And So It Begins

Football season is upon us.  Our Friday nights are full for the next couple of months.  Willie is a senior and I guess this is it for football.  I don't plan to miss any games this year unless the weather is too terrible for a baby (and then we'll try to just find a place to sit in the car, I guess).

Last night wasn't quite the first game, but only the blue and white scrimmage.  How did they look?  I don't know.  I wasn't really paying attention and even if I was I'll never really understand football.  What I did notice is that they seem to be having fun and their coach (4th coach in 3 years) seems to be into it and has a genuine interest in the kids.  There was excitement in the air and although not too many people attended, there was a substantial student section.  That was pretty cool!  They even formed a "tunnel" for all the players to run out through at the end.  Enthusiasm at Hunter High?  Maybe the tweets of their new student body president are making some small progress.  We'll see.

You can find write-ups of this year's team in both the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune.  The Deseret News article mentions Willie:

"The offense will rely on running back Hyrum Purcell and quarterback Shaun Scanlan. Both are seniors and have the experience and drive that could propel the team to its former glory. The offensive line will be anchored by Tevita Tauteoli, a sophomore, and Willie Petersen, a senior and the student body president."

Willie is the starting center this year instead of the starting left tackle.  I asked him a week or so ago what he thought about that.  He said that he'd much rather play left tackle, but he was ok taking on the role at center. When I questioned him further, he said he would describe it to me in video game terms.  It went something like this, "I would be rated like 90% at left tackle and my rating at center would be around 80%.  However, there are a couple of other kids with a 90% rating at left tackle, but I have the highest rating at center."  To get his full point across, though, he ended our conversation by saying, "I have to play center, but I really just don't like it because someone is always touching my bum."

Here are some pictures from Friday night's scrimmage.

Willie is at the front of the blue pack, looking at the ball.

Willie is #74 standing there in the middle

1st attempt at the Haka for the season.  

Wheat and Beat

We went to Garland on Saturday to celebrate Wheat and Beat Days.  Here's what we did:

• Ate good burgers at the Garland City Park
• Rode the train - This was a 4-wheeeler train pulling homemade 50 gallon barrel train cars.   Molly was excited about riding it until I actually tried to put her in a train car and then in true Molly fashion, she screamed.  The lady running it said that parents could go with the kids.  Um . . . Aren't I a little too big?  She said no.  Against my better judgement, I did it.  Molly had fun.  Laugh all you want at the picture.
• Molly did the cake walk, fish pond, and duck pond.
• Watched the firemen squirt every one at the church park with their hoses.  Molly thought it was pretty fun to play in the gutter.  James couldn't avoid getting soaked by his old fireman friends.
• Mary and I visited the Quilt Exhibition and the Art Show.
• Ate delicious pizza and gooey cheesy breadsticks from Pizza Plus.
• Watched the fireworks (both Molly and Jack crashed before that point and didn't even budge during them)
• Had a nice day with great company!

 

Lauren's Wedding

Cousin Lauren got married last Thursday to new cousin-in-law, Nate.  They got married at the Draper Temple, had their luncheon at a church in Sandy, and then their reception at the Old Meeting House.  I have to say I was looking forward to going to the Old Meeting House for a nice reception because I have always just wanted to sit back and enjoy a reception there.  When James and I had our reception there, I'm certain that it was very nice, but I can't say that I got to actually enjoy it because we were greeting all of the generous people, standing in the monstrous line, who'd come to congratulate us.  Lauren's reception was very nice, but I still can't say I got to totally sit back and enjoy it, because I don't think you can really do that anywhere with a 2 year old and a 2 month old . . .  but it was still nice.

Here are some pictures:

Bride and Groom

Jack resting in his stroller at the temple

Dad and Uncle Evan

Mom, Willie, and Molly

Willie and Parker looking handsome.

Molly in her new school uniform dress.

Jack and Jackie

Stupid Is as Stupid Does

Our neighbors gave us this for Christmas - olive oil, right?  Why did they put all those little rocks in it?  Are they clean?  Should we use this olive oil?  Well, we never have used it because it makes me a little nervous.  It just sits on our counter.

