Wrestling, Soccer, Art. It's All Here!

Lots of stories to tell so try to keep up!

Gosh, where to start? I found my MIA camera in my coat pocket from our last snow day. We've added a few pictures since then but I obviously hadn't gotten around to doing anything with them.

Cameron quit soccer this season (boo! He was really good!) and decided to take up wrestling, of all sports. Hunter, Kevin's BFF and our neighbor's son, started last fall and they suggested Cameron try it. I took him to a practice to see what it was like and was surprised at how hard those kids work. They did some serious cardio exercises! Cam thought it looked fun so we forked over the dough and signed on the dotted line. On the way home from his very first practice, he was literally singing songs about how much he hated it and swore he wasn't going back. Sorry, buddy. We paid, you play. Like it or not. By the next practice, his attitude had improved again (kind of like labor, I assume, where people forget how bad it was and remember the good parts). The coaches really took a liking to Cameron mostly because he truly worked very hard and never quit. Cam was warned most kids don't win any matches in their first season but that didn't stop him from getting more and more discouraged as the season progressed and he remained winless. He led at times and came really close to winning a couple of times but just couldn't finish the deal. Finally, late in the season, he not only won a match but he did it by pinning his opponent (as we learned, you can win by a pin (best way = bragging rights) or on points). He followed that up with another win in the next tournament. We all learned a lot about a sport we initially knew nothing about and got to where we were really enjoying watching the matches. We even learned to shout something more profound than "Go!" by the end of the season. As fun as it was though, it was always very tough to see my son get twisted into a pretzel and out-muscled despite his very best efforts. It took all I had not to go out on the mat and kick some of those kids off him. That probably wouldn't be a very good display of sportsmanship.

One of Cam's first matches (he's on top). He wanted to look tough but he really looked cute in his singlet.

This has nothing to do with wrestling other than the fact that we were at a match but I just love the expression on Kevin's face.

We also bought a new, used dirt bike for Cameron. He didn't know it was coming so when I brought it home and asked him to help me get something out of the pickup, he was overjoyed when he saw it.

He's only ridden it a couple of times so far but he figured out the clutch and shifting pretty quickly. Hopefully we'll get more time to ride it now that summer is here.

It took us several weeks but we (with the boys help) finally got around to putting our new outdoor fireplace together. Dana bought some huge marshmallows to roast. I'm talking Texas-sized. These things were monsters! We'll enjoy us some nice fires with this thing.

Look at the size of those marshmallows! Eat one and you don't want any more.

Pretty much as soon as we found the camera, Cade got back to taking self portraits again. Dana bought him some kind of detective kit at the dollar store one day so he took these pictures. I just love them.

Agent C is on the scene.

And he's packing heat.

"Don't make me call for backup. I'm the good cop."

Kevin's middle school soccer team had a great season. They almost went undefeated losing only one, close game. When the regional tournament rolled around they were the number 1 seed. The first game was easy, the second was a little harder and the third and final game was against the team they lost to. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half and hung on for a nailbiting 2-1 win. Regional champs for 2 years in a row (Kevin's first year, of course)!


Champs

(Kevin 4th from L on top row)

Cade is playing soccer again this season. He's really enjoying it. He's constantly kicking a ball around the house and out in the yard (Imagine that! Someone who actually practices!) He has improved tremendously this year and it's a good thing because he's the only one on the team who has played before. He's always very proud when I ask him to show his teammates how to do something.


Good or not, he' still pretty darn white.

Three little monkeys sitting in a tree. One fell off and bumped his... knee? This was obviously taken a few months ago before everything bloomed and my sinuses rebelled.


Sometimes I hook a strap to the skateboard and drag Cade around the driveway. The boys took that idea a step further and tow each other around the cul-de-sac.

Yet another self portrait. He figured out that he can put the camera on the table, push the button and immediately jump back to get a picture like this. Some day I'll show him how to use the timer but in the meantime this is more fun to watch.

My littlest buddy and me.


Spring time means chalk time. Yet another driveway masterpiece under construction.

Dana let me build a train track around the wall in our office! I've always wanted to do that. With that done, I'm trying to convince her to let me tunnel through the wall and go into another room or three.

More pictures to come. Cameron had a big day and we had some guests for Easter.