First Orioles Game

Connor and Cooper at Cooper's First Orioles game on June 28th. They played the Nationals and lost but we still had fun!

We visited guest services and they even gave Cooper an "Most Valuable Orioles Fan" Certificate to commemorate his first game.

Thanks to our friends for sharing in the adventure with us: Katie McFaddin, Chad Riley, and Dana Frisillo! (More pictures to follow.)

Wordless Wednesday

My best friend Shauna posts blogs occasionally called "Wordless Wednesday;" they are picture posts that need no explanation. I am going to copy her----it's the HIGHEST Compliment! So, although this is not a true "Wordless Wednesday," there will be many in the future and I wanted to make sure that Shauna got the credit!

Cousins in DC

My brother and sister-in-law moved back to the DC area about 2 weeks ago. We are so excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for them but we are also excited to have more family close by; having our kids grow up together, close enough where they could actually know each other, has been a dream of mine and I am thrilled to see it unfolding! Here are the 2 of the cousins together at the soccer fields this weekend. How adorable!!

All Stars Soccer

There have been many soccer posts over the history of our blog. So, one more should not come as a surprise. :-)
Both the boys had an awesome Spring Soccer Season:

Colin scored several goals, had an opportunity to develop more in the goalie position, & performed quite well as a Middle Mid-Fielder. This was his first season playing with Coach Driver and Colin thoroughly enjoyed the experience; he looks forward to playing with Coach Driver again next spring.
Connor played primarily in the Right Wing position but also got to try his hand at goalie. He also scored several goals. Connor was in his 3rd Season with Coach Damon and we will MISS him very much as Connor moves on to Travel Soccer (see Travel Soccer Team Post). The highlight of Connor’s Season was being selected to play on the All Star Team. Two kids from each team are selected. The kids practice together for 2 weeks and then play in a final tournament against other Northern Virginia teams on Father’s Day weekend. Connor’s team did awesome. They played some very tough teams but still performed quite well…AND, they scored more goals than they gave up! Great Job guys! Connor was thrilled to be playing with his best soccer friend, Matt.

Date Night-

Every once in a while David takes Sybella on a “Date Night.” This is usually an afternoon or evening where she gets a little dressed up and goes out with Daddy for a milkshake. Their destination of choice is Baskin Robbins. It only takes about 30 minutes but it is the highlight of her week!
Sybella loves milkshakes, almost as much as she loves her daddy. This is an awesome tradition that allows them to spend some 1-on-1 time together on a regular basis and develop relationship even in toddler-hood.
Here is a picture of tonight's "Date Night."

CCH Sharks Swim Team

This year our family joined the local pool; we weren’t able to do this when we lived in Vienna because there was a waiting list for memberships. We joined Country Club Hills Pool. One of the exciting opportunities that comes with being a pool member, is that the kids had the option of joining the swim team. I swam on a team for 2 years when I was a kid and it is an experience I wouldn’t trade. Colin did not want to join the team (I understand, he would have been swimming with kids in their 5th year of competitive swimming) but Connor was interested immediately.
The CCH Sharks is a great team and they have an Awesome coaching staff. Coach Scott is the head coach; he is knowledgeable, has a great manner with the kids and parents, he keeps the focus on team spirit and learning first, and he teaches the kids about how they should conduct themselves while still competing to the best of their ability. Coach Katherine is the assistant coach and does a great job as well.

On June 15th, the CCH Sharks had their First Meet of the season. It was a “Developmental Meet” which gives all of the kids a chance to participate. During regular meets, only the top 3 swimmers get to compete—which will often leave out the new kids. At a developmental meet, each child can compete in 2 events and has the opportunity to swim for improved times, experience, and feedback on their stroke style. Connor swam the backstroke and breaststroke at this meet. He did awesome!
He has a great backstroke and a fast breaststroke (the hardest stroke technically). He will continue to work on form through the season which will invariably increase his speed as well. Above all, he had FUN. One of his good friends Will also swims on the team so they have fun no matter what.

Travel Soccer Team

We got the invitation this morning for Connor to join the Vienna Boys Rising U-9 Travel Soccer Pool. There will be 4 teams of U-9 Boys and we do not yet have a team assignment but we have accepted the invitation and will begin our travel soccer journey in August. Travel soccer is designed to be a developmental program and more competitive than Recreational or House League Soccer. There are try-outs that a player must go thru to join a team.
CONGRATULATIONS to Connor for making it through 3 rounds of try-outs. Approximately 40 boys were selected and approximately 75 tried out.
This is a great opportunity for Connor as they schedule 2 practices a week and one of those practices is run by Brazilian Trainers who can help improve the boys’ skills.

Colin did not choose to try out as he spends the fall playing American Football.

