State High School Tournament

Joseph's Varsity team made it to State!!  This last week was spent preparing for and going to the State Tournament in northern Idaho.  One of the preparations was Joseph going over to a teammates house and getting his hair dyed to a "bleached blond".  The whole team did it.

We (as in our whole family) got to ride on a chartered bus with the team, since Bruce is an Assistant Coach. 

Man, it was the lap of luxury.  I got to sit by Bruce the whole time and watch movies.  

It was like being on an extended date.

   

The head coaches family was also on the bus, so our families got to hang out.

 

 We don't eat out hardly ever (besides Taco Bell), so this weekend we made up for it.  We got to eat at Panda Express, Olive Garden, Subway, KFC, and Grannie's Buffet.  And all that besides eating at the hotel buffet every morning.  My oh my!  It was so nice not to have to cook!

Beautiful view from the hotel Cafeteria

It rained on the last day - truly reminding me of our home in Washington state!

Within two minutes of walking into the hotel room, Jesse said, "I need to play the piano."  Notice - not wants, NEEDS.  ha ha  Jesse asked at the front desk if they had a piano, and the answer was no.  She went into "Wo is me" mode.  The next morning, her friend Maddy bounded in to tell Jesse that she had found a piano down by the hallway in the recreation area.  Yea!  Jesse was happy about that.  She played her pieces one morning, and finally a lady in an office across the hall came out and said she couldn't hear, so we would have to stop playing.  So we left, but I couldn't believe she wouldn't say anything to Jesse about her playing.  Am I a biased Mom with a Mama Bear attitude?  But seriously, it's not every day that you hear a Rachmaninoff and a Chopin played beautifully out your office door.  C'mon lady!

On Thursday, Joseph's team played really well and beat the opposing team 2-0.  

Joseph is #4 in Blue (I know - hard to recognize, huh?)

It was so fun to be on the sidelines with parents and a few classmates.  You get really close to these people throughout the season.

After this win, Bruce and Theron (the team manager) were the only ones who hadn't dyed their hair, so one of the mothers of a boy on the team dyed their hair in the hotel room.  With his long hair, Bruce looked like "Doc" on Back to the Future.

Our family (sans Josh)

  The next day we took a walk on the boardwalk with all the team.

Peter and Neil looking off the boardwalk.

The Coaches - Wayne, Larren, Theron and Bruce

That afternoon we played the team from our own district that beat us in the District Tournament in a 1 on 1 shootout.  It was a tough loss in District, so they boys were anxious to get out there and win the game.

Cameron, Paul, Dane and Curtis

Unless you've seen a varsity soccer team, you can't imagine how these boys give it their all when they play.  They "leave it all on the field," as the saying goes.  All through regulation, there were some close shots, but nothing went in for either team.    They started the first overtime period of ten minutes, and about half way through that period, the other team got it down near the goal line.  One of our defenders blocked a shot wtih his chest, but it went towards a guy on offense.  This guy was being marked, but not closely enough, and he kicked the ball into the back of the net from close range.  Jaren, our first-team All-Conference keeper, didn't have a chance at it.  AHHHH.  It's hard even to write about it now.  We lost!  Our hopes of winning the state championship were gone.  I was standing up, and I had to turn around and walk away from the field, and barely contained the desire to cry. Oh, that was tough to swallow.  Our boys just stood in place on the field for awhile, and finally made their way over to the sidelines and sat.

At game's end

They did jog over to clapping parents, but it was slow.  The ride home on the bus was very quiet.

The next day we had to regroup and come back and play another game for 3rd place.

   

We lost that game 3-0.  The field was soaked, and the boys were slipping all over the place.  Although we lost soundly, this loss wasn't nearly as hard to swallow as the day before.

Just before halftime, Joseph got a through ball and was going one on one with the goalie.  It was pretty even between them, and I knew it wasn't going to be pretty.  Joseph went in hard, not slowing at all.  He slid in for the toe touch to try to get the ball past the goalie, but the goalie slid in also and got the ball and slammed his knee into Joseph's hip.  When it was over, both of them were on the ground and not getting up.  After a bit, Joseph got up and limped to the edge of the penalty box, only to go to the ground again in pain. While he was doing that, the ref gave him a yellow card for colliding with the goalie.  Both coaches came out and attended to the players.  Joseph went out of the game, and the goalie got up and played.  Before this, Joseph had been playing really well.  He gave it his all, and left the field with no regrets, as did all of his team.  Congratulations Joseph and teammates!  We will miss watching you play!

