Soccer Season: Another weekend, another game

Go, Tigers!

And boy, was it a rough one!

Good game, boys.  Good game.  :)

Take that, Dragons!

Aww... Look at that sweet boy!

So enthusiastic to play.

So mild mannered.

Until that whistle blows...

Then you better look out!

Because he is a man on a mission.

To get.that.ball.

And once he's got it in his sights...

It's all his!

Look at that determination!

Look at that tongue!  :)

I wouldn't get between him and the ball if you know what's good for you.  Relative or not.

Because once he sets his sights on it, no one is going to hold him back.  Or push him around.  At least not with just one hand.  :)

Soccer skills

And here I thought the hardest thing we would have to master at Soccer was learning not to pick up the ball with our hands...

At least I was in the right ball park - turns out the hardest skill we have to master at soccer is learning our right hand from our left and learning how to shake hands after the game.  :)  At least for some of us...

"Hold your RIGHT hand out."

"Shake hands."

And say "Good Game!"

Yep... my little lefty always has to do things his own way.  :)

My cheeks hurt from just how much these pictures made me smile.  :)

4 year old soccer

4 year old soccer is alot like 3 year old soccer.  Only faster, and crazier.  :)

We had our first game this weekend - or the first game that we have made it to due to rain outs and vacation.  :)

Before the game we had team pictures - at least for once we should actually be IN the team pictures!  Though who knows how are they are going to turn out.  Kevin snapped a few pictures from a distance while they were taking them.

Then we made a mad dash to get to our field on the complete other side of the park on time.  All that running around must have worn the kids out as that's the only explanation I can come up with for the lopsided start of the game that had our team cheering widely when we even managed to get the ball onto their side of the field.  :) 

That, or the fact that neither of the boys were in the game to start with.  :) Our team did eventually get into the game, and while I don't believe we actually scored any goals the kids sure had fun trying. 

Soccer Team Snacks

It was our turn to bring snacks for soccer team this past weekend.  As it was an afternoon game in October I decided nothing could be better than caramel apples.

So I whipped up a batch of my absolute favorite - mini green Grannie Smith apples, dunked in caramel, then white chocolate, rolled in Reese's peanut butter chips and then drizzled with white chocolate.  They are sinfully good.

I spent about half an hour the morning of the game frantically trying to decide how to best package them up.  I decided to go with just a plain treat bag, tied with soccer themed ribbon and our teams' colors.  I pulled out a piece of orange cardstock and printed up some pennants with a soccer ball and "Go Tigers!" on them.

After getting enthusiastic approval from the peanut gallery I wrapped them up en mass just in time to throw them in a bucket and head out the door for pictures and our game.

I brought along an apple cutter, small soccer themed paper plates, soccer napkins and wipes so we could cut them open and enjoy them (hopefully without too much mess!) after the game.  :)

Several parents were in a hurry to head out after the game - the downside of an afternoon game - conflicts with birthday parties, college football, and all those other fall activities.  But those of us who stayed thoroughly enjoyed the apples.  :)

A family tradition -

We just made our 5th annual trip to Dewberry Farm this past weekend.  It's definately become a Fall tradition for our family - one we always look forward to, and one we hope to continue for many years to come.

The boys are 4 this year and growing like weeds.  :)  While looking through the pictures I realized that the more things change, the more they stay the same...

Other than the porta-potty sprouting out of my head...

Other than the bright yellow porta-potty sprouting out of my head....

I think I have to say that this is one of the best pictures of all 4 of us in ages.  :) 

Family Photo

Connor's teacher has been reminding me regularly that we need to bring in a family photo for school.  And despite the fact that we have thousands of pictures from 1-3 people there are very, very few (if any!) of the 4 of us.  Not terribly surprising as one of us has to actually take the picture and all, but still...   

When we were at SeaWorld this past weekend and walking back from being DRENCHED on the Rio Loco ride (of which Connor was FINALLY tall enough to ride - he was SOOOO excited!) I was walking by a family - similar to us - with the Mom trying to get dad and the kids together and to smile for a picture.  I stopped and volunteered to take a picture of all 4 of them.  In a completely deja-vu moment she said "Oh, no, that's okay." 

I can't think of the number of times we have been in the same position - me taking pictures of Kevin and the kids and someone has volunteered to take a picture of all 4 of us, and I passed, too.

We chatted for a few seconds and I convinced her to get in the photo and took a couple of pictures of them.  Naturally, when we were done she offered to take a picture for us as well.  And despite the fact the refusal was on the tip of my tongue for a split second (I was SOPPING wet from head to toe, it was HOT and we were surely sweaty and red faced, and I must look quite a fright, the kids never cooperate and smile, and ... and... and) I agreed. 

And surprisingly enough, it didn't come out too bad.  :)  Except that whole I was quite a fright part... :)  You can't even tell we were soaked completely through (my shirt was still dripping streams of water and my shorts were plastered to my legs - there was literally not a dry spot on my entire body!)

And yes, that is Ryan at 4 1/2 refusing to get out of the stroller for fear of losing his seat because it was a LONG, LONG, walk over there!  :)  And yes, Kevin - really the kids WERE going to sit in the stroller (and fight over WHO got to sit in the stroller!)  And yes, dear, despite the fact that kids haven't used a stroller in 2 years they DID need it and WANT to sit in it.  And my back, and my voice thanked me profusely for bringing it.  :)



Android Guru Needed

Riddle me this Android Gurus - how do I turn an Android tablet into a dream alarm clock & wake-up info center??

Here's what I want it to do:

Sleep/Screen Saver mode -

• Display a clock.  Bonus points for configurablity - digital/analog/colors, styles, sizes, etc.
• Change display brightness based on configurable settings (dim at night, brighter during the day)
• Display whether or not an alarm is set (small bell at the bottom of the screen for example).  Bonus points to allow you to configure the alarm notification to show/hide the alarm time and icon for type of alarm (bell, music, etc.) 
• Stay on when docked/plugged into AC power.

Alarm Clock features:

• Ability to set multiple alarms (3 is sufficient).
• Ability to configure days (not just weekday/weekend) for each alarm.
• Ability to configure type of alarm for each setting (bell, music, etc)
• Must have Snooze.  Bonus for configurable snooze.
• Quick nap function - (lightning bolt - each press adds 15/30 minutes - up to 3 hrs.)

Home screen: default home page/background -
       Configurable selection of widgets (4-6 ideal)

• Alarm Widget - shows current alarm setting details and has quick launch button to configure settings.
• Weather widget - display current temp, expected low/high and icons for sun/rain/clouds, etc.  Quick launch full app/browser to look at things like hour by hour & 3/5/10 day forecasts
• Calendar widget - display today's calendar appointments (Outlook sync)
• Media widget - AM/FM Radio, Pandora, MP 3 etc. controls
• Browser widget - networked webcam would be awesome to check on the kids, or news headline reel would be nice as well.
• Task Widget - show todays' to-do list.  Not that I would use it, but might be nice... (Outlook Sync)
• Quick launch bar for favorite programs (like a browser, picture slide show, etc.)

 I am not asking for much - and I would totally be willing to pay for it!