The End of Soccer

Maddux had her last soccer game this weekend. She and her team came really far and had a great last game, complete with one goal by Mad Dog. After the game they had pizza and cupcakes and trophies (Oh My!). Maddux is already asking to be signed up to play again...

Bible Verses

So the kids and I did some extra driving last week as we went on our 'field trips'. As always, I told the kids to bring a book in the car. (Not that I have to remind Eli; he has a book with him very often these days.) I didn't realize it until we were halfway home, but Eli brought Harry Potter AND his Bible. The reason I found out he brought it was he started asking me about my favorite verses. Whaaaat? So he asked me to tell him my verse so he could look it up. Then he'd read it out loud to verify it was indeed the one I thought it was. Amazing.....

Fall Field Trips

What a fun week! The kids had early release all week to accommodate parent-teacher conferences. That means they got home just after noon, allowing for much afternoon play time. I tried to fit in some fun 'fall' activities that are usually more difficult for us to fit in after school. One day we had a massive play date in the cul-de-sac area, one day we went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to see the Halloween scarecrows (an annual trip for us), and one day we hopped in the car and headed east to a paved hiking trail I discovered a few months ago.

On that particular day, I threw the kids' scooters in the trunk and we drove about 45 minutes to the spot I thought I'd visited before. Unfortunately it was not the same spot. Luckily the place we landed had a playground, so the kids got out and played for a few minutes while I tried to find the 'real' location on my phone. Ten minutes later, we were in the right spot. The kids strapped on their helmets and took off. Maddux brought a little bag with her so she could collect leaves...love that. This trail is part of the PATH system, so it's paved, but it meanders through the woods. The colors of the trees really make it a nice walk/ride, and the weather was picture perfect. We stopped a few times for a quick snack, and eventually turned back to return to the car. Their favorite part was where we turned around: the path got 'squiggly' and they thought it was hilarious! Even though the path was hilly, the kids had a great time AND they went about 3 1/2 miles.

Muscles

So the other night we had an Eliason standard of 'summer' vegetables sauteed with potatoes and chicken sausage. As usual, at least one child initially resisted the peppers. And as usual, once said child (this time it was Maddux) finally tried them, it was instant love. She couldn't stop raving about the orange bell peppers.

This carried over later than night into her bath. She told us: "Look at my muscles!!! You know those peppers I ate at dinner? They grew them! People will see me and be like, 'whoh! where did those come from?' and I'll tell them cuz I ate my dinner and sweet peppers." We had her repeat herself for the camera, of course, cuz we're those parents.

Little 5 Points Halloween Parade

It's a tradition for us: the weekend a full week before Halloween we get dressed up and head down to L5P for some over-the-top Halloween fun. This year we started preparing an hour ahead of time, to make sure we had time to put on Maddux's face make-up and get all of our costume pieces in place. (The kids and I decided it was a great way to 'test drive' our costumes before Halloween.)


As always, there were ghosts, ghouls, vampires and lots and lots of gory random zombie-ish things. The kids had a blast and saw many costumes they may incorporate in the future. Maddux's Wicked Witch of the West was awesome, but she was a little hesitant about it as we arrived. However, we saw a few green-faced witches in the crowd and parade, and that seemed to redirect her to her character.

Last Game

Not the 'last' last game, but the last one of the regular season anyway. Eli and the Mudcats finished strong this weekend with a fought-to-the-finish win over their opponent, winning by one run, and ending with a total score less than one team usually scores on their own. Eli didn't make any outstanding plays this time around, but he continues to grow in his skill. (Is that PC enough? :) ) Here is a little video of a few games from the season looped together.

Bringing NOLA to ATL

Last night the four of us drove to a little college about an hour north of us for a very special family date night. Preservation Hall Jazz Band was performing in a small performing arts center and Lehr got us front row seats. The kids were really well behaved during the show, especially considering it was a very 'dignified' event, with the audience both in the 60+ age bracket and sitting securely in their seats the whole time. Both kids loved when the trumpet player used his mute...they thought it was hilarious.

Soccer Girl

Maddux is still loving every second of soccer. We will definitely be playing this sport again. This morning, Maddux and her team progressed even further, playing actual positions a few times during their game. At one point, Maddux, who was playing goalie, took the ball all of the way down the field, scoring a goal. When she ran back to her position, very far away from where she'd traveled, she looked at another girl on her team and said, "I just scored a goal for our team. Did you believe?!?!?" (She meant, "Can you believe it?")

Be Still My Heart

Tonight we had another late-late baseball game. (When the first pitch is thrown AFTER bedtime, I consider it to be late-late.) I suggested one of us stay home with Maddux to spare her the abbreviated sleep; Lehr ended up with the girl and I took Eli to his game. He was sleepy in the car, but perked up as he always does when we pulled into the parking lot. He had a great game, making an out and getting several hits. When we had about 15-20 minutes left, he came to the fence between innings and asked me if the game was almost over. He was smiling as he said, "Cuz I'm pretty sleepy."

The highlight for me came in the final inning. The boys were up to bat which meant Eli was in the dugout. I was flipping through pictures on my camera when I heard, "Mom. Mom!" I looked over and saw Eli smiling at me, trying to get my attention. I waved and then he blew me a kiss. Yeah. Life is good.