Last fall Dallin & McCade played football. I really wasn't sure what to expect. The previous seasons had been fun, if not frustrating. 

But THIS was the year it all changed.

Dallin made up his mind, and when that kid makes up his mind it happens. He isn't vocal about it, he doesn't even expect anyone to notice. 

But notice - that is what the coach did. 

Dallin decided that he really loves football, and that he really wanted to play A LOT.

He went from the kid in the middle of the crowd, to the kid first after very drill. He quit letting himself get manhandled and PUSHED BACK. He quit being nice on the field and got physical. 

And man-o-man, did it surprise the heck out of his coach.

It surprised him so much that he took us aside and asked us what we had done.

Nope, can't take the credit for it, the kid did it ALL BY HIMSELF.

By the end of the season, they were undefeated and playing in the championships and Dallin had been a starter

ALL SEASON LONG.

He played right guard. Truth be known, he was so fierce the first few weeks of practice that the kids who's spot he took quit football altogether.

(This is last year in a short series of pictures)

In the end, Dallin's team lost the championship not because the other team was better, but because they simply ran out of time to play. 

He also played football this spring with the team a grade older than he is. Which means the kids he played with less than 12 weeks ago are now the top-notch Freshman Team.

I haven't been to many of his practices this year. I used to go because that was the only time I could see him play because he didn't play much in games, but that is no longer the case.

Shane & I stopped by practice the other day to see how things were going and the coach took us aside again. 

Again he praised Dallin. 

He said there has been no doubt about his ability to execute. 

In addition he says he is a SMART player - like guys that he played with in college.

Dallin knows the plays, he knows the game and he gets his job done.

Even when the guy opposite him is more than twice his weight.

(As was the case at his first game).

I wasn't there, I was at McCade's game.

(This is them practicing this year. See how much BIGGER they are????)

But Dallin's team won

34 - 0.

Yep.

His coach had never lost a game and only knew championships until this team. Last year we came close. 

Oh, how I hope they can give the coach a championship this year. 

They have worked for it.

They are working for it .

Lets hope they do it!

It would be a great way to end Grid Kid.

McCade also didn't play a lot the first year. He had a coach that had good intentions but a large team. He was also familiar with several of the kids because he had coached them for years in wrestling. 

McCade didn't see much playing time.

But then even more kids signed up forcing them to split the team.

Boy howdy, did he play after that!

Funny how things work sometimes. . . 

All but 2 of the starters ended up on the first team.

Mac ended up on the second team.

It was an inexperienced team, and they were thrown into the deep end of the pool.

They worked hard but didn't have a winning season.

Do I care? Maybe a little.

It is hard to see your child lose game after game.

But it really isn't about football in the end. It is about growing good people who learn team work skills. Learn to execute their jobs well. Learn how to handle large obstacles.

(Pictures of last year)

They played spring football, and improved though the score board and win-loss record didn't really show it.

Here we are again. But McCade has improved so much! In his first game (which they lost 42-6) they quit running the ball his way since he stopped it every time. 

I admit, it wasn't tackles.

He is still small so he grabs knees and ankles. Eventually they trip. . . and fumble the ball. 

Work with what you have I say!

 Seriously, he is small. . . look!

(Pictures of this year. . . he didn't grow, but everyone else did!)

Yes, that kid running towards him is in the same grade!

He still goes for it though.

He does get in his way.

There are a lot of things that are hard for this guy.

He throws fits and screams that the world is unfair.

Then he goes and tackles the big obstacles.

Football is good.

Tacey is loving cheer.

I guess that makes us the All-Mexican-American Family!

HAHA!

The neat thing about high school sports is that at the Varsity Level they broadcast them over the internet. It was lots of fun to know that her Grandparents were watching from San Diego!

She has the energy and attitude for cheerleading!

Yep. That is our super-terrifying potato mascot back there.

She got to throw cookies into the crowd. It seems she has forgotten how to throw. . . she found that extremely funny.

Getting ready to dance at half time

And here's the half-time show!

That is our theme: Blood, Sweat and Bows.

-danielle