We Are Exhausted

This has been a truly exhausting week for the entire family. I think we all survived, but I'm not entirely sure yet.  It all started back on Tuesday when we had regular season water polo games at Granite.  There was a girls game and a boys game and then a JV game for each team as well.  Only, in the varsity game, in the 2nd quarter, a kid from the other team turned and punched Jonas right in the face.  I was sitting at the scorer's table when it happened and couldn't believe my eyes.  Neither ref saw it happen and neither of the other kid's coaches saw it happen.  And in fact, the refs were going to give us a penalty for an illegal substitution despite the fact that our coach had been screaming for a timeout because there was blood pouring out of Jonas' nose and he finally just told Jonas to get out.  I have never had such a visceral mother bear reaction in my life.  I watched the whole thing happen and was so angry that nothing could be done because the refs hadn't actually seen it.  Also because I was keeping score, I couldn't get up from the table to see if he was OK.  Fortunately, Shawn was able to take that role.  So as I sat at the table literally shaking and furious, and trying to focus on the rest of the game, Jonas' nose bled through the next 2 quarters.  And the kid who punched him, is such a high class kid, that when we mistakenly pointed to the wrong kid (because even though the refs hadn't seen it, it was  obvious that something had happened, what with the profuse bleeding that was going on,) for the refs to pull out of the water, he let that other kid get pulled out and still didn't fess up.  Then afterward, the other teams coaches were trying to tell me it was a mistake and that he had accidentally been hit with an elbow or something while the kid was swimming away.  But let's remember here, I saw it happen.  It was no accident.  It was the most blatant punch I have ever seen.  I get that people get hit in water polo accidentally all the time.  It's a very high contact sport.  Injuries happen.  But accidents are one thing, this was another thing entirely.  For the coach to be telling me it hadn't happened the way I saw was a little infuriating.  Finally, the kid walked up and said,"Yeah, I punched him."  The coaches didn't have much to say after that.

I didn't sleep at all that night.  Every time I closed my eyes, I watched that fist make contact with Jonas' nose over and over and over.  And in addition to the emotional turmoil of watching it happen and of course, the physical pain for Jonas of having his nose broken, was my intense fear that after all of these years of trying to find a sport or someplace for Jonas to fit in and feel like he was good at it,  that this one event would take that all away. I was sure that there would be no getting Jonas back into the water again.  And starting the very next day was a huge 4 day water polo tournament, with the first boys game being against  Kearns, the toughest team in the league.  But guess what? I so underestimated my boy.  

Wednesday also happened to be our youth's Fast and Feast, so other than the few crackers we made him eat so he could take some ibuprofen the night before, Jonas fasted all day.  He went to the game in the afternoon and he got in and he played.  I was so proud of him for being tough enough to get back in.  It was a tough game for him because he hadn't eaten all day and every time he got bumped in the face it hurt - a LOT.  But he did it.  And then he did it again and again and again.  Between our two teams, I think they played 16 games over those 4 days.  And tournament play is exhausting.  You are wrestling with someone while trying to keep your head above water and swimming back and forth non stop.  Both Jonas and Samantha were so tired at the end of each day.  And there was still school and homework and lessons and practicing happening when games weren't being played.  (Plus driving back and forth to Kearns multiple times is exhausting in and of itself.) I was proud of Samantha, too. It can be pretty intimidating to get in and play against high school students when you're a 7th grader, but she played great and I can't wait to see how she continues to improve over the next couple of years.  We were out late every night and my poor younger kids were on their own as far as getting homework done and getting themselves to bed.  All the way around it was a long, tiring week for everyone of us.

When Sunday morning rolled around, I went to get Jonas up and he told me he was sick.  I don't think he was actually sick, I think after spending hours every day in what feels like a physical fight, along with the broken nose, his body was exhausted.  Everything hurt.  So, I don't think he was sick, but I did let him stay in bed. I think he earned it.  In reality, I think it's going to take all of us a couple of weeks to recover from this week. (Although I may never recover emotionally from watching my son get punched in the face.)

A few pictures from the tournament:

Samantha (#3) on the left and Coach Shawn 2nd from the right.

Tanner and Jonas

We always love a win!

Jonas with his angry eyes on.

The girls did really well in the tournament.  Love to see those happy faces.

*On a side note, we were able to (in fact were required to) report the kid to USA water polo for his "infraction", so now he has a record.  He'll lose his membership and not be able to play anymore if it happens again.  Not much consolation, but at least it's something, right?

Amelia's Birthday Party

It has been brought to my attention - at least 10 million times over the past few years - that Amelia has suffered greatly because she has never, ever had a friend birthday party even though Samantha has had one - yes one, and Jonas has had a couple.  And by a couple, I mean quite literally 2.  I know, I am a bad Mom.  I don't like birthday parties.  They're too much effort, and we certainly don't need more stuff, but yes, I occasionally feel guilty about depriving my kids of this one little thing. (Let's just keep in mind, however, that we do celebrate pretty big around here on birthdays and always celebrate with family.  I just haven't ventured out much into the friend party thing, because, well, why do I have to?)

So finally, this year for Amelia's 10th birthday, I relented and said we could have a birthday party.

