Flag Football Tournament

This past Tuesday was the start of the Flag Football Tournament. Ryker's game was the most intense game this whole season. At the half the score was 0-0. Then the other team scored a touch town without their conversion point. Then we scored with a conversion point. And another. It was 14-6. With only seconds left they scored again. 14-12. As the teams were lining up to go for the conversion point, I was an anxious mess. If they got the conversion point then they'd obviously go into OT. The game had been so close the whole time that I just wanted them to win and it be over. So when the play begins the other team throws the ball into the end zone and one of our teammates caught the ball. I jumped up screaming (yup I'm that mom) and continued to yell as Sema runs the ball all the way to the other end zone and scores right as the time runs out. YAY!!!! 16-12 was the final score.

 

Ryker was so anxious during the whole game too. I kept catching him biting his nails. So when the game ended in a huge win Ryker was so pumped up. He came running over to me and we hugged me. While we were hugging his exciting yell turned into a sob. All the emotions of nervousness and excitements mixed with the adrenaline of the game got the best of him. All he could do was just cry because he was so happy.

 

I loved it. I was feeling the same way actually. Just so excited that they won their first tournament game.

 

As he was crying from happiness I started to notice a few of the players from the other team crying from devastation. I was feeling sad for them. Matter of fact on the ride home Ryker said to me "Mom, I feel bad for the other team," What a sweet kid. In his moment of victory he was so concerned for the losing team. I love his tender heart. I also loved watching him over the season help other teammates (no matter if it was his team or not) get up after they had fallen down. It was neat to see him go after a flag and accidentally knock the kid over he'd help him up. It was cool.

 

So yesterday at 9am was the 2nd game of the tournament for Ryker's team and the first tournament game for Cy's team. They both were playing at the same time so it was tricky to watch them. And of course it happened to be down pouring.

 

As a side note because Ryker's team was the 2nd seed in his age division and Cy's team was the 1st seed, both teams got to skip the first round of the tournament and start out in the second round. 

These boys were such troopers to tough out this wet, cold and windy morning,

About halfway through Cy's game the other team forfeit. The other team had played a game before us and had won, so they played again against us. Well because it was raining so hard all of the boys were miserably wet and cold that they just wanted to be done. We were winning anyway so it worked out.  So Cy will play again on Tuesday for the championship in his division. His team in undefeated so I won't surprise me if they take the whole thing.

I was kinda happy that I didn't have to jump back and forth between the 2 games and just focus on Ryker's. When he wasn't playing we were trying to kept him warm and warm up his hands.

The game was another close one, but we won 30-28. So proud of them for playing so well in such crappy weather conditions. They had made it into the Championship Game which was later at noon.

We all made it home. While the boys were taking a hot shower to warm up I had Fynn chilling on my bed. Thought he was so cute just sitting there all smiles.

We ate an early lunch and then headed back to the field.

And the game began. The team we were playing we didn't play in the regular season. They were 1st seed and we were 2nd seed. What a matchup.

Of course I was a complete wreck worrying about every play. I wanted them to take the whole thing.

But in the end we didn't get to taste that championship win. Ya know what? Oh well. They played their hearts out and had such a fun season. These coaches were nothing but encouraging to these boys the whole time. We watched the team grow together and become more confident in themselves and in their teammates. Ryker has grown better as a player and so have the rest of the boys. They were SO MUCH FUN to watch his season. I'm kind bummed that it's all over.

Day 4

Our decision to still leave was really quite tough considering how beautiful the day was turning out to be. But as we were cleaning up camp and we are losing our patience with the boys we decided we needed to get home that day)k us. N)o Bueno.

,

But we made it thgough ok and got everything all packed up. But before we had to leave we wanted to go on a hike. Matter of fact it wa s the hike that went through our campground. We walked up through it and loved it. We all needed to blow off some steam though.

 At the end-ish of the hike there was an arch. I couldn't get a good shot of it all the way thought. But you can tell if you look closely.

 Self Timer photos sometimes turn out to be the best ones, haha.

 The scenery along the trail was just incredible.

 Theses 3 boys are so great. As much as I get after them I really hope they know that I really do love them very much.

 Mom's turn with the boys....

 Then Jesse's. I can't help but look at this photo of all the dear males in my life. How did I ever get so lucky

The stream by our campsite was actually filled with tons of tadpoles. So once we made it back to our campsite we actually collected 5 of them to bring home for our pond. Hoping they survive. Haha. We'll see.

