Thunder and Lightning

MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2011

Thunder and Lightning

Asher had his very first Westlake Thunder Youth Football League game on Saturday.
The whole family loaded up with chairs and snacks and headed out.
I must admit. I'm not a fan of football. I don't watch it on t.v., I've never been to a college football game, I think I went to a High School game once.  However, all that changes as I watched my very own freckly flesh and blood on the field.  I asked Scott question after question.

"Now who has the ball?"
"Which way are they suppose to go?"
"Why did they just kick the ball?"
"How many turns do they get before the other guys get the ball?"

As you can see my intense questioning kept Scott, well, laughing.
And rolling his eyes at times.

I was continually scanning the field for #44.  They take those boys on and off, on and off the field.
Our team lost the game, and it was a tough loss.
Afterwards, I expected a downtrodden, sweaty boy to return to the car.
Much to the contrary.  Asher came all smiles and hopped in his seat.
When I asked him what he thought he said, "I know we didn't win, but I got to play a lot in this game and it was so fun!"

Ah. Success.
Here's to many more Saturdays in the sun screaming my guts out.

Now on to the Lightning section of the post.
We've had some serious thunderstorms this summer.
Really fantastic displays of the power of the skies.
So I decided it was high time I got out there and attempted to get a shot of the awesome lightning.
Out our back there is an awesome unrestricted view and I believe this would be the best spot for me to get a great shot, also the deck has a covered area where my camera won't get wet.
So the last two nights I've sat outside in the rain and wind, camera perched on a tripod, fending of mosquitoes, taking shot after shot, hoping to capture some electricity.
Last night I had some success. Honestly out of 100 shots I probably got 5 good ones, but I think I may be addicted.

This was the approaching storm. It was still behind the west mountains.

Off centered, but the storm was definitely moving in.
The wind had begun and some rain. 

I just thought this was awesome. This was that lightning you can't see.
I think it was behind cloud cover, but it would light the whole
night sky in a pink hue. 

This was my last shot as the storm continued to move
northeast. This is shot off my back deck with an
unrestricted view. 

That's New to Me!

It's summer! That means time for new and exciting experiences right? Right.
So here goes:

We attended Greydon's 3rd birthday Party at Monkey Island. My kids had never been to a bounce house extravaganza. They loved every sweaty moment. However, unbeknownst to me Aidan fell off a bounce house and landed on his hip on the concrete. Later that same evening he came to me and showed me his hip. I immediately called every neighbor in the medical field.  It was super gnarly- gigantic bruise and swollen like a golfball was under his skin, but a golf ball the size of a pancake! Oh man, my stomach tingles just thinking about it now. Anyhow, I wasn't in the frame of mind to snap a photo of it, but I got one a few days later when the swelling had subsided.  So I present Aidan's manly bruise :

Last year Asher played flag football for the first time. While his teams wins were few and far between, he loved it and was a fantastic player. It was also very entertaining to watch, but I am a sucker for any sport my kids are involved in.  So, this year I decided he could sign up for tackle football.  He was so excited. He attended conditioning one night a week, tried out, and was put with the coach he liked.  He's been practicing hard- 2 hours a day Monday through Friday.  Their practices would wear me out, but he's not a complainer. Here he is after his first day of practice. He went to his weigh in today and was a whopping 77 pounds.

Chloe was able to go to Girl's Camp for the first time this year. It was up American Fork Canyon.  They stayed in tents, went on a 5 mile hike to Silver Lake, had a testimony meeting, made gifts for her secret sister, and made a lot of crafts.  She had a fantastic time. I am so grateful for all the men and women in my ward who worked so hard to make this a fantastic experience for these young women.  Chloe has also been watching cake shows like crazy. She loves to watch Fabulous Cakes, Cupcake Wars, and Cake Boss.  So she thought she'd try her hand at cake pops the other night.  As usual she does all the thinking and I pipe up when she asks my opinion.  Here was the result of her first cake pops.  Aren't those cute little chicks.  

A visit

I haven't been to Em and Shawn's house since they moved back to Utah.  I decided it was high time I do that. Besides the fact that I just love to spend time with Em.  When I'm with her I laugh, I feel more adventurous, I have deep conversations, and we always have some kind of a "challenge".  I headed up to Logan on Friday afternoon and found their cute house with a bridge in front.  Em and I had talked and I told her all my dreams for the day and a half we had. She did her best to make them all happen.

I had the tour of the homestead first.  I realized then how creative these two people are.  Em's art decorates the place and the basement is reserved for Shawn to create things from metal and refurbish his magnificent D.I. finds.

My first wish was Indian food. I've never had Indian food and really wanted to try it, so we headed downtown with a bottle of homemade Cafe Rio green sauce stashed in my purse.

Oh my it was delicious. The naan was consumed at an amazing rate. I played it safe with a well known favorite, chicken tikka masala. It was better than I'd imagined.

After dinner we ran to buy treats and headed to Harry Potter, in 3-D no less.  I loved every nail biting moment.

We took a drive through Logan past our old college apartments and reminisced. Of course Em could remember more than I since it's been awhile since I graced the Utah State campus.  Back at home we went on a late night bike ride and at least one of us dipped our feet in the freezing cold water that runs in front of their house.  And then the real fun began.  Em's been doing a new workout called CrossFit.  I wanted to see what she could do and she really put on a good show.  It's like basic training, but you can go home afterwards and cry in your pillow. I attempted some of these feats of strength and looked like an old lady. Then it simply became a game of "look what I can do!"

Eventually Shawn came down to show us what he could do. He made it all look way to easy.

The next morning we signed up to play in a Dodgeball Tournament with the proceeds supporting the Special Olympics. John came up to join the team, so our team was made up of 3 family members and 3 of Em's co-workers. 

Just before each game my nerves got going. It felt like elementary school gym again. A couple wins boosted our confidence and we really got into it. Our little team ended up coming in about 6th place.

After the game we headed to Dad's family reunion there at a park in Logan.  It was great to sit and chat with others, look at old pictures, and read journals.

Dad (on left) with a Navy buddy.

 I learned quite a bit about my family history and had a great time.  Dad was the only sibling there. His two sisters who are still alive were too fragile to come.
I took lots of pictures and it sparked in me a desire to learn more about my family history and continue to write in my own journal.

All good things must come to an end. I had such a great time with Em.  She has a contagious excitement about her.  Until next time I will work on my stunts.