Happy Halloween!

I can hardly believe another Halloween has come and gone. We spent the night before Halloween carving pumpkins. Michael was kind enough to come over to help out but as it turned out Sage was the only one that needed help carving hers. It's so nice that the boys can do their own. Long gone are the days of Jack frantically carving 3-4 pumpkins in one night! As you can see they were pretty happy with their work!



This year Sage was the only one that knew what she was going to be months in advance (a pirate) and yet the day before Halloween changed her mind. The boys weren't sure what they wanted to be but did agree that they wanted the $20 I'd pay them each to wear something from around the house. Connor decided on using the costume Ty used for the wax museum project at school last year and went as Neil Armstrong. Ty has become a big Manti Te'o fan (Notre Dame linebacker) so after Jack came back from the Notre Dame/BYU game a couple weeks ago, Ty had a costume ready to go.

A couple days before Halloween Jack learned that he would need to dress up at work. Apparently Halloween is really big at Lux. So, on Halloween eve, he found himself frantically searching the bare racks of the Halloween Costume store looking for a costume. I recommended him going as a Replacement Ref or Big Bird but when you are looking for a costume at the 11th hour, beggars can't be choosers. Annoying Orange was all that was left...lol! Once Sage saw the costume dad was going to wear she insisted she wanted to wear it trick or treating so my cute pirate quickly became really annoying!!! Sadly I didn't get a photo of Jack in all his glory...and then for the first time I didn't get a photo of the kids before they headed out. I did manage to grab one when they returned but due to the damp weather all of Connor's stickers had fallen off so Neil Armstrong looked more like a skier!







The houses in our neighborhood sit on much larger pieces of land which means there is a lot more walking involved and less trick or treating but we were so proud of our kids who respectfully walked up and down each walkway or driveway rather than running across lawns like most the other kids we saw doing as they trick or treated. It was a great teaching opportunity to explain that just because everyone is doing it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. They still had a great time and as you can see the neighborhood rewarded them quite nicely!

Introducing Players #80 and #88...

The boys were very excited to play football here in Ohio. It seemed like the perfect way to make friends quickly and we were also anxious to see how they played in comparison to the kids out here. (We knew they came from a very competitive program in WA but had no idea how their skills would translate out here.) After all, the first thing people said to us when we moved to Ohio was you better love football because we are a football loving people!

With so many kids out here we learned there would be four fifth grade teams for Mason. Three of the four teams had been playing together since 1st grade. We were placed on one of those teams that happened to have a couple openings. The beginning of the season was a bit of a disappointment. The coaching staff although nice seemed very disorganized spending the majority of time during the first week running the kids non stop. Being that the kids condition the first week we expected running but it seemed this was all they were prepared to do.

The weather was also a big change for the boys. They had several practices where it was almost 100 degrees but the humidity made it feel much more nasty. I really felt bad for them the first few weeks and after finding out that Connor was experiencing sports induced asthma from the combo of the weather and because he's prone to respiratory issues made for an even tougher start to the season. I have to give them credit though for continuing on even when we said we would not be disappointed if they decided to quit. Had they been on a team with coaches that seemed better prepared and more strategic practices we may not have offered the choice to quit but I sure didn't want to see my kids struggling so terribly during practices that felt more like cross country meets.

It was clear the boys had great defense skills and the coaches could see it. Immediately they were told they'd be playing both sides which was a compliment considering many of the kids had been with the team for years and still only played one side. Their primary positions were tight end and defensive end which was fun to watch as they were both easy to spot on the ends. Ty wasn't too thrilled playing tight end but as they started throwing him the ball he enjoyed it more. Connor was very excited after the first game to receive the candy bar for best defensive player on the line. Although they lost it was good for his self esteem especially since he had struggled so much with his breathing during the first few weeks.

After a rough beginning to the season with several losses the team finally came together and started winning. Amazingly they won all their playoff games and made it to the championship game but unfortunately couldn't seal in a championship win.

Unfortunately I neglected to take many photos at all. Here are a few I grabbed but sadly they don't capture the best highlights...

Looking good in green and white:



Here they are on each end, with their red easy to spot Under Armour:




Connor sacking:



and Tyler catching:




Championship game (unfortunately a loss):



Party time:



Football isn't all about winning. There are fantastic lessons to be learned on the field that will carry on with the boys throughout their lives. No doubt Jack and I and some of the other parents got frustrated with the organization of the coaching staff but in the end they were good men doing what I hope was their best to work with our children. The kids had a great time and that's the most important part!