Soccer is over!!!

The Sharks celebrate the end of a great season.


Joseph in goal. He is so incredibly intense when he is on the field.


Riding on the cart at the plant farm. This was always the favorite thing to do for my brothers, sister and I as well.


Joseph and Michael at 2nd grade field day. Joseph was an honorary second grader for a day and loved every minute of it!

Well, we are half-way done with spring sports. Soccer was finished on Tuesday. Joseph and Charity’s team went undefeated (not that anybody keeps score) but had a dismal showing in the jamboree. Their team only scored one goal. (The winning team scored 4 goals by 3 different players.) Both kids had great seasons though. Joseph is pretty competitive and very intense on the field. He is kind of like a cheetah – can run very fast for a little bit but tires quickly. We need to work on his stamina. He scored a handful of goals over the season so I think he was pleased. He says he’s playing “American football” in the fall and baseball next spring so we’ll see – this may have been his one and only foray onto the soccer field. He seemed to really enjoy it but that also seems to be the case with all other sports – except basketball. For some reason he has NO interest in playing basketball. That’s almost a crime in Indiana so we’ll see how long it takes him to cave to peer pressure. I personally don’t care if none of the kids play a winter sport. I like the peace and quiet of the winter months but as athletic and active as they are, I can’t imagine it will stay that way. Charity had a great soccer season. She scored 3 goals – the most ever for her and actually appeared to begin to understand the game a little bit. She has a tough time standing still and so soccer is a great sport for her. (It also means I don’t have any pictures of her – they are all blurry. Even when she is in the goal she is dancing around.) She also has very little fear and will get right in the mix no matter who she is up against. If we can get her a little more power and some control we may make a soccer player out of her yet. (This breaks my heart since soccer is pretty much my least favorite sport to watch – besides boxing – but I’ll suck it up for my darling daughter’s sake!) Towards the end of the season it started to look like soccer and not “magnet ball” which is pretty impressive for a U8 team.
With the end of soccer though comes the beginning of summer! We have planted the garden and are beginning to see some seedlings. The kids have had their last field trips and spent this week enjoying field day and kickball tournaments (Joseph even managed to finagle his way into the fun with Michael’s class for those 2 activities!). Just 3 more days of school. And Charity’s birthday is just around the corner (her mother’s too but I’m at an age where we can conveniently forget that – as long as I still get presents and a chocolate or DQ cake! Actually my friend Erin makes an awesome Kahlua cake that sounds pretty good right now too.)
Michael is still in the middle of baseball season. It’s been a good season so far and we’ve seen a lot of improvement in Michael’s skill level. It’s amazing what a difference one year makes. He’s such a good kid and I don’t brag on him enough. He is fairly athletic but more importantly he is a good sport and a good friend. I love to watch his heart as he plays. The season will be over the second week of June and I’m looking forward to the down time. Of course Jonathan starts soccer and baseball the first week of June so I guess I’m just dreaming. He is taking an adaptive sports class as his OT/PT for the summer. He is really excited and I’m hoping he has a great time. It has been tough for him to watch the others play this spring but his day is coming! As he gets better in his chair his options will expand as well. We’ll get there little man, we’ll get there!