...and here is a deep thought.........

So, I am a blog stalker. Yup, I admit it and will honestly tell you that I adore reading about other people's lives, whom I have no idea who they are or where they live or will never actually meet. It could be considered scary but I promise it is or I am perfectly harmless. Sometimes I do though, get quite involved with their stories and I cry, or I will laugh or even call Mister to share. (He thinks it is a little weird but....I think some of our most amazing conversations have been started due to something we have read!) And, sometimes I read something that truly touches my heart and makes me a better person.

This past week that happened! I read a blog about a lady who decided that there is so much going on in our lives and how busy we get that we forget that our kids are growing up and might miss the opportunity to do activities that make us who we are as parents are today. (I am paraphrasing this. Hope that is okay. Remember I don't know even know this lady! If you do,please tell her she is AMAZING!) She went on to say that "We are tour guides. Every day our babies hear a language they don't really understand and witness events and objects. Everything is new to them. But ever so much more than teaching our kids, we get to teach them to live!"

That got me to thinking.....(Here is the deep thought part!) Yes, we have introduced our kids to letters which eventually led to reading. We have taught them to write those letters to put down on paper for thoughts and words. We have taught them colors and numbers and how to act in specific situations. We have taken them outside and taught them to swim, enjoy the snow and the sun, see the sky, the trees and even bugs!

But out of all of these things, what are the most important things we can help our children really learn. Of course there is the number one priority that God loves them and there is nothing more important than building that relationship with Him, but my imaginary friend (The blog author. I can say friend because I just know I would LOVE to be friends with this lady! I feel it!!) took it a step further and suggested that we should teach them to really live! That every day, every year, every minute, we need to take a minute or even make a list of things that will help them really "Live". (See! I told you I would love her! I LOVE lists!!!)

So, I thought I would share...Here is my/our live list:

Play in the rain.

Sleep outside under the stars.

Send a care package to someone we love.

Experience a sunrise with a cup of hot cocoa.

Roast a hot dog over a campfire.

Catch a tadpole, and kiss it for good luck before setting it free.

Plant a flower and watch it grow.

Go a WHOLE day without shoes!

Get in a waterfight with no rules.

Make cookies for a friend and doorbell ditch.

Have a tea party.

Play with my camera until I can use all of its features correctly.

Spend a day hiding "Happy Fortunes". (More about this to come...I am soo doing this!)

Teach the dog to stay.

Send a letter just to tell someone you love them.

Go the beach and build a HUGE sand castle.

Go Huckleberry picking and eat them until we feel sick.

Stay in pajamas and watch movies all day. With no housework.

Catch a fish.

Make a zoo out of play-dough.

Splash in rain puddles and get sopping wet while dancing and playing.

Fly kites at the beach.

Laugh until you cry.

Attend a luau.

Swim with dolphins.

Cook a full course meal and have the table set with all the works.

So, there it is. My/Our Live List! I am excited. I am motivated! I am glad there are people who can inspire us without them even knowing. And you know the more I really think about it, a Live List just might be able to bring us one step closer to that very important relationship with God too! Hum....

What is on your Live List? Wanna play along? I would love to hear yours!!!

~ A dAy FoR sOmE wAtEr PlAy ~

Who: Teila, Alyson, Jonathan and Elizabeth. (Well, and Aunt Tammy, Mister, Grandma Terry and myself...and Aly's friend Emily).

Where: Roaring Springs Water Park (Have I mentioned before this is my ABSOLUTE favorite place to go? Nothing like spending all day in your swimsuit!!!! L----O-----V----E it!!!)

When: Saturday

Why: Because the wonderful, magnificent, awe inspiring, amazing (Do you hear the angelic notes going off around you?) Uncle Bob, Aunt Stacy and Little Greyson always bless our children with passes to our local waterpark for the their birthday.

Awww....nothing says Happy Birthday and We Love You more than free passes, (for YOUR parents to take you) on a fun filled, sun kissed, heat extreme, over crowded, day at the waterpark on your special day! All the while, we get the credit for being extremely cool!

Thanks Uncle Bob, Aunt Stacy and Little Greyson! We had a fabulous time! For real! We really did enjoy our day on you! (Well the kids did! All of the adults are now taking up second jobs to help pay for our own entry into the park!)

Please remember when we buy Greyson tickets to a nice, cold, energy driven, football game for his Birthday...it is because we care and love him dearly! Make sure and take pictures for us!!!!

*giggles!*

mail call....

Dear Camp,

Thank you for taking care of my babies last week! I missed them dearly but they had a great time! They have great stories too! I am glad they are back with me though. A week is too long for this Momma!

Dear Weekend,

Where did you go and why did you go SO fast? I hate when you leave and take Mister with you! Hurry back!!!

Dear Gym,

Soon I will be back! I know I keep making excuses but my pants remind me minute to minute that it is time! How about tomorrow? You and me...and all of those people!

