Happy Birthday, Steve!

Steve turned the big 38 a couple of weeks ago and what better way to celebrate than with some Angry Bird cupcakes! :-) Thanks to her Daddy, Sarah loves playing Angry Birds and it's become "their thing" they do together so when I saw these guys on the internet I knew we had to give them a try. While they were a little more time consuming than I had expected, they turned out great and everyone loved them! So cute!


Here's the Birthday Boy showing off the finished product. Note the shirt he's wearing. Sarah saw this in the store one day and insisted we get it for Daddy. :-)


I think the yellow ones were my favorite!


The cupcakes were tasty and Steve loved all of his birthday gifts, but these were by far his favorite presents! ;-)

She still likes it...

Sarah had her second soccer game last Saturday and I'm happy to report she is still a big fan of the game! Yeah! She also scored 3 goals, which I think is a big part of why she still likes playing. She actually had 4 goals, but we've decided not to count the one own-goal she scored. I guess she liked her odds when she saw the empty net and everyone else at the other end of the field. :-)

Here are a few pictures from her game. Enjoy!


Warming up


She's the one getting ready to throw the ball in on the far side.


Action shot


Going for the score...




GOAL!!


I like this picture because it shows her aggressively going after the ball. So what if she's trying to take it away from the rest of her team. :-) We're still working on what it means to get an assist.


Emily enjoys the games too. Here she is wearing her sister's soccer bag and wishing she was just a bit bigger. :-)

Can it be?

This may not seem like a big deal to most, but I had to share this picture of Sarah taken this morning before school. Notice anything different about her? That's right, kids, she's wearing JEANS!!! And she didn't even fuss or argue to put them on!!! We actually bought these a few weeks ago, but I never took the tags off because I wanted to be sure they were keepers. Believe me, we've been down this road before and I'm learning more and more with each trip. :-) I didn't get a picture of the back pockets, but they have some "bling" on them which I think helped seal the deal this morning. Hey, whatever it takes, right?

Oh, and I guess 4.5 is the age when girls actually start to enjoy having their pictures taken so we're finally starting to get some good pictures too. Yeah!!

Deere Crossing

We knew the end was near, but I don't think either of us knew just how excited we would be when the time finally came. After five summers of faithful service, it was time to say good-bye to Old Red as the cost to "maintain" her far surpassed her actual value. Considering Steve bought her off a guy on the side of the road five years ago while driving home from work one evening, I would say we definitely got our money's worth out of her. ;-) Now the leaking oil and endless smoke are someone else's problems since we actually found someone willing to take her off our hands...and he actually paid us money for her too!!

One last shot before she leaves...



You know what they say though...out with the old and in with the new! Steve was like a kid at Christmas with a new toy when he came home and saw this beauty sitting in the garage. :-)



Here he is getting ready to take her for her inaugural ride!


Gotta show off the "beverage" since drink holders were a requirement!


Demonstrating the new four-wheel turning capabilities. Very cool!

It's Official...I'm a Soccer Mom!

Hi there! Remember me? :-) I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted, but now that we're officially back in the Hoosier state, I promise to do better. Or at least try and do better. :-) Be sure to stay tuned for more detailed posts about our summer and all of the fun things we did, but for now I wanted to share today's big excitement! :-)

Sarah had her first soccer game this morning and I honestly don't know who was more excited...me or her! I've never seen her this excited about any activity we've tried her in so I'm hopeful this one might have some staying power. She's had two practices leading up to today's game which she's loved and she couldn't wait to get to the field this morning. I'm sure it helps that a few of her friends from school are on her team, but whatever it takes to keep her interested and excited is fine with me.

We actually had a cute conversation while I was helping her on with all of her gear before the game. It went like this...

Sarah: Mommy, will you watch me play?

Me: Well of course I'm going to watch you play. I can't wait!

Sarah: No, I mean will you watch me play soccer one day on TV?

Me: Oh. Are you going to be playing soccer on TV one day?

Sarah: Yeah. Will you watch me kick the ball into the net on TV?

Me: Yeah honey, I wouldn't miss it! :-)

I'm happy to report that the game itself went much better than I had expected. They played on a much smaller field than normal with much smaller goals too. They also played 4 on 4 which was great because it allowed each child to really see and understand what was going on. This of course was much better than the "gaggle of girls" I had expected to see running around the field chasing after the ball. :-)

The other big highlight of the morning was Sarah's first goal! She was so excited and her face lit up as she ran over to give me a big hug! She was so proud of herself and has told everyone she's seen today about her big goal. So cute!

Here are some pictures of her big day!


Before the game...


Warming up...


Action shot...



Cute pic, right? Too bad she stopped to pose for it while she was playing! :-)


Good game!