Baby Jack - 6 months old!

Happy Half Birthday Jack! I can't believe six months have gone by already! Jack is the best baby anyone could ever ask for. He sleeps 12 straight hours at night and has 3 good naps during the day. And he doesn't complain when he gets stuffed into his carseat all day long to take the other kids to all of their activities! He does love attention from anyone who will give it to him. Mommy and Courtney are still his favorites but he's definitely starting to like dad! And he is the only kids who has some Tyson in him (at least that we can see!). We sure do love this kid.

THE GREAT RACE

Tyson is on the mark...

Brittany is set...

Go....

My lungs were burning, the Santa Ana winds were blowing cruelly hot in my face and my untied shoes were becoming looser with each step. I tried to find the energy for the closing kick you see in the Olympics, the one I had just witnessed my honey perform not 10 minutes earlier, but I had burned that up in my first half mile, all I could do now was not stop moving one foot in front of the other in what probably looked like not much more than a fast walk to onlookers nearby. I was fading and going too slow.....

Before we finish let us tell you why this Saturday morning was more than just another day at the soccer field. Ever since Brittany had Courtney Ann she has become a runner. Once considered on par with eating live worms, running is now one of her favorite ways to exercise. Tyson on the other hand continues to seek out any form of organized team sports to play in to avoid having to just run. Now after the fourth child Brittany is once again in full "getting-in-shape" mode. Brittany is amazing at it and you would think that it would have inspired Tyson long before now.

Tyson, as he puts it, has a slight and neccesary form of OCD. Being an anesthesiologist, more than any other kind of M.D., almost requires this type of behaviour to not only be good at your job, but to keep patients safe. The OCD however creeps out in other ways, like if dinner is even 20 minutes late Tyson gets cranky, as Brittany knows all to well. Working out for Tyson is difficult because his schedule is so different each day that he can never have a set routine. And up until now his default has been to do nothing. But through the glories of being a Chief Resident he was able to get a three month stretch this year with a pretty set schedule. At which time he announced that he was going to start working off the 35 pounds medical school and residency have put on him.

For the last two months Tyson has been running and dieting and feeling pretty good about himself; when this last Friday at a ward activity Brittany stated, in front of several friends of ours, that she had run Tyson's workout course (he goes on the exact same route everytime, boring!) and that it was "way easy". "No hills, no screaming kids in jogging strollers, no hot sun, nothing". Tyson responded that it was only easy for Brittany because she runs it "slow". There it was. It took only a quick exchange of glares and the challenge was set. This must be settled. One timed mile, winner gets.... a Back Rub, which if you know us is a rare commodity and often more prized than....well I am sure we need not say more.

The final steps were upon me, I crossed the line, Connor was in a fit to hear the last time. The kids had come to the park with us and we had taken turns watching them and timing the other. I looked at my love, "How do you think you did?" "I think I was too slow." 8:35 was the time I had to beat. I really did not care what the time was, I had gone as fast as I could have that day. I had excuses, my shoes came untied after a quarter-mile and I was up later than normal the night before, but I did want to use them, I did my best and that's all that mattered. "I am proud of you, you did great."

Brittany looks pretty dang good!

Tyson looks worked.

When the dust settled a new family record had been set, that's the fastest I had run a mile since I was 17!

By the way did I even mention who the winner was?.....

Owen and his Wagon

Owen is almost 2.5 years old now! Anyone who has ever had a two year old knows that they have a mind of their own. So anytime we go anywhere, Owen has to bring his wagon. Everytime I pick up the kids from school, go to the store, go to after school activities, the wagon comes with us. I'm talking 6-7 times a day people! At least it keeps him focused on getting to the car and to wherever we are going. Inside the wagon goes his blankie and a stuffed Pluto toy. If I get really lucky, I can usually load a couple of my grocery bags in it and he will push it up to the apartment! Anyways, I just thought is was kind of cute even though it can kind of be a pain sometimes!

Pumpkin Patch

This week Courtney had a kindergarten field trip to Bates Nut Farm about 20 minutes inland from Escondido. They had an enormous pumpkin patch. They also had a hay maze, a hay ride, animals and an educational show about pumpkins. Courtney had a blast with her two best girlfriends and Owen and Jack came along for the ride.