Dear David Ramsey,

Living your plan is like eating healthy food! It is good for us but terribly dreadful at the same time! (Goodbye green car! Please understand that it was a debt snowball decision, not you!)

Dear Mister,

As always I am here missing your face! I heart you more today than yesterday!

Dear Family,

Yesterday was fabulous! I LOVED every minute of it! Always good laughs and an occassional head smash. Love you all! How about we go again sometime soon?

Love,
me....

More Vacation Recaps......

Did I happen to mention that after the REALLY BIG tournament of tournaments, we were able to head across the street from our motel (Yup! I said ACROSS the street from where we our sweet little heads lay on a pillow each of the 9 nights we were gone!) and have a glorious time at the happiest place on earth? Don't get all sappy on me and say "your home is the happiest place on earth" because hello, it doesn't have churro's or space mountain or an adorable little mouse that you always spell M...O..U..S..E. at the end. Oh! Sigh, Hum..Well, we did! We went... and there without a doubt, I was the happiest person on earth and shhh!!!! don't speak or say it too loud but the Mister was too!

See, don't we look happy? Yup! Cuz we were! The happiest!

Oh and yea, nope, we didn't have a problem with the fact that we are over 30 and wearing those ears as a family! We were very cool sporting them around the park! We might have, maybe, just suggesting it, skipped a time or two! (We held hands too WHILE singing the song!!!! *giggles*)
Awww.....and what a great time we did at that place of happiness!

What We Did This Summer.......

a little of this......

some of this......

and a lot of this........

and where were we when we did all of this, you might ask?

I am glad you asked.

SeaWorld, Disneyland, San Diego Zoo and Universal Studios.

We did something we have been talking about for years. Yup, you are correct..we took a little vacation!

Thanks to Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Shamu, the group of Polar Bears, Tinkerbell (My new favorite right behind the Mouse himself!), and all the other various characters we got to meet on our amazing adventure!! We LOVED every minute of it!

(There is more to come! But that is all for now folks!)

Well, welcome to the big dogs........

.........or the big gi's or however you would like to say or word it. Let's just say that there are no words to use for the experience we all received today! How do I begin.....hum...the words.....I am certainly not going to do it justice because being in the environment is really the only way to understand. But I shall try....
Imagine if you will........
Hundreds of people all waiting in a line for two small doors to open. Coaches, kids of all colors, weights, ages and sizes. (You can say Kilograms, pounds, ounces, it is all irrelevant when there are soo many shoved together in one tiny little area!)
All of these people anxiously awaiting for these two small doors to open in order to overtake the University of California-Irvine's arena for the next two days. Some of the kids were quiet, (Well, they were deaf but it added to the ambiance and thrill of being somewhere new!) some were loud and obnoxious,(It is California...I think I have heard that about some of these people), some were sweet and kind, (That would probably be us! *giggles!*) most spoke Japanese or Spanish or languages I have never heard or can't identify, and then there were some that were naive and new and just had these "What have I gotten myself into"looks. (Okay, maybe we fall into two categories!)

Finally...the wait is over. Like bread popping out of the toaster, the doors eject and there is that pre-shiai mayhem but more at a normal level times 100! People pushing, kids with gi bags that are bigger than they are trying to squeeze through the turntable to make their way to the "really BIG fight of their lives" and moms grabbing hands to not lose their younger children. Some had obviously been here before, they expected it, you could tell. However, when we walked into that arena and there was music blaring as if we were at a rock concert rather than a judo tournament, you couldn't help but show your ...holy moley...we aren't in Kansas anymore Toto expression! Some "in your face" motivating music blared throughout the stadium and an even louder voice, if that is possible, speaks to invite all judoka on the mat to warm up.

See chaos!!! This is just one side and corner of the mat area! WOW!!!
I am shoving Jon's contacts in his eyes and fast as I can. The poor kid didn't even know what hit him. He was whisked away by coach Mister and down to the arena floor they go.

The little man was amazing. He didn't seem to be timid, shy, out of place. He stood at the mat and listened to directions as if he was getting directions for a walk in the park that he loved! The kids kept coming out of the wood work, or concrete work if you would rather, the music continued to blare..one motivating kick your hiney song after another, while moms, dads, clubs, etc. looked frantically to find the best seats to watch their player in the 8 fight stadium! Yup, I said 8!!!

As if this wasn't to be outdone.....the participants were taken off and over 100 judges/refs lined up at the end of the mats. Wow! Amazing! But here is the best part, out come the players holding their state/country sign to the Eye of the Tiger, Right Here, Right Now, and the list goes on. Unbelievable, there was Oregon, Idaho,

This is our little Idaho group! Jon is the third one from the front!
Washington, Illinois, Ohio, Brazil....yup the country....Australia...yup that country too...and California...the State that just kept coming. I was pretty sure they had forgotten to keep passing out the signs during California's big showing. Everyone was welcomed, thank yous were expressed, the anthem was sung....that always amazes me, the kids all bowed and then it was time.
I have tried all week to figure out how to post the silly video...but I can't. So, pictures will have to do. (We have TONS of video footage and would love to sit and chat will you come over to see!)

