Soccer and Beginnings of Fall Weather

MC has begun another fall soccer season, but this year, she and her team have moved up to a more competitive league.  That means practices have become a little tougher including sprints, MC's favorite, and much cuter uniforms. :)  She's played three games thus far, and in the most recent scored a goal. (Technically, the goal didn't count as the referee says one of MC's teammates pushed the goalie down, but this completely unbiased mom says he was wrong.) :)  Check her out...

She volunteered to play goalie in the second half after she saw that the other team was having a hard time making it to that side of the field. :)  Smart girl.

One of her cutest fans! :)

Though the first couple games were pretty hot, we've had some great fall weather beginning the end of last week.  Today we spent much of the day outside.  Caz had a good time exploring and MC and Nate kept busy with many activities including tether ball.....

He still loves to throw the ball.  He's still working on his accuracy, but he is very proud of himself when he gets it in the air.

Exploring for Caz almost always ends with a taste.

They get pretty competitive with each other, lots of trash talking.  But they take it from each other well, and have lots of fun.

This will be a busy week culminating in MC's 9th birthday!!!!  So stay tuned for birthday fun.

First Day of School

We started the day off with a giggle... I asked Nate if he was going to rock 2nd grade.  His reply, "Yeah.  I'm going to rock it like a rocking chair."  It's always good to start the school year off with a smile. :) So I officially have a 2nd grader and a 4th grader.  Very hard to believe!!  But we're off and running with school and all the activities that come with it.  Our lazy summer schedule has morphed into a much more hectic list of things to do.  I pray I can keep up!!

Omaha Zoo

As our last 'hoorah' of the summer, we made a trip to the zoo.  It is quite a large and impressive zoo.  We only saw a small part of what they had to offer, and the kids loved it.  We will definitely have to go back!

The orangutangs

The penguins

The aquarium

The jungle

More jungle

And more monkeys in the jungle

It's back to school soon!  That means college football and fall weather is just around the corner. My absolute favorite time of the year!

Walking, Catch and Husker Fan Day

Caz is changing so much so fast!  He's been inching his way towards walking.  He will take a couple very shaky steps between Brandon and I, and I've even caught him letting go of things and starting to walk before he realizes he's not holding on to anything. He's getting close to that big milestone!  And he has shown us real signs that he understands what we're saying to him of late, including throwing the ball to Daddy for a fun game of catch.  Check out the videos...

Early steps...

 Catch with Dad...I remember Nate's first game of catch with his Dad too; seems like yesterday!

Speaking of the Natester, he and Dad enjoyed Husker fan day today.  They stood in a few of the lines meeting the Husker safeties and corners.  All the players were great to Nate and he really enjoyed getting their autographs in his media guide.  He was a little embarrassed by the pictures but he was a good sport about it.  Starting to get excited about football season and fall weather!!  Makes me giddy as it's my favorite time of the year! :)

 Nate took pictures with lots of the players, but I think this is Alfonzo Dennard, the Senior from Rochelle, Georgia.

And of course, the cheerleaders.

Caz at 9 months

It's hard to believe, but Caz is, in fact, nine months old now!  He has learned all kinds of new tricks showing us that he is a very strong little boy.  In his eighth month he was scooting like crazy and pulling up on anything he could get his hands on.  And at 9 months he has improved on these tricks, actually crawling and 'walking' from furniture piece to furniture piece and most recently behind a walker toy.  We are pretty sure he has come to understand the words, 'no-no,' though they don't elicit the intended response.  Instead of ceasing whatever off-limits activity that has intrigued him, he just looks back at you briefly with a big grin and then proceeds to move as fast as he can away from you.  It's so cute (at least for now).  He has also mastered 'dada' and 'mama,' but 'dada' is definitely his favorite.  Just like his big brother, it looks as though he will adore his father.  Mari Cagle and Nate have been such a great help caring for him this summer, I don't know what I'll do when they get back to school!  Below are some videos we shot commemorating his new tricks and these precious nine months he's been with us.

Caz crawling - MC is doing taping duties on this one.

Caz crawling and pulling up

Caz and his walker

 Caz has a big smile in this one.  It's contagious. :)

 Earlier on the day we made these videos, Nate made the Lincoln Dodgers team.  He was acting shy in this video, but he is so excited!  He loves baseball!!

Only two more weeks until school starts.  We're going to pack in as much as we can.

And don't forget...

A big part of Nate's summer fun began with the College World Series, and I can't believe I forgot to post the pictures! (The pics are from BL's phone, so they're not the greatest, but they'll do.)  Nate and Brandon spent a day in Omaha at the new stadium watching a couple of games.  Nate was so excited to go no matter who was playing, but he was especially excited to watch the Florida Gators!

First things first, Dad got him a Gators hat and a 2011 CWS tshirt.  Last year the tshirt was one of Nate's most favorite things, and this year he was just as excited to get one with the new teams.  You may remember last year, he picked one out with the bracket on the back, and creating brackets for all sports and games remains one of his favorite past times.  This year he chose one with all the team logos including teams from the regional tournaments.  And yes, like last year, he still insists on wearing the new shirt backwards so he can see the teams.

 Attending CWS games in June promises to be a father-son (one day sons-plural) tradition.

Great new ball park.  The first year of games at Ameritrade park.

All decked out and ready for a day of baseball...Nate even learned to keep score and did a great job of keeping a record of the games he watched.

Unfortunately, the second game was interrupted by the tornado sirens.  Nate and BL had to spend some time under the stairwell before finally heading home.  Thankfully, it was a false alarm, and some nice girls spent time talking to Nate and taking his mind off the tornado threat.  It was a little scary for a while, but the great memories from the day seemed to have trumped those scary moments. 

Summer Holidays

We've had a fun, relaxed summer so far.  I have shots from both Father's Day and the Fourth of July to share....

For Father's Day, Brandon and MC did a duathlon together.  It included a 2 mile run, followed by a 9 mile bike and finished with another 2 mile run.  MC did great and Brandon was one proud, happy Dad.  Nate, Caz and I had a great time hanging out and watching them pass us by each leg.

Pre-race...

All set up at the transition station...

A little face time with their biggest fan...

Coming around the first loop of the 9 mile bike...

And the second loop...

She was the last to come in on the bike which disappointed her a bit.  But she used it as motivation to track down two ladies in front of her on the run.  So ultimately, she finished in front of them.  Brandon said he couldn't believe how determined she was.  Check her out with her tracking face headed out on the last leg...

Coming up to the finish line, everyone cheered her on.  The finish area was abuzz with talk about the young girl racing with her dad...

All done...finishing with a hug from her very proud Dad as her very proud Mom and brothers cheered her on...

We had to get up pretty early to get to the race, so between the early start and the race itself, she was pooped and passed out on the ride home...

We enjoyed a fun-filled 4th with neighborhood fun.  Below are shots of the neighborhood parade which we followed with afternoon fun at a neighbor's pool.  We will finish off the night with fireworks courtesy of another of our hospitable neighbors.  So much to be thankful for on this holiday...

My three angels in their red, white and blue which includes Braves jerseys for Nate and Caz or should I say, Heyward and McCann.

MC decorated and pushed Caz's stroller in the parade.  A friend of hers joined her for the parade walk.

Nate was all about speed on the route.  I missed him completely as he came around to finish.

The girls put the jogging stroller to the test as they tried to keep up with the bikes.  As I watched, I was afraid Caz might get frightened, but he just pulled himself up as far as he could as if to say, "Faster, faster!"

Posing for a group picture...

We wish everyone a very happy summer!!