What an INCREDIBLE year it has been watching the boys play on sports teams for the first time this Fall and Spring! John, myself and our parents had a blast reminiscing over past memories of us playing the same sports years ago. If you were to ask the boys which sport they like the best, they'll tell you whatever sport they are currently playing...I love that!
Soccer...Fall 2012
It's fun to watch their transformation throughout the season...they grow so fast!!!
A little time goes by and they are ready for a haircut! It was too hot for long hair!
Trying to keep his "ears" on in the midst of a sweaty, hot game proved harder than we thought...until I found this headband online! Cole picked soccer print for the front :) it worked GREAT for the hot games, though he still preferred to tape them behind his ears when it was cool enough...
We even had the chance to participate in a soccer clinic hosted by the LA Galaxy in the middle of the season. The boys had a great time, then we took them to see a Galaxy game that weekend...the second to last game that Beckham played! It was a great night out with just our boys!!!
A few games into the season, he was moved up to play with boys a bit older than him, since he was so aggressive! This boy doesn't know how to give anything less than 100%!
Baseball...Spring 2013
Just when we thought we couldn't love a sport more than soccer, baseball came along and swept them off their feet. The hats, the uniforms, and bats and gloves...they were sold!
T-Ball... Seadogs
Ryder loved helping Cole's team at practice and during games. He always helped Cole find the one helmet that would fit over his "ears."
He missed that one, but was a GREAT little ball player this year! He hopes to move up next year to play "coach pitch" like Ryder did this year...
Farm Division (coach pitch)... Sandgnats
I loved having the opportunity to be a part of teams and drama groups over the course of my childhood. Once I became a mother of school aged kids, I had the same desire for them to have a chance to explore these areas as well! Having four so close in age, I soon realized some part of the equation wasn't going to pan out. There just weren't enough hours in the day for school, homework, and after school activities for all four of them at one time! Changing our school choice helped us breathe a little more throughout the day and finish our school hours with enough time for every child to be involved in two weekly activites...one is AWANA at our church, and the other is a sport or activity of their choice. I'm so thankful the Lord made a way for us to grow as a family and to actually feel joyful in the process!
I'm SUCH an advocate for not overwhelming your family schedule with so many "things" that you begin to see your identity as a family slip away. Our whole family enjoyed these seasons so much and some of the friendships the boys have made through being on these teams have become lasting ones...some have even become a part of our church family!
We'll see what the future holds as they grow...but for now, we have two ambitious little athletes in our family who are eager to add basketball to the list for next year!
