Basketball

The basketball season has officially started for us. We had only one week off from the end of soccer to the start of basketball (that week off was soooo nice!). We had the option of signing Clifford up with his first original coach, Coach Vinny, or last years coach, Coach Gary (or Papa G has the kids call him). We went with Coach Gary, as we felt he had a good balance of teaching the sport itself to the boys, as well as the importance of a good life (telling the boys to listen to their parents, do their chores, get good grades, etc). And half the boys that Clifford has played with from the last two years signed back up, which is nice because it makes them a bit more cohesive when playing. Practices started just this last week. We meet Tuesday and Thursday evenings. We haven't received the game schedule yet, but anticipate games to start the first weekend of December. Here's to hoping for a great season!!

Here are some random pics from practice last week. I completely forgot about taking a pic of Clifford right before his first practice (like I do every year...oh well).

Clifford warming up before the start of practice

Team Soccer Parties

The soccer season wouldn't be complete with out the end-of-the-season team parties! As Team Mom for Clifford's team, I organized a pizza party at a local Alfy's. Everyone really liked the trophies I ordered (thanks to Pete for helping to make the final decision!), and the cake received many ooohs and aaahhhs! The party was a success. Not bad for my first go-around as Team Mom. As for Kristjan, his team party was two nights later at Round Table Pizza. The coach's wife planned the party, so we just had to show up and enjoy ourselves :)

Cake and Trophies from Clifford's party.

 A little Thank-You gift from Clifford's team to me

 Pics from Kristjan's Party!

Soccer Season is Officially OVER!

The soccer season is officially over for us....we survived!! It was a crazy, hectic schedule these last two months, but we did awesome at juggling it. It's always a little rough when the weather starts to get colder and the days get shorter. Those 9 am games are a killer, trying to rush about making sure everyone is ready to go for the day. Or even those late afternoon games when all you want to do is veg out on the couch. It was especially hard during those times when Peter was out of town for camping or work and I had to do it all solo, trying to be at two places at once. BUT it was all worth it. And our boys were amazing, each growing in their own way with the sport.

Kristjan: He definitely improved from last year. His first ever game last year found him frozen in fear with tears running down his face as his then-coach aggressively yelled at him to move around. This year, Kristjan was more confident in himself. And he had a great coach. The coach never once negatively yelled at any of the kids during practice or the games. He was so patient, which partly helped Kristjan to actively participate. Kristjan still has a few areas to work on, such as running (not prancing...sorry but he does! lol) and to be a little more aggressive with the ball (it's all the kids at this age. they're too polite with the opposing player with waiting to see who will kick the ball first). But he had fun, which is what matters. I look forward to signing him back up again next Fall!

Clifford: He LOVES this sport. And he's good at it. He runs hard and kicks hard. Clifford was definitely one of the better players on the team. He scored his first-ever goal this season, which found him smiling ear-to-ear! This was his first time playing on a team, and we immediately noticed some issues that needed to be corrected immediately. Clifford wanted to go after the ball all the time, even if it meant stealing it from his own teammate. This also meant that he would stray from the position his coach put him in. After numerous times of talking to him about these two issues, Clifford slowly worked on these areas. By the end of the season, we could see an improvement. As for the Coach,
teammates, and their parents, we lucked out with having a great team! The Coach was volunteered by his wife at the last minute to take on the position, but he ended up doing a great job. He also never once yelled at the boys, only offering encouragement to the boys and driving home the point of good sportsmanship. The boys all worked well together, even the ones that you could tell weren't that good at the sport. And as for the parents, they were all great. This was especially crucial for me being Team Mom. It helped make the snack schedule, trophy ordering and planning of the team party go smoothly. We'll sign Clifford up again next Fall, in hopes of getting his coach and majority of his teammates again.

Kristjan at his last soccer game of the season.

 See the slight red spot under his eye? He ended up getting smacked in the face with the ball, which actually stopped a goal from the opposing team. 

 Clifford later in the day for his last soccer game of of the season.

Clifford requested I share this video of him :)

Trip to the Pacific Science Center

This last Sunday the boys and I were invited to go with Anne and her boys to the Pacific Science Center. Peter ended up having to work all that weekend, so I figured we'd head out for some fun rather than sit around the house. Plus, it's been a long time since we were last there (we would LOVE a family membership to there again if anyone is looking for ideas for a family Xmas gift...hint hint). For the most part we had fun. Clifford has been having some issues with his attitude, which put a damper on things between me and him (which then led to him getting grounded for a week..ouch!). BUT overall I'm happy we tagged along and could spend time with our friends. 

 This imitates a sneeze. On the ground they had 3 different sections to stand which represented the safe and unsafe germ area if someone were to sneeze without covering their mouth.

Catching a 3-D move about Great White Sharks