Day 3 (Mother's Day)

Sunday. Mother's Day. Family Day. We were really excited because my parents and Chantel were coming down to spend the day with us. My dad and Chan had never been to Moab so Jesse and I were looking forward to showing them around. With only having a half day to do some good hiking we had a tough time deciding what would be the best thing to do so they could get a great feel of how cool Moab is. Our original thought was to take them through the Fiery Furnace, but we found out that they no longer allow kids under 5 in there. BOOO!!!!

 

I know Chan and Dad mentioned they wanted to see Delicate Arch, but it wouldn't be enough to take up the whole day, and not enough time to do that and another hike. So we highly suggested to them to hike though Devils Garden because they would get ALOT of hiking in and see several arches along the way. They were up for whatever so it was perfect.

 

When they arrived Sunday morning we ate breakfast together and then packed our snacks and lunches. Then we were off.

 

The line to get into Arches this day was RE-DONK-YOU-LESS!!!!! Like I said earlier we hate how popular Moab is now. After waiting in line and driving to the trail head it was a good hour. Ugh. We were so eager to get going because we only had so much time before they needed to drive back home. Plus we didn't want them to have to drive when it too late.

 

Here's a map of Devils Garden to get an idea of what we did. We did everything except Tunnel, Pine Tree and Dark Angel Arch. And we hiked it clockwise.

 

 

Right off the bat Cy was asking for a shoulder ride. Haha. He's funny because he an be a really good hiker... when he chooses to be. When the trail turned into rock that's when he got into it. And he was great the rest of the time. He really only had 3 or 4 short rides and he walked the rest. And Ryker didn't complain until the end of the 6.5 miles that his feet kinda hurt.

 



 First stop was Landscape Arch.

 We were trying to recreate a picture that we had taken there back in 2012.

Flashback to Sept 2012. Holy cow. It kinda makes me emotional looking at this. When did they grow up? But also I love looking at us now and how much we have accomplished as a family. As much as it makes me sad to see these boys grow up, I also really love to watch them grow up.

So fun to have these guys with us on this day. Moab has such a special place in our hearts that it was such a treat to share it with them and live the excitement through them.

 These cute little hikers. That little cave they crawled in kinda looks like a heart huh? Which is perfect because I just love them so much.

 Our whole gang under Partition Arch. It was overcast and windy so we were chilly, but it wasn't too bad while we were hiking. Jesse and I were so wanting everything to be perfect for Mom, Dad and Chan so they would have a good time, which I know they still did. But sometimes the weather can make things ALOT less fun.

What a fun Mother's Day for the both of us to be hiking together through Moab. I loved that they wanted to come spend the day with us. They were willing to drive 8 hours round trip to send this day with us. SO FUN!!!

 Poor little man fell asleep and his head was just bobbing away. I know if I fell asleep like that I'd be broken for a few days.

 Double O Arch doesn't disappoint either.

 Jesse wanted to get a shot of Fynn in the middle of the upper O.  It took us a couple of shots to get the right angle. But we got it. And Fynn loved  every ride.

 Standing in the lower O. Love this family of mine SOOOO much.

After we left Double O arch I took over the kid carrier to give Jesse a break. And I was grateful for the exercise. Made the biggest difference lugging him around.

After our long hike we were all STARVING!!! We rushed back to camp to start dinner. There is something about camp food after a long hike that it tastes AMAZING!!!

Then of course we had to roast marshmallows by the fire and eat S'mores. Camping classic that can't be passed up. Especially with good chocolate. Haha.

Oh this cute babe and his little camp chair just kills me. Haha.

Before it got too late my parents and sister had to hit the road. The day went by like a flash. Which goes to show how much fun we had. It's too bad we didn't have them for another day. But we'll have to plan another trip for them to see more of Moab.

After they left we cleaned up dinner and it started to rain. It rained throughout the whole night. But it was quite cozy. I slept the best that night. The sound of the rain was quite soothing. It was calm. And I loved it.

Of course the next morning it was clear skies and hot. And it was the day we had to head home. Sad. We talked about staying another day, but we knew we should get home because we still had ALOT of work ahead of us putting everything away at home.

Day 2 (05/07)

 After breakfast Jesse drove down to Hunter and talked with a couple that was packing up their stuff and he was able to take their spot. HOORAY!!! He paid, left our ticket there and put our popup canopy there so we could reserve it while we were packing up our other campsite.

