Soccer Awards and the Color Buzz

Yesterday was Ryan's last soccer game of the spring season. The season actually ends next week, but Ryan's team has a bye week then. The team celebrated finishing their season with a little award ceremony and LOTS of snacks.

Ryan's coach had something wonderful to say about each child and, when presenting each trophy, started out by saying, "This trophy goes to one of my favorite players." He's awesome.

Our friend M. getting her trophy

Ryan receiving his trophy and special words about what a good defensive player he is.

Think he was excited? His teams have never given out trophies before.

School buddies and teammates.

These three have the best time together

The afternoon was pretty quiet - at least for me. Duane worked on a cake for me for Mother's Day and I took a nap. Well, I had to rest up for doing the 5K Color Buzz with some friends, didn't I?

For those of you unfamiliar with the Color Buzz, it's a nighttime, un-timed 5K with paint bubbles, glow in the dark stuff, black lights and general craziness.  You start out in white shirts and aim to end the night full of color. Oh, and full disclosure, I totally stole some of these pictures from my friends.

Pre-5K

The crowd soaking up some color

 

Getting our "pre 5K hydration" with a little Summer Shandy. Hey, it is a fun run after all.

Wonder Twins power - activate!

Love this picture my friend Darci captured during the run

Me, Darci and Jenny in the black light

Yes, we are in colored foam up to our knees

Post 5K party time

Jen caught a great picture of our post 5K hydrating efforts

We did it! Bottoms up!

Ready to hit the showers before climbing into bed

It was so much fun! Totally worth the late the night and the achy body this morning!

The Unanswerable Question

Wesley recently learned how to make origami "fortune tellers."  Do you remember those? Some people also called them cootie catchers.

I was never good at making them. Anyhow Wesley is having a blast playing with this thing and giving us Magic 8 Ball type answers to our questions.

This morning he turned to Ryan and asked if he wanted to play. Ryan agreed to give it a go.

"Okay," said Wesley. "All you have to do is ask a yes/no question."

"Got it!" answered Ryan. Without missing a beat he said, "My question is 'Will you ever stop talking?'"

Ha! Buddy, that's one question we'd ALL like answered.

Happy Anniversary

Today Duane and I celebrated eleven years as husband and wife.  Rather than just be content to go out to dinner to celebrate, Duane and I took the whole day off to spend together.

We started our special day with breakfast out right after we dropped the kids off at school.

The happy couple

A carrot. orange and ginger juice, and an iced coffee. Any guesses as to which drink belonged to which person?

My delicious breakfast of house made granola. fresh fruit and yogurt. Totally yum!

After breakfast, we took a walk through the woods at a local metro park. We even ran into the pastor that married us while hiking on the trail! Seriously, you couldn't have planned that! When we told her how funny it was that we ran into her today (our anniversary) she turned to her walking companion and said, "Theirs was the happiest wedding I've ever presided over." Now that is a distinction I am happy to have!

A little smooch to celebrate the day

Selfie on the trail

After our walk (which was really more like a hike since I think we kind of lost our way on the trail) we swung by a cupcake bakery. I mean, you have to have cake on your anniversary, right?

Blueberry cupcake. Yum!

We spend the afternoon out of the heat (it was in the upper 80s today) and watched the new Avengers movie.

Instead of heading to a restaurant for dinner tonight, Duane and I purchased tickets to a fundraiser called Taste of Dine Originals. We got to sample tons of food, wine and beer from locally owned restaurants, while supporting a great charity. It was a total win!

Duane loved the braised lamb over date & jalapeno couscous with goat cheese cream and radish-cilantro slaw from Ella

I had three favorite dishes - the ceviche with lotus root from Tasi Cafe (it was too spicy for Duane, but I adored it!), the goat stew with black lentils from Skillet (and I don't even like lentils), and the strawberry rubarb compote with lemon mascarpone on peppercorn shortbread from Black Creek Bistro.  I may (or may not) have eaten three of them.

It was exactly the day I wanted to share with the love of my life. I am so very lucky!

Revenge of the Fifth

Yesterday was Star Wars Day. You know, May the Fourth be with you?  Today is Revenge of the Fifth. And yes, I am a total nerd.

Anyhow I had the boys pretty pumped up about Star Wars day. They were all set to wear Star Wars shirts to school and everything. But then I got the email reminder that it was Spirit Day at school and they were supposed to wear their school logo shirts. 

