Miche Millie

When we found out we were having a girl--while pregnant with Millie; no surprise announcements here--Stephen's first comment was, "She'll be a tomboy for sure."  I assumed he meant the influence of two older brothers but later came to learn that HE wanted/hoped our baby would be a tomboy.  "She'll play soccer and basketball," began his vision that I kinda mentally faded out of and therefore can't remember in its entirety.   

Not only does Stephen love sports (see last post), but he also likes to take credit for his youngest sister being a tomboy, saying how he trained her to be that way from a young age.  She is twelve years his junior and was his "little buddy" growing up, he did coach her soccer team when she was younger, and she does love to watch sports like her older brother, but I wonder just how much of that is his influence.

Whenever Stephen and I talk about our early dating days, he claims he was most attracted to me when I was wearing sweats and a ponytail (go figure; if only he'd told me that at the time, I could have saved a whole lot of time and effort), "that just worked out kind of look," and mentions how he liked the fact that I grew up playing all kinds of sports.

Up until the past few months, we hadn't seen a whole lot of girl in our little gal.  Superheroes, cars, legos, lightsabers, and Wii remotes topped her happy list.  And though she still chooses these boy toys over babydolls, we have noticed a touch of feminine shining through her fiesty, toughgirl armor.

Exhibit A -- Bracelets
Anything that's round, stretchy, and under half a foot in diameter gets greedily grabbed and shoved onto her wrist or ankle.

Exhibit B -- Shoes
Happy to put on, or come up to you like a little puppy dog so you can help her put them on, and take off her shoes all day long, Millie walks around the house with at least one shoe on at almost all times.

Exhibit C -- Purses
Anything with a strap gets flung over her shoulder as she heads for the door, saying "Go! Go!"  Maybe it has less to do with being a girl and more to do with leaving the house, in which case, smart kid. :)

I hosted a Miche purse party about a month ago and earned some credit toward a few purses of my own.  When that package showed up at our house, guess who quite literally took her first steps to try and get to those shiny, new purses?  Daddy's little tomboy, that's who.  I cracked up and then waited a little too long to try and capture it on film.  By the time I grabbed the camera, she was back to crawling mode, but of course she still had a purse on her arm.

Defeating the Evil Empire

As a Bay Area born-and-raised sports fan I have bought into the Northern California vs Southern California rivalry. Which primarily means Giants vs Dodgers and Lakers vs Warriors, but also extends to Stanford vs USC. So when one of my Nor Cal teams beats a So Cal team, you know I have to rub it in. If any of you outside of California don't understand the importance it is somewhere in between Utah vs BYU and Red Sox vs Yankees.


For many years Stanford has lagged as USC prospered in football. But the times have changed and the Evil Empire has fallen. That empire has infamously been supported by USC finding many crafty ways to cheat. But their cheating days have been curtailed as they have been put on probation this year and are not eligible for a bowl game. To emphasize that point the Stanford Marching Band in a goofy and amusing parody spelled out WIN, and then SIN and then CHAOS to talk about USC's rise and fall as they have broken the rules.


Julianne and I got to go to the game on Saturday October 9th and witnessed the 4 year old stadium sold out and packed for the first time ever. Of course, over a third of the fans were cheering for USC, but that didn't stop us! The game was actually very exciting as both teams traded scoring each quarter. Stanford actually couldn't stop Matt Barkley (quarterback for USC) and Stanford's turnovers made the game a lot closer than it needed to be (I had predicted to Julianne that Stanford would score more than 31 points and win by 2 touchdowns). But Andrew Luck redeemed the Cardinal in more way than one. The first came toward the end of the 1st half when Stanford's running back fumbled and a USC player scooped up the ball and started running. All of the sudden he got walloped by a Stanford player and fumbled it. It happened so fast the guys next to me in the end zone seating were trying to find out who made the hit. All I could see was a number 2. It happened to be Andrew Luck #12, the quarterback. His hit actually landed the USC player on crutches by the end of the game. I have to say that was the hardest hit by a college quarterback I have ever seen and my second favorite by a typically non-tackling football player. Check it out on You Tube:



Andrew Luck nailing the USC defender from out of nowhere:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF9PFJI_t5I



So what was my all-time favorite hit? BYU's Punter hitting Chris Carr from Boise State. Check it out:



My favorite college football hit of all time Matt Payne against Chris Carr:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHWSTwMLrW0



Well, as I said the game went back and forth with USC taking the lead with about a minute left. But that was enough time for Andrew Luck to lead the team downfield and set up the winning 30 yard field goal. Check it out:



Game winning field goal by Nate Whitaker


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x4MhYcEBQo



Final Score: Stanford 37 and USC 35. You should have seen the dejection on all the USC fans and the Stanford fans jumping for joy. It kind of makes up for all those years of getting pounded by the team Julianne and I affectionately call the Evil Empire. For more Stanford football highlights check out this link:

http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/stan-m-footbl-body.html


Go Stanford!

Safe from the bears

 While we were busy packing up camp, the kids found another use for the food cupboards.  
If only there were two more shelves, we could have fit little Millie and Peyton in there.

