Sensational Soccer Season!

We are a little more than halfway through Henry's third year of soccer and it is finally getting to be fun!  The first year he played, he was only four.  He said he wanted to do it, so we signed him up.  He spent most practices jumping on his coach's back for a piggy back ride and most games running around the sidelines and complaining about having to get in the game.  He only played in the fall of that year because I didn't have the energy to try the Spring.

The next year was a little better, but he was still more interested in what was going on with Benjamin on the sidelines than he was in the game.  The fall of that year he had a great coach who made the game fun and he made good progress.  The spring of that year was a different story. The soccer club decided to make teeny tiny teams with 6 kids on them, so the kids could get more play time!  Ummm...what happens when two kids are regularly missing from games??  Crankiness, that's what!! We also had some real @$$hole parents on the team.  Like the time two of the dad's confronted Ken after a practice about this being a "critical year for skill development" for their five year olds!  Well, then why don't you coach the team!?!?

Anyway, as I said, we are over half way through with this season and we are all having a great time this year!  Henry enjoys going in to play.  He runs after the ball. He {mostly} understands spreading out and passing.  His coach this year is AWESOME!!  After one game, a kid asked if our team had won.  Coach reminded him that we weren't keeping score.  Then he asked, "Did you have a good time?"  When the kid responded affirmatively, then Coach said, "If you had a good time, then we won!"

It's fun to see the skill development coming naturally through practices and games.  Other than the not-so-great idea of tiny teams, this soccer club really seems to have player development at the core of what they do.  At the younger age, the guidelines focus on having fun and learning team work and ball control.  It's fun to see Ken out kicking the ball around with the kids and having a good time before and after games.  And Benjamin looks like he's got the soccer bug, so I guess I know what he'll be doing next year!

Soccer Time

Benjamin has been really in to sports lately.  Last night someone got out the kids' little velcro baseball mitts and he insisted on playing.  Henry hurt his foot running barefoot through the yard, so he quit playing catch with Benjamin and I was next in line to get a turn.  We played for a while and he's getting pretty good at throwing.  He caught a good number too.  Of course, I have to aim very carefully and the velcro in the mitt helps a lot. 
 
He has two little soccer balls that he insists on taking to Henry's games. Tuesday night he and Ken played soccer in the front yard for a while.  I love that the weather is nicer and we can hang out in the yard after school, work, and dinner.  I also love it when Ken gets the chance to be home in the evening and spend time with us.  Hopefully there's lots more of that in the future!

P.S. If you look carefully, you can see that Benjamin plays soccer in monkey slippers!

Soccer Swan Song (for this Season)

Henry had his last soccer game of the season on Saturday. It was COLD and windy, but I had a blanket and a portable heater named Benjamin, who mostly stayed on my lap and kept me warm.  Frances was miserable and asked to sit in the van, so I let her.
The difference between this season and the last season he played (Fall 2011) was huge!  Last year he regularly refused to go out on the field and he threw fits all the time. He said he liked soccer, but all her ever wanted to do was run around being silly and jump on his coach.  This year, there was much less coercion involved in getting him on the field.  He still acted silly, but for the most part he wanted to get out and play.
Ken helped out as the assistant coach this year, and I think he really had fun with it.  Henry had a bit of a hard time sharing his daddy, but he managed. I hope that Ken will be able to help out again next season.
My parents showed up for the last 10 minutes of the game and got the chance to see Henry in action.  Then after the game, most of us went out to Cici's for a celebratory lunch.  Ken headed out to go hunting with his dad. After lunch, my parents loaded up the kids in their van and took them to Radford.  The kids are out of school on Monday and Tuesday and they don't have Sunday school, so it was a perfect time for an extended trip to Grandma's and Grandpa's.
Plus that means I get the house to myself for the weekend...

Weekend Recap

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.  It was...our weekend!!

Friday night the "bigs" had a great program at their after-school center. Some quilting people came in and talked with the kids about quilting and making memories. Each kid then got to tell a story by making a quilt square with lots of different fabrics. Then they let the kids sew the pieces all together with a sewing machine.  Frances didn't get her turn yet, but they said they would be coming back for a few Fridays to let all the kids finish.  After the quilting, they served dinner-pizza for the kids and soup for the adults.  I picked a really spicy vegetable soup. After Henry ate his pizza, he wanted some soup too. He picked the same one I did! And he ate it!!
After dinner, we walked home and get ready for bed. I don't know about you and yours, but by Friday my kids are zombies! They are so busy during the week and even though they go to bed early, they are going, going, going from 7 am to 8 pm.

Saturday morning Henry had a soccer game.  He was worse this week than last week, but still better than last year. And I am not talking about his soccer-playing abilities! His behavior last year was awful! He never wanted to go out on the field and he only wanted to run around and jump on his coach. This year, he has calmed down a bit. He still acts a little crazy with Ken, who is assistant coaching, but Henry has always had a hard time sharing Mom or Dad with other kids. I am happy that he (mostly) goes out on the field and runs around.  Yesterday he even kicked the ball (technically, someone kicked the ball towards him and it bounced off his foot in the correct direction, but that's just splitting hairs!) He's got a great coach and a great team, so I am hoping he really enjoys this season!

After the game we went home and had lunch. We had plans to go to Oktoberfest that afternoon, so I told the kids they all needed to take a nap.  They did not nap, however, and we ended up staying home. That's one of my least favorite parts of parenting! Knowing what's best for your kids and having them not believe you. I knew that in order for us to have a good time at Oktoberfest that everyone would need to be well-rested. When the bigs don't sleep, they keep Benjamin awake and they keep Ken and me from getting a break. If we had gone, everyone would have been cranky and it just didn't seem worth it. Everyone was pretty upset about not being able to go. I just pray that they might have learned something from this.
Sunday I got to teach Henry's Sunday school class for the first time this year. I remember those kiddos from when they were 3 and now they are sitting in the big-kid chairs, writing their names and cutting paper with scissors!! I get such a kick out of watching these guys grow up!

And just for kicks, here's Benjamin singing the Turtle Song (with a slight bit of the ABC song mixed in):

Saturday Soccer Star

Henry had another soccer game Saturday.  He still acts like a cut up and falls down on purpose while running down the field (Thanks, Ryan!!) but we have managed to get him to go out onto the field and that is a huge accomplishment for us!!
It was also my week to bring snack, so I made the kids some spider web treats in honor of the upcoming holiday. They turned out pretty well, but they were kinds fragile and some of them broke before they could be served. Most of the kids didn't care because they could still eat the pieces. I plan on making them again this week for a snack.

My Soccer Star

Henry is playing soccer this Fall. His team is the Seattle Sounders. We had a rough start to the season as our first two practices got rained out and the team all met for the first time at their first game!  His coach, Coach Kevin is an awesome coach. He loves being out on the field and running around with the kids. they all have tons of fun. As a strange side note, Henry is the only boy on his team of 6. The other teams seem better mixed, although apparently there is a team that has all boys and one girl.  Hmmmmm.....

My parents came up for the weekend for Frances' birthday party and were able to take in a game while they were here. Frances was Henry's cheerleader and Benjamin toddled around trying to steal the ball!
It took Henry a little while to get warmed up to the idea of soccer. We finally ended up telling him that he couldn't have snack after the game unless he actually played.  Well food sure motivates my mid-kid!!

He got moving and ran after the ball good!

Go Sounders!!