Reasons I Love Fall

I looked out my bedroom window yesterday and noticed that the trees on Cascade Mountain are changing colors.  One of my favorite things about living in Utah is the change of the seasons.  I love seeing the colors on the trees transform every fall.  When I think of fall I think of many things.  I love cooking delicious hearty soups and baking anything with pumpkin.  I love school starting again, rolling in the leaves with my little munchkins, carving pumpkins and playing football at Southfork up Provo Canyon.  Lastly, I love BYU football and watching my boy, Ethan, play soccer. 

Isn't my boyfriend darling?  Sunday morning I was laying in bed reading.  Ethan and Sadie came in and crawled in bed with Jared and I.  We were giggling and having fun.  Jared teased the kids that they were keeping him from snuggling with me.  I agreed and said, "You guys need to get out of my way so I can snuggle with my honey."  Ethan jumped right in, "I'm your honey."  Ethan forgets that I can be just as quick as he is.  I quickly replied, "You're not my honey, you're my boyfriend."  I thought this would get a funny reaction from him.  However, he surprised me when he seriously answered, "Okay mom, I'll be your boyfriend,"  then he walked out of the room.

Tonight's post is all about my boyfriend and his love of all sports, especially soccer.  BEWARE:  THIS POST IS TOTALLY ME BRAGGING ABOUT ETHAN.  One thing that reminds me that fall is here is when soccer season starts.  Ethan plays on a team with a group of boys that are all really good friends.  This is great for their team because they are always playing together they work well together on the field.  Soccer practice sometimes seems like a technicality because they play so much, regardless of an official practice.  I think this has a lot to do with the fact that his team went undefeated last season.

All that aside, Ethan does love him some serious soccer.  He takes his game seriously, however, he is great to acknowledge all of his teammates success and cheer them up if they are unhappy with their performance.  All the boys seem to rally around him. 

I should tell you that I'm not a quiet soccer mom.  Not one other mom on the team yells except me.  I rarely sit still while watching, I'm always pacing up and down the field.  I also don't sit in the car when it's cold.  This is my son!  I am not acting like I'm watching while I sit in the car!  I should tell you that I've gotten lots better.  At least now, I don't complain to Jared every time somebody doesn't play right.  I also don't yell at the other kids anymore.  And to my credit, I haven't slapped any moms yet either.  If you could see a couple of the moms you would agree, this is a HUGE triumph.

Tonight we had the second game of the season, they won on Saturday 6-0, so they were excited going in to it.  The team they played was very evenly matched with ours.  At halftime neither team had scored.  Ethan came over to talk to me during halftime.  He said, "We have to score.  I guess I'll go back in there and get a goal." 

The half started and he took off.  He stole the ball from that green guy, weaved through the other two green guys in his way, broke through the crowd and kicked it in for his goal!

This is the huge smile I was rewarded with after he scored.  Note to self:  Never underestimate Ethan's determination.