Roly Poly and the latest Superheroes!

Saturday was such a nice family day. We had an early morning Soccer Game which was AWESOME, of course. Then we relaxed and laughed together. The kids took some funny pictures of everyone...then we hung out at this new shopping center near us. Got some frozen yogurt with yummy toppings, then walked to watch the fountain shows set to music. It was a beautiful day. We were together and I was happy to be with my family - all day!

Kyle is quite the "roly poly" these days. While he's rolled from his back to front for a while, he just figured out rolling the reverse direction as well. And he's discovered his feet; that always cracks me up! Back to Mr. Roly Poly...no more leaving him on the bed! This guy can move! Today when I'd leave him for just a few minutes, I'd return to find him on the opposite side of the room. It's cute because you can see in his eyes when I find him far away from where I left him, how much he enjoys this new independence! He's so happy to move around on his own! But now for the next year and a half, I have to worry about small choking hazards! Legos, bouncy balls, etc...Makes me nervous! Here's a common occurence...Kyle watching his big brothers. He loves to watch them!
My three sons.
Sean LOVES fruit. All kinds. He will try steal it from anyone's plate if his supply is gone. Watermelon is one of his favs. So the last few weeks of Soccer Games half-time snack has included watermelon. The challenge is to not allow Sean to eat all of the team's treats. Fortunately for Sean, there was plenty this week and since Ryan doesn't care for watermelon, he decided to give his share to his brother. Aww. how nice:) Sean was super grateful! My very own Super Hero's to the rescue!

If you have boys and they enjoy playing dress-up, and you have few options compared to girl siblings or friends, check out these costumes! Scott and his sister had a superman and wonderwoman type costumes like these when they were small. So when my boys saw dad's picture in one, they quickly asked grandma to find that fun superman costume! She found wonderwoman, but Superman was lost in the ages...so I borrowed the idea and came up with these! Really an easy costume to sew. They love them and it puts a big smile on my face! I made two of each so if they both want to be Batman or Superman or we have friends over, there's no issues to solve. (yes, Ryan's superman is a little high because I made the waistband too small...so I have to fix that up, but other than that they are set to go!) I love that with these, they want to be good guys...sometimes with swords, they want to try to be bad guys and I have a hard time with that. We'll have to see what I can talk them into for Halloween...Ryan is convinced he wants to be "Dark Vador" even though he's only seen a bit with his cousins...he really doesn't know anything about Star Wars...so we thought. Apparently he sorta does. The other night as he was trying to convince us that he knew what Star Wars was and had seen some of it, he began to describe Darth Mal. It was hilarous since we truly didn't think he knew what he was talking about...guess he does!

So does anyone think these costumes are sufficient for Halloween...even though they are sorta like bibs? I don't have the rest put together yet, but they would coordinate, be cute and good guys.

* I am a Soccer Mom *

Yes! The day has finally come. We've been excited for this part of our lives for a long time...and unlike some leagues, this is the first year Ryan is eligible to play in this area. Honestly, the first day of practice, Scott went a bit early to meet with his assistant coahes. So as I was driving and as I got into the turning lane at the practice location, I noticed there was a Suburban and then I was the 4th minivan in a row lined up to take my kid to soccer practice! I got a bit Verklempt (overcome with emotion)! Anyhow, it's really fun! Scott is the coach! He's so cute with the kids as he cheers and encourages each child individually. He's taught them super fun drills and practices are fun for all. In turn, the kids seem to really love him! It's so cute when they call him, "Coach Scott." Although we've been practicing for 3 weeks, we had our first game on Saturday.

GO COMETS! I was so proud of Ryan! He's had a lot of fun in practices, but I wasn't sure how an actual game was going to go - even though the last few scrimmages were definitly improving. Afterall, they are five year olds and just learned the game. He did AWESOME! The team did AWESOME! Coaches are also referees at this age level, so they are on the field with the kids all the time - really a great plan. He was able to remind the kids about their positions and cheer them along!
Attacking the ball - we were so proud he got in that pack of 5 year olds! Can you tell?
Half-time. He and a teammate fell after blocking a goal! Even though the game was only at 10 AM - it was still super hot. Despite the heat, Ryan totally tried so hard! I was so proud of him!
We can't wait for the next 9 games!
Scott and I could not stop talking about how fun the game was all day. Watching my own kid play in a game was one of the most fun things I've ever done! Being a soccer mom is GREAT!

End of summer festivities

Merrill Lynch hosted a company picnic at the Sacramento Zoo a few weeks ago. It was a great place for a company picnic. Nice shady area for visiting with co-workers and then we could go see the zoo with our families. Even though the Sac Zoo isn't the most amazing zoo and even though most the animals were sleeping, it was a fun day.

Our kids are easily wooed. There was corn dogs, Popsicles, juice, small plastic toy animals and the creme de la creme - animal masks! We frequent zoos fairly often and ever since they saw a picture of their cousins with zoo souvenir animal masks they ask for a mask every time. Hooray! They finally got their wish:)baby Zebra, Lion and Elephant. Have you ever seen a giant Anteater? They are really ugly. When we saw the nasty animal, I tell the kids my issue. So Ryan says, "Well, I think I like Anteaters, because they eat the ants and I don't like ants." Good reasoning Ryan. So right. Proud of you for not discriminating by appearances:) Baby Lion.
Previously mentioned...cute car exersaucer.
Last camping trip of the year. Our life has been sooo busy lately. So labor day weekend, we took the kids to Jenkinson Lake for one last camping trip. Our boys LOVE camping. Jenkinson lake is so clear and pretty. The main lake is super blue. And it's only about an hour from us! Our spot was up on the hill in the woods and it was beautiful - lakeside is awesome, but we didn't plan in advance.

Up a finger of the lake...nice skipping Scott!
This is up the finger of the lake again. The green from trees is reflected onto the water.
Mmmm. Camping breakfast is goo-ooood! Pancakes, eggs and bacon. Same stuff as at home, but it tastes maybe even better when camping.
Kyle camped out in the "pod." He was a good camper too - so easy going! The boys rented a canoe. They were in heaven.
They figured out that this was their first "boat ride."
It was a great day and those boys were beat. Sean even said so...then asked if I knew what "beat" meant and then taught me the meaning. They fell asleep on the way home before In-n-Out and when we stopped to wake them up for dinner, we couldn't even get a moan out of them. After finally waking them up, eating and getting back in the van, Sean announced his tiredness and asked if he could close his eyes again! Whoa!

What a great summer. Good times. Good memories.