Wesley heaved a big sigh at this bit of news and said dejectedly, "I guess school is more important than Star Wars."

Depends on who you ask, son. After all, I went around like this for part of the day.

Ah yes, the Force is strong in this one.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

There is no way I have already informed my children that there is no way they are allowed to bring anything living back from our trip to the beach - even though our trip is several months away. There's no way I'm thinking that far ahead.

I did not turn down the opportunity to do something on my bucket list with our church group just because I knew it was something Ryan would want to do and he doesn't meet the requirements for it yet. And I certainly didn't consider lying about Ryan's age on church group outing so he could participate. And even if that last part were true, there is no way my plans were foiled because the child is super skinny and wouldn't meet the weight requirement, even if I did lie about his age.

I have not started calling Wesley "Midvale" - after the old Far Side comic about Midvale School for the Gifted - every time he does something that lacks any common sense. 

I know I did not wash down my daily multivitamin (taken at dinner) with a vodka spritzer.

I did not go to a girly, historical romance movie with some friends, then immediately text my hubby the moment I left the theater to see who the Browns took in the NFL draft. Something about that would just be wrong. 

I did not fudge one of children's birth dates for something. And even if I did, I know I didn't spend the rest of the day feeling absolutely sick about not telling the truth.

Super Saturday

Today was a soccer filled Saturday for the W. family. The weather was GORGEOUS, unlike last week.

Wear sunscreen! And a hat! And sunglasses! Seriously, people. This is not a joke.

See, even the soccer dudes do it.

Ryan's team lost, but they scored their first goal all year, so that called for a team picture!

Kicking back while the little sibs play.

For the first time this spring season, the boys didn't have overlapping or back-to-back games, so we had about an hour to kill before it was time for Wesley to report. Rather than sit and all of look at our various devices, we look a family walk (after a snack).

Love my guys!

Is there anything sweeter than a dandelion bouquet picked for you by your children?

Post walk, pre-game relaxing.

Ryan is having first sleep over at a friends house tonight, so Duane and I told Wesley we'd have a special evening - just the three of us. Wesley chose to get bacon wrapped pizza from Little Cesar's, with some mint chocolate chip ice cream from Graeter's dessert. We watched "The Goonies" while we ate - a movie I thought Wesley would like, but I knew it had a fair amount of cussing in it, so I didn't want Ryan to see it. Wow! I had forgotten exactly how much cussing there was! I'm a little embarrassed that I wanted to show it to Wesley, but he seemed to enjoy it.

After the movie, Wesley wanted to take his roller skates to the park and skate on the bike path while Duane and I walked with him, so that's what we did. I think he was in seventh heaven having us all to himself. I can't remember the last time that happened - quite possibly before Ryan was born.

If Ryan is having even half as much fun as Wesley tonight, we'll call it a win.

A Study of Sadie

Our three cats are indoor cats, but when the weather is as gorgeous as it was today, I sometimes take the felines out for a little sun and fresh air. Gus is just okay with it. He doesn't hate it, but he doesn't love it either. Cleo HATED being outside and started pawing at the screen door and crying to get back inside. Sadie loved being outside with me.

She didn't want to go inside when it was time, but she did. Of course, she sat at the screen door and meowed part of the afternoon too, but I guess that's par for the course. She's also been incredibly lovey to me for the rest of the day. Guess a little sun improved her mood too.

Nagging Thought

You know how it is when you just have something nagging at you? When it just keeps replaying in your mind and it won't go away?  I'm kind of dealing with that right now.

As I mentioned, the school festival was last weekend and Duane and I spent most of the time running a game. For the last 45 minutes or so, a boy was hanging out at our booth "helping" us.  We both kind of know this kid since he is in one of our boys classes and in his scout den. I'll be honest, this kid is not my favorite kid on the planet. He's rubbed me the wrong way all year. Really, he's kind of a jerk to other people, especially in scouts despite his dad attending meetings with him, but I try to be nice to him. After all, I'm a grown up.

Towards the end of the school festival the principal starting announcing the raffle winners. This kid mentioned to Duane and I that he had put his name in for a couple of raffle items.

"I think I heard them call your name when I was in there," Duane told him. "You and your dad might want to go check."  We know his dad from scouts and had seen them walking around the festival together earlier.

"I don't know where my dad is," Kid told us. I wasn't too surprised by this since he had been hanging out with us for so long.

