Now Its December!

Oh, I just realized that it has been awhile since I last updated this. So sorry to the dedicated followers!

Marx and his best friend Wes with Jackson and Katia during Halloween. I guess you are never too young to enjoy candy.

We had a little break between football and USAW wrestling. Marx has hit the mat 3 days a week now for about a month. The team was gearing for a tournament and will go back to a couple of days a week but now Marx was invited to practice with the high schoolers, which he will do a couple days a week as well. This is a great opportunity to get in some practice with his teammates for next year as well as get to know the coaches. He is still doing well in school. (I just realized that my sentences are lengthy and I am not going to edit them.)

Marx has a new job at the Doubletree. He is doing building maintenance and likes the work and the company. The shift is taking some getting used to since it is basically swing and working on Saturdays. They said they would work with us during tournament season which is great!

I am looking forward to Christmas. My mom said my favorite brother and sister in law with their absolutely adorable girls will be here during the holidays. I can't wait to see them all!

Football Is Over

Washington Grizzly Stadium--Little Griz Jamboree

Well, football season is over. I am a little sad too since it was Marx's last year of Little Griz Football. Marx had a great season. He was top scorer for the team, leading blocker and leading rusher. It was amazing to see the progression from last year to this year. Last year was the first time Marx played a ball handling position and though he ran tons of yards, he never made a touchdown. So to go from that to this year was amazing. During the awards banquet, Marx received the MVP Offense Trophy. When the coach asked him what he liked best about this season, he thanked his blockers. Without them, he wouldn't have been able to score. We were so pleased for him. He is also earning excellent grades.

Marx running the ball after a punt. He ran it back for 70 yards.

Here is Marx getting tackled. Notice that he isn't running with the ball??? Spencer (#8) is running with the ball. This is one of the specialties that Marx did this year. He fakes so well that he gets tackled--even the refs commented on it. They ran this play fake 3 times in a row and each time Marx was tackled.

We have a little break until wrestling season. Marx asked to wrestling freestyle and folkstyle so his wrestling season will start December 1st until June for USAW wrestling (which is both techniques) and then the regular Little Guy Season February and March. The high school coach is checking into letting him and the other 8th graders come and practice with the high school squad. That would be a great experience and excellent practice opportunity.

Marx T. is starting a new job on Monday. He will being doing maintenance at the Doubletree Hotel. We are excited for him. The job will be really in his comfort zone and the other staff he will be working with have been there a long time and seem to enjoy it. He will miss the guys at the diesel shop but the lack of work was difficult to deal with. He likes to be busy all of the time.

Football season is here

Marx is on the left walking.

Marx is busy with football. Lengthy practices, learning new plays and new positions. Because of his growth spurt, he weighs 123 with gear. Last year, he weighed 126 without gear! He is taller than me and primarily legs now! They lost, but Marx had a spectacular game. He ran quite a bit and earned 4 first downs. Several of his running plays were over 10 yards each. He also threw some great blocks--which is why he plays powerback or fullback. He isn't the fastest runner, but he is hard to stop as he can take hits. Since he plays safety on defense, he doesn't see as much action as he did as a lineman, but I think once he gets the hang of the position, that will change a bit. He also had an interception.

Here is a picture of what happens when you take a hard hit to the leg.

I have been trying to upload little video shots from each game. I am not having much success. It gets almost done and then I get an error so if anyone else has had an success, please let me know your trick. I have many videos from the first game where I was still working on keeping the play on the screen. Marx made an excellent interception, which caught on film, but there was nothing but sky as he ran 30+ yards. While I am yelling like a crazy woman, I realize that I am not filming, so I zero in right when he is pushed out of bounds. Marx was very excited about his interception and knew I was filming the game, but his excitment quickly waned during viewing. It was a beautifully cloudy day! I tried my tri-pod during the next game without much more success. There aren't any more grass or sky shots, but I forgot to "move" the camera as the play went up and down the field. Marx had a great second game with 4 fantastic tackles. One would have made his wrestling coach proud as he spun the kid to his back--a little muscle memory???

But, we finally had a game to top all others. Now, I am sure you are all wondering what that could be...