Good times in the redwoods

Tentin' it up

In the spirit of Stephen's last post on camping, and the fact that we're heading off to the redwoods again this weekend, I figured I'd show you the kids' favorite summer toy. It's no wonder we got the camping bug in August...

Millie finally getting a turn inside the boys' favorite hangout

 

When in Rome... drink out of your brother's water bottle

Who me?

Oh, yes, it goes outside, too

Best $9 we've spent at IKEA

Stephen's favorite summer hangout

Okay, so these shots have nothing to do with camping

but Cynthia and I were cracking up at how three boys

found a way to share one costume

Ward Campout at Lehi Park

Putting up a 5 person tent by yourself can be a time consuming thing especially when your two boys are off swash buckling with their friends:




Keep in mind this was before they got all hyped up roasting hot dogs and making s'mores

James Bankhead almost got the hang of using my camera, but his mom swooped in to help take a few photos of our succesful tent raising (I did forget one set of poles for the tarp, but it worked out in the end---there was lots of wind that night, but thankfully no rain)

Good times at the Ward Campout

Saturday morning the boys got to help with Michael Evans Eagle Project. Bennett and Ethan Lamoreaux did a great job filing some rough edges for the posts that were going to be cemented in for building a giant trellis to provide shade for an outlook area with benches. Daddy helped with some of the filing and then got to help use the power auger and do some grunt work.

This is how the boys spent a couple of those hours while Daddy was getting some "exercise" doing manual labor.

The boys loved the playgrounds at the campsite and begged to stay longer so they could play on them. Overall Camp Lehi was really pretty and a great place to camp. We look forward to going again.

Seattle Wedding

My younger sister, Ashley, got married last weekend, so Stephen took a few days off to play Mr. Mom while my little lap-baby took to the skies with me. Millie did great on the flight, mostly content to play with the lap belts, magazines, and airline cup/straw. I was more than thankful that she wasn't as squirmy and wild as I'd expected since I neglected to pack toys for the plane ride. Been a while since I flew with a little one. . .

How do I always forget just how beautiful Seattle is until I return? All that sparkling water, all those trees, all the surrounding green and mountains. So familiar, so beautiful. Justin, Bret & Dad met us at the airport, and then I-5 north to see the Parkers, Connie, and Kendra at the house. Millie fell head-over-heels in love with the cats, talking up a gibberish storm every time she saw them. They were understandably a little wary of her, however, since she pulled their legs, grabbed their ears, and generally treated them like rag dolls (or her brothers). A scratch or two later, she learned her lesson.

That night: Ashely and Eric's wedding rehearsal in a cute, Evangelical church in woodsy Issaquah. I got to meet their new baby, Tristan, who is cute as can be, and visit for a few minutes with the very happy couple. They are so great together, and I couldn't be happier for them. Their long line-up of bridesmaids and groomsmen were fun to watch, all young and hip and clearly excited for Ashley and Eric. After the rehearsal, we headed over to the couple's house in Renton for a BBQ with the family and wedding party. Their three active dogs captivated the attention of Ethan, Chase and Millie, while the rest of us got to meet Eric's family and eat some yummy food.

The next day meant all the big festivities, and I loved getting to see my big brother, Jason, along with Connie's mom, Jane. Ashley looked beautiful, and Eric just glowed through the whole ceremony. Talk about adorable. And touching.

Quite literally, just married

The glowing groom

Flower girl Kendra and Chase, "ring bear," as he called himself


Can you tell she was a bit of a grump on this trip?


Not so grumpy here, however, grabbing my face and hair

Seven of the nine Jory kids, ages 9-40

Sisters

Barge entrance to the reception

Picturesque Pine Lake

Millie and Uncle Jason

Jenae and Ju

The goofy father of the bride and Connie

Sisters

It's funny how growing up I never felt all that close to my sisters. I'm a middle child, sandwiched between two brothers, so there's a good five or six year difference between me and my two sisters. We were at such different ages through all the childhood and teenage stuff that it wasn't until we were adults that I really got to know them. Looking back over the past fifteen years, however, I realize just how much my sisters have supported me, just how many fun times I've shared with them, and just how much their friendship means to me.

As much as I love my sisters, however, there's one thing I really can't stand about them. Hate, hate, hate it, in fact. How far away they live!

We get to see each other maybe once a year, and even then we're so busy being on vacation, taking care of our own kids, and trying to visit with all the family that's gathered that I don't feel like I get much quality sister time these days. So.... when little sister, Jenae, told me she was flying out to visit me, I was ecstatic to spend time with her and her not-so-little lap baby, Chase, who's a few months older than Millie.

Needless to say, we had a great time hanging out together, no iteneraries to follow or places to be. Just two sisters catching up. And laughing, eating, playing cards, watching Austen flicks, eating, taking the kids to parks, driving around, eating, napping, playing, eating. Can you tell we share some common interests?

Busy little boy, Chase

Slide time at the park with Nae and Chase

Millie and Chase checking each other out while everyone else plays bocce ball

Nae and Millie


A quick girls' shot before heading to the airport