St. Nickolaus Day

It's St. Nickolaus Day and he visited us last  night. With the threat of Ryker eating the candy and tearing up the boots, I (I mean St. Nick) had to keep the boots in the closet and the candy hidden. Thus, there are no picturesque photos of the loot. I do have a pic of the dog, though.

Suffice it to say that Ryker is still causing heartache and costing us money. He ate the Direct TV cable again this week, he has broken/eaten every snowman ornament that I have collected since Keagan was a baby, and he has bitten into two PS4 controllers. Both of the bird feeders are destroyed. He can't keep blankets in his dog house for making cotton confetti and he loves to play chase around the house while carrying your prized Rothy's, or in the boys' cases Vans and Jordans, in his mouth. The cat hates him. I'm constantly cleaning up after him. Keagan loaths taking care of him; Evan only tolerates him when he is sleeping. But Wes loves him. We finally persuaded Wes that Ryker needs training. Good, solid, professional training.

So St. Nick visited last night, but all I have is this dog-gone picture of Ryker.

And He’s Off

He drove himself to school today. I followed him to the interstate just to make sure no one pulled out in front of him. He drove himself to personal training this afternoon. Wes followed him this time to make sure he made it to the gym without losing his way. 

He drove Madalyn to the basketball game tonight. 

Eventually we won’t think twice about his driving himself. Eventually Keagan will be okay riding as his passenger. 

I pray he drives responsibly, safely, and slowly! And to give me peace of mind and make sure he’s taking this responsibility seriously, I’ve downloaded an app that will let me know if he doesn’t. 

Safe travels, Evan!

Soccer Showcase

Six soccer games in two days. There is no better way to spend a weekend. Evan’s team went 1-2 in Memphis; Keagan’s team went 1-1-1. Saturday’s games were played in mud pits. Sunday’s games were played in brutal winds. But I consider myself lucky to be able to watch both boys play at the same venue.

With an abbreviated season, these are the only pictures I have of Evan this season. And they were taken with my phone! 😢 The tongue. Always. His signature look.

I’m afraid this is the last of travel soccer for a while - maybe ever. My heart is saddened at the mere mention of giving up something that is such an integral part of our lives. But sometimes our paths in life take an unexpected detour. Something better lies ahead.

They Missed Him

While we were living it up out West, the middle school basketball team had a game Monday night. The team lost. Big. The boys looked bad. After the Game, the boys went wild running through showers, yelling, acting silly. A fellow eighth grader said, “You wouldn’t be acting this way if Keagan was here.” Then he broke down in tears - embarrassed that his team was in such disarray. After a long pep talk and a “we’ll get ‘em tomorrow guys,” Coach went home and told his wife, “I’m flying Keagan back for Tuesday’s game. I can’t handle another game like we had tonight.” Unfortunately, Tuesday’s game was just as bad. Keagan was despondent; he hated missing the games and receiving texts about the scores knowing he wasn’t contributing!

Tonight Keagan was back. And he played the point like he hadn’t missed a week of training. The best part, though? We came home with a Dubba!

Day #5

We wrapped up our week in Jackson with some shopping, a photography gallery, and a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. 

Our wildlife sightings this week have been extraordinary. We awoke to fresh snow and prints right outside our door. We speculated bear, cat, and everything in between, but the park ranger told us we were looking at the prints of a harmless otter! What a great week we have had! Next trip on my bucket list is Iceland! 

Day #4 Happy Thanksgiving

We started our day of thanks with a tram trip to the top of Rendezvous Peak, 10,450 feet above sea level, in the Tetons. 

At the top, we were greeted with heavy snowfall and strong winds, but what an experience!

After a Thanksgiving Lunch, we watched the Cowboys game - some traditions can’t be broken. 

At dusk, we hoped the quiet and peaceful day would lure the elk out so we could get a close up view, but we were only greeted by mule deer. 

What a blessing it is to be with family! Now we hunker down for the winter storm.

Day #3

We started our day in the National Elk Refuge. Within minutes, we found bighorn sheep!

Then we headed to Teton Village. Nothing was opened so that trip was short lived. 

On our way back to Jackson, we stopped at a park to hike. The views were stunning! The weather was just perfect and the skies were a beautiful clear blue!

After a late lunch (where Wes finally got his bison burger), we went for a hike near the Snake River and Antelope Flats. After we got home, we learned there were bears spotted a half mile from us. 

What a wonderful day!