Let me give you a little history. When Marx first started football, he was over the ball carrying weight limit. This limited Marx to being on the line playing center and tackle and then guard and tackle during 5th and 6th grade years. While Marx had great success at these positions (his sacks cost me a lot of money), he really wanted to try running back, especially full back because those are the guys who power through the line. Well, during 7th grade Marx "made weight" thanks to a growth spurt. So Marx was able to play running back and LOVED IT. The only thing missing was scoring a touchdown. Marx always managed to squeek yards in, but when they would get close enough to score, Marx would help the quarterback fake a handoff and the quarterback would run it in. Marx did his job, but never scoring kind of nagged at him. Well, Marx finally had the game of a lifetime for Little Griz. Marx scored 2, yes 2 touchdowns. Both were power plays up the middle bouncing off tackles and all. He also had two interceptions, one of which turned the game around to allow him to score. He also had two great punt returns and some hard tackles. The game cost me $$$$!!! I also got all of it on video!!!

The "contract" stems from 5th grade. Keep in mind that boys play "tackle" football during recess from Kindergarden and up but I think they lovingly called it King of the Mountain or whatever. I mended plenty of pants, washed many muddy clothes and kissed a few bruises too. I never thought that real tackle football would be any different. In fact, I was greatful for the pads and helmet. So, it was quite the surprise for Michelle and I to watch our boys not tackling. I finally yelled that I would pay Marx $5 for a sack and wouldn't you know it, I got my sack and on the next play too. That was how it all started. Because he has always done so well with defense, we backed out of paying for tackles because he did so many. He averaged 2 sacks per game during 5th & 6th grade years. Now, after an outstanding play he signs the "amount" I owe from the sidelines. I can honestly say that I think that Marx really isn't doing it for the money any more. Once he figured out what he was doing, the pleasure of doing a job well was payment enough--the rest is just gravy. I hope when he plays football in high school, he'll sign "Love You" rather than "get your checkbook, this one's gonna cost you"!

Summer 2008 Fun

Here are some photo of Marx on the PWC. Yes, he is completely krazy and loves every minute of it. I don't know where he got his driving ability from...hmmmmm. These are 4 sequential photos. The last one is a favorite!

WHERE DID HE GO?!?

Marx's birthday. Grandma Priddy made the yummy cake for us to enjoy. I can't believe he is 14!

Marx and Wes--Best Buds since the 3rd Grade

Here is Grandma Priddy riding the PWC. She had a great time. I was a little late getting my camera and then didn't get a chance to take a picture of her riding like a wild woman because I was distracted by the sinking boat!!! A really nice ski boat loaded with people went by and then the back end started to sink, the front end went up in the air and the passengers jumped out. It quickly submerged. Several boats went to get the passengers and they tied a bouy to the boat. After a moment, you couldn't see the boat any more. Mel said it's about 90 feet deep where it went down!

My newest volunteer efforts are with the American Cancer Society. I am the online chair for the 2009 Relay for Missoula County. This bus is traveling the lower 48 states making many stops along the way. People sign the bus to show their support and let our government know we expect their support as well. The bus has wraps that people write on and when they get full, the wraps are remove and put on poster boards. This bus has been wrapped 4 times and it still has many more stops along the way. This bus was signed by people from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming but there were also signatures from people all over who were vacationing and stopped by when they saw the bus. If you see the bus, stop by and sign it and show your support.

Here I am signing the door. None of the Relay dollars support this function (those dollars go to research and patient support and camps for children with cancer and most of the funds stay very local!). It is a donation system that keeps this specific project going so that our voices are heard! The mayor of Missoula, several local and states representatives were there in person as well as staff for our Senators and Reps.

Summers a Endin'

Well, summer is coming to a close and I am getting ready for Marx to return to school and football. Like most teenagers, "I'm bored" or "Mom, can I have some money" are frequent statements in the house. Marx just finished his first volunteer experience and it was "ok". Volunteer lifeguards are only an extra set of eyes and the only "save" that Marx had was some lady's cell phone. While Marx wasn't as thrilled with it, it is a resume booster and scholarship application beef up as far as we are concerned! I think he enjoyed the girls more than anything!

Here are some pictures from football.

Marx T.'s job is going well. He likes the company and guys he works for, which makes for a better working day. It is feast or famine though as days go by without any work and then they could be slammed with a bunch. I think right now, he really enjoys buying tools!

Okay, Jen--I said I was going to do it, now I just have to keep doing it!