Ahh... The most wonderful time of the year

It's that time again, soccer time!

Soccer season is in full swing. After practicing for a month, including a week long training camp, games are on the schedule!

This is JJ's first year playing in a competitive league. We decided it was time to give him the coaching he desires. The kids eat, sleeps, and breathes soccer. We wouldn't have done it if he didn't want to.

So far, we're impressed with his coach. A 20 something recent college grad with years of soccer experience. He's a little tough on the kids, but its nothing overbearing or uncalled for. We like that he holds the kids accountable and he follows up with positive reinforcement.

The team (club) colors are orange and white and I just have to say that I think JJ looks sharp in orange!



This weekend is their home tournament. JJ is pumped up. I'm pumped up because I've rented a ridiculous super telephoto. Lets hope I can manage it and I can get some great photos of his team in action.

Think this, only better!

Stay tuned.... More of numero quatro to come!

I'm still here

The summer has come and almost gone. It seems to move by so fast sometimes. I've neglected this little place, mostly because work has been a chore and I haven't had the time. We've got some new staff around here, so maybe I can coordinate blogging back into my schedule (after all, soccer season has begun!)

So what have you missed.... JJ's 10th birthday!





He's a lucky kid to have a summer birthday! We had a day full of fun filled activities. We opened presents first thing in the morning, we had lunch with friends, and then we had a party on the lake!

JJ decided he wanted to invite from friends out on his Step-Dad's boat. We loaded up 4 10 year olds, 4 adults and 2 ski-doos and headed out.







The boys had a blast tubing around the lake







Gene had a blast driving the ski-doo







Me, I had a blast taking photos from the boat!





Do you think he's having any fun?

I'm so lucky to have such a great kid. I can't believe he's already 10 years old! He's getting into some tween behaviors. The attitude sneaks out every now and then. And eye roll makes an apperence occassionally. We're stuck right now between little boy and little man. Don't grow up too fast JJ!

Its really all about the boys

What I love about the mountain house is that it has a very large backyard. I think its suppose to be a neighborhood common area, but its hardly ever used. We love it because it gives (well, it gives the boys) a chance to do one of their favorite mountain activities... Wiffleball!



Several years ago, I bought a wiffleball set and took it with us. Regular baseball is hard because the space isn't as big as our yard, and they wouldn't be able to hit the balls very far. Plus, Woody is the catcher and needs a soft ball for his teeth. Wiffleball was a big success and its become a vacation staple.

This year, they even started up as soon as we got there. Once we unloaded and I hit the grocery store to stock up, the boys took to the field. They have a set of rules they made up, and they keep score. It gets very competitive.

You can see how excited JJ gets when he strikes Gene out. Can you also see I'm trying out storyboards. I have so many photos that I don't want to bog the blog down. I decided its tims I learn more about photoshop. I'll admit this is a pre-packaged storyboard from The Coffeeshop Blog. Someday I hope to be good enough to create my own.

Wiffleball is at least a daily occurance, if not more than that. They've simplified it so it doesn't take long to play a "game". Most of the time while they are playing, I'm sitting on the porch watching, or this year, in their face with the camera

Its the laughs and the smiles that make it so much fun...



And I obviously need to spend more time with photoshop. I swear JJ did not get attacked by an oompa-lumpa!

Woody the Wonder Dog

Over Memorial Day weekend, Woody and the boys competed in their yearly Disc Dog competition. (We call is Frisbee, but that's a copyright term, so Disc it is!)

This is the third year the boys have done this. JJ competes in the Junior division (kids under 12) and Gene competes in the Novice. They have done fairly well the past two times. In years past we've had some awful weather situations, this year though, we were just blessed with sun and heat.



Its hot out here mama, but I'm having sooooo much fun!


I was very excited to have my parents visiting for this event. They were very patient with all the waiting that goes on. You know they can wait around all day just to see a few seconds of action because they attended so many Regattas for so long!


Every participant gets to toss the Disc in two rounds. They usually just allow the top 10 to toss again, but because they had the time and space, they allowed all participants this year to throw again. Gene was excited about this because he hadn't done very well in the first round.

JJ has some competition this year, he usually is the only kid competing. However, this year, a cute little 4 year old girl decided to toss with her dog. She was really cute and tried really hard. JJ made sure to tell her how good she did after the awards were given out.





Woody, of course was in all his glory. He loved every minute of it. He was off his game at some points. I think he gets distracted easily. He also got confused several times when he saw me on the side lines.

My mom also was able to get some great shots...



Thats her in the background on the left... thanks mom!


