Introduction to Soccer: let the laughter begin...

Now, I know I posted this spring about E playing t-ball. What a hoot that was to watch all these 3 year olds running base to base, hitting the balls with these giant helmets on, and the oh-so-cute waves from 2nd base to mommy! But, we couldn't stop there...we are bound and determined to give E all the experiences and exposure to as many sports as we can possibly muster-- hopefully ending in a definitive interest in at least one. So, this fall, the choice was Soccer! Not from mom or dad, from E. He has wanted to play soccer since the spring. So, over the weekend, he had his first game of soccer. What an experience...

 Before the game: Can you find E?? Take a minute, look closely....yep! He is the one IN the goal net. And, now let the laughing from the sidelines begin!

 He wasn't quite sure during this first game. He had a small meltdown, because he wasn't given the ball all the time! Such a fun teaching moment for mom: "E, we have to share the ball as a team. You want to keep it away from the blue team!"

Here he is waiting for the other team to kick it off. He loves to just stand there sometimes!! We were laughing. Sometimes we forget how hard it is to learn something new. Wow! We are so looking forward to the 7 more games!

My Ethan turned 4!!

My little boy turned 4 this week. What a weird thought for me to think, "Wow! It has already been four years?" Well, I guess it has. This little boy has brought Mike and I so much joy, laughter, stress, love, anxiety...and probably many more emotions that I can't even vocalize. But, all in all, these last four years have been such a learning experience full of blessings beyond my comprehension. I am so proud of who he is at this moment in his life, and it thrills me to think of the great experiences and growing that he will continue to  have. I thank my Heavenly Father each and every day for this child in my life. I am so blessed to be a mother of a very active, curious, energetic, loud 4 year old! Happy Birthday E!

 We had a little ice cream & cake social with family on Sunday night to celebrate! He was so excited to have everyone there because of HIM! 

 This is the cake HE picked out. I bet you can't guess what he LOVES?!?! Yep, that is right...anything that makes an engine sound!

 Man! That face will melt my heart like butter! I just love him!

Opening his presents:

Favorite gift of all was from Aunt Lisa and Tony! Between him and Brynlee, I don't know if my walls will keep up!

May the Lord continue to bless this little boy with the same sweet spirit and curiosity that he has right now! We love this little guy, and can't imagine our home without this crazy kid in it!

A much needed update!

Okay, I know that I have been a terrible blogger lately. I blame it mostly on my cute kids who have taken over my life and have made it impossible to sit down and blog for hours on end! But, I know that with all the family that we have all over the "world" I need to be better and keeping them informed. And, this is the best way I know how to remember all of our happenings! So, here it goes...
Summer happenings:

(Ethan sporting Uncle James' military goggles

)

 I got to go to our ward's Girls Camp this year, and while I was camping with all of our Young Women in our ward, the kids got the great opportunity to spend a few days with their Aunt Miriam and they went up to visit Grandma R. They always have the best time with the aunts and uncles.

 (hanging out with the Ras cousins up at Grandma R's!)

We had a great chance to see Mike's sister and her 5 kids. The live in Texas and were up for a few days. We got to hang out with them for a weekend and had a great time. We love it when all the cousins get together!

 (the kids playing in their "new" sandbox =  our backyard without the trees!)

We had our 2 big trees taken out of our backyard over the summer and this is what the kids decide to do with all the dirt and empty space we now have. Hopefully next summer, we will be able to transform the backyard into a great space! We will see...

 (Brynlee hanging out!)

Over the 4th of July holiday, Brynlee decided that she was going to defy gravity and jump out of her cribe one night. That ultimately scared Mom and Dad out of bed with the huge thud we heard. Unfortunately, Brynlee received a cast for 6 weeks to sport through the summer. She did pretty good, but she is so glad to have it taken off!

