Jenn Martin « flamingobear

And Then She Was Nine

16 Dec 11 by Jenn Martin | No Comments | 91 view(s)
Categories: family | Tags: birthday, oakley, soccer

Oakley’s 9th birthday party plan: Decorate houses. Eat cookies. Play soccer.

Oakley’s 10th birthday party plan: Repeat.

Isabella, Evy, Oakley, Olivia, Josie, and Parker – soccer pals you may have seen before

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8 Soccer Games in 29 Hours

4 Dec 11 by Jenn Martin | No Comments | 34 view(s)
Categories: family | Tags: aspen, oakley, soccer

Here’s how we ended the fall soccer season in Atlanta the first weekend of December:

8 games in 29 hours!
2 medalists (both Aspen and Oakley)
1 semifinal of the NCAA Women’s College World Cup (Stanford v. Florida State)

Was it worth it? Just look at their faces below:

BWSC ’03 Elite Team: U-9 Girls White Division Finalists – GSA Adidas Invitational, Atlanta, GA

back row (l-r): Sydney, Georgia (Uga!), Rachel, Lauren

front row (l-r): Sophia, Isabella, Evy, Oakley

BWSC ’01 Select Team: U-11 Girls Black Division Finalists - GSA Adidas Invitational, Atlanta, GA

back row (l-r): Coach Idris, Nisi, Aspen, Liv, Marisa, Lexi, Sarah Beth (BG), Macie, Coach Kyle

front row (l-r): Isabel, Cristina, Kendal, Molly, Sam

Helping Humpty

17 Nov 11 by Jenn Martin | No Comments | 7 view(s)
Categories: family | Tags: lindy

Apple-Cinnamon Doughnuts

14 Nov 11 by Jenn Martin | 1 Comment | 145 view(s)
Categories: family, food | Tags: dessert, fall

Our family (starting with Tim’s parents and maybe even before) holds hands and sings a prayer before dinner. (So consider yourself warned if you ever join us for dinner.) Perhaps the most beloved song is the one we call “Johnny Appleseed”. The tradition is that the youngest member of the family is given the opportunity to solo on the word appleseed. Well, back in 2004, as Oakley was still learning the song, the following was our version…

All: Oh, the Lord is good to me
All: And so I thank the Lord
All: For giving me the things I need
All: The sun, the rain, and the…
Aspen (then almost 4 years old): Say ‘apple’, Oakley
Oakley (then almost 2 years old): Apple!
Aspen: Say ‘seed’, Oakley
Oakley: Seed!
Aspen: The Lord is good to me.
Oakley: Amen

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Mystery Meats, Mascots, and Moves

11 Nov 11 by Jenn Martin | No Comments | 34 view(s)
Categories: family | Tags: lindy, soccer

Lou got placed on the red team this fall in U-7 soccer. Tim was the coach.

“Bologna” got chosen as the team name. Yes, really. We had a mystery meat as our mascot.

Tim got to sing “My Bologna” to the tune of “My Sharona“.

And I got these pictures of Lou’s flying hair, high socks, and soccer moves.

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“Orange Leaf” by Oakley Martin

9 Nov 11 by Jenn Martin | No Comments | 58 view(s)
Categories: family | Tags: oakley, words, writing

Oakley’s entry into a poetry contest

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Oakley Lets Her Hair Down

7 Nov 11 by Jenn Martin | 2 Comments | 100 view(s)
Categories: family | Tags: oakley

It’s rare these days to see Oakley with her hair down. It’s normally slicked back into a low ponytail. With that she also sports a headband made out of soccer prewrap – in purple, of course. After a long day of school and soccer practice, it usually looks something like this.

Last Tuesday was picture day at school. Oakley came down for breakfast with her hair done as usual. I thought about saying something. But then thought better of it. I like her hair like that. More importantly, she likes it – and does it herself. And, besides, I already had these pictures that Tim took in late September. No ponytail. No prewrap. What’s the special occasion? Uncle Doug and Torey’s rehearsal dinner.