Salvador...Salvador....Salvador...

When we were in DC we took the boys to a World Cup Qualifier Soccer match. El Salvador vs. Anguilla and it was awesome. I know the boys loved the game better than anything else we did while there. (well Evan is a little conflicted with the excitement of the huge shark tooth at the museum) but I think for everyone else the soccer match was the big event.

It was a little scary at first because we don't speak spanish, but everyone was very nice and boy do they get excited about their team. I always knew soccer fans got crazy and it was really cool to be there and see it. I'm just glad their were no fights. Of course the score was 4-0 in El Salvador's favor and they were definitely the majority. Men were carrying around these huge drums and beating them and then they'd sing their fight song. We even joined in...Salvador...Salvador...Salvador... that's all we could say due to that's all we understood.


We had awesome seats, but we failed to realize that we'd have to stand the entire time, because they don't sit down at all and they don't stop yelling.

The flags and players entering the field to sing their national anthems.

Anguilla is on the left in orange and Salvador is the blue, the boys loved that their uniforms were the same as theirs.

Penalty Kick by Anguilla, no goal though

Sean wants those yellow cleats, and man if he can run like that man, he can have them. Click the picture to make it large to see them, right in the center.

The fans, who didn't want to turn away to take a picture.

All in all it was a great experience for them. Even the metro ride back where we had to stand in the streets for half an hour waiting to get down the escalator to even get to the metro. But we finally got to the train and made it home by 2 am.

Sean's note: Taking a seven year old to the bathroom at a soccer game with a bunch of hyped up fans, next time make him hold it!

So when I just spontaneously yelled out, blue punch buggy yesterday, Evan is appalled.

"Seriously Mom, do you remember our Private conversation in the garage LAST night?"

My bad!

Red Punch Buggy, no punch back, Safety!!

Does anyone else play this while riding down the road? The boys and I do and lately, Evan and I have been winning. Of course I have somewhat of an advantage being in the front seat, but hey. Last night coming home we were on a roll again and Sean just wasn't seeing them. So Evan says to me, "Mom, when we get to the house, I really need to speak to you privately." I say, "Okay, but we're all family we can talk openly."
"No, really, privately," Evan says.

So when we get home he calls me back and says, "for the next little while, let's let Sean get all the punch bugs, okay."

I'm like oh yeah, that's a great idea my competitive side really thinks so!

The Big Earred Rabbit!

The boys and I have been walking/running for the last couple of weeks. Now that things are slowing down we can do this. We always enjoy it. Since I'm packing and hanging out with my parents for the weekend we went and did our walk early this morning. While walking we come up on some road kill, of course with further investigation from Sean he's says it's a bunny rabbit. EWWWW. I try not to look and just get past as fast as I can. Evan is behind us, walking slowly past the dead rabbit when he's yells.

"Oh no, not the Easter Bunny!"

Sean assures him that it's not the Easter Bunny because the Easter Bunny has bigger ears.

So rest assured the Easter Bunny will still be coming around tonight.

Use your Head!

Why does one child like to read everything he can get his hands on and the other had rather be outside playing with whatever he can get his hands on?

At least they are both working their brains, I can't complain!

Seriously?

Last Saturday the boys of course had a soccer game and the team they were playing was undefeated same as us. So the game starts off pretty good and everyone is playing fine, we are up five to nothing and by the third quarter the other team's parents had had enough and were yelling at our boys for pushing and the ref not calling them and giving a penalty kick. 1. Our teams boys were not pushing anymore than normal and most of the aggressiveness was just them running into each other going after the ball. 2. The ref didn't give us two more goals that the goalie had to retreive out of the goal, but she said it didn't go in? So maybe she was blind.

But anyway, the boys on the other team got a little vocal with our boys and most of ours just ignored the behavior and went on and played. One little boy didn't and got mad and said something back. Then the parent of this boy got mad and almost started a fight after the game. I mean parents rolling around fighting on the kid's soccer field, Can you even imagine? Seriously?

So the problem with all this is, these kids are 7-9 years old. None are paying a mortgage yet, none have been accepted to college on a soccer scholarship, none have been invited to play in the Olympics so why get so mad? Why?

Did I mention I'm so excited for my break from all this crazy!!! I'm doing a happy dance.

What will I do with my time?

We've been playing soccer nonstop since last July and we also threw in some basketball there too. We normally go straight from Spring soccer to Baseball, but not this year. Neither boy wants to play Baseball this year. So mid April, I'm going to have time on my hands that I haven't had in awhile. Can I get into shape? Can I do things on my own? Can I actually possibly have a nice weekend away with my husband? Oh the possibilities. I'm really kinda giddy about it. I just pray I use it all wisely!

