First Day of First Grade 2010!

Our handsome boy so grown up and ready for another year of elementary school!

He loved the laziness and fun of summer but was excited to get back and see his friends.

We were thrilled his good friend, Kerry, was in his class again this year.

His teacher is great and she updates a class blog everyday with pictures.

It is wonderful to be able to discuss with Hayden each day

and to see what he is learning in the classroom.

Oops, Mommy hadn't gotten another pair of "school shoes" yet as

you will note from the worn out Vans he is sporting.

Oh, how I appreciate the greatness of the good ole'

trusty flip flops that we sported each day of summer!

But alas the flip flops just will not do for school day activities.

last year's First Day pic for comparison- growing boy!

 Sadly Evan's first day of Hayden's first day of school was not so joyous...

Now I must not mislead in saying this was Evan as Hayden got out of the car.
This was just how he spent a good portion of the morning as Hayden was away.
I will say that he does miss his brother terribly and would often ask
me when we could go get brother from school last year.
Let's just say he just typically does so much better
when he has his playmate.
Even a fun trip to Going Bonkers that morning was not enough to
make this little boy happy that day.
Oh, my Evan, you look so pitiful in this pictures.
Preschool starts soon for you and you will get to swap play stories
 with your brother in no time!

Who says there are no good beaches in Texas?

Since last summer the boys and I have enjoyed venturing

to the beach park up the road at the lake.

It is free, usually not too crowded, and we enjoy bringing

       lunch to enjoy in the sand before we play.

It always makes for a great afternoon together.  

            

We don't have a real beach umbrella so this time I just brought the 

Little Tikes Umbrella from the boys' standing sand table.

(classy I know!!)

I figured it would work just as well.

Not so much...

Granted it was windy out that day, (thus the mess you

see all over the place in front of Hayden,) but that thing 

became a flying projectile at least 3 times before I finally

secured it. It did the job though. Hayden and Mommy picnicked

quite nicely under it.... 

 Evan, on the other hand, prefers to eat on the go.

The boys quickly started in on their construction project -

a fort and a river.

I know he will be so mad at me one day but 

I just couldn't help myself. Older brother's old

swim shorts were still just a tad too big.

Evan had to keep pulling them up but

little boys get too busy when they play to

worry about silly things like exposed behinds.

I kept getting the perfect "plumber shot"

as I watched him run back and forth from the water.
I am sure this pic will come in handy some day :-)

It is kind of hard to see with the bright sun, 

but you can see the little "river" they dug

running diagonally along the lower left corner

of the pic.

The little "fort" they master pieced

is the little elevation to the left 

of Hayden and was even topped with a tiny leaf like

garnish they had found in the sand.

My little engineers had a great afternoon. 

Year End Kindergarten Fun!

Hayden's Kinder year was wrapped up with some good ole

fashioned outdoor miserable Texas heat fun! 

Evan joined the ranks as an honorary member of the class this year.

The kids love him and Hayden's teacher was always smitten

by his big bear hugs. He was kind of the class mascot.

He loved going up to the school with me when I helped out

in the classroom and for parties. Hayden also enjoyed

seeing him and showing little bro off.

Mrs. Hodges class won 2 of the 3 tug of wars.

Perhaps it was the 30 extra pounds of assistance?

This contest involved running back and forth

soaking the sponge and then running across to

squeeze the sponge into the empty bucket

to see which team could fill their bucket first.

Hayden took this competition seriously
and really hussled!

Hayden and his buddy, Kaden - then 

Evan right back in the middle of the action.

(He had dropped out for a while because he was

sad they didn't have a baseball hat with his 

name on it like the other kids. It was a pitiful

scene there for a while.) Fortunately he made a full recovery.

This pic was actually from field day from a few 

weeks earlier but I wanted to show off his mad

shoe kicking skills.

He beat all his classmates by a mile in the shoe

kicking competition.

Look at that shoe fly! That soccer

has paid off apparently. He was so 

proud.

The Raptors dominated in Division I Spring Season!

The Raptors moved up to Division I soccer this season for a challenge and still dominated! They had one loss all season to a team that I am pretty sure had a kid that was "Bending it Like Beckham" by the age of 3. CRAZY!!! Anyhow, these boys get better and better each season. In the fall they move
up to the "big field." It seems like yesterday we were holding up signs for them to make
sure they were kicking the ball down the field in the right direction.

Hayden really excelled in playing the sweeper position this season. He stopped many opposing goal kicks and his coaches, Steve, and I could not have been more proud. He seems to do better in this type of position where he can concentrate and not be stuck in the "mosh pit" of 6 year old boys fighting for the ball.

I didn't even notice Hayden kind of pushing on this kid

until I uploaded it.With the big smile on his face, it looked friendly
enough.

The Raptors

Hayden- a.k.a. " Dominating Sweeper"

 End of year kudos from Coach.

 Hayden proudly displaying his trophy.

Soccer Shots

We had Evan enrolled in a great soccer clinic for pre-schoolers called Soccer Shots the past couple of months. He loved it and was so excited to get to put on his big brother's old soccer gear - shorts, socks, shoes, shin gards, and all! They said he didn't need shin guards and cleats but it was so much fun for him to be able to wear it so I gladly put him in it each Monday morning.

He wore it with pride.

Evan happily followed coach's instructions. 

Doing a little drill where he was to touch his nose to the ball - great technique, Evan!

Even better, Evan got to be in Soccer Shots with his friend, Will.

I think they both equally enjoyed getting decked out in all the soccer gear.

Too cute this pair. 

Evan was frequently seen adjusting his socks making sure they were at just the right height

and folded to his liking....

He made sure he was well hydrated of course and liked to carry Mommy's water bottle 

she often uses for running. 

(Notice at this age how with these little guys there tends to be a 

seamless transition between the bottom of the soccer shorts to the top of the socks.)

It brings so much joy to see my little boy having so much fun.

This is a little video of him kicking a goal.

Hayden Doing a Little Bedtime Reading and Singing to Evan

Hayden is doing wonderfully with his reading.

This is him doing a little bedtime reading to Evan to the tune 

of Wheels on the Bus.

He also did a little improvising to Evan as to what else

the characters might be saying or thinking on each page.

Evan loved it and so did Steve and I.

Spring Break Lake Weekend with the Chandlers

We took a quick little Spring Break trip to visit my long time friend, Melanie Chandler,

at her parents home at the lake.
Melanie was one of my best friends in high school and we have never lost 

touch. Her parents, Betty and Randy, we also now consider friends
at this stage in our lives. 
Thank you for a beautiful weekend.

The boys could not wait to get out for a boat ride. 

Randy even let the boys drive the boat - 

the smiles were non-stop!

And just when they thought it could not get any better, they got a
chance to ride the 4 Wheeler!

Evan just kicked back and relaxed...

A pretty tulip from the Chandler yard and Red Bud Tree from the farm.

Evan finds the perfect walking stick while Betty guides the hike.

Melanie and the boys.

MSilly brothers....