An Epic Failure

Savannah posted this on Facebook after a long and boring week of standardized testing.  She is so funny!  

How I take the LEAP test:

"Ok, i don't know this one. well, i haven't picked B in a while so..."

"Next one.  Ooh, one of the choices is Ramses. (start singing 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat') Oh, right... back to the test."

"Anyway... ok, don't know this one either... well, the guy on choice A has a really cool name, so i'll just pick that one."

"Alright. This one is really hard, but if i pick C, it'll make a really cool pattern on my answer sheet."


I probably failed this test.

Just Keep Swimming

Ethan has been taking swim lessons.  He is in a stoke and turn class to improve his technique before swim season starts in June.  And because he loves to swim.  He is doing awesome.  This is him doing the butterfly at practice yesterday.  http://youtu.be/UKlp6ugR1os

Savannah is jealous.  And probably Tristan too.  Tristan watched the video and said that it was "ridiculous."

Savannah started taking the stroke and turn class back in March when she quit acting.  She wants to try out for the high school swim team and has to be able to do a 200 IM for tryouts.  She is looking impressive in the pool as well.  She can not do the butterfly very well, but is working hard at getting it down.  She looks good at all the other strokes.

She is planning on swimming for the Marlins this summer and with that experience, she might have a fighting chance to make the swim team.  She has been swimming on her own several times a week and really focusing on the technical aspects of the stroke.

I love swimming.  I'm so glad my kids love it too.  I can't wait for this summer season to see what these guys can pull off in the pool.

Jackson-isms

~  "Why is cereal such a long word?"

~  "When can I have breakfast in bed with one of those tray thingies?"

~  "I really want to know what Jesus's voice sounds like."

~  "So, Westlake is a town in the center of the earth?"

~  "Our van got hit by a truck and we got a new van.  When can we hit someone with our van so that they can get a new car too?"

~  "Tristan already had two patches of chicken."  (Meaning two servings.)

~  "I am a genius with numbers."

~  "Do Holden and I look awesome?"

~  "I was tryin' to clean my room like Dad told us, but Ethan keeps extractin' me with that game he is playin'."

~  "There are three ways to make 9.  The first one is 3+3+3.  The second one is 4 and 5.  Do you know what the other one is?  Oh, wait....it's 8+1.  NO!!  No, no!!  It's 2+7!!  It's 2+7!!"

Quotable Quotes

From Savannah:
"If you say beer can with a British accent, it sounds like bacon with a Jamaican accent."



And from my friend, Julia Kennedy:
"Before the Devil goes to bed at night he checks under his bed for Jeffrey R. Holland."

I Saw The Sign

Two different t-shirts for sale in the Nike Store at the Louisiana Boardwalk:

1)  Pleased to beat you.

2)  You only got video game.



And above the entrance to the Bass Pro Shop:

Welcome fishermen, hunters, and other liars.



And this awesome sign in the bathroom of our hotel:

STEEL Soccer

This past weekend was Ethan's last soccer tournament for the U10 Steel.

It was at Cargill Regional Sports Complex in Shreveport, Louisiana.

We left early on Saturday morning to drive to Shreveport and met the team at the field.

Coach Mark talking to part of the team before the game.

Heading to the bench to get ready.

The waiting soccer bags.

Ethan with Sarah, Maddy, and Zack.

Sarah and Maddy are both in Ethan's French Immersion class at school, so they have been friends and together in school since Kindergarten.  Ethan was sitting on the bench next to Taylor, the girl wearing the pink cleats.  Sarah and Maddy came over and made everyone scoot so that they could sit next to Ethan.  They are so funny.  Ethan is such a cutie and they know it.  

Sarah has even said she would marry Ethan.

Watching the action from the bench with Grant, Maddy, Sarah, Taylor,
and one of the goalies, Daniel.

 Meeting with the team at half-time.

From left to right:  Kyler, Brody, Josh, Grant (on ground), Taylor, Sarah, Aiden,
Daniel (in green behind the bench), Landon, (behind Coach), Coach Mark, Ethan, Ian (on ground), Maddy, Ben, Bryce, Dallas, Zack, Coach Andrew, and Coach Ian.

 Ethan has worked very hard this season and has grown so much as a soccer player.

He is running faster, working the ball smarter, and is becoming more aggressive on the field.

At the beginning of the season, Ethan was a very passive player.

He is so shy and that personality really comes across on the field.  He would let the other boys have the ball if they even looked like they might be going after it.  In the final games of the season, he decided to let some of that go and fight for the ball himself.

They lost their first game on Saturday, 2-0, but they played hard and worked together as a team.

After the game, we went to find our hotel and grab a bite to eat, and to change into the purple jersey.

The boys played hard again in their second game, but lost 4-0.

Kyler, Bryce, Ethan, and Aiden waiting to sub into the game.

 After the game, the whole team went over to the Louisiana Boardwalk to walk around and eat dinner.  It was a huge outdoor mall with lots of places to shop and eat.  We walked around with Landon and his mom, dad, and sister, Elaina. 

We decided to eat at the Salt Grass Steak House but the wait was pretty long, so we looked around a bit while we waited.  We looked around in the Nike store for a bit and then went into the Bass Pro Shop.

 There were tons of cool things to see in the Bass Pro Shop.  They had an aquarium with lots of fish and turtles in it.  They had lots of camping equipment and stuffed animals.  

They also had animal prints in the floor all over the store, including deer, bear, bobcat, and raccoon.

Our table was finally open at the Stake House after only 45 minutes, so we played tic-tac-toe and Mad Libs while we waited for our food.  Ethan ordered shrimp and chicken tenders and insisted that I order steak so that he could share with me.  I ordered a steak and fried shrimp.  Ethan ate most of my steak.

We were playing games while we waited and I took several pictures of the boys, who sat across the table from me.  I showed the pictures to them and Landon thought Ethan looked so funny in this one, that he laughed so hard, milk came out his nose.  It was pretty funny.

After dinner, we stopped by Orange Leaf to get some yogurt before going to the car.  

Ethan had orange and I had a mix of pineapple and coconut.

We had planned on going home on Sunday morning, but decided to stay and play the final game.

I thought the season continued on, but we heard at the game on Saturday that this was it.

No more practices, no more games.  So we decided to stay and  play the last game of the season.

The boys played their very best in Sunday's game.  Better than I had seen them play all year.  They worked together as a team better than in any game before.  This was also the best I had ever seen Ethan play all season.  They worked really hard and ended the game tied at 1-1.  

They scored their only goal in tournament play and were so excited.

Ethan is so sad that there is no more soccer until fall.

He loves soccer and plans on making as many Saturday morning pick-up games as he can between now and then.  In the fall, he can try out for the U11 STEEL team as well as play rec ball.

Allen, Ethan, and I have tickets to travel with the team to Houston to watch the 

Dynamo professional soccer team play on May 18.

Quotable Quotes

From the movie Finding Neverland:

"Young boys should never be sent to bed.  They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it,
they're grown."