In two weeks, we also are taking a family vacation to Washington, DC. I'm excited about that too, the boys loved the movie National Treasure and there's a National Tresure tour. Too cool. I love visiting the big city every once in awhile. After my trip there last October to see Cam, Jan and Cameron, I feel like I can tackle it all this time. They want to see all the sights, so it should be really fun. Let's hope anyway.

LOL, Reasons I don't go to the Gym!!!

A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM

If you read this without laughing out loud, there is something wrong with you.. This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, my daughter (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me.
Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Belinda, who identified herself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My daughter seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

MONDAY:

Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Belinda waiting for me. She is something of a Greek goddess - with blonde hair,dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!! Belinda gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which she conducted her aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Belinda was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time she was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!!

TUESDAY:




I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door.

Belinda made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then she put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Belinda's rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT-!! It's a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY:

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Belinda was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. Her voice is a little too perky for early in the morning and when she scolds, she gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Belinda put me on the stair monster. Why the Hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Belinda told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. She said some other shit too.

THURSDAY :




Belinda was waiting for me with her vampire-like teeth exposed as her thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late, it took me that long to tie my shoes.




Belinda took me to work out with dumbbells. When she was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. She sent another skinny bitch to find me. Then, as punishment, she put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.

FRIDAY :

I hate that bitch Belinda more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little cheerleader. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat her with it.

Belinda wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damned barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher.

Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?



SATURDAY :

Belinda left a message on my answering machine in her grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing her made me want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

SUNDAY :




I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my daughter (the little shit) will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Tubing Fun

Click on the pictures to see larger version.





Just a few pictures to share...

So...

"you had sex with Daddy to have me?" ask Sean.



Want to know what my brillant insightful answer was.....










"GO TALK TO YOUR DADDY."

I mean come on we were walking into a ski shop when he puts his arm around me charmingly and I thought to myself, Awe, he does still love his mama, until he drops this bomb on me. There have been lots of questions lately and we keep putting them off, but I'm afraid that putting them off is not going to work much longer. I can't believe we are to this stage already.

Kids will believe anything...

Soccer clinic being put on by college kids...

Sean, Evan and I went walking last weekend and they were talking about the clinic. They are so impressed with these college soccer players.

Evan: "Mom, did you know that one of the soccer players real name is Magic Man?"

Sean: "Yes, mom that's what his parents named him."

Me: Really, do they call him Magic?"

Evan: "No, they just call him Matt!"

Straight to Bed

Life has been so hectic lately, every night during the week we have some kind of practice and then on Wednesday's we have church and I have my dose of girl drama and then each weekend is filled with something. We started fall soccer in August of last year and then moved directly into indoor soccer and then into basketball and now we're back into spring soccer. We had two weekends off from soccer but still had basketball on those two weekends. When can we just sit down and do nothing?

Along with all the extracurricular activities we still have school and school projects, Sean's baptism, and holidays. My poor little Belle probably thinks we've left her to fend for herself lately.

We decided last week that we were going skiing, this would probably be the last weekend for us to be able to as far as snow goes and well there's just not a good weekend with sports involved. So the boys decided they would miss their basketball games and their first spring soccer game and head to the slopes.

I unfortunately didn't have President's day off and had to come back on Sunday, but we packed up Friday night and headed over to the mountains, arriving at midnight and heading straight to bed, then up before daylight and drove up to West Virginia to tube for the day. We had a blast tubing, they had 12 lanes and although we did have to wait in line some it wasn't so bad, it was worth it to go flying down that mountain in a tube.

We headed back to the cabin and go straight to bed again, only this time to get up to go skiing. We packed everything up, head over to the slopes in NC and ski the morning half day. We have taken the boys snowboarding, but only Sean has skiied before. They both did awesome. Evan saw Daddy stop by throwing his skis to the side and wanted to know how, so he showed him and from then on, Evan pointed his skis downhill and flew down, stopping only when he got to the bottom, by throwing his skis to the side.

I wish I had that kind of fearlessness. I guess maybe I was when I was younger, but now that I know what broken bones feel like, I will take my time going down the mountain.

After we skiied for awhile we headed back home. Arriving again at our destination late and headed straight for bed.

I'm ready to just sit on my couch and watch movies for the day. Which is exactly what my three boys are doing while I work. Umm, and I Thought I was the Princess of the house.

A Road to Baptism

In October a couple of Sean's friends were baptized and he started thinking about when he should do it. At Christmas he went to our Pastor and told him that he was ready. So we met with Charles and this past Sunday, Sean went down front for his profession of faith. I wasn't prepared for the rush of emotions I had. I know that I'll cry when he is baptized. But for the Pastor to recognize him and introduce him to the church it was amazing and very moving.

