Blue and White

The Fab Four/Seattle Crew (minus Tate)

 Yesterday was the blue and white game for the girls soccer team at BYU.  Josh and I went with the Fab Four/Seattle Crew.  We were able to drop Tate off at Doug and Sharons' so we could go, which we are grateful for because last night was the last night our entire group will be together.  Lo and Jacob are moving to Texas next week.  We are so sad.  We hope we can continue to do little trips with everyone, because we love our friends!

It was weird watching the game from the stands last night.  Last season I was on the sideline helping with game stats, so I didn't feel like I was officially done.  But being in the stands made me feel old, and  made me want to play soccer so badly.  While I was watching, I could see all the freshmen were so nervous, like they are every year.  People were shoving people over...it's always intense because people are fighting for their spots.  But I liked watching.  And after the game was over, we said hi to all our friends and talked to the coaches for a long time.  And we got free pizza so that was a bonus (especially since Josh and I hadn't had dinner).

Going to the blue and white game made me think of my first blue and white game.  I want to write about it, so that I can remember my experience when I'm old.  I was semi-recuited by BYU through high school.  I was always on the fence on whether or not I would get a spot.  I went to camp every summer and that was my biggest recruiting time and I sent in videos of myself (which are really embarrassing to watch now).  The summer before my senior year I went to BYU soccer camp.  I had been emailing Jen for a while and eventually it came to the point where she would look at me at camp and we would go from there.   Here's the email I got from Jen before camp (yes I still have it saved in my email)
> Hi Nicole --
> 
> I hope you are doing well. Today I received your letter and DVD. I really
> appreciate your interest in BYU and our women's soccer team.
> 
> I definitely remember who you are..."Georgia".  Aleisha and I were just
> talking about you and hoping you might be coming to camp again. I'm sorry I
> wasn't able to watch you over the Christmas holiday. I ended up having to go
> ODP national camp in Boca Raton and wasn't able to make it to the other
> tournaments. 
> 
> I was impressed with your DVD, and it looks as if you have continued to
> mature and improve. I wanted to update you on where we are in regards to
> recruiting.  Over the past year our staff has been evaluating many potential
> recruits. We have been taking several issues into consideration including
> positional needs, future roster size, and many others.
> 
> One of the major factors that has had an impact on our recruiting this past
> year and now into the future....is our roster size.  The past three years we
> have been at 30+ players. As you can imagine, this is a difficult number to
> manage. We have recently discussed moving to a smaller roster size, and
> after experiencing all the success this past spring season with a roster of
> 23 players (no seniors), it has made it even more apparent that I need to
> move in that direction.
> 
> We have currently filled five spots (4 field players & a keeper) for the
> class of 2008. We will hold one potential roster spot open.  We may or may
> not fill it.  We have passed on several talented athletes who wanted to make
> decisions on their future, but we are not ready to close all the doors.
> There are several girls like yourself that we haven't been able to fairly
> evaluate. There is still much soccer to be played, and we will wait to
> finalize our roster until the end of State Cup Tournaments, Houston
> Shootout, US Soccer Regionals/Nationals, and summer camps (end of July).
> 
> I look forward to seeing you again. We will be able to watch you closely at
> camps, and I'll have you come play with the staff in the evenings. Let me
> know if you have any further questions.
> 
> See you in July, 
> 
> Jennifer

After camp, the summer wore on and on and I never heard from her.  Everyday was like torture because I would wait for the phone to ring and for it to be Jen and it never was.  So I assumed the spot was filled.  But I didn't let that deter me.  I decided I would go to the open tryouts BYU holds every February and try to walk on.  In October of my senior year during a club game I tore my ACL, which requires a long recovery time.  Long story short I was able to recover in 4 months and play my high school season in the spring.  I decided not to try out in February, because I wasn't recovered by that time and I planned on trying out the following February while I was a freshman at BYU.  I emailed Jen at the end of my high school season, telling her some of the awards I had gotten (hoping that would spark her interest) and told her I would be playing in State Cup that summer if she wanted to come watch me play.  By some miracle, she did.  She came and watched me play in State Cup.  It's weird because I was already graduated from high school and most everyone commits for college their junior year.  A few days after State Cup I got a call from Jen asking me if I wanted to come try out in August during the team's preseason.  I remember being in my room, alone, talking to her and being so nervous.  I was so happy she invited me, but also dreading it because I was so scared to go tryout.  

