Sweet Soccer Goal

So Jordan lives, breathes, eats, drinks soccer.  Of all of the goals his team has scored, I think he has scored all but about three.  He is determined.  As luck would have it, Stephanie was videoing a time when he scored.  It should make the cut for "play of the week"

Peter and the Starcatcher Fall Break Date

Took Stephanie to the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City to see Peter and the Starcatcher. We didn't know too much about the play except that it was a prequel to Peter Pan. We almost saw it in NYC a couple of summers ago, so when we saw it was playing close to home we decided to go. We didn't know it was a comedy. We laughed and laughed so hard. Captain Black Stache stole the show. I think we have found a new Fall Break tradition.
 

Undefeated

Spencer just finished his fall soccer season with an undefeated record.  They were 9-0-1.  He would usually play goalie for one half and then midfield for the other.

The Crusaders!

Notice the other players eyes.  He knows a picture is being taken...

I love this picture.  It is so Spencer.

Court of Honor

October 1, 2013 Tucker earned five more merit badges even after his Eagle.  Spencer is holding 12 merit badges, over half of what is needed to become an Eagle Scout.  He just finished his Eagle project in August and after his six months as a Life Scout should be our second Eagle Scout in the family.

A One Way Road Trip

Here is the travelogue (did I spell that right?) of our trip across the country.

First stop: a side-of-the-road peach stand in Georgia. It was peach season and we were in Georgia...couldn't pass it up. And boy were we glad we didn't. The peaches were delicious! We even bought some peach cider which made it all the way to Utah and we drank once we were in our new home. Kind of a toast if you will.

So after we had a "normal" picture at the peach stand, Brady said, "Let's do something crazy this time." We did, and I call this next picture "irreverent peaches." I guess it could also be called "saggy peaches" as mine are hanging a little low. Think me in 20 years...is that what I have to look forward to?? (Sorry, this is a family blog, I know).
Next stop was Nashville. We loved it there!

Brady got a kick out of Church Street and Gay Street and made me take about 100 pictures of him at this intersection (does he have a warped sense of humor? If you're not sure, look at "irreverent peaches" above).

We stayed right in the heart of the city and walked to Jack's BBQ for dinner. Upon reading framed newspaper articles on the wall while we stood in line for who knows how long to order (good food requires a long wait, right?), we learned that the original location of Jack's was right down on the waterfront until bad boy Hard Rock Cafe came to town and booted them out of their prime location. But they aren't hurtin' for business...the line was out the door. And the food was definitely worth the wait. It was just good old Southern BBQ...Mmmmm Mmmmm.

Courtney the music lover got to go to the Country Music Hall of Fame (it's the building behind her). Brady and his mom took the oldest three kids and I think it was a little more "museum" that they were expecting, but said it was neat to see nonetheless.

This was a fun little pedestrian bridge across the river where the view below was beautiful.

Those two little spots in this next picture are Spencer and Jordan. All of the kids were enthralled with the big hills leading down to the river and they all (minus Meghann) rolled down them. That was a welcome break after being cooped up in the car all day!

Nashville was fun, but after dark the streets turned a little PG-13. We snapped a few pictures, tried to cover the boy's eyes a time or two, and hurried back to our hotel.

I think Courtney's head looks like it could be on the guitar in this picture

The boys always made good use of the pool and exercise room when we stopped for the night.

A highlight of the trip was being able to stop in Missouri and see the Caldwell family, good friends of ours that used to live in Florida and just moved last summer. We even got to spend the night at the Caldwell Bed and Breakfast! What a treat.

Nathan and Jordan were best of friends there - two peas in a pod and I swear they could almost be twins. Here's hoping for BYU roomates, or even mission companions!

And Shelby is one of my dearest friends, and a super-woman. When I grow up I want to be like her.

After a great visit with the Caldwells we realized we were going to be driving right by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis so we had to stop.

We took the tour to the top, even though I am afraid of heights and slighly claustrophibic. I made it to the top, and even back down again! It was fun to see the city from that elevation.

After Missouri we headed to Nauvoo, Illinois, just about 4 hours away. For those of you who aren't sure why Nauvoo would be on our "must stop at" list, it's just full of Mormon history. The kids had fun learning how bricks were made in the Brick Yard (and getting to take home a souvenir brick), getting a "prarie diamond" (ring made out of a nail, something like that), watching the Nauvoo Pageant, and eating at the Nauvoo Family Inn. It's a delicious buffet that tastes like home cooking. After several days of fast food, this was a welcome break! Here we are with Brady's mom who made the trip with us.

Outside the Nauvoo Temple:

A better view of the temple with the girls in front.

This is what the boys saw for most of the drive:

This is what I saw for the whole drive:

Brady was a mini-van man while I drove the Silver Bullet (our nickname for the Camry).

The other day I found some funny pictures that Spencer took from the back seat of the car. He must have discovered the camera somewhere around Nebraska. Look at these beautiful fields. They loved looking at the sprinklers watering the crops.

We stopped for slurpees one time, mine was blue. Can you tell?

After so much flatland, the boys were fascinated when the terrain turned hilly somewhere around Wyoming.

Sometimes even a train going down the tracks was an exciting thing to see in Wyoming. Boy, that state was a chore to drive through! Talk about boring...

So boring that Meghann couldn't stay awake. Of course, I don't think that was Wyoming's fault, she was like this most of the way! I kept saying, "Oh, look out the window at this" and she'd be fast asleep.

More hills...

Here's the scene the day the moving trucks arrived. I say "trucks" because THREE trucks arrived to bring our stuff. It had all been packed away into crates while we waited to close on the house so it took three trucks to bring all the crates. I'll bet our neighbors were wondering, "What in the world...?"

Jordan proped the slide to the play set up on some boxes and made himself a cardboard jungle gym.

This is how Courtney spent her time.

I thought this picture was funny - the movers had to take the front door off to get the fridge in so here it is, in the great room. When they were all done moving things in, putting things together, cleaning up their padding and cardboard off the wood floors, etc, they said, "Is there anything else we can do for you?" I said, "Just put my front door back on please."

I only felt guilty once or twice sitting on a chair watching the movers unload things. They were getting paid, right?

Just a little picture Spencer took of the wetbar area downstairs.

This is the sign that greeted us as we drove into Brady's parent's driveway. Thanks Liseanne for making it for us :).

And FINALLY, a big thanks to Spencer, the photographer for most of these photos. (He is also the king of the self-portrait).