Sam had two football games this week - one on a warm, spring evening and the other on a cold, windy, almost rainy Saturday morning.
Here he is on a break from play.
He's having so much fun running, and chasing, and playing.
He got to do a kick-off after his team scored.
And he got to run the ball too.
Here he is playing Quarterback - see him catching the ball from the center.
He plays a mean defense too.
Ok - on to my game against the Saints. I did a lot of blocking.
And here I am pulling the runner's flag. That's the second time I've "sacked" the quarterback this season!
And here I am playing offensive line.
Have we mentioned how much we LOVE playing football?
We surely do! A lot!
Uncle Noley and Aunt Christy made it to my game. It was fun to have them there!
I spent a great deal of time this weekend playing catch up on a book report - not so fun! I much prefer playing football . . . . or anything else at all for that matter.
Sam Alert: Hey everyone - Sam here. I am a New York Giant this year. We had our team pictures taken and we'll post them later. Here is a great individual shot - thanks mom!
We had lunch at our new favorite ice cream place after our games. I got a chocolate sundae with peanut butter topping - - - Oh My! Can you say delicious?!?!
And I spent some good quality time snuggled up doing some reading while it rained outside. Ah - now that's the way to spend a lazy afternoon.
We started with a birthday dinner for Uncle Noley. You can never go wrong with dinner at the "Yummy Roll" restaurant! And, of course, a ride on the birthday saddle!
Then it snowed this week - it actually snowed! We had such a warm, dry winter - it was nice to see some wet, heavy snow.
Fortunately the spring snow melts fast and we had our first football games on Saturday.
Sam had some really good runs and made a first down.
He's in the middle of the picture with the blue shirt and long white sleeves.
Here he is doing some great blocking.
Then it was my game. I did a lot of blocking. I am right in the middle of the picture with the blue shirt and red/blue stripe sleeves.
I even sacked the quarterback - no picture of that, since I was clear across the field. It was super fun though.
Here I am taking a quick break. It was a great game!
And here's Sam finishing up some snacks during my game.
After our football games, we went to a violin concert given by one of the girls in our neighborhood - she is amazing! Sam has decided officially that he wants to play the violin some day.
Sam Alert: Hey everyone - this is how I help dad get his shoes on. He reminds me what a big helper I am all the time.
And here I am playing puppy dog - all cuddled up under the blankets.
We had a wonderful Easter and a much needed Spring Break this last week.
Easter started with an egg hunt at Grandma L's. That's me and Sam in the background hunting for eggs. Some of our cousins were there too.
Here we are visiting with Grandma L.
We made a stop over at the cemetery to visit Grandpa L. His headstone has finally been put in, thanks to the warm winter we've had. It turned out great!
Then we spent some time coloring Easter eggs. This is one of our most favorite holiday traditions.
Then on Easter morning we patiently waited for mom and dad to wake up and then couldn't wait to see our Easter baskets. The bunny was good to us this year - books, a few little toys, lots of candy, and some certificates for iPad time.
We loved eating the hard boiled eggs too!
Then came a whole wonderful week off from school. Mom had a work trip so it was just the boys . . . and our "boy business"! Sam and I voted to have a bunch of pajama days just playing around the house - that was a lot of fun!
We did venture out one day and helped Grandma L. with some yard work.
We ventured out another day and started with a yummy breakfast out.
Then we hit the bowling alley. I'm bowling completely without the ramp now, but Sam won the game (with the ramp).
And we ended the day with a stop for mini golf.
On Saturday, it was our much anticipated first day of FOOTBALL! Sam and I are both playing flag football this spring. Sam is a Giant and I am a Patriot (not the cheating Patriots, just the local home Patriots team!).
We had our first practice and mom caught a couple of action pictures of me doing some drills.
Here I am practicing at quarterback. Look at that throw!
Sam had a short practice - his team will do more running than throwing and he can't wait for our first games next week.
Finally, we picked up a Ladder Ball game and we have had so much fun with it! We play it all the time.
Dad and Sam have beat me and mom twice now. I think it might be time to mix up the teams a little bit!
Sam Alert: Hey everyone - Sam here. I'm still loving the Uno games. We play as much as I can talk my family into playing. Good times!
We made a quick weekend trip up to Idaho Falls and Star Valley Wyoming. Our great uncle Steve passed away this week and we wanted to attend his funeral.
We left after work on Friday night and made it up to the hotel in time for some video games and reading before bed.
After a quick morning shower we got ready to head to the funeral. Sam loves to wrap up in a towel skirt after a shower.
The funeral was really nice and as they took his casket to the hearse, some firemen/bagpipers played. Uncle Steve was a volunteer firefighter and it was really nice of the firemen to be there.
Here we are with the bagpipers. They were really nice to talk to.
They even let us climb in to the firetruck.
We had some lunch after the funeral. Cousin Jocelyn was there and we loved visiting with her.
And cousin Josh was there too.
There were some geese outside as we were getting ready to leave. We fed them and then left them to nap.
Mom showed us around Idaho Falls a little bit before we headed to Wyoming.
Here we are at the falls.
And another picture of the falls with the IF temple in the background.
Here is the water tower that mom remembers seeing every summer.
And she took us past her grandparent's old house. There was even a train going by down the tracks just a few blocks from the house.
The wind blew us to Wyoming - but we did manage to stop in Swan Valley for square ice cream cones.
And once we hit the dirt roads near the cemetery, mom turned over the keys to her car. I got to drive - full control of both the steering wheel AND the pedals. Of course dad was right behind me in case he was needed. But i drove the car, completely by myself - - - and I LOVED it! Check out the smile on my face!!!
The graveside service was very nice too.
The wind followed us to the valley but we were able to keep from blowing away.
Here are cousins Jeremy and Mike - Steve's sons.
And here is a picture of the cousins that were able to be there. We're missing Uncle Carl, Aunt Jen Jen, and cousins Sandie and Dan.
And a picture of the extended family. Grandma G is now the only sibling left in her family - and she is the oldest sibling. She managed to outlive them all. We're missing her and Grandpa - they weren't able to make it up this time.
Here's a pic of dad and mom. There isn't a more beautiful background than the Star Valley mountains.
On the way back down to the main highway, it was Sam's turn to drive. His legs aren't long enough yet to reach the pedals so he had full control of the steering wheel. Dad let him switch out at the end and control the pedals. Can you tell this is one of our favorite activities in the valley - - the smiles on our faces tell all! We stayed the night in the valley and then headed back home early this morning.
Sam Alert: Hey everyone - Sam here. I'm throwing in a couple of cute pics from the week.
First - here I am hanging out at the family lunch this weekend. Have you ever met such an easy going and happy kid?
And here's one of me and Mason having dinner tonight. We have a big week of testing coming up at school so we're eating healthy and getting lots of rest.
