Soccer

 We spend a good deal of our Saturdays at soccer games this time of the year.  To make it more interesting, Edward has to work often on Saturdays, and it seems as if the kids always have at least two games at the same time.  So, we are all kept on our toes!  Yesterday, we had Alex's game at 10, and then Madison and Luke each had a game at 12.  I packed a picnic lunch that we ate at 11 between the games.  Spitting rain was added to the menu for yesterday, and yes, it lasted the entire time we were at soccer  :)  The kids all played well, and after our soccer outing, I decided they needed a trip to the Dairy Queen.

 My soccer stars

 Alex had the first game, and both Madison and Luke were glad to watch his game.  They have not seen him play due to all three practices being at the same time.

 Madison thought their warm-up of "Ring around the Rosie" was hilarious.

During Alex's game, Madison and Luke played some soccer together.

 Gametime!  He's just like his mom, a left-footed kicker. 

 After Alex's game, we had our lunch, and then I was off and running to drop both Madison and Luke off at their games.  I spent the first half of Madison's game watching her, and then I walked to the opposite corner of the complex to watch the second half of Luke's game.  We had snacks for Luke's game, so I needed to be there at the end.  Alex was a trooper walking all over the place.

 Madison played at center forward and goalie during today's game.  She did an awesome job at forward.  The other team was MUCH bigger and meaner than Madison's team.  It was quite obvious.  They were called on several issues of tripping, punching, and hitting. The refs didn't even see all of the assaults, including a bad (intentional) kick Madison was given to the stomach and another to the nose.  They were a very rough team.  I never mind a team being better, but all of the parents had problems with a team being so intentionally mean.

 She was tired!  Madison ran, and ran, and ran.  She almost scored a couple of times.

 Halftime...a quick switch to Luke's team...

 Luke was playing his favorite position, goalie.  He's good at it and loves to attack the ball.  I didn't get as many pictures of him because it was pretty quiet on his end of the field for awhile.

 His league is not allowed to use their hands yet at goalie, which drives Luke crazy.  He and Madison practice a lot at home being goalie, and he always wants to use his hands.  He will have to wait until he moves to the 7-8 year-old league for that.

The fourth quarter, Luke moved to offense.  

No pictures from after the games because, well, I was running around picking up kids.  Snacks were handed out, Luke was collected, and the boys and I hiked back over to get Madison from her game.  I hate that I had to miss parts of two games, but at least it worked out that I could see some of each game.

Terrific Kid

The schools here have a "Terrific Kid" program, and each month a child from each class is nominated who best supports a set character trait.  It's a lot like a "Student of the Month."  Madison was the first nominated out of her class this year for the trait of "Respect."  The program was held yesterday where she received her award.

 

We are so proud of her for doing such a great job at school and being such a good role model in her classroom.  Her teacher says she can really count on Madison to do the right thing all the time.

A Full Day

Alex started his athletic career today with soccer.  He is on the "Dragons" in the "Little Kicker" 3-4 year old program.  I don't know if anyone really knows who won.  They don't really keep score, as the main concern is to make sure the kids kick toward the correct goal.  It's a pretty funny age group to watch.  Some kids are really into it (usually the ones closer to 4.5 yrs old), and others walk off the field to sit, find their parents, cry, etc. And, some just stop mid-field and yell to their parents, "I have to go potty," so really, you never know what is going to happen  :) 

 

Alex had a good game, in that, he played, didn't have any meltdowns, and had fun! 

 

 He was hoping his team would be orange, but I told him he had a Green Lantern shirt, and that made things okay.  At least he didn't ask to wear the cape.

 This afternoon, after the game and lunch, this is how we found Alex.  He was in the playroom with Madison and Luke, and they were all watching a show.  Madison and Luke came to tell us Alex had fallen asleep sort of leaning on the ottoman.

Yeah, even after Edward moved him, he was passed out for a couple of hours.

Girl Scouts-The Beginning

Madison's troop had its formal ceremony Thursday to officially start the year.

 

 She was SO excited.

 The troop consists of Daisies (K-1st) and Brownies (2nd-3rd).

 One of the troop leader put the Girl Scout member pin on each of the girls.

These are Madison's good friends, and they both live here in our neighborhood.  It will be great working out a carpool system for the meetings :)

 

Madison is so excited for this year and can't wait to sell cookies.  I keep reminding her they aren't free; cookies cost money  :)

Fevers

Last weekend, both boys started running fevers. Due to this, they were home much of the week.  Surprisingly, Alex normally holds onto fevers the longest in our family, but this time around, Luke won the longevity award.  I felt so bad for the boys, but if misery loves company, at least they had each other at home.

 

 You can tell Alex recently had a dose of Motrin in this picture.  I'm not sure if the cat loved all the smothering, I mean attention, this week.

 By Wednesday, Alex was back at school, but Luke was still home.  He asked me if he could do some math that morning, so he quickly got to work. Jonah decided to "help."

 

Thankfully, Luke was fever-free by Thursday, actually by Wednesday, but I do abide by the "24-hour No Fever Rule."  Of all things, Luke was upset he missed salisbury steak at school, along with PE.

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 :)