The Start of Soccer Season-2012

Well, soccer games started today for the Fall season.  Madison had a 9:00 game, and Luke had a 10:00 game. Alex doesn't start his games until next week.

 

Madison is thrilled to be in an all-girl league.  Sporting her pink and green jersey, she is on "The Lady Panters" this year.  Today, she played goalie and defense (fullback).  She is very good at defense and does a great job of getting that ball away from the goal.  She kicked several away today.

 Her coach is really great too and is just a positive female role model for the girls.

Ready for the game in the goalie box...she allowed one goal, but she stopped several others.

Second half on defense- Going after it

 

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Madison's team lost, 2-1, but they had a great game.  The girls played well, and hey, that's all that matters.

Switching gears, we quickly moved from Madison's game to Luke's game.  This week, they were back to back, but I have several weeks where I have two or three games at the same time (and wouldn't you know it, that Edward is out of town some of those weeks!).  Luke is playing on "The Fire" in the 5-6 year old league.  He had a FANTASTIC game and is an AMAZING player. Seriously, he was awesome.  Just about every parent said something about his good game.  Luke definitely seems to be good at anything he does.  I sure hope he sticks with soccer as the years pass because he's really, really good.

 Luke started at goalie.  He LOVES playing goalie (what is it with goalie in our family??).  Anyways, I loved this picture.  "No one is getting into my goal," is the look of it.  Oh, and no one got past Luke.  He kept EVERYTHING out of the goal.

The second part of the game, Luke was on offense. I don't know where he played better because he played so well everywhere. 

Meanwhile, Madison seemed to have her own soccer clinic going with the little kids.  She was SO sweet with these little boys, friends of Alex's from preschool.  She was playing so nicely with them and showing them how to kick. They LOVED her and kept following her around like little ducklings.

Back to the game...Luke just dominated the field.

Luke enjoyed playing today, especially since the team they played against had two of his friends on it, twins from preschool.  They go to a different elementary school, due to being a road over from us, so he doesn't see them everyday.  He was so excited this morning to "play Jacob and Thomas" and had a great time seeing them today.  Oh, Luke's team won...I don't even know what the score ended up being, but all that matters is Luke had fun.

Little Man Alex watched, actually cried, for the games today.  He was hot and just wanted to go home.  So, what better to do than to cry and whine about it?  I think he'll be in a much better mood next week when his games start.

Girl Scouts

I know it's not the best picture, but we were pressed for time.  Madison has been asking if she could try Girl Scouts, so I talked to a couple of my neighbors, and we found a troop.  Two of my neighbors have their girls involved as well, and the three of us have worked out a carpool. It should be a win-win for everyone.  Today, Amy took the three girls while I kept her six-year-old son, and my other neighbor Amy (both are Amy) kept her two-year-old, her nine-year-old and Amy's nine-year-old.  Basically, we all have three kids, and we sent the three girls in Brownies/Daisies to Girl Scouts, and the two of us at home kept the other six kids at home.  Whew.  It actually worked out well.  However, if I continue to keep the "boy house" here, I think I'll run out of food in a couple of weeks  :)

 

Madison really seemed to enjoy Girl Scouts.  This isn't her whole uniform yet. Some pieces were on backorder.

School Project

Madison had to complete her first project of second grade last week.  She was delighted with the assignment, and "All about Me" box to share with her teacher and class. 

 

 Here's her completed box.  She could include any of her favorites, to include her favorite trips, hobbies, etc.  On this side of her box, she has the Clemson Tigers, a picture of Hannah (her American Girl Bitty Baby), a picture of the Grand Canyon/Arizona, a picture from Alaska, and a picture of San Diego.  I'm guessing her box was the "most traveled"  :)

On this side, she had a picture from the Alaska Zoo, a picture of the bears we saw on our ride into Denali while in Alaska, a picture of our family before Edward deployed, flowers (because she likes to garden), and then on the side, she had a lot of pictures of her family members.  She then, had to put a few things inside. She put a cross to represent her faith, and she put a potholder to show that she liked to help me cook.

 

She's already waiting for the next project.

Random Pictures

I had several pictures on my camera I have been meaning to upload, so there is no "theme" to this post.

 

 Here is Alex on preschool orientation day sitting in his classroom with his very best pal, Adeline.  The two of them are like two peas in a pod. They were in the two-year-old class together, and they were inseparable.  Since there are two three-year-old classes, there was a possibility they would not have the same teacher, but low and behold, they have the same teacher, and randomly were assigned seats next to each other!

