Soccer

Tanner has been a little reluctant to play organized sports- even though he loves to play football and basketball and hockey and soccer and lacrosse and anything else that involves a ball- he has seemed a little timid about doing any Y sports. But several months ago he expressed an interest in doing their soccer intro class so we signed him up.

He has asked us multiple times each week for the last several months WHEN he will get to do soccer. Finally the week arrived. All week long this was ALL he could talk about: Will there be snack break? Will it be a real game? Will they practice? Will they have a coach? Will he get a t-shirt to wear? He told me yesterday on the way home from school that he wanted to be sure to wear good pants- ones that don't fall down- when we went to soccer today. And good unders, too, he said. He got his soccer ball out and practiced dribbling and shooting down the hallway last night. He talked incessantly about his soccer clothes: cleats and shin guards.

So, imagine our surprise when he burst into tears upon arrival at the field, ran into my arms and declared that he didn't want to play soccer! Poor guy was terrified. I don't know what he was expecting vs. what he saw there. I mean, he knows what a sporting event is like- lots of people, loud, etc... I coaxed him into going on the field with me so we participated in the

stretching and running together (luckily I wasn't the only parent there with a timid kid). But

once again, as soon as the drills started he burst into tears, ran off the field and said he wanted to go home. Brian and I were perplexed. The coaches were so nice, the other kids were having so much fun. What the heck was going on??? After a little break (and pep talk) we tried it again. I went with him to each of the drill stations and as we moved through them he eventually let go of my hand and I think I may have even seen a slight smile or two at one point. He says he wants to go back next week. Hopefully we can wean him from my joint participation and he can shine out on the field on his own!

Papa Comes to Boise

It had been almost a year since Dad had seen the kids so he was amazed not only at how big they each had gotten but also by how much Faith had grown to love him in his absence. She was thrilled to see him and warmed right up to him- quite the opposite of how she was last year!

The boys, of course, couldn't wait to get out on the court with him. Papa stepped off the airplane with a big box full of tennis balls so over the next few days they each got to have "alone time" at the school courts with him. The weather was (finally!) beautiful so we enjoyed the yard, did some gardening and went on a long bike ride along the Boise River on Sunday. In years past we had the little ones in a trailer and Jake on a "ride along" thing behind Brian's bike. This year Jake was old enough to ride on his own bike. We rode for almost 6 miles, stopped at the park to play, then stopped for an early dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, and rode the 6 miles home again. I wasn't sure going into it if Jake would be able to ride that far but he did great and was really proud of himself.

The kids and I loved seeing Dad and spending some time together. A year is too long to go between visits but everyone knows how time just gets away. I am sure Papa was worn out by the time he left on Wednesday- I know he is awed by the chaos that is our life- and leaves grateful that his child rearing days are in the past. But he was so patient with them- even though Jake was a bear for part of the visit and everyone (including me) had their "overtired" moments! Get some rest, Dad- you deserve it!

Opening Day 2010

It was another year of divide and conquer for Opening Day. Faith was exhausted and needed to nap, but Tanner really wanted go to Opening Day with me and Jake. So the boys headed off to the field and the girls stayed home to nap.

It was a good time again this year, my first not being the coach, which was cool. Tanner and I go tot hang back and take pictures, talk to other parents and just enjoy the day. This is his 1st year of pitching machine and it's a mix of both 1st and 2nd graders on the team, so some of the bigger kids dominated the events. Jake did throw 5th hardest which surprised me.

We've had three practices so far and Jake is doing farily well hitting off the machine. He's also gotten to play catcher in practice which he liked (the only requirement for catcher is that you're wearing a cup). That was pretty cool for me as that's one of the postions that I played in my brief little league career, so it was a kick seeing him with all of the gear on.

It's still a little overcast and cold here, but the season kicks of next week. We play two games a week, so we'll see how much stamina Jake has as we go thru the season, but for now anyway..... PLAY BALL!

Flower Girl

For the record, daycare providers are, in my book, heroes. Let me say how incredibly lucky we are to have the kids in a daycare where they are so loved and appreciated. Wendy and Travis take care of Faith and Tanner like they are their own children. We feel like it is their second family. We realized that Wendy and Travis felt the same way when they asked us if Faith could be their Flower Girl in their wedding.

Wendy involved both the kids in all the wedding planning details- Tanner even went to the mall with Wendy to help her pick out shoes and he was the one that picked out the bracelet that she wore during the ceremony. Faith had many chances to practice what she called her "flowergirling" in the weeks leading up to the wedding wherein Tanner stood in for Thomas (Wendy's third grader who escorted Faith in the real wedding) and held Faith's arm while she held the flower basket and practiced dropping the petals while she walked through the livingroom. She had a beautiful dress and shoes, got to attend the rehearsal, and even got a "wedding party" present (a lavender silky purse that she slept with the first few nights after she received it).

