Soccer Practice

John is starting soccer this fall, in a U5 league. I am his coach (along with another dad) and am trying to contain my excitement. Much to my delight, John actually loves soccer. He and I played in the front yard last night, first with some older kids from the neighborhood, then later with Mary.

Playing soccer in our front yard

John's team is called Team Canada. You see, each team in his league is named after a team from the World Cup. Canada, in case you didn't know, didn't qualify for the 2010 World Cup. So how did John's team get named after our neighbors to the North? John's team was the 32nd team formed for the league and the only team left from the World Cup was North Korea. The people in charge of John's league elected not to name a team after a member of the Axis of Evil and settled instead on the non-threatening Canadians instead.

The kids can also choose their own nickname. So far John's favorite suggestion is the Lightning Fire Cheetahs. We'll see what the other kids suggest this week at practice.

Mary's first day of third grade

Mary proudly walked to school today with the rest of the kids from our neighborhood (8 in all, including 2 new kids starting kindergarten). She is in the same class as Sully again, which both girls were very happy about.

Mary ready for school

Mary and Sully

Mary sharing her snow cone with John

Mary finally lost her tooth!

After months of waiting, Mary's top tooth finally fell out at camp today. Mary was relieved and excited to show friends and family.