Of course it took way longer than we thought it would to pack everything back up and unpack it again and set up camp. Phew. So much work.

 The boys were helpful most of the time, but they would get tired and /or hungry and start to melt down. Which thinned our patience.

 And they were so excited to explore the new area. Which I don't blame them. It was SOO much better.

 Setting up the tent... AGAIN.

 While the boys were exploring they found this really cool caterpillar. And they were in heaven. He really was a cute little fuzzy thing.

 Haha, Cy doesn't look very happy but he really was. He was so focused on the caterpillar that he only gave me a half smile.

After setting everything up and having lunch we needed to go into town to get some gas and actually do something fun for the day. And guess what? It was the day of our 11th anniversary. YAY!!! Can't believe I've been so lucky to be with him for this long. He's so good to me and couldn't ask for a better match.

We wanted to go on a hike, but the day was soon over, so we picked the shortest one we could find in Arches. Haha. We picked Double O Arch because it was 0.5 miles... round trip. Haha. But we needed something easy for the kiddos and so we could get back before dark to cook dinner.

Of course Cy fell asleep on the ride there so he wasn't acting quite sleepy when we first got out. So Jesse gave him a shoulder ride. If anyone could do double duty it's Jesse. Sheesh, he backpack with Fynn in it is heavy enough foe me let alone adding a 40lb kid on top of that. Wowzer!

Such a cool Arch.

 

The boys and I climbed up into the little arch to get a picture and they both were super nervous. Which made me nervous, but they would never know. One part of the other side was a sheer drop off  and I happened to sitting on it at one point and didn't even know.

That whole evening as we were driving to and from Arches we were reminiscing about our first visit to Moab as a young couple and just basking in the joy of how we have grown as a couple and as a family. Moab still is and forever will be one of our favorite places to go. Only thing is we are bummed that it's far more popular than it was even 5 years ago.

Moab Camping Trip Day1

The week we were leaving for Moab felt busier than ever. We had football games, theater tickets, young mens, school project to finish for Ryker, get a list together of what needed to be bought and packed for the trip, work, laundry.... endless right?

 

Our plan was to leave on Fri (5/6) and come home Mon (5/9). Jesse's 6 days break was Thursday to Tuesday. So he was so wonderful to do ALOT of the running around on Thursday of things that I didn't have time to get done. Including getting Mother's Day flowers, surprising me with a new phone, grocery shopping, putting new brakes on the truck, packing the gear, picking up kids from school, helping his friend Kris put together his swing set. He's the best! Truly!

 

Once I got home from work we finished packing up the truck and were in bed by 1am. EEK!

 

Friday morning our goal was to leave by 9 and drop off flowers to my Grandma Goodrich (her 80th birthday was that Sunday) and to drop off floweres to Heidi on our way to Moab. The other flowers we brought along with us to give to my mom on Mother's Day because she (and my dad and Chan) were planning on coming down on Sunday to spend the day with us.  

I took turns in the back seat to take care of Fynn.

This cute little face. His 2nd time to Moab and he's only 8 months old.

We made it to Moab in 3 1/2 hours. Yay! Our plan was to find a camping site in our favorite little area up Kane Creek in Hunter Canyon.But when we got there all the campsites were full. Darn it. We checked all the tags of when they were leaving and it the earliest one was 5/7. So we went up further to Ledge B. Which we didn't love as much. It was really open so it felt like you were camping right next to someone else and you could hear everyone at night.

 

While we were setting up camp Fynn was just chilling in the high chair watching us.

As a matter of fact as soon as we started setting up the tents, the wind started blowing SO HARD. I felt bad ditching Jesse for the rest of the set up but I put Fynn in the truck to help calm him. It was actually scaring him.

It seem to calm down enough that we could make dinner and chill around the camp fire though. But as we were chilling Jesse and I were wondering if it would be worth trying to get one of the Hunter campsites the next day and set up camp all over again?

They were so excited to have campfire popcorn. Love these 3 boys so much.

Not a beach, but it'll do. Haha.

 

Once the sun went down and we were all in bed the wind picked back up again. And it didn't stop until the morning. And it blew so hard I thought for sure our tent was going to blow away. And I just couldn't even sleep. Either the wind would wake me up. Or Fynn. I think he was nervous about it and cold. So he eventually ended up sleeping next to me. Which I think helped keep him warm.

 

As I laid there I knew I didn't care how long it took I wanted to move campsites. And Jesse agreed.