A Soccer Review

 From where I sit--inside a warm, cozy house while the rain pours down outside my window--I am happy to say that after Thursday evening the soccer season will be over.  Not that I don't like soccer.  I've had a lot of fun watching my kids play this fall.  But now that the rains have arrived, I'm ready for indoor sports!  And I'm really ready for the month break between soccer and basketball. 

 These first pictures were taken during the first 2/3 of the season when the weather was hot and sunny.  Much hotter and sunnier than usual for this time of the year.  The kids complained about sweating too much and had to have their water bottles refilled halfway through the games.

 The siblings not playing soccer enjoyed coloring and drawing in the dry, dusty grass.

 No, we didn't have another daughter and forget to tell you about her.  She is the baby sister of one of Ezra's friends--and isn't she just the cutest thing ever?  She wears my girls' hand me downs sometimes and I get to enjoy the cute little clothes all over again.

 One of our favorite parts of watching Ezra play is his sheer joy.  He is often laughing while he plays.  Not in a distracted way.  It's sort of how he shows intensity.  He has such a love for sports.

 He seems to also have a love for defense.  There are only three players on the field at a time with no goalie at this age.  If he thinks that a player from the other team has any chance of scoring, he makes sure to stay back and guard the goal. 

 We went 80-some odd days with no rain and the ground got dustier than I have ever seen it.  Nora looked like she had been rolling around in chalk that day.

 Fast forward to last Thursday evening.  Games are now under the lights and we all have blankets and coats to huddle under.  And umbrellas to hold over us.

 Isn't that a cute referee? 

 About halfway through the season Caroline informed us she doesn't like soccer very much.  But we're glad she gave it a try.  She has gotten a little bit more aggressive as the season wears on and that makes it more fun. 

So long socca--you've been fun while you've lasted.  See you again next year...maybe.

Just for Fun

Do you ever wonder why I rarely post informtaive "how to" posts with lots of step by step directions and photos along the way?
Of course, I DO keep this blog mostly to keep far-away family members updated with photos of the kids.  For another thing, I rarely take pictures of more than one or two steps of what I'm doing.  I just don't have enough arms for kids + projects + camera these days.  But there are other reasons too. 
 Below is a "how to" post I attempted to create this summer.  It was a major failure and I decided to nix it.  But I got to thinking about it recently and figured it might be good for a laugh.
Even though I am a non-coffee-drinker, there are times when a nice iced mocha complete with whipped cream sounds delish to me.  When I worked at Bertolino  Brother's Coffee I had free access to all the drinks I wanted.  Compared to most of the employees, they got off easy with me.  But there were times when I needed to "use" coffee.  Such as when I was working a few extra afternoon jobs and planning a wedding in 7 weeks.  I found that the drip coffee was tolerable with a shot of Irish Cream (flavoring--what do you think I AM????) and a lot of cream.  Sometimes these days I also need to use coffee.  That's where Via comes in.  I thought I'd write a little post on how to make Via iced.

 Pour Via powder into a measuring cup.  Boil and add only a couple ounces of water.  Stir until dissolved.

 Mix in your chocolate syrup while the Via is hot so that it will dissolve.

 Fill a tall glass with ice and pour chocolate Via mixture over it.  Pay attention to the camera instead of what you are doing and pour Via all down your daughter, your own legs and all over the floor.

 Sit back and laugh hysterically at yourself.  Remind self why you don't do how to posts.

 Add whipping cream to the small amount of liquid left in the glass.  There was supposed to be a final picture with a straw...but at this point I was figuring the post was scrapped.

Now, of course, the punchline comes when I go to the grocery store the next week and see the rows of  Iced Via options.  Joke's on me!  Or wait...is it?  The plain Via is cheaper.  Not enough to make pouring it all over the floor and yourself and your daughter worth it, though.  AND--the iced version comes in an amazing caramel flavor.  I'm sure it has no calories.  Not even when you add a splash of whipping cream.

Sunday School Picnic

 Last Friday night we had our annual Sunday School Picnic.  It was a little later in the year than we often do it.  Being mid-October we decided to go all out with the fall decor.  While that might be a bit lost on the Sunday School kids, it sure was fun for the Mommies : )  Pumpkin painting got the kids all excited.

 I always have visions of being able to oversee such projects and suggesting that they have a theme for their pumpkins--you know, stripes, polka dots, a funny face or leaf designs.  But reality generally steps in and takes over.  Thankfully, Uncle Brett kindly watched over the painters and kept the paint from being tracked all over the room.  Which it surely would have been, had he neglected his duties.  The kids have a lot more fun painting with as much paint as they possibly can rather than trying to make a perfectly striped pumpkin.

 There were darling pudgy cheeks for me to gaze upon.

 And races outdoor in between rain showers. 

 Two of Nora's best buddies.

 Little girls with pony tails all lined up for a gunny sack race.   Not many cuter things than that!

 As per typical, after these pictures I set my camera down and didn't pick it up many more times during the evening. 

 Rick and Eleanor brought a cider press and Andy and Jennie provided over 200 pounds of apples for fresh, delicious cider with dinner.  We ate, drank and were very merry.  We sang Sunday School songs and listened to a message.  And then we played more games, including a bean bag toss at that amazing tractor pictured below--courtesy of Uncle Gordon.

Rounding out the evening was ping pong and caramel apples.  Thanks to all those who braved Friday evening traffic to make the night a fun one.

Same, Same, Same, Different

 Same street...

 Same gorgeous trees...

 Same lovely fall weather...

 Same bike...

 Different Girl.

 Now it's Nora who tears around at top speed on the tiny purple bike.

I sure do love her!