Entering June

Fell behind in writing again. I had this picture to remind of at least part of the day.

It was a quiet, nice day from what I remember. Shane would have loved to have had a wild play date (and keeps asking for those), but nothing coalesced.

We went to TKD in the morning. Shane's still wearing the fluorescent green shirt in the hammock. Grand Master Kang told us that Shane should text next week for his belt. It was a small class of only five kids, so GM Kang spent a while with all of the kids and worked on their forms. I love the small classes, because I feel like Shane really excels when there's more attention focused on him!

We haven't seen much of Raheem at all over the past month, but Henry, Sam, and Rosie are outside almost every day.

Time is ticking away. Lots of deadlines and big things coming up.

Make-Up Game

Saturday was wild, so Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest. Shane showed Mommy his plant and Pokemon pot, we went to church, and stayed in for much of the morning.

John gave Shane a pair of books last night before we left and asked him to "test read" them. Between that and the pictures, Shane got into it! He said Sam was a big fan of some books related to the ones John gifted us.

It rained off and on all day and, to my surprise, the make-up soccer game was never called off. "Don't go," Carrie asked......but then she fell asleep, so Shane and I went! It's hard to wake up a napping mom if you're not even home!

The field was mostly passable with some clear swimming holes to avoid.

Jonas was still out of town, so Shane volunteered for goalie again! After yesterday, I thought he'd sipped from that cup and had his fill.

He was much improved from last game. He charged out a few times to attack people driving toward the goal and acted braver in general. He's still relying on his legs and is shy about contact anywhere else, but he pays more attention to the game as a goalie than he does anywhere else. I may have to buy gloves for next season.

The game went similarly to yesterday. The other team didn't have as many standout players, but they were good across the board and seemed bigger, faster, and older. Some of Shane's teammates were less than helpful with their criticism and comments whenever he missed a save. A few were warranted, but an 8 year old playing goalie for the second time ever stands little chance versus unblocked attackers (The other team had one kid basically sit in position offsides at all times - Smart play to teach the value of positions when there's no offsides penalty). 

We lost 8 to 2. It would have been 6 to 2, but two of our kids scored on our own goal! One was fighting and defending the goal and seemed to get swept away and kicked it in! The other time, Anthony looked like he was kicking it out of bounds away from an attacker, so Shane stood still in the middle of the goal. Anthony's kick hooked left and went in with both Shane and Anthony looking dumbfounded. They started to blame each other while all the adults were laughing or (as in my case) trying to smother the laughs before they bubbled up.

Lots of learning happened. About position play and about trying to take a shirt off while holding something.

Carrie sent us a text that there were a bunch of kids out playing soccer in the neighborhood as we left. We arrived mid-party.

Will was celebrating completing his three years of residency! There were multiple families over including the city high school's principal.

Shane invited himself to join the party.

He fit right in. He was the oldest kid present, so he felt like a real stud playing goalie for them and popping bubbles.

He walked straight into Will and Mikaela's house at one point. When I trailed in his wake, all of the adults were cracking up and asked about our trip to NoVA yesterday. Shane had been telling them all about it.

"And the best part," one woman said, "Was how he said, 'My dad and John are in a huge relationship! They've known each other since middle school!'"

Kids say some of the funniest things. I laughed along with everyone and promised to tell Carrie.

When I went in the house, I found Shane on the couch lecturing a future doctor on Pokemon cards. He offered to bring some decks for McCall (sp?) to play a game with, but I nixed it. Undaunted, Shane grabbed some Pokemon cards during a potty break and ran to share them.

I felt a little more awkward with the whole process. Everyone was clearly friends and no one was unwelcoming, but it's not like we were invited. Will and Mikaela seem like the laid back type who would welcome anyone in the neighborhood, but since there was no heads up I didn't want to assume. I ended up in a few funny conversations, but mostly tried not to intrude.

Unless, I needed to parent of course. I don't know why Shane thought everyone playing basketball wanted someone to run up, 'umbrella dance,' and try to cover their faces from behind while they were shooting. I don't know why he didn't get the hint from the "Stop it's!" either.

Funny fact: Whenever anyone takes their shirt off, Shane is quick to join the party. He looks like he's spider man in this picture!

Shane likes to play around, but he prefers to make up his own games rather than follow anyone else's rules. He marches to his own drum.

Boys

Random pic of the day.

Shane's going to miss being on the cul de sac. We're going to have to be much more intentional about inviting friends over in our new house.

True Spring

Spring is starting to feel like spring! Just in time for team picture day, too.

I feel bad for the photographer. He came out to our practice just to take a picture of four kids.

A fifth ran up later, but the odds of him selling any photos are slim.

Raheem and a couple of other kids walked up to play basketball when we got home. I sat on the porch and Shane half joined in.

I say half, because Shane wasn't playing basketball. First, he wanted to get the ball, spin around, and throw it. Then, he wanted to be a zombie who would tackle other players. Then...I don't even remember what else was going on. I called him aside. I told him that he should jump in the basketball game, but asked him not to run side games that interfered with their game. We had a short talk about "why," and the game went on.