My mom and I flew to Utah a week or so before tryouts so I could get used to the altitude and stuff.  I remember running around BYU and having my mom time me, because I knew there would be fitness tests, but I didn't know what they were.  Those two weeks of two-a-days were some of the hardest in my life.  I didn't have any friends on the team, I didn't really belong there, and it was awkward because I wasn't even on the team.  Not to mention it was extremely hard.  My mom would sit across the street in the car in the Provo High parking lot and watch the practices.  Everything was awkward with activities outside of practices, because I wasn't on the team so I didn't go.  So I wasn't in any team pictures that year because they took them before I made the team.

Jen said they would make their decision after the blue and white game.  I was terrified.  I really don't remember anything about the game.  But I do remember  talking to Jen after and having her tell me and my dad that I made the team.  I'm pretty sure I cried a little and my dad said something about wanting to hug her.  It's so funny to look back at that experience, because I never thought I would have met my my future husband or my best friends through soccer.  And I never thought I would ever talk to Jen or Coach or Aleisha without being terrified, but last night we were laughing and talking and it was no big deal.  This sounds so cheesy, but I believe dreams come true because mine did.

Yes, I also have pictures from my first blue and white game.  Note the numberless jersey...

And of course some pictures of Tate

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Last Minute Vacationing

Josh's grandma wanted a picture of me, Josh, and Tate.  I thought she wanted one of Doug, Josh, and Tate...
so here it is.  I think Tate is funny in this picture.

We are back!  Tate and I have been in Georgia for a week and then we came home and the next day we went to Park City for Josh's family's reunion.  Both trips were really great.  It was so fun to be in Georgia.  I was sad to leave.  I told Josh that I didn't want to leave, but I wanted him to come to Georgia so we could stay longer and I could be with him.  Leaving made me sad, but also excited to go back.  The flight home was difficult.  I cried a little because Tate cried a lot.  This really nice man in front of me told me a few times Tate was doing a great job, even though he wasn't.  And the people sitting next to me helped me entertain Tate when I can back to my seat after doing squats for 30 minutes to get him to go to sleep (he closed his eyes for 2 min).  I sat down and the woman said, you look really tired, do you want my coke?  I said no, but it was a nice gesture.  All in all, I was glad when the flight was over.

The reunion was fun too.  We went to Park City and spent time with Josh's family.  Josh, Tate, and I spent time at the outlets and we probably had too much fun buying new clothes.  I learned a good lesson at the reunion.  We learned a song to sing at the family reunion talent show and I didn't have the best attitude about singing.  I am not a very good singer and while I love singing at Church or in large crowds or when I am alone, I don't really enjoy singing in small groups in front of people I don't know but am related to.  The song was like 3 octaves too high for me and I was way out of my middle C comfort zone.  The talent show started and the performers were all little kids.  So I thought we weren't going to perform.  Then we decided (or Doug decided) last minute that we were going to do it.  It ended up being great, even though almost everyone forgot their lines and I butchered the ending.  It was a good memory.  On our way home, I was thinking about why I had a bad attitude and how it would've been a much better experience if I would've been more gung ho.  I was disappointed in myself, but it was a good reminder to me to have fun and be supportive.  I had forgotten that things almost always work out when I have a good attitude and a lot of energy.

All of our vacationing has been awesome, but it has taken its toll on Tate, and Josh and I are feeling the pain.  The past few nights have been bad.  Tate is now used to falling asleep in the car or while eating, so when he wakes up at night he wants me to feed him or hold him.  He woke up a lot last night and we are all really tired.  So it's good to be back.