Last night I was trying to fix dinner.  I was just going to grill a piece of chicken in a pan on the stove to add to some pasta.  I only had one hand.  Jack was asleep in his swing, but Molly was trying to help me, James was going to be home late and we were struggling (as is the usual at dinner time).

Rather than getting into the cupboard, getting the olive oil, unscrewing the lid . . . you get the idea . . . I decided to just take a chance and use this bottle.  It was handy, just sitting on the counter, and the oil was going to be cooked, so contaminations from the neighbors or the little rocks would disappear, right?

I put the oil in the pan.  It turned the heat on.  I cut the chicken.  I put the chicken in the pan.  I washed my hands.  I noticed the oil hadn't really moved around the pan and didn't appear to even heat up.  That's odd.  I can feel heat on the pan.  Is something wrong with this oil?  Hmmm . . .

I got the pasta and sauce started, but kept smelling this overwhelming lemony smell.  What is that?  Molly?  Did you spill something?  It started to smell like soap. I just washed my hands, but I used regular hand soap and not dish soap. I didn't use that much.  It smells like a sink full of sudsy dishes.  What is that soap smell?  It's lemony fresh and quite overwhelming.  Where is it coming from?

Ahhhhhhhhhh . . . I'm cooking the chicken in dish soap *&^&$%#&**(@(#(!!!!!!

I honestly considered "washing off" the chicken and continuing to cook it, but it had already cooked long enough that we would have been blowing bubbles if we ate it.  It went in the trash.  I started to head out to the freezer in the garage and get another frozen chicken breast to start cooking, but then all heck broke loose.

Molly fell off the chair while trying to help me.  She bonked her head on the cabinet.  I tripped over the fallen chair and hurt my big toe.  Molly was crying that I threw the chicken away because, "Mama, I want chichen nunnas," and was crying that she'd just fallen off the chair.  In snot covered hysterics, she kept saying, "Mama, I bonk my head, want chichen nunnas."  Jack was starting to stir and was a ticking time bomb to start crying that he was hungry.  James wasn't going to be around until 7:00.

Such is life.

Molly and I ate our noodles with the sauce.  No chicken or green pepper from the garden or salad.  And, I cooked her 3 frozen chicken nuggets in the microwave.

So much for trying to fix dinner.  When James has late nights, Molly and I often just split a box of macaroni and cheese.  We should have just stuck with that.

At least now I know what the neighbors gave us for Christmas.

2 Months

Jack had his 2 month check-up yesterday with Dr. Havlik.  He is growing like crazy and here are his stats to prove it:

Age: 2 months
Weight: 13 pounds 1 ounce (82%, up from 51%)
Height: 23.5 inches (72%, up from 63%)
Head Size: 15.8 inches (56%, up from 44%)

He passed all of the development questions.  He can coo and make noises, he can smile at someone talking to him, he can follow an object from one side to another, and he reacts to sound.  As of a week or so ago, he has been consistently sleeping about 5-6 hours at night, which is great.  He's not on much of a regular schedule during the day and he sleeps best in his swing or takes lots of short naps, but at least he's got the night time thing down.

His head is a little flat on one side.  Dr. Havlik told us this last time, too, but it was the other side.  I thought I'd done a good job of rotating Jack from side to side while he sleeps, but apparently I've been overcompensating and the flatness has shifted from one side to the other.  Dumb me, I hadn't noticed.  In addition, his neck muscles are tight when turning his head to the non-flat side.  We need to work on getting him to look to the right and having him sleep that way (then keep rotating).

Jack is doing really well.  For the most part, he is a very happy little boy.  He loves his sister and his dad and will usually smile or giggle at their voices more than mine.  He is still sleeping in the bassinet in our room, but I've been talking to Molly a lot about moving him into the crib in her room.  I am just a little worried about what she'll do when I'm not right there to hear her.  Often, in the mornings, I am awakened by the bassinet behind pushed side to side and Molly exclaiming, "Mom, Jack's awake!"  Otherwise, I wake up to her eyes staring at me and with her binker in her mouth saying, "Mom, I stuuuuck."  (Yes, I should probably not be lazy and should get up before her, but I don't.)

That is the report . . .  until his 4 month check-up.