fall soccer

Sam and Luke both played soccer this fall.  Sam's team went undefeated ... Ben claims it was because of excellent coaching.  He was the coach.  :)
 

Luke's team had a great season, too.  Won a few, lost a few, but had fun playing since lots of his friends were on the team.

Emery's summer

Emery's summer needs no explanation.  These pictures totally sum it up ...

He has spent hours and hours at the golf course.  Hitting bucket after bucket, chipping and putting, playing 9.  I don't think I'd recognize him without his golf bag slung over his shoulders or a golf club in his hand!

the never-ending baseball season (plus a little lacrosse)

Now that summer is well under-way, our "spring sports" have finally ended.  We spent most of our spring and early summer evenings watching the boys play various sports. 

Emery and Luke played baseball.

Emery was on the Angels:

Luke was on the White Sox:

and Sam decided to give lacrosse a try this spring:

 

But things didn't end there ... after Sam's lacrosse season and Luke's regular baseball season ended, somehow they both ended up on their cousin Jake's baseball team for the tournament.  Go Mets!:

 (Luke rubbing his rear end after getting hit by a

pitch in his first ever kid-pitch game)

(Luke, Jake and Sam)

And when all of that ended, Luke played on an all-star team.

Good thing we love watching these boys play sports!

pinned

After suffering disappointing and heart-breaking losses to this guy:

and this guy:

and after dominating in a long and tough and well-fought match:

and with only .7 seconds left on the clock, Emery finally pinned this guy!

And he learned that the thrill of victory is way more fun than the agony of defeat.  (And I hope this guy's neck feels better soon!)

the singlet

I always thought wrestlers wore uniforms, or maybe even leotards ... but singlets?  Never heard of them.  Well, turns out wrestlers wear singlets, and when Emery brought his home a couple of weeks ago and tried it on for the first time, I did what any good mother would do.  I whipped out my camera.  Here it is ... the singlet:

Sweet, huh?  Then Sam seized the moment and gave that paw print a smack ... which I also captured on camera:

sam ... a.k.a. #56

Sam played football this fall.  After a few years of begging and pleading with us to let him play, it was time.  He had great expectations.  He dreamed of being the star QB, star running back, star receiver, star anything, really.  Well, he didn't end up playing any of those positions, but he was a fantastic kicker, safety, and tight end.  He was definitely the star player in my book.  Plus, he looked dang cute in his uniform.

brrrr

I've decided that it's much more fun to watch my kids play spring sports when it actually feels like spring.  But it has been a cold week!  Here's a run-down of our week:  Tuesday night, Sam played baseball in a serious wind storm.  (Wind and baseball games don't go together very well, because the wind blows the dirt from the field so hard that you go home with dirt in your ears.)  Wednesday night, Sam played in a cold soccer game.  Thursday night, Luke had a soccer game and Sam and Luke both had baseball games.  The thermometer in my car said it was 42 degrees, and I sat out in the cold for 4 1/2 hours watching these darling boys of mine play in their various games.  42 degrees!  There was even snow on the soccer field ...

But then Luke scored his first goal of the season, and suddenly the cold didn't bother me anymore, and it was all worth it.

Emery and Luke have baseball games tonight.  I do hope it's a little warmer.