state semi-finals

the weekend after thanksgiving was the state-semi finals of the soccer tournament. so we loaded up and headed south to vancouver. I didn’t take any pictures of the actual soccer games, because we had a guy who was doing that (and a much better job than I could do from the stands) and because I was too busy cheering and freezing on the sidelines. it was cold and very windy, but here’s the recap: they played two games on saturday and won both of them. they played the final game (to determine who would go on to the championship game) on sunday and lost. there was a bit of controversy surrounding the ref and some calls, but they played a good game and came up short.

but we had loads of fun anyway… my kids think going to a hotel is the greatest thing EVER.

especially if there’s a swimming pool.

we were short a bed in our room, so we took the cushions from the hide-a-bed and made a little one for micah.

we spent one evening at a place called big al’s. it was crazy. sports bar meets bowling alley meets arcade meets restaurant meets chuck e. cheese. NUTS!! it was also during the broadcast of the apple cup (UW vs. WSU) and the huskies and cougars in our group were QUITE entertaining… as were the crazy prizes the boys kept bringing back from the arcade.

Comments

did these people go to school? ever?

sometimes i am just totally flabbergasted by how horribly some people write. i'm not sure if it's just that spelling and grammatical issues come easily for me, or if other people are just really BAD! i find it to be the worst in product reviews online. this morning i was reading some reviews of a chest freezer i'm thinking of getting. one went on and on about the poor quality of the 'unite'. repeatedly using the word 'unite'. seriously, people!!! here's another thing i've noticed. it's always the negative reviews too. what's with that? are people just so pissed off about the bad product they just got screwed on that they feel the need to rant (without pausing for breath or editing) in a negative product review? or is it just that people with bad writing skills are more likely to be compelled to leave a negative review? or are people with bad writing skills more likely to get screwed with the bad product? i don't get it. but ...

another sign

i'm going to have to take more pictures soon, i'm running out. christmas movies! yes, one of them is a bob the builder movie, but the kids deserve to get in on the festivities too, right? we also have the polar express , but i'm not sure where that was when i was taking the pictures. and a charlie brown christmas , but that's on vhs and our vcr broke, so it will have to be replaced. i want to just keep building our collection each year. there are so many fabulous movies! and speaking of, i promised living-under-a-rock-kate a list of the absolute MUST SEE christmas movies... obviously, the ones in the picture (well, you can watch the bob the builder one if you REALLY want to, but i don't really consider that a MUST SEE!). in addition: it's a wonderful life, miracle on 34th street (the real old one, not the new one with the annoying girl), a christmas story, frosty the snowman, santa claus is coming to town, the year without a santa claus, christmas with the...

i’m sure i will offend all sorts people with this…

… but i just don’t get why the entire world is so torn up about the death of michael jackson. yes, he had an insanely successful career as a singer/entertainer/pop star. yes, he took a lot of that to a whole new level. yes, i remember thriller and doing the moonwalk. yes, i remember wanting one of those red leather jackets, and one of those sparkly white gloves. however… i’m also wondering why everyone else is seeming to forget how he bleached his skin (and then had a big hit stating that it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white… always wondered about that one), underwent so much plastic surgery that he barely looked human anymore, made crotch-grabbing an acceptable dance move, hung his kid over a balcony, showed up for court in his pajamas, and, oh yeah, was accused of child molestation HOW MANY TIMES??? this was a VERY disturbed man. i have never understood why being a celebrity excuses people from upholding the same morals and standards that we expect of normal people. i w...

does home ec even exist anymore?

my last post got me thinking about how i somehow missed 'learning' all of those things which are essential in running a successful home. i'm wondering who dropped the ball on this (because, i can't possibly take responsibility for my own shortcomings here). i guess traditionally, one learns these things from their parents. i suppose i did learn a lot of my domestic skills at home. for example, the husband is supposed to eat the leftovers in the fridge. when making a bed, the 'top' of the top sheet goes down so that when you fold the edge over the blanket, the 'top' side is then up. why this matters when you are just going to cover the whole thing with a pillow and comforter is totally beyond me. but that's how you do it. so yes, my mother taught me how to iron, do laundry, clean a toilet, etc. my dad taught me how to plant a garden, mow a lawn, appreciate baseball, etc. and then there's home ec. do people still take home ec? i took it ...

UNbalanced

i’m definitely one for extremes. i know this about myself. sometimes i am able to keep that in mind and the things related to it in perspective. other times, not so much. sometimes i will become overwhelmed with guilt i feel over how much i’m NOT getting done – be it with housework, homeschooling, time spent with my kids, etc. other times i will just become confused over what is going on in my own head. i try to make sense of the various (and often contradictory) extremes that are fighting for position in my head and then start to question my sanity. how can i feel this when just yesterday i whole heartedly believed in that ? i habitually set unrealistic standards for myself, my family, my children, based on what i see elsewhere, and then feel distressed or disappointed when reality doesn’t agree with the idealized version of the situation i’ve been carrying around in my head. at any rate, i’ve had a rough couple of weeks. i guess i just feel like that by the age of 33, i would...

rachel's continued ramblings

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