Soccer Season

Matt started premier league soccer this summer and we've just started into the games.  It's a bigger time commitment than the rec league--3 hours of practice a week plus technical training sessions.  All I can say is it's a good thing Matt loves it!  He's a hard worker on the field and is always ready early to go to practice or games!  

First tournament wasn't so great--we didn't make to the championship

First real season game--a big win for our team!

Matt likes to pretend he doesn't care whether I bring my camera or not, but he's always excited to see his pictures afterward!

Spring Soccer Season

The whole family went out to cheer Matthew in his first spring soccer game!

It was a beautiful spring day and it's fun watching all the boys.

This year is particularly challenging for Matt since the teams are made up of 5th and 6th graders.  He's playing with some big kids out there,

but Matthew held is own and is excited for the rest of the season!

Soccer Season

Matthew is our only soccer player this fall...

He's really got some skills,

and no one works harder than Matt on that field!

He probably runs 5 miles in the course of a game.

We're so proud of his dedication and his hard work

Ballet and Soccer

Afton had a great soccer season.

The Purple Panthers had a fun time.

Afton loved being goalie.

Plus, her dad was the coach...

She loved it!

We also had a parent preview of their dance recital.

Afton's jazz class is so cute and their moves are fun and energetic

Plus, aren't the costumes adorable?

Afton is a classic ballerina with lots of grace

I just think a class full of ballerinas is so sweet!

Afton is at a fun age where the choreography gets a little more difficult

and the girls get to do some beautiful steps.

It has been so wonderful to watch her progress each year!

The End of Soccer and 3rd Grade

The business of spring is drawing to a close

Matthew finished up his soccer season

 GPM--Golden Parasitic Mailmen

(can you tell a bunch of 9 and 10 year old boys came up with the name)

had a great season and Matt had a great time

This week his class had their final presentation

The "Pass the Torch" Ceremony

Matthew is in an awesome program where he is in a multi-age classroom

His class consisted of 3rd and 4th graders.

At Pass the Torch, the 4th graders pass the "torch of leadership"

to the incoming 4th graders who will mentor the 3rd graders next year.

They each read a favorite poem

The gave out class awards to each student.

Matthew received the "Most Outgoing" award

(Really?! He must be a different kid at school!)

Then he congratulated his 4th grade mentors as they moved up to 5th grade

And he received the "torch" from them

I can't believe he's going to be in 4th grade.

Only 2 years and then he's in middle school!

He's had a great school year and is so excited to read and learn this summer-

We have a summer reading bribe in place, so he's hoping to finish lots of books!

Soccer Season is Over!

Matt's season ended before Afton's--

(unfortunately, I don't have pictures of Matt's soccer game--I was on my own with 4 kids)

Afton's team had a family game to celebrate the team's season-

We finally had some nice weather for the event, so Matt & Paul played too!

Soccer Season Starts!

Spring Soccer has begun...

Afton's team decided to be the Red Hots!  

Notice that Matt's team is the same color?

They named themselves the Flames.

It was a cold start to the season, but the kids had a lot of fun!

Post-Edit--Paul informed me that Afton's team is really the red HEARTS!

Rainy Soccer Days

Matt as goalie

Afton running around the ball

Our soccer season has not been off to the greatest start. First, the kids aren't thrilled about their coach (they have the same one). As Afton put it, "We don't play games at practice. We just do drills." Second, the weather has been horrible. We have had cold, rain and/or wind every Saturday. Unfortunately, I have also turned into the most air-headed mom on the team. Afton missed her first game because I had written down 2:20 instead of 12:20. Matt only played 15 minutes in his last game because I was thinking it was at 2:00 even though all my calendars and planners had 1:00 listed. I'm only hoping I can pull it together for this Saturday--I'm in charge of juice and snacks for both games! But here are a couple of shots of our "shark" and "unicorn" that we've gotten since we're now more than halfway through the season!

Soccer Starts

The kids had their first practice of the season last night and while they were excited, there was also some disappointment. Paul asked Matt if they had a good team.
Matt: "No. I'm the best one by far."
Paul: "I thought some of the other boys looked pretty good."
Matt. "No. They're not. I'm the best one."
He's also mad that they didn't pick the name he wanted for his team. He wanted to be the blue jets. The boys were democratic and voted on the blue sharks.
Matt: "That's so dumb. Everyone knows sharks are dark blue and our shirts are light blue."
Afton was thrilled as punch with her team name--the green unicorns. That's right--what do you expect from a bunch of preschool girls who get to pick their own name? I'm sure Matt was disappointed with that too--he wanted her team to be the green machine.
I have to say, I like Matt's picks too.

Soccer Report

Matt did awesome--he's a great defender and had a great time playing with his team, the Golden Eagles! Afton enjoyed the snacks and drinks...she cheered from the sidelines but told us she would play next week. We'll see if her brave talk pans out this coming Saturday! (Isn't it funny that their numbers are 7-11! I love when random things like that happen!)

First Soccer Games on Saturday!

Wish us luck! The kids' first soccer games are tomorrow. Matt is very excited and ready. Afton is ready to bring treats--we'll see if she actually plays! They've both been practicing in the yard to get ready!

Soccer Weekend

Matt did an awesome job in his soccer game! He scored a goal and is great at stealing the ball from the other team. We also enjoyed very nice weather which makes going to a soccer game that much more enjoyable!