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Like a lot of families, the Dobsons spent most of their Saturday watching football.
But the Dobsons weren't sitting home on the couch watching their favorite college teams on TV; instead they spent the day at Ravsten Stadium watching the fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade championship games of the Upper Valley Grid Kid Youth Football League.
""We love it,"" Holly Dobson said. ""We live for this.""
Holly and her husband, Justin, had sons playing in the three of the four championship games.
""They love team sports,"" Holly said. ""They love being able to spend time with their buddies.
""During football season, when they're not practicing or playing in a game, they're playing football against each other in the backyard.""
Teams from Sandcreek South - including the three teams the Dobson boys play for - played for the title in all four divisions.
Nine-year-old Tyson played in the day's first game at 9 a.m.
At 10:45 a.m., 11-year-old Coleson took the field for the sixth-grade championship.
Both Tyson and Coleson attend Woodland Hills Elementary School.
The final championship game, which started at 2:15 p.m., featured 13-year-old Wilson, an eighth-grader at Sandcreek Middle School.
Saturday's games were the culmination of a season that started in August. The Dobsons' teams each played six regular season games, two playoff games and the championship. When you add up all the trips to and from practice as well as to games as far away as Rexburg and Ashton, Holly and Justin rack up a lot of miles on the family vehicles.
""Sometimes we feel a little like taxi drivers,"" Holly said. ""Sometimes we have to split up in order to get everybody where they need to go.""
But as much as the season keeps the Dobsons running ragged, football is also a uniting force for the family.
The boys' older brother, Brycen Blackburn, was a standout defensive back on Hillcrest High School's 2008 state championship team. Blackburn died in an auto accident Sept. 20, 2009.
""It's been a tough year for the family,"" Holly said. ""But football helps us feel close to Brycen. It's what he loved.""
While Holly, a self-described ""proud mom,"" was pleased that her boys' football teams were able to play for the league titles, she said she's more proud that her sons do well in school and that they demonstrate good sportsmanship. She said the family has a strong religious faith and that the boys follow the Fellowship of Christian Athletes' competitor's creed.
""We thank God for blessing our kids with their abilities,"" she said. ""Our faith has helped us a lot with what we've been through in the last year.""
Today, the Dobsons will enjoy a day of worship and rest.
But just one day. Hockey practice starts Monday and all three boys play on traveling teams.
Justin said he's more than glad to keep shuttling the boys to practice and games throughout the winter months.
""You only get to raise them once,"" he said.
