Logan's and Ella's Last Soccer Games

We just wrapped up Logan's and Ella's soccer seasons today while juggling Lia's two play productions of Disney's Descendants.  Needless to say, this has been the busiest fall of our family's career and Saturdays were often times the busiest day of the week when we had two soccer games, a cross country meet, and a play practice to get kids to and from.  As a result, Ron and I barely had the opportunity to sit together on the sidelines to cheer either Logan or Ella on at one of their games.  Usually, only one of us attended each of their games on Saturdays and a few times, neither one of us could make it.  Luckily, Logan totally understood and never seemed bothered by this.  Ella, on the other hand, was not happy the one time neither one of us could make it to her game and begged for permission to go to Lia's XC meet instead which is what actually ended up happening.  

Overall, this was a good soccer season for both of them.  Both kids were able to play on Coach Ben's team again who is the father of both of their good friends, Elise and Bennett.  In addition, they had one other really good friend (Madelyn and Benton) play on their team which made the entire experience that much more fun.  Logan's team actually finished off their season with nine wins and one tie which made them the champions for their rec league which is something that has never happened before for any of our children.  In addition, his team has played in two championship games, but since both of them were on Sundays, Logan had to skip them.  Luckily, the last game for the actual championship title is on Saturday, December 3rd, so he will be able to play in that one.  Logan had another great season playing both offense and defense, but offense still remains his favorite.  Since the competition is just getting tougher each year, he was only able to make one goal which was super exciting to see!  Sadly, Ron had just left the game less than five minutes earlier to get Lia off to play practice, so he missed seeing it.  Regardless, we are super proud of how hard he tried this fall and how well he played.

Ella continued to be one of the fastest and most aggressive players on her team.  Whenever I watched her play, I wondered if we are doing the right thing by not putting her in year round soccer.  She made a goal in almost every game she played in this season and was even told by Elise's grandpa that she "makes her own wind" every time she runs down the field which just cracked me up.  Sadly, Ella missed the last three games of her season.  The first game was the one that she begged to skip since we were all going to Lia's XC meet instead.  The second game she had to miss while staying at Chris' and Natalee's house for the weekend while Ron and I were in Pasco to watch Lia run at the state championship meet.  Ella was then supposed to go to her last game of the season today and celebrate with snacks and trophies that I provided for the entire team, but came down with some sort of sickness last night with an headache and neckache, a sore throat, and overall fatigue.  After putting her to bed early last night, we decided that it would not be a good idea for her to run around for almost in hour in 30 degree temperatures this morning.  So we kept her home to rest with the hopes that she would feel well enough by the evening to go and watch Lia perform in her play which luckily ended up happening.  So, I am sad that she missed playing in the last few games of her season, but I am grateful for the seven games that she did get to play in and the fun she had participating in her second season of rec soccer.

A picture I snapped of Logan and his good friend, Bennett, standing on the field today waiting for the game to resume.

Logan kicking the ball.

Logan going after the ball.

Chasing down the ball.

Logan trying to steal the ball.

And succeeding!

Logan sending it down field.

Watching where the ball went.

My cute soccer player giving me a thumb's up after his last regular season game was over.

For the second year in a row, we had a pizza party next to the field after the last game was over.  Coach Ben handed out trophies I ordered for the team to the boys one player at a time.  Here is Logan walking away with smile on his face and a new trophy in his hand.

Logan posing with his good friends, Bennett and Benton, after the party was over.

Sadly, since Ella wasn't able to play in her last game, we didn't go and I wasn't able to get any pictures of her finishing off her season.  Elise's mom did send me a picture of Ella's team posing with the trophies after their game was over so that I would at least have a picture to include in this post.

Emmett's First Swim Lesson!

Since I started my three older children in swim lessons when they were approaching their 4th birthday, I realized this fall that it was time to do the same with Emmett.  Since September and October were the busiest two months so far in my mothering career, I just didn't have the time or energy to even think about enrolling Emmett in his first class.  But as we headed into November with Lia finishing up XC and her play, I knew that I would have a little more time to breathe and so I signed him up for the beginner's swim class at the YMCA.  After I told Emmett a few days ago that he would be starting swim lessons, he was so thrilled and kept on asking me when it would start.  Needless to say, he was bursting with excitement this morning, but also got very quiet after we dropped Logan and Ella off at school and drove to the Y.  I could tell his little brain was thinking about his swim class as he started asking me all sorts of questions about the logistics of how it would work.  

