Goodbye Spring Soccer!

Well, we survived Spring Soccer! This was only our 2nd year to play in the spring, because the 1st time we did it a few years back, the weather was AWFUL! This year actually wasn't too bad. There were some COLD, WET, WINDY games, but actually there didn't seem to be as many of them as before. I didn't really take as many pictures this last season, but wanted to share some of my faves from the few I did take.

This was Cady's 2nd season on the U6 Red Rangers team. No goals this season, but she did dribble the ball down part of the field a few times. She still just follows the other kids and doesn't pay real close attentiont to the ball, but she will get there! She will still be on the U6 team for one more year, which we are glad of. She needs to get a lot more aggressive before moving up to the next group!!

Here is Cady's team knocking on their shin guards to let the ref know they had them on and were ready to play! It has been a great team and they all get along really well! Unfortunately, half the team is moving up to U8 (Kynze, Cameron, Taylor and Brevin) and then another of her teammates, Max, is moving away. That just leaves Carly, Kaci and Cady, but then Jackson will be old enough to play with them next year, as well as Ryan (Cameron and Taylor's little sis). Cady's friend from preschool, Mackenzie, has expressed interest in playing too, so we will have to see what the Fall season brings!

Colton's team really improved a lot this year and it was exciting to see them passing, assisting, using their heads and stuff that the bigger teams do. They will be moving up to U10 next year which will be quite an adjustment! New, bigger fields, more players at one time, playing positions - scary and exciting all at once!

This picture was taken the first game of the season as they were warming up. With Colton are Aiden & Travis:
Here they are again, plus Taylor and Mckaela: Colin was once again head coach of the U8 team and assistant coach of the U6 team and as usual, really enjoyed coaching. He has been coaching this team since the beginning when he was co-coach with a friend of ours. Mckaela, Colton and Jagger were all 4 then, can you believe it? I am so glad they are still playing together. Taylor joined them when they were 6 and Tyler, Travis and Aiden joined last year.

Here are some pictures of my honey in action as head coach and assistant coach:

Our close friend, Michael, helped Colin as assistant coach of the U8 team and head coach of the U6'ers.I love these pics taken during a mid-season U6 game:That is Carly, Kaci and Cady piled on his lap and Brevin on the ground beside him:

Getting a family picture of the 4 of us on the soccer field at the last game has become somewhat of a family tradition (Thanks, Yvonne):
The U8 game had a weeknight game last Thursday, their 2nd to the last one this season. Since the kids and I were having to leave right after the final games on Saturday to head to Cedar Crest, I invited all the team and their parents to join us at Dion's for dinner. It was the coldest game we had ever played and I think some families decided to just go home and thaw out there, but the Hamricks, Giffings and Tyler and Cecilia joined us and we had a great time! The kids all sat in a booth by themselves and we were laughing at them because they discovered that they had accidentally sat themselves in chronological order, starting with Jack who is the youngest on the left and ending with Tyler who is the oldest!Finally, on Sunday, we officially ended the season with a soccer party for both teams held at Unidad Park (or as my kids like to call it, "The Huge Park")! The weather was perfect, it wasn't too crowded - everything was just right!

Here are Cameron, Cady, Mckaela, Taylor and Colton ready for the trophy presentation:

Across from them sat Jagger, Tyler, Max, Mckynze, Carly and Kaci who were also waiting patiently:
The kids were very proud of their trophies! This makes 6 for Colin and 2 for Cady.
They were cute trophies, too, with a "soccer ball man" on the top with bendable arms that even spins! Thanks so much to our good friends, Jeff and Joy Giffing of Las Cruces Trophy for donating them. They were a huge hit with the kids!

The Three Muskateers and BFFS, Tyler, Colton and Travis:

Jagger and Jackson enjoying their Red Ranger cupcakes:
Another great soccer season done and gone. We are so blessed to have not one, but two teams full of people we know and consider our friends! Not too many people can say that!! Already looking forward to the Fall '10 season!

Happy Birthday, Trevor!

A 7-hour round-trip in one day for a birthday party may seem crazy, but when it is the birthday party for one of your kids' cousins who actually lives the closest, it was definitely worth it! My brother's oldest, Trevor, turned 4 yesterday but his party was held at their house in Cedar Crest, NM (the beautiful mountains east of ABQ). Colton and Cady only have 5 cousins, and unfortunately 3 of them live in Washington State and we don't get to celebrate birthdays with them in person. We do our best to celebrate with Jaycelyn and Trevor, though, when we can. We left immediately following the kids' last soccer games. Gramma Mary rode with us and Colin decided to take advantage of us being gone and unable to distract him, and stayed home to paint and work on the house some more. We made great time (1st time to ever make the trip with the kids and not have to make a bathroom stop-yay!!) and arrived at their house about 20 minutes 'til 3. The party didn't start until 4 so it was nice to have a little extra time before everyone arrived. Trevor was excited to see his Gramma Mary!

