79th Junior Amateur Golf Tournament Champion

Zach finally won his division this year at the state match play tournament. He placed second during the stroke play on day one and was seeded number 2. On Tuesday he easily won his match and then realized he would probably be playing his two good friends over the next few days. On Wednesday he play Nigel Lett and did a great job winning 8 & 6 and the next day he played Max Carter and again won - watching Max not watch Zach's putt on 14 to win just about killed me. It is so hard to watch good friends play each other - it actually brought tears to my eyes. This day however, Zach played awesome and on hole 9 Max was way off the green and down a hill in the dirt and bushes and he chips it up and the ball lands less than a foot away from the hole. Zach being in the bunker I was thinking uh oh Max might get him on this hole and Zach chips it out of the bunker 6 inches from the hole. It was an amazing shots for both of them - it was like Max had 4 aces and Zach said yea well I have a royal flush. Friday came and Zach had to play Sulman Raza his rival friend Eugene. These two have gone back and forth for years and it wasn't until last year that Zach and the other golfers learned they could beat Sulman. Sean flew back in on a late flight to come and watch and we were confidant he was going to win. It was finally going to be his turn. Starting off both boys were nervous and Sulman missed a couple of shots and gave Zach a 5 up lead that Zach never gave back until Sulman birdied 13 & 14 and I have to admit I was a bit nervous because when Sulman is on he is on and he does not give up. Well on 15 Sulman missed a putt for birdie and Zach chipped it in from just off the back of the green and it dropped right in the hole and he sealed the deal and won. I was thrilled for him and so excited - he did it and after a fantastic week he definatley deserved it! Great job Zach and congratulatons.

We were "knifed".....

I woke this morning to look out the window to a bunch of white things sticking out of my lawn. I walked outside to find toilet paper on the bushes and a lot of white plastic knifes sticking in the front lawn.... to funny!

The thing is Michael was with his friend when he took the knifes from his house to TP the other night which they didn't do. We laughed and I guess being "knifed" makes for easy clean-up. Oh, the life of teenage middle schoolers!

Happy 15th Birthday Zach

I cannot believe I have a child old enough to get his permit to drive a car! (Well he failed the first attempt to get his permit...) He has finally grown into his own. He has his opinions and thinks he knows everything about everything. (Like knowing everything about driving so the permit test would be easy - yeah proved that one right!) Zach is a great kid, he is polite and thoughtful. The other day he sees the neighbor unloading his car and Zach jumps on over to help... He is responsible but a huge procrastinator! He is constantly growing out of his clothes - finally - and one of these days he will get his permit and he will pass and drive a car....

Kindergarten Graduation

I can't believe my youngest is finished with Kindergarten! What a great year at a great school. Andrew loves school and loves learning about everything. He has made great friends and even though I might not like him growing up so fast he is ready to be a first grader!! Thanks to Mrs. Aguilar and Mrs. McKelvie for a very successful year.

Dirt, Water and an Imagination

You can always count on Michael to come up with a creative activity..... We have an empty spot in our front yard that the boys have found. Andrew had been using the area to build beaver dams and create sculptures in it but then he got Michael involved. After a few hours with lots of dirt and water they built a really cool track to race monster trucks on... to fun!!

OSAA High School Golf State Championships

Zach took 3rd Place at his High School State Championships as a Freshman. I am so proud of him and it was so exciting to watch. He had an okay round the first day starting off with 3 bogeys in the first 4 holes - I thought oh my but he kicked into gear and ended up in 6th place with a 75. The second day again he bogeyed the first hole but again pulled it together and was on fire. He even kept it together even when the U of O coach followed him for 6 holes (Zach mellowed once his coach told him he was wasn't just watching him so to relax) it worked because he was 2 under going into hole 17 and with the buzz that he was up there in contention to win. He pared 17 but the nerves finally got to him and he pulled it left on 18 and ended up with another bogey to finish the round 1 under which tied for low score at the tournament. Unfortunately, the seniors on 18 birdied and eagled to tie for 1st. It was surreal to watch and see he was up there with the big boys. His friend and rival Sulman Raza from Eugene placed 5th and throughout their OGA careers they have been the steady players - it was neat to see them in the top ten and both on the All American Team as freshman. It was truly an exciting day and a positive one in Zach's desire to play golf in college and professionally. It was also well deserved as he is constantly practicing everyday to become a better player - he recently told me "If I'm not up practicing someone else will be...." Great job and as your mom I am so proud of all that you have accomplished with bringing your team to state and bringing a cohesiveness to the team as well. Job well done!

Basket Case

Sometimes I really feel like a basket case.
Its a huge balancing act and I feel like I cannot even speak in correct sentences let alone handle all that needs to be handled.
I apologize to all those who look at me and think she is off her rocker - I probably am but what choice do I have.
In little over one hour tonight I took one child to a baseball game in WL, did a photo re shoot, took another child to cheer in Clackamas, arranged an overnight sitter for Sunday, tried to find a sub for church, went back to baseball and watched my son make a great out at tee-ball, photographed an impromptu baseball team (my boss forgot he had one scheduled and I was there with the camera mmm...), had a quick meeting with my boss when he arrived after I was done taking all their pictures, got my children fed (McDonalds....), ran home and checked in did a few dishes and scrapped hot glue residue off my floor, chatted with my husband on the phone and went to a meeting for fundraising at the gym. No wonder my head spins - I'm not even sure on where to cut back - that's the sad part. My kids are not over involved; there just is a lot of them going in different directions. I wouldn't change my life for anything - I love being a mom and I suppose being a basket case. So for now I will
embrace running around with my head cut off...