When Madison and Luke are at school, Alex and I take a lot of walks around the neighborhood.  He loves riding his bike.



 We took the kids mini-golfing the other night, and they had a blast.  It reminded me of the mini-golf outings my sister, brother, friend Carin, and I always had in Maine every summer as kids (I did make the kids return the ball on the last hole, haha).



Alex's other best gal pal, Becca, comes over sometimes when her mom has doctor's appointments.  Becca was over last Friday, and the two had SO much fun playing with the Flash capes. As  you can see, Becca proudly dressed herself on this day  :)

 

 

 Here's  a random party the kids setup early one morning on a Saturday (I think it was like 7:30 or so).  They told me it was a birthday party for Mr. Punk Eyes, the large stuffed dog we have had for over four years (Madison came up with that name at two-and-a-half).

Even Jonah was part of the impromptu party.

First Day of Preschool

Alex had his first day of preschool for the year today.  He is attending the same Methodist preschool he went to last year.  Alex claims he is a "Big Boy" since he has now moved up to the three-year-old class.  Since he is obsessed with orange, his outfit had to contain it too. He opted to keep his shark lunchbox from last year because well, it has orange on it  :)  Even his new Stride Rite running shoes are covered in plenty of orange. 

The little man had a great day.  Many of the moms from his class laughed at how easily our drop-offs went.  For one thing, most of the kids in his class were also in his two-year-old class, so we got the fits of "I don't want to leave Mom" out of the way last year.  On the flip side, the moms were fine too, as we realized that for most of us, these three-year-olds were our youngest kids, so we felt like seasoned veterans dropping off our little people.  It's hard to be sad for them when they are SOOOOO excited to go to school. I barely got a good-bye as Alex went right in, hung up his bag, stored his lunch, and found his assigned seat next to his favorite pal, Adeline. All of this....and they are in a different classroom with a different teacher (you know, because they are "Big Kids").  He's growing up so quickly, but I'm so happy he loves preschool.  Now, I didn't mention that to get into his classroom today, he did have to step over a little girl having a very rough time, throwing a major fit, kicking the door, and just pretty upset about having to start preschool.  At pick-up, she came running out, delighted with her day  :)  We, the seasoned veteran moms, reassured this new mom that things would be much better tomorrow :)

Back to School

Today was the first day of school.  Luke is now in kindergarten, and Madison is in second grade.  They were officially off to school at 7:55 when their bus pulled away.

 

Read to go and sporting their new backpacks.

 Madison really wanted a messenger bag this year, which makes her seem so much older!

 Alex, the preschooler, starts next week.

 Luke was delighted for kindergarten.  He started walking around with his backpack on at 7:15.

 It was awesome to have Edward home this morning. Last year, he had to talk to the kids on Skype.

 Alex didnt' want anymore pictures.

 Showing off the new bag.  He has a matching lunchbox.

 Madison with her bag

There it is...the big yellow bus. Luke was THRILLED to ride the bus this morning.  Between that, buying his first school lunch (he really wanted to try it), and just everything else today, I can't wait to see what he liked the most.

Girls' Soccer

I forgot to post this last week.  Madison has started soccer for the season!

This year, Madison moved up a league, which also means that she is in an all-girls' league.  Coming from a home with two little brothers, she was so excited to play with all girls this year.  I think it will be really good for her too.  She doesn't have many friends; it's been hard to make them here.  Anyways, she had to get one of her American Girl dolls all ready for soccer too, so here they are posing together. 

 

So far, Madison has done very well at practice.  She seems to be a natural in a defense position.  She LOVES getting in the mix and kicking the ball out of the mess of girls. Madison also loves to play goalie, so I see defense/goalie in her future.  Who knows?  I really like her coach; she knows a lot about soccer and seems to have a very positive attitude for the girls to emulate.

Open House

Madison and Luke had Open House at their school tonight, a chance to meet their teachers before the first day of school.  Both seem to have really nice teachers and are excited about the year.

 

Luke found his desk in his kindergarten class.  His teacher seems very sweet, yet stern, which is perfect for Luke.  She even said her husband is in the Army-added bonus.  I hope he'll have a great year.  When I was tucking him in tonight, he asked if he could start school tomorrow.  He was sad he has to wait until Monday.  He's ready.  He knows his bus number, rules on the bus, and where his classroom is.