In the end, I think everyone had fun...

High Fives to get your game face on!

And a little something shiny for the trophy case...

We say after this event we want to do more. But, it always seems that other things get in the way (hmm.. soccer?!?!) Hopefully, this year we can keep good on our word and get to a few others.

Whoop Whoop

JJ made the A team! Yeah!!!! Actually, they call it the orange team. My mother in law is going to love that. (Don't hate, she's a Carolina Fan, orange is her least favorite color!) It helps that its her grandbaby, so she can't hate too much.

Way to go JJ!

Coming up for air

So as I previously mentioned, things have been pretty busy around here. I've got a moment or two that I'm designating blog time. I've got lots of topics to discuss, but I'm going to stick to just one right now.

Soccer, and JJ's soccer.

Let me tell you, this kid LOVES this sport. He dreams of bending like Beckham and vuvuzelas at the World Cup. We've always kept him active because he always has so much energy, and really I think it was a way to tire him out so he would sleep at night!


Can you see his dreams?

This year, his soccer skills have exponentially grown. Well, at least in my opinion. But really, other coaches have come up to tell us what a great player he his. That always makes me feel warm and fuzzy, even though I really had nothing to do with it. (Besides working my ass off to afford the gas in the car to get us there and back!)

Here he is getting aggressive.



We've work hard to get him to support his own. A mama has never been so proud. And... he didn't even get fouled!

I was bummed that most of the week day games this year were later at night and nearly in the dark. That doesn't bode well for my picture taking itch. However, I had weekend games. But, most of those got rained out. I was losing hope. But, mother nature was nice to me, and gave me one last great day.

JJ wrapped up the soccer season with a great saturday game.

Even though it was noon and really sunny, I still had a blast, as did he!



Well, maybe not every minute



I thought my soccer days were over till the fall, but we learned of an opportunity and we jumped on it. JJ has always played on our local, small town recreation team. A group of the better playes from that league, travels to the big city on saturdays to compete with other teams. We've considered getting him on a team in the big city, but it would be really hard for us to get him to practice, twice a week. (Its an hour each way).

But, we heard that our little bit bigger, but not big city near us, has something similar. And, get this, they play their games in the big city on Sundays! So, we wouldn't have to give up the best day of the weekend anymore.

So last Saturday, JJ went for evaluations. Basically, if you pay your money, you are on a team. But, the coaches want to check you out so they know whether to put you o the varsity team or the JV.

They did drills



And our favorite term is now "on the jog". The coach makes them jog everywhere. He tells them, "on the jog" boys. JJ is gonna HATE that term! (insert evil mom laugh)

They had some discussions


And then they got to scrimmage...



JJ didn't like wearing a penny, and he kept adjusting it. At one point he traded with another kid so his could fit better.



Doesn't the boy on the right look like he's having fun. I can't wait to keep my lens on that one!

He went again yesterday for more evals, but I left the camera at home this time. But, he should find out later this week if he made the A team or the B. (He thinks A, all the way!) Either one would be fine with us.

They will reconviene in August with a week long evening camp and then practice, hard core twice a week once school starts. JJ can't wait. And ya know, I can't either...

Lets Get Ready to Rumble!

So Soccer isn't really a contact sport. Well, there is some contact, but its not like Football (American Football). There's some pushing and shoving, maybe some elbowing or kicking, but nothing major. Most of the time it is not about contact it is about being aggressive.

JJ's never been an aggressive kid. He's smart, he's a thinker. With soccer, he could easily use his footwork to steal the ball and not need to throw an elbow. (Which is a foul by the way!) But, now that he's older and the skill of the other players has caught up, sometimes its needed to get a little aggressive.

This is a JJ sandwich...

Last weekend, he played a team that had a notoriously aggressive player on it. This kid, A, has played on the same team as JJ for several years, but this year his parents moved him to a "better" team. (I don't blame them, we never practice, we're like the Bad News Bears sometimes!). A is known for rolling around on the ground, screaming its a foul, and having to be carried off the field. This happens almost EVERY game. We blame it on watching too much professional soccer.

So, last week, I told JJ that he was to play A's team and I wanted to see him make A roll around on the ground. I was only joking and JJ knew this.

Then, minutes into the last quarter, I see this...



Yep, that's JJ and A on the ground. It's followed by this...



And then this...



Karma, its a bitch you know! Next time I'll keep my mouth shut. But A was ok. Just shaken up a bit. You can see that JJ's left shoe slid into A's left shoulder. I'm sure that hurt, but it was an accident. When they were both being aggressive to get the ball, momentum got the best of them and they ended up in a pile on the ground.

