Archive for the 'Posts 'n Pix' Category

Hello everyone -

after a long and cold winter season without much outdoors sports to write about (ok, so there is skiing but dad is in charge of that ….) soccer season has begun and the Camels Hump Soccer Club U8 had their first game this weekend. That is after their very first practice last Thursday.

I have to say, I am proud to say that some of the German soccer genes have been directly transferred to Noah, without the Chabot lack of hand eye foot coordination having any negative impact on it. Man, my dude rocks! I was so proud of him, not just for scoring 4 of the 5 goals in their 5-1 win, but also for not always just running after the ball with the rest of the crowd but actually playing position and for passing instead of always trying to get the goal himself.

I took some pix and also some video, but I still have not figured out how to post video … it won’t upload…. hmph … gotta check with my tech savy hubby …

Uh!Uh! I think I figured it out! I think this video thing will work now …… let’s see … 

Noah’s First Soccer Game from Sabine Chabot on Vimeo.

I think the following pictures need no explanation … at least not if you are a parent. Let me explain to those of you whose only worry at Christmas is whether or not you get enough drinks from the open bar at your company christmas party: The worries of christmas change a bit once you have kids . Oh, I am not going to get all smushy and get into the it’s all about seeing those eyes shine with cheer on christmas morn. That is a topic I can only tackle after I recover a bit more from the frenzy that is christmas day in our house.

No, I am talking about the frenzy on christmas eve. When the ‘little ones’ are in bed, after having dutifully baked and decorated cookies with mom and leaving a carpet of flour all over the kitchen, just to disappear into thin air as soon as the last cookie sheet has been taken out of the oven (call me mommy when they are cooled down so I can try one ….). After they wrote their little letter to Santa (Kid: Dear Santa. Don’t forget the Wii! Parent: Oh Shit, I knew I forgot something …). After they placed the best cookie, some grapes and cheese (Hey, Santa must get sick of all the sweet stuff) on the Santa plate and some carrots and water (reindeer have to eat, too) on the porch. After we assured them for the 13th time that Santa will be able to come to our house EVEN THOUGH WE DON’T HAVE A CHIMNEY ….. and after we checked for the last time Santa’s progress on th NORAD Santa Tracker.

AFTER all that, when daddy flops his butt on the couch with a bottle of beer  … and mommy sits her but on the floor to start wrapping the dozens of presents. THAT is when the REAL worry starts.

Do they both have the same amount of presents? Should I sneek a peak into Grandma’s present to make sure that it is not another copy of the ‘Prodigal Son’ or ‘How to raise the difficult child’ (not kidding, both have happened). Where did I put that gift I bought two months ago on sale? I know I put it somewhere …. safe ….. Shoot, out of tape… again. Where are the tags? Did I get the thing they wanted most? Do they actually deserve all of these gifts ……

Well, and then, after I fall exhausted and with papercuts everywhere in the comfy chair, I realize once again, that I can’t wait for morning to come and see their shiny faces all excited. Hey, what can I say. I love my little tykes. And the big one, too. Who, by the way, managed to surprise me after 13 years of marriage by gifting me some candles for christmas …. you would have to know that he has a surprising and incurable fear of candles in the house …. yet, I got two for christmas. Ah. Gotta love christmas.

Below then are some pix … before, after and during the christmas paper shred fest. Happy Holidays Everyone!

Ah Thanksgiving. The time for extended families to get together and gather around the turkey ….. unless you are part of the Chabot Family. Since we are currently in the ‘cut out of the will I am not talking to you’  rotation, we won’t see my mother in law for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Which, to be honest, is not a bad rotation to be in since it cuts down significantly on the emotional drama involved when we are on speaking terms.

Not to get into the details, but my personal history with my MIL has been rocky to say the least. I have gone from the “German hussy who married her son for the money and cheap sex” (I am not kidding you) and her not coming to our wedding or allowing me in her house for 3 years, to “she is the best thing that ever happened to my son”, to “she is the reason my son is turning away from his mother and, oh by the way, she has no idea how to raise her kids”. Needless to say the last one put me over the edge and we have, once again, been on non-speaking terms for the last year and a half or so. Oh, sooooo relaxing. Makes me mad thought that my kids miss out on their only ‘local’ grandma .. but that is a whole other post.

On the bright side though, my sister in law Amy and her son Andre were brave enough to weather the Theresa home visit for Thanksgiving (don’t know how she does it .. I would have to be permanently drunk for the entire visit to not start a blood bath) and on their way back they stopped by our house for an overnight visit.

