Saturday Snapshots

It's been a hot, sticky, busy day on the fields.

We started out at the Seminary for Field Day.  Nicholas thought the highlight of the morning was getting to "drive" the golf cart.  Look out folks!

Then we launched into the challenge of having two soccer games scheduled at the same time.  Christian caught a ride with a teammate, while Nick and I took Connor to his first game as a CCLS Charger.

Before leaving the house the paparazzi made the boys sit for a picture.

At the Kindergarten game, the coaches talked to the boys in the shade for a minute prior to the game about what good sportsmanship means, and gave some instructions before moving down to the field.

Nicholas didn't know what to think about it all.

But he settled in, cheering Connor on at the half.

Let's go Chargers!

                                     

I thought the final score was 3-3, but Connor tells me it was a 3-2 Charger win, so that's my story and I'll stick to it.

After the game, it's naturally snack time.

It was fun to watch this team. For their first game, they did great.  There are several boys who are already competent ball handlers on the field, and there was a lot of determination and energy. 

Until next Saturday, way to go boys!

Early Morning Civics Lessons

A couple mornings ago in the crazy rush to get out the door, Christian came in to see me. "Mom, can I get my globe and show you the country that they are talking about alot on the news?"  Sure.

So off he ran, and came back with his globe.  After spinning it around for a few minutes, he landed on Syria.

"Is this right?"

It sure is.  By this time Connor had joined us.

"Where is the red line Pres. Obama was talking about?"

Ah ha, they've been listening to the news.  Good boys.

They had a hard time understanding that the red line wasn't a physical line drawn on the globe somewhere.  So finally I explained that a year or so ago, Pres. Obama said that if Pres. Assad of Syria started to move or use chemical weapons, then there would be serious consequences.  Kind of like when I tell them that if they insist on playing soccer in the house and break a lamp, that there will be consequences (they did this recently).  

So, I told them, that because chemical weapons were used in Syria, it was time for consequences.  They started to understand.

While I didn't especially enjoy explaining the horrible things that happen with the use of chemical weapons, I did appreciate that my kids are paying attention to the news and wanting to understand what's going on in the world.  They need to be aware of how our government works so that they can be informed and make smart choices--and understand when elected officials (at any level) are either overstepping or not living up to their responsibilities.

So, they'll be learning a lot about civics in this house.  One cool place that I'm using to help them is a website developed by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, iCivics.

Justice O'Connor recently said "We have to ensure that our citizens are well informed and prepared to face tough challenges," she said. "If there is a single child not learning about civics or not being exposed to what they must do as citizens, then all our lives are poorer for that."

She's right.  So, we'll keep studying civics and current events in our house.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/09/06/201376/retired-justice-sandra-day-oconnor.html#storylink=cpy

What's Your News IQ

Pew released it's News IQ quiz today.

What do you know about the news?  Take the quiz here:

Fall sports are in full swing

School started and with it came a flurry of after school activity. We're on a learning curve this fall, now having two boys in both soccer and cross country.

Thursdays seem to be the crazy night of the week. Tonight the boys had their first cross country meet, followed by a scrimmage soccer game for Christian. 

First up, cross country. Christian and Connor have a lot of relatives who thrive on running (not me-I want to like to run, but I just haven't been able to), so this is in their blood. 

The field of K-2 boys gets ready. This is only about 2/3 of the field. 

Here we go!

Whew!

Here comes Christian.

I think he came in 7th overall. If we get times, I'll update.

Where's Connor?

Connor ran with such determination. Near the end, I watched him elbow out a kid who was trying to bump past him. No way was Connor going to let that happen. 

Waiting in the chute. 

Ribbons and suckers for everyone. 

After a mad dash from Lutheran High St. Charles to the Seminary to pick up Nicholas we landed at the soccer field for a scrimmage game for Christian's team. 

A whirlwind of an evening, but so, so fun to watch the boys and their teams. 

Smiles

I dare you not to smile at this face:

Guidance

From my reading today:

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.  Romans 12:12

A New School Year

School started for the two big kids last week.  Hooray!

We have a second grader:

And a Kindergartener:

Look out, it's going to be quite the year. 

End of Summer Playdate

School starts for the two older boys on Thursday.

 [Cue the angel choirs singing Hallelujah!]

So today, I took a couple of hours to go play with the boys.  The weather was perfect and the boys moods fantastic so it made for a great afternoon.

Our first stop was Citygarden.  What a great place this is, right in the heart of downtown St. Louis.

Right off the bat, the boys had to climb some bunnies.

 Then it was right off to the sculptures titled 2 Arcx x 4 and 230.5 Arcx.  The boys spent forever climbing on these.

There are so many little nooks with interesting art that you are encouraged to climb on...be free!  I was impressed when the boys first asked "Can we climb on this?" or passed up sculptures because they didn't think it would be right to climb on them.

 When we first arrived, Connor was very insistent that he did not want to get wet, so he wouldn't be playing in the water, thankyouverymuch.

Right.

He looked.

 Pretty soon he was jumping rock to rock.

 And then.

Each of the two pool areas has an attendant working to keep an eye on things. I was impressed with one attendant who questioned a group of young kids apparently there without an adult.  They ranged from about four to 10, with the ten year old seemingly in charge.  The attendant asked where they went to school, as many schools in town have started this week.  They muttered some answer that I couldn't understand, but he kept an eye on them, wanting to make sure that there were ok.

In the meantime, the boys spent lots of time playing in the water.

 Pinocchio is here.  The title of this piece is "Big White Gloves, Big Four Wheels."

