A very boastful blog about my wonderful kids

This is how he looks most the time, homeless

I love that Braden is smiling

She is so photogenic, hasn't learned the fake smile yet

Love this picture of Risi, she is so pretty

My Green Dragon
They have the treats, that's what it's all about

Robby, the cutest Green dragon ever

**WARNING** This will be one of those braggy my kids are so awesome blogs.

The Green dragons seems an appropriate name for that bright kelly green jersey these athletes wear. My little dragon was totally on fire yesterday. Hold on, back up with me, in May I signed the little guy up with all his friends from the hood. He showed little interest, he was a little more excited when he realized his cousin Isaac was going to be on his team. I literally picked him up out of bed for 2 weeks this summer and took him to soccer camp, he hated it. Then he was given the green jersey and everything changed. He never takes that shirt off. He doesn't understand why he can't wear it to school. (He wears a uniform) Anyhow, the first game I was shocked, he played pretty well, he seemed to grasp the concept, he ran where ever the ball was and he really had fun. The next few games he scored a goal or two in each game, and loved playing. Then last night, he scored 4 goals. It was so cool to see him enjoy this sport, and honestly the coolest part is how much endurance I notice he has. This is my kid who broke his femur in April. He was suppose to limping all summer, he limped for maybe a week. He inspires me, I see a lot of kids who get tired, and lay down and complain, and they are young so it's totally normal. I have said I believe Robby came out of me running and has not stopped. He plays with a determined face, and knows if his team is winning or losing. He doesn't get frustrated if they are behind, he just tries harder. I never thought him playing soccer would teach me so much. He is a special little boy, and I am so privileged to be his mother.


Moving on to my next boastful thoughts for everyone who reads this, we had parent teacher conferences this week. This year, Marisa finally moved to the A,B,C grading system. She has always been a bright student, but when I received her CRT and Iowa test scores I was amazed. She is brilliant. She is currently getting straight A's (no A-'s) and, she was invited to participate in the after school odyssey program, which is the academic gifted and talented program. I have issues with schools labeling programs gifted and talented, I think all kids are both gifted and talented, but that is for another post. She said to me last week "Mom, I could read Little Women every day." Her favorite books so far are Little Women, Diary of Anne Frank, Huck Finn and the American Girl books about Addie, oh, and she is currently reading Les Miserables. Her favorite subjects are math and science, she is collecting rocks, and comes home with pockets full of rocks and asks me what kinds of rocks I think they are. Ok, that's a lot of bragging for one kid. I didn't get to the whole she saves my life the weeks Tom is gone stuff.

At Maya's parent teacher conference she is getting all O's (outstanding) this really shocked me. I worked so hard with her this summer on basic sight reading and writing. She really struggled in kindergarten. She also had 31 kids in her class with only parent volunteers. Have I said how much I love their school? No, I haven't I LOVE NOAH WEBSTER ACADEMY! They are getting a private school education for no cost. She is also doing so well socially, she loves her teacher and has friends. She is raising her hand and participating. I am so proud of my little buggy. She started dance 2 weeks ago, and she has some serious rhythm, the girl can move!

It is so thrilling to have kids who are excited to go to school everyday. I remember fake sick days, they don't do that, in fact this week they had short days because of parent conferences and they were mad they had less time for certain subjects.

Ah, finally Miles, I don't have a lot of bragging about him, in fact I wonder each day if I will survive another day with him. Tonight he put a mylar helium filled balloon in our microwave, I came down to see him very animated with excitement at the firework display in our microwave. And, then there is the potty training...he knows how to use the toilet and does when HE wants to, he does it well when HE wants to, other times, he drops his pants and poops on my kitchen floor. I know he does it just to make me crazy, and it's working. He also has managed to test my plumbing skills. It is disturbing that sticking my hand, up to my arm down our toilets to retrieve items no longer makes me need to vomit.
My oh my the times he is cute and sweet which are many, he melts my heart. Really, his excitement over a balloon is unlike any enthusiasm I've ever seen, or when he wakes up from a nap and wants 'mommy to hold you.' He is the best at letting me read him books, and gets so excited over the stories. He loves story time at the library, and loves going to the park. So, when he is good, all the bad, naughty, gray hair causing behavior is so worth it. I really don't want him to grow up, and is it crazy I'm already anxious about him going to kindergarten? It's not for 3 more years.

Today I was able to take Braden to the BYU football game. He loves BYU football. I was raised on BYU football, again, another post. It was so much fun to be with just him. He is really turning into such a great young man. He is playing football at Lonepeak high school, and has never played football before, but he made the A team, he plays defensive line, and he is getting better each game. As he is getting older I see him really wanting to spend more time with Tom. Tom has always been such a great father to him, and I think Braden really sees and appreciates that. As I dropped him off tonight he said, "Thanks that was a really fun day." It was a great day for me.


They are great kids. We are lucky parents, they make us look good. If you are still reading, thanks, this one is for the printed blog I intend to have bound soon, I apologize for the whole my kids are the best kids on the planet theme, even though they are!