Son... please tell we what you were thinking!



It's all fun and games until....

Homecoming

I've gotten behind on my blogging. Last week was busy and I didn't have time to sit down and look at my photos. I try not to do much editing to them, but with Internet photography theft rampant, I at least need to watermark my stuff before I put it out there. And that my friends, still takes a little time.

So, getting back on track on what you've missed. Last week was JJ's Homecoming Day. We really turned it into a weekend long celebration. We've always wanted him to know how special he is and how special the day was that he came to his forever home.

This year we decided to give authentic Korean food a try. We don't live in a mega metropolis, or even close to a tiny metropolis, so our options were limited. And by limited, I mean one! This one, we've noticed before. Its smashed in a dinky old building connected to a dinky old gas station. We had JJ convinced we were eating at the gas station!

I'll admit that I was skeptical, but it turned out to be really nice. It was clean and it was busy.

We were all a little insecure with the menu, but we decided to take chances and go for it. The owner was our waiter and he was very helpful in guiding us to some tasty choices.






JJ's mom brought a cake for the celebration. She joked with me that it was store bought, that I shouldn't hate because she doesn't have my mad baking skills (which apparently JJ talks about all the time!) I didn't hate, after all its my favorite kind of store bought, Publix!

So the Korean fare expedition was just the starter. Saturday after the soccer game (sorry no photos folks, it was raining. I was not going to try to figure out how to hold an umbrella and my camera and take photos all at the same time) we were heading to a rivalry baseball game. My college, Clemson, and Gene's, South Carolina, were playing in a three game duel and the middle game was at our local minor league stadium. We had tickets, as did friends, so we met for lunch.
It so turns out that the game got cancelled because of bad weather, but rescheduled for later in the week. The boys had fun though, don't they look cute in their rivalry outfits!




I was disappointed that the game got move to a night time because I stink at night photos. Gene did get one of me and JJ. Its not perfect, but its a perfect memory.



My team ended up losing, 4-5. But we rallied in the 9th. It was a good game considering we were playing the National Champs!

JJ's homecoming turned into more than just a weekend, and he milked it for all he could. Its been 10 years since JJ came home. Here's a look back from that day.

Cookies

This weeks theme at Trendy Treehouse is Cookies. I love cookies. I love baking cookies, eating cookies, anything about cookies. Emmm.... cooookkkie (Say that in your best Cookie Monster voice)

I skimmed the files to see what I could pull up, because I don't have time today to bake and photograph new cookies. I came across a photo that Gene had taken at Christmas time. JJ and I have a tradition on Christmas Eve. We bake cookies for Santa. He's finally old enough to understand some of the math that goes into baking, so its fun to teach him how to use what he's learned.

JJ is great helper in the kitchen.



I love that this photo is just a snapshot of a great memory. Of course, the kitchen is a mess. But its often like that when I'm working in it. I promise I clean it up when I'm done! Don't your love my harvest gold Kitchenaid? It belongs to my mother in law. She rarely used it, so I swiped it a few years ago. She told me as long as I share with her what I use it for, she'll be glad for me to keep it.

And no, I don't normally wear that much make up to bake. Gene and I had been to a funeral earlier that day and I didn't take it all off. Why not feel glamorous when you bake?!?!

Are you tired of this one yet?

I really think I'm getting good use out of this photo. This week at I Heart Faces, the theme is People's Choice. The only requirement, is it had to be taken in February.

I cropped it in some this time, to highlight his face, mostly his cheeks.

I hope you don't hate me for blogging this one again, but I had to!





Check out I Heart Faces for more People's Choice

Sweet New Kicks

JJ needed some new soccer cleats. He's growing so fast, its hard to keep up. His feet are now bigger than mine!

Anyway, he went with his mom to pick out a new pair. He was so excited to show me what he picked. He made me turn my back and close my eyes as he put them on to model for me. I've never seen him so in love with something before. Its the cutest thing, ever!

They must have been a good pick because he scored a goal during their debut game! For me though, at least now when I look back, I can differentiate seasons because of shoes!





Aren't they wild!




They make him run like the wind!






This weeks theme over at the Paper Mama is Movement... I'm including this one. I think there is a lot of movement going on in this photo




Are you sick of soccer yet... hehehehe... it just started... we've got at least 2 more months!
I didn't feel like I got a lot of great shots this past Saturday. My BFF and her son came by to watch and we ended up chit-chatting a lot of the time. I wasn't as focused on the game as I was last week.