Here is some prior knowledge before I tell you how he did...I was told by several people that going to your first National is just for the experience. The description was that more than likely our Little Man's fights would be bow, throw (his opponent throwing him), bow. And that this would be okay. After just the opening ceremonies I can see and fully expected to have that happen!

He did lose. However, he didn't lose by a throw. He fought hard and got out of several pins on the mat and he remained completely calm before, during and after each fight! I am so completely proud of him. He was amazing! And just another little tid bit of information...the first boy he fought, was last years USA National Champion. So hey, 2 1/2 minutes (Three minutes is the full time allotted for each fight)with a champion...not too bad Little Man! Not too bad!

In our eyes, Jonathan represented himself and his Judo Club with honesty, integrity, sportsmanship and respect! Way to go Little Man!!

"Where are you going now that you have competed in Jr. Nationals? I am going to DiSnEyLaNd!!!!"

Beautiful......wish you were here!!!

After weigh-in this morning for the little man. We had a tasty lunch and then headed over to the beach for the afternoon to clear our heads, relax and "mentally" prepare for the BIG day tomorrow. (Yes we are all in training! This has definitely been a learning experience for ALL of us!!!) Can I just say that it was much needed after the CrAzY morning at the Tournament Headquarters?!?!? It was crazy and somehow we ended up leaving an important paper that the Mister needed to register for coaching so the little man and I were on our own! Yikes!!! So much Japanese and Judo talk around me! Boys running around in underwear/or down to their underwear or the other half had on those big sweat suits working extremely hard to lose that one to two kilograms (Yup! I said Kilograms. Everyone is weighed in kilograms at this level! Great! I have a hard enough time with our measuring system!!! Just ask Mister!!!!) to move to the lower bracket. That is just on the boy side and I wasn't even allowed in the weigh-in room! I won't even tell you about the poor girl that made a VERY bad decision to officially weigh-in with a tank, 2 t-shirts, 1 sweatshirt, flannel pajama pants and socks! To make a bad story easier, he told her he didn't want to see her again until he could calm down. Yikes! However, even I know better than that!!!

It was beautiful! We enjoyed it and had an amazing time! We do wish you were all here with us and sharing in our fun! Loves and Hugs!!

Update from Judo Land: Jonathan is a whole 32 kilograms. That puts him in the 31 kilogram bracket. This is the 2nd to lightest group for his age group. He will fight tomorrow (July 3rd) sometime after 10:00 am. As an added bonus, Sensei Bob has decided to form a team and so guess what? The little man will compete again on Sunday (July 4th) sometime after 11:00. Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers coming! He is so excited and we are so proud of him just for the sheer fact that he is here! He has such a calm deposition and is just enjoying himself! Being here is a priveldge and if you know how hard he has worked, you know that he deserves to be here and learn! Go little Jonny GO! Win or lose, learn, grow and do your best! We love you!!!

HeLlo from DiSnEyLaNd.......

.....This is what happens when Mister is at school learning how to be a coach and the wee ones and I are stuck with nothing left to do but shop! *giggles!* We should start this story over and tell you how the day really went! Well, maybe a quiz to see if you can guess how the day went......Best Wishes! How about True or False?

1. Did Mister go to Judo School the ENTIRE first day of us being here?
2. Did we stay at the motel right across from Disneyland?
3. Did we go play in the Disneyland park?
4. Did we take a dip in the pool?
5. Did we take a nap?
6. Did the Little Man get to partake of a little, friendly Judo shiai today?
7. Was Mister late? Would you like to see the answers? Come on! I am sure you did great!!!

1. Mister At School: True AND he passed! Yup.... an extra special surprise of 100 Judo and coaching questions! Too bad I couldn't take it! I am pretty sure that "oh-she-got-me" and "Ippon, somones sorry" are Judo terms everyone should be aware of!
2. Stay at a motel across from Disneyland: True
3. Played at Disneyland: False...not yet at least! Oh Sunday, we just can't wait!!
4. Took A Dip In The Pool: True, True, True!

5.Nap: True! In my infinate wisdom-but it was well worth it and the company was the best! I decided to attend the premier midnight showing of Eclipse before we left. It did not double well with a late flight, being stuck in an airplane for 45 minutes while we wait for them to lift the "noone moves" ban due to the weather.our little man is going to be working for OSHA one of these days and LAX- the Little Man was not impressed!!!

6.Shiai: False. Not today....soon! Weigh-Ins are tomorrow morning and another little coaches meeting for the Mister and the fighting begins on Sat! Keep the prayers comin'!

7.Late: Of course you sillies! It is the Mister we are talking about! But, guess what? We love him more with each passing minute!

Loves and Hugs to all of you from the Mouse House!!!!