PVL Wrestling Championship

Tanner placed 3rd in the Junior Varsity Division at the PVL Wrestling Championship. Here are some clips of his final matches. Congrats Tanner!

Beauty and the Beast Television Commercial

Take a look at the commercial that is running on our local cable channel for Whitney High Schools "Beauty and the Beast". Watch for Taylor a couple of times as Lumiere (the candlestick).

Happy 12th Birthday Riley!

Riley celebrated his 12th birthday in January! We love you Riley!
If you know Riley, you know that he is not a "sweets" person. When I asked what he wanted for his birthday he replied "just vanilla ice cream," so that's what he got! The rest of us enjoyed our ice cream with toppings!

Kings Game Performance

Upstage Productions had the opportunity to perform at the Kings game on Friday night. It also happened to be the night the Kings were retiring Chris Webbers Jersey and it was a packed house. The performance was part of the pre-game show and was great! I am not sure if Taylor had more fun performing or the after party at RPM racing! The Kings almost pulled out a win over the Jazz. We weren't sure who to root for!

Enjoy the show!




Here's a test, do you know which one is Taylor? Tanner? I'll post the answer later.

Another wrestling match!

Riley wrestled this week against Springview Middle School (their rival) and the gym was packed. He is the first match in varsity and you could tell he was nervous. All these people and friends he knew were watching and the pressure was on. He dominated the whole match and got the pin near the end of the third round. Here is a clip of round 3.

Upstage Christmas Show

The Annual Upstage Christmas show was great as always!Taylor is enjoying being in the full performing group this year. I have included a clip of the Waltz. They will be performing at the Sacramento Kings game on February 6 for the pregame show. The Kings are playing the Utah Jazz that night so it should be a fun evening. They are working hard and getting ready for their trip to New York in June. I am lucky enough to be going along with them. There can never be enough chaperones right?

District Cup Winners!

Riley's soccer team won District Cup this past December! Here is a clip of an "almost" goal. This came after Riley had just scored what would become the winning goal, unfortunately we didn't get that one on film. We were playing a team from Davis and the fans spoke Spanish so that is what you are hearing in the background. Riley is #7.

Pinewood Derby

Time for the annual Pinewood Derby! Because of the way the boys are lined up in our family, we will have 9 years consecutively of Cub Scouts! This was Zach's first Pinewood derby and Chris and Zach decided to build a "PSP" car. He loves video games and so this was very fitting for him. It wasn't the fastest car on the track but it certainly was the most creative.

Sticking to my update every 6-8 weeks. I wouldn't want to throw anyone off!

I really do have good intentions of keeping updated on our blog but the days seem to get the better of me. We have been busy with Wrestling for Tanner and Riley. Never could I have imagined myself sitting at wrestling meets and tournaments but here I am. If you have not had the opportunity to see a wrestling match, it's 3 minutes of intense pressure and stress. I lean and bend with every move and my heart rate must be nearly 200. Wrestling is a team sport but it is really all about the individual. When they walk out on the mat, it's all up to them. They really put it all out there. Riley is wrestling for Granite Oaks Middle School as a 6th grader (he attends Breen Elementary but is eligible to compete for the middle school.) I was unsure of how Riley would handle the stress and pressure, but it amazes me to see his strength. He is such a shy, timid and gentle person that to see him like that is amazing. You have to know how much Riley hates loud noise so it makes me laugh when I see him sitting with his team plugging his ears :). I have added a clip of Riley in a dual meet last week. This is the 3rd round and Riley is down 2-0. He gets an escape and needs the take down points for the win. Excuse his dad yelling in the background, it was an intense match. Watch his face when it is done and you will see how intense. He is currently 4-1 in league matches and has placed 2nd and 4th in tournaments. Tanner is doing well also. He is wrestling on the Varsity team for Whitney High School. After his success in Middle School last year, this has been a humbling experience for him because he isn't winning much. There are only 2 freshmen that are wrestling varsity. He faces mostly Juniors and Seniors and is getting better and stronger because of it. I have some video of him, but I might have to get permission to put it up :).
Taylor is very busy rehearsing for "Beauty and the Beast" and I am sure rehearsals will only get longer and more grueling as February rolls around. He is really looking forward to the production and says that the show is going to be "amazing!" For those close by or who would like to visit the show opens on February 26 and runs until March 7. Taylor is Lumiere (the candlestick). We can't wait. Stay tuned for what I hope are more frequent updates!

Jingle Ball 2008

We went to the Jingle Ball concert in Sacramento. This was Tanner and Taylor's first concert. I took them along with 5 friends. The highlight of the night was David Archuleta's performance.

Digging our way out..........

Where did the last 6 weeks go? I can't believe it is already December 15. I am not even remotely ready for Christmas, I still am trying to catch up on November. In one quick breath, this is what we have been up to: soccer, football, upstage, Thanksgiving, wrestling, play auditions, flag football, some more wrestling, more upstage, and a bit more soccer. I have many photos and some video that I will share over the next few days.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Utah and enjoyed our time we had to spend with Megan and Brandon, Tate and Coy. They came up from Dallas and we tried to make the most of the time we had. Our trip through Nevada was quite eventful and after a long day on the side of the road, a night in Reno, and a rental car for the week we finally made it to Utah. We picked up the Suburban on the way back with a new fuel pump. Our life is never dull that much is for sure. We ran non-stop while we were there enjoying movies, indoor surfing, pizza, go-karts, football in the bounce houses, and hanging out with cousins and family. It is always sad to leave but we were glad to get home. We will spend Christmas at home in California and we are looking forward to that.

