Divide and Conquer

Husband and Beau went to state wrestling in Tacoma this weekend, while TJ, Finley and I went to Chelan for the last 6th grade bball tournement of the year. It was another weekend living out of hotel rooms and coming home on Sunday feeling like we needed one more day to recover and get ready for the upcoming week. No rest for the weary. 

I talked to Beau late Friday night after the first day of wrestling and he was so jazzed! He told me, "I'm going to wrestle here someday!"  

Beau's #1 Champ! We are so proud of Alex and he's always so great to Beau!

And halfway across the state..I sat in a gym for two days watching basketball. 

After the first day...TJ took a strong elbow to the head and had a giant goose egg. 

Finley and Paityn have set the world record for gym time. Such great lil sisters. 

They took 3rd place and only lost 1 game!! Tired after a long weekend. 

Family Time!

We spent the long weekend in Spokane with my entire family...my two brothers, their wives, my niece, nephew and my parents. We all lead very busy lives that only allow for us to all get together a handful of times per year, so when we do it's always very fun. We had an action packed weekend with a lot of things to do, but just hanging out together, laughing, teasing each other, and catching up on life was the best. 

Sibling bonds are unlike anything else; my brothers and I can disagree and irritate each other but we are also very protective and loving of each other.  We have grown up so much and we all understand and feel the value of our relationships...it makes me sad that we've let bumps in the road cause times of distance but they were short and we have come out on the other side stronger. And most importantly we've not held onto those issues...I can't imagine being a person who doesn't have a relationship with my siblings. They are part of who I am and my family tapestry. 

                     My big brothers

                The Plughoff Family

                  Cousin love!

       Great food and good company. 

               Girls loved ice skating. 

                Me...not so much. 

           Minus a few tired skaters... 

                   TJ and Husband

     She skated longer than anyone else 

       Fearless as usual he had a blast. 

               Hockey game time!

                    These two....

SIL and SIL. Selfie time at the hockey game.

                    Go Chiefs Go!

Valentine's Day Recap

Valentine's Day 2014 will be remembered as the least romantic Valentine's Day we've had in years...and that's saying a lot since we aren't terribly romantic people in general. But it was an extremely important Valentine's Day because Husband had to go take his AP Math Praxis for his job. When he was initially hired he didn't need it because he only teaches ninth grade math...however the times are a changing and all teachers must be highly qualified in their content areas...blah blah blah...long story short he needed to take the AP Math Praxis in order to teach next year. Stress!! 

Husband has always impressed me with his hard work and dedication to coming out on top when life doesn't turn out as expected. He took on the challenge of switching careers with such vigor. There are some people in life who sit by and only wish for things or make excuses about why they couldn't do things , but he goes after them. He knew he wanted to teach so he made it happen...and I love that about him. So when this test issue arose he knew he had another challenge to overcome. The AP Math Praxis has the lowest pass rate as it is really really really HARD! It's the math stuff that 99.9% of average people never use. And he failed the first attempt in December which totally freaked him out.  He only had two more chances and it felt like all his hard work and effort toward being a teacher and doing something he genuinely loved was possibly in jeopardy. 

So he studied..and studied..and asked me for help...oh wait...kidding. I can barely help Tanner with 6th grade math. But he seriously devoted hours and hours to practicing and he never seemed to be growing in confidence despite his hard work. That part stressed me out. 

Valentine's Day was the test and he headed over to Spokane early with my dad. My mom and I would join them later with the kids as we had a fun weekend planned with my brothers and their families. If Husband passed the weekend would be great, if not it was going to be a downer, but we'd get through it. 

I was almost to Spokane when my phone rang, it was Husband. I answered and he said, "Hi...well...I didn't.." And my heart dropped. And then he said, "I didn't ruin the weekend...I passed!"  Praise Jesus!! I blacked out and don't remember driving for a few minutes. I was so happy for him and relieved that this stress was off the table. 

So not the most romantic day, but a very important day for our family. 

The weeks leading up to the test included several hypothetical conversations about scenarios. Moving. Job hunting. House selling. Things not in our plan, but also possibilities. I'm so glad we don't have to face those challenges, yet I know we could have done it because we are a strong team and great partners. He's my Valentine every single day!

I was able to spend the afternoon in Finley's room for her Valentine's party. It was organized madness and I love how creative her teacher is. 

               Be my Valentine!

That's Quite a Mouthful!

We've had an idea that Tanner was going to need braces since...forever. The kid had a binky until his second year of preschool and inherited his dads teeth. Husband had braces for a solid 1/2 decade. TJ stood no chance. At his last cleaning in December our wonderful dentist said it was time to see the orthodontist. All of his baby teeth were gone and his overbite hadn't miraculously corrected itself. Living pretty far from civilization we had one option for an orthodontist unless we want to drive 100 miles for each appointment...no thank you. Good news is we really like the Orthodontist and his staff. We had three appointments prior to the braces being put on and after seeing TJ's side profile X-ray and getting the dimesions of his overbite and alignment issues compared to what a "normal" mouth is this was really necessary for our kiddo. I guess we were so accustomed to his cute smile and teeth that I didn't realize how much this would benefit him. Sooooo...he had the big appointment and now has a full mouth of shiny braces. He will wear them for 27 months (gasp)! The good news is he'll have them off before high school and he's done an amazing job so far of cleaning them as thoroughly as required. 

              Prepped and ready to go!!

        Last smile with this mouth of teeth.

I often catch myself looking at him thinking, "Who is that kid?"  He's as tall as me with feet bigger than mine...with braces, going to dances, texting his friends. Despite all that he still loves to be tucked in each night with a book, ("Not a story" he is quick to remind me), and always has time to give me a hug and a kiss. 

Basketball...Basketball...Basketball!

There has been a lot of basketball going on at the Sackman house...A LOT! TJ is busy playing basketball, Husband is coaching 7th grade girls basketball, I'm busy watching basketball, while Beau and Finley are busy keeping every concession stand in business. Needless to say I think we will all be glad when basketball season is over. It just seems very long and unlike football, basketball fans are super intense and sportsmanship sometimes is overlooked. We always encourage TJ to do his best, work hard, listen to his coach, and have fun. Beyond that there isn't anything we can do to shield him from the unnecessary behavior of others...Except use those opportunities to praise him and reinforce what we expect. 

After the weekend long Wenatchee tournament. We took 4th and they played great!

These two sweet girls always keep each other entertained!

Husband is coaching 7th grade girls bball! They are undefeated and he's having a great time. It was a bit difficult to watch his first game because he is SO LOUD...can you say outside football voice??? But he's always positive and very upbeat. 

We Are The Champion!!!

Seahawks won the Super Bowl...it was amazing!!! Actually it wasn't even a very good game.  The 49'ers game two weeks prior was way more exciting, but this was so great because our local team WON!! Husband and I took the boys to the preseason Broncos vs Hawks game and the Hawks killed them...so naturally we didn't expect that again. We had delicious food, drinks and lots of fun with friends. A very exciting day...that I now have to burn off for the next 3 days. Worth It!!!

          Hello food...get in my belly!!

                        12th Man!

                  We love football....