The Soccer Man

Noah played soccer on the Provo City league one fall when he was 4. You know how that goes: A whole bunch of kids all chase after the ball in one big group not having a clue about who is on their team or which direction to run in. He had fun but wasn't too sad when it was over. He's played some soccer here and there since then but last summer in Germany he really fell in love with the sport. 

Germany is absolutely soccer-crazy! The Euro Cup was going on at the time and Noah and Max had a great time watching some of the games with Opa. They would go upstairs to my Grandma's apartment in the evenings, eat treats, and watch soccer. Max would get bored after a while and come back downstairs but Noah was glued to the TV. He loved it so much that he keeps saying: I am so glad it's 2013 now because that means next year is the World Cup and we are going to Germany to watch it! Of course the World Cup next year isn't actually taking place in Germany but who cares? He just wants to watch it with Opa and Great-Grandma. 

Opa would take him to various soccer fields when he came home from work and they would practice. He bought Noah goalie gloves and then Noah bought Max goalie gloves with his own money. They were all set. 

When we got back to Flagstaff, all Noah cared about was soccer. So Karl, Max, and I tried hard to want to play soccer all. day. long. He had a soccer birthday party. He refused to cut his hair and needed to wear a hair band in order to look like the European soccer stars he had seen on TV. He studied soccer magazines day and night. We signed him up for soccer camp. He loved it. After 3 hours of playing soccer I thought he'd had enough. But - nope. We needed to play more soccer in the afternoon. We were all getting a little tired of soccer. 

Finally school started. During the first week he got busted for staying outside an extra 30(!) minutes after recess was over. Apparently he was off on the field playing soccer with a friend and they didn't hear the bell. Or something like that. By now they have an organized soccer match every recess. We have posters on our walls where he is keeping track of scores. Just today he told me: Mama. I am the one who brought soccer to Marshall School. Oh boy! 

So we really had no choice but to sign him up for Club Soccer. We were a little hesitant at first because it was expensive (to us) and we weren't sure if he would fit in. It seemed like this was serious business. But it turns out this was the best thing we could've done for him. He has great coaches, fantastic teammates, good friends, and keeps on getting better and better. And, most importantly, he loves it and has a lot of fun! (And I get a break from pretending to know how to play soccer.)

During their first tournament in September they lost all of their games. By a lot. We stopped counting after a while. The kids didn't care. They had a blast. The next tournament was in December. They won some and lost some. But they had made a lot of progress and it was fun to see!

 Last weekend was tournament #3. We certainly didn't mind leaving Flagstaff and heading down into the Valley where it was nice and warm! Noah is quite confident in his soccer skills but he had yet to score in a tournament. He wanted it so badly that I really hoped it was going to happen... The beginning of the first game was a little rough, seeing how they had been playing only inside for more than a month now. But they picked it up and won the game. Yes! 

I decided to go for a bike ride. How could I not? It was in the 70s which means shorts and short-sleeve jersey. Can't pass that up! I knew I was going to miss Noah's second game but I've never claimed to be a super soccer mom! Well, turns out I missed out big time! The team won 7-1 and Noah did indeed score his first goal! He was so excited, it was awesome! At least I was there to celebrate afterwards with ice cream and swimming outside! 

Noah was also really hoping to have a chance to be goalie this weekend and today this dream came true also. The team was in the lead 2-0 and after half-time Coach put Noah in the goal. I was considering going on another bike ride because this was way too nerve-wrecking... He did great though and got some good practice in. 

It's just so fun to see him doing what he loves with his good friends. I don't mind hanging out by the side of the field for a few hours, in the warm sun, while Max is playing with his little friends, talking to the other parents, getting a little tan. I think this counts as quality family time.  

 A big Thank You to the Harmons who opened up their house to us again. This wouldn't be nearly as fun/affordable if we had to stay in a hotel! We can't wait for tournament #4 in March! Bring it on! 

Loving Winter

Before Karl gets a chance to correct me, I'll admit it myself: Winter is not my favorite season! Not at all. But that doesn't mean that I can't love certain aspects of it. And some days are just wonderful. Like today. A little swim in the morning, breakfast with the family, some skate skiing by myself, more cross-country skiing with the family. The boys are growing up and it's been a lot of fun! So far cross-country skiing hasn't worked out too well because they just hadn't gotten into it but today was different. Granted, they would still prefer to go downhill skiing but they did ski a nice little loop before finding a hill to ski up and down repeatedly. 

Here are some of our favorite activities (that I happened to take pictures of) so far this winter: 

Just as winter got started, Noah had his first soccer tournament down in the Valley, which meant we got to escape the cold for a couple of days and hang out in the sun watching and cheering for many hours. 

Noah was in heaven, of course. 

Max did much better than expected. He watched some, ate snacks, and played with all the other siblings. I think he actually had a really good time. The warm temperatures certainly helped! It was very nice to stay at our friends' house again and hang out with them for a bit. My highlight was a bike ride in shorts over to Bartlett Lakes. Kinda lonely but better than the trainer! 

Hiking in the cold without any snow isn't our favorite but it will do until the white fluffy stuff shows up! 

This is how the boys stay entertained when it's dark and cold outside. They like to jump from the table onto the couch.

... which is fine by me. We happen to not have any you-aren't-allowed-to-stand-on-the-table or no-jumping-on-the-couch rules. Maybe some day when we actually have decent furniture we will but by then the kids will most likely be too old for such shenanigans. 

 The only rule in place is: If you get hurt, you can't whine or complain. This was your choice! 

The kids are still riding to school. They like it and get excited about dressing in such a way that absolutely no piece of skin sticks out. 

