My Kids & Me

sometimes when you are angry with someone, it helps to sit down and think about the problem.

kind of reminds me of michael and elizabeth...or maybe it's my sisters pinning me down when i was little and tickling me to death (and watching my brother run away for fear of it happening to him too).

i had a conference last week in vegas for work, so my sister, Stephanie, invited me to come out a day early and see the sights with her. this turned into one of the most memorable experiences of my life. first, steph looked great, probably the happiest i ever remember her being. i think her boyfriend dave has a lot to do with this. he's a really down to earth, genuine person and he's such a great influence on steph. i was telling my dad tonight that i think this was the best that steph and i have ever gotten along. i truly enjoyed her company.

i arrived late saturday night and steph, dave and i went to the Rio for a seafood buffet. it was really terrific. dave and i were cracking up at steph. she all but ran to the buffet when we go to the hotel and boy did she ever get her money's worth. it really wa a terrific buffet, though i was disappointed that the ice cream was melted. we then drove down the strip and stopped in the older part of vegas and walked around.

sunday mornin…

this past saturday was the first day of the fall soccer season. oscar and elizabeth both play at 9am and michael at 1pm.

i didn't get to see elizabeth play much because i coach oscar's team, but beth said she played great, scored one goal and didn't want to come out.

oscar was a scoring machine. he certainly nowhere near the fastest on his team, but he has a nose for the goal. i counted 5 goals. he did a little dance after each goal too...too funny.

michael's team played terrific. they passed the ball incredibly well all day, which for anyone that has watched kids soccer is a huge accomplishment. they lost the first game 2-1, but controlled the ball most of the game. the other team played 2 statue defenders, which i absolutely hate. how can those 2 kids possibly be having fun? they won the next game 5-0 and the 3rd game 2-0. michael had 2 goals and really seemed to enjoy himself. this was the happiest i've seen him in a while. maybe playing at 1pm helps hi…

we've had a busy few weeks since school started. the kids are now in their 4th week and no one has been sent to the principle's office yet (or to the counselor), although michael did ask if he could go talk to Mrs. Witt again (she's the counselor). we're suspicious though that he just likes getting candy from her. they are all doing very well so far. michael's teacher told him the other day that last year one kid in her class read 108 books, so michael says he is going to try to top her. he gets kind of obsessive about things, so it wouldn't surprise me if he gets close, but that is a LOT of books.

two weeks ago i was in montreal for work. it was my first time visiting Canada. i brushed up on my french and got the chance to practice some, but everyone there is bilingual, so it's easy to cheat. i forgot my camera, so i don't have any pictures to share. there really wasn't a whole lot to the city, but there is some beautiful architecture that …