Defense

Michela has been playing AA soccer since last fall and I have only a handful of pictures to show for it.  It's not that I haven't taken my camera along to some of the games, but I'm always so busy watching that I forget the camera sitting in my lap and miss the picture opportunities.  She tried out for competition soccer last summer and only one team was looking for players.  The coach ended up being the father of one of her classmates from her sixth grade class.  He is the most wonderful coach.  He is so good with the girls and is their greatest supporter.  The team struggled to find players, but in the end they ended up with 12 girls, just enough to play.
Her team started out the fall season in great form, winning every game the first half of the season.  Unfortunately disaster struck and their goalie was out with a broken finger.  People got shifted around and they lost their mojo.  The second half of the fall season wasn't as fun to watch and hurt my heart every time we had to ride home after another lost game with a disappointed daughter by my side.  But they never lost their team spirit and they are the most optimistic girls I have ever met.  It has been such a blessing for Michela to be a part of this amazing group of girls.

They played through the winter doing indoor soccer in a league where they were the youngest team.  It was a tough few weeks, but they kept trying hard and did their best.  Another girl on the team broke her foot and that left them one girl short for the start of the spring season.
Spring soccer started in March and the girls were in top form once again.  Then the problems started.  The goalie got hurt and was out for a few games.  The back up goalie broke her tail bone, she kept coming to the games but she couldn't play as hard as usual.  Fortunately a new player joined the team and she has been such a wonderful addition to the team.  They won a couple of games, but lost most of them again.  But this time they kept most of those lost games so very close.  They were playing great, but they were playing with only one sub or no subs most of the games against teams with four or five subs.  They worked hard and us parents couldn't have been prouder.
Last night they had their first playoff game.  They were up against a tough team, but in my heart I knew they were good enough to beat them.  With everyone there they had a really good chance.  Sadly, I didn't get to go, I had to run around the other four kids to various activities, so Mike kept me posted by text during the game.  The game started at 5:30 and at 5:37 I got the first text.  "1-0.  We just scored."  Yes!  I was so excited that they had gotten an early goal to get them pumped up for the rest of the game.  The second text came at 6:12.  "Half time. 1-0"  Then a little while later.  "2-0.  They are totally assisting each other to set up the goals!"  6:39- "3-0.  Michela has had some great passes."  Then the goals just kept coming.  "4-0"  "5-0"  "6-0"  I was so jealous Mike was there watching and not me.  I asked Michela when she got home if it had felt good to win that game.  She turned to me and said, "Yeah Mom, it felt really good."
It has been fun to watch Michela grow and improve over the season.  She had played rec soccer for a few years, but hadn't really ever been taught much about the rules of the game.  She likes playing defense and has gotten quite good at it.  It's fun to watch the defensive line on her team because it is made up of the 3 shortest girls on the team.  You wouldn't know it when you are watching them go after the girls on the other teams though.  They are often up against much bigger girls but they don't let the size of the other girls get to them.  One dad from our team always comments, "I love watching Michela play.  She really doesn't realize how small she is, does she?"  She is doing such a great job lately at not letting the balls get past her and is so good at kicking the ball out of there.  Her control of the ball has greatly improved and she seems to know right where the ball needs to go.  Love watching her!

I can't wait to watch her game on Saturday.  It is going to be a difficult game.  They are going against a really good team, but they've got a chance if they all work well together.  Because of their win last night they get to play in a Semi Final match next week.  I'm so happy for this beautiful group of girls, they are so fun to watch on the field and a blast to be around.

Soccer Season

This year we had four kids in soccer. I thought last year was crazy with three, but this year kept us going all Saturday. Michela was a dynamo out there. Her team wasn't the most experienced this year so she felt like she needed to be everywhere to help out. She's the only girl on her team who ever made any goals. She was a little bummed out, but I told her it would be a good chance for her to work hard. The other girls on her team sure appreciated her, that's for sure. She tried out for a AA team for the fall, so I am hoping she'll learn a lot more and hopefully enjoy it a bit more.

