Monday, November 21, 2011

Undefeated Champions!

My kiddo's have had a great season. Pierson genuinely loves soccer. Maylin... well lets say she has her moments. Some days she likes it. Some days she doesn't. Some minutes she likes it... some minutes she doesn't. Typically it has to do with how cold she is or isn't. 
 I think this is her way of letting me know that she isn't exactly happy with the cold.
It has been so much fun to watch Pierson's skills develop as the season continued. He really seems to be catching on.

Yeah... this wasn't one of her shinning moments.

However, this was. Same game, same temperature. Who knows. But when she is on she is on. 

 I really think that her favorite part of soccer is sitting on the bench playing with her friends.
I brought the blanket over to warm the kids up instead it turned into a game. 



 Finally the three of them settled on sitting together and staying warm. 

 Pierson on his way to scoring his 5th goal of the season!
 Going...
 Going...
 Gone!!! GOAL!!!
I think he was proud of himself! I know that Grandma (in the back ground) was!

 At the close of this game the Hurricanes we deemed number one! Each of the kids were adorned with medals as the other teams watched.

Here they are. The Hurricanes. The undefeated Champions. 

This is quite possibly my favorite picture of the season. I can almost hear the peace and love they have with and for each other. For a moment time stood still and I was able to soak in the fact that we have completed their first season of soccer which means another three months of our lives have flown by without me blinking.

The parents decided to have their celebration after the game. Coach passed out trophies and treats. 
 The kids got to further relish their Championship victory and a great season. 
But even more important... they enjoyed the cupcakes! :)

 I think he tasted it? Not totally sure about that?

There is a song running through my mind...
We are the Champions my friend. And we'll keep on fighting till the end... No time for losers cause we are champions....

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Things I Love

During this thankful season I am deciding  not to let petty things bother me.  After an emotionally trying week I started to realize that I am surrounded by things that I absolutely love. Below is a list of things I love. 
In no particular order and definitely not limited to...
My crazy big dog. He is loyal to a fault... I love him for it.

I love flowers which bloom in the fall.

Burning bushes that glow and remind me of God's faithfulness.
My 35 year old horse who knickers at me everytime I walk out side. Rusty and I have grown up together. Both 35, we have been together since we were 7 years old.
My 40+ year old pony. (No his face didn't used to be grey).
I love how he tosses his head around as he eats. He is missing most of his back teeth (typical in an old horse) so he has to make his food go where his teeth are.

I love an overcast sunset.
Berries on cedar. (We used these in our wedding bouquets.)
I love walking outside and looking at the exact place I was married to the love of my life.
I love my 
NO
FEAR
Daughter.
And I love my son's vivid imagination!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Pierson's Field Trip

I was super privileged to get to go on my second field trip within a month. This time it was with my snuggle bug Pierson. We headed out to Latta Plantation. It was really cool... I mean,  literally... it was freezing! :) But yes it was fun too! I had been there as a kid... I thought. Turns out I remembered nothing about it.  
Pierson thought the zig zag opening of the fence was cool and guided me through like he was guiding an airplane on a runway. 
Our first stop was the school house.  Man I wouldn't have wanted to go to school back then. Sitting on a hard bench with no backs and FREEZING is no way to learn.
The kids got to write on old chalk boards like they would have back then. Our guide showed us the "Letter Man" and had the kids write the letter which she was contorting the doll to resemble. It was interesting to see that even back then people knew that school had to have some interesting elements involved.
Pierson wrote the letters and copied the spelling on the Dunce hat. He thought it was hilarious that bad kids had to stand on a block with a Dunce Hat on. 

Then we were off to the Trading Post.  The guide there divided the kids up into merchants, farmers, and 'the wealthy".  According to their social status they "bought" things from the store.

Here is his group explaining what they bought and why. They were the farmers so they bought a garden tool and corn seed. Wise beyond their years right?! :)

We got to go see the live stock and learn what each animal was used for on a plantation.
Horses were transportation. Cows were food and milk, sometimes work. Mules were used as workers. (I learned that mules are stronger than horses, cows and donkeys.)  I guess education is never over. ;)
Pierson really liked this Mule and wanted me to take a picture of it for Maylin (who has a slight obsession with drawing Donkeys. and by slight I mean HUGE). Also there was the fact that this Mule's name was Kate. Pierson's eyes about bugged out of his sockets when the guy announced it's name. Sorry to our dear friend Kate you now have been reduced to a mule. LOL

Friday, November 11, 2011

Come Thou and Read-ith My Renaissance Blog Post

(in my best renaissance talk)
 Last weekend we went to the Renaissance Festival with Grandpa Mickey and Grandma Claire. I had been several years ago and didn't remember it being near as much fun as we had last Saturday. Maybe it was because there was more there this time, or maybe it was the enthusiasm of the kids which took it up a notch. Either way we had a GREAT time. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Claire for such a great afternoon!
 Pierson was having a good time trying out the fashion of the past.


