Last Soccer Game

We finished our soccer season about 3 weeks ago.  Andy was the coach and they all had a great time.  The season was a little disorganized with the Y, but the girls didn't seem to mind.  Makena was on our team as well.  The girls have played at least 4 seasons together.  Here he is giving out trophies to Makena. I didn't get one of our girls.

In tune with the theme of the season, we didn't have an opponent for the last game, so the parents played the girls.  Andy played with B a few times!

Andy was on the girls' team.  I think this is Carly and Makena.  I think Carly is on the right.  It is hard to tell with all the blond hair:)

You can see the girls really were playing soccer this time.  They were able to play positions and guard the goal.  It was really cool to watch the progression!

 Just as a little reminder, here is the first season that we coached, 3.5 years old.

Kindergarten Celebration

It is hard to believe but there are only 2 more days of Kindergarten left!  The girls' school had a wonderful Kindergarten celebration today.  I forgot I needed to change my posting method, so the story is in rewind again!  Oh, well!  Daddy moved patients so he could come, Grumpa took off the morning, and even Caga was able to come for the performance!

Here are the proud girls with Daddy

Mommy and her girls!

Carly with her teacher, Mrs. Timmons

Mrs. Seay

Joiner with her teachers Mrs Randleman and Mr Hicks

Joiner eating her snack at the reception in her room.

Carly eating her snack

Carly and Caga

The program was a wonderful group of songs.  Two children from each classroom were selected to memorize a part of the Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten poem.  Both our girls were selected from their classes.  Here is Joiner saying hers.  She had the hardest segment by far!  She did great!  We were reminiscing on how far she has come.  At 3, she cried through an entire dance recital at Salem gymnastics and at 6 she could memorize, recite, and tell a group of 300 a poem!  You've come a long way, baby!

Carly was one of the first to speak and she also did a great job!

Joiner singing with her class

Carly with her class.  You can see they are in color groups.

Bennett wanted to take a picture of me before the show.  I think I am saying something about Mommy loving Bennett.

Then he had to say cheese to me!

I realize that we got no pictures with Gigi and Grumpa.  It is hard to get it all in!

The girls have done so well this year and we are so proud of you both!

Hands Free Mama

Check out this segment from an article in Time magazine about parents and cell phones:

Is being a parent boring? Sometimes. Lots of times. And guess what? Those boring moments are what you will miss the most, once your children are grown. Car pool is when you should be hanging on every word. Walks are when the world unfolds at a child’s feet, in the safety of your company. The parent is the genius who gives names to things, and encourages a child’s attention to detail on the path. The tiny accretion of daily routines is dull, and divine. Of course there’s always plenty of time for a phone call, or ten of them. Children are always slowly walking, slowly eating, slowly looking, slowly reading, slowly going nowhere, until suddenly, they’re gone.

I am always berating myself at the end of the day for all the moments I miss.  I am trying to clean the house, or cook dinner, or go to the bathroom alone.  I never considered the phone a missed opportunity as well until I got this IPhone.  I can check my email, look at news, you name it.  This paragraph ripped at my heart.  So, yet again, I will try to ignore the chaos around me and enjoy the gifts in front of me!

Phone Pictures

I have 775 pictures on my I Phone!  I don't really know how to get them off.  I just asked Andy to help me so I could organize them.  Unfortunately, they loaded on the computer out of order and I wasn't about to organize 775 pictures!  It is funny how these pictures are a much better description of our daily lives than most I take.  It is really the "real" moments!

So in no particular order, here is a brief survey!

A Bennett self-portrait.  You can't get a camera out without Bennett wanting his picture made!

The girls playing with the bubble machine

Carly getting her nails done for her birthday in December

Sweet girls holding hands

Carly getting a pedicure for school in August!

Bennett watching the plumbers work on the shower

The girls in their school uniforms for the first time last August

Bennett all messy and green from eating Saag paneer, a family favorite!

Carly getting ready for her performance in dance camp last year.

Bennett looking very debonair in his new clothes!

Playing the chimes in Kindermusik on Friday

Joiner in a basketball game

The girls on our annual mulch pile in September

Bennett hanging with Mr Jeff in gymnastics, his hands-down favorite day of the week!

This is a picture from my old phone that transferred.  I think the girls might be 3.

Bear and Bennett enjoying a snack

Amish hat:)

Angels at Christmas

This is one of the many pictures Carly takes of herself!

Joiner getting her nails done for her birthday.

I sent this picture to Andy one day to show him the effects of your dad being a Neurologist.  Bennett wants to wear a helmet any time he is outside!  Got to have the cheese face!

This is B in his first pair of shoes before his birthday last year.

First day of school shot!

Bennett at a visit to Cracker Barrel.  We had never been and I had a gift card.  Andy was working, so I took the kids to hang out!

Sweet shot of the girls after their school haircuts.

Bennett getting some reading in at the Children's museum.

Bennett and Tina hanging out at one of the girls basketball games

Another Carly self protrait

Joiner getting her school pedicure

And we will end with a snow cheese-face.  Bennett is wearing a little Gap ski bib that Joiner wore until last year just about.  Zette made fun of me that she wore it so long, but it worked:)  And now I am glad I kept it!