 

Madison seems like she will have a really nice teacher too.  The kids' school has an international theme, so each grade level studies a different part of the world in addition to the regular curriculum and Mandarin.  Luke will be studying North America-perfect for our traveling family who spent three years on the West Coast (Jennifer, his teacher was excited to hear he spent time in Alaska!).  Madison studied Australia/New Zealand last year, and this year, she'll be studying Asia.  Well, as her teacher greeted Madison, she asked her (in a small effort to gauge any amount of geography the kids might have) what country she wanted to know about in Asia.  Madison immediately replied (without hesitation), "Afghanistan!!!"  I think her teacher was surprised that 1-Madison knew where it was, and 2-She really wants to study it!  I did tell her teacher some of that enthusiasm came from Edward being deployed there.  Plus, Madison does really love geography, so I think she'll have a great year.  Madison was VERY excited that her beloved teacher from last year was moved to just two doors down from her new teacher. So, she'll be able to see her everyday (she already filled her in tonight on her travels to Alaska, haha!).

 

The kids said the only bummer of the evening was their favorite bus driver from last year was switched to a different route.  However, it looks like the teacher's aid who was in Madison's class last year is their new driver.  Here's to a great school year!

Masked Crusaders and the Princess

The Guitar

I participate in a couple of consignment sales here, both in the Fall and in the Spring.  I do very well with the stuff I sell.  I don't always get much, but I usually look for brand new with tags, pristine condition, etc. I took the kids with me to the sale the other day, and the kids spotted this guitar.  They were SO excited to find this, and it's in perfect shape. I don't know if it has ever been used.  Anyways, the price was great, and the color was just right for a little girl.  It's a Hannah Montana guitar, and I felt like it was a good sign that Madison asked me who that was.  Thank goodness she isn't interested in pop stars  :)

Playmates

One of Alex's favorite friends is our neighbor, Becca.  Becca's mom has had cancer this past year, and we often watch Becca when her mom has a doctor's appointment.  She and Alex LOVE to play together, and they are so sweet with each other.  It's really nice to have her over because they do play together so well that I hardly notice they are around!  We had Becca over recently, and I thought the two were so sweet as they sat on Alex's bed.  The acted like they were having a long conversation, and Alex enjoyed showing Jonah to Becca.  These two are so cute at the bus stop evey morning during the school year, and in another week, they'll go back to seeing each other every school day at the bus stop as they both put their older siblings on the bus.

Happily, they are reading preschooler Bible stories  :)

Jonah

This is our new kitten, Jonah.  He's eight weeks old, and he's been great at our house so far. The kids LOVE him.  The kids' favorite Bible story is Jonah and the Whale, so that's how he got his name.

I wanted to give an accurate idea of his size.  That's my lens cap, and that's my shoe.  Now, my shoe is a boat at a size 10, but you still get the idea that he's really small.  He fits into the palm of your hand.

Blueberries

This morning, the kids and I ventured to a local farm to pick blueberries.  We all really enjoyed it, and the blueberries taste great. The kids enjoyed it very much and look forward to blueberry pancakes and the like.

 Flash was there to help.

Luke is my biggest blueberry eater, and he was determined to pick a lot of berries.  We ended up with just over three pounds.  At 0.96 cents a pound, the berries were a great deal and FRESH! 

We met up with our friends and neighbors from AZ, who now live here too.  Stephen and Alex are just a few months apart.

Here's our load of berries.  We may go back again before the season ends in a couple of weeks.  Everyone was getting hot, and we'd been picking for about 45 minutes.  It is well worth it for the crazy amount of blueberries we picked.

Canning

Edward's mom came to visit this week, and we kept her very busy in the kitchen.  I have been wanting to learn how to can some veggies, and she and Edward's stepdad do a lot of canning.  So, she brought her canner, and away we went. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to find any half runner green beans, but the local produce stand finally came through for us.  We had a great time in the kitchen, and even the kids enjoyed helping some.

 Now, the Northerner I am, I am not a fan of okra, but Edward is.  So, I froze some of it.  Madison really wanted to help, so I taught her how to cut the okra. She was delighted with this task and did a GREAT job with it.  She cut a ton of okra and asked for more after she had finished.

 With Jean Ann's help, we canned 21 jars (a full bushel) of beans.  I will probably never forget sitting, watching the Olympics, and breaking beans.

 Here's she's showing me how easy it is to do dill pickles.  We made five jars of them.

Thanks so much for coming, Jean Ann.  We had a great time seeing you this week!