Owen's Soccer Game

More soccer is never enough for this boy.  He can't wait for Saturday mornings for his game to start and jumps right into the action.  Owen is awesome playing defense.

Hunter is the blue goalie and was about to pick up this ball and get it back in the game.  At this point, the coaches were yelling at defense to get back out in the field and help kick it farther away from their goal.  Watch Owen as he hauls tail across this field before Hunter gets rid of the ball.  This boy is all business!

Owen rarely takes time for water breaks to rest.  Owen likes to play goalie during breaks.

He might grab a sip of water, but is then running back out to the field to play with anyone who will kick the ball with him.  

Look at how sweaty this boy is!

Back in the game and he is running next to his team mates after the ball.

Owen did not let this other team score.  At all.

Game over and the kids were wiped!

Love the Good Games!

Chloe's Soccer

Chloe looks the part of a soccer player, doesn't she?  Besides the Fives and Good Games at the end of each game, I think she loves dressing up as a soccer player the most.

If not distracted, she will be in the middle of the action and look like she knows what she is doing.

Bean will get in there and fight for the ball.

Like most younger siblings, she wants to be just like the older sibling.  She plays the part well enough.  Doesn't she look serious?

She runs fast for the sidelines for water.  Whether it is a water break or not. :)

That is the assistant coach Robin.  He is an exchange student from Germany.  He is really good with the kids and fun to watch as he works through the times when the kids aren't listening for squat.  Which is much of the time.  Apparently this lack of interest in the game is typical for the age group of pre-K and Kindergartners.  Glad it's Robin and Seth out there and not me!

Oooh, she sees the ball and is going to kick it!  Chloe is quick.

She is good at kicking the ball and keeping it moving.  When she wants to. :)

But it really doesn't hold her attention.  She thinks it is easy and therefore boring.  Notice her teammates running in the opposite direction?

Her moment with the ball is gone.  She's in her own world now while the game continues at the other end of the field.  She is her own girl with extreme independence that will serve her well when she is older.

Morning in the Back Yard

Todd had tennis this morning while the kids and I were planning on driving out to Whole Foods to find special ingredients for a gluten free cheesecake to make for Grandma Suzanney.  But I got a call for work and spent the next hour on the phone between India, Brazil and a handful of our work centers as I tried to sort out troubles.  Thankfully, the kids played so nicely and didn't even notice my absence as I watched them through my office windows.

The kids had cleaned out the art cabinets and re-organized them earlier in the morning.  They raided them again for containers that would double as bug habitats.  Owen filled his with grass and twigs.

The grass, twigs and bug habitat were fascinating.  He couldn't pull his gaze away from them when walking to me or answering my questions.  Can you see Chloe decked out in her Mardi Gras beads that Todd brought back from his trip to New Orleans earlier in the week?

Dylan stayed close to the kids and was very curious about what they were getting into.

I love the pink in these flowers.  They don't bloom for very long, but I'm glad I caught them this year.

Owen thought he found a little caterpillar, but I'm fairly certain this was a little millipede.  Blech!

This was the last morning Cliff was under the hose box.  We tried to pick him up and hold him, but he wriggled out of our holds and escaped across the backyard quicker than we have seen any frog hop.

Next is a lesson in manual camera settings.  I didn't change them from the previous backyard pics.  Pretty dark, huh?  Although this is about as dark as it appeared to us looking into the shade from the cypress trees where Cliff was hiding after his hopping sprinting escape.

Then I increased my ISO setting and.....Voila!  The camera caught him sitting quietly out of our reach.  This was the last morning we saw Cliff in our backyard.  :(

Bike Day for Chloe

Today was Bike Day at pre-Kindergarten.  Look close and you will see our Beanarina.

Look at that big smile when she first spotted us!

She stayed on the bike course in their big circle through the drop off lanes, but pedaled to us as fast as she could!

We were picking her up to go to the elementary school for a scheduled tour.  Chloe couldn't wait to put her bike away and go on the tour of the school (even though she had just gone on a field trip to the elementary school with her class a week ago).

She was moving quickly ahead of us because she couldn't wait to go on the tour!

But she stopped and waited before crossing the street.  She wanted to be safe.  And waited patiently and gave genuine smiles for the camera before we crossed.  When did my baby get so big?  She's almost a Kindergartner!

But when we got inside, we found out we were two hours late.  I goofed.  I had written it down correctly on the calendar at home.  I just didn't remember it correctly or double check that morning.  Sigh.  Chloe was disappointed that she didn't get to tour the school again, but agreed it was nice to get to go on a mini-field trip with Mom and Dad in the middle of the school day.  And she got to jump right back into the middle of Bike Day at school.  She was pedaling fast on her bike when we drove off to go back to work.

Critters

The pest control guy came by this afternoon.  Before he could come into the backyard, I had to clear out a big pile of branches I had cut off the willow and butterfly bush earlier in the week before our gate could swing open.  When I removed all the branches, I noticed this guy.

While the backyard was being sprayed, I stayed inside to make sure no one tried to escape.  Henry was too tired to move from his spot on the sofa.

Maggie followed me around like a lost soul, but she refused to make eye contact with me or my camera.

Dylan pretended to sleep.  He would open his eyes and quickly shut them again after seeing I was watching him.

Look at how bumpy his skin is!  And the bright golden orange specks in his eyes!  I think some beads may be inspired by this bright coloring in his eyes.

After the kids got home from school and saw this frog, they wanted to name him.  Chloe first suggested we name the frog --> Dora.  Owen yelled NOOOOOOOOOOO and thought for awhile, before offering up Cliff. 

Cliff the Frog is bigger than my two fists combined.  I tried picking him up with one hand while taking pics with the other, but he was too big and wiggly to hold onto.  Subsequent two handed attempts were not any more successful.  Cliff ended up hopping across the backyard in his escape and hid under our cypress trees.  By morning, he was gone.

More Soccer

Have I told you that this boy loves soccer?  Owen throws himself into this sport, heart and soul.  Look at that high kick!

He doesn't care who is in the way, he is going to get to that ball and get it away from his team's goal.

Owen is there to help out his team mates and elbow away the opposing team.

Much of the time he is ahead of his team because he's just so quick.

That left foot works just as well as the right!

Anyone see any other blue shirts around to help this boy out?

Kinda looks like he is leading the pack again, doesn't it? 

Owen has the ball in control.  Ahead of Jake.  Jake is an awesome soccer player who has been playing for a few years.  He's the kid to beat.  The one to stop.  Owen shut Jake down during this game.  Normally Jake scores goal after goal after goal.  

Jake didn't score a single goal during this game.....Owen was on defense and his only mission was to stop Jake from scoring.  

Well done, Owen.  

Well done.