The Jets!

I guess I'll have to stop calling the kids soccer team The Rugrats because they are now known as The Jets! The kids had their second practice Friday and the team mom had the team vote on the name. When she asked if they wanted to be called Jets or Tornadoes one little girl yelled out "How about The Soccer Mermaids?" Of course, all three girls raised their hands in agreement while the boys looked at them like they were crazy!

The second practice went better for Braeden. He was pumped and ready to go when we got there, no crying. He lasted most of the practice until he decided he'd had enough and then he ran over to sit by me. I pushed him back out on the field and he lasted another 10 minutes or so. (baby steps)

Their first game was Saturday morning and they both did pretty well. It's quite entertaining to watch kids this age play sports. Kids were running and falling all over the place. Maya ran around and didn't want to be "mean" by pushing the other kids so we'll have to work on her aggressiveness. Braeden had no problem being aggressive! He was running around pulling on jerseys and trying his hardest to get the ball. They both had a great first game and will hopefully enjoy the season!

They're ready!

Pre-game warm ups... Braeden and the goalie had it out because Braeden kept wanting to kick the ball when the goalie didn't want him to.
Braeden in the middle of the action pulling on jerseys!

Braeden decided after half time he didn't want to play anymore, but I made him sit, watch and cheer on his team!

Great first game Jets!

Maya The Chef

Maya really wanted me to make cupcakes the other night but I talked her into a cake instead. It's a little less work than cupcakes. Less work for me is better! :)

I put Maya to work while I made dinner.

The best part - licking the spoon!
The finished product...
YUM-MY!!

The... uh... Rugrats?

Maya and Braeden started soccer last week (just practice) and they don't have a team name yet so I'm going to call them rugrats because that's typically how I refer to those two! They were both SO excited to have their own sport, but when it came down to actual practice Braeden froze. First, he didn't want to wear the shin guards so that started the crying. I finally got that stopped, but once we walked on the field the crying ensued. So I decided I would go out on the field and warm-up with him thinking he would see how fun it was and I would be able to sneak off after a few minutes. Well, not exactly. I stretched, did jumping jacks and ran a couple laps with the kids. Once Braeden had an opportunity, HE ran off the field! Wait a second, that was my plan?! We ended up playing with Braeden most of the time on the sidelines and finally got him out on the actual field after everyone left - so we stayed and practiced for another 15 minutes or so. Maybe next time will go better for him! Maya, on the other hand, had a blast!

Maya is ready to go!

Braeden is still crying...

Maya is telling him it's going to be ok.

Does anyone else see a future soccer star?!

Nice kick!

Some of the kids were 6 - which I think scared Braeden because they were so much bigger.

Our "practice" after practice begins.

Braeden really has it in him and wants to play... stay tuned.

Gooo Razorbacks!

Camden started fall baseball a couple weeks ago and the team name is definitely better this season! Camden has graduated to the pitching machine! I was a little worried how he would react his first few pitches and he was a little hesitant, but by the second practice he was making steady contact with the ball. Their first game was today and Camden was 2 for 2 up to bat. He was the 5th batter and the team's first up to bat Camden was the first kid to hit the ball. I think all of the boys were still a little terrified and just needed one of them to make contact because after that the team did much better. While they didn't officially keep score, the Razorbacks took away the win and it was a great first game.

Ready to go!

Camden is just as serious this year! He is definitely a hard worker!

Camden has a few of the players from The Lugnuts on this team which is nice for them...

Great first game Razorbacks!

Mini-Me

One of Maya's recent homework assignments was to decorate a doll representing herself. Her teacher sent home a blank "gingerbread" shaped cutout and wanted the parents to help the kids use different items to decorate the doll. Well, it's no secret that I'm not an artist and really not all that creative. So, my brilliant idea was to get on the internet and search for paper doll cutouts for the clothing and we would pick out an actual picture of Maya's face for the face of the doll. Of course, I let Maya pick out the cutouts and accessories. I then printed them out, cut them and let Maya color them to her liking. I tried to let her glue the items on but she was just making a mess so I took that over. Once the doll was done, it looked a little odd without hair so I cut off a few strands from the end of one of the blanket throws in the living room! That's pretty creative for me!