Joseph is feeling a lit bit better this morning, but he got a pretty bad injury.  He feels like his hip got knocked out of alignment, so I'll be taking him in to a chiropractor today.

Josh is doing great!  He had a choir concert this week and a soccer game also.  I wish I could have been to those!  It's weird hearing from Josh that he's doing these things without me being there to see it.

Mary made the 8th grade "B" Volleyball team!  Last year she was on the "C" team, so she moved up this year, which she was really excited about.  She practices at 6:10 in the morning!

Peter had a great game last Saturday.  He played keeper during the second half and made some great saves.  Peter is the first keeper we've had in our family, so it is fun to see him develop that skill.  It will be interesting to see if he continues with that.  I'm not sure how I can stand to even write about it, especially with Joseph's experience above, but we're not to that stage yet, so it's OK.  :)

Libby has decided that she wants to be a Musician for Halloween. Yesterday she made four or five instruments out of cardboard and paper for her costume.

We got home from the State Tournament at 2:15 am, and then turned around and got to Church at 9:00 am for the Primary Program.  Before Church, Bruce pulled out the men's hair coloring kit that's been in the closet for years, and dyed his hair back.  Only this time it came out black - really black!  He and Joseph were quite a site on Sunday, for sure.

Bruce really does look like he's 35 again, instead of 45.  I'm certain a more handsome man does not walk on the earth!

The Primary Program was awesome!  Libby sang with her class and gave her part well.  And Peter sang a solo to "Follow the Prophet" about the prophet Moses.  Afterward, I was talking to Bruce about it, and he
said, "Peter has a great singing voice."  I replied, "Yes, he takes after his brother."  (Because he really did sound a lot like Josh to me).  Bruce hastily replied, "He takes after his Dad!".  Oh, oops - I forgot about that!  OK - he takes after his Dad.  :)

The Spirit was so strong during the Primary Program.  The first song we sang was "I Know He Lives", which is a new song this year.  I have yet to sing the song without chocking up on the part where we sing, "The love that he felt for his little ones, I know he feels for me.  I did not see him or sit on his knee, yet Jesus is real to me."

I have the distinct privilege of teaching the seven year olds that are turning eight all through the year and getting baptized.  Yesterday in class, our lesson was on the Sacrament.  After asking some questions, I realized that they did not really understand when Jesus did the Atonement, or what was involved.  So I took them through the Last Supper, through the Garden of Gethsemane, and on to Golgotha.  From the absolute silence in the room, and their steady gazes on me, I was certain they were hearing this described for one of the first time their minds could understand it.  It was an absolute departure from the lesson, but I just taught from my own knowledge and experience, and they were riveted.  I felt that they were ready to understand more of they symbolism behind the broken body and the water representing blood.  When I talked about the juice that Jesus gave them being like grape juice, Libby said with a serious face, "Was it red?"  As I said, "It might have been a reddish color," I could see her little mind processing that and seeing the symbolism.  It was a precious teaching moment!  And not just with her, but the whole class.

I feel like that often with this group of children.  It's a big class - we had eleven there yesterday, and when I look at them all together, I feel this power and strength emanating from them.  I can feel what an enormous influence they are going to have in the world, and what a stunning influence for good.  When I told Bruce I feel like crying every time I look at my class, he asked why.  I felt like saying, "Well, don't you??"  Isn't it obvious!?!  They are beautiful and I love them so much.

One more word on Jesse's Varsity Soccer team - they did not make it past the District Tournament, but they were the best girls team our HS has seen in a while, and it was so fun to watch all season long.  They did great!

Look on the far right in the fans and you can see Bruce and I watching Jeses's game.  (This is Annie throwing the ball in).

Jesse got recruited to a club team on the last two games, so she'll be playing for a club team in the Spring.  This is the first time we've done that, but the Coach made us an offer we couldn't refuse.  I think it will be good for her.  One of her favorite teammates, Mary, will be playing with her, and they are both excited about that.

One more soccer game for Peter and Mary, and then we'll be done with the season.  Whew!  And Bummer! at the same time.

And finally, CONGRATULATIONS to my brother Craig and his new bride Jenette!  They were married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple last Friday.  Oh, how I would have loved to have been there, but I decided to be a mother first, so I needed to be with the rest of the family in Idaho.  Joshua was able to be there, however, so I was glad for that.