Hunter really worked hard.He greatly improved throughout the season. He had a good coach who made them work and didn't put up with any slackers. He still kept his sunny attitude and I often saw him out on the field chatting up his team mates and the other players. I loved watching him bound down the field.

Chase is showing some serious athletic talent lately. He had an awesome coach who taught the kids some great skills and moves.I loved watching Chase with his tongue out in concentration as he tried out the moves he had been taught. He is fast and doesn't mind a bit of contact.

Aria was probably the most fun to watch. She is quite coordinated but not very aggressive. She was this tiny little thing who leapt and skipped down the field. She was always smiling and having a good time. By the end of the season she was actually coming in contact with the ball every once in a while. :) But usually she was trailing the pack in her own little world. She had the best time though, and loved every minute of it.

Swim Lessons

The kids really wanted to take swim lessons this year. Last year I waited too long and ended up not being able to get them in to any sessions. I decided to try out the Lindon pool this year because it's actually a lot closer to us than the Orem pool. It's a much smaller area than the Orem pool and it seemed a lot less crowded and chaotic.

Aria is old enough to do a class without Mom, so I was a little worried how she would react. My fears were soon laid to rest when on the first day she quickly grabbed the hand of her teacher Jessica and practically ran to get into the water. She was a lot of fun to watch.

She didn't like going all the way under the water at first, but by the end of the two weeks she was sticking her face in to blow bubbles, jumping off the side to her teacher and learning to glide and float like a little fish.

She even went down the big slide with her teacher twice on the last day and she loved being in the front of their choo choo train as they went around the lazy river.

Chase was born to be in the water. His teachers kept commenting on how he was the best in the class and that he was better than some of their students in the next class up. He was a champion floater, both on his back and his front.

He could probably float on his back all day. He learned to tread water and started learning the front crawl. He also loved diving for the rings and sticks with his goggles.

Hunter's class worked a lot on learning to dive. His teacher often asked Hunter to be the example for the other kids.

He got really good at it while his classmates continued to belly flop into the water. He also worked on the elementary backstroke and the front crawl. His favorite thing, though, was diving in and touching the bottom of the pool. He loves spending time under the water. I guess that's why he loves those scuba goggles so much.

Michela's class was all about stroke improvement. She worked really hard and made great strides in improving her front crawl and backstroke.

She was also introduced to the breaststroke, the butterfly, and learned how to turn at the wall.

Here is her class all lined up on the side of the pool going over the mechanics of the breaststroke.

The all passed their classes with flying colors! I wish I could sign them up for another session right away, but Michela will be gone next week at the Clear Creek Camp and this baby could decide to come at any time. Maybe we'll have time for more lessons later in the summer. I wouldn't mind a little more time relaxing poolside. And it might be a little more enjoyable when I don't have a big pregnant belly weighing me down. :)

The Longest Soccer Season

The kids wanted to play soccer this year so I signed them up for the Spring Season. Little did we know that it would be a very wet season. The very first game was rained out and rescheduled for the beginning of June. Then a few weeks ago another game was rained out and tacked on to another Saturday in June. Our last games were just this last Saturday, which meant the season seemed to drag on forever. Luckily the kids had lots of fun playing and going to practices.

I love this picture of Chase, it looks like he is flying.

It might look like he missed the ball, but he really did kick it! He probably had the most fun. He was so excited to get into the game and ran as fast as he could up and down the field.

Hunter was on a team with some great players. I think it really helped him try a little harder.

He actually made a goal this season and was so proud of himself. I asked him if he had made a goal in his last game and he said, "No, but I tripped a lot of people." He is such a funny kid.

Michela is getting better and better.

She was disappointed to not score any goals this season but I had to remind her that she set up a lot of the goals that the other girls made. She had a great sense of where to put the ball for her teammates. She also was a really good defensive player.

So the season is over once again, but we'll have great memories of watching the kids play this year. Hopefully we'll have a little bit drier season next year.

The Defender

Hunter had a fun first season of basketball. He didn't want to play at first but his best friend's Dad convinced him to join the team. I couldn't believe how much he progressed in two months. He greatly improved on his dribbling, blocking, lay ups and the pick and roll.

