Unexpected Blessings

This happiness makes 8 hours in the car by myself with two young boys, totally worth it!

We didn't expect to find ourselves at the beach this week, but WE ARE! What a blessing!  Unfortunately Jake is working and couldn't come down with us, but last night he worked it out to come down this weekend! Yippee!  We are so excited to be here and even more excited that Jake will be here this weekend.  Even Aunt Hannah is going to come in some time tomorrow and stay a few days!

This is Henry's first time at the beach and he LOVES it!  There is a great sandbar right out from the condo and he has spent hours there today.  It's hard to even get a picture of his face because he's looking down at the sand and water constantly.  This is also the first year that Jack is really enjoying himself and is feeling confident in the water.  Grandpa got him a cool surfboard so he has been busy "learning to surf." 

Long mornings in the sun make for wonderful, long nap times!  We all need it after sleeping in one room last night.  I never knew that BOTH of my boys snore and talk in their sleep.  Hysterical, but makes it difficult to get much resting accomplished!

Soccer

So we always said we wouldn't put Jack into any organized sports until he turned 5, but the opportunity presented itself for him to participate in soccer this year.  He has pretty limited contact with other kids his age these days (except for church and preschool time with C), so this was a great way to give him some peer interaction and get some exercise.

During the first week the team was lining up to give Coach John high fives.  This picture just cracked me up, especially the girls!  The one with her hands on her face is the coach's daughter.  The other two gals, near Jack, are serious ball players and don't mess around.  Jack was wanting to show Coach John his number - #9!

Coach John & Coach Terry (our neighbor & friend - pictured above) have done a fantastic job and have gotten lots of exercise themselves.  They spend the majority of the playing time running after rogue players who have inadvertently exited the field with the ball and proceeded to join another game going on adjacent to our field.

Terry's son, Carson, is small in stature but he makes up for it in speed and skills.  He is our leading scorer and appears to be loving every minute of every game!

The kids play 4-on-4 with 6 minute periods. There are three 6 min periods, a 5 min halftime, and 3 more 6 min periods. 6 minutes doesn't seem like very long to me, but Jack thinks it is an eternity. I think this was the same day he said "I had to play for a long time...at least an hour, Mom!"

One of Jack's favorite parts so far is taking a break.  He loves to come to the side and drink from his water bottle.  This past week he even volunteered to be the first one to take a break. Maybe this means he needs a little more exercise during the week......

Sometimes Jack even takes a break on the field!  He has spent some quality time laying on the grass during each game.  Luckily here he was just taking a "short break" and didn't get squashed by the other players.

Fun Preschool Days

One of the first letters we studied in preschool this year was S.  We spent a lot of time learning about the Sun and Jesus as the Light of the World.  The kids drew "suns" and "s" on a large piece of paper.  

They thoroughly enjoyed using shaving cream to practice their handwriting.

Notice C has a cute backpack.  Jack thinks he needs one too.  I've tried to explain that all his stuff is right here at our house and he doesn't have to carry anything anywhere.  We might be getting a backpack one of these days.....

We made suns using finger paint and talked about ABAB patterns.

Another little friend M was able to join us for preschool recently.  Jack and C were thrilled to have someone else to learn with for the day. She jumped right in and was such a joy! Sometimes it's nice to have some girl infusion in my boy world.....

We have a 4 yr old!

For the past few years we have loved ending our summer with Jack's birthday bash!  For his 3rd birthday he had a swimming party with tons of friends, but it was a bit overwhelming for ALL involved, so this year we toned it down and just had a family party.

Toy Story has always been a favorite movie, so having Toy Story 3 come out this summer was fantastic!  Jack LOVES all things Buzz, Woody, Jessie, etc.... We had a great time eating lunch together, opening presents and enjoying some super yummy cake!  Thanks everyone for making Jack's day memorable.  He really enjoyed his day.  We thank the Lord for the gift he has been to our family!    

This is his new serious 4 year old face.

Side note, if you are in ChattaVegas, check out BB Cakes for your next celebration!  Becky is super sweet and does excellent work.  If you can think it up, she can do it.  You won't be disappointed!