Soccer Season Begins!

Well the whole video debacle has left me wiped!! I can assure you that it will be a long time before I try that again. So, for now, I am going to try and make a dent in all the photos I have taken over this past weekend. Well, technically this is one Auntie Peggy took of our little brother Kelty. Kelty used to be OUR dog. Then all that Cocker hair and dander accumulation pushed Julia's allergy induced asthma off a cliff! We actually owe Kelty a huge thanks because it was his arrival in our home that brought Julia's illness into sharp focus! Now Kelty is Auntie Peggy's dog.....because he is the BEST dog ever and she didn't have the heart to see him go to the pound...as if we'd have let that happen?!?!? So the after school snack on Friday was pure organic perfection! The 'family' garden never really happened so Auntie Peggy put a few of the seedlings in her flowerbeds and the harvest is well underway...... this is my Julia for you! Happy to have her fresh veggies...even if those tomatoes are going to leave her with a mouth full of sores...yep, another of her allergies! Friday's harvest was one large cucumber and 105 cherry tomatoes!!!! Then we grabbed their gear and headed out for soccer practice. OF COURSE they both practice the same day at similar times AND play the same day at similar times!!! Julia's age group has just moved up to the second to biggest field which makes for a whole lot more running! More running means more water! ...and hopefully less belly. Then right back out for more running. I still marvel at the fact that the Guatemalan with no genetic tendency to height is so much bigger than her peers! That big smile is why Julia has been figuring so prominently in the blog of late. Her big sister has been absent because that teenager I noticed back a couple of posts ago has reared her moody head!...and she's only 11.5! Can a mother hope that means she will re-emerge from her teen complex younger too?!?! 'Mayan thunder clouds' is how my family refers to this look...the one where she's making it clear with her body language that she's not happy with you at that moment! This was a combination of annoyed and embarrassed because I was asking for a picture at her first soccer practice.... and when I didn't fall for 'the look' there was the big stomp off ! In the end she did calm down and give me the pleasant Mari. Saturday morning dawned dark and foggy!! The kids were totally amazed at the dense fog and went out to 'feel' the air. Good thing their soccer games were later in the day so the fog had time to burn off. We RARELY get fog so it was a treat to investigate the new phenomenon. Julia's game was first. This is a rare shot of Julia with her hair up in pony tails! It was a warm day and in the end she left them in all game even though I had caved and told her that they only needed to be in until half-time. This is a shot of her giving me the "What, don't you think I can handle goalie??" And this is a shot of her having just made a save in goal!!! Yeah!!! Lots of running in the games too. Which makes for one tired and red faced little girl!!! Then we were off to Mari's game. Yes, that would be her BFF in goal. They are happy to at least share soccer together this year since they got no classes together at school. Sometime between Friday night and Saturday afternoon an alien took over the body of my daughter! A super energized, team player emerged and she played like I have NEVER seen her play before!!! The 'defender' of the past has emerged into a more well rounded player. She ran after every ball and had shots on goal even! She might even make a goal before the fall is over! So while the big sisters are burning up the field in their game what do the two little sisters do? Pay not one iota of attention to the game!! They laid in the shade and talked the WHOLE game. At games end Mari did a bit of laying in the shade too!!! She had left it all on the field and there was nothing left in reserve! BTW, her team kicked butt with a 4-1 victory!!! Her coach came up to me and asked what I had given her for breakfast? After reporting "Chocolate chip pancakes again!" he told me she was to be given them EVERY Saturday morning in soccer season! Good feeling to know how much everyone noted your improvement.