"Well, I'm sure he's around here somewhere," I said with a smile.

Kid looked out to the parking lot and scanned the parked cars. "I don't see our van anymore," he said flatly. "He probably left me here and went home."

It was weird because Kid didn't seem upset, just matter of fact.

I tried to laugh it off, "Now, I'm sure you're dad wouldn't leave you here by yourself."

"Yes, he would," Kid said again in a flat, emotionless voice. "He hates me."

"Your dad does not hate you," I told him.

"Yes, he does," the kid said, again with no feeling. Then he wandered off to check on his raffle prize.

I know Kid and his dad found each other before the festival ended and I know they left together, but the whole thing left me feeling....off.  Does this kid really, honestly believe his dad hates him? It seemed like he does and it broke my heart.

Like I said, I am not this kid's biggest fan by any stretch, but I know that his dad brings him to scout meetings and special events. Heck, he brought him to a school festival on a weekend. And yet, it really seemed like Kid believed his dad doesn't love him.

I have the hardest time wrapping my head around that. There are times I don't exactly like my kids, but those times are short lived. I love them desperately and they know that. I know they do. Even when we are mad at each other, and voices are being raised and doors are being slammed, they know they are loved.

Yes, I know there are kids out there who don't experience unconditional love from a parent or any other adult in their life. I know there are kids who suffer physical and emotional abuse, or who are homeless, or friendless. I know that my kids are some of the lucky ones. I just wish all kids could be so lucky. It's what they deserve.

Love My Boys

By some weird turn of events, the weather has been absolutely lovely for soccer practices the last two nights. I have a hard time just sitting through the practices, so I have taken the opportunity to walk through the park both nights - one night with Ryan joining me for part of the time and one night with my Wes Paul. 

Ryan was perfectly happy to hang out on the bike path near the river and throw sticks into the water.

Wesley donned his skates for our evening in the park and we hit the bike trails together. I just got such a kick out of him in his neon shirt and his aviator shades. He's growing up so fast.

How did I get so lucky as to be able to call these kids mine?

A Mom By Any Other Name

Wesley and one of his school friends have made up their own language and Ryan likes to listen in, so I'm getting used to not understanding half of what comes out of my children's mouths. I like to think of it as preparation for when they become teenagers. Most days I just kind of tune the jibberjabber out, but yesterday Ryan was pointing at me and insistently calling out "W.B.E."

After a few minutes of this, I turned to Ryan and asked, "What's W.B.E.?"

He grinned the biggest, more impish grin and said, "You are! It's World's Best Ever!"

What a compliment! And it isn't even Mother's Day yet. 

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not wake my husband up one morning and ask him to go get me breakfast. And the breakfast I was craving certainly wasn't a Sausage McMuffin with Egg from the Golden Arches.

I did not see a dress online and think "Oh! That's really cute!" only to discover it was a maternity dress.

I did not decide to stay in bed instead of getting up to walk one weekend morning. Even if I did, there's no way I still surpassed my step goal for that day thanks to the school festival I worked at.

 I did not spend a great deal of time pondering whether or not any of the beer I had in my fridge would go with pancakes on a night we were having breakfast for dinner.

I know I didn't let Duane deal with the nasty clean up after Wesley vomited in the bed, and just grabbed a blanket and bunked with Ryan instead so I wouldn't have to endure the smell. Not me. 

Bragging On My Kid

Hey, I'm allowed to. It is my blog after all.

Yesterday after the school festival one of the special education teachers from Wesley's grade called out to me, "Wesley's mom! I wanted to tell you something!"

I don't this teacher well. I mean, I know she teaches at the school, but that's about it.

"Uh-oh," I replied.

She laughed, "Oh no. It's good."

She went on to tell me that on Friday all the third grade classes (typical and special education) got together to make cards for some of the staff members. According to this teacher, when the classes combine, as they frequently do, what tends to happen is that the "typical" kids work in one part of the room and the special education kids tend to work on the other side with very little interaction between them. She told me that during this time, Wesley noticed that no one from his typical class was sitting with any of the special education kids, so he gathered his materials and moved to a table with some kids he doesn't sit with in class every day.

"It just came so naturally to him," she told me. "He didn't make a big deal out of it, he just noticed that no one was sitting with them and he decided to change that. He knows how to be good friend to everyone."

Let me tell you, my heart melted a little bit right then. It was exactly the kind of thing a parent wants to hear about their child.  I love that boy!