Soccer!

Anna has been interested in soccer since getting to go to soccer practices and games of her cousins.  She had soccer sign-ups at the end of July and has been super excited about starting practice and games since then.  She asked specifically to be on Catherine and Meredith's team (her cousins who are almost 10!).  I didn't think she's be able to keep up with the 10 year olds, so we kept to Anna's age group.  ;)  Our team is pretty scatter-brained and easily entertained by helicopters flying overhead, kicking or playing in the dirt, and anything else not related to soccer.  But Anna is having a blast.  Her team is called the "Pink Panthers".  We don't really keep score but I'll just say that the games we've had so far have been a little "painful."  :)  It's all in fun.  These are some shots from her first practice.  Games shots soon to come.

She got to pick out her soccer practice attire.  She was VERY specific in what she wanted.  After all, she knew what soccer players looked like.  They were usually colorful and wore dri-fit everything. 

Favorite shot (below) 

 Anna had some hand-me-down soccer shoes that she thought were awesome.  We spiced them up and made them more "Anna-fied" with rainbow laces.  She's VERY into rainbows.

She was very serious at her first practice.  She may have been the only one that was paying attention the whole time and was ready to do anything the coach told her to do.  

(FYI- I don't tend to edit images on this blog anymore... what's the point really.  Ha! I like them the way they are just fine...maybe outta focus/blurry sometimes, grainy or not, not super colorful... whatever.  Life's just like that sometimes.)  :)

Old News

Back earlier in the Summer, Anna needed some new tennis shoes.  I looked around for different kinds and had decided already that if I bought her shoes with laces, that she WOULD learn to tie them herself.  She had been experimenting with tying things anyway.  The 'thought' she knew how to do it already when she'd bring me a 'present' with a 'bow' on top... which was really just a twisted up piece of ribbon smashed up into a ball.  I knew she was plenty capable of learning to tie her shoes.  So after looking through the tennis shoes and having her try on pairs she liked, then running up and down the isles at the stores to see if "they were fast enough", we chose a nice, shiny pair.  She learned to tie them about the same day she got them.  She was pretty pumped.  :)

There are the freshly tied shoes!  These apparently were the 'fastest' ones at the store.  Too bad I have always tied my bows left-handed and I taught her to do it the same way, which makes them twist...

Future plans.

Anna told me the other day... "Mom, I wanna get a big camera like your's, a black one...and I wanna be what you are when I grow up... What is that thing you are again??"

She took this *lovely* picture of me... Good shot, bad and wacky subject.  We don't need it to be blown up any more than this.

Grandpa's Lake(house)

 Yep.  Grey is asleep sitting up in the boat...

The lake has a cool sandbar where we tie up the boat and swim around.  It has become the local hotspot. :)

Papaw's new barn!

Papaw has been working on this for years...  Not the barn itself, just the idea of having one.  It finally came to reality this summer and is still a work in progress, but it's just about complete.  He has the the largest garage doors on the planet being installed in those big holes on each end.  The kids love to go ride their scooters, bikes, and trikes out on the huge concrete pad...and really anything that has wheels is being pulled or ridden out there.  Anna liked the magnetic "pick it up" tool Papaw showed her and she picked up every metal object in the entire thing...probably a few times.

Magnetic thing below.

Things are further along now... but you get the gist. 

This one below is going to be awesome in about 20 years....Grey on that tiny tractor...

A little while later, Anna found a toad.  She still loves all creepy, crawly things.  Spiders, beetles, snakes, frogs, turtles...  

And here is a lesson from Papaw on how to show "the look"...

Daddy's new workout

We got one of these things this summer at a garage sale.  I have always thought they were so cool and thought the kids would too, and at $60, I thought it was even more awesome!  I probably could have gotten it for cheaper, but the garage sale was for a charity.  ;)  We brought it home and hooked it up to one of Daddy's bikes and he took them for a ride.  Daddy said it was definitely a workout (although could easily handle it) and acted like it wouldn't be a "regular" outing for them.  I'm very sure these "has been" athlete's legs of mine wouldn't be able to handle two kids, a bike trailer, and pedal my own weight around the block....  And wait, I don't even have a bike!  HA!  It's great to have the kid trailer anyway.  Even though it hasn't seen much light.  :)

Two fish, one with real fins.

Anna and Grey have had an awesome summer.  Anna officially learned how to swim on her own, with no floaties.  She doesn't have to have anyone follow her around at the pool, she can dive off the diving board in the deep end and swim to the side by herself, and even likes to try different tricks off the board. She goes off the high and low diving board and may have gills hidden behind her ears somewhere.  Our good friends were moving and had gotten their daughter swim lessons that happened to overlap with their "departure time" so they graciously gave them to Anna.  These lessons were seriously awesome!  She was put in the wrong class (sort of by mistake, long story) and we think she was actually in with some other 3 year olds.  Henry, her instructor, made sure she learned at her own pace and she was swimming by herself within two lessons.  He was really great!  I think her willingness to learn and "dive in" and try everything Henry asked them to do helped the other little girls too.  She's such a big girl.  This is Anna patiently waiting for swim lessons to start.

Her favorite goggles...  Her eyes look crossed, but I think one side is just fogged up.  ;)  That swimsuit is one of her favorites because it has a skirt on bottom.  It is a hand-me-down from Jenni's girls...so it's seen a few pools.  :)

Hilarious.

Henry doin' his thang.

Surfer/Swim Instructor Henry (He loved Anna!)

This is what Grey was doing while Anna swam.  Notice what happens to his fingers when he drinks red gatorade then sucks on them...nice.

Jumping in and swimming to Henry... Henry usually walked backwards in the pool so she would have to swim longer.  :)

And here's Grey being the daredevil.  He's on the high dive.  We forgot his blue floatie so he had to wear the pink one... of course it was the day that I remembered my camera.  Sorry dude.  This was taken before Anna could really swim without floaties... She's in the pool cheering Grey on.

We went "Reagan's pool" one weekend... They had a blast there.   Even though Grey doesn't usually swim (for real) under the water, he needed some goggles like his sister.  Pretty funny.

Anyone see any gills on this girl?  They MUST be there.