One Cute Booty

This weekend I felt like I got some time off, which was nice.  First, I had a soccer game Saturday morning, which is always fun because it means time in the car listening to whatever I want to listen to, time at my game playing a sport I love, and time to myself without toddlers or babies needing my attention.  We won our game, like 9-1 or something, which was good, too.  We have these Eastern European guys (I think they're from Serbia or Croatia, but I'm suddenly not sure) that are faster than lightning and have amazing ball-handling skills, so they score a ton of goals.  We also have this new guy on our team that is Hispanic, and rumor has it that he  plays/played for the Des Moines Menace, the semi-pro team here in Des Moines.  So put all these guys together, and we're quite the team.  I wish I could say I added a lot to the team, but I'm pretty much just one of the 3 token girls that are required to be on the field at all times.  Oh well.  I got a little frustrated Saturday when we were up by so many goals the foreign guys kept shooting instead of passing the ball to those of us who had not yet scored.  Oh well.  Maybe next game...right!

After my game I came home to find Mike watching the Hawkeye game and taping the Ryder Cup, which was no surprise.  I was happy to find out that he didn't just convince Zach how fun it would be to watch football and golf all day and that they did do a lot of playing, too.  That was a relief.  After Zach's nap we dropped the boys off at Grandpa Curt and Grandma Linda's house and Mike and I enjoyed a dinner out at Cheesecake Factory- YUM!  I had the delicious shrimp and bacon club and a slice of cheesecake that I have never had before- Brownie Sundae.  I cannot believe I've never tried that kind before, because it is right up my alley.  There's not really a crust- the bottom part is a brownie with walnuts, and then it has a layer of cheesecake on top.  That's topped with slivered almonds, hot fudge, and a cherry.  Wow.  It was so good.  I asked the waitress if it was new but she said it wasn't.  I was really shocked that I'd never ordered it before.  

So Zach spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's so that they could take him up to Boone the next day to see Thomas the Tank Engine.  It sounds like they had a great time.  Zach enjoyed riding on Thomas and watching some sort of show.  He came home exhausted- fell asleep in the car, even.  We put him down early for his nap at 1:30 or so, and we woke him up at 5:00.  Tired boy!

While Zach was gone Mike and I pulled out the bricks around the trees in our backyard.  We planted those trees 3 years ago in honor of Zach's baptism and put these bricks around them thinking it would look nice.  Then we planted some irises around them, too.  Well, only about half the irises ever grew, and we have never really loved the look of the bricks.  They were a pain to mow around, too.  So, we dug up the irises and moved them next to the house, and put dirt and grass seed in around the trees so that new grass can grow.  Hopefully this will look better and be less of a pain to mow around.

Here's Mike working hard.

Here are the irises we replanted.  They're not much to look at now.  They took quite a beating this summer when we had all the rain and flooding, so I hope they grow next spring/summer.

Here are a couple of pictures of Drew doing what he loves to do whenever we try to change his diaper- roll over! It sure does make it hard to change him.  I just couldn't resist the pictures of that cute little butt.  

Yesterday I had to set Drew down while I quick did something, so I handed him a couple of toys.  The next thing I knew, I looked up and Maggie had his little bird toy in her mouth, just barely dangling.  So I made her drop it, and then I got a couple of pictures of what happened next.  

Notice in this first picture they're both going for the bird.  

In this picture, you can see who won.

This morning as Zach and I were eating breakfast I looked outside and this is what I saw.  It was pretty weird that there was a rainbow, considering it hadn't rained at all.  Zach immediately wanted to listen to Rainbow Connection by Kermit, so we did.  We enjoyed singing, and Zach played his cardboard banjo.

Today Mike had been home from work for a few minutes and was talking with Zach and said, "Wait a minute- I didn't get a hug and kiss from you!"  Zach's reply was classic, "Hug yourself, Dad.  And give yourself a kiss."  That cracked me up.  Zach wasn't mad or anything.  I guess he just didn't feel like getting up from his spot on the floor to give Dad a hug and kiss.

My former boss's husband was just diagnosed with cancer of the liver, pancreas, and lungs.  Ugh.  The doctors initially told him he has 2 months to 1 year to live, but they are referring him up to Mayo for a second opinion.  This tragic news really makes me think about how precious life is.  I can't even imagine the emotions and thoughts I'd be having if I thought I had a year or less to live.  So this is my depressing reminder to everyone to live each day to the fullest.