Paul?

Alright, now it's Paul's turn.

Paul finished teaching the first Wednesday in June. Since I am working during the summer he gets to play Mr. Mom. I know this makes him feel bad, but I really think he got the raw end of the bargain! I come home every night to finished laundry, clean house, and dinner! It has been wonderful.

William picked up the boys this past weekend, so on Sunday, Paul drove to New Mexico to pick up Josh and Sierra so they could spend a couple weeks with their dad. We are really excited to have them here. I know the boys would be disappointed if they knew they were missing out, so we didn't really mention it to them. They really enjoy spending time with Josh, and Daniel LOVES his sister!

Paul cherishes any time he gets to spend with his kids. He got there on Sunday evening, and just hung out with the kids. On Monday morning Paul went with his Dad and Josh fishing. They caught 20 fish or so. They had a great time. Sierra didn't go. She informed her dad that she didn't get up until 9:30 a.m. so the fact that they were leaving HOURS before that, meant she didn't go.

Josh had a game that night, and they all went. Paul was able to be the guest coach that night, which I know meant alot to Paul and Josh both. Josh's team won easily.

Paul, Sierra and Josh drove back up here on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, Paul didn't get pictures, so I just had him go take some, and this is what he came back with......we are going camping this weekend so better pictures will follow.

Boston Red Sox

Today I will update on Jacob. He is also doing baseball this season. Unlike Andrew, he did do T-Ball and I believe Coach Pitch. Unfortunately, for the 2 seasons that I was divorced I was unable to sign him up. Money was especially tight in the summer! Anyway, this year he is also playing for Orem (See Andrew's update to why orem...)and he is really liking it. He is on the competition league, which he was very happy about. His coach told me that he could tell he was "cold", but that he could really see some potential with him. He has worked really hard at practices. His coach wanted him to start pitching, and asked if Paul would help with the practices when Paul's schedule allowed, to help out with the pitchers on the team.
Jacob has played really well. I remember at his very first practice, he hit the ball really well, his first time. He was convinced that it was because Paul picked him out the coolest bat ever! His next time up, you could hear the other kids whispering, "Oh, watch this kid hit!" and stuff like that. Unfortunately, it may have been beginners luck, because he wasn't able to hit it again that day like the first time.
He plays really well in his games. He has tried his hands a few times at pitching, but when he doesn't do very well, he gets sad, like he really let his team down, so he doesn't want to try it anymore. His coach puts him at 3rd base, and he seems to really like that. Paul will help out at the practices when he can, which is nice, that helps Jacob out. Like Andrew, he has a "pro" helping him. It gets a little rough sometimes, because some others will tell Jacob different, but this what Paul does, so he listens to Paul.
I do have to tell you some really exciting news about one of Jacob's game. Paul and I were sitting there, watching, Jacob was up to bat. All of a sudden, on the first pitch, Jacob hits a home run!! Not just any home run. It is high, and it goes way out of the park! It almost hits the score board, and some cars parked in the parking lot. It was really cool! There were some kids on his team that were practicing pitching, and they stopped when they heard the "buzz"..."Jacob hit a home run!" It was fun. I loved cheering him on through all the bases. He was so happy. His coach gave him his home run ball, and Paul and I bought a case for it. He labeled it in his room, (so one day when he is famous everyone will know when his first home run was). After the game all the other Moms and Dads on the team came up to JACOB and told him what a great hit that was, as it should be. There would have been no point to tell me...Jacob was the one that hit the ball! :-)) It was great night. It has been so fun listening to him afterward..."Mom, remember when I hit the home run?" and my reply, "Yes, honey, it was just an hour ago!" ;-) (These picture are 1- Jacob up to bat 2- Jacob playing 3rd base 3- Jacob scoring a run.)

P.S. These pictures were taken on Jacob's first game. This is the same field, however, that he hit his home run, and in the picture where he is scoring a run, you can see the score board in the background, and parking lot, where the ball landed.

New York Mets

Andrew is playing baseball this year. He decided against soccer, which made me a little sad because he soooo good, but I let him make that decision on his own. Actually, he had decided against playing any sports this season altogether, but after playing with a bat and ball in the front yard, and him hitting a ROCK pretty far, and mom getting upset with him for hitting a ROCK so well, possibly hitting cars or houses, he decided he was a pretty good hitter and wanted to play baseball!

I signed him up in Orem. I decided against Lehi because they wanted to charge Saratoga Springs residents and extra $32 to play, so instead of $65 for Lehi residents, it was going to cost me $97. Orem was $75. I am boycotting Lehi anyway, because they are charging us way more for everything, so I am just not using their facilities anymore.