It has been so neat to watch him in his walk, you can see when he struggles with things and how pleased he is when he's sure he's made the right choice. It's almost as if Jesus pats him on his back and he actually feels it. I pray that he will continue to feel those pats when his struggles get harder and this foundation that he's building himself will be strong enough to withstand all that life can throw at him.

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. Mark Twain

Old Barns

Life's little funnies!

Indoor soccer has been an exhilirating ride. It's very fast paced and the games are over before you know it. Balls are bouncing off the walls, boys are running everywhere, including bouncing off the walls. Their team has done well during this season. Last weekend during their second game Sean was playing hard and had scored two goals already. He runs down the field and the defensive player he's headed straight for moves out of his way. Well his coach didn't think he should do that and started yelling for the boy, "never back down" "stand your ground" "go for it, no matter what." After the coach finished his spill, the little boy looks at him and says,"did you see the size of him?"


When Evan gets in the shower, it's like his own personal stage, sometimes he sings and sometimes he has his own little commentary going on. Last night, Sean and I were sitting in the den and he was in our shower, we could hear him in there, we thought he was singing, but when we snuck up to the door to listen he was just talking about life and things and making silly statements about washing his body. We just sat there and laughed and laughed, he was just so content and happy. I love that chatter.


The boys had soccer practice yesterday afternoon. Being that I had to work and had to pick them up let them quick change in the car and take them straight to practice, Sean was having a hard time changing. He couldn't get his cleat on, so by this time we were at the park and I said to him to not get mad, just hop out and see if he could do it better standing up. A couple of mumblings later he says, "I've just had a long hard bad day and I'm tired!"
Of course the day got shorter and so much better when I told him we were going to eat with Lainey later.

Isn't it funny how life happens, little comments, little commentaries, confessions all part of it. All part of them growing up it's such a great ride.

Beauty, as far as the eye can see...

Maybe . . you should dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you dream of, and want to do.

Manners

When did manners go out the window? Sean and I are trying against what feels like incredible odds to instill good manners in our boys. They've been pretty good with the mam's and sirs, however, what about pulling chairs out for women, properly introducing oneself, holding doors for people. Just what most would call common courtesy. We want our boys to be nice and when people say something about those Lewis boys we want them to say things like they are so nice and have such good manners.

Now that little girls are coming into the picture, we can't stress this enough. Hold the door, wait for them, be nice to them, chew with your mouth closed, eat slowly (Sean), wipe your mouth, etc, etc. etc.!!!

Hopefully, all this will pay off, but right now it's seems so hard.

A year in review....

Why???

Why do people with the bumper stickers that say THINK in large letters on the back of their car always annoy the heck out of me? Promoting such a concept you would THINK one would actually do it.

I got behind some THINK person today in line to drop the boys off at school and while everyone else just drops their kids off, I mean I'm guessing they tell them everything before they get out of the car, but no not this guy, he has to carry on a conversation with his son for ten minutes. There are others still waiting to drop their kids off, why hold up the line? Why do you go through the drop off line and then get out of your car and help your child out, go park and walk them in, and don't sit there and wait for them to get into the school, I'm sure the teachers will make sure they walk that 10 yards into the school.

UGH, THINK PEOPLE!!

Okay off my soapbox

Forecast: Sunny and 70 with a chance of SNOW!

So for Thanksgiving we left the beach and headed west to the mountains. When we left I had on my rainbows and jeans and just a shirt, I mean it was 70 degrees. By the time we were about 3/4's of the way there, I could feel the temp dropping. And when we arrived it was freezing cold and I had bare feet. We immediately start a fire and cozy in for the night when we look up and it's snowing. The boys go out in their heavy coats and the shorts they left the house in.

The rest of the weekend was very cold and snow here and there. We took the boys snowboarding on Friday, they were making snow so it was cold and wet which is why I sat in the lodge and drank hot chocolate while Sean took the boys down the mountain.


Pick a number from 1-5, whoever is closest goes down first. And those two fought over it.


It's really wet can we go already?


Just let's practice some first.


The little guy and his board, he did really good, I guess it's his low center of gravity. He only fell a few times, Unlike his mom who would probably slide down on her face.




After snowboarding we went and picked out our Christmas tree, it was so much fun, being on the coast all the trees are shipped in (from these mountains) so we decided we'd go get our own. I forgot my camera on the second stop, because it was so cold my brain was frozen. But I did manage to get one picture of Sean in the middle of some trees. The kid just won't stay still for anything. But I got him. He's pretty cute uh?

We had a great time as always, we love going over to the mountains.