Soccer Saturdays

During the summer, Audrey & Carter both attended a soccer camp sponsored by our church.  So come fall, both decided to try soccer.

Audrey had never played soccer before and was on a coed team with a number of kids who had been playing for years (and were really, I mean it, REALLY good).  At first I thought this could be a disaster for her confidence-wise, but her coaches (both women!) were amazingly encouraging and really helped her learn and improve.  She never scored a goal in a game, but in one of her last practices, she scored, and everyone went crazy! :)  I don't know if she will play soccer on a team again, but I was very proud of her hard work and her sticking through the season.  At her last practice, they played until it was dark, then put on headlamps and glow sticks and kept playing!

 

 These pictures aren't very close.  Audrey is in the middle with blue socks.

 Running....

 Catching her breath!

Carter also played on a coed team.  At his age group, the skills are considerably lower (haha) but he also learned a lot.  Although there were still a few times when he went to pick up the ball!  He really enjoyed playing goalie.  I think so he could watch the action and stick his head in the net....

 Stopping the ball!

 Posing for Mom. :)

 A little break in the action.

 Last game, receiving trophies from coach

Carter & his soccer trophy 

The season is now over and - no offense, kids - I am glad.  Juggling 2 kids' practices & games was tricky!  

But I am very proud of their hard work and all they learned.

It was a good experience for them all around.

Leaf pile fun

We don't have too many big trees in our yard, but our neighbors do! 

So I feel a little guilty, but while they were busy raking and blowing their leaves to the curb -- well, I was busy taking pictures of all the kids having fun in the leaves. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaf Pile Jumping

3 little monkeys jumping in the leaves!

Tricks and Treats

This was what happened last Saturday:

What kind of trick is this, Mother Nature?

A few inches of snow.  BEFORE HALLOWEEN.

AND we lost power.  Boo.

Let me tell you - I am glad I am not Amish, regardless of how many Christian fiction books I have read about the Amish.  The kids kept asking to watch TV and play computer games, and after a time even Chloe was asking to do things and then saying "No power?"  We passed the time by  playing games, carving our pumpkins, and doing puzzles.  In the evening, we escaped to a local pizza place and then crashed for an hour or so at a friends house ... then returned to an increasingly cold house.  Thank heavens for our fireplace!  Audrey, Chad & I slept down near the fireplace while Carter opted for his own bed (and we just had Chloe sleep in her crib).  By morning it was 57 degrees!  Our power was restored the next morning so we were all very glad to have heat again. Having snow in October was so freaky!  I am so glad it melted within a day or so!

So moving onto the treats....

Check out these 3 cuties.  Couldn't you just eat them with a spoon?

I had a busy Halloween day, running from parade to parade.  It was so much fun!

First up was Carter's preschool parade:

As you can see Spiderman was a popular costume amongst the 4 year old boys :)

Carter refused to wear the mask - he declared that it was "scary" 

Then later it was off to Audrey's parade.  The kids had to dress in costumes that reflected the theme "Go Wild for Books"... so as you can imagine, there were quite a few wild animals represented.

Audrey went with the "wild" bunny costume.  :)

I got to help with her class party....it really did feel like a room full of caged animals!

No really, it was a lot of fun.  I ran the game station ... witch's hat ring toss.

Of course later on was trick or treating.

 The whole gang of kids ready to go...

 Pretty, pretty princess :)

 Chloe with her friend Rebecca.  Chloe quickly got the hang of this trick-or-treating thing. :)

The kids and their loot.

Apparently I need to hide the loot.

The next  morning when I got out of the shower, I found this little peanut sneaking a lollipop from her pumpkin!!

Wordless Wednesday: Apple Pickin' Fun 2011

 

 

Trick or Treat!

I just cannot believe Halloween is already here and gone. This means that in the blink of an eye, it will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas.

This makes me very happy because I love both of those holidays! But sad because before you know it, they will both be over and the long winter will set in...

Well, let's not worry about that now. We had a very fun evening trick or treating with friends! The kids made out like bandits! Even Chloe got in on the action. It didn't take her long to figure out that ... smiling + looking cute = people handing you candy. :)

Before the "hard work" of trick or treating, the kids needed to power up with some dinner. So Audrey & I made these little mummy hot dogs. (It's just crescent roll dough strips wrapped around hot dogs with 2 dots of mustard for eyes.)

Next up: time for some photos.

My leopard, flower and spiderman

The kids with their neighborhood friends

And they're off!

2 hours later ...
The kids with their respective candy stashes.
It's ridiculous how much candy we have.
And this does not include the candy Chloe collected (although she quit long before they were done trick or treaating.)

A fun night for us all!
Happy Halloween everyone!