 (Dad and Ethan with Thomas the Train)

This summer we decided to take the kids up to see Thomas the Train. My kids think that show is the best! I have had to go looking all over the city at yard sales looking for these DVD's. So, we spent the day in Heber riding the train and taking pictures. Needless to say, we found out that they would rather watch Thomas on tv then see him in person!

 (Here we are on one of the little trains!)

 (Family Get Togethers)

The end of the summer marked a lot of changes in the Ras family. Aunt N taking off on a new adventure to Hawaii for school, Uncle J is in Afghanistan with the military, Uncle M is in China for a school exchange, and all the other things going on. So, we had a family dinner...which is always full of laughs, jokes, and great food!

 (Summer and Updated photo of all the Ras grandkids!)

Aren't they all just cuties!! We love this picture!

(Ethan's going to school!)

And finally, to close off the summer, my little guy is big enough to go to school! Here he is sporting his new backpack and school clothes! He is getting so big!

I promise I will be better at updating the blog. It might not be in order, but atleast you will get a glimpse into our lives with our great family!

Is it really May already?!

Wow! I have been a major blog slacker lately. So, I guess it is time for some major updates! So, let's see if I can remember what happened over the last 6 months or so...

Well, you know how the winter goes...it's cold, snowy (well, this year it has been more brown and cold!) So, we really haven't done much that is worth blogging about, but I will say that March was quite an exciting month for us. Mike got accepted to be a trainer in Baltimore, Maryland for 5 weeks for work. So, guess where that left me and the kids? Yep, that is right...all alone.

It was quite a scary experience, but I realized that I still do love my children and I love my husband and what he does for our family and for me when he is around. I think that experience was one that has left us feeling more appreciative of our family and how important we are to each other. At least that is how I came away from the experience.

April turned out to be a busy month, but only because we chose that route. I enrolled Ethan in T-ball. I wasn't sure what he would do, but he was so excited. So, we have spent 1 week day evening and every Saturday in April and the beginning of May at the baseball diamond at our local elementary school cheering, laughing, and just plain having fun watching Ethan learn to play and perfect his game of T-ball. Here are a few pictures of my studly T-ball player!!

And let's not forget that we have another child!! Brynlee is having a great time running around with her brother and wanting to do everything that he is doing. She is going to nursery now and is "learning" to love it!!! She is just so fun to watch!

I am so proud of my kids and the personalities that they each are developing. It is so fun to see them grow. I can't believe that Ethan is old enough to play sports, go to school, and sing to his mommy in Primary. It warms my heart!! I am so thankful for my life!

Christmas Traditions...start...now!!

Christmas Tradition #1: CHRISTMAS PAJAMAS!!

We decided to let the kids open their Christmas pajamas on Wednesday night, because the rest of the week we will be heading to parties, and enjoying family. So, here are the festive pictures of this years jammies!! And boy, were the kids excited!!

Brynlee LOVED with a capital L her slippers. We bought her some because she kept wearing Ethan's. So, she just loves her cute slippers. She just wanted to pose for pictures all night long.

Ethan was so funny! He loved his pajamas, but started screaming when he put on his slippers. We didn't really think about this very well this year, because last year he got Buzz and Woody slippers...so, the jammies go better with last year's slipper, but oh well!

5x7 Folded Card

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Fall Leaves

Now that we are in our house, we find that the two trees in our backyard are there for hours of entertainment in the fall, because we have so many leaves they cover our yard. So, each fall, Mike proceeds to take the kids out and rake up the leaves. Well, for about the first 2 hours it is more like playtime with daddy, because there isn't a whole lot of raking going on. Here are a few shots from this years attempt at cleaning up the leaves.

Ethan has always loved this game of jumping in the leaves. This year, Brynlee got in on the action. Let's just put it this way, she wasn't a fan!

Photo shot #2. If Ethan could have stopped playing in the leaves long enough for me to take 1 good photo of everyone looking at the camera. But, it didn't happen, so here are my attempts!

Brynlee cannot hide her excitement for this activity....can you tell?!