*11*

My darling Andrew turned 11 and on that very day he was wondering if he could watch an unscreened PG-13 movie because he "was a preteen you know."

He didn't get to watch the movie despite his new found maturity.

He did get some gifts that made him pretty darn happy though.





How I love this little boy.

He is thoughtful and sensitive and absentminded and moody and goofy. He is very black and white. There are times when I wonder how much emotion can fit inside his body without it oozing out his pores.

Here is to many happy years to come.

*playoffs vs bingham x 2*

The Saturday of the playoffs was of course the only Saturday we had terrible weather. I think Mother Nature likes to test us every so often and see who the die hard fans are.

I am happy to say that we passed her test.

Although there was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, once the sun came out it really wasn't too cold.



We came prepared though. I think these boys had 4 or 5 layers on, blankets, hot cocoa, and a space heater. They were pretty darn comfy. I threatened them before the game however that if one complaint left their lips it would not be recognized because everyone was going to be suffering.

I need to threaten that more often. I did not hear one peep from any of them.


When did Nick's legs get so long and lanky?


Bringing down a couple guys. Here...


... and here.


I don't want to wish snow at every game but it did keep the boys entertained the entire time building little snowmen and forts. And warm. The layers started peeling off as the game went on.





Another tackle...





If you squint really, really hard you can see that Nick trying to catch a pass (right in front of #41) and a Bingham guy is jumping in front of him. This would have scored a TD in regular play but a pass interference was called putting the game into overtime.


Herriman scored a TD on the third down in OT and although Nick missed this catch for the extra point, I think it is a pretty cool picture.


Bingham tried to score on their 4 downs but I am proud to say that Nick stuffed his guy causing a fumble and one of our players landed on the ball. Herriman won 6-0.

What a sweet redemption. Bingham was one of the two teams we lost to this season. The other team we lost to, Alta, lost to Stansbury so we will be playing Stansbury for the CHAMPIONSHIP!

Andrew was able to have every boys' dream come true and play in a big mud puddle for his football game. He also played Bingham--the very team they lost to the week before.



Andrew was an animal looking for the kill. He played so hard and had some awesome highlights.


Like this sequence of pictures. He is on the far right...


...coming closer...


...got him...


...and brought him down.



Another great play...




This picture makes me so happy! They won the game in overtime 12-6 (I know, two overtime games in one day. I was exhausted!) and they were jumping all over the place.


On to the CHAMPIONSHIP against Alta!




The fact that they won makes it a little easier for me to TACKLE the challenge of getting this dirt out of his uniform.


That pun was totally intended. You're welcome.

*fright night weekend*

Football games.

N vs Copper Hills (missed this one but very dramatic with two players and two coaches from Copper Hilss being ejected and a mom and a brother of one of said players taken off the field in handcuffs)

A vs Bingham (a loss but they meet again in the playoffs!)


Pumpkin patch.


Trunk or treat.



School parade.




Carving pumpkins.






Spooky dinner. Blood soup with eyeballs. Witches broomsticks. Apple cider.

Trick or treating.

And the only picture I got of Luke in his full costume.




Happy Halloween!

*fall break*

This was the boys' first break from school and it was welcomed wholeheartedly.

I think I look forward to these breaks more than the boys do. But now that Liam has had a taste of a long weekend, he tells me quite frequently "Mom, I need a fall break." We just had UEA, parent teacher conferences, and Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up so I think he will be pleased that his wish will come true.

Nick went fishing with friends on Thursday and slept over while the other boys went to various friends' homes to play. The next morning Luke had a scout activity at the zoo and since Andrew, Liam, and I didn't have any plans, we decided to tag along.

There aren't very many animals left at the zoo. But the ones that are there were active and enjoying the beautiful late fall weather.

This monkey was swinging everywhere and carried his baby doll in his toes.


The boys rode the merry go round.




Went into the stinky reptile house.




Watched the tigers for a while. It was feeding time so this one was gnawing on some bloodied limb of what looked like a rabbit. It actually made me a little nauseous so I went to take pictures of the other cats hanging around.




We told Liam that giraffes have purple tongues so he wanted me to take pictures of it.






That night Andrew and Liam had a dress up Halloween party at their friend's house and they both had a fantastic time.

The next day we filled our time with football games. Nick played against Stansbury and Andrew's opponent was Hillcrest.

Nick's game gave me heartburn. It was a well played game for both teams and we went into overtime with a score of 0-0. We were able to score on our second play of overtime and hold Stansbury to win the game 7-0.

A great catch by Nick.










Andrew's team beat Hillcrest. They have been playing so well lately!



It is crazy to me that there is just one more week of football season left! But after today's wins, both of the boys will be in the playoffs so we have at least one extra week if not two. I love football but I am ready to have my family get back to normal and have our weeknights and Saturdays back for a little while until spring.

Justin took the older three boys hunting after the game so Liam and I hung out at my parent's house for the night.

There is only 10 more days until the next break. I think we can make it.