 He is such a HAM! He is always looking for ways to make people smile.
 A cool thing about this festival is that a lot of it really is true to the time period. There were several rides each powered by man. The kids rode in a "flying boat". Maylin pulled the rope to flap the wings while Pierson just worked on keeping his lunch down!
 In the center you can see the guys in the middle (taking a break from) pushing the wheel to make it spin. They literally pushed the wheel in circles like work mules while the kids yelled "Faster! Faster!"
 I am not sure they had 'fake rock walls' in the this time period but... the kids were excited about it! They climbed that wall as if they had suction cups on their feet! I thought they would be able to do it but I was amazed at the speed in which they climbed.
 And Climbed. And Climbed.
 They were both doing so well!
 Until Maylin looked down. As she glanced down you could see the terror in her eyes. Every muscle in her body tensed up. She clung to the wall as if her life depended on it. It took a bit of effort to convince her to "Let go of the wall!" She looked at me as if to say "you have got to be kidding me!"  In hind sight we should have explained the dismount process. I guess I wouldn't want to let go either if I didn't understand that the guy holding the rope at the bottom would keep me from free falling! lol
 Pierson made it to the top and was able to squeeze the squeeky frog which notified everyone of his accomplishment! He didn't look down until he reached the top but he too froze up when he saw how high he was. It took a bit of encouragement to reach far enough to squeeze the frog.  And even more encouragement to let go of the wall!


Maylin wanted to do the "Jumpy thing"! I will admit that I kind of thought she would freak out and decide not to do it at the last minute, but she proved me wrong and jumped without hesitation! Higher and higher she went. 
Oh yeah that's my girl! Maybe she had to prove to everyone she wasn't a scared-y cat after the rock wall? I don't know what drove her but she did it!

And finished with a smile! 

 Pierson's next 'game' was to throw tomatoes at the "town criminal". It was pretty funny. He actually did fairly well. There were no direct hits but the juices from the tomato splashed the guy several times which was better than most of the adults did. Apparently it is harder to throw half of a tomato than it looks.
 Maylin was having a great time watching and listening to the "criminal" hurl insults to the crowd. We stayed and watched others do it for a while. It was pretty funny. Even though most of the family friendly insults were way over Maylin's head she laughed and laughed as if she understood every bit of it.
 We watched jousting. Pierson was especially interested in this. He kept asking me if this was "fer weal?"
 At first the knights were just playing games, and trying to hit targets. So I kept assuring him it was real. I was trying to explain how hard it was to get one of those huge sticks to hit a target while you are riding on a horse. However as the show went on it became acting as the knights started arguing with each other. The show ended with them saying "I will fight you to the death! I promise blood will be shed!" Adam captured Pierson's face before I explained "Now they are acting! This isn't real!"
OOPS! lol

 From there we headed to the petting zoo. Both kids enjoyed petting and feeding the sheep.

 Maylin thought it was funny to feel the sheep's tongue licking her hand.
 May I present "Madame Maylin" the good night of Midland.
 And Sir Pierson the night of all things good.
 Maylin loved her butterfly she became a little speed demon. She kept yelling "faster faster faster" to the poor girl who was turning the wheel!
 At first Pierson was playing it cool. He was reading his map as the ride started as if he couldn't be bothered to smile.














However as the ride continued and centripetal force kicked in he was made to admit that even the great "knight" had to hold on!
Lady Maylin

 I almost caught Grandpa with this hat on. He is too fast. I don't know why he doesn't want the world to see the silly side of him that grandchildren brings out! lol
 Leading us home.
As we left we saw the "girwl hanging from the tree". (a phrase that would be disturbing without the picture). Maylin was very impressed. That scares me. FYI I won't be letting her outside with rope or a sheet for quite some time! :)