I have lots of pictures from Georgia, but I forgot my flash drive at the Jacksons' house, so I'll post them next time.  In the meantime, here are just a few pictures from our adventures over the past few weeks.

The aquarium in Seattle.  

The Fab Four girls...and Tate(who is missing a sock)

Tate bonding with nature in the butterfly room

Testing our reflexes 

Testing my strength

Kind of creepy 

Josh was the most flexible of us all.  A few days before Josh got a fortune cookie that said others would admire his
flexibility...turns out we did

Gross gum wall

The Fab Four in front of our party van we drove around Seattle

Tate in a restaurant in Georgia on his six-month birthday.  He had not shoes no shirt, but he still got service

The day after we got back from Georgia

In Park City next to a weird looking bear

Tate's outfit for Church

Tate in Park City.  He had been crawling well, but stopped as soon as we turned on the camera

Tate in Georgia.  His first official crawl (it really is just one crawl).  Please ignore my screaming.

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We Made It!

We are in Georgia!  We made it and it has been so fun being here.  We left Wednesday morning and I was really nervous, because the flight was supposed to be almost 4 hours (it ended up being about 3hr20min) and the last time we flew home from Georgia it was terrible.  Tate cried almost the whole way.  So I came prepared and was ready for anything.  We got on the plane and it took a long time for everyone to board (it was a bigger plane).  Tate started being fussy before the flight took off and I almost started crying because I knew what was ahead.  He was only crying and really difficult for 45 minutes.  I was able to stand up once they turned off the seatbelt sign and went to the back and got him to fall asleep.  Then I held him and we both slept for over an hour.  The last hour he was awake and was fine.  So it was a much better experience.  A man was sitting next to me and he was nice and offered to help me in any way.  Once again, people commented on how young I am and once again I think most people thought I was a teenager.

We got to Georgia and my sister-in-law Chelsea and her two kids flew in a few hours after us.  It has been so fun to have them here.  Claire and Emma are Tate's only cousins (not for long though) and he's my parents' only grandson (again, not for long-Chelsea is expecting a boy).  It's been so fun to watch Claire and Emma interact with Tate.  They call him baby Tate.  At first, Emma didn't like it when Chelsea would hold Tate, but I think she is okay with it now.  Tate is so close to crawling.  Every time he is on all fours I think he is going to do it.  He's been great.

We went to the pool today, but we went early because it was the only time that worked with all the naps.  The water was cold and Tate didn't really enjoy it.  One day we will go swimming in a pool with warm enough water.

Last night my mom, Chelsea, and I were baking treats for a bridal shower we have on Saturday and we decided to watch Downton Abbey.  I have had a lot of people tell me I should watch it and last night we watched four episodes.  I have officially been sucked in.  Now all I need is for Josh to watch them with me.

I haven't taken as many pictures as I want to, but here are some pictures we've taken so far...

Tate is almost as thick as Emma, who is over a year older than him

This is just a video of us hanging around.  Nothing spectacular happens...but I still like it.

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A Really Great Weekend

I can't believe Tate was once so small and sleepy

*More pictures from the photoshoot are at the end, so feel free to skip over my ramblings to see them...
This weekend was really fun!  Friday night we went to our ward party.  It was great.  It was a service party with different "service stations."  So one station was frosting cookies to give to someone, another was writing letters to your spouse, and one was quilting.  There were a few other ones.  Josh and I spent most of our time learning to index.  I did some indexing when I was in high school, but Josh has never been able to because there has always been something wrong with his login.  So he got his first real taste of indexing, and now we can do it at home!  Our ward is really awesome.  We have some really good friends in the ward.  Stacy and Andrew (who live above us-I played soccer with Stacy at BYU) are in our ward.  They love love Tate!  So they held him the whole time at the party, which was nice for Josh and I.  Someone was going around taking pictures and Stacy/Andrew had Tate for most of the time, so in almost all the pictures it looks like they are his parents.  We have already designated them as his godparents, so it works.

