Joey has wanted to play Soccer for as long as he can remember. When Jake played, Joey was too young. When Joey was finally old enough to play, AYSO raised the age bracket. Then when we started looking into soccer programs, we were so busy doing other things that soccer didn't happen. This year we finally decided to make soccer a priority and put Joey on a team. He LOVES it!
The plus side of learning to play soccer at 8 yrs old is that you are better at remembering which way to kick the ball, and lots of other kids know what they're doing so you can learn from them. We haven't won a game yet, but the kids play fairly well as a team, so you never know.
Dance:
I have 3 kids that love Ballroom Dance and One that loves Hip Hop!
Watching the kids perform is a lot of fun for me. They may not enjoy all of the same styles of dance that I did, but they do really well at what they are learning. Becca, Sara and Jake recently performed at Anamax Park. They had 60-90 seconds to demonstrate a style of dance. The kids performed Cha Cha, Samba, and Jive.
Joey takes class from my sister (His Aunt Cindy) who teaches 8 week sessions at the local clubhouse. His class performed, "Calling all the Monsters" for the parents last week as an end to the first session. Joey is having a blast and picks up choreography really well.
Joey's Birthday:
We started a tradition about 4 years ago, that I may one day regret. At one of the kid's book fairs I bought a cupcake book with lots of fun ideas. I decided to let the kids pick something they wanted me to do, and I would do it for their birthdays. The tradition continues, but the kid's requests are becoming more complicated. So far I have been able to keep up, but I have been forced to say no to a few requests that were beyond my abilities. This year Joey wanted me to make penguin cupcakes.
I think they turned out really cute. (Chad helped)
Joey couldn't wait to open his presents on his birthday. He decided that instead of having a birthday party, he wanted to get a motor scooter. He was super excited to wake up and see his new toy in the garage. There are three other little boys on the street that have the same scooter, so Joey is looking forward to joining his new buddies and scooting around the neighborhood.
Visiting with Old Friends:
On Saturday I had a surprise visit from one of my best friends in High School, Spencer Bramwell. I hadn't seen him since his wedding, 15 years ago and so it was truly an unexpected surprise. We met up for frozen yogurt after his daughter's soccer game on Saturday evening. I had to laugh when he showed up in a huge black van with flames painted down the sides of it. We may be getting older, but he's still the same Spencer.
We both have 5 kids and so between the two of us, I think the frozen yogurt store was happy when we finally ventured outside. Carlee had emptied an entire napkin dispenser, some of his kids were playing in the trash cans, and the boys were engaged in some serious mine craft conversations. We may have scared away the usual crowd, but it was fun getting reacquainted.
Getting Older:
I was looking at a few pictures I had taken of Carlee recently and started to realize just how big she was getting. Carlee is my baby and so I like to forget that she is getting older. She talks like crazy, is in a big girl bed, and the other day Rebecca asked her what kind of car she wanted to drive when she got older and she said, "A Hummer!" I didn't even know that she knew what a Hummer was.
I love this crazy ball of fire. She's spunky, cuddly, and an incredible blessing. At times I wish that she could stay small forever, but since I know that's impossible, I'm just going to do the best I can to enjoy every minute of my time with her, and each of my cute kiddos.
