It's Soccer Time...

This year is the first year that Rylan is old enough to participate in the soccer league. He is in an instructional soccer league for four year olds. There's a lot of kids. And it is really amusing to watch. Here are some pics from Rylan's soccer team. If you have trouble finding him look for the child who is 6 inches taller than the rest.



Noah is part of the Green Machines. He is on an under eight team, and they are doing pretty well. I have to say soccer is much more entertaining to watch. Noah loves to play goal. But he does really well in all of the positions. He even has his first friend with the same name. Noah Foster. The coaches haven't distinguished between the two, and every time they yell Noah both Noah's stop what their doing.
In this photo, Noah is getting ready to kick the ball.

First Day of School...

As of Monday we have three kids, and all of them are in school. Sofia was very excited to start her first day of school. She walked right in to her classroom. Rylan, who is also in her class, immediately showed Sofia the ropes. They pulled their fish out of the basket, that have their names on them and posted them on the board. They found their cubbies and hung up their book bags. Then I snuck in and gave some very stealth goodbye kisses and Wade and I snuck out the door. Grandma Sheri said Sofia and Rylan came out the doors with huge smiles on their faces. And Sofie said she really liked school. Since then drop-offs have been a little rougher. She is all excited, until it's actually time to go to her classroom then she starts crying. Poor Sofia.

Daddy and Sofia walking in to school.
Miss Sarah takes Sofie's photo for her cubby.
The crazies on the first day of pre-school...

Cool new Rylan Hair...

Wade styled Rylan's hair before leaving from Grandma's this morning. Rylan loved it.

Noah's Last Day of Summer Vacation.

Monday was Noah's last day of summer vacation, so I took the day off and my Mom, Noah, Rylan, Sofia and I went to the St. Louis Zoo. Our first stop was the Stingray's at Carribean Cove. We have actually been fortunate enough to have fed the stingrays at the Tampa Zoo, but it's so much fun we couldn't wait to do it again. And Sofie loved it. She actually cried when we left the stingrays.


The shadow's make Ry's haircut look like a mohawk...

Girls Weekend in Dallas/Frisco Texas...

Sofia and I spent last weekend in Dallas/Frisco Texas. It was a girls weekend with Wade's sisters, Julie and Heather and their girls, Emma, Audrey and Zoe. Sofia enjoyed her first flight, although the landing on the return flight alarmed her a little. There were storms in St. Louis and the turbulence had her eyes as big as saucers. She was a great traveling companion and she really loved that Zoe was sitting right behind her. I think she spent the majority of both flights thinking of things to pass to her through the spaces in between the seats.

It was our first visit to Julie's new house. We spent a least a couple of hours everyday relaxing in the pool. Sofie proved to be a very proficient swimmer in water wings. The girls spent hours hosting tea parties and playing barbies.

On Friday, we went to a really great restaurant called Babe's. It was a home-style restaurant. And it was very kid friendly. And the food was amazing. Fabulous food, usually Mexican, was the theme for the weekend.
After Babe's we went to Safety Town. It was a mini town, hosted by the Frisco Fire Dept. and it was all about teaching the kids safety. The kids could climb through a real firetruck. Try on the firemens' gear. They even had a safety house where they simulated a fire and a tornado and taught the kiddos and parents what to do in an emergency. What a great idea! During the fire safety session the room actually filled with smoke.
Saturday was the big day. Breakfast at the American Girl Doll Store and then shopping. For those of you who have never taken your Bitty Baby to breakfast. She has her own high chair and menu. And she gets to sit next to her Mommy through the meal.
After we got home from the mall, the girls drug all of their new American Girl stuff out and played. It was a wonderful, relaxing vacation...



Wade, Noah and Rylan went camping. Wade got stung by a whole nest of bees. They were dive bombed by (heebie geebies) bats! They shot guns, fished and played in the dirt. They came back covered in ticks, chiggers and poison ivy. And Noah and Rylan can't wait to go back camping with Daddy... Awe.

Sofia's Third Birthday!

Sunday, August 9th was Sofia's third birthday. After having a few family friends for a sleep over. We woke up early, made blueberry waffles. Ate the whip cream off of the waffles touching neither blueberries nor waffle. And prepared to start our day. Of course. first things first she wanted her birthday gifts.

Mommy snuck a quick picture of Rylan with his new back to school haircut. Doesn't he look handsome?

Then it was out to enjoy the 100 degree weather at Swansea Kingdom. It's a brand new park in Swansea complete with A Princess Castle and a water feature for the kids to play in.





Sofia loved all of her princess cards. Mommy cut all the princesses out and made her first set of paper dolls.
She loved all of her new clothes and all of her Cinderella dolls and toys. She had a great birthday!
Colin, Noah and the mystery hand enjoyed decorating cupcakes.

And last, but not least a funny story courtesy of the birthday princess. After our very tiring day at the park. And then the unpack and clean-up from the party we were ready for baths by eight. We got dressed in pj's, had a quick pre-bed snack and then I tucked the kids in. Now, normally Sofia would throw a big fit about not sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed. She normally stands at the gate crying hysterically for at least twenty minutes. But last night, (And it should have been a red flag!) she quietly settled in. She snuggled in, pulled her dolls close and fixed her blanket up. Smiled said "nite, nite Momma" and kissed me goodnight. I am so naive I actually thought she was just so tired that she was ready to go to bed... So Wade and I watched TV, and about 45 minutes later I checked on first the boys and then Sofia. Come to find out, she wasn't sleeping at all. She must have gotten out of bed the second I turned around. She had unwrapped (unpackaged?) every gift she had received at the party. Her room looked like a tornado of barbie, my little pony, and Cinderella paper boxes. She was fully dressed in Cinderella jewelry and was sitting in bed playing my little pony and Cinderella...

Happy Birthday Grandma Fran!!!!

Noah, Rylan and Sofia as well as Mommy's friends daughters, Kaya and Kami, are sending birthday wishes to Grandma Fran....

Noah Lost his first tooth...

On Wednesday night, when he should have been sleeping. Noah pulled the first of his four loose teeth. He was very excited and immediately started contemplating how much money the tooth fairy was going to leave him. He first told me the story of how one of the little boys in his class was left $10 for the loss of his first tooth. I quickly assured Noah that I didn't think our tooth fairy was that rich. I think this tipped Noah off that the tooth fairy was not real, because the next thing he said to me was that he was going to dust the money he got for fingerprints and if any of them matched Daddy or I he would know we were liars. Ouch! To smart for his own good.