Jack the Soccer Dude

Last Fall, Jack played soccer again!  He played on the same team with mostly the same boys as he did in the spring, so it was fun to get to see all those kiddos again!  Here he is at his first practice of the season.  Sidenote -- look at that hair!  I think he got it cut a few days after this...it was long!

And this is such a Jack pose - hands on the hips!  This was at his first game of the season!  We played the team that some of his buddies from preschool are on, and Aubrey got this cute one!  Definitely one of my favorite pictures of him from the season!

During that first game, Jack was on fire!  He scored two goals during the game and was SO excited!  Aubrey got these pictures too (I had left my phone at home - ah!)!  Dribbling the ball... (and now that I have payed closer attention to the picture, the boy on the other team is in his class at school! ha!)

He shoots! He SCORES!!!!

A picture of Carter and Jack - Carter was actually on the maroon team but had just not turned to the other side of the uniform yet!

And here's Jack on picture day!  I snapped a few phone pictures when they were taking them :) And I got a picture of him kicking off!

He also had some folks come watch him play throughout the season!  This was a Saturday when we were all at Jack's game and then went to Katie's cheer!  It was a HOT one!

And Papa came to a game to cheer Jack on too!  Love this picture of them!

We went to watch our friend Sydney play one day and Jack got out there and dribbled the ball around during the halftime of the game and I got a picture (on Jenn's camera which she then sent me as a cropped pic of just Jack)...I love this - barefoot, hat on, polo with khaki shorts...and a pink ball!

And the weekend that Brad and I went to New Orleans was his last game of the season, which also meant it was the end of the season party!  I'm so thankful that a couple of the moms helped out -- one picked Jack up and took him to the game and to the party and another brought him home from the party!  It takes a village!  And Cee Cee was at his game to cheer him on too!

Such a sweet group of boys (and parents)!  And we get to see several of them this winter for their debut playing basketball together!  Should be entertaining - check back for pictures of that fun!

Katie the Cheerleader

For the fall season, Katie opted to try cheerleading.  We supported her decision and at least she can say she gave it a try!  She was not the biggest fan of it, but at least she looked adorable!  Here she was at the pep rally to get the season started!

And I am fairly certain this is us heading to the first game that she cheered for!  I think it poured down rain on us that day for a brief moment, but then it cleared out for her to get out there and cheer!

Action shot!  She is on the left :)

And we got a family shot at one of the games!  The boys didn't make to many of the games because there wasn't much for them to do.  They just wanted to run around, and that doesn't make it very enjoyable!  Glad we had a few moments of supporting her throughout the season!

Love this picture of Katie :)

It was also fun because Katie's friend from school and girl scouts cheered with her!  At least they had fun together :)

I doubt we will be doing that again, but glad Katie had the experience! 

Katie's First Soccer Season

 

 What a fun first soccer season Katie had (or at least I think she had fun)!  I definitely think it helped having two of her best buddies on the same team!  And I could tell that she definitely developed some skills from her first game to the last.  Her coach was amazing and all the other girls on her team (and their parents) were fun too!

 

Here she is before her first game!

She even had her name on her jersey :)

I took quite a few pictures at her first game (imagine that) and got some good action shots!  At this point they were learning that they were on the same team! 

 And this one is pretty distant, but you can see Katie's blonde ponytail swinging around!  She made contact with the ball!  Always a plus :)

 At the end of her first game, the coach had each girl stand up and said something he was proud of them for and then got each parent/family member to say something as well!  Such a good idea!

 Katie's cheering section for her first game!  She definitely should have felt special :)

 And with her coach after the first game!

And I didn't really take anymore pictures until her last game!  I got some better pictures - and she did a great job!  Each week was a learning experience - and you could definitely tell when she was tired or distracted! 

 Goodness she looks so grown up!

 Another great action shot!  I think these were during the warm up!

 And this one.  Whew!  He wanted to get out there and play so badly!  At least once per game, he would race out onto the field and try to get in the mix with the girls!  Oh dear.

 Katie and her friend Annalane before their last soccer game!

 Jack loves kicking the ball around!  Future soccer player, perhaps?

 And I absolutely love this :) Katie actually got in the middle of it and mixed it up!  I do not condone pushing and shoving and playing ugly, but I certainly was glad to see her use her size to her advantage :) 

 Katie and Hannah Jo after the last game!  It was a warm one!

 Katie with Annalane and Hannah Jo!  Such sweet friends!

 And then it was time for the end of the season party!  We had pizza and cupcakes and then trophy and certificate time!  The coach had each girl come sit by him with the trophy she had picked out, and he talked about each player individually.  In fact, on their certificates (which said Certificate of Awesomeness), he had listed three words that came to mind for each girl.  For Katie, his three words were Genuine, Hopeful, and Deep.  I held it together during his description of her - but good gracious I was one proud momma.  It definitely made me feel like we are doing something right because those are some strong words!

 And one more picture with the coach...

I have to say I was pretty happy the season was over when it was - before it gets unbearably hot since I am growing every day it seems...and chasing Jack is hard work!  I can't wait for soccer to start in the fall though - I think Katie will be excited about it too!  Hoping we get lucky enough to keep the same team and coach - such a blessing!

 

Just For Kicks: Katie's First Soccer Practice

Another catch up post, so here we go!  This one is back from February 22 - wow!  Katie's first soccer practice!  I played soccer growing up, so this was so fun for me!  Of course it made me want to get out there and kick the ball since I played for so many years.  Katie was super excited for her first practice too!  And she did great all things considered - it was the first time to practice!  We had kicked around in the backyard, but this was the first time with a team and a coach and all that.

 

Thank goodness the weather was mild and just perfect!  She was ready for sure!

Just look at that sweet girl!  I love this picture :)  She posed like this all on her own!

And then she wanted to hold the soccer ball!

And I did ask her to stand like this :)

After the photo shoot, we were off to practice!  Brad stayed home with Jack because practice was right in the middle of his nap.  So I took some pictures of practice too!  An action shot of kicking the ball around!

And her coach had all the girls introduce themselves and say how old they were and all that.  Here is Katie up in front of some of her teammates!

And Katie learned the team's cheer!  So neat.  Here they are in the huddle at the end of practice!

I think this picture is hilarious.  Definitely an action shot - and she looks absolutely worn out!

And she happens to be on the same team with two of her buddies!  Cute girls - they've known each other since they were about 15 months old!

I will say that the girls on her team are learning and growing each week!  They have one practice during the week and then a game on the weekend (today they actually had an early game with pictures before the game - meaning way too early - and it was freezing!)...and it is so fun to watch them!