Soccer, Kites, Bubbles, Ice Cream

Spring has been glorious this year--except for all the pollen. The pollen has been quite rough on the allergies. This past weekend was filled with more soccer. I'm loving being a soccer mom.

Andrew's team had another victory on Saturday. The score was 4-2 and Andrew's team scored all 6 points. Oops. At least we scored more for our team than for the opponent.




I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching Andrew's enthusiasm for life.

We bought a kite and took it to the park on Sunday. We tried and tried and tried, but had no luck getting it to fly. I overheard Adam telling someone that the kite tried to attack us. That's pretty accurate. It would start to fly and then do these crazy spins and plummet to the ground. I'm not sure we had it together correctly. The kids had also received some tiny kites for Christmas. We didn't have any luck with those either.





After we gave up on the kites, we tried some bubbles. The sun was terribly harsh (for pictures at least), but I like these anyway.





Andrew was laughing at something Adam did.

We made bubbles for the kids until our arms hurt. They loved chasing them and trying to pop them with their "swords."




We then headed into town and were treated to some ice cream at the Creamery.

Mint Chocolate Chip for Abby








We really had a great time together this weekend.

On a sad note, I hit a cardinal on the way to taking the kids to school this morning. She got stuck on my windshield wipers. She did not die immediately. She looked right in the window at me and blinked. TWICE. And just sat there. I screamed and then started laughing hysterically. What? You don't think that's the appropriate response? I had no idea how to get her off and Adam suggested that I turn on the windshield wipers. So I did. And she rode back and forth across the windshield. Adam told me to speed the windshield wipers up. I figured it was either that or stop and pick her up by her tiny little legs. The latter didn't appeal to me. So I turned the windshield wipers up on high and she finally "flew" away.

Celebration

We've had a lot to celebrate recently. My parents came to town for spring break and they brought my niece, Jami, with them. She hasn't been to our house in quite a while and it was so fun to have her here with us. My kids love to stay home, and they were beyond thrilled that Grandma and Grandpa came to stay with them during spring break so they wouldn't have to get up and go to camp.

These are my parents' grandkids minus one. Their oldest grandchild didn't make this trip.



Easter was another great cause for celebration. Celebrating Jesus' rise from the grave -- what could be greater? Of course, we had to dye eggs (where did this tradition begin--I need to look that up) and have an Easter egg hunt.






Andrew also had a soccer game while Grandma, Grandpa and Jami were here. His team won 6-2, and Andrew scored 5 goals. After the 4th goal, his coach put him on defense. Andrew wasn't very happy about not being able to "cross that line." When I told him it was okay, he told me it wasn't because it meant that he couldn't score another goal. Needless to say, he crossed the line and scored again. It was just too much for him to resist when the ball came across the line. His coached told him, "No more." I think that's a good thing. Andrew ~ not so much. He'll learn.

This is what it looks like after Andrew scores a goal.




The direct look to the sideline was extra. He had a pretty big audience there and wanted to be certain that everyone saw him score. He also celebrates this way when one of his teammates scores.

Another cause for celebration - Maylin and Pearson. My cousin, Traci, and her husband, Adam, are recently home from adopting two children from Tawain. I was able to spend some time with them at the park over the weekend.





There are some new kids in town, and we can't wait to spend more time with them.

Smile

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.
Mother Teresa

Spring Has Sprung

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~ Albert Einstein

Ten

In February, Adam turned 10. Andrew loved to remind us that Adam was in double-digits. When I picked the kids up from school yesterday, it hit me that Adam looked so grown up and not so much like a little boy any more. When we got home I asked him if I could take his picture.

I really wanted a full body shot to show how tall he is. The other day he came up to me to get a hug, and I could rest my chin on the top of his head. Oh.My.Word! Anyway, he started out a little stiff.



I asked him to goof around a little bit, and I got the "Boom, Boom, Fire Power" move.



Which led to more muscle poses.



Ahh, 10 year old boys...

King Snake

This morning was kind of crazy at our house. Instead of getting ready for school, the boys were wrestling. After a friendly reminder to stay on task, they failed to do so. This resulted in more wrestling and Andrew believing that his arm was broken. He cried some. He refused to move his arm. He believed that he needed to go to the doctor. After no less than three conversations reminding him that it was a big deal for mommy to miss work, a big deal for him to miss school and I was quite certain there would be x-rays involved, Andrew was unwavering in his belief that he needed to go to the doctor. So, we dropped off Adam and Abby at school, and went to directly to the pediatrician's office. We were told that they could do x-rays on site, but that the first available appointment was 10:00 a.m. It was currently 8:30. Andrew then believed it was in his best interest to proceed to the emergency room. After weighing my options and observing that he was in no visible pain (although continuing to not use his arm), I decided to take him home and wait for the 10:00 appointment. During the approximate 15 minute drive home, he was miraculously healed. He asked for breakfast which he had refused to eat earlier and asked if it was okay if he went to school. {sigh}

On the way to school, we had this conversation.

Andrew: Mommy, we’re reading this book at school called Whose Garden Is it? The worms and snakes and things fight about who owns the garden.

Me: That’s interesting. In the end, whose garden is it?

Andrew: It’s everyone’s garden. In the book the snake wears a crown and a scarf. I know it’s “imagination” because snakes wear crowns, but they don’t wear scarves.

Me: Really? I’ve never seen a snake wear a crown.

Andrew: What about the King snake?

Soccer

Soccer season has started and Andrew is playing this year. He's the first of the three to show an interest in soccer. His first game was on Saturday. It was so much fun!! This kid is intense and serious about his sports.

Warming up before the game ~ kids in this age group (5/6) are so funny. I'm not sure why that kid is sticking his head between his legs.



I'm also not sure what these two boys are doing (other than not paying attention).



Here he's taking the ball down the field and is really close to the line. You can tell he's really concentrating.



In this series, he was trying to get the ball from the gold team. The little boy in the gold got tripped up. Andrew was careful not to step on him, but was focused on keeping control of the ball.



Andrew scored both goals for his team and they won 2-1. Here he is celebrating one of his goals. This shot doesn't do his celebration justice. After each goal he ran the length of the field, jumping and pumping his fist. It was quite comical.



A sweet shot of him in the huddle post-game.



Saturday was so beautiful here. We were out and about from 9 a.m. until almost 8:30. Yesterday we were EXHAUSTED.

I still need to catch up on the basketball season for both boys. Hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later.