It is so amazing to see how cousins, who don’t see each other for so long, jus kind of reconnect and pick up where they left … Benji and Noah were in Thomas the Tank Engine heaven for 24 hours straight. As if they were twins separated at birth. And Noah actually got Aunt Amy to watch NFL Network with her (you have to know Aunt Amy to understand the oddness of the situation :->), first thing Sunday morning, I come down the stairs and they are both snuggled under blankets in the armchairs watching NFL Network discussing Noah’s fantasy football strategy …. too funny.

It was hard to see them leave again, knowing that it will be a while until we get together again. Those are the moments when I miss my good old German family, where everyone lives 5 minutes away from each other and as much as you hate your relatives sometimes, it is good to know they are just a hop, skip and a jump away if you need them….

Anyways, here are some photos of the cousins in PJ’s ….. silly as usual.

Do I need to say anything. Really.

So here is that something I am a bit embarrassed to admit that in the almost 14 years I have lived in Vermont, I have never taken the Gondola to the top of Mount Mansfield in the fall. Nor have I ever driven the car up the toll road, as thousands of people do every year.

I mean, people come from all over the world to leave peep in Vermont. And I would guess that 90% of them either drive up the toll road or take the gondola in Stowe. Not me though. Love the foliage. Have been known to suddenly stop the car on the side of the road and take pictures of a particularly beautifully colored leave … but never made the pilgrimage to the top of Vermont’s most famous mountain.

Until today that is. Harvest Fest at Smilie School this morning … and after that, we decided to take a drive to Stowe and make it up the mountain. I have to admit, I only thought of it because I had three free gondola ride tickets from a specially sponsored Vermont Lake Monster game we went to this summer. Otherwise I think I would still be a ‘gondola virgin’.

It was beautiful, as expected. Some Vermonters may get used to the beauty that is fall foliage, but I doubt I ever will. Probably got that from my mom, who, 7 years after coming to Vermont for foliage season in the days after 09/11, still talks about it almost every time we are on the phone… and that is almost weekly.

Kids loved it too, of course.

Funny though, we took the Notch road to the Smuggs side of the mountain to go home, and you can clearly tell that the ‘other side’ is the locals side. No fancy shops, hotels, or vacation mansions. Part of that is probably that once the snow falls, Smuggler’s Notch Road is closed and one has to take a 45 minute detour to get to Smuggs from the South. Which is probably just as well, while I understand that tourists bring alot of money to the Vermont economy, I am still not a big fan of Stowe turning into little St. Moritz. So I am happy that ’the other side’ remains the locals side. I don’t even ski, but I am still oddly possessive of the Smuggs side …

Anyways, winter is coming, let me tell you that. Could feel it on top of that mountain …. and THAT is not something I wax poetic about. … Argh.

Benji helped me today with the usual fall decorating. Pumpkins, cornstalks, scare crow … and the obligatory photo ….. mom is never without a camera. Though since my little Powershot broke (two weeks after the one year warranty expired …) I am back to using my Canon … which is a tad bigger … much bigger actually. But I have to say I really missed the great pix it takes, so it is worth carrying around a camera that doubles the weight of my purse. And that means something ….women will understand. Moms will understand even better. A regular mom purse weighs at least 10 lbs. Wallet, checkbook, aspirin, wet wipes, tissues, chapstick, snacks, … husband’s wallet ….But that is a different post.

So, after the usual “Smile nice for mommy” photos, they insisted on some ‘funny’ pix .. so here you go. Enjoy. Happy Fall!

  And one that Benji took of mommy and the scare crow and one of mommy ‘as’ the scare crow. I am the one in the red vest …. just to avoid any embarrassing mixups ….

Being married to someone who is handy with a chainsaw is a handy thing.

Is that an odd statement? Not when you live in Vermont on a mountain and not when you are married to a Chabot. Never thought I would ever even be in need of someone who is handy with a chainsaw .. before I met a Chabot and moved to rural New England. Not really a tool often used in good old Berzdorf …. not even sure anyone in my extended family in Germany even owns a chainsaw …

But here, in Vermont, it is handy that I am married to a man whose father was known for using his chainsaw whenever even the smallest amount of cutting of anything was needed …. the story goes that he actually cut the holes for the skylights in their house with a chainsaw. Anyways, lots of good stories …. but you have to really have my hubby tell them.

So, since we live in a rather wooded area (also called a forest mountain top ….) we often have downed trees blocking driveways (at least one every winter so far …. at LEAST one) or need a tree cut to make sure the satellite dish can get a clear view of the sky (not kidding) … or, as happened this weekend, a dead tree that needs to be removed to make room for … wait for it … a new tree.

      So here are some shots of my husband the logger, my boys, the show off by-standers …. and a tree stump? That is here at the request of the guy with the chainsaw who he insisted that it was a superior cut  …. ok then. 

