FIRST SOCCER SEASON, cont'd

So we're about halfway through Cal's first soccer season and he is starting to turn a corner. After the first game, we talked about how the other kids didn't ask him for the ball or offer to share and how that was vastly different than the regular rules of life and playing with friends that we have spent nearly 4 years trying to teach him. Life is complicated. Anyway, we keep talking about the games after each one, what his strategy should be - follow the ball, stay with it til you score, don't let anyone steal it, if they do, steal it back - and he has slowly improved. He's paying more attention at least and playing more aggressively. He scored his first goal today and at the end of the game, the coach gave him the medal - they award one each week, usually for the most improved player. Talk about proud! Our little Leo was beaming. So here are some fun shots of Cal and his teammates. We hope for continued improvement.

EASTER PICS

Will post more details later but for now, these are the photos taken at school for Spring as well as our picture with the bunny on Easter Sunday. We had a great morning with lots of egg hunting and candy eating. We made it to church (barely) and had a great lunch at River Place Country Club. The boys were very well behaved (all things considered). It helped that we brought cars/trucks, etc. and sticker books to help us get through church. Both were very into the "hunt" for eggs and Griffin did surprisingly well for such a young hunter. Momma is a little relieved to get through the last of the major holidays for a while since her work life has been extremely chaotic this spring. Daddy just added a new client as well so at least we have jobs - good problems to have in this economy. More pics soon....

EASTER MORNING

The bunny came, the eggs were hidden, the baskets were filled, you know the drill. It rained that morning so we hunted eggs in our pajamas in the yard and the house. We made it to church and then lunch at River Place Country Club. Got our pictures taken with the bunny and collapsed at naptime. All of us. The boys were thrilled at their baskets - chocolate bunnies, PEEPS!, water guns, bendy bunnies, chirping chicks, and all sorts of fun. Griffin yelled out a victorious "I did it!" every time he found an egg. Cal, of course, always said "I found a better one, mommy. I found a bigger one. I found more eggs..." You get the gist. Do we have to win at EVERYTHING??? Apparently so. We have discovered the trick to getting the boys to church which is to promise them a ride on the shuttle bus - HUGE hit. It is their favorite part of Sunday mornings.

DYEING EGGS

Both boys really got into the dyeing process this year. Cal was good enough to manage putting his in & out of the dye. Griff colored some eggs with crayons but let mommy do the moving. Waiting on eggs to dye is lame, as you can see. Cal really enjoyed dyeing his own hands, too.

WARM-UP HUNT

Every year we go to a really cool egg hunt at Laguna Gloria (Austin's original Museum of Art) the day before Easter. It's a great photo opp to put on your nice clothes and get some good pics on their historic and picturesque grounds. Also a good day to brush up on your hunting skills before the BIG day. They have a really cool choo-choo train you can ride in (and force your parents to ride in with you...) and all the eggs have cool surprises inside. Par for the course, the boys were not especially cooperative with photos that day so the pictures are hit or miss. Griff was REALLY into the actual hunting so we got some good action shots from him. We also happened onto a really cool bluebonnet field. Please don't tell anybody Griff picked some. The best part, of course, was a golf cart the maintenance guys use to drive around the grounds. Who doesn't love a good golf cart?