Football hits the Fan

Its fall...the cool temps have claimed the air & we are reveling in FOOTBALL...we have always enjoyed watching PSU & ND but this year we have officially turned a page with no returning...when Dawson played midget ball a few years ago down in Virginia, we knew 10 min. into it this was NOT his thing, despite his size & love of throwing the ball. He just simply does not like hitting people, he's much more a "fixer". I blame it on his being a first born & needing to help take care of me & the twins so much as a young toddler. Life is so unfair.

We signed up Hunter, our second son, for midget ball this past June, took him to a couple flag football games on sunday nights, then started practice for "real" the last week of July. Yeah, like Dawson, we had our answer w/in the first 10 min. This boy SHONE in pure joy & love...pray I do not see that about a girl till he's at least 25!!! Anyways, after 4 day a week practices for 2 1/2 - 3 hrs each day, we passed through August & at the beginning of Sept, Labor Day weekend, we began what we know now will be a lifetime, parking our rears on those hard bleachers, and jumping up & down cheering on our son.

I realize I am biased, I'm his mom for pete's sake, but my boy ROCKS!!!!!!!!! The coach told hubby Thurs. night after practice that Hunter is an amazing "all around" player, and while they don't want to overwhelm him with positions, they are going to push him to learn & play well anywhere & everywhere on the field. This is fine by us, except we really prefer he actually touches the ball at some point during the week if he will be playing any of the 3 running back positions in the game...I know, crazy mom...

So, as I sit here watching Penn State take on "temple" (hate early season crap games, no offense to all you temple fans), I am anxiously waiting for 2pm to roll around so I can pack up our crew of loud, screaming, yelling, cheering big mouths (MUST get that from their daddy!) and one nervous Hunter for a great game against E-town this aft.

If you haven't been able to tell, I am one insanely PROUD mom...

Beaches

out of a love for our kids & the deep routed desire to share the boardwalk & beach in the summer fun with them...we bit the bullet & took them down last thursday. We got them up & out the door before 9am...pretty good right? yeah, not when it takes 2 1/2 hours to get there & we have to leave by 2:30pm to make sure we get home in time for Hunter to shower BEFORE going to 3 hours of football by 5:45pm...yeah, you're adding THAT one up & thinking we've really lost it. No, we lost it many many moons ago.
We get there, its 86 & sunny. Perfect beach weather! You are wondering now, why we went on Thursday instead of Friday when there was no football aren't you? well, a major hurricane is headed that way with a projected arrival date of friday. Me, the overwhelming beach zealot, is thinking it will be wonderful, good waves, lots of shells before the next big storm...oh the FUN!
After fighting with Hunter that a double thick fleece sweatshirt is NOT appropriate summer beach attire, we get to the boardwalk, pay for the beach tags & hit the sand. The beach looks oddly short & rather crowded for not being 11am yet. We go down toward the water, get a spot in the "second row" and spread out. Now, we are minimalists, or shall I say, I am the minimalist, so its just a small cooler, two boogie board I argues against & lost, a bag of towels, and 3 beach mats we picked up for a fantastic buck a piece. Not bad for 6 people huh? Yeah....

Everything was great...I was laying in the sun, enjoying the lovely beach sounds, smells & music while len & the kids frolicked in the ever increasing in size waves over at the lifeguards...slowly dozing off, almost there....the scream escaped before I had a chance to remember I was ON A CROWDED BEACH...water, icy when your nice & hot in the sun, was submerging my legs & feet that were as always, off the mat & towels enjoying the sand! Yikes, that water came up fast! I jumped after regaining my composure & quickly hauled up our meager supplies a good 10' up the beach till I was locked into the people who were in the what used to be "fourth row". I dug us a good trench (being left alone to do all this as the kids & len were oblivious to my near disaster & enjoying the water too far off for me to yell to them). I was halfway through when Len noticed I had moved & was desperately flinging sand...NOT a normal behavior for mom at this stage of the game I assure you! He came over with peach who joined in as Len shook his head & said "its not going to work you know" yeah yeah, what does HE know anyways?? we dug, the next big wave came & washed up to the "outer wall" of my fantastic trench design, and was held off...triumphantly Jazmine & I said "SEE???" the glory was short lived as I laid back down, sure it wouldn't really get us, just a freak wave I was sure...ahhh, sweet peace & sun, sleep is calling my name....then the tsunami hit!!!! I was suddenly submerged in a blast of cold rushing water, not just my toes mind you, no.....EVERYTHING was underwater by several inches & I was once again, the squealing was just as loud & then I looked up at len & just couldn't help myself...we laughed & laughed...then started to clean up....

I can honestly say this has never happened in my 35 years of hitting the beach many times a summer...but I learned again...never underestimate the power of those incoming waves!