When we arrived, Emmett bravely walked into the Y with me and followed all of my instructions on going into the locker room, taking off his jacket and shoes, and getting in the shower for a quick rinse.  He then patiently waited with me on the pool deck to meet his teacher.  After finding his class, I ended up walking down to the far end of the pool and watching Emmett's class from just a few feet away instead of walking back to the viewing area at the other end of the pool.  Emmett did such a good job and listened to the teacher every time she taught them something and followed her instructions every time she asked him to do something.  When the class was over, Emmett sadly told me that he didn't want to get out of the pool.  I'd say that was a successful first day of swim class!

***And just for the record, I wanted to record the cutest thing that Emmett said about half way through the class after the teacher had told the students several times not to let go of the edge of the pool, but neglected to tell them the reason why.  After hearing this rule repeated many times, Emmett asked the question, "What happens if I let go of the pool?"  He said it loud enough for every parent to hear and, as a result, he got a few chuckles.  However, I thought that it was a very good question and so I happily said, "You will sink," which was an answer that Emmett was immediately satisfied with.  Such a cute boy.

Emmett waiting on the pool deck to meet his teacher for the first time.

Emmett and the other kids sitting at the edge of the pool at the beginning of class.

Emmett smiling at me while hanging onto the edge of the pool.

Emmett practicing his kicks with the other students.

My cutie flashing me a funny smile!

Lia's State XC Meet

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Pasco in Eastern Washington to cheer Lia on while she ran in her first XC state championship meet with her high school team.  Although she did not qualify as an individual runner, her team qualified which meant that she was able to go since Lia qualified to run on their girls Varsity team since she is one of the top seven runners.  I decided weeks ago that this quick trip would be easiest if we left the three younger children behind, so I asked Chris and Natalee to watch the kids since I have watched Trenton and Riley several times over the years when Natalee has needed to go out of town in the summer.  So, although Lia left bright and early with her team at 8 a.m. on Friday, Ron and I didn't leave until 5:30 that evening since Ron had to work and I had to make the two hour, round-trip drive to drop the kids off in Port Orchard.  Although Snoqualmie Pass had been closed most of the night due to the first winter storm of the season, it was open by that morning, so we were able to make the 3.5 hour drive to Pasco without any complications.

I had also arranged to stay in the same hotel as Lia's team just so that we could be under the same "roof" as her for this first time staying in a hotel without adult supervision.  It was fun to check in on Lia and her new friend, Hope, who were assigned to share a room after we arrived late Friday night.  After dropping off some items for Lia and saying 'goodnight,' Ron and I crashed in our bed around 11 p.m.  We woke up to a very cold morning, but with beautiful blue skies.  The only problem mother nature provided was crazy winds that were actually blowing the night before.  We learned that these athletes would be required to run in 26 mph winds during all of their races that day which meant that most runners would run 30 to 40 seconds slower than their normal pace.  So Ron and I quickly figured out that Lia would most likely not accomplish her goal of getting a PR and finishing off this season on a high note like we all had hoped.

After eating breakfast in the hotel with Lia, she left to get ready to arrive early at the golf course where the race would be help with the rest of her team.  Ron quickly packed up and left to watch his high school run in the 3A girls race at 11 a.m.  He then dashed pack to the hotel to pick me up with enough time to make it back to watch his high school boys race at 12:30.  We then stayed at the golf course and waited for Lia's race to start at 1:30.  We were able to find Lia at her high school tent to warn her about the wind factor before wishing her well and heading back to the starting line.  Lia's race started right on time and we enjoyed watching her run by us six different times due to how the course was laid out.  Since Lia was running with the top girl runners in the state, she fell to the back of the pack which her coach had warned her would most likely happen.  However, that didn't stop us from cheering her on and from being so proud of her for making this huge accomplishment as a young 9th grader.  Although the strong winds prevented Lia from beating any of her previous 5k times, we were so happy to be there to watch her race in this important meet and to cheer her on from the sidelines!

The huge pack of girls taking off from the starting line after the horn blew.  Lia's head is barely visible behind the pack of girls wearing the light blue jerseys.

The girls running up the first hill just after starting the race.

Lia running past us her first time after the starting the race.

Lia running off in the distance to the right of the tree.

Lia running by us a second time.

Lia running towards the finish line.

Lia finishing off her first state championship meet.  Hopefully, this will not be her last!

Posing with Lia after finding her back at the team tent.

Lia and the rest of her girls XC team.  Although seven girls ran in the race, two alternates were able to travel with the team in addition to some of the JV girls who traveled to Pasco with their families to cheer on their team.

Celebrating a Belated Birthday!

After learning that Lia had a last-minute play practice scheduled on Ron's birthday, we decided to postpone the entire affair since Ella was already going to be missing it due to gymnastics.  This turned out to be a win-win situation since it allowed all six of us to be there to celebrate together and it also allowed us to celebrate on a Sunday evening instead of a busy week night.  So, after returning home very late last night from our adventurous drive back from Lia's state XC meet in Pasco, I turned around today and pulled together a birthday celebration for Ron.  We enjoyed a Filipino dinner with a chocolate cream pie with some gift opening afterwards.  Ron seemed to enjoy his evening in the limelight and I was just grateful that we were able to find the time a few days late to celebrate our favorite guy!