Jeff had done a lot of work to the play area and the kids were so excited! A neighbor had given him a play structure with a slide and swing and ladders that his daughters had outgrown and Jeff repainted it and then dug out part of the hill and put a trampoline there. He then built a neat deck and had the slide coming out right on the trampoline! Add that to the other play structure they already had, the cool airplane teeter totter Trevor got for his birthday last year, and a sandbox and it is a really fun setup! The beautiful forest surrounding it helps too! :-)

Colton was the oldest kiddo there and he is used to it. He loves helping out the little ones and watching over them. He is just naturally gentle and loving. I even received compliments from some of Jeff's and Tammi's friends about how good he was with the younger kids and I was proud! He looked over all of the kids (I think there were about 7 of them 4 and younger) but his favorite is still his cousin, Jayce who just turned 2 at the end of February:Here are a few more pictures taken while the kids played outside:
Aunt Tammi planned a great party and after playing on the trampoline and stuff for a while, it was time to paint some wooden cars. She found some cute craft aprons for all the kids and personalized each one. They were great!

Jeff cooked some great burgers and hotdogs and we all had a nice lunch:

Then it was time for cake!A cool Lightning McQueen pinata followed and they took turns pulling the strings out of the bottom to see which one would send the candy pouring out:

It finally did on the 2nd to the last string, but Uncle Jeff made sure it fell right on Colton and Cady thought that was pretty funny!
Trevor then opened the presents from us and Nana before we had to take off. We had given him the GeoTrax train set that Colton grew out of and Tammi had told me how much Trevor enjoyed playing with it. So, when I found GeoTrax add-on sets at Kohl's a while back, I knew they would be the perfect gift. I was right! He was so excited and was already shouting "GeoTrax" before he even got them out of the box!

We promised Colin we would be on the road, headed back to Cruces by 7 and we were 10 minutes late, which I didn't think was too bad. It was a long trip and a short visit, but we are so thankful we went! The kids had a great time and I know it meant a lot to Trevor and Jeff and Tammi.

The best thing, though, is we get to see them again this weekend as they join us for a 3D Archery Shoot in Radium Springs! Be watching for pictures...

Baseball is Back!

We are still finishing up Spring Soccer but baseball doesn't wait for anything! It is time again for machine-pitch baseball with the Las Cruces Christian Baseball League. Colin is once again head coach and it is pretty much a brand new team. Besides Colton, there are only 3 other returning players from last year. Some of them were too old and had to move up a level and the other ones were too busy with other things or decided baseball wasn't for them. To be honest, I have been very sad because none of our closest friends are coming back this season, and I am going to miss them at the games! At least we will see them all in other places! Colton really seems to enjoy playing though, and Colin loves to coach, so here we go for another year! Games don't begin until May (and only go through June) but practice began last week. I have mentioned before that Colton is pretty good and catching and throwing, but struggled with batting last season. Well, something must be clicking this year because all I have heard about since his first practice is how well he is hitting now. At his urging, Cady and I went to practice last night. He really wanted us to watch him bat! Here he is playing shortstop:

Helping his Daddy with pitcher:
Then it was finally his turn to bat:
I was so excited to witness him hit on the very first pitch! It was a nice grounder that eluded the shortstop and the outfielder and that little stinker wound up getting a homerun - his first ever (in practice or a game)!

I love the determination in his face and that ever-present tongue sticking out!
After seeing several of his friends and teammates get homers (most of them are in-field homeruns at this age) both last year and in t-ball, he has wanted a homerun sooo bad he could taste it! I was so excited for and proud of him and couldn't help but chuckle as I snapped pictures of him after touching homeplate. I could tell he was trying so hard not to smile and "stay cool"! You can see it in his face, though, how proud he was:Needless to say, I am much more excited about baseball now and can't wait for his first game! Let's Go Mariners!!!

Oh, and Cady and I had to leave after that, so I could get dinner in the oven (eating at 9PM didn't sound very fun to me) and we missed the last 20 minutes of practice. When the boys arrived at home that evening, I was even more excited to learn that he got another good hit that resulted in another homerun after we left!! That's my boy!!

Before I end, below is a quick pic of Cady with her favorite umbrella. She was so excited to go to practice where she got to see her friend, Maddie whose brother, Kian, is a returning player.