Photo Session

Fall Frenzy

I think I start every post with "things have been crazy around here", but it's always true. Most of the time we are just trying to keep up with all of the girls and living day to day. Lauren's soccer season ended Monday. She was bumped up to the varsity team for the last several weeks, so she got a few unplanned games in. It was exciting and fun to watch her play, but I think we are all glad that it is finally over...Lauren included! She had a great season and played well.

Mackenzie will have her first game for the middle school team tonight. Because of all the rain, they have only had 2 practices. I'm not sure what position she will be playing or how much playing time she will get, but she is on the team and very excited to play tonight.

Last week I got a phone call from the high school and was told that I would need to come and pick up Lauren. She had broken her chin open and would need some stitches. I have never had to take any of my kids to get stitches before, so I rushed out to the car and made phone calls as I drove. Tried to get Mark to do it, no luck. Called the pediatrician to see where I should even take her. It depended on how big and deep the cut was, and since I didn't even know what had happened at that time, I couldn't get any answers. It was the end of the day, so I also had to arrange for the other 2 to get home from school. I finally got to the school and to the nurse's office and was told that Lauren had been slammed into a wall by some boys who were horsing around in the hallway. She had had her back to them and didn't see them coming. It was accidental, but one of the boys got pushed into her and she hit the wall with her chin and it split open. I took her to the doctor where they were able to glue it shut. It's healing nicely and we are hoping for minimal scarring.

This past weekend was fall break for the girls. Mark took Monday off and we had a nice day together. The weather was perfect for getting some much needed outside work done and in the afternoon we were able to go to his office building and meet a couple of the Predators players, Ryan Suter and Marcel Goc. We had pictures taken and shirts signed. Sierra even gave one of them a hug and chanted "Let's go Predators" all afternoon. Then we headed to the mall where...

Sierra got her ears pierced! It was her idea and I tried to talk her out of it, but she held their teddy bear and was very brave. She didn't cry, just said "OUCH". So far she's been really good about cleaning and turning them and she just loves her new sparkly, pink flowers. I was so sure she wouldn't do it or that it would be just awful. I didn't watch and even warned a mother whose little girls was thinking about getting hers done that Sierra may not be the best one to watch. But she was awesome!

Last week I went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch with Sierra's class. It was a very cold day, but the kids had a great time picking cotton, going on a hayride, picking a pumpkin, milking a cow, and playing on the playground. I was glad they sold hot chocolate! I'm pretty sure one of the biggest thrills for Sierra was being able to ride the bus with her friends.

We also were able to go to Ashytn's fall party. They had a lot of yummy food and played some fun games, but the most fun was the doughnuts that were hanging from the ceiling. It was so funny watching them try to eat them without using their hands. The kids were all sticky and happy at the end of the day.

More Soccer

I hate team tryouts. They make me nervous, probably more so than my kids who are involved. This week it was Mackenzie's turn. She had 2 days of soccer tryouts for her middle school and we were thrilled when she made the first cut. Tonight we checked the school website every 2 minutes until the final roster was posted. Her number was there and we celebrated with ice cream at Sonic. Way to go Kenzie! Lucky for us, the high school and middle school seasons won't overlap. Lauren's last game is next Wednesday and Mackenzie's first isn't until the 21st. Whew!

I'm a Winner!

Mark is the one that plays radio call-in games and wins all kinds of things. Last Sunday it was my turn! I heard the cue, called in, and was the 7th caller! I won 4 tickets to Disney on Ice, so Friday night Mark and I took the 2 little girls and we had a night out. We had great seats and the girls were so excited. It was a great show with great company!

Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket!

It has been quite awhile since I have done a Thankful Thursday post and I think most of the time it is for me. One of my favorite church hymns is "Count Your Blessings" and I need to take a break from the busy-ness and start counting.

Today I am most thankful for Sierra's teachers. Autism is not fun and can be very frustrating. We've had lots of those frustrating moments lately and they have made me grateful for her teachers. I don't know that you can appreciate being able to communicate with your child until you can't. It is so nice to be able to carry on a short conversation with Sierra. I love hearing about how her day was and the things that she did. We definitely struggle with trying to understand what she is saying all of the time, but there has been so much improvement since she started in the special ed program last November. Her teachers have worked miracles in my opinion!

I had the opportunity to substitute teach 3 days last week in the same class. It was hard. It was exhausting. It was a little scary. But it was so great to run into a couple of those kids on Saturday and have them say hi and tell their parents that I was their sub. I have a new appreciation for teachers. They aren't paid enough and a good one is priceless. I learned a lot and hope I taught the kids a few things too.

My kids are so great and I love them so much! We are a busy family and I am so proud of their accomplishments. I had a couple of parent-teacher conferences this week and it's always fun to hear how others see your child. They are all great students and like to be involved in other activites. Mackenzie just had her last cross country meet and placed 2nd for her middle school JV team. She shaved 20 seconds off of her best time and finished in 12:19. She has soccer team tryouts next week (cross your fingers!) and just became part of the media team and student council.

