2015 Spring Soccer

This Spring we had 3 soccer players and a coach.

Kyle

Kyle has been playing soccer almost every year since he was about 4.

That makes 7+ years.

Kyle has played on a competitive team for the last couple of years.

We've also decided as a family not to play Sunday games.

It's hard as a parent trying to decide

how much to put into your children doing extracurricular activities-

cost, time, travel, how it effects the rest of the family, etc.

We've been happy to support Kyle with his soccer,

while trying to achieve some good balance as well.

Which can be a challenge,

since coaches takes it all so seriously, even for kids.

For now Kyle has decided to take a break from soccer.

He wants to play other sports next year as he starts middle school.

Tate

Sadie being a goalie

Coach Chris

Chris was the head coach to Tate's team.

They were a bunch of boys just learning to play the game,

and were loosing games more than winning.

Chris turned them into a team, they learned to play the game,

and came out winning.

I was so proud of Chris and his coaching skills!

He also helped Sadie's team too.

We Celebrated Chris

We were happy to celebrate Chris' b-day,

with Angel Food Cake and Strawberries.

Chris also ran another successful race.

Race to Robie Creek

A half marathon mostly up hill, 

Not for your fair weather runner.

Here's his After picture:

As a family, we are grateful to celebrate Chris.

He works hard to provide for each of us.

He consistently attends to each of his responsibilities.

He spends quality time with each of us individually.

He's constant and dependable.

Happy, Happy Birthday Chris,

We love you.

My IronMan

Late last summer, our family was boating.

Chris jumped in the water, and said I'm swimmin' to the other side.

He said, "I'm training for the IronMan"

I laughed, because he had never participated in any kind of athletic race before.

Little did I know, he was totally serious.

By fall he was starting to train.

Running, indoor swimming, and biking.

The IronMan comes every year to Boise.

It's 70.3 miles.

Each athlete swims about a mile in cold waters,

bikes 56 miles into the head wind and uphill in the desert,

and then runs for 13 miles.

It's an incredible feat, one that I'm still trying to wrap my head around.

On June 8th, Chris was prepared and ready to compete as an IronMan.

He was totally successful at his race.

(Click on the W to find his race stats.)

I stand in awe, our whole family does.

Race Day was little warm, into the high 80's.

I was nervous for him to start. He didn't seem to nervous himself.

Calm and Confident was his demeanor for race day.

I made him French Toast for breakfast that day.

(Is that good a good meal befor an IronMan race?)

Chris is on the left in the red shorts,

he is headed to the start the race with his brother, Trent.

Trent competed with him, which I think makes it a little more fun.

(Is fun the right word to describe this type of race?!)

Luckily, we could track him from the IronMan website.

He got a good time for his swim,

so then I felt a little better about the rest of his race.

Later, The kids and I barely made it in time to watch him bike past.

He was racing faster than I thought.

He was still smiling and waving before he headed up the hill.

This is me and the kids cheering him on during the bike race.

I missed getting a good photo of Chris running.

Here's a good one of Trent.

Ingrid, he's calling out your name in this photo!

He was looking for you.

Chris held it together for the 13 mile run.

He finished in under 7 hours.

It was so exciting to cheer him on.

What a great feeling, to set a goal, work at it steadily over time,

and then accomplish the goal.

Yes, he is an IronMan, for sure.

Love you Chris.

You can do anything you set your mind to do.

Chris was concerned for me

I wrote a post about being good at doing 4 things.
That's it. Just do 4 things well, and then you're a good housewife.

Chris was concerned about the 4 things that I listed I could do.

I told him THOSE were my 4 things that I was good at doing.

He said, "Couldn't I think of anything else?"

I said, "No."

Then, here's where it got interesting. . .
Right there on the spot, I told him . . .  . . THEN you name 4 things I am good at doing.
(My hands were on my hips at this point.)

Then, he knew he had just stumbled into a conversation
that is very dangerous to have with your wife.

I saw him going over his answers carefully in his mind.

But, to my pleasant surprise, he came up with his answers rather quickly.
Phew, crisis solved.

He came up with these 4 things.

1. He said I make delicious lemon bars.

Katie's Lemon Bar Recipe (recipe from my mom, of course)

1 C. margarine

1/2 C. powdered sugar

2 C. flour

Mix until crumbly (I wash my hands, and mix it with my hands, Rachel Ray would be proud.)

Pat into 9X13 pan for crust. Bake for 20 min. at 350.

4 eggs

2 C. sugar

1/2 C. flour

1/2 C. lemon juice (Fun to use lime juice too!)

1 t. grated lemon rind

Beat the above ingredients together. Pour over crust while hot (As soon as out of oven.)

Bake another 20 min. at 350. Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

2. He said I'm good at feeding vegetables or fruit at every dinner for the kids.

3. He thinks I make cute kids.

4. He says I work hard at making sure the kids are entertained, so they don't have to work hard.
(I told him, I didn't really think that is something to be good at doing.)

Now, you can ask your husband to name 4 things he thinks you're good at doing.

He would have to answer, because he knows he'd be in trouble if he didn't.
And, it's not a trick question. You tell him that.

You'll be surprised to hear what he thinks are your 4 things.

Someone's turned 40,

and he's super EXCITED about it!

Chris' childhood friend, Dustin, is in the back dancing too.

Dustin was also super excited to celebrate with Chris!

We threw Chris a party for turning 40!

We rented a dj from Rocky Mountain Roll, danced, and played games.

