Soccer Season

For $25 we signed Parker up for soccer this Spring.  Not too bad of a price considering they played four games and got a t-shirt.  It was fun to watch Parker play with his friends.  The first few times were really cold and we had to pull out some warm clothes.  As time went on it did warm up and we enjoyed watching the games.  Lincoln and Henry enjoyed being out as well and Willie was able to hitch a ride from John to get to the games.    

Parker's last game he became a little tired after playing for a bit.  Willie told him to play in the back by the goalie and when the ball came he could go after it.  He really saved the game a couple of times.  The other team had some all-star kids whose parents were way into soccer and probably taught them since they were crawling.

At one point in the game Parker's buddies, Anya, Josh, and Noah all came over to encourage him to play with them but he just kind of hung back by the goalie.  It was precious to see his friends come over.

This was one of his defense skills; watch out!

I love this picture of the four kiddos.  Thanks for a fun little season of soccer.

Mommy and Me

Back in March I took the boys to the aquarium.  I knew we would be moving and the likelihood that we made it to the aquarium again would be pretty slim.  For a limited time they had discount tickets for a paid adult and you could get up to four kids under five in for free.  Wow, that really worked for my family.  All the kids are under five.  We invited some friends to attend with us.  Thanks for coming Salmon and Bahr Families. 

Included in the ticket price was the aquariums newest attraction, Dolphin Tales.  They expanded a little while ago and added dolphins; originally you had to pay to see them.  It was a fun little show they put on and the dolphins were pretty cool.  We weren't allowed to take pictures or video during the show.

During the day Parker had wandered off twice; once in the River area and again later just before the dolphin show.  I asked him both times to please stay by my side and make sure he knew where I was.  (kids aren't worried about where their parents are)

After visiting the big aquarium with the whale sharks and manta rays we visited the little play area.  We had never visited it before but Parker loved it.  It was geared more toward big kids rather than little kids like Lincoln and Henry.  Lincoln wasn't tall enough to go into some areas.  A few of our friends were planning to leave and it was getting a little late for nap times.  Just before heading out I decided to show the boys their feature display of Frogs, all kinds of varieties.  While we were there I walked around a column in the middle of the room and Parker was on one side.  As I came full circle around this 1 1/2 ft diameter column I noticed Parker was gone.  I walked back through the one room display of frogs and he wasn't there.  I kept calling for his name.  I went out of the room and couldn't see him.  There really was nobody up in this area and I became very worried.  I went to someone who was working and asked if she had seen him; no.  Really?  A boy walking by himself in a non crowded area and she didn't see him.  I continued on and she asked a few other people.  After about five minutes or worry we found that he had been taken to Customer Service.  I was so upset and we left right away.  Lincoln then threw a fit because we didn't get to browse the gift shop (strategically placed so you can only exit through there).  It was rough getting to the car.  We later talked about getting lost.

I am glad we could go to the aquarium one last time.  Next on the list is the zoo.

Spontaneous.

May 5, 2012
 This was a bit spontaneous for us.  We decided at 1 pm to go camping Friday night.  By 4:00 we were gone.  Willie had put in a few more hours at work after we decided.  This was a good weekend to go.  The moon was  so bright that night and turns out the next night it was 14 % larger than a normal full moon.  The boys were so excited to go camping.  We had planned to travel to the Blue Ridge Mountains because I knew they had a train museum up there and I thought it would be fun to do on Saturday.  We didn't make it that far, instead we went to Carter's Lake.  Turns out this particular campsite wasn't near the water it was up on a hill.  We worried a little about sliding down the hill.  We were able to get all set up in a nice spot.  Willie made a small fire for roasting marshmallows.

 It turns out that I wasn't feeling too well that night.  I think I was hit with a little food poisoning from our dinner.  Luckily it only lasted a couple of hours rather than a whole day.  I woke up just fine.  In the morning the boys were finding all sorts of bugs.  Caterpillars, centipedes (we called caterpillars), and a scorpion in the girls bathroom (I found that one),

 We packed everything up and put it in the van.  We stayed a little while longer to eat lunch and play some baseball.  

Father Son

May 12, 2012 Mother's Day Weekend.
The relationship between Willie and Parker is priceless.  Parker adores his dad so much.  Just this morning Willie checked the weather to see what kind of clothing he should wear for the day.  Slightly chilly in the morning but nice in the afternoon.  Pants and a t-shirt.  He got dressed.  Parker ran to his closet and picked out his outfit for the day, long sleeved shirt and shorts.  He came running back out into the kitchen to show his dad what he was wearing.
Willie recently introduced Parker to game-cast.  Something that I don't appreciate very well.  Parker loves to sit on the computer and watch where the baseball has been pitched and he's learning about strikes and balls.  He will run in whenever a ball has been thrown and tell us the new update, or it will be when there is a new score.  Parker is a game-cast addict.
Now on to the Father/Son Camp-out.  Just before Mother's day the boys gave me some time off by going camping with their dear ol' dad.  They went to a boy scout camp this year.  Little did I realize the kind of place scouts go.  No privacy for the restrooms and you can just pick a spot on the ground for your tent.  Our previous camping experiences we have had a designated spot where your tent goes.  I kept Henry with me for the night based on our previous camping trip the week before.  Henry likes to be helpful but sometimes he's just hard to keep track of.  I don't know much of what really happened on this night except that they enjoyed some store-bought cookies, the fire, and playing in the water near the bathrooms.

 There was a lake that they traveled to as well but we may need to find someone with pictures of that adventure.  Perhaps some photos to come later.