First soccer practice!

Last Saturday Alex attended his first soccer practice. Leading up to the actual event, he was excited and couldn't wait to wear his shin guards and new shoes. That all changed when we arrived at the elementary school they are using for soccer this year and found a HUGE playground. Since we were early I agreed to let him play before practice started. Big mistake. When it came time to change into his new uniform and start soccer practice, he didn't want to come off the playground. John had a terrible time getting him over to the field and he didn't come without tears. Thankfully he wasn't the only three year old shedding some tears that morning.

They tried to scrimmage towards the end of practice, but as you can imagine, the kids didn't understand what was happening. We have some good parents who volunteered to serve as coach, so it should be a lot of fun for the kids this fall. If nothing else, he is getting outside and running off some energy and getting exercise!

First Day of Pre-School

Okay, that was hard. He was grinning from ear to ear until we reached the door of his classroom. He wouldn’t walk into the classroom. I went in and then some other kids started arriving. Eventually he came in but started whining wanting me to stay. The teachers let the parents take pictures for a few minutes. One little boy was hysterical and clinging to his mom. Alex was looking at me like, should I be crying too? The teachers started handing out name tags for the kids and had them all sit on the floor in front of her. I helped Alex put on his name tag and then walked out quickly when he wasn’t looking. The other parents followed me and the teachers quickly closed the door. Then, all at once, ten screaming children. I thought I could distinguish Alex’s cry among them, but I can’t be sure. I looked at the other parents as we wondered what to do next. I told myself that he would be fine and would have a smile on his face when I pick him up later that morning...and he did!

Outer Banks, NC

The week before Labor Day we rented a house down in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with some friends (pictured below while on the ferry to Ocracoke Island: Ian, Cindee, Jessie and Myron). Their boys are a few years older than Alex and Tyler, but they had a great time trying to keep up with the big boys.

We left our house at 4 am and arrived at the beach house around 7 pm (15 hour trip)! Needless to say, we were all tired of being in the car and ready for a good nights sleep. The next day we hung out on the beach and the guys tested out their surf boards in the ocean. Even though their surf instructor said the waves were too rough for a lesson, the guys couldn't wait to get wet. They had fun and only one ended up with a minor head injury.

You can't visit the Outer Banks and not see a few lighthouses! This is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (pictured below).

Alex, Amber, John and Tyler while visiting Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

Alex and Daddy driving the winning go kart!

We got sand in our swim suits, a little too much sun and ate some great seafood! All in all, a wonderful family vacation! Here are some other pictures.

We stopped at Pilot Mountain state park in North Carolina on the drive home.

On the way home the boys passed the time by coloring (Alex), talking on the phone (Tyler) and eating lollipops.