The end product.

"Allow myself to introduce.... myself."

Maya turns 5!

Along with the excitement of the first day of school, Maya celebrated her 5th birthday! I can't believe how fast they're growing up! My baby girl is too big already.

I woke her up that morning singing happy birthday. Gotta love the bed head hair!

She got her very own iPod Shuffle. I downloaded a bunch of her favorite church songs - she loves it!
Braeden trying out the Shuffle. Look at that mischievous look!!

More cupcakes...

"I'm 5!"

The first day of school...

...wasn't nearly as bad for me this year! I knew Camden was comfortable and had a really great experience last year, so I am hoping Maya will have the same. I also know Camden is there to help Maya along the way if she needs it. Unfortunately for Camden, he gets a lot of "being the big brother" talks. I use the term unfortunate loosely because while he sighs and doesn't always understand why HE is the one getting the lecture, he likes being the oldest many more times than not. He likes to act like he's been there done that and tell the other two just how easy it is.

I took the day off again this year so that I was there when the kids got off the bus. Honestly, the bus ride is my biggest stress and fear for the kids. I'm not sure why really, but maybe it's because I never rode the bus. Well they made it home safely and seemed to have a great day!

We're ready!

A hug bye from brother Braeden...
"Enough with the pictures Mommy!"

A final hug before they part ways...

Maya sat right down and started coloring!

Cousin Riley also started Kindergarten and is right across the hall from Maya...

Part of Camden's "big brother" talks involved making sure Maya got off the bus with him and not wander off. My dad meets them at the bus stop most of the time, so this isn't really an issue, but I wanted Camden to know what he should do just in case. It's hard to tell in this picture, but Camden was the second kid off the bus and he bolted! He took off running immediately! I stopped him and he said "oh yeah. I forgot about Maya"

Maya was just about the last kid off the bus, but I was able to breathe again once I saw they made it home safely!

Maya crashed after a long day...

Lake Livingston - Take 2

The weekend before school started, we headed back to Lake Livingston for our boat rental that didn't quite work out during our first "24 hour" camping trip. It was a gorgeous day this time around. We boated, fished, swam, ate lunch and boated more. We spent about 7 hours out on the lake and the kids loved it! It was a great way to end the summer!!

Waiting patiently to get on the boat...
Practicing his army crawl... The Sandman

I had to bribe Camden to get in the tube that was being pulled behind the boat! Then, once he was in and realized how much fun it was I couldn't get him out!

As the day went on, the kids got more daring on the tube - raising both hands in the air, trying to stand up, etc. (the boat only went about 5 mph) Camden did lose another tooth while performing his "tricks" - the kid is missing 5 teeth at the moment!

Can't forget about the fishing. Maya dropped her fishing pole about 5 minutes in!!

Children's Museum and Bowling

I've been such a bad mommy blogger the last few weeks so I'm going to try to get caught up in a few posts.

During my week off with the kids we did a lot of fun things and one of the days I took them to the Houston Children's Museum . They had a lot of fun although we all wished the museum hadn't been so crowded so we could have explored a little more.

"Hey Maya! Can you see me?" (standing on the other side of the periscope)

Camden is trying to listen to Braeden yelling into the pipe from across the room...
Braeden bustin' a move on the dance floor!! This boy LOVES to dance!

Teamwork gets it done...

Maya wanted me to make her look like a cat... I'm definitely not an artist!

Maya drawing a self portrait...

Look Mommy - My hand is stuck!

All done! We had a blast!

After the museum we hit the bowling alley. I didn't realize it was going to be "league" night so the older couple next to us got annoyed with the kids and moved lanes. :-/ The kids were actually really good, but I guess when you're really focused on something you don't want kids screaming about hitting 1 pin down?!