Our friends invited us to go to the BYU vs. Boise State game on Thursday.  It was a little stressful  getting the kids taken care of.  Brilynn and Maycie didn't want to miss school and mess up their attendance.  My friend needed me to babysit her son for a few days so we ended up swapping and she kept Bri and Maycie for us.  They were excited to get to have a sleep over with friends since this is usually something that we don't allow.  We left on Thursday afternoon and drove the LONG and UNEVENTFUL drive to Boise.  We took the twins with us and they stayed with some friends of friends who had a teenage daughter.  After dropping them off we headed to the Stadium.  We had amazing seats and a perfect view of the players and the field.  Although the game was hard to watch since BYU had some horrible plays and I ended up with a stress headache, John and I had a great time together with just the two of us (our friends were sitting on the other side)  After the game we picked up the girls and went to our hotel room.  Friday morning we went to Denny's for breakfast and then started the LONG and UNEVENTFUL drive home.  Although it was a short and quick trip it was fun being able to spend time with our friends and cheer on BYU.

Tennis Lessons It Is!!!

 After much trial and error...Brilynn has finally found something she is passionate about.  We have tried Dance, Gymnastics, Soccer, Baseball, acting/plays,  and just about anything else you can think of.  I feel that it is very important for my girls to have something that they belong to a feel a part of.  I want them to have something that they can set goals and work towards accomplishing them and improving in something they love.  The hard part about tennis is that there is nothing really close to Syracuse. John has done some teaching with the girls but he is so busy that it's hard for him to be consistent.  We also did the summer programs through the city but that ended up being a complete waste of time and money.  Brilynn decided that she was going to do comp soccer.  We found her a team and they were really excited to have her.  Once she made the team she decided that she really didn't want to do soccer and that she was going to stick with softball.  We found a softball team for her to tryout for but they ended up making it a u12 team instead of a u10 team and she really didn't have a chance in making that team.  This forced me to look into tennis a little more for her.  After many phone calls and discussions with different people...we finally found her a coach in Bountiful.  Pati is from Peru and is an excellent tennis coach.  All of her daughters have played for the U and her youngest just got a full ride scholarship to the U for tennis.  The only downside is that it is in Bountiful and it is about a 25 minute drive each way for me.  We go on Mondays and Wednesdays.  The tennis courts are on the mountain just south of the Temple.  The views are beautiful and there is a playground for the other girls to play on.  John and I enjoy watching her improve and learning new skills and gaining confidence in herself. 

Night Games=Ouch!!!

 Last Friday Brilynn was invited to a late night birthday party.  While she was at the party the rest of us went to dinner and went shopping at the mall.  While we were at the mall we got a phone call that Brilynn had a cut on her forehead and she wanted us to come get her.  In the past Brilynn has been known to be a little dramatic so we weren't in a big rush to get her.  We finished our shopping and then headed to her friends house.  Once we got there we realized that she wasn't being dramatic.  In the pictures it is hard to see the big goose egg on her forehead.  We then got the full story of what had happened.  They had been playing night games and her and another girl came around the corner at the same time and somehow her mouth went into Brilynn's head.

 This picture shows the swelling of her eye the next day.  Her whole side of her face was pretty puffy.  However, we are thankful that Brilynn did not have long term damage like the other girl.  The other girl had to be taken to the ER that night.  She had broken off her top front two teeth.  They took her into surgery on Monday to surgically remove the teeth because what was left of the tooth had been pushed up into the roof of her mouth.  She will have to have a retainer with 2 fake teeth on them until she is 17 or 18 and then they will put permanent teeth in for her.  Such a long process to recovery for her.  Brilynn said she wasn't at school all week.  We feel so blessed that Brilynn's injuries were very minor compaired to her friends.

Outlaws VS. Wasatch

 Maycie had her first game of the Season this week against Wasatch.  They had a 5-2 victory.  The girls have worked so hard this year and it's fun to see the hard work pay off.  I love the passion that Maycie has for soccer.

Twinny Bop Soccer

 The twins had their first soccer game on Saturday.  The uniforms  were extra big so we had to do some alterations.  We had to tie up the sleeves with ribbons, tie a knot on the side, and roll the shorts.  We were really worried about Preslee since she can be very timid and shy compared to Payge.  We went over and over with her that she can't cry and get upset when someone takes the ball from her.  While they were warming up fot the game Payge got hit hard in the head with a ball.  That was a not a good start for her.  She was really upset and not wanting to play.  We only had 4 girls there and they play 3 on 3.  The other 2 girls were crying and would not play.  We bribed Payge to hurry and play but she was pouting the whole time.  So it was pretty much 2 against 3 for the entire game.  Preslee really shocked us.  She was able to score 3 girls even though the odds were against her.  We really expected things to go the opposite way and we were so excited Preslee loved playing.  Hopefully Payge will have a better game next week and will be more involved in the game.  This age is so entertaining to watch and absolutely adorable. 

Payge's favorite movie is Tangled.  She says this is her "Smolder" look like Flynn Rider haha

 

All about me Preschool

 I really struggled with trying to decide if I should put these girls in Preschool.  I was not in any hurry to get rid of them sooner then I had to.  We tried to get into a program that was an at home Preschool that was done online but we weren't excepted.  I was okay with that and just decided I would teach them on my own.  A few weeks ago a lady in our neighborhood posted that she still had a few open spots in her Preschool.  The same week John told me that the owner of the company he works for wanted to know if I would be interested in doing some medical billing from home sometime within the next few months once he got some new clients.  It all just fell into place and I felt really strong that I needed to send them to Preschool.  I think I am just having a hard time facing the fact that we are leaving a stage of our life that we have been in for the last 10 years.  There are definite benefits of the new stage that we are in and we are loving it but at the same time I am having a hard time knowing that all of my girls are getting older and we are out of the infant/baby/toddler stage.  Some may say..."Well that means you just need to have another one."  I feel very strongly that that isn't the answer for me.  I am content with the children we have and don't feel like I need more.  I fully believe that no matter how many children I had...it would be hard knowing that i am  leaving a certain stage of life and moving on.  Preslee and Payge are a huge blessing to our family.  I never thought I would ever have the chance to have twins.  Having twins has been one of the funnest things about being a parent.  The relationship they have and the interaction that goes on between the two of them is absolutely PRICELESS.  I treasure these times while they are so little and innocent. 

 Payge was mad that the fly was buzzing around her head and wouldn't leave her alone.  I love this pouty face so much!

 This girl for sure has the west genes in her!

The first day of preschool I went to pick them up.  They got in the car and I asked how their first day of preschool was.  Preslee was far from impressed with her first day of school.  She said, "Princess Peach only came to me 1 time and went to everyone else 9 times."  After a little bit of question and answer I was able to figure out that Princess Peach is a hamster.  They put her in a ball and sat in a circle and Princess Peach would run around in the circle in her ball.  Preslee took it very personal that Princess Peach only came to her 1 time.  On the second day of preschool Preslee was pleased to inform me that Princess Peach didn't make her sad today because they left her in the cage all day instead. 

Syracuse Outlaws Adidas Cup Tournament

Maycie had her first soccer tournament in July.  This is the first year for her to play on a comp team.  We are actually playing up in the U9 division instead of the U8 because we didn't have enough girls to do the U8 so half the girls are 8 and half are 9.  They won 2 games and lost 2 games.  It was much more intense then what I am use to with AYSO but Maycie loved every second of it. I love watching her do something that she has such a passion for.  Go Outlaws!!!