Hunter is a pretty gentle kid so it was hard for him to be in there with all those aggressive boys, throwing elbows and swatting the ball. Here he is in the thick of it.

After watching him one game I told him to try and be more aggressive. I asked him, "If you were playing against Michela, would you let her take the ball from you?" "No," he replied, "she's mean." So I told him to pretend like he was playing against Michela every game so he wouldn't let those other boys push him around.

Dribbling down the court.

Shooting a Free Throw.

Listening to the Coach.

Hunter and his Best Buddy Adam.

Hunter was given the Best Defensive Player award at the end of the season party.

(It was a swim party, hence the swimsuit.) He grumbled a bit about always having to be the defender. Hunter is one of the tallest kids on the team so he got to hang out under the basket a lot and try to block the ball. To cheer him up I told him in the NBA a lot of guys get paid big money because they are the best defenders. That put a smile on his face. :)

Family Baseball Night

For Family Home Evening we decided to end with a little baseball.  Mike was pitching to the kids in our backyard while I was inside cleaning up.  Hunter came running in to tell me that I needed to come take a picture of Aria.  When I got out there I found Aria holding the bat looking like she was ready to take a swing.  

She loved carrying the bat around and picking up all the balls.  She even added "bat" to her growing list of words that night.  Chase was getting some good hits and was very cautious about running the bases, he didn't want Dad to get him out.  

I love this picture of Hunter hitting the ball.  The ball came straight at me! 

Michela is a brute. She was whacking the balls out over the fence and then she was running so fast around the bases that Mike never had a chance at catching her.  

A couple of times the kids were all on the bases so I stepped in to help bring them home.  

Mike, the ever competitive, suddenly started throwing the ball as fast as he could.  

It wasn't easy hitting them with the kids' little bats but I did succeed in getting a piece of some and getting them past him.  It was a fun night and the evenings in our backyard are always so nice, no matter how hot the day has been.  

Baseball Season is Over

Michela, Hunter and Chase had a lot of fun playing baseball this month. Chase was on a great little T-Ball team called the Tigers and Hunter and Michela both played on the same Machine Pitch team for the A's.
Chase loved getting up to bat and whacking the ball. He didn't need any help from the coach, he just stepped up, kept his eye on the ball and let 'er rip! I loved watching him run the bases because the helmets are all a little big so he kind of looked like a little bobble head running around out there. Here he is giving me the thumbs up after he got to first base. Chase also has a great arm. He could throw the ball from first base all the way to home.
Hunter made some great improvements this year. He isn't afraid of the ball anymore, he's throwing better and he was getting some great hits.


Michela shocked the boys once again with her skills. They were kind of giving her a hard time until in the first game she made a great play at third and got the ball over to first. The runner would have been out if the BOY at first would have been on the stinkin' base! :) Here she is getting ready to catch the ball at First.

She also continued to hit the ball just as good as the boys. Here she is just about to crush it. I had a lot of fun watching them this year. I love cheering them on and watching with pride as they connect with the ball or make a great play out on the field. I can remember when I was out there playing baseball when I was their age, the only girl on the team. Those were some good times. I hope my kids enjoy it as much as I did.

Soccer Monsters!

The month of May was full of soccer every Saturday for us. We spent the better part of the morning down at the soccer field watching Chase, Hunter and Michela play. Michela gets better every year. She was a great defender and wasn't afraid to get in there and muscle the ball around. She had an awesome goal her second game where she kicked it from the side and zipped it right past the other team and goalie. I think I was more excited than she was.

Hunter is making progress. He still hops around the field a lot, but he got a little more aggressive and made some great blocks. He too scored a goal in his second game when he bounced it off a player from the other team and it went into the goal.

This was Chase's first year and he was a lot of fun to watch. He was running all over the place and was good at taking the ball around the huddle of players. He made a goal one game and he looked completely surprised that the ball had gone in.

Aria even wanted in on the action. She loved putting on their shin guards and walking around the house in them.