By the time we left, the beach had shrunk considerably & there were only 5 packed tight rows of tourists before they hit the fencing...for those of you who have been to the beaches on the east coast in jersey, you know just how huge those beaches usually are! It was truly an adventure, and yes, Hunter slept the whole way home & did awesome at his practice while his mother, who forgot to sunscreen herself after doing up the other 5 members of the family, sat in her sun kissed glory & FROZE as one does when they had just a touch too much sun :)

where does the time go?

one day they are babies & you are swimming in diapers, nukies & onesies....you blink and they are now all in school, busy little bodies who know not what sleep is, laundry piled up high full of grass stains, dirt, & stinky sweat...i'm a bit scared to blink again!

we are settled into a fabulous farmhouse now, school for the year put behind us, summer stretched out in all its glory before us. The kids have already enjoyed dance at the library, two weeks of swimming lessons & tennis lessons, camping at the beach, and riding camp @ the barn. This weekend is a pretty big deal as it is not only the 4th of july, but it is also Aunt Kristi's birthday & for once, she has not fled the country and we are throwing her a party! I am particularly excited as it has been 15 years since I have been able to honor her on her bday in person.

i have been struggling with not feeling well a lot lately. part of it i think is my heart & not having the correct pacer in...but no insurance & still waiting for the letter of acceptance or refusal from the state is draining. Ｉknow that God is asking me to trust Him, to be patient & to let Him have all my fears & frustrations. Just because I know this doesn't always make the days easier as it needs to get from my head to the rest of me! But each minute of each day is new & I just have to keep trying to let Him have the whole miserable mess.

I posted a few recipes to the FB page, but I will work on transferring them over to here. We have changed our diet a lot in the last several weeks to mostly all raw, so the recipes won't be as appealing to some...on a side note, i did make 3 kinds of jam for the first time ever & was shocked at how easy it was! Our shelves are stocked with Spicy Plum, Blueberry, & Seedless Black Raspberry Jams. We are hopeful to try canning Salsa & Tomato Sauce, Pickles & possibly some peas later this fall. Our garden is turning out delicious amounts of food & we are very excited to get to eat the organic fresh veggies for a change!!

New Year...Old News

It's a new year...2009...with our pictures tossed up on the www.64adventure.shutterfly.com site, facebook in high gear, I have finally bit the bullet and gotten a blog for the crew. Mostly for those who love to hear of our wild tales, see recipes posted that we have attempted, and just get to "see" in grand form how incredibly "normal" we are!
Yes, I homeschool all four kids...ok, I has turned in we lately, but you get the picture! It's a lot, honestly. Our oldest is extremely independent and gifted in areas, so while it is nice that he runs off with his work and blows through everything I can get into his hands, that is also a frustration for me as his teacher. I feel like I can barely keep up with him most of the time. Maybe if he was the only one I had, I could then really soak it up and enjoy it with him, but he is far from the only one. Our twins, b/g, are quite normal in all sense of the word. They may be in third grade, math in fourth, but they require great amounts of my time and attention. Our son struggles with itchies and gets overwhelmed just from the sight of a page of work if there is too much on it. He starts twitching when the word read or book enters a sentence and has panic attacks in his eyes when I say big project. His sister on the other hand, does quite well and enjoys school, though she requires help a bit more then I am used to with the oldest. The youngest is a peach. She is just like her big brother and at the freshly turned age of 5, she is reading with help, doing first grade math and phonics and systematically blowing through all I put in front of her with a fierceness that I fear will overtake her older siblings and leave them in her dust. Oh the joy that will be...but we will go there when the day comes and definitely try hard not to focus on it. Overall, school is wonderful and we have really enjoyed working together, traveling and sightseeing together and just learning about how God has created and designed this amazing world we live in.
Who are the Roth's? Well....we're a crew...dad is a hard working carpentry king who can and does build anything you can possibly live in! He has progressed into building what are called "live/works" They have 3 or more levels, the bottom being a store front, the top two or more being the home...very creative but very old in design, but a nice new touch to the world of new construction. We have lived in Arizona, Pennsylvania & Virginia courtesy of work...and visited Indiana, New Jersey, Maryland and New York. We go where the work is right now. That part is hard, the constant moving/traveling, but we are incredibly thankful for the work that God give us, the provisions the work allows us and the chance to get to see and do so many neat things because we move/traveling so much. We have four amazing children. Our oldest is 10, the boy/girl twins are soon to be 9, our youngest peach is 5. All love being outdoors, hiking, camping, fishing, playing soccer, swimming, riding horses and playing games together. We are truely blessed that they play so well together, love each other so much and generally get along. The boys are strong military supporters. They live to get to go to the Marine Museum in Virginia, or any post we can get on. The girls love painting their nails, wearing beautiful dresses and playing barbies together. That leaves me...I'm the nut that my sweet love claims keeps us all together and going strong...I think he needs the clarity you get from a pot of coffee, but I do love him so!! We have been married for 13 1/2 years and each day is a true blessing to me. Ｉcan not begin to imagine how horrible my life would be if I didn't have this truly amazing and wonderful man as my husband!! He sticks with me through thick and thin...fun and misery...just over 7 years ago they needed to put a pacemaker in and its been a rough ride ever since...but never once has he faltered in how deep his love and acceptance is of me regardless of how frustrated I have been with the lows I have had to go through in adjusting and dealing with the illness' that have followed.
So there you have it! Our grand introduction and the beginning of a new year of fun and insight into the wild and sometimes crazy roth family!
I look forward to sharing our experiences with you, the joys and frustrations of being mom to four kids with so many opinions, our trips, travels and moves. It's never dull around here, that is one thing you most certainly can take to the bank!
Good night and we'll see ya in dawns early light tomorrow when breakfast is hot on the griddle, coffee is brewing and the books are being cracked open!