Chloe's Soccer Game - Playing in the Dirt and Scoring a Goal!

This girl's mind was not on the soccer game today.  It was on the ground.  She was always looking down.

It was windy and her hair was constantly in her face.  But she didn't want anything to do with pony tails and wasn't bothered by her hair.

Owen sat on the other side of the soccer field with his friend Julia from his 1st grade class.  He watched Chloe's game and others while he and Julie discussed the state of the world and first grade.

See Chloe's attention is still on the ground?  Not even Captain America's legs held her focus.

Chloe occasionally joined her teammates to chase the soccer ball and at those moments, she was leading the pack in kicking the soccer ball towards the other goal.

This reminds me of a Haley Mills/Polyanna face when she was contemplating why Jimmy Bean liked to be dirty and climb trees.

During water breaks in Chloe's game, Owen was running from one end of the soccer field to the other.

Chloe skipped most of the opportunities for water and chose to play in the dirt instead.

Chloe was oblivious to the other kids around her as she pushed and scooped up the dirt with her hands.

The dirt captivated her attention better today than anything has in weeks.

Then she got comfy!

The game continued, but she didn't mind.  She gave no notice to the ball being kicked around her.  We yelled for her to get up and help her teammates, but there was no acknowledgment.

"Were you talking to me?  I thought I heard you say something...."

I think Chloe played in the dirt 80-90% of this game.  The game went on, in spite of her sitting down in the middle of the field.  The other kids didn't mind kicking around her and the coaches were amused, too.  We laughed so hard throughout this entire game.  My stomach hurt!

"Look at what I found!  A PEBBLE!"

Chloe noticed the ball being driven towards her (she was right in front of the goal) but continued sitting.

"Oh look, the blue team scored a goal."  :)

Anyone seen Chloe?

Another water break and Owen is back on the field with Julia and his soccer ball.

Um, Chloe?  What are you doing?  And why is your swim suit on under your soccer jersey?

Water break ended and this time Chloe was ready to play soccer.

She kicked that ball and wouldn't let anyone else near it!

She's getting it close to the goal...

Aaaaand she scores!

Then she and Gavin had to terrorize each other running away from their first and only goal.  Can you tell she is enjoying herself?

Chloe takes over with the ball again, kicking it back toward the other goal.  Amazing how well she plays when she actually plays!

"Gentle Chloe!  Put Gavin back down on the ground!"

Her favorite part.  Right hand out for slaps and repeated "Good game" to the opponents.  Where did she get that left hand on the hip?

First Spring Swim

The main pool with the big slide doesn't open until Memorial Day weekend, but the little pool at the front of the neighborhood opened up this weekend.  The kids were excited to go, in spite of my warnings that the water would likely be cold.

The water was a little chilly, but it didn't stop the Bean.

She is such a little fish!

Owen tried out the water, just to prove me wrong about the water being cold.  But then decided it was more fun to just stand on the steps and throw torpedoes at me.  See if you think his lips look a little blue?

Chloe swam with and without the innertube, but made sure she tested out all the toys and made the most of going to the pool.

Owen wasn't ready to go yet, but Chloe didn't want to go home.

Driving home, we talked about how thankful we were that they know how to swim and I didn't have to jump into the pool with my clothes on to save them.

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.  :(