I'm a Soccer Mom

It was inevitable, really. But now it's official. Andrew started soccer this week. Today was supposed to be his first game, but apparently they don't play soccer when there's a hurricane outside. Wimps.

Here he is in all his gear, ready to go. Ever since we bought all the equipment he's been so excited to finally be able to put it all on and play. (And if you look closely you can see my new blue walls in the background. What d'ya think?)


He was actually pretty good at dribbling.


But not so good at listening to and following the coach. Where did everybody go?


And now he's kicking the other kids while they're down. Hey, if you fall down in front of the ball then you're fair game, right?


Andrew's friend from Sunbeams, Carter, is on the same team. They are also in the same preschool class this year. I'm a little worried that with all this familiarity Andrew's going to feel a little too comfortable at school this year, and start acting like he does at home. And that isn't good for anyone.


Willa had to play soccer too, and kept trying to take her ball out on the field with Andrew. You can see from how drenched she is that she was working hard.


All in all he had a good start, and only asked me once during practice if he could leave and go play at the playground.

You should see the other guy

It doesn't look too bad now, but you should have seen him when it happened. He was out playing with the neighborhood kids when the neighbor mom sent him home. He comes running in the door yelling, "It's not that bad! I don't need to come in! I'm fine!" Meanwhile, blood was literally dripping down his face. Casey just laughed and got the camera.

The Last Home Game

Summer really is coming to an end. Casey and Andrew headed to the Potomac Nationals' last home game, despite the cold and rain. I learned my lesson with Miss Cry-a-lot -- I mean, lovely Willa -- and stayed toasty warm and dry at home.


Check out this kid. This is his new thing, sticking out his tongue. Of course, I might do the same if my jeans were soaked through and I was stuck on metal bleachers.


One good thing about being the only die-hard fans in attendance: Andrew finally got a T-shirt.

Tagged...

My friend Emily tagged me like a million years ago, but I was on vacation and not posting at all, so now I'm answering. I've never done this before, but here goes...

Three JOYS
1. Casey
2. Andrew
3. Willa

Is that cheating? Okay, I'll do it for real.

1. My family (duh).
2. Cold coke zero when I'm really hot and thirsty.
3. The quiet of sleeping children. Sometimes I have a hard time going to bed myself when I have all those peaceful hours in front of me.

Three FEARS
1. Any harm coming to a member of my family.
2. Andrew's health will be threatened again and he'll need more surgery.
3. My children will know sorrow and disappointment, and there will be nothing I can do to prevent it.

Current Obsessions
1. Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (I just discovered this blog and stayed up all night reading her story. I'm completely hooked.)
2. HGTV. I'm in the (SLOW) process of painting and decorating my main floor.
3. The IKEA catalog. Maybe it's because I was out of town for a month, but I'm feeling like nothing in my house or my life is in its place, and I NEED it (whatever "it" is) to be in its place. My husband is probably getting sick of hearing about the different shelving systems I want to install.

Three FACTS
1. Very shortly I will have lived in Virginia longer than anywhere else in my life. I guess that means I'm from Virginia. Which is weird.
2. I hate flying. I wish people would control their children on airplanes. Wait, those are MY hellions making all the noise...?
3. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Specifically eggs benedict.

I'll give my sisters a break and won't tag them...

Do you believe in miracles?

Okay, no, we didn't beat the Russians to get a gold medal at the Olympics, but something even more amazing occurred. Andrew, who is terrified of food (at least certain foods) and literally shakes at the thought of having to eat chicken, ACTUALLY ATE CHICKEN, and here is the photographic evidence to prove it. Apparently all I have to do is starve him for hours on an airplane, then bring him to a house that has been vacant for a month and has no food in it but frozen dino nuggets, and tell him that we can't go to the store for more food until the morning. Or something. (Those of you who witnessed him completely freak out at the thought of having to eat tri tip will appreciate this.)

The Last Hurrah

We got one last afternoon with the cousins before we flew back to Virginia. Where better to spend it than at Chuck E. Cheese?



Check out the concentration on this face.


Much thanks to Uncle Jeremy for squeezing into the play area with the little kids!

Lake Powell

We spent a week with my parents on their houseboat at Lake Powell. This is our first trip since Andrew was a tiny baby, and we had a fantastic time. Andrew had no fear of this huge lake. Riding on the tube and wave runners, swimming in the middle of narrow canyons, going down the houseboat slide -- you name it, he was up for it.







Willa was more cautious, as always. Her most animated times were spent playing with Andrew in bed at all hours of the night (I'll never forget going in their room at 4:30 in the morning and seeing Andrew snoring away while Willa was bouncing around on all fours and tickling him -- which she had been doing since midnight...) and playing with the barn Grandma brought. Every night she had to tuck each of the animals into bed and wake them up the next morning.


She wanted nothing to do with the water on our sandy beach ("It's dirty!"), but we did manage to get her out into the deeper water behind the houseboat. There was just enough water at the bottom of the floatie to make her feel like she was swimming. She would sit like Cleopatra on her "boat" and point to where she wanted you to swim her to.



What a stud.


This was our camp site. Check out that view, would you? It was so amazing to wake up every morning to the sun rising over these huge cliffs.