We invited a lot of family and friends, 

and borrowed our church's gym for the event.

 Hanging out with Sisters and Brothers.

Giant Checkers

A little basketball

Playing a Giant Jenga Game

Uncle Trent, (Chris' brother, who's coming on 40 next)
beat everyone out in the Limbo contest!

Friends filling out a quiz - 40 fun facts about Chris.

Chris reveals his answers to his 40 fun fact quiz.

 The captive audience listens in to see if they got the right answers to the quiz.

We all had a great time!
Thanks for coming out and supporting Chris and our family.
We can't wait for 40 more years with Chris.
When he's 80 will throw the same party, and see him dance to MC Hammer and do the limbo again!

Happy 40th Chris!
We love you!

What should I get my husband?

How long have you been married?

I'm going on 13 years. Exciting, right?

I'm a romantic.

But, honestly, I'm running out of ideas for what to get Chris
year after year for Valentines, his b-day, father's day, Christmas, and our anniversary.

Growing up, I remember always giving my dad - socks or black licorice.
Is that what we are suppose to give husbands and dads year after year?

For Christmas I had a gift idea to give Chris.
It was easy to put together.
He seemed to really like and appreciate it. (Or at least acted like he did.)

I gave him 12 dates.
One for each month.
I tried to do dates he would like.

Jan: a local b-ball date

Feb: A ski date

Mar: A movie date

Apr: A b-day date

May: A dinner date

June: An exercise date

July:  A date of your choice

Aug: A hike date

Sept: A football game date

Oct: An indoor kart race date

Nov: A group date

Dec: A 14th anniversary date

I printed it out on a piece of paper and wrapped it up.

I love it too. Something to look forward to. 

Our youngest is getting older (easier to leave with a sitter)

Our oldest is getting older (someone to help the hired sitter)

This is a good year for us to get out and have some fun, just Chris and I.

This may or may not be an idea for you.

My sister, Molly, is great at her weekly date night.

But, I thought I would share this idea with you anyway.

Happy Valentine's Day, Chris

This post is dedicated to you!

This Christmas gift is going to keep on giving!

Dad's Day

This is an old post from June, that I'm now finally posting!

Are you noticing Chris's tie?

Does it look a little short?

Chris played a version of the newlywed game for Primary at our church.

Kyle was asked some questions about his dad.

Then Chris had to answer the questions the way he thought Kyle would answer them.

If Chris' answer was different than Kyle's answers, then they would snip parts of his tie.

How do you think Chris and Kyle did at the game?

(Chris claims he gave the wrong answers to make the game more exciting. wink, wink.)

Question #1:What does your Dad do at work?

Kyle's Answer: He cleans teeth

Question #2:What is your Dad's favorite meal?

Kyle's Answer: Spaghetti

Question #3: Is your Dad Smart or Funny?

Kyle's Answer: Smart

Question #4: What would your Dad buy with a lot of money?

Kyle's Answer: A fancy house

Chris' Summer 2010

Since I don't take as many pictures of Chris, since he is at work;

here are some things Chris did this summer:

• Helped move his brother from the East to our state (According to one of their kids, was their lawnmower)
• Fixed the family boat
• Took the family boating
• Put together furniture for a large wall in our family's loft upstairs
• Stained the fence of our whole yard
• He's a dentist, who runs his own practice. He's great with all of his patients. He took a continuing ed course this summer and now offers his patients invisalign. I don't know much about it, but I think it is an easy, simple way to fix minor teeth gaps for his patients.
• Took the kids swimming
• Enjoyed his truck
• Spent time helping ward members with his church calling, he helps the Elders Quorum
• Floated the river with his family
• Took the kids hiking

Family Pictures from Last Week

Chris' B-day Cake. Cookies!!!

My nephew Spencer was baptized over the weekend.  Many family and friends came to support Spencer for his special occasion. Half the chapel left to witness his baptism. I'm so proud of the great influence Spencer has on so many people. I think his parents deserve congratulations too. Great job to Jeremy and Molly. (You can go to Molly's blog for more of the baptism)

Jeremy, Spencer's dad and Spencer

My brother Steven

We all had a meal at Spencer's house after his baptism. This is some of the kids in Spencer's backyard. (Another great backyard toy, that gets lots and lots of use.)

The meal was delicious. Great job Molly for the menu and all those who added their dish.

Sadie had her 1st b-day over the weekend, too. In fact, at about the same hour as Spencer was baptized, a year earlier Sadie was born. Molly was in the delivery room with me, little did we know a year later to the day and hour, we would be witnessing the special occasion of her oldest son's baptism. 

She got a little puppy dog that barks, yelps, and wags it's tail. It delighted her. She giggled and squealed. I couldn't help but post lots of pictures of her enjoying her new dog. He makes a nice pet for the whole family. He is a toy. Perfect!

P.S. I took more pictures of the fam hangin' out for Sadie's b-day. But everyone panicked that they would be on the blog. My dad, especially, declaring that the whole world would see photos of him. I was complimented that he thought the world was reading my blog. In kindness to my family I left those pictures out; since, the whole word is reading my blog. 

My Favorite Person

Chris, my husband, is by far my favorite person.

I love being with him and love his friendship.

We just celebrated our 10 yr. wedding anniversary!  I think that is so exciting.  He is a fun, great dad, a hard worker, helpful with me around the house, and nice to everyone.  Happy Early Valentine's Day, Chris!