 On to run through the Spray Plaza.

 After we left Citygarden, I decided to take the boys to the Sugar Shack in Kirkwood.  As true candy connoisseurs, I figured they would appreciate this.

As soon as the door opened and the smell of the gourmet cotton candy hit their noses, they both let out an awed "ohhhh."

Candy of all kinds fills glass jars on every side of the room.

 Old fashioned fountain drinks can be found here too.

The boys really surprised me when they each selected one small piece of candy--no arguments of any kind. What a treat!

All in all, it was a great afternoon.

Now to get ready for the first day of school!

5 Months Old

I've been absent from this space for far too long.  With a new school year about to begin, I'm hopeful that I can reclaim some small amount of time to get this back and active again.

While I've been away, we've watched this little gem grow so fast.  Yesterday he was five months old!

Shark Week

In 1492...

It's Columbus Day today.  Some of you might still be among the lucky few who still have schools or workplaces that recognize the observed holiday with a day off.  No such luck in our house!

We have been looking forward to Columbus Day for a week or two now though.  That's because Christian's first grade class learned that they would be putting on a little Columbus Day play for the parents.  To top it off, Christian was assigned the role of Christopher Columbus.

This afternoon, a gaggle of parents headed to the first grade room for the show.  Say hello to Christopher C!

At the end of the play, the kids sang a song about Columbus.  After the first time through, they asked everyone else to join in singing. I'm trying to upload a video of the song, but for some reason the video won't load.  Stay tuned!

Soccer Saturday

Yes, I know it's Monday evening.  It was such a hectic weekend that I never got around to posting a snapshot of a fun, fun Soccer Saturday.

Better late than never!

We started the day at Vetta where Connor is taking a soccer class with a group of four and five year olds.  It's been great to watch Connor get his turn at being the one on the field.  He's fast--unlike his brother, he thinks carefully about what he's doing.  Watching him, it's as though he's thinking to himself "I have to get my footwork just so...."

He's also discovered that it's fun to slide on the ground when he's heading to kick the ball.  Silly kid!

The coordination of four year olds is hysterical.  I love watching them try to do jumping jacks.  They may not be moving their arms and legs in sync, but boy they're giving it all they've got.

 After Connor's class wrapped up, we headed out to watch Chrisitian and the first grade Chargers play their third game of the season.  Heading into this game, the Chargers were 2-0.  What a fun season this has been so far.  The boys are playing much better as a team and their skills are getting stronger.

Game three was a wild ride.  The score was 0-0 deep in the second half.  The Chargers had been playing a strong game--great defense and good aggression on offense.  Despite a lot of shots on goal, nothing had made it into the net.

With five or six minutes left in the game, Christian seemed to have decided it was time to wrap the game up.  Next thing we knew, Christian was breaking away out of a pack of players at mid-field, charging toward the goal.  Boom!  GOAL!

No sooner was the ball back in play than Christian found himself with the ball again.  Boom! GOAL!

Final score: 2-0.

What a game.

First grade soccer is the best!

After Christian's game, we headed to watch the Lutheran High School South varsity team play a game.  Lutheran South had invited the area Lutheran schools to the game.  A strong showing of CCLS kids were there, most still in their red soccer jerseys from the day's games.

At halftime, there was a drawing for six kids to come on to the field for a kicking contest.  Wouldn't you just know it, but Christian's name was called.  Out he goes...

Each kid got to take five shots on goal.

Christian steps up...

He's that little-bity red speck in the middle.

He sends four of five into the net.

After the game, the grade school kids were invited onto the field to play a game.  Christian made sure that Connor came out to the field with him.

There were students from other area Lutheran schools there, but it was rather hard to tell as all of the CCLS kids were in uniform.  A sea of red.  They lined up before taking the field.

The "game" started out with all kids on the field.  After a time, the older kids came off to let the K-4 set play.  After the younger kids finished, the older kids went back on the field.

When all was done, Connor--all smiles--led the pack off the field.

Fall Fun

Yesterday, Christian had early dismissal at school.  We decided that it would be a great day to take the boys over to Eckert's Millstadt to pick apples and play.  As it turns out, it was the perfect time to go.  The weather was spectacular, and because it was a Friday afternoon, the crowds were non-existent.  The kids had a ball.

I'd given the boys a map of the farm before we arrived.  They spent much of the drive over plotting out what they wanted to do first.

First up, apple picking.

 And apple eating.

Checking out an old tractor.

Connor loved riding bikes on the bike path.

 Kettle corn

 Darren was generous to take the boys on the Pumpkin Patch spinny-thing ride.  It made me queasy just watching them.

 Here he is after the ride.

 The boys did the big Mine Shaft slide, the Tower, swung on tire swings, saw lots of pumpkins, saw some friends from school, and played on the swing ride.

But what was the most fun--and looked like loads of fun to me--was the jumping pillow.  It was very, very had to get them off of this.  Everybody, Jump, Jump!!

Social Studies

Christian was watching the news with me this morning--actually, he started off saying "I demand you turn on my shows!"

Right.  Like that's going to persuade me to put on cartoons.

So we watched the news.  After a few minutes, he started paying attention and asking some questions about the presidential election.  Yay for politics!  That led us to talking about the Constitution, which ultimately led me to introduce him to Schoolhouse Rock.  What a classic.

We watched the video about the Preamble...

Then a bit about Paul Revere

And then, Fireworks (this was Connor's favorite).

Followed by several others...YouTube is so great for pulling up these classics.

Now, it's off to a day of soccer.

Happy Fall!