Shane enjoyed it for a while, but then left to climb a tree (a great, spring activity!). He started to call from the tree top with things like "Look at me!" "See how high I am!" and "I'm a great climber!"

I can't remember if I called out or not. I know I thought, "They're in the middle of a basketball game! You don't need to call out, and I doubt they'll join you. Just focus on having fun and the rest will work out!"

Well, I was partly wrong. The kids did stop their basketball game and switch to climbing!

Shane chortled, shook the tree, and made sure he was the highest up. I'm surprised the tree held them all!

It was a moment I was happy to see....though I did think, "It's no wonder he likes to call out, 'look at me!' All the kids do!"

Eventually, it was time for dinner and a shower. Shane went to bed properly tired from playing as all kids should.

Winter is Coming? Or Has it Gone?

Did spring arrive in the wrong season? Is it going to leave only to return again at the proper time?

I texted John McM after church. It seemed too nice to stay inside. We traded a few texts and decided to meet up and walk the trails near the Long street bridge and 250. 

We parked near a body shop which brought it's own brand of fun.

The boys got a kick out of the car-less dashboard. Water had frozen into ice discs in the cup holders that Shane scooped out and threw.

There was a mini-beach under the bridge.

It was much cleaner than I expected. I kept scanning for broken glass, but other than an old umbrella it was safe (To which I said to John, "You know how I know we're adults? I see that [umbrella] and I'm looking for reasons not to pick it up where a kid looks and says, 'Treasure!'" To which someone much of heard me, because a kid did say, "Treasure!").

I liked the Star Wars tagging. Shane had a hard time reading with all the funny letter sizing and wear, but Yoda's wisdom rang true.

John and I eventually got the kids to move on along the path. The boys seemed to think they could outrun bikes instead of moving out of the way, and poor Eli was upset whenever he couldn't keep up with the older boys.

We made it to some bamboo relatively drama free. The boys would have loved to really gone exploring if John and I had let them.

However, we had another bit of fun news: More kids. I got a text from Ryan's dad, Chris, about doing something outside. I replied that we were already out on a trail and could do something later. My thinking had been that Dylan, Shane, and Eli were doing well and I didn't want to rock the boat. I didn't want to just start inviting people John didn't know either.

The next texts I got indicated Chris and his kids were on the way.

Looking back at the text, I saw how it could be read as an invitation and, you know what? I'm glad it was. Ryan, Sarah, and Chris joined us at the bridge.

Sarah is Eli's age, so he had a friend now. Ryan is Dylan and Shane's age. I was a little worried that Shane would pair up with one boy to the exclusion of the other since he was the only one who knew everybody, but it was better than fine. It was great! The more the merrier!

The kids would have happily stayed on the 'beach,' but the dads were ready to move along. We walked across the bridge to the trails on the other side.

I've driven the bridge hundreds of times, but walking is a different experience (Random: Someone from our small group saw us, honked, and waved. It's a Cville thing!).

We headed south on the trail.

The group spread out, rubber banded, and changed continuously.

We found good walking sticks and went at it.

Dylan, Ryan, and Shane tended to run far ahead of everyone. Eli and Sarah stuck closer together with Eli sometimes trying (and failing) to catch up to the older boys. Chris is a Montessori parent and less worried about his kids being out of sight than John or I. He stopped to watch and photograph some rapids and didn't catch up until half a mile down the path!

We might have gone farther, but we were already at least 3/4 of a mile in and (the adults) knew we'd need to backtrack.

We didn't make it all the way to Riverview park, but it was a good hike when I called the boys back!

A group of older walkers came laughing ahead of the boys. They shared with me that "the ringleader" had suggested that the boys all sit and wait calmly and peacefully while everyone caught up!

I can see any of the boys saying that. That only makes it funnier. It will have to remain a mystery!

We stopped at a hill on a bed. There was a slope down to the river and one leading up.

Chris sat on the hill and the kids all went up.

...and they continued to go up!

The slope was much steeper than the picture suggests. Eventually, John and I climbed up part way to assist and make sure the kids didn't continue over the top ('Montessori Chris' remained unconcerned, ha!).

The boys walked slower on the way back. Shane invented some sort of game that was a mix of World of Warfcraft, Plants vs Zombies, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Trollhunter references (Ryan plays Fortnite.....and the others should be obvious if you read semi-regularly). Somehow, Shane was level one hundred or infinite with "all the best weapons," and he had the boys doing things to earn EXP and level up.

Many zombies were eliminated.

I found myself between groups. Chris and Sarah ranged far ahead. Then it was me. Then the older boys. Then Eli and John in caboose.

It was a nice trail. I checked timestamps and we were out for just over three hours! This is winter!?

Sam and Henry were out when we got home. Shane spent another hour and a half on the porch bouncing on an old mattress with them!

This game would not have been Carrie approved.

Will was out, so I hopped back and forth to make bagel bites near the end. Shane would have loved to have played past dinner, but I was tired from the busy day outside!

I may try to gather everyone again for another trail walk sometime. It was a lot of fun!