Anyway, Andrew has really enjoyed playing. It is machine pitch at this age for him. He has never played t-ball, coach pitch, nothing, so this is pretty new to him, and he is doing really well. He really knows how to hustle. Paul and I are pretty proud of him and his effort. He looks very focused when he plays.

He seems to really enjoy being the catcher. I think he looks adorable, and that's all I look for, but Paul says that he actually is a pretty good catcher. I guess Paul would know. He works with the boys at their practices, and at home, showing them the proper way to hold the bat, throw, etc. They sure have enjoyed the fact that they have a High School Baseball Coach for a Stepdad. Between Paul and I, we have been able to make it most of the games, between Jacob, Andrew and Daniel.

How cute is he?

Soccer Season

Daniel was the only one this year that decided to play soccer. He has really surprised me. In the past, he kind of just chased his shadow. While some might contribute the fact to him playing better this year is due to the fact that he isn't playing with Andrew, I think that is absurd. Andrew never inhibited his playing before. Daniel is simply a year older, more coordinated, and enjoying it more. He is able to see the purpose of it. He was quite a little player. In one game, I believed he scored 5 goals! His last game was on Saturday, but I was unable to go to that one..."uninterrupted parent time" with William. So I didn't get to see him get his metal or watch play his last game, but I am sure that he wouldn't have disappointed! He was so funny when he would get tangled up with one of the other players, he was always so exaggerated with his fall. It would ALWAYS turn into a backward sommersault. During his first couple games, he would spontaneously do forward sommersaults, thankfully, not while he had the ball!

Phew!

I think I am about ready to start updating my blog...a little at a time. If I look at EVERYTHING I have to add, it will seem too overwhelming. Preschool is over for me, and has been since the 22nd of May. The 3 older classes had a graduation program. Normally this takes place outside, on my front porch. It's a pretty big front porch, and works perfect for a stage. Unfortunatelly, the weather this year decided NOT to cooperate. I ended up having to move the graduation inside. This wasn't as horrible as it could have been, since our house is now EMPTY of all the extra furniture, due to it being on the market. The kids adjusted pretty well to the change of venue and it didnt' confuse them that much.
The Tuesday after Memorial Day I started working at Utah Pet Center, as a receptionist. (The same vet clinic my dad is Medical Director of) I have actually enjoyed working with adults for the most part. I forget how petty they can be sometimes, but it's nice to be able to have a conversation with someone without having to interrupt and tell them to get their finger out of their nose. Friday, I cam home from work with a little bit of a cough, and pretty tired, but I didn't worry about the cough so much, and the fatigue I just figured was what I was in for every Friday after a week of being on my feet. (I try not to sit too much, get up and move around...I do some butt exercises...every little bit helps)
I woke up Saturday feeling pretty stiff, and knew that something wasn't normal. It got worse as the day progressed. By Sunday I was miserable, alternating between hot and sweaty, and turning purple I was so cold! I had Jeremy (Paul's 21 year old son) and Gary (one of my best friends hubby) come and give me a blessing. (Paul was in New Mexico picking up Sierra and Josh) For those of you that know me very well, I hardly ever ask for blessings. I was able to sleep pretty good that night, and actually woke up feeling pretty good Monday, but called in to work just in case I wasn't completely over it. I still had my cough, but my body didn't ache. By Monday afternoon, I was miserable again. Finally around 7:15 p.m. I called my mom and asked her if she would come take me to the after hours place by my house. The verdict...I have a pretty nasty viral infection. My fever was at 103. I asked if he could give me anything for the pain...percaset (forgive my spelling!) lortab, or lethal injection. He gave me lortab, and promised that was preferrable to lethal injection. He also told me not to go back to work until Thursday. So today I stayed home, got the fever thing going again, took meds to help that, and then decided to take a lortab so I could get some rest. Not long after, our realtor calls and tells me that some people would like to come by and look at the house...NOW. So I am woosy, trying to sweep, mop, vacuum, and do a little clean up. Thankfully Paul did a pretty thorough cleaning before he left. After I got done with the cleaning, my mom and Preston show up with a Sonic Drink for me, so that was much appreciated. I decided to hang out with my mom until the people came to look at the house.
Finally, I was able to get back into bed, and try to sleep, but my cough was bugging so much that that was almost impossible. Paul got home about 6:00 p.m. with Josh and Sierra. We are sure happy to have them with us for a couple weeks. I wish Jacob, Andrew, and Daniel could be here, but they are with William for a month, so they won't get to spend time Josh and Sierra this time around.
I am getting ready to take another lortab, and I took a cough suppressent, (Paul called the pharmacist to make sure it was ok) so I can get some rest.
I didn't intend for this to be this long. Hope you weren't bored. I will write more, with pictures, hopefully tomorrow. There has been SO much going on!