It's Saturday!

I have featured Sydney
and Ty and their soccer careers
thus far. That leaves one more!
It's Summer's turn!

First off, we made a dangerous decision last
night. We let Summer sleep over at Savanah's
before the game. Usually this is a big no-no,
but her game wasn't until 11, so we figured
she would get enough rest. Well....

...she played the best game of the season!
From now on, she is sleeping at Savanah's
every Friday night. :0) The crazy thing
is, Summer's team is now co-ed. Unless you
make varsity at our high school, you will be on
a co-ed J.V. team. For that reason, we now
have all U14 teams running co-ed. Now,
look at the above picture. Keep in mind that
Summer is closest to the camera. She is the
smallest girl on the team and there are 'men'
on her team. SERIOUSLY! Puberty must have
come and gone for some of them years ago.
It is quite comical to see her defending
men twice her size.

They won their first game (out of 4) today.
She was one tough player and we were
really proud of her. As for the other kids:
Ty scored 3 goals!!!
Syd scored 1 goal and we ended
up with a 2-2 tie.
I LOVE SOCCER SEASON!!!

35 and feeling fine!

What a wonderful birthday it has been!
New clothes, money, chocolate,
chocolate, and more chocolate...
it doesn't get any better than that!!!

Liz and Kerry took me out to lunch
today. Later in the day, Liz surprised me and
put together a birthday surprise from my
soccer team. I have the greatest friends!
Unfortunately, Amy was sick or she would
have been there, too. We missed her!
By the way...Ty was the photographer for that one!Yes, I know...I've never looked prettier
than the above picture. I just got home from
soccer practice. My friends gave me a huge
basket of my favorite goodies....including Dr. Pepper!
Yep, for those of you who don't know, I have been
off Dr. Pepper (I had a major addiction) for 2 years
to the day. I allowed myself 2 mini cans...just today!
My friends are my dealers! They're GUILTY!!!

Since Jason was in Phoenix all day,
he took me out to dinner last night
with the whole gang. We love Javelina
Cantina...where they give you a sombrero
and fried ice cream! Yummy!!!

Jason also left me hidden notes all over the
house for me to find throughout the day...
in the new clothes dryer, on my toothpaste,
under the loaf of bread, & even in the toilet.
I sure do love that guy and his crazy self!

Is it fair to call it a birthday present?

Last week, I was sad to lose my dryer
that has been with our little family for:
*3 babies
*4 houses
*11 years (at least)
I won't say that I shed any
tears (I was actually a little excited)...
until we had to pay for the replacements! :0)

How sad am I that I am actually so excited
about my new LG's! They are so cool!

Are they cool enough to pass as a good
birthday present from my hubby?
NOT QUITE! I'm still expecting something
grand on Wednesday. Just teasing!

Now that we have been without a washer
and dryer for a week, these new machine's
will get a grand welcoming to the Stewart home!

Ty and Sydney immediately started
building a fort with the big boxes.
It reminded me of my childhood and
the Voting Booths my parents had after
they held the voting center at our house.
I would spend hours decorating
my new 'playhouses'. :0)
KIDS ARE AWESOME!

Well, I guess I'm off to actually
enjoy doing some laundry (OK,
hours worth of laundry). Maybe
that's not so enjoyable after all!

She's a Young Woman!

Almost daily, Jason and I find ourselves
looking at each other and exclaiming,
'Are we really the parents of a 12 year
old?' Yep! And everyday, she finds
ways to remind us of this fact!

Last night she had her first paid gig as a
REAL BABYSITTER! $5 an hour to watch
the grandsons of some people in our ward.
She brought games, popcorn, and helped them
change in and out of their Halloween costumes
all night. The Grandma called afterward to
tell me her grandsons are officially in love.
As Summer put it, 'What's up with all the
young ones falling for me?' Too cute!

Another way she is showing her age is the
excitement she shows for her Tuesday night
Young Women's Activities. She loves getting
together with her friends. They have had a few
stake activities lately where she has had a chance
to hang out with her Girls Camp Buddies.

I missed her soccer game this week, since
Ty's was at the same time. I will get some
photos of her soon to post.

So long....Thomas!

Many missionaries have entered our lives
that we really liked. We LOVE Elder Wolcott.
His time finally came and he is being transferred.
:0(
The above picture depicts the way
we always were around him!
He was too much fun!!!

He could make a game of 'indoor soccer'
the coolest game ever. Let's not
even mention Ninja Destruction!

Elder Sundles has some big shoes to fill,
but we know he is up for the task!

Like I said, he could make
a game out of anything!!!

The girls really enjoyed his visits!

Cheesy poses,

awkward pyramids,

and successful

(or not-so-successful) body
building exercises!

We will miss you, Elder Wolcott!
We WILL keep in touch!!!

Syd's Turn!

Last week, I blogged about Ty's soccer
'success'. Well, this week he really did have
success. He scored 3 goals and dominated
the game. His dad said that earned him an
EggMcMuffin. Our kids are easy to reward!

Sydney gently reminded me that it should
be her week to be blogged about. Well,
let me tell you! This girl played the best
1st quarter I have ever seen her play (sweeper).
I was able to put her in as a forward for the
last quarter and she was really close to scoring
a few times. Now she thinks she wants to try
forward every game. As the coach, I will see how
well she does at home. :0) Is that her reward for
a good week? Sounds easy enough to me!!!

Our team RED DYNAMITE is awesome!
1st game was 9-0
2nd game 5-0
We could have scored more, but I keep
swapping the field to spare the feeling of
the poor little girls we are playing against.

Next week will be Summer's turn!

KFC for Kade!

Well, yesterday was the big day!
The city was abuzz with the news
and we had a great turnout!

The crew was fantastic! They
were truly touched by the outpouring
of love they felt for Kade from all the
wonderful families in the Verde Valley.

Ty was my biggest helper. He stayed
all day and helped clean tables and
entertained the customers.

Between school and soccer, Summer
was only able to spend a little while
there....during the slow time. She
was sad that she didn't get to be there
longer. We appreciate the time she
did spend there. What a good friend to Kade.

The Elder's helped Sydney with her
homework and showed their support
for the Backus'. Elder Wolcott had spent
a lot of time with their family and he
was there for Kade, too.

All in all, we had a very successful day.
Especially for a Monday, we did really
well. A check is being deposited for
Kade in the morning. Thanks, everyone!!!

DONATION BUCKETS ARE STILL UP!!!