Lauren has had a great soccer week. The JV team won their game on Tuesday and she scored 2 goals. She has been working on her passes and crosses and has earned a spot on the VARSITY TEAM for tonight's game! That's quite an accomplishment and she is so excited.

I'm grateful for the cooler weather and that the rain has cleared out for awhile. Sierra and I love to play outside after school and I love the cooler nights. I'm ready for jeans and sweatshirts and Halloween!

Life With the Robertsons!

Wow! What a busy couple of weeks the Robertson family has had. It seems that we have gone from one thing to another without much time in between. We have relied on our weekends to get caught up with each other. I think the little girls went almost a full 48 hours without seeing Lauren this week. Seminary gets her out of the house before they wake up and soccer and youth night keep her out past their bedtime.

Because we weren't busy enough, I signed Ashtyn up for girl scouts. She is in a group with a lot of her little friends and they only meet once a month. Monday they took a tour of the fire department. She had a great time meeting up with her friends, but the most exciting part came when they got a call while we were checking out the fire trucks. It was fun to see them jump into action. I can't wait for cookie sales!


Mackenzie had her last cross country meet this week. She ran the mile and a half in 12:39, which qualified her for her school's varsity team for the county meet this week. She was in the top 5 runners for her school, but has decided to run in the JV meet in hopes of placing. She was also excited about earning a spot on the student council.

The elementary school hosted its annual fall festival Friday evening. We have had so much rain this week, that I was sure it would be cancelled. The rain held off and we were able to enjoy it for a couple of hours before the clouds rolled in. It's always a fun event. There were inflatables, and a train ride. The girls got their faces and fingernails painted, chatted with friends, and played all kinds of games with fun little prizes. Kenzie did the cake walk until she won and brought home a yummy dessert.

Lauren had a couple of high school soccer games this week and did really well. She has earned a spot in the starting lineup. I didn't see the game Friday, but their team won 3-1 and she had 2 assists. This video is of her with the corner kick and her best friend scoring the goal. She's been working on her crosses and had several good ones during the game, or so I hear.



Last night was the highlight of the week! We had tickets to the Predators game. Ashtyn and Sierra have never been to a hockey game and it was a really fun family night. We all had a good time, even though the Preds lost. Sierra kept yelling "Go! You can do it! You can do it all by yourself!" We had popcorn and cotton candy, great seats, and even got our faces on the jumbo tron. I don't think the little ones will let us go without them anymore! I thought it might be too loud and long for the little ones, but they hung in there well after their bedtime and screamed and cheered with the best of them.

And to top it all off, I have been working this week at one of the elementary schools as a substitute teacher. I worked in a 4th grade class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I was a little bit nervous at first, but it all went relatively well and I really enjoyed it. The days went by so fast and the kids (for the most part) were good. I'm actually hoping to pick up a day or two again this week. I have decided that with all we have going on, 3 days is too much. I was exhausted by the end of the day Friday, but it's good to have something to do while all of the kids are at school...at least for a couple of days!

The girls have so much going on right now. It's all good stuff, but it certainly keeps me busy. With each one at a different school and their sporting events, I spend a lot of time in the car after the 3:00 hour. It was so nice to have a couple of extra days last weekend. We spent some time doing some yard work and cleaning out the garage on Saturday. On Monday we took the girls to the zoo. We had heard that there were new baby leopards, but couldn't find them and it was so crowded. Sierra and Ashtyn love to feed the lorakeets, and that exhibit was closed. We spent most of our time playing on the playground and left when it got too busy.

Mackenzie decided to run cross country for her middle school. She has done a good job and improved on her time each week.

And soccer season has officially started! Lauren isn't able to play in the rec league because she is on the high school team. She will spend the season reffing and making money for a new ipod. Mackenzie, Ashtyn, and Sierra are all playing and Mark is coaching Mackenzie and Sierra. Here are some pictures from the first day of games. I am pretty excited about our teams' colors for this year! Mackenzie's team won't start playing until the 26th.

Ashtyn's team has a few really good players, and Ash is improving too. She has a lot of friends from school on her team and it's a really fun group of girls and parents.

Sierra was the real surprise of the day. She had an early morning game and I didn't think she would play. There was an issue with the uniform....she didn't want to wear it! She cried for a good long time about it and is so stubborn, but finally decided to give it a try. She did really well (for a 4-year-old) and had a good time.
Yesterday we had our primary program. It was Mackenzie's last, and I think she is really ready to move on. Just a couple of months to go! They did their parts really well and sang all of the songs. From what I hear, Sierra was quite entertaining down in front! I was sitting with my class behind her and missed it!

Ballet Class

Today was the first day of Sierra's new ballet class. She has been excited for days and talked of little else....until she found out the leotard would be black, without a skirt. That brought on some major tears which were remedied as soon as she saw her friend, McKinli.

Getting ready to stretch.

And this is how she looked when the class was over. She obviously stayed busy and active and her teacher said she had a great time. Sierra loves music and singing and dancing, so I'm sure this will be the highlight of each week.