Sweet Conversations!

Matthew: "Mommy I NEVER get to play with my play-dough! It's been sooo long!"

Mommy: "It's too late to get the play dough out tonight."

Matthew: "PLEEEEEASE mommy. My play dough misses me!"

Mommy: "You can play with the play dough tomorrow after school."

Matthew: "Thanks mom! My play dough will be soooo happy!"


Granted he's a teensy bit on the dramatic side, but sometimes he's just too cute for words!

Gotta love those chubby little hands!!!!

Soccer Time - Take 2

Stephen had his second soccer game last Thursday and got to sample the sweet taste of victory! He was very excited and nervous because he was appointed the task of goalie for the second quarter of the game. He did a nice job of protecting the team's goalie box and was very assertive with his plays.

The last half of the game, he played the position of forward and blew me away. I'll say one thing, that kid is not afraid to get right in there in order to go after the ball. It was hard to watch at times when the boys all ran together trying to gain control for their team. Feet were flying everywhere and I just kept waiting for a foot to connect with a stomach or worse yet, someone's head. Thankfully, everyone came out unscathed and the Blue Dragons won with a score of 1-0. I have to tell you, even though the weekly schedule is grueling, I really enjoy watching Stephen play. I hope that he will stick with it because I think he has the potential to really excel at the sport. Besides, high school soccer is a lot easier to stomach than having Stephen come home and reveal that he is trying out for the football team!!!!

The following clip is funny because his first kick wasn't all that great since it went straight up in the air instead of down field. It was his first block and I think his nerves got the better of him. Thankfully he does manage to redeem himself!

The next couple of clips show him in action as a forward!

Proud Preschooler

Today was a day of so many emotions - joy, pride, anxiety, sadness, excitement. Matthew started preschool this morning. I am so excited for him because I know that he is going to love it, but at the same time my heart is breaking. It's so hard to see him growing up. I know it's inevitable that he will go to school, but it doesn't make it any easier! I am looking forward to hearing about all of the wonderful things that he will learn about and discover and I know that he will fall in love with his preschool teacher, as most little boys do. It also helps to ease my worries knowing that he already knows one other little boy in his class. This first day was set up like an open house and since I was pretty sure the powers that be would frown greatly on my having a sub the 5th day of school, Michael took Matthew today. That's probably just as well. My sobbing in a corner probably would have scared the other children in the room! Just kidding! Matthew was ready, but cautious, as he always is in new situations. Michael said that Matthew held his hand walking in, but within a few minutes was fleeting around the room having a grand time. I'm sure that a lot of his confidence in the room stems from the fact that the preschool room is in the same building as his daycare. I hope that Matthew loves school and never forgets that no matter how big he gets that his mommy loves him more than all the moon and stars!

Soccer Time!

Stephen has started playing soccer and is absolutely loving it! He is on the Blue Dragons and has a game every Thursday night through October. The season will then pick up again in the spring, sometime after spring break. His first game was this past Thursday and to say that he was excited is the understatement of the year. The child could not stand still. He was a bundle of energy and talking nonstop (must get that from his dad) wanting to know when the game was going to start. Once it did start, his focus was amazing. He listened to his teammates and coach as they ran the ball up and down the field. I don't know much about soccer, but he's pretty darn good. Then again, I guess I'm a little biased. He had some great passes and steals and had very good control of the ball when he was dribbling down the field. He assisted with one goal and then fed one into the net himself. He was soooooo geeked! Even with all of the hard work put forth by he and his teammates, they lost the game 4-3. The wonderful part for me was that it didn't bother Stephen in the least that they didn't win. Once the game was over his main goal was to snag some cotton candy from the concession stand!

I will have some game pictures in future entries. It was raining off and on during his first game and I didn't want to chance getting my camera wet. Stephen, however, was gracious enough to pose for a few indoor shots. Enjoy!

GOALIES FEAR ME!!!!!!!!

This has got to be the cutest soccer player on the planet!

Third Grade Here I Come!

Well, Stephen is an official 3rd grader. He started school Sept. 2nd and is in Mr. Sumonvic's classroom. He came home pretty excited about the upcoming year. When asked about what he was going to be doing in 3rd grade, I expected to hear about learning multiplication, division, how to write in cursive, etc. Instead I was bombarded with his overwhelming anticipation of getting to make popcorn, snow cones and maybe even ice cream. Holy cow! My teachers were never that much fun. It's hard to believe that he's in 3rd in grade. Before you know it, he'll be graduating! The first day was only a 1/2 day, so Stephen and Michael spent their annual back to school day going out to lunch and putt putt golfing. The day was then topped off with ice cream and few video games. Next year, Matthew will be joining in on the fun since he will be entering Kindergarten. Boy, oh boy, where does the time go?

Lazy Summer Days

Wow, it's hard to believe that summer vacation has come to an end. Every year it seems to go by faster and faster. Keeping this in mind, we decided to end summer with a bang and rented a cottage in Sutton's Bay. We had a great time! The cottage was a home away from home complete with 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, a full kitchen and much to all 3 of my boys delight, a TV!!!!! The very best part was that we were practically sitting in Grand Traverse Bay. We could see the water from our front door and with just a hop, skip and a jump across a narrow country road, we were frolicking on the beach. Stephen and Matthew had a great time playing in the sand and discovered the art of sandcastle making with the steady guidance of Michael. They were also thrilled to find out that the water was shallow. Fortunately there was no major drop off so they could walk out for what seemed like miles. There were some jet skis moored a ways out, and the boys thought they were hot stuff due to the fact that they could walk out to them and not be in over their heads (with Michael or I not far behind of course!). Aside from swimming and playing in the sand, we did manage a couple of day trips into Traverse City. While there, we visited Pirate's Cove to partake in a game of miniature golf, drive some go-carts and race down the water coaster. Afterwards, to tame the rumblings in our tummies, we had lunch at Don's Drive-In. It was a very cool retro diner with lots of chrome, red vinyl and pictures of famous icons from the 50's and 60's. The kids meals were served in cardboard basket replicas of a 1955 Ford Fairlane Hot Rod and I had a hand-dipped chocolate milkshake that was out of this world! We also wandered around the marinas in Traverse City and Sutton's Bay. Stephen was really impressed with the "Tall Ships" that were docked there. He and Matthew thought they were cool because they looked like pirate ships. Maybe next year, we'll try and reserve a sailing venture on one. Michael and I also took the boys to visit Michael's grandfather in Kewadin. We had a very nice time visiting and the boys had a good time walking on the beach with Aunt Nancy. Stephen was extra excited because he found a Petosky Stone and has been proudly showing it to everyone he knows. Overall we had a wonderful time. It was nice to have my family all to myself for a week with no outside interruptions and we could just focus on each other. The boys were thrilled to find out that we have made arrangements to return next summer. Hopefully each visit will create special memories that they can file away and share with their own children some day!


Here are the boys driving the kiddie go-carts at Pirate's Cove.






Stephen loved sliding down the water coaster!





More pictures of our trip are in an album posted at: http://picasaweb.google.com/MMeister326/TraverseCityTrip#