The Great Show On Earth! by Ashtyn

Friday night I went to the circus with my cousin aunt and uncle. It was amazing!!!

They did this thing that they took this huge metal ball and some motorcycles and they went around and around and around they started with 4 then 5 then 7. WOW!! It was sooo cool!

They even brought out tigers! They were so awesome because they jumped around on chairs when the trainer told them to. It was so cool!


The end was the best. They brought out the elephants they were so funny!!
A girl even rode one. I loved it.

Ashtyn's trip to kennecott

last week end I stayed whith my friend Rachel it was so fun! Wale I was there I went to kennecott it was so cool! I saw the consintrater ( it crashis rocks ) I went whith the waltons and Rylee Richhart. Me Rylee and Rachel had so much fun! We saw how the consintrater crashis the rocks. It was a great igspreins.

This is Rylee,Rachel,Jared and me geting redy to go on the tore.

This how fast the consintrater spins.What it does is it has poyte things that crashis the metel.

Heres me! We had to were safty glassis and headphones or ear plugs case it was so loud.

I am so glad I went becase I loved it!

Week 3 = 3-0

107 meetings, 11 straight wins, 12th oldest rivalry in the country..... There are a few stats for ya. :) I love when we play utah state in Logan. 10 years ago I went to my first football game there. Jay was starting his first game as a player for Utah. My parents, Emily, Ben, his wife Emily and Jessica were all there. I think Dad was trying to do more crowd control than watch the game, leave it to the principal in him to worry more about the crowd than the game. I arrived at Ben and Emily's house without the tickets and had to drive 45 minutes back to SLC to get then and barely make it to the stadium to run in and see the kickoff. Jay got hurt in the first quarter and I had no idea what we were getting into. Fast forward ten years and I am still trying to get to the stadium in time for kickoff.... I went up to Emily's house friday night and hung out with her for the weekend. I love going to games with Emily, I don't think I watch 1 full series, but enjoyed laughing and talking with her. And of course with our herd of kids (mostly all mine) one of us is taking someone to the bathroom.

I love the drive up the canyon, it is so beautiful with the leaves changing colors and the air so crisp. Can you tell how fast we were going, trying to make it there (before half time...oops!)

If you look at Jacob close you can see his grandma was so nice and gave him a chocolate covered carmel apple.....I did not take nearly enough wipes....

Alayna and Kennedy went to give Swoop knuckles. Alayna made it but when Kennedy realized who/what they were going to see, she burst into tears of fear and made a bee line up the stadium steps to find her mom.

After the game, Jacob became fascinated with the headphones of the on field commentator Sharif Shaw. He told Jacob to forget football, sports announcing is where the money is...

This pic is the perfect dipiction of our life....Jay coaching the camera operator, Jacob trying to get down and find something to get into, Me corraling the girls, Alayna using her face to show us how she is feeling (so ready to be home) Ashtyn and her sweet smile.

Who? NLV

We love the football season when we start out 2 - 0! The year of the fiesta bowl win after win, I started to forget what it was like to lose. I am hoping to forget what losing feels like again this year. It is crazy how much our life revolves around such a silly game. Every time I think about Jays profession and the existence of it (of course I over think the whole thing) it just amazes me. None-the-less it is our life. Jay goes to work Sunday morning at 6 am so he can come home for his meetings before church, make Sac meeting and then leave right after to go back to the office until 10:30 or 11pm, Monday and Tues he does the same in the office by 6am home 10-10:30 Wed he gets home a little earlier about 9 maybe just before and Thursdays we try to get up to the facility to eat dinner with the team around 5. Unless Ashtyn has a soccer game, then Jay tries to make it for the last half. Fridays he gets to sleep in and take Ashtyn to school but then he has to stay with the team until 10 or 10:30pm and is back up to the Hotel first thing in the morning. So we do not see much of him this time of year. The kids are in bed when he gets home sun-wed. It is nice when we have night home games because they give everyone a few hours during the day to spend with their families. This past week I took the kids up to go swimming at the hotel with Jay while I had some "ME" time. The kids loved it. Ashtyn let me know that Jacob only almost drown 2 times....

A few days later Jay had spots on his back and after another day of me begging him to go in he went to see Dr. Ron and apparently Jay contracted some sort of something from the hot tub. EWW! It has made me think twice about going to the pool again....

After swimming we went home put the kids down so they could be happy for the game. Earlier in the week I got a text for a girls night out and since my life revolves around utah football, I suggested we do it at the game. It sounds crazy to have a GNO at a football game, but it was a ton of fun. This year I after worrying about 3 mobile kids at the game I had an the brightest ideas to take a babysitter to the game with me. Carly showed up right at 5 and was SOOO much help. I love this girl! She just takes the reigns and goes. She even had Jacob sitting still in her lap for an entire quarter. The next day at church, I was missing her tremendously! It was so nice not to have to haul 3 kids up and down those stairs for every potty break, drink, hunger pain or boredom break. I have found such a gem in Carly and I am so excited for this season with her!Ashtyn cheering Jacob and his funny clap.

All the girls (Carly, me, Angi, Tara and Katie in front)You can't see him very well, but there is my oh so hot husband with his headset on. All of us girls got a good laugh when after a play Jay and another coach jumped and did the chest to chest bump thing and Coach Sitake almost knocked Jay over...

Now on to Utah State....

Firsts

I love the first day of school! I love getting back to a schedule. Every year I wonder if I should feel guilty that I don't tear up or get emotional when that first day comes around. I thought that maybe this year with Alayna going to preschool I might get that emotion that other moms talk about. but nope. She went off to preschool and I ran errands with just Jacob. It was so nice!