The kids have been very busy. We finished up Football and Flag Football and went straight into wrestling for both Tanner and Riley. Riley is wrestling for the middle school that he will attend next year and Tanner is wrestling on the Varsity team for Whitney High. Taylor auditioned for the winter musical "Beauty and the Beast" at Whitney High and was cast as Lumiere (the candlestick). Quite an accomplishment for a freshman. There are only 2 freshmen in the cast and to have a lead role is exciting. It will debut the end of February for a couple of weeks.

Check back for photos and video of the last month. I am going to try to be more diligent with the blog. Leave us a comment so that we know you have visited.

Merry Christmas!

Apple Hill

We finally found the time to sneak away as a family and went to Apple Hill. We had a good time wandering around, enjoying a beautiful afternoon and smelling all of the wonderful apple scents. Sadly, we never made it to the pumpkin patch this year. I think that is the first time since we moved here (mom, I blame it on you, you never made it out!)The rain has finally found us and I think it is time to pull out some warmer clothes. That can be a difficult task at times with the rate the boys are growing. It looks like we are going to be rained out this weekend. The thought of a relaxing day at home sounds wonderful! Hope the Trick or Treating was good for everyone!

Happy Halloween

Zach dressed up like a Whitney Football Player for halloween this year and it is fitting since it is Whitney's Homecoming this week. It has been a fun week, watching the boys involved in the activities and watching Tanner play in his first homecoming game. They came out ahead against Eldorado High School 38-0 and continue on their quest to be undefeated (just two more games). Zach is a miniature Tanner even from the back.

Hope you have a great weekend!

We're Back!

What a crazy couple of weeks. I wanted to find more interesting things in our lives and we had that chance. Chris took a new position with Pathway Medical Technologies based out of Seattle WA. For those of you close to the situation, you understand what a BIG deal this is :). He is looking forward to this exciting opportunity. That is the really big news in our life. Thanks for everyone's support!

Sports!

Sometimes I wonder if I have anything more exciting to report on besides sports, but as I look through this week that seems to be the only thing we do. We move from baseball to soccer to football and slide homework in. I feel lucky when we can all sit down and have dinner together. At the end of the day everyone is happy and tired and I guess that is what matters, right?

So here are the highlights:

Baseball wins: 1
Soccer wins: 1
Flag Football wins: 2
Whitney football wins:1

losses:2

Not bad statistics, huh?

Taylors sport is Dancing. In his Upstage group they are swing dancing and preparing for their December show (which is on December 20 for anyone who would like to come visit). He loves every minute of it. I wish I had a photograph to show, although it wouldn't do him justice, you have to see it. They are also preparing to perform the pregame show at a Sacramento Kings game in February against the Utah Jazz.

Whitney High beat Bear River High School tonight in a VERY close game. The final score was 15-14. Tanner hurt his ankle in practice on Monday so he didn't play much tonight. The are now 6-0. It is pretty exciting football, we would love to have company (hint hint).

Once again we have a full line up for Saturday. Sometime in this month I would like to find a time to head up to the pumpkin patch. Hopefully this week. We are enjoying beautiful fall weather and I am especially enjoying the cooler weather.

This week I am going to look for more exciting things that happen in our lives. I am sure they are there..........somewhere. Check back!

So that I can post a picture, here is a favorite from a summer trip to Monterey.

We could sure use some relaxing beach time, how about you?

I know that you all wish you had a pair of glasses like Taylor!

Conversation at Whitney Football Game 10/9

me: (with expression and a gasp while watching the game) look at those two players punching each other!

chris: yeah, that would be your son.

For clarification purposes: the play was actually legal (meaning Tanner didn't really punch him). They were away from the play and the Colfax player was coming at him so Tanner "laid him out". What I saw was the take down.

For those who are following............

The thursday night football update is:

Whitney 29 - Colfax 22

This puts the Wildcats at 5-0

You can check out some pictures of Tanner here (even order them if you would like):

http://thewinningshot.exposuremanager.com/p/frosh_vs_colfax_oct_9-2008/d30_745843

http://thewinningshot.exposuremanager.com/p/frosh_vs_colfax_oct_9-2008/d30_813650

Stay tuned for more highlights.

Have a great weekend!

Edited Note

If you click on the pictures they will come up larger. I fixed the glitch that was preventing this. Enjoy!

Weekend Wrap-Up!

Here are the weekend statistics from the Hughes World of Sports:

Games scheduled: 5
Games played: 4 (Riley had a baseball game that was rained out)

Games won: 1......Zach Flag Football
Games lost: 3......Riley Soccer, Zach Soccer, Riley Flag Football

Touchdowns scored: 1 (Zach had his first ever touchdown in flag football)
Soccer goals scored: 0

Games officiated: 3

MVP: Zach......he debuted in his first flag football game. He had some great flag pulls, a touch-down and a "nearly" completed pass among other things.

As you can see we had a busy weekend. We enjoyed the rain that came in on Friday and Saturday morning and then had a beautiful Sunday with the bluest skies that we have seen all summer.

Taylor chose not to play soccer this year and took the certification course to referee soccer games. It's a great way to make some extra cash when you are 15. He has already done 14 games this season.

Riley's 4th place win in his soccer tournament last weekend.

I cannot get any video to upload off the camera so a quick football picture of Tanner.

Although baseball was rained out, enjoy a picture taken last week. This hit would be a double for Riley. If you look close in the background you can see me enjoying the game.