Sisterchicks In Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn

I thoroughly enjoyed this book: Refreshing, realistic, and full of humor. This is a wonderful summer beach read. This is the first book by Robin Jones Gunn that I have read but I fully intend to read the rest of the Sisterchicks books. I also plan to pass on this book to one of my sisterchicks. (****see blog contest below) Another feature of this spectacular book is that it takes you on a short tour of Holland including churches, museums, and some famous Dutch people. Get the book, I promise you’ll enjoy it.

Here is the publisher’s summary and Author Bio:
Summary: When a mammogram result comes back abnormal, midlife mama Summer Finley makes a snap decision to relegate fear to the back burner and fulfill a lifelong dream. Summer heads for Holland where she meets up with tulips, wooden shoes, and her best friend, Noelle.
Pen pals since fourth grade, Summer and Noelle have never met face-to-face. Through decades of heart-level correspondence, they have sustained a deep friendship. A week of adventure helps both women trade anxiety for a renewed and deeper trust in God. When Summer confides in Noelle about the abnormal medical report, Noelle finds the freedom to share a long-held heartache, and both women discover they needed each other more than they realized.
Author Bio: Robin Jones Gunn is the best-selling and award-winning author of over seventy books, including the Glenbrooke, Christy Miller, Sierra Jensen, Katie Weldon, and Christy and Todd: The College Years teen series. The Sisterchicks® series has sold more than 300,000 units, bringing her total sales to more than 3.5 million books worldwide. A Christy Award winner, Robin is a popular speaker, both at home and abroad, and is frequently interviewed on radio and on television. http://www.robingunn.com/ http://www.sisterchicks.com/

**** To be entered in a drawing to win a free copy of the book, post a comment here on my blog or on my Facebook Note entitled “Sisterchicks in wooden shoes” before July 1.

Out for Another Walk

This is a quick shot of the kids during our 4-mile walk yesterday. Why does Sybella look like that you ask? Because she has been a "Camera Ham" lately. She either poses like this OR she won't look at the camera at all, wants to point at the camera, covers her eyes, or plays coy. It cracks me up!

Spring Strings Concert

Colin has enjoyed his second full year of playing the violin. He got the opportunity to showcase his skills at Daniel’s Run Elementary School’s Spring Concert tonight. The band and the orchestra teamed up to put on a 16-song concert. They were quite impressive! Colin’s favorite piece of the night was a complicated, multi-part piece called “Dragon Slayer;” it figures that Colin would love a song depicting a battle! Colin did a great job and is looking forward to next year. He has grown so much that he needs a new violin but we will wait until September to get it since he will likely grow even more over the summer. :-)

The National Zoo

This past Wednesday, Sybella, Cooper, and I went to the National Zoo. Our friends Kylee and Shauna rode with us and we met up with lots of NCC Moms to trek around the zoo and have a picnic lunch. I heard there were 18 kids under the age of 3 with us. What a FUN time! Here is a picture of us right before we got in the car to go back home....and we LOOK like we enjoyed ourselves.

Stealing Home -- By: Allison Pittman

Stealing Home By: Allison Pittman

I just started reading this book. Get a Copy and Enjoy!

Summary:
It’s 1905 and the Chicago Cubs are banking on superstar Donald “Duke” Dennison’s golden arm to help them win the pennant. Only one thing stands between Duke and an unprecedented ten thousand dollar contract: alcohol. That’s when sportswriter David Voyant whisks Duke to the one-horse town of Picksville, Missouri, so he can sober up in anonymity. He bides his time flirting with Ellie Jane Voyant, his unofficial chaperone, who would rather hide herself in the railway station ticket booth than face the echoes of childhood taunts. Ned Clovis, the feed store clerk, has secretly loved Ellie Jane since childhood, but he loves baseball and the Duke almost as much–until he notices Ellie Jane may be succumbing to the star’s charm. Then there’s Morris, a twelve-year-old Negro boy, whose only dream is to break away from Picksville. When Duke discovers his innate talent for throwing a baseball, Morris might just have found his way out. Four individuals, each living in haunted isolation, each harboring a secret passion. Providence brings them together. Tragedy threatens to tear them apart. Will love be enough to bring them home?

Author Bio: Allison Pittman spent seventeen years as a high school English teacher, and then shunned the advice of “experts,” quit her day job and set out to write novels that bring glory to God. She relishes inspiring other writers and leading the theater arts group at her church. She and her husband and three sons live in Universal City, Texas.

Look-A-Like

When you look at families, sometimes you say that one child or another looks like one of the parents. In our family, it seems all my kids look alike. But, it’s still fun to figure out who looks the “most alike.” The consensus from just about everyone who has weighed in with an opinion is that Little Cooper looks most like Connor. So, I thought I would put this fun picture up of Connor laying with Cooper.
(All the kids LOVE Cooper and believe it or not they will take every opportunity to hold him, lay next to him, entice him to make gurgle noises, or just watch him sleep. Boy, am I Blessed!!!!!!)