Soccer Season Comes to an End

The kids had a wonderful season this fall. Last week was their last week of soccer practices and games. We had a really busy week with a make-up game, practices, Saturday morning games, and two trophy ceremonies.

Braden had a make-up game on Wednesday night. Apparently, all season long he has been begging his coach to let him play goalie. So on Wednesday he finally got his wish. I was on pins and needles watching him, because he has never played that position in a game before. He does really well when he is busy running after the ball in the forward positions, but it is a little harder to concentrate when the game is taking place at the other end of the field. I caught him daydreaming and even sitting in the grass a few times, but he also saved a couple of balls. He had a great time.

Lydia's practice on Thursday night was a scrimmage between her team, the Dragonflies, and the parents. She was so excited that I was playing with her. She kept running up to me and giving me high fives and thumbs up and saying, "Mommy, you're doing great!" After the scrimmage we went to McDonald's for Happy Meals and a trophy ceremony. She was so excited to get her very first soccer trophy.

They both had games on Saturday morning. During Braden's game, his coach from Spring soccer was the father of one of the players on the opposing team. He was standing near me, and when Braden got the ball and started dribbling it down the field at full speed, he said, "Wow! He's really improved!" I agreed. Braden is really in his element out on the field running as much as he wants.

After the games we headed to Peter Piper Pizza (it's a restaurant like Chuck E. Cheese) for the Broncos' party. The kids had a great time playing and eating pizza, and Braden was excited about his new trophy. Just last night I found a row of his trophies on his bedroom floor, matched up with their corresponding jersey.

This is a picture of Braden's countdown to Daddy coming home. Last week he asked me how many days we had left until Daddy returns. When I told him, he cut out that many pieces of paper and put them into a baggie attached to the fridge. Every day after school he glues one of the papers to the blue paper. The larger purple paper contains hash marks. Every day he puts a box around one of the hash marks. They are so excited to see their Daddy.

Braden was so proud of this schoolwork today. He wrote a short report on snakes and drew some pictures.

We have had quite a busy week! I don't know what it is, but we can't seem to all stay healthy. We are finally all over our bouts of Strep and bladder infections, but out of nowhere this week I came down with a case of Pink-eye. I am doing much better now, and we are finally all off of the antibiotics.

I am really enjoying volunteering in Braden's classroom. This week I helped with their reading lesson, and then helped two little girls catch up on some worksheets they had missed when they were out sick.

I was in charge of a dance at church this week for the youth. We called it a Hoe Down, and had bobbing for apples, donuts on a string, jack-o-lantern cookie decorating, and country dancing instruction provided by one of the Young Men. We had fall-themed decorations, made by my second counselor in the Young Women presidency and some of the girls, and yummy refreshments made by my first counselor and the girls in her class. We had a terrific turn-out, and I was so happy to see the kids enjoying themselves with their friends.

Saturday, one of my friends who sells scrapbooking supplies from Creative Memories had a special event called Croptoberfest at a nice old hotel in Coudcroft. It was an all-day event during which we worked on our scrapbooks. I hired one of the Young Women from church to babysit, and went and had so much fun scrapbooking with my friends.

We are really counting down to Morgan's return now. The chocolate kisses in the jars are really starting to dwindle. We have less than three weeks until we leave for MD, and the kids and I can hardly wait. Tonight Lydia crawled up on my lap and stuck her lip out. I asked her what was wrong, and she said, "I want my Daddy." Braden has been busy making cards and packages for Daddy. I know they miss him terribly, but I am so happy that I can finally tell them truthfully that they will see him soon.

These are Braden and Lydia's soccer pictures for this season. They turned out really cute. Yesterday's games were cancelled because of rain, so they only have one game left. Lydia will have her team party and trophy ceremony at McDonald's after practice on Thursday, and Braden will have his right after his game on Saturday at Peter Piper Pizza. We have really enjoyed this season, but I am also looking forward to our schedule slowing down after the season ends.

Happy Trails
Today is Columbus Day, and Braden has the day off, so I took the kids up to Cloudcroft, a small mountain town about thirty minutes from Alamogordo. It is always amazing to go up there and see how different the weather is a half hour away. Today in Alamogordo it was in the 60's and 70's, but we needed our heavy winter coats in Cloudcroft! After we had been hiking for about an hour, it actually started to hail. I had packed a lunch for us to eat after our hike, but we ended up eating it in our car while we were waiting for the sleet to stop. The drive down the mountain is very steep, so we waited for the weather to improve. As soon as the sleet stopped it started to snow, so I decided to leave before the weather got much worse. But despite having to eat our picnic in the car, we had a wonderful time. The kids love hiking and being outside, and we can't wait to be able to hike and camp again with Morgan when he returns.

We found rocks, leaves and butterflies, and hiked down to an old train tressle. There are so many hiking trails, campgrounds and fun outdoor activities here.

Soccer Mom Musings

I tell Braden every week that it doesn’t matter if his team wins or loses, all that matters is that they have fun. I was so proud at his game today to hear him repeating that to some of his teammates. But I have to admit, winning is fun too! Braden’s and Lydia’s teams both won their first games today.

Lydia was so cute on the field. Sometimes I catch her out there sucking her thumb or attempting to do cartwheels. Today, though, she really hustled up and down the field. Every time she passed me she would wave and yell, “I almost kicked the ball, Mommy!” She gets really close to the ball, but doesn’t usually work up the courage to actually hit it. Their team won 2-1.

I am so proud of Braden. When I think of the timid little boy who was nervous to get too near the ball last year, I am amazed at the progress he has made. His coach played him hard today. He played forward in the first quarter, goalie helper in the second, and mid-field in the third. He sat out during the fourth because he was exhausted. He is really turning into a very good player. It is such a joy to watch the expression on his face as he runs up and down the field with his team. It is a mixture of pure joy and determination. At one point today he was bumped into by an opponent and took a hard fall, but he got right back up and continued to play. His coaches were very impressed with his playing today, as was I. His team won 3-1.

I can see both of the kids really benefiting from playing team sports. They feel confident, needed, and part of something. They make good friendships, and understand the meaning of teamwork. Today we discussed that although they didn’t kick the ball through the goal, they helped make it possible for their teammates to do so. We are having a wonderful soccer season.