Soccer for Small Folks

After four practices and three games, we are finally starting to enjoy three year old soccer. For the first few weeks, Ben told us he was scared to play and sat in my lap. Ace would actually get out there and try, but would eventually cry and say all the other kids were faster than him. They aren't, but when other kids are ahead of him and he can't catch up, he assumes it is because they are faster. We spent much of the first few games and practices trying to convince two buddies to play.

Today's game was much better. Our boys took turns playing, so it was like having one full-time player. Woo! Ben scored two goals and Ace scored one. Best of all, they had FUN! We may just survive the season after all.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Over the weekend, we attended a Chinese New Year festival with some good friends. 2009 is the year of the ox, which symbolizes prosperity through hard work. We're ready to work hard and be prosperous!


At the festival, the buddies and their friends made cool Chinese kites and also enjoyed some time in a bounce house. We ate lots of authentic, tasty Chinese food - Ben and I really liked the green onion pancakes and Ace and Daddy enjoyed the freshly made egg rolls. Yum! We sipped some tea for good luck and headed on our way.

Later that day, inspired by the holiday, we all learned how to write our names in Chinese. Well, we learned how to use an English -to- Chinese tool online and printed our names. The boys pasted theirs on construction paper, added their English names and hung them in their room. I think they look cool!

Today's Historic Events

Today, I watched the first African American president of the United States take his oath, while snuggling on the couch with a slightly feverish and very sleepy Ace. Politics aside, what strikes me most about today's historic events, is how different the world will be for my children and their generation. A black president will just be another part of their landscape and that makes their world a little less racist than the world I grew up in. And that gives me hope.

My favorite quotes from the day:

From Barack Obama's Inaugural Address:
"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed...and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."

And from Joseph Lowery's (slightly Seussical) Benediction closing:
"We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around — (laughter) — when yellow will be mellow — (laughter) — when the red man can get ahead, man — (laughter) — and when white will embrace what is right."

Here's to progress and to a new era! Now, if I can just get the buddies to say our new president's name correctly and consistently...

"Barack Obama" is kind of hard to say

MLK's National Day of Service

This morning, the buddies and I decided to take our president-elect up on his call to service by cleaning up one of our favorite local parks. We donned gloves and carried garbage sacks throughout the grounds and cleared out every speck of trash that we could find. It was fun!


Afterward, the buddies rewarded themselves with juice boxes and some fun on the playground. But, I think they enjoyed their service project even more than they enjoyed their reward.

“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”

–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Action Painting!

This morning, our play group met at Abrakadoodle for an action painting class. What's action painting? Imagine 20 preschoolers flinging paint from brushes, balls, fly swatters, and big rubber fish. It was awesome! Clearly, this wild boy craft was right up our alley.






It was noisy and messy and loads of fun. Jackson Pollock would have been impressed, I'm sure. And at the end of the play date, each child had a framed masterpiece to take home. We can't wait to find a special spot for them.

A Manly Tea Party

In an effort to get to know the kids the buddies will attend school with in 2010, we have started a small neighborhood play group. This morning was our second play date and we have many more on the schedule in the coming months.

Ben came up with the theme for today's event. He said, "I know! How about we have a tea party with hot chocolate!" I like how he thinks! So, we donned our best tea party clothes, set up a table-clothed kid table, made pipe cleaner flowers, and got to work making dainty food. Ace made the mini blueberry muffins mostly by himself.

And then we discovered that none of our pretty girl neighbors could join us. Four wild boys sat around the table, sipping hot chocolate "tea" and eating finger sandwiches. And then they ran upstairs and happily played with trucks and trains.

The Cameron Park Zoo

The buddies and I needed to get out of the house today so Daddy could paint their bedroom. So, we arranged to meet some of our Dallas friends halfway between our homes, at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. This 52 acre, natural habitat zoo was the perfect spot for our day trip.





We followed the winding paths through the zoo grounds and saw monkeys, lions, tigers, flamingos, giraffes, American buffalo, rhinos and more. Play areas are scattered throughout, including a cool underwater slide through the otter tank. We especially enjoyed the aquariums and their air-conditioned buildings on today's unseasonably warm day!

But most of all, we enjoyed the great company of friends that we just don't get to see often enough. Perhaps another room will need a fresh coat of paint soon and we'll be able to convince them to meet us for another fun outing.

Check out the rest of today's pictures here.

Bowling!

We took the buddies on their first trip to the bowling alley this morning! They were so excited to get there, put on cool bowling shoes, and learn the game. Dart Bowl, an Austin institution, was the perfect place to learn, during a quiet weekday morning. We might as well have had the place to ourselves.



The attendant set up gutter bumpers for the buddies and brought them a 6 pound ball to share. Steve taught them how to roll it with two hands, granny-style. Both boys thoroughly enjoyed the first game. Ben, like his mom, didn't really care much about playing a second game and gave up half his turns to either Daddy or Ace. It was a fun outing!



Our scores:

Game 1:
Daddy: 187
Mommy: 98
Ace: 67
Ben: 49

Game 2:
Daddy: 182
Mommy: 110 (woo hoo! triple digits!)
Ace: 47
Ben: 52

Click here to see the rest of today's pictures.

Happy 2009!

After 10 years, Steve and I traded in our annual New Year's Eve Party for a family-friendly New Year's Day Party. We borrowed a bounce house from a friend, set out juice boxes and beer, bloody mary's and minosas, and served black eyed peas for luck.

Our guests brought contributions for our time capsule, which we'll bury in the back yard, later today. Then, next year, we can dig it up and remember the fun times we had and see how much we've all changed.

Happy New Year to all! Here's to a prosperous 2009!