McDonalds!

So Tyson informed me in the beginning of the week that he would be having dinner with a bunch of fancy shmancy doctors in Del Mar at Il Fornaio on Thursday. So, I decided that I would take the kids to McDonalds that night. I told the kids to be on their best behavior this week and that they might get lucky and get a happy meal. So all week long I was able to hang McDonalds over their heads. "Connor, if you keep bugging your sister, I will leave you at home while the rest of us enjoy our dinners at McDonalds." Every time I brought it up he straightened right up. You have to know that my kids only eat at McDonalds once every few months, and when we do we usually order of the $1 menu. So this was a huge treat. And I will only pay for happy meals if the toys are semi-decent, I mean a 4-piece chicken nugget meal costs $4.19 now! So as we rolled into the McDonalds parking lot the kids are totally freaking out. When we got inside and discovered Hot Wheels and Barbie toys, it was like my kids hit the jackpot. You would have thought I was taking them to Disneyland and buying them a filet mignon dinner! I wish I would have taken the pictures to prove it. Anyways, it just goes to show that kids don't need a lot to be happy in life. Just a trip to Mcdonalds and ordering a happy meal:)

Reliving the Glory Days with my High School BFF

Brittany, Tiffany and 5 crazy kids

Courtney and Lacey, what cute Ladies


I think there is room for one more...

Wasn't Owen on the other side?

What a cute couple, and just look at those dimples!

So my high school best friend came for a visit last weekend. We have only seen each other a handful of times since high school. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding, I went to her wedding, she visited me when Connor was born, I visited her when her oldest Ryley was born, we had a mini vacation together in San Diego, and she visited last year. However, though we have only seen each other a few times, every time we talk or get together it's like we continue from right where we left off. There are no awkward conversations or small talk. Anyways, she and I found out last year that we were both pregnant (unexpectedly). It just so happens that we were due a day apart. We had our babies three days apart. So she came down to visit with her three kids. Ryley,5, Jack, 23 mos., and Lacey, 5 months. It was crazy! The kids had a lot of fun together and Tyson even watched all 7 kids by himself (that was two infants, two toddlers and three rowdy kids) so that we could have some girl time to ourselves!!!! We had so much fun and can't wait to get together again!

Getting off the Schnide

As you may have read in an earlier post, our weeks are quite full with activities for the kids. One of these activities, soccer, has at times, been one of the more frustrating experiences for Brittany and I to deal with.



We were both fiercely competitive kids and usually one of the better or best players. Over the last four years we have been taking Connor to countless hours of practice. His skills have improved greatly. He handles the ball well, his passes are well timed and his shots accurate, however in games his lack of fleetness of foot he inheririted from dad has been difficult to overcome. He routinely dribbles by one to two defenders but right before the final touch, his shot on goal, is foaled by the opposition racing back to steal the ball away. Connor loves his team and is a great teammate, back his lack of scoring in approxiamtely 30 games had started to wear on him. Each game he says "I hope I can score today" and each game, even after a win, there is that sense of growing frustration with his inability to put one in the net.



Something was different Saturday morning. There was an unusaul chill in the air. We were playing the early game for once and on the car ride over I looked at Connor and said, "I have a feeling this is your game." Shortly into the first half and with our team down a goal, Connor slid behind the defense, his teammate sent in an amazing through ball and after knocking it around the charging goalie he blasted into the back of the net. Finally....but no the ref's arm was in the air, Connor had been offside...Connor's elation was deflated.



The game wore on and we were up 4-1, Connor had played great and assisted on his friends 3rd goal of the game, after sending a ball out wide Connor ran towards the front of the goal, Reese trying for his second goal of the game sent a shot off the arm of the goalie. It came to rest on the goal line. The goalie lay helpless and Connor and the central defender raced in at it. Connor slide for the ball taking it, himself and the defender tumbling through into the net. The ref signaled.....GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL. It was in Connor's teammates mobbed him as he had them numerous times before. They knew how much he wanted to score and the congratulations went on so long that the other team kicked off and nearly scored if we had not had such a great stopper in goal. The game was over and Connor had a smile like he has never had after a game before, it was a great day.