For years, Logan has made it a tradition to build a pillow fort in the living room during our birthday parties.  I don't know why this tradition ever started, but Emmett sure enjoyed hiding in this pillow fort with him.

Lia and Ella watching Ron cuddle his gift from Emmett.

Ella eagerly waiting for her dad to open her gift.

The kids posing with their dad before singing "Happy Birthday" to him.

Halloween 2022

We just wrapped up another busy Halloween weekend.  Although we didn't have as much on the calendar in the way of Halloween parties, we sure had a busy weekend with the addition of Disney on Ice, two soccer games, two play practices, a huge XC meet in Chambers Bay, and some church commitments, too.  So, I am just grateful that we were able to squeeze some Halloween festivities into this busy weekend.  We attended our ward's trunk-or-treat on Saturday night with our two neighbors, Poppy and Daisy.  Since we combined with another ward, there were twice as many cars there which made for a fun evening for the kids.  Since Lia came home late from her XC meet with the rest of her team, Ron stayed behind and brought her about 30 minutes late which at least gave her the chance to wear her beautiful, pirate costume one more time in addition to Halloween.  She spent the evening hanging out with friends while the rest of the kids made made two rounds visiting all of the cars in the parking lot.

After an early dinner and a frantic changing into costumes, I quickly gathered the kids onto the front porch for our traditional photos before heading off trick-or-treating in the neighborhood on Halloween evening.  For the first time ever, Lia asked if she could go off on her own with her friend, Sienna, who always attends a party at her aunt and uncle's house up the hill from our us.  So, while she went around the neighborhood with Sienna, I took the three younger children, plus Poppy and Daisy, on our regular route that we take each year.  We left at 6 p.m. and returned home at 7:30 which gave the kids ample time to answer the door, eat a ton of candy and popcorn, and watch Disney's version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow two times.  The kids laughed and laughed their heads off while watching this hilarious rendition of this classic tale and didn't get to bed until almost 10 p.m.  It sure was a fun evening!

We wrapped up our Halloween celebrations today by attending Emmett's little preschool party on November 1st.  Although Emmett is attending the same preschool that his three older siblings attended, it is now run by an entirely new group of people.  As a result, there have been several changes and their Halloween party was no exception.  Instead of an elaborate and huge celebration in the sanctuary room, they had the students complete two different crafts in the classroom and then play a few games in the sanctuary.  So although this party was no where as big of a deal as it was with my three older children, it was still fun for Emmett to have the chance to wear his costume one more time and it was fun for me to have the chance to spend the morning with Emmett at his preschool for the first time this year. 

Here are some pictures of the past few days...

October 29th:

Logan, Ella, Poppy, Daisy, and Emmett posing in front of the church before starting to go trunk-or-treating.

The kids walking away from one of the car trunks.

Emmett posing with his good friend, Emery, who is actually 2.5 years older than him.

Emmett getting candy from a man dressed in a hazmat suite.

My little shark standing in front of someone's tail gate all decorated like a shark mouth!

After Lia arrived late, we managed to get one more group picture so that she could be in it.

The four Hartland kiddos.

Lia posing with her church buddies, Ainsley, Hope, and Alyssa while FaceTiming their friend, Emerald, who just moved to Kentucky a few weeks ago.

Emmett hanging out with his buddies, Luke and Danny, who we have a playdate with most weeks.

October 31st:

The four Hartland kiddos posing on our porch before heading out to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.

A horizontal shot of the gang.

Lia dressed up as a daring and dashing pirate!

Logan dressed up as the morbid, grim reaper.

Ella dressed up as the beautiful Mal, her favorite character from the Disney Descendants movies.

And, last but definitely not least, Emmett dressed up as a darling shark in a costume that Logan wore many years ago.

After Lia headed off to find her friend, I managed to get one picture of the three younger kids and me in our neighbor's yard before starting to trick-or-treat.

The kids with Poppy and Daisy.

All five kids posing in front of our neighbor's awesome pumpkin statue that she puts up every year.

The five kids enjoying their candy and popcorn while watching the movie back at our house.

November 1st:

Emmett showing off his candy corn craft that we made together.

Emmett playing the ring toss game.

Emmett trying out another ring toss game with his new friend, Dash, at his side.

Emmett and his friend, Raylan, who is the son of Ron's assistant principal.  It's been fun for these boys to get to know each other this year.

Emmett painting his pumpkin craft at the end of the party.