Yep, I'm a Soccer Mom

I love watching my kids play soccer. This year has been a bit of a challenge, just because all 4 of our kids are playing (yes, we are officially insane!) They have all had a great time. I already posted pics of the boys playing, so now it's the girls' turn. They are really fun to watch, because they finally "get it!" They understand how to play their positions, how to pass to each other, and what the rules are. It gives me hope for the boys, since the girls started just like them a few years ago!

First is Eryn. Jared, once again, has been assistant coaching her team. These girls are FUN to watch! She has played a little bit as goalie this year (for the first time) and has loved it and really improved. She loves playing defense, and does a great job. She has become a more aggressive player and I think they've won every game.



And what do my boys do while the girls are playing soccer? Well, this day they found the biggest wolf spider I have ever seen. They were really messing around with it, but I didn't realize that's what they were doing when I was snapping these pics of them... then they said "Mom. Come see this HUGE spider!" Oh yeah... it was. GIANT!! I am not a fan of spiders, and I quickly got as far away as I could. I was glad it was time to head over to the next game... Kaitlyn's.




Kaitlyn disappeared right before her game started, and when I asked Jared (who is her head coach again) where she went, he informed me that the bathrooms were locked, so she and her friend Tamsen (along with Tam's mom) headed over to the high school real quick to visit the restroom! She didn't make it back in time to start, but she got in soon enough. She is doing awesome! She has played goalie a lot this year, but her favorite position is forward. She loves playing offense and scoring. I was standing right behind the goal taking pictures when she scored, but of course I wasn't ready, so it isn't documented on film. It was an awesome goal, though! She LOVES soccer and keeps saying that she wants to play in the Olympics someday.

Let the Games Begin!

Well, soccer season is once again in full swing. This time, however, we have 4 kids playing. Yes, you read that right, we are officially crazy... but it's so fun. Jared is coaching both girls again. It's so great watching how well they are doing having the same coaches consistently season after season. Their teams are really doing well. The boys are having a blast playing. Hayden started out the season really strong. I was really expecting a just-barely-4-yr-old to be clueless and look more at his shadow and passing butterflies than at the ball, but we were pleasantly surprised by his focus. He really tried hard and got several good kicks in. (Don't worry, the next week he was a typical 4-yr-old... hanging upside down from the goal, doing summersaults, etc. But had a great time anyway.) Here are some shots from his very first soccer game!


He was very focused. He followed that ball and really tried his hardest. We were so excited when he got some kicks in!



It was great to see him having so much fun.


Of course, there were moments of boredom when he had to sit out. What was he supposed to do? I mean really! (Someday he'll really hate me for this one!)



Now, here are Bryson's pictures. Some from his first game, and some from his second. He LOVES soccer and playing with some of his friends.

He played pretty well. Got some great kicks, blocked a few goals. He does great!


The best part for B is having fun...

And of course, it would not be fair for me to post a slightly embarrassing picture of Hayden without doing the same for Bryson. But what are you supposed to do when the other team just doesn't get the ball down to your goal? A goalie can only wait so long, folks! So funny! And if you notice that he is missing a leg, it's because I had to act fast in order to capture the moment... therefore I didn't get his whole body in the frame. What a kid!

Hopefully next week I'll have some fun pictures of the girls in action. We have some conflicting games where the boys are playing at the same time as the girls, so it will be harder to get some pictures, but we'll do our best :)