Alta Must Die!

We went and froze our butts off at the High School Championships last Friday. Bingham vs Alta. I'm a lot more willing to go to these games than I used to be since I know a few boys on the team, but that also makes it harder to watch them lose! I thought for sure Bingham had it in the bag but a couple penalties near the end of the game cost them big and they lost, 21-17 It was so sad to watch how hard some of those boys took it. It was almost like watching my own boys lose to Alta all over again. I really hope Cody is able to play football for Bingham one day. Their program is amazing and they produce some great athletes!

Keep your heads up Miners! You'll bag a Hawk next year!

Cody Fredrick Carter Elmen's Birthday

Cody's birthday lasted several days this year. First with a dinner with the Elmens at Chef Tom's, Cody's favorite place to eat. We had to wait almost 2 hours to be seated and our service was less than steller but the boy seemed pretty happy.. Thanks to all who came!
Then we celebrated on Sunday with my family (I have no pics!) We had ribs, also Cody's favorite and red cupcakes shaped in the letter A for Alabama.. Cody's favorite present was the one he got early, so he could wear it for Halloween... His Bear Bryant houndstooth fedora hat! It makes me laugh when he wears it, but he loves it!!

We got him suite tickets to a Jazz game that we went to on the 19th. Kelz and I are not what you would consider huge basketball fans, but we went along anyway and suffered through.

Finally, on Saturday we had a friends party for him. I had no idea what to do for teenage boys, so I sort of stole an idea. We held Elmen Olympics at our house (Thanks Jaime!) We split the boys into teams of two and since we had an odd number, Jon got to play too! The events were Pool, Wii Bowling, Foosball, and Darts. The gave themselves team names and we had a blast! I think Jon was yelling and getting into it just as much, if not more than the rest of the boys. (What a kid he is!) I guess this party was a hit because I have heard from a few parents that their boys haven't stopped talking about it!

So there you go Cody! I hope your thirteenth birthday is one you will always remember!

Thirteen!

Born November 8, 1995, Cody Garret Elmen turns 13 today! I can't even believe how old he is. My little guy is now taller than me, his voice is changing, and he isn't so little anymore. Everyone says teenagers are hard work, but so far he has made things easy for us. (Let's hope it stays that way!)
Cody,

You are such an example to the rest of us, you are strong, funny, easygoing, determined and such a joy to have in our home. Who would have thought that the baby they handed me 13 years ago would turn out to be such a good kid!

FYI, you were not a good baby!! :)

I admire your talents and abilities, especially your athletic ones. (You did not get those from your mother!) I loved watching you play football this year. You are so talented and so hardworking, you led that team in every way and you deserved a championship as much as any kid out there. I can always see and get told how much you look like your Dad, and you do, you always have. I have to look hard to see something in your face that might come from me. But inside..inside I can see it! There is something so special between me and you, something no one other than a mom and her son can ever have.

You have been everything in my life since the day I found out

I was going to have you..

Cody, everyone who knows you, loves you! I have people approach me all the time to tell me how much they love your smile, how respectful you are, how contagious your laugh is and how great of an example you are. As first born son and grandson, you have so

many adoring fans that love you and will be there for you if

ever you need it! You make us proud!

Love ya!

The Mom

I Voted!

So thanks to Jon's persistance I voted yesterday.. It was kinda cool.. I just might do it again!
I have to say I'm pretty happy with how the election turned out. I'm not too much of one to follow politics or talk too much about my views in this very Red state but the status of our country right now makes me very ready for a change.. No matter which way you voted, I think the fact that you did is one giant leap in the right direction!!

Miners Playoffs

So it breaks my heart to write this and to look at the pictures again.. I had such high hopes for this season and for my boys to finally win a championship. We had the talent, but at the end of the day I guess we just didn't have the drive. We played the Alta Hawks on Saturday and very sadly, we lost. 27-0.

At halftime our team was down 7-0 and I still had hopes that our team could win..until this happened..
We still don't know exactly how it happened, but one second he was tackling someone and the next second he was on the ground. Cody is pretty tough and has taken a lot of hard hits and is covered in bruises, so when he didn't jump up I knew something was wrong. As a mom I have to stay on the sideline and watch while Jon and his coaches run to the field to check on my son. I waited and watched nervously for a few minutes until they brought in the paramedics, then I was out on the field too! They cut his shirt and his elbow was already swollen quite a bit and was bruised perfectly to match the bottom of someone's cleat. We ice-packed it and waited out the game. Sadly we watched as our team fell apart after that. Some of the boys looked like they had never even played ball before. And we were grateful when it was over. So, he's been xrayed and there are no obvious breaks. He still has a splint on until tomorrow when he sees a Sports Medicine doctor to make sure there aren't any muscle or ligament tears, but other than a broken heart I think he'll be fine. He says the loss hurts worse than his arm.. So sad!
Isn't it pretty??

Halloween 2008

Halloween was a little different this year. It sort of gets less fun the older the kids get. It was so different to let them go out trick-or-treating with their friends, a little scary too! Not sure how much longer Cody will get to go out for so I hope he lived it up this year! Kellie and I went to her school to volunteer for the Fall Festival they held in lieu of class parties. It was fun to see all the little kids in their costumes and see how creative some parents can get! Cody didn't have school and wasn't able to dress up for the first time ever.. How sad! And to top it all off, I had to work!

My favorite part of Halloween is carving pumpkins and I got a little creative this year with some of them. Unfortunately I ended up carving most of them alone..and having to clean it all up myself! Yuck! It's so fun to be a football widow! Hope you all had a safe and fun holiday!

I love how the Go Miners and The Elmens Pumpkins turned out!!

Toby Turns 3!

My Toby turned 3 years old on Halloween. I never thought I would be one of those people that loved a dog as much as I do, but there is something about this little one that just gets to me.. He is definitely MY dog. He likes everyone but definitely loves me! I would have a million Yorkies if I could. They are so sweet and loving and playful. It took me begging for months and one ugly fight in order to get him, but now Jon can't believe he waited so long to buy him for me. He sleeps with us, and goes everywhere we do. But I will say I don't dress him up or carry him in a purse..He's still a boy!! Happy Birthday Tobers!!