Max's First Soccer Class

Max had his first soccer class this evening. He's been asking to play soccer for months now and the big day finally arrived. He's been so excited all day. We decided to all go tonight to cheer him on! He certainly marches to the beat of his own drummer, but I think he had a fabulous time. There were times that he listened and did what he was told and other times where I'm not sure he even knew anyone else was there and was running halfway across the field while everyone else was doing something completely different. He definitely enjoyed himself and was very proud that he was playing soccer and had his very own soccer ball. Coach John keeps them active so I'm thinking he'll sleep well tonight! He did lots of running, played with rings, had parachute time, and of course, kicked the soccer ball back and forth between the goals.

Homework time

We have a pretty good routine when Kyle comes home from school. The boys get to watch a show and have their snack. Then it's homework time. This has become Max's favorite time of day! Kyle gets a homework packet every week that he can easily do in one sitting. I usually have him do half one night and half another night. The other nights he reads his books from reading group (which are sent home at least twice a week) or does a page or two from a number of activity books we have here at home. Max has decided that he wants to join in the homework fun since Kyle seems to enjoy doing it. At my request, Ma found some great activity books for Max to do during homework time - mazes, dot to dots, letters, numbers, and other coloring/activity pages. I was hoping these would last through the summer but at the rate Max is going we'll need new ones by then. Mazes are his favorite but he'll do anything you put in front of him and quickly request more. We usually spend about 30 minutes on homework, but Max is often still sitting there an hour later long after Kyle is done. It's great to see them so motivated to learn and I hope this continues into their later school years as well . . .

Chuck E Cheese party

We celebrated Kyle's 6th birthday on Saturday at Chuck E Cheese with many of his friends. There were 12 kids in all including long time friends, preschool friends, and kindergarten friends. We reserved an early time slot to avoid the rush and it worked out well! He had a great time playing games, hanging out with his friends, eating pizza and cake, and collecting tickets for prizes. Since he was the birthday boy he got to go in the ticket blaster which is basically a big clear tube that they turn on and whirls tickets around that he has to try and catch. It was fun to watch and he got quite a few tickets including a special "200 tickets" ticket which he was thrilled about! Max had a good time as well, even though the birthday show was a little much for him. They do some singing/shouting/clapping with the kids and at one point Max burst into tears because it was "too loud." This coming from one of the loudest kids I know :). Kyle seemed a little shy during the show part, but afterwards said he enjoyed it. He got lots of fun presents - his friends know him well - which he enjoyed opening and playing with when we got home. He's been talking about a Chuck E Cheese party for months now and I think it was everything he was hoping it would be! :)

Karate Kyle's purple belt

Kyle has moved up yet another belt color. He recently tested for and received his purple belt. He did a great job demonstrating all the skills he's learned. He broke his board with a jump axe kick again . . . this time the board broke into 3 pieces - it was quite a powerful kick! Only two more belt tests and he'll be at the top level for a little ninja. One more year till he moves into the solid belt colors and is part of the older children's program - he can't wait!

Snow

Last week we had 3 days off school for 8 inches of snow - crazy! We spent most of our time indoors, but we did venture out a couple of times. We took a walk in the snow one day and played in the snow a little another day. Jason and Kyle built a snowman, but we didn't really have the necessary items for a face - the boys didn't seem to mind. They were just happy to be out in it. They had a snowball fight and Jason and Kyle made snow angels. Max was a little more cautious so he threw a couple of snowballs (that I made for him) and carefully walked in the snow while holding my hand only. He got nervous if I let go. Funny how adventurous he is in every other way, but snow is the one thing he's cautious about! I think he was also a little weirded out by the gloves that I insisted he wear. He doesn't like to wear gloves and normally I don't insist upon it if we're just going in and out, but I thought they were necessary for playing in the snow. It took quite awhile to convince him but he finally conceded. It was nice to get out and get some fresh air even if it was cold. :)

Indoor Fun!

Today was snow day number 2, so we're trying to find ways to entertain ourselves being stuck inside! The boys would be happy to watch TV and play Mario Wii all day, but since I set limits on those things they found some other fun things to do! They spent a long time setting up mario levels, roller coasters, towers, castles, etc. with their cardboard block set that Max got for his birthday and then knocking them down, of course! We also built a really BIG track using almost all the motorized train tracks they have. It was fun to see them working together (mostly) building and playing.

Train Ride

Sunday on our way home from church we decided to stop at the mall. Jason and Kyle needed haircuts and there is now a train at our mall, so we decided to take a ride at the boys request. They chose to ride in the red caboose. Since Max was dressed the part (in a Thomas shirt) the engineer decided to let him go in the train's engine and make the whistle sound. He was thrilled! It was a fun impromptu outing!