Back at the fields

It's that time of the year again ... time to be on the soccer field on Tuesday nights for practice and Saturday mornings for games. This season Nick is taking a break, because last season it was so hard to get him on the field for the last three games. We don't know why, but he just quit wanting to play. It's a shame, because he has a lot of natural talent, but I'm not about to spend the money on it if he's not in it.


He still likes GOING to the games, though, especially the part where he gets to kick the extra ball around with Grayson on the sidelines. Most of the time, he looks like this during games:





But SOMETIMES after he's been kicking the ball around with Grayson and he gets called back to his seat because Grayson's taking a break, or Nathaniel's just been put back in to play or some other random reason, he looks like THIS:




He had a few of those moments at last Saturday's game.

We love going as a family, though, because -- especially during these early Spring games -- the weather is pleasant, the air is fresh and clean, and it's a really fun atmosphere for everyone. Here's what I see when I look back to the sidelines as I'm trying to catch shots of Nathaniel on the field:



Jake's all about the game ... he loves it when Nathaniel's on the field, and he also loves to get down in the grass and root around. (I have to be on High Alert to make sure he doesn't eat a bunch of junk off of the ground, though.)


I love to watch Nathaniel play, because he just has so much fun. I never plan to make my kids play sports unless they want to, and he just can't WAIT until the new season rolls around twice a year. He'd play year-round if we'd let him, but honestly, it's nice to take a break every once in a while.

Nathaniel isn't shy about getting right in there and actually PLAYING, although at his level (U6, or Under 6 -- although technically is IS 6), they are still focusing more on skill-building than the actual RULES of soccer. Once they get in there and start learning the rules, I'm sure it will take some patience and even more practice.

Last weekend they played with turquoise jerseys on over their burgundy ones because the opposing team had the same color ... SCORE! I love the turquoise! I wish we could wear that color every week.

OH, and NEWSFLASH. Apparently I actually DO need one of these:

And P.S. to my sister: THIS IS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU. I posted that picture of myself looking like I have three or four chins because of how hard I was trying to pull my head back so that Jake wouldn't give me a bloody nose in such close quarters. THAT is love.