Evan had his first soccer game today. It was very entertaining. Mom and Dad haven't laughed that hard in a long time. 

Here's the coach making sure the kids know which goal is theirs.  And a random teammate doing push-ups.  At least it's not cartwheels.  This may be a sign that these are all military kids, where push-ups are part of the job description.

We hate to brag, but we'd like to think that Evan was the best player on his team.  There's no doubt he was the fastest player on the field.

This picture is funny for many reasons, and definitely illustrates why the game was so entertaining.  1) The goal the kids were aiming at was the small one in front.  So the kids from both teams are actually playing behind the goal (out of bounds by a lot).  2) The little girl in the purple hat appears to be the goalie.  However, she is actually guarding the wrong goal!  Her team is trying to score in that goal.  3) Note the hills behind the field.  Play actually occured on the hills as well.  I'm sure the kids would have played in the parking lot, too, if the parents had let them.  They gave 110% and it didn't matter at all to them where the boundaries were.  If the ball was there, they were going after it.

Dad and Nathan playing a game of their own.

Our star.  Evan scored four goals.  Two of them were for his team, and two of them were for the other team.  But he got cheers all around from us.  He was so excited the first time he scored that we hated to tell him it was for the other team... so we didn't!

Coming off the field after giving it everything he had.  By the end of the game, several kids on both teams were cold, tired, and crying.  One kid on the other team refused to play the entire game, and was nearly glued to his mom's leg.  At one point, a mom from each team was chasing after her respective child to bring them back onto the field after they wandered off due to some distraction.  All in all, Evan did great, and we are looking forward to next week!

Annual Snowshoe Weekend

We're just back from our fourth annual snowshoe weekend with Elsa, Aunt Katy, and Uncle Joe. What a great weekend! This was the order of events: sled, sleep, sled, XC ski, pool, sleep, snowshoe, sled, pool,  sleep (Mom and Aunt Katy XC skied at night while we slept), sled, drive (insert sad face here).

Aunt Katy and Mom taught Elsa and I (Evan) to cross country ski.  Elsa is a pro.

I'm not too bad, either.  Some of our blog followers may recognize the setting of this picture.

Lots of time is spent like this when you are only four and learning.

Practicing snowshoeing with Aunt Katy.

Partners in crime--or just fun.

Uncle Joe's snow fruit.  This picture is mostly for Grandma R, who will appreciate the idea of coming across these gems as you are snowshoeing behind him.

Post-snowshoe sledding!

Wheeeeeee!

The end result.

Sledding silliness.

What a terrific weekend!  Good weather, decent snow, and great company!  We can't wait for next year!

Oma came to visit this weekend.  We had lots of fun playing, riding bikes, making valentine animals and cupcakes, and practicing soccer.

 Mom had Friday off, so we went to a nearby wildlife refuge and played on their natural playground, listened to lots of frogs croaking, and took advantage of their nature center.

 We made cupcakes with Oma.  They were going to be pink, but we thought it would be interesting to put every food color we had in the batter.  And we had to test it out.  We were covered in yumminess from head to elbow!  (Note the shiny skin.)

 Yum!  Cupcake batter is really good!

I am playing on a soccer team this winter.  We start practices this week, so Mom took me to get new soccer socks, shin guards, and cleats!  I love them!

In case you need peace in your day, this video has a calming and serene effect that is only second to actually being there.

Beach Days

 We spent the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's beach.  We couldn't have asked for clearer days!

 We spent lots and lots of time on the beach.  Nathan would have stayed all night if we had pitched a tent.  Luckily, he no longer walks into the water to throw his rocks.  We brought lots of extras, but still ran out of clothes the last time we were here.

 We celebrated an early Valentine's Day.  Grandma got us fun wind-up animals that kept us busy all evening.

 The dads and Grandpa had to try them all out, too.

From winding up animals to winding down with Dad before bed.

Zoo Time!

We took a spontaneous trip to the big zoo today.

Our little cherubs.  You'd think there was another camera out there, but we were actually looking at Uncle Joe, who apparently must have been doing something pretty interesting.

I liked this elephant so much that I asked Mom to take my picture three times!

This blue heron snuck into the penguin exhibit!  They seemed pretty friendly toward him.  Maybe he's a regular visitor!

Resident Artists

Party Time!

 Since we were out of town on my birthday, we celebrated on Friday night.

 It turns out, I LOVE CAKE!

 Thanks for the birthday pajamas, Oma!



 Getting the most out of the last bit of snow!

 Sledding with Grandma.

Climbing the hill with Grandpa and our friend, Emily.

Snow Days

It appears our week of winter is upon us, and we are bound and determined to take advantage of it.  That means sledding, snowball throwing, snowman making, going inside for a warm-up, and then going out for the next round.

Sledding is our favorite snow day pasttime.  (See Evan's video below.) 

Nathan loves throwing balls, so it should be no surprise that Mom had to make him snowball after snowball to throw.

It's not all fun and games.  There's lots of shoveling to do.

Mom's been skiing in the morning.  Getting out on the trails is so good for the soul!

Not quite as good as our Soldier Frosty a few years ago (see post on Dec. 23, 2008), but at least he's been promoted!  And he got rid of that awful beret!

Snow transforms everything into a winter wonderland--even our alley!

What do we do during a winter warm-up?  Bake, of course!  After all, we still have a family birthday party planned for tomorrow night.  This is Nathan's second rainbow cake.  Notice the five colors of frosting.  It's becoming a tradition!

Daredevil Rider

We love our neighborhood sledding hill.  Several of the dads built a jump for the kids and then spent hours helping them onto the starting mound.  The moms took over when the dads went inside.  It's too bad this only happens once a year!