Another week, another flag game. This time we once again ventured back to Milton to play the Broncos.And I have to say it, but for most of the game, they ran right over us. They had some excellent blocking going on … though I kind of think they glossed over the ‘no blitzing’ rule … their linebackers ran for our QB on almost every single play .. and they got to him on almost every single game. Which, on one hand means their linebackers did what they weren’t supposed to … or shall I say what the rules say they are not supposed to … and it also means that our blocking … well, is in need of improvement. As my hubby keeps on telling Noah: Happy Hands don’t block.

Noah was pretty mad after the game because he realized I think that the other team was just plain better … and that his team just didn’t paly as hard as they could have. Kind of cute really, let’s hope he is still mad enough next practice to listen to Coach and improve his blocking. Then again, it’s flag football mom. Chill!

Anyways, here are some more photos .. some are not the greatest quality since the sun was just setting … beautiful in person, terrible for taking crisp photos.

P.S. you know what is kind of funny … even though this was not really their best game so far, I think I got the most shots of good looking plays from our team. I mean, hand offs, the QB actually throwing the ball. They are really not bad those kids. And once again I am impressed with Coach, who did a great job motivating them. During halftime he took them aside and asked how they are feeling, being slapped around by the Broncos. And of course they all didn’t like it. So he said: Well, welcome to real football. And if you don’t like the feeling, do something about it. Go Coach!

PPS: Noah is No. 80 with the blue cleats ….

  Hi y’all. Feelin’ a bit Southern today …heck, it is after Labor Day and 88 lovely degrees outside …. not complaining, mind you. I realize winter will be here before we know it and I already get a panicky feeling when thinking about it. Can you tell I am not a winter person? Don’t ski, don’t board, don’t like the cold … what am I doing in Vermont … ahhhhh … that is the $64 question. And a whole ‘nother topic and post.

 I am here today again to dwell in motherly pride and post some more photos of my oldest, Noah, and his adventures in flag football.

They had their now third game last night and it never ceases to amaze me what impact a dedicated coaching team can have on a bunch of 7 and 8 year old boys who want to play football. Thinking back to the first practices, they were just a bunch of kids who all thought they were the next Reggie Bush or Tom Brady and they ALL wanted to run with the ball or throw it. No one knew where to line up on defense or how to block. They didn’t get the whole team concept/

Man, what a difference last night. They had FUN on defense, followed through on tackles/flag pulling and were totally into it. All thanks to the coaching, I am telling you. What impresses me is the little things. For example: typically, Noah is a bit of a sloath …. never does anything fast unless he wants to …. dandelion picker, slow poke, day dreamer.

So one of the things that most impressed me that the coach actually taught him and the rest of the team the importance and meaning of HUSTLE!!!!! During the first week of practice etc. when they sub’d in kids, the kids coming off the field would slowly amble towards the sidelines and the new kids would even more slowly make their way onto the field and into position. NOW, well, they hustle. They RUN onto the field. tap the person they are subbing for. And that kid RUNS off the field to the bench. Impressive. All in the coaching …. I wish I could have the guy come to my house and tell Noah to HUSSLE …. or maybe all I really need is one of those whistles he has hanging around his neck. Worth a try.

Needless to say, Noah loves it, I love it, and Benji loved going to practice because there are all of those other younger siblings hanging around … and they ALL seem to have dogs he can walk or play with. Fantastic. So here are some more photos from last night, played against the Essex Chargers. Oh, and this one of course is of Benji and his new girlfriend Carlie … they are too cute and hang out each time at practice.

game-essex-09-04-08-16.JPG   game-essex-09-04-08-15.JPG

 Noah is number 80 and he is lining up at center in #16 and blocking as noseguard in #15

So, there. TTFF, Sabine

Go Wolverines!!!!!

Here are some photos from the very first game of the 2008 Wolverine Flag Football Team 2nd and 3rd graders.

Noah was pretty excited even though he really wasn’t quite sure what a jamboree even is …. well, it turned out to be a massive amount of 2nd through 8th graders, ready to play some football. And with all thekids of course come the obligatory parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, coaches etc. It was MASSIVE. We actually lived in Milton for almost 8 years, just two blocks away from the town offices and the park and I had NEVER seen that many cars in that area. Well, except when the local horseshoe club met on Wednesday afternoons … what is up with that anyways …. oh well, that would be a totally different blog :->

Anyways, it was a hot day at the Milton Town Park but the kids had a great time and showed great team spirit! Great job by the coaches! I might be a bit biased but I think our team looked THE BEST out there! Very disciplined and organized. It was a tad agonizing to see other teams taking 5 minutes to explain the next play to everyone in the huddle. Our pretty organized huddles were just a testament to the great coaching team!

Go Wolverines!

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