Even though she never expressesd any concern or worry I have to say that I was a little worried that when push came to shove and she found herself in the back of a crowded wedding hall with mom and dad nowhere in sight and strangers lining the aisle on either side of her, she would panic or cry or refuse to walk or whatever. But, nope. She was a pro. She took her job very seriously and portioned out the flowers, dropping them very carefully as she walked. I don't think she was the least bit scared or nervous. She was so well behaved for the TWO HOURS of pictures we had to take before the wedding, too. We were so proud of her. We had so many comments from wedding guests on how composed she was and Trav said how happy he was to see her walking down the aisle and smiling at him.

The boys got all dressed up to attend the wedding (their first) and looked so handsome in their suits/vests/dress pants. I am fairly certain this is the only time in history we have all been dressed up at the same time. Quite a departure from our average day of sweats, baseball/football/hockey/basketball jersies, jeans, and baseball caps!

We left fairly early and Jake was disappointed we didn't get to stay for the "disco" (his words, not what was actually on the agenda I don't think....) but on the way home I overheard this conversation:

Jake: Tanner, did you like the kissing part?

Tanner: (with a sly grin on his face) Yeaaaaaaah!

Jake: Me too!

Tanner: Who are you going to marry when you grow up?

Jake: I don't know yet Tanner. Who are you going to marry?

Tanner: I'm not sure. Maybe Mom or Faith.

Faith: (piping up from the seat ahead): No, Tana, I am going to marry Mom!

Easter Craziness

We had our annual neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday afternoon. It almost didn't happen for Tanner and Faith because just as the egg hunt began with seemingly hundreds of toddlers under 5 racing onto the Green, who should appear but the all-feared Easter Bunny himself. He wasn't more than 3 feet away and Faith wouldn't go anywhere near the eggs until we moved her to a safer distance. She screamed in panic. Tanner, too, was backing away fearfully. Luckily Mom and I scooted them down the sidewalk a ways so they, too, could pick up their 12 allotted eggs filled with candy. Tanner was so worried about getting only 12 that after he had quite a few (but no

more than 8 or so) he dumped them out so that other kids could get some. By the time I realized what he done most of the eggs were picked up, so he only ended up with 5.

Bless his sweet heart, though, he couldn't have cared less. He even offered Jake one of his eggs when Jake tried to finagle a little more candy for himself. I think Faith's favorite part of the day was getting to wear her new ballerina dress

and aptly named "fluffy pants" to the hunt. A friend of my mom's had sent it to her and she got it that

morning. It didn't come off until bedtime and she slept in the fluffy pants and wore them to Easter Breakfast the next day.

Speaking of the next day..... due to the fear surrounding the large bunny, Faith and Tanner told us repeatedly at bedtime, in no uncertain terms, that they DID NOT WANT THE EASTER

BUNNY INSIDE OUR HOUSE. We tried to convince them that he (she?) would stay downstairs only, but no, that was not safe enough. Brian ended up promising a tearful Faith that we would meet the Easter Bunny at the door and he would tell us where to hide all of the eggs/baskets. Hence the convoluted Easter Egg Treasure Map tradition was born. We drew a map of the downstairs and marked egg locations with an X. (We only hide 5 eggs each and each egg has a clue in it to where their easter baskets will be found). The next morning the kids had a letter from the Easter Bunny and the egg map. They found all the eggs, put the clues together, and found their easter baskets in the Mini in the garage. Thanks to the grandmas and Auntie Sue, they were stuffed full with everything from coloring books/crayons to mini (fake) hamsters that run around in their habitat (sold separately but also included in the basket!).

It was a fun morning, followed by a yummy breakfast out, then we began the next part of our marathon weekend: Miss Wendy's Wedding (see separate

post for details!).

Boise Rock School

With both of us working full time, school closures become the source of major panic and stress..... what to do with the children. Marisa has become an expert at handling this, parsing them out to camps, playdates, daycare, movies etc. But it's always a chore to fill the time. Jake is scheduled for about 6 camps this summer break, all of them sports related, except one.

Marisa found this camp kind of loosely based on the movie "School of Rock". Kids with no experience come in for week sessions and the instructors give them crash courses in music so by the end of the week, the kids give a mini-concert for the parents. It goes for a hour and a half a day, and Jake went over spring break after swimming lessons and before baseball practice (which was cancelled by a snowstorm).

The more often the kids go the more experienced they get, and thus the better the final result. Jake had never been before and had never played an instrument, so his final product is a bit rough as far as musical virtuosity goes, but he did great and had a really good time. He ended up being the singer in his band, "The Rocking Rockets" and sang "T.N.T." by AC/DC and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day in the final show. He also played guitar on their band's original, "Adventures of the Astronaut".

The concert was great, we were both so proud of him for standing up and singing in front of everyone. It was great to see how into it he was. He has already asked if he could go back for the summer, when I explained that he was going back for another week, he was disappointed, because he wanted to go for the entire summer. I think guitar lessons may be coming form the Easter Bunny tomorrow.