April 24, 2007

Here is what we've been up to the last couple of weeks. I let too much time slip by before updating the blog.

Sarah has a loose tooth. She can't wait until it comes out and she can leave it for the tooth fairy. Last night, she left an old tooth (I am not really sure where it came from and what species it came out of) under her pillow. She got $2.00. I told her the tooth fairy might not be happy being fooled like that, but she thought it was hilarious.

Sarah played soccer again and did quite well, but no goals this week. She played well and had fun too, so all was good. Well, almost anyway.

Before the game started, I made her tuck in her uniform shirt and she was not happy about that. Here is the face she made at me when I made her tuck in her shirt. Clearly, an unhappy camper. I still think she looked a lot better with the tucked-in shirt in the photos (as in the above photo).

Last Friday, Nick and I went to an international dinner night at Betty and Todd's (Sister and Brother-in-Laws) church. They had sponsored the Russian table and thought it would be cool if a real live Russian came so while Yvonne and Sarah went to her softball pre-season pizza party, Nick and I went to the dinner. Fortunately, no Russian food was served and I enjoyed the chicken breast, mashed potatoes and green beans and he ate about 30 chicken nuggets. I think he is growing. Anyway, the highlight of the evening was the the Chinese acrobats. Everyone enjoyed their show.


Nick has had about a 2 week break from baseball due to a weird schedule, but will be back in action Thursday night. In the mean time, here is a pic of him hanging out in the back yard. Notice the small white fleck on his chin. Remnants of a marshmallow from a little bonfire we had Saturday night. We roasted hotdogs and finished with marshmallows.

April 14, 2007

Nick's baseball season starts in two days, but they had a pre-season tournament. Unfortunately, his team did not advance out of the first round (1 win-1 loss), but they had fun and are now prepared for the regular season. Nick is playing second base this year. It is a privilege to play the infield and he spent most of last year in Centerfield, and not by his choice. He is a much better player this year. He can throw better, field better and hit much better. And most importantly, he is having more fun because of it.

Before I post some pix, I tell a bit of conversation I had with a neighbor friend the other night. He is the president of the boosters for the Halls High baseball team and I have been taking pictures of the team, and especially his son, in exchange for free admission to the games. He was telling me his son was not going to pursue a college baseball career, but rather, was going to spend more time with his friends fishing, hiking, camping and the like. He had enough of baseball. He told his dad that it would be great if he and his dad could start doing some of these activities they had missed out on while focusing on sports growing up. He said his son told him he did not regret the large role sports played in his childhood, but he was ready for a change. I hope I am not pushing too hard.

Anyway, on to some fun pix of Nick and his buddies playing ball and by the looks of it, having fun doing so.

Life at the speed of light

Life is moving so fast now, I've been neglecting the blog. As it is, It's 11pm on a Wednesday night, I'm beat, so I'll be brief and type fast.

Sarah is going to be a soccer star. No, it's not just some overly-proud dad talking. Rather, it is my unbiased opinion. She simply dominates the u-6 league she is. Last week, she scored 6 goals and took 1/2 game off. But more impressive than her goal scoring was her defense. At one point early in the game, she sprinted down the field and took away the ball from a boy who thought he was going in for an uncontested goal. That team did not get another shot on goal until Sarah took the 4th quarter off. Literally, she just hung out near the goal and did not move in a effort to let the other team get a couple of goals so as not to completely squash their egos. Above, Yvonne tells Sarah to take a few minutes and just hang out.

When she wasn't just hanging out though, she was a scoring machine, easily beating her opponents to the ball and streaking towards the goal. They tried to stop her, but she would not yield.

Her t-ball is going well too. As is Nick's baseball. They haven't started any real games yet, but I am using their practices as a tune-up for my baseball photography skills. I'll be ready when their seasons start, and I reckon they'll be ready too.