Finally: Snow! 

(our apartment building)

The first day it really snowed, they cancelled school and the boys got to play in the snow all day! By the time I got back from the gym in the morning, they had already been outside for quite a while. Thanks to Papa! 

Making a snow fort and our own sledding hill right next to the house. 

We have been lucky to have quite some snow so far this year but we are certainly ready for more! 

Let it snow!!!

That was Schnebly!

Note 1: Yes. We had a big snow storm over the weekend and had a great time playing outside. We even took some pictures. But I have a hard time moving on when something isn't finished, so here is the post I started a few weeks back. 

It's always a good day to head down to Sedona and go for a family hike. So that's what we did. It makes me so happy to leave Flagstaff in the winter and head 45 minutes south to warmth, red sand, and a bounty of spectacular hikes. Although, I have to admit, so far this winter hasn't been bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I am ready for some (or lots) of snow! Have I mentioned how I thankful I am that we chose Flagstaff, Arizona over Moscow, Idaho for Karl to get his PhD? Very thankful! 

We arrived all ready to go on our hike... and then spent the next 26 minutes watching the boys playing in the sand and water. But, no worries, there are few thing I enjoy more than lying on warm rocks daydreaming while the boys are hard at play. 

While I was half asleep, Karl planned out his trail run after the hike...

Where there is mud, there are mud balls made. 

And because they are very precious, they need to be hidden carefully 

so we can find them on the way back. 

Love these guys!

It's hard to choose a hike in Sedona because there are so many! 

We decided on Cathedral Rock

and it turned out to be a great choice! 

We should've known that the more challenging, 

the more fun for our kids (and us)! 

It's quite a steep (yet rather short) climb, 

so here is Karl teaching the boys 

how to climb properly (and safely). 

And my little climbers are off...

Max made it to the saddle 

and is still going strong. 

(Despite the fact that his shirt is on backwards as usual.)

Family picture attempt #1

Still having fun!

Family picture attempt #2

Enjoying the beautiful view!

"Ok. Now that I am warmed up, 

can we hike all the way to those mountains over there?"

Good times. Good memories. 

PS: On our way south, we go by Schnebly Hill Road. We all love to say Schnebly. Because, really, doesn't it sound cool? Plus, it works well in German and English. So we decided to adopt the word into our vocabulary. It now means: awesome.

Thanksgiving Break in Tempe

water feature at the Center for the Arts

We finally have friends in the Phoenix area that we can go visit! Yippee! Karl's best childhood friend, Jordan, moved with his family from Provo to Tempe this fall and, needless to say, we are thrilled! Unfortunately, they already had plans to spend Thanksgiving with family in Albuquerque. But they offered to let us stay at their house while they were gone! Of course we said: YES! We would have loved to be with family for this wonderful holiday but didn't feel like driving 20 hours roundtrip now and then again in a few weeks. So off to Tempe we went on Wednesday morning to housesit. 

We did get to hang out with Jordan and Joanna and their kids for a few hours before they took off and it was very nice to visit them even if time was short. The good news is that we are coming back this next weekend already for Noah's soccer tournament and will be spending Saturday night at their house. Yay! We spent the afternoon making lemonade from the lemons in their backyard and exploring the neighborhood and parks on our bikes. Good times!

Thursday morning the boys went off to spend all day at the Phoenix Zoo and had a blast. ( I took them to the zoo back in February, so I figured it was Karl's turn now.) I got to go on a very nice and long bike ride to, up, down, and around South Mountain with Paul B. 6 hours on the bike gave me plenty of time to think of all the things I am grateful for. Then I laid down in the grass and enjoyed the warm sun. That's the life! 

As for Thanksgiving dinner? Well, we skipped that part. We had grilled chicken and veggies, and ice cream for desert. Works for me! But because the kids had been learning about Thanksgiving at school and what you are supposed to be eating on that day, I overheard the following conversation in the bathroom on Thursday night: 

"Hey. Thanksgiving is Thursday."

"I think today is Thursday."

"Yeah. You are right. Today is Thursday. It's Thanksgiving."

"We didn't even have any turkey!"

"Or mashed potatoes!"

"Or corn!"

"Or pizza!" 

Poor kids! But, hey, they'll live. They are only part American anyway... 

(Disclaimer: We did make our own version of Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night. Sunday seems like the only good day to spend a whole bunch of time in the kitchen. I think the kids are satisfied now!)

On Friday we went on our biggest family bike tour to date. More than 10 miles! And because we were out and about for almost 4 hours to cover those 10 miles, no one complained and we all had a great time! We headed over to ASU campus and found some awesome fountains to play in! Yay for 85 degrees in November! I could get used to this... Then we rode through downtown Tempe, stopped by TriSports.com, and played at Tempe Beach Park. I had just been there a few days ago to watch Ironman Arizona and had to tell Karl all about my awesome spectating extravaganza. 

Then we explored the water feature at the Center for the Arts, bought Max a piece of candy so he wouldn't fall asleep on the trail-a-bike, and barely made it back home in time before dark. An excellent family day! 

 

more water fun

Saturday didn't quite go as planned. I thought I had finally found a pool that was open for family swimming but when we got there we realized that really all the pools are closed for the season! I am assuming all Phoenicians have turned into wusses because why else would no one want to swim outside when it is sunny and 85 degrees? But we found a great park to play in and the kids thought the splash pad was just about as good as any pool! 

A great weekend with lots of quality family time in the sun! 

Thank you, Harmon Family, for allowing us to crash your place and have an affordable Thanksgiving vacation! We owe you but are more than happy to pay you back!