In looking at our schedule one night, I figured out that the only time we could fit it in, between water polo, spring break and a YSA Moab trip, was to make it happen in like 4 days.  And Amelia's birthday is still over 2 weeks away.  (I know, you are really impressed with all of my pre planning, but seriously, our lives are so crazy right now, that I felt pretty good about managing to fit it in at all.)  We called the pool and they had exactly one slot still available for this weekend, so we took it. (I had to go with something that would be minimal work on my part, you know.)
And because the girls were so busy swimming the whole time, and because the battery on my camera died, I have exactly 2 photos commemorating this momentous occasion.  (Amelia's first ever birthday party and all I have is 2 pictures.  Seriously, I am a slacker Mom.)
Well, so here they are enjoying their pizza, with Megan and Samantha displaying their best picture faces.

And here they are gathered around Amelia while she opens presents.  (Yay me!)

They all had fun and no one was really ready to go when we were being kicked out of the party room so, in hindsight I would have worked around that problem a little bit and arranged for everyone to stay longer.  And since we were on a tight time schedule, I had to make everyone stop swimming to come and eat pizza and open presents.  Cupcakes ended up going home with the girls.  (It is obvious that I am a rookie birthday party Mom.)  Anyway, I hope it at least appeased Amelia's birthday party appetite for a couple of years, because that may be it.  We may be a one and done birthday party family.  I'm already filled with dread for the requests that are sure to come from the younger kids.  Apparently I'm in the market for someone who loves to throw birthday parties, someone who loves to put together party favors and the whole deal, because according to my calculations, even if we were one and done, I still have 2 to go.  I can hardly wait.

Polo Boredom Busters

So clearly once water polo season starts, we spend a lot of time at the pool watching games.  (Even more this year since Samantha decided to play.  Now we get to watch double the games.)

The girls team - with Samantha 2nd from the right - number 3).  She is the only 7th grader playing this season.  Good for her, I say.  (And yes, sadly, this picture is at Granite.  Despite a beautiful, fully finished pool at Olympus, we are still waiting on some sort of approval and are stuck playing at Granite until then.  Boo!)

Jonas, number 13.

But I digress.  Back to my original statement about spending a lot of time sitting at the pool, the little kids get really bored. After they've tired of playing games on my phone or whatever device I've brought for their entertainment, then they move on to other things.  They take a lot of selfies.

And sometimes they fix each other's hair.  (My apologies to Peter for coming along after 3 older sisters, for which he will have to suffer for many more years I'm afraid.)  But hey, at least it helps to pass the time.

A Date With Mom

There are some disadvantages to being the youngest kid - like being toted around to everyone else's practices and games and activities, even when you don't want to go, but there are certainly some advantages, too.  Like when everyone else is at school, and you get to go places all by yourself with Mom.  And you even get to pick the places to go.  So of course, Peter and I ended up at the zoo.

We both love watching the peacocks strut around the place.

I love that he studies the map so carefully, deciding where to go next, even though we typically go in about the same order every time.

Being an egg.

Hiding out in a log.

The giraffes and elephants are always his favorites.  (Although we are both really looking forward to having lions again too.)

The train is still out of commission, but a ride on the carousel usually makes up for that.

And not only did we get to go to the zoo, but we stopped to get an ice cream cone on our way home.  I told him he had to promise not to tell the other kids about the ice cream because they would be mad.  So when Amelia asked him what he did today, he said, "I can't tell you, it's a secret."  Not quite the secrecy I was hoping for.  I was right, she was mad.  Oh well, I guess we'll have to go again and take the other kids with us.

Happy March Fourth!

Even though Shawn, our March 4th band leader, was busy traveling,

and enjoying these lovely views,

and these lovely crowds,

and of course, missing us terribly, (ha that makes me laugh.  I'm guessing he relishes those rare moments of peace and quiet that he finds when he is away.  I know I would.)

We still managed to celebrate.  We all marched through the house (even Jonas was once again a willing participant in our crazy antics) while John Phillips Sousa played loudly in the background.  No March 4th would be complete without this little ritual - even with Shawn gone.

Happy March 4th Everyone!

A Day in the Life of Peter

I know not to get all excited about these warm days this early in the year.  I know they're not here to stay, but we have really been enjoying it.

After preschool, Peter and a couple of friends set up this little tent city.  (Do you see all that sunshine and no coats?!  I am going to cry when it snows again.) Peter had me haul the house tent and the tree house tent down the street to set up at Mylie's house.  I just loved that all the kids could go outside and play together.

And because he's just so well rounded, after his tent city fun, he went to water polo practice with Shawn and the big kids. He had to go because I wasn't back from picking up the other kids from piano lessons when they had to leave, so they took Peter with them.  But I absolutely loved walking in and seeing this.  He was just sitting on the floor with the high school kids listening to the "chalk talk" and hanging out with his water polo ball and cap.

I sure love this kid and am so glad that he is easy going enough that hanging out at water polo practice is just part of his day.  Do you think he'll grow up just assuming that playing water polo is part of life or is this considered brain washing?

Either way, here's to my future water polo player.

Snow Shoeing

Taking an entire YSA ward snowshoeing requires a lot of snow shoes. 

I was really looking forward to his event because I love both snow shoeing and Millcreek Canyon, but since I had a terrible cold and hadn't left the couch in 3 days, I had to miss out.  Shawn did take the little girls with him, though, and they had a great time.

Crazy kids - all 3 of them.