Saturday night we dropped Tate off at Josh's aunt Heather's house.  And Josh's aunt Kristin was there too.  It was so nice to be able to go out with Josh.  We went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple.  It was great because I was able to do temple work for three of my ancestors.  My mom found their names and let me do their work.  I really felt something special when I was there.  Before we went I felt really strongly that we should go to the temple so I could take their names and do some of their temple work.  And in the temple I really felt like I was doing the right thing and I felt connected to those women.  I felt a lot of love for them.  The temple is amazing, because I have never met these women and they were born in the 1700s and 1800s, but the temple brought us together.  I also thought about how I wouldn't be where I am without them.  So I also felt a lot of gratitude for them and for making it possible for me to be alive!  What the prophets and apostles have said about the importance of family history work is so true.

After we went to the temple we went to paradise bakery and got dinner.  It was delicious.  Josh and I are weird, because we like to talk about what makes businesses successful, or how we think businesses could be better.  So we spent most of our time comparing paradise to zupas (a similar restaurant) and how their menu styles bring in different types of people.  We love both of those places.

As we were driving up Heather's street to get Tate, we saw they were outside.  We drove by their house to turn around at the end of the cul de sac.  As we drove by we saw Heather holding Tate and he was crying.  We automatically assumed the worst, that Tate had been crying the entire time.  When Tate is fussy, being outside really helps.  There he was crying, so we thought they had had to resort to going outside to calm him down.  Well, turns out he had been great the whole time, but right when we drove by Tate hit his face against Heather's collar bone, which was why he was crying.  It was perfect timing.  We are so grateful Heather wanted to watch him, because we had a great time together!

Another reason why this weekend was so great is Tate only woke up once last night!  He woke up at 1:30 and didn't wake up until 7:15.  I woke up at 6:30, but I got a good solid 5 hours straight.  That's one of the longest stretches I've gotten in a long time.  Way to go Tate!

To top it all off, tonight we went to Josh's parents house and had dinner with Heather and her family, Kristin, and Grandma and Grandpa Clark.  It was really fun.  Heather made these awesome taquitos.  Grandma and Grandpa Clark made amazing salsa (I love good salsa).  Kristin made these super delicious peanut butter oatmeal bars that I am really excited to make (they only have honey, PB, and oats). And we brought Tate!  It was fun to see everyone.  Jessica, Josh's cousin was there too, and she got to hold Tate a lot.  Tate was great.  I had a really fun time.  I am so bummed I didn't take any pictures! In August, Josh's mom's side is having a family reunion, so tonight got me super pumped for that!

Tate and I are going to Georgia on Wednesday.  We are really excited!  And when we get home Josh's family will be home from Europe, which we are also really excited about!  We have missed them.  But Josh's sister Carlie posts pictures on Facebook, so whenever she posts new ones, we sit and go through them all together.  When we found out we were going to have a baby, we drove up to Josh's family's house to tell them.  At that point we were probably going to go on this Europe trip.  But when we told Josh's parents I was pregnant, one of the first things Doug said was "what about Europe!"  And that's when we found out we probably weren't going to Europe anymore.  We are excited to have them back.

On Friday I stopped by Jen's office to pick up something from Coach.  Jen is the head coach at BYU (soccer), Coach is her assistant coach, and Aleisha is another assistant coach.  It was fun to see them.  Their season is coming up in a week and I have seen the girls practicing on their own, getting ready for preseason double days to start.  It makes me really miss soccer.  I loved preseason.  It's just playing soccer for hours and hours everyday.  It was really, really hard, but I loved it.  I love playing soccer and I miss playing super competitive soccer everyday.  But to be honest, I would rather be where I am now.

Tate was done taking pictures

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Finally!

So for the past few days, actually right when we got home from Seattle, Tate started to get up on his knees and toes (in a push up position).  It's been really fun to watch.  I have been waiting to get a video of him doing it.  And today I finally got it!  He doesn't do it until the end, but I like the beginning part because he spent a long time scratching the grass with his fingers.  I think it's funny.

Here are some more pictures from the past few days...

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