Ashtyn was so excited to meet her teacher Mrs. Hall. All she knew about her was she loves frogs. This year she is in a third / fourth split which means She will have to be a very diligent independent worker. Mrs Hall seems to really connect with the kids and is able to manage a split classroom very well. I have been very impressed with her so far. This year is a first for me, I signed up to be a room mother. I am very nervous and I don't know why. BFF Amy said "You just have to do parties, and you know how to throw a party."

Alayna was so excited to go to preschool and have Miss Lori as her teacher. She received a letter in the mail with a picture of Miss Lori. She slept with it for a week until it fell between the mattress. We pulled it out and she put it on her wall and would look and study it daily. So when I picked her up the first day and she wasn't just thrilled with how much fun it was I was a little confused. Later in the evening she we went through her backpack and she was more animated and excited about her day. It finally came out the following preschool day when she bounced out of preschool and told me the mean girl that wouldn't sit by her wasn't there. She is very sensitive to being treated fairly, even though she does not always treat others with the same respect. She gets so emotional about it as well. When she does realize that she has been unkind or unfair she will just come unglued and sob. So if anyone has ANY suggestions, I love to know how to help her find ways to cope. ANYTHING that might help a 4 year old....

Alayna started dance this year after watching her sister do it for so long. She keeps talking about how she will get to go on stage. It has been good for her to have her own activities to identify herself with. She was so cute and this is when I get emotional. I always get teary when I see my kids learning or developing their talents. Especially being Alayna's first real dance class and the sense of accomplishment she had doing each step made me happy but I also realized that she is growing up. {{sniff, sniff}}

So in this past week of firsts, Jacob got his first 4 molars to go along with the other 7 teeth that came in this past month bringing the grand total to 11 new teeth. Jacob did not have one tooth at the beginning of August. Hopefully he can have a break now. We love having our happy, silly little boy back.

Bringing down the 'BIG HOUSE'

Michigan Stadium can hold an impressive 1110,000 people. To state the obvious, it is HUGE! Then they made the announcement that there were 108,420 people there and this was the 209th CONSECUTIVE time there has been over 100,000 people for a home game. That is over 20 years of 100,000 people taking there entire saturday and devoting it to a 3 1/2 hour game. That is when I decided that if that many can do it, so can I. I really have no reason to complain about taking my 3 kids to what so many people do ( and pay good money to do) I hope they learn to love football and I can make it something they look forward to. It is a long time for a 30 year old to sit through, let alone a 1 year old, but I hope they will form fabulous memories of cool crisp fall saturdays filled with the smell of BBQ, hot dogs and popcorn. The pageantry and deep tradition of Michigan Football amazed and inspired me. I am so glad it was the first game, the wives trip (so I could go) and especially glad we won! So the season begins....It is fun for the wives to go with the team to these games, not because they get a retreat with their husbands, but because we get to know and enjoy the company of the other wives. A few years back I was on a wives trip and one of the other wives (that I love admire and miss) gave me some of the best advice. "It is very important that you do 3 things when you first arrive at a program, First find a church and get yourself involved in it. Second find at least one of the other wives on staff with whom you can become good friends, because no one understands the ups and downs or all the trials of being a football widow like another football wife. Third, make friends with someone who has nothing to do with football. There will be many times that you need a reprieve from this crazy profession." It has taken me years and I still have things to work on, but great word of wisdom..... Anyway on to the trip.... We ate at a highly recommended seafood house that ended up just o.k. The desserts were pretty fabulous, but it is hard to screw up chocolate :) Most teams put opposing fans in their end zone, and Michigan was no different. Although I so glad we did not have the fan tickets. As a family, we were down close to the field, the fans were row 97 up all 3500 sold tickets were at the very top. It was funny to see just a rim of red so far up. Funny when Michigan does it, but when BYU does the same thing it just eerks me! They are seriously so annoying!... Gotta love that final score! The last part of the game I had to keep telling myself that we were winning. Michigan came back and made it close putting up a few more points and I was just sick, but I will remind myself again........we won!It was so hot, humid and emotionally draining (especially if you were sitting by Lisa:)!) that we all felt like we had played right along with those studly utes, so here we all are in the tunnel 'glowing' after 'our' win.Jay and I wanted to get a cute pic on the M of the field but the 5 month along prego field director was too tired and ornery to allow us 1 picture. I wanted to tell her that I have been to at least 16 NCAA football games in some sort of pregnant state, it can't be that hard to let us take one pic on the M, but refrained. (I so should have...) So here we are in the stadium, but no M. Crazy thing; there were these two crazy people who had their wedding game day and they went to the tailgate party, then to the game and on the field at the end all in their wedding attire. Huge white poofy dress, tux, blue and gold bridesmaids and instead of a veil and Michigan hat. So any of you planning a wedding, there's and idea.......

Oh, Alayna....

...So we are driving home from the store and Alayna gets this excited smile and in a very cheery voice says "Mom, I exercised today!" Of course I had a flash of accomplishment as a mother for teaching my child to have such good habits, but it was just a flash.... She proceeded to tell me that at lunch, after she ate her peanut butter sandwich, she stirred her drink with a spoon {telling me this with a very proud sense of accomplishment, mind you} and then she ate her drink with her spoon, "And whew! my arm was tired!" Then sat up as tall as she could grinning ear to ear with her cherry red kool aid mustache {that even after 5 hours had not worn off} grinning proudly of her athletic accomplishment... I don't even know what to say, I just have to laugh, I don't know of another kid like her!