End of Fall Soccer

Phew! We made it through another season of soccer with Eli. I have to say that I think I prefer fall soccer over spring because it was way warmer! We only had to deal with 2 cold days whereas in the spring, just about every game was freezing! Anyways, this was another great season for Eli. He definitely stepped his game up this time around. At this age group it is no longer coed which of course he liked! And because this is basically for fun and not true competitive soccer, I couldn't tell you how many games his team won or lost!

This team actually had a party for the end of season and it was held at Mr. Biggs. Kayla is the only one in the family that had ever even been there and that was only a couple of months ago for a birthday party. We just don't do that stuff a lot because we are a big family and it isn't cheap! So the plan was to go there, have dinner at their pizza buffet, get trophy's, eat cupcakes and then play! The cupcakes were cool because they were shaped like a soccer ball (all cupcakes stuck together like a cake). So after the coaches were presented with their gifts and the boys got their trophy's we were let loose to eat. I was so into making sure I got Emma food that I didn't really pay close attention to what Eli was doing. Lo and behold, the kid wasn't in the dining room....he had taken off to play! So it took a bit but we did finally catch up to him! Of course he was playing hard and having a good time with his soccer buddies! Emma had a good time too because there is a part of this building called Lil Bigg Town. It has a whole bunch of sections focused towards role playing different scenarios. And of course Emma's favorite was a big sand box. Kayla's favorite was the go cart's. She rode on those a few times. I forget about the patience a child will have when it comes to that kind of stuff. The girl waited in a pretty long, very slow moving line to do that each time!

I took a few pictures but the place was dark enough for my camera to not like it! Any pictures I did get have glowing eyes! The one good one I did get was this one with Eli and his trophy!

Oh yeah and Daddy and Hailey stayed home because Hailey had the stomach flu that passed through all of us a week and a half ago all the way through last week! So they hung out and some precious daddy/Hailey time!

Soccer

Here is a quick update on soccer.....

It is very quickly coming to an end already! Eli only has 3 or 4 more games left! This season has been a good one for the team. They average a win just about every other game. It's fun to watch these boys play though. And they seem to have fun for the most part. They did group pictures before the last game so I am looking forward to getting that.

I did figure out that it isn't a good idea to take Emma to the games. I can now see why they make kid leashes! :) She thinks it's fun and funny to take off running across the park. There is one particular park that they have games at that is quite large. She really enjoys taking off and running for the hill which is literally on the other side of the park than the soccer field we are on!

1st Soccer game

Eli had his first game of the season on Wed. His team tried real hard but they lost quite painfully! :) One of his teammates must have some experience with soccer because the kid stood up at half time and did a little of his own coaching for the boys! They had their 2nd game on Friday and this time they won 7-1!

All the players getting ready for the start of the game. This was before Eli realized just how cold it was. He eventually put a shirt on under his uniform.

Can you find him out there?!

Poor Kayla had to go straigt from track practice so she didn't have ANY warm clothes! Good thing I brought this blanket!

Emma found a seat on Hailey's stroller.

This was Emma's and now Hailey get's to wear it. Too cute! It even came with a little teddy bear in the pocket.

Fall Soccer

Eli had his first practice this evening for the fall season of soccer. His coach seems to be a really nice guy and way more on top of things than his last coach. Just the fact that they are starting practice when they should be is huge! His first game will be sometime during the week of Sept 2nd. Schedules should be out within the next week so I will have more details then. I didn't get any pictures of him practicing because I didn't take my camera! Oh well there will be lots of games to get pictures!

End of Spring Soccer

The season flew by and I cannot believe it is over already. Eli did an awesome job taking to a new sport and really getting in and learning how to play and participate. It is funny to think that he absolutely did NOT want to play when we first brought it up to him. He ended up loving it! Here are a couple shots of him during play and a picture of him with his trophy.

1st Soccer Game

Eli had his first game and it went great! They do a good job of making sure play is fair and everyone gets to participate. They rotate groups per quarter so each kid plays two quarters. And when they have to throw the ball back in, the coach is really good about making sure a different kid gets to do it each time. And Eli's team, Henry Kraze, won the game! Eli is really enjoying playing and very much looks forward to Tues and Thurs because that is when his games happen. The neat thing for me is that he plays at my old elementary school - in a field where I can see both my elementary and my high school along with a ditch that we loved to play in! It was kind of fun thinking about some of the stuff from that time. And the even cooler thing is that one of my childhood homes is right across the street from the school so I get to see that when we leave the parking lot!

Anyways, the downside to soccer in the Spring in Colorado is that it isn't exactly warm most evenings. We learned from this time around to make sure we have blankets and jackets and sweat pants and anything else to keep us warm! As a matter of fact, his game on Thursday was cancelled because it was freezing cold and extremely windy! I am hoping that there aren't too many games cancelled because of weather.

Here are a few pictures that we were able to snap during warm up time and the game.

I liked this picture because it looks like Eli is fiercely stretching!

Throwing the ball in....can you tell how cold the coach is?!

Running down the field...

Soccer

Eli decided he wanted to play soccer this spring so we put him on the cities Park and Rec team to get a good start. We aren't ready to go club level until we know he really does like it and it planning on sticking with it for quite a while. He had his first practice on Tue the 25th. I got a couple of pictures of that. His first game is on the 8th. Naturally I will keep you posted on how that goes! So far he is catching on to the game quickly. Nobody in this family has any kind of experience with soccer so we are all learning as we go. For those of you that do know soccer, you will see our lack of knowledge with the first picture! :)

OK so here is what we did wrong...the shin guards are supposed to be UNDER the socks...learned that when the coach was talking about uniform rules! Oops! :)

Here is he is stretching (the kid in the gray shirt and black shorts). I couldn't really get any other pictures of him practicing because that sun was killer at that time of day! Hopefully I will be facing east for the games!