Jog-a-Thon and Braces

Yesterday was the Jog-a-Thon, the day the elementary school has the kids run around to earn money for field trips.  They make a big deal out of it, so I always have to be sure to come by and wave.  Cameron is a pro at running in circles so he did really well - 

- although it did wear him out!  He hasn't taken a nap in a long time, but he fell asleep right before it was time to go watch Parker. 

 Parker had gotten braces on that morning, so I hoped he was still feeling okay.  He was all smiles!

 That's Parker's teacher wearing the T-Rex costume.  She even waddled around a few laps in it.  I thought it was cute that his teacher has a sense of humor. 

 

Here's Parkee all done, showing off his new braces.  (The theme was Mad Scientist so a lot of the kids had whiskers drawn to make them lab rats).  He was not happy to get braces and an expander and had a hard time eating dinner last night (plus he woke up sore this morning) but he was happy to get to pick blue bands for the braces.  Small consolation prize there.  That's all that's new in our world!

Cameron's First Soccer Game

This cute little guy got to play his first soccer game on Wednesday!  To say he was eager would be quite the understatement.

Here he's just cheering for himself during warm ups for scoring a goal.  No lack of confidence here!

 I forgot how hilarious this age group is to watch play (Cameron is kicking the ball in this picture, second yellow shirt from the right).  There was a little girl who would only play if the coach held her hand.  Another little boy would stand in one spot no matter if the action was all around him or across the field.  A few others sat on the sidelines and didn't even want to play.  Not Cameron - he was always in the fray.  If he was thirsty, he ran over and got a drink (even if the game was still going) but then got back in there.  

 He got a few good kicks in, which was an impressive feat with how thick the crowd was. 

Taking his turn out for a minute.  Instead of resting he literally ran in circles around my chair and then asked his coach when he could come back in.

It was pretty darn adorable to watch.  It was a high scoring game, so much so that I have no idea who "won" even if that mattered, but he got a granola bar and a drink afterwards and thought it was the best day of his life.  He was already asking when his next game was!

Go, Blue Lightning!

 Parker's first soccer game of the fall season was yesterday evening, and he was so excited.  He had asked me a bazillion times when his soccer games were going to start!

Another in-action shot to show how awesomely he wears his socks - pulled all the way up.  Funny kid.  Parker is getting braver (he used to shy away from the ball and really hesitated to go after it).  He still hangs back a bit, but the ball bounced off his face at one point and he still kept playing, so I was impressed with how tough he was being.  He told me later, "It stung a lot!"

Soccer gets two thumbs up from this kid!

Go, Red Dragons!

 Kenzie heading to her first soccer game last Thursday.  She has moved up to a full size field now, and all the girls were starting to lag by the end of the game!  Her team voted to be the Red Dragons due to their reddish uniforms.  

 Kenzie enjoys playing goalie, and usually plays that spot for half the game.  Little brother was so excited that he jumped in front of the camera here.  Cameron likes to randomly shout, "Go, Kenzie!" before running back to the playground.

I enjoyed the view of the mountains behind the field.  We live in a pretty place.  Soccer is not my favorite sport, but I'm glad my kids have found things they enjoy doing and it's been cute to watch them improve.  My job is just to bring the water and clap!

First Day of Kindergarten

 This cute boy has started kindergarten!

Cameron had been feeling so left out each day when Parker headed to school, and had counted down the days until he could go, too.  Yesterday was finally the big day.

It was drizzling just a tiny bit, so I drove them to school.  As I dropped them off, big brother Parker held Cameron's hand and walked him over to the kindergarten area.  It was one of those sweet moments that makes up for the times those two fight and pick on each other.  After school, Cameron said kindergarten was fun and was excited to be told he could go back.

This morning he wanted to take a picture by the silly rock that is often painted with messages.  (Notice he's wearing his name tag on Day 2 because I forgot to stick it on his shirt for Day 1.)  I'm still not 100% in this back to school game yet, but I'm glad Cameron's having fun!