Soccer Rocks!

...at least according to the girls! This is the first year they have played and they are both loving it! We finally found a sport that Lily likes (unlike softball...she only liked batting and picking flowers in the outfield). She has her dad's competitive spirit and there is nothing she likes better than pushing and bumping and kicking to get that ball away from the other girls! Her first game she scored 5 of the six goals...she has not learned the concept of passing yet (or if she has she chooses not to use it) so everytime she gets the ball she runs it down the entire field to score! Ellie is also enjoying it...although she seems to have more of my personality - she plays against lots of her friends from school and doesn't want to "take" the ball from her friends. I think she enjoys the social aspect of it more at this stage. Of course the part that Jamie and I love is the cold rainy EARLY mornings that we drag the whole family out of bed to stand and watch. And there is no bundling up with a hot coffee, blanket, and umbrella in that nice soft fold up chair that all the other parents have...oh no we have to chase around Jalen who thinks he can be part of the game too and runs onto the field every chance he gets or steals the balls from the boys playing next to us...or finds some big hill that he could roll down right into the busy parking lot. The joys of parenting! Go girls go!!

Everyday is Saturday!

Papa Bill celebrated his 86th birthday on September 11th...yet for him it wasn't too different than any other day...our favorite of his sayings is "everyday is Saturday"! We have been so blessed to have such a wonderful grandpa and for my kids "great" grandpa in our life! He has the most positive upbeat attitude and when you are around him you can't help but to have a good day! We love everything from shoe shopping (yes he braves it and takes all 5 of his great grandkids!) and of course Lacey and I still get shoes as well...it's a tradition that started when we were two so there's no stopping it now...to family breakfast on Sunday's at Cooperstown. We all got together for dinner to celebrate his birthday and managed to get everyone together for a picture...that doesn't happen often with the kids running in every different direction! We look forward to another good year and many more "saturday's"!

First day of school

The school year is officially underway...right at the perfect time...when you think you can't take another day! Whoever called it the "lazy days of summer" obviously does not have three kids! This was a big year for the girls since they were starting a new school. We went to the preview day at Stafford the week before school started and Ellie was pumped but Lily not so much. We got in the car afterwards and she said she would go back on Tuesday but only to get all the school supplies she left there because she was NOT going to that school. Of course we explained that is not her decision to make and YES she was going there and she would love it! So with a bit of coaxing on the first day she walked into that room like a big girl and came leaping off the school bus that afternoon happy as could be...she did in fact LOVE it! Her teachers name is Miss Addie which she thinks is pretty cool since that is her cousins name and she has made some good friends who also play on her soccer team. Ellie already knew 3 girls in her class from playing softball with them so she felt comfortable right away. The morning are not easy...they have to be at school at 7:40 so the alarm goes off at 6:15 and every morning it is a fight to get them out of bed...but hey I guess it's payback because I remember doing the exact same thing to my mom! I can only hope that the rest of the year goes as well as the first couple of weeks...we are off the a great start!