i want

i have only sorta liked the oxford trend, definitley not enought to buy. these however, i may have to go for. yeah for fall!

eat that and lessons NOT to teach your children

dear daughter is half way through her third season on the strikers competitive soccer team. a darling team of girls that were thrown together in a week, have steadily improved their game and finished last season in the second spot. just one big foot behind those burly stangs. darn those wild horses.

like any team, this season brought a few minor changes and along with those, some minor mishaps. however...last night our girls SHUT OUT the top team in the league! didn't let them score, managed two goals of their own and handed them their first loss. (pause for arm pumps throughout the kitchen)

the last time we played the lady wolverines, they acted just like their name. smiling their way through team handshakes while quietly telling our girls, "you suck." no, our girls didn't put up with that and following a apology from their coach, we packed our bags and went home.

last night, with giant smiles on their faces, our girls handed them a polite high five and a giant slice of humble pie. while a fellow mother and i contained our urge to yell "eat that!" from the sideline.

competitive sports at this age shouldn't be taken too serious. but sometimes, it is seriously hard not to.

WAY TO GO STRIKERS!!!

something funny i noticed:

the pictures above were taken last season, when just having the opportunity to play was enough. hair was done. bows were tied. pictures were taken.

the pictures from this season? there aren't any. games are too intense to hold a camera and hair doesn't have to look cute. must be functional.

tuesday, schmoozday

tuesday's are the lame day of the week for me.

she leaves the house at 8:30 in the morning and i don't see her again until 7:15 at night.

then it's all about getting food in her belly, homework on the paper and her body in the shower. all so she can get up and leave me at 8:30 the next morning.

sandpoint in pictures

the long drive, two days apart, was worth it and we have declared a new labor day tradition. spending it in the backyard and on the lake in sandpoint.

the water was still nice and the outside temp a mild 80. perfect for rolling around on a giant tube.

my red headed nephew, always good for an exciting story, a photo op and a tight hug. the other, a curly blonde who loves to know people are watching and listening, calls me uncle ali and loves his cousins without restraint.

my children. mmmm...

on a normal day with friends and family, the pill is largely outnumbered by girls. a boy cousin his same age, with the same love for trucker hats and skateboards (all for $2.50 at a garage sale), made him calm, happy and drama free.

rose and campy. just watching them made me tired.

fall fest at schweitzer. when the pill wouldn't even attempt a back flip and only cared that his feet land safely back on the tramp, ripp decided to bribe e with .25 a flip. she did 36.

a weekend away with family, turned them all into happy crazy-pants.

PHOTO SHOOT

because we all love to look at something pretty, go to salt lake/park city bride and groom to look at andi's beautiful concept shoot that she did right here at the rippstein ranch earlier this summer. the ranch has never looked prettier...and probably never will.

and in case you didn't know, andi's shop is officially open for business. sego is located downtown where fred's flowers used to be. it also underwent a major transformation and has probably never looked prettier. or inspired so much creativity. follow her blog to keep up with all things pretty and see before and after pictures of the space.