A busy Fall

It was another busy Fall!  Three kids in sports, one in the school play, and oh yes...SCHOOL!  So it has been busy few months.  The two girls were both little soccer studlies, playing tough and looking darling.  This was Ruby's first season of soccer, and she did such a great job.  She was really fast and aggressive, going toe to toe against much larger boys.  I would never have guessed that!  I was her coach, and just like Ella she was so excited to be with me out there.  The one game I wasn't able to make it to, she refused to play because she got embarrassed!  Oh these shy girls...  Ella played her first season on the "big" field this Fall, and it was so much fun!!  For both of us.  She has an excellent kick, and loved doing her big power kicks.  She played goalie in every game, and she loved playing center fullback as well (my old position!).  I marveled every day at how aggressive she was out there, never backing down when challenged.  I think it makes both the girls feel really proud and strong to be able to show a fierce side on the soccer field.  I was also so proud of them!  Tyler played his third season of tackle football this Fall, and he finally got a chance to shine!  It became evident early on that the coach had big plans for him, which I've always worried would never happen because he's not the "coach's kid" or longtime teammate.  But he was the team's kicker, one of the running backs, and played safety on defense.  And if there was ever an absent player, he'd fill in for them too.  I was so proud of him, and it was so much fun to watch.  I gladly got up at 6:30am on several Saturday mornings to watch him play an early morning game!  (OK, I grumbled a little bit, but I would never have missed it.)  I was happy to have a good camera this year, too, so that I could take some sweet action shots!  (Tyler is #1 by the way - it's hard to recognize him in his helmet.)  Spencer has had to leave the world of team sports behind him as he focuses on the individual sports that he loves (biking, swimming, and running) as well as his school extra-curricular activities.  He auditioned for the Fall middle school play this year, which was Peter Pan.  He got the part of Mr. Darling, and he did an awesome job!  His British accent was "spot on" and he thoroughly enjoyed having a cute girl play the part of his wife!  Having four active and involved kids can be exhausting, but it is so so rewarding to watch them work hard and perform well.  It makes it all worthwhile!