school's out

Unbelievable.  We are more than half way through the summer holidays and it feels like it is just beginning.  Maybe I should rethink the whole homeschooling thing. 

 *thinking for 9 seconds* 

Okay,  I thought about it again and decided (again) that it isn't for me!

Here are a few end of the school year photos before I add a few summer ones at Christmas time (hopefully joking):

GRADY

Grady was overjoyed that he was old enough to play soccer this year.  Mom wasn't so overjoyed about helping with the coaching.

Reason # 1: the six and under age group is more like crowd control than soccer, and I know very little about soccer and a little bit about 5 year old behavior.
Reason #2:  Rhett played U8 soccer at the same time on a different, but kind of near by field that he could bike to.  As a result, I made it to only one of his practices.
Reason #3:  Samara's soccer started before the younger kids finished (not the original schedule)

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad!  It just wasn't easy juggling all of that while Phil was farming and that took some of the fun out of it.  I always felt like a survivor every Tuesday and Thursday night :)

 RHETT

Rhett loves soccer more every year, but still does not like getting his picture taken so I have to be sneaky. When he was in U6 he was more concerned if his soccer shorts matched with his jersey than running for the ball!  That might be a tiny exaggeration, but it was for sure more about the social outing when he was younger.  This year he just wanted to get going and not be late ... all for the love of the game.  And you can't tell from the picture, but his shirt is purple and his shorts are blue :)

KEITHAN

This kid still LOVES soccer.  I think I have posted about that before ... but here it is again!  He plays hard and his face turns beet red every time.  He's a pretty good little player, if I say so myself :) 

SAMARA

This girl realized that she enjoys other things more than soccer, and that is ok!  She REALLY wanted to play this year, so we made it work (for the most part).  Then half way through the short season it was more of a "sticking to what you committed to" and "don't let your team down by not showing up for the tournament" kind of thing.  As funny as it sounds, 10 years old is "late" for starting to play soccer, especially when it isn't your skill.  Some other kids and their parents take it a little too seriously.  Oh well, one less thing to schedule next year and it was a good learning experience.  I must say, her coach was wonderful and she enjoyed having Samara on her team and told me more than once what a lovely girl she was.  True enough, she is a pretty amazing kid when she wants to be! 

Samara went to Fort Edmonton Park and the Legislature for her school trip.  She took about 112 photos but this one was too cute not to share!  I hope she doesn't want to be a politician, but she enjoyed her moment in the local MLA's office.