Family Day 2011

For Family Day in 2009, we hit Cardel Place for their free carnival (see "Where's the Goat?" from Feb 17, 2009) and we enjoyed it so much we thought we would go back for a repeat in 2011. The carnival was not nearly so grand (or nearly so free), but it was so fun to go out and just spend some time hanging out as a family.



I don't have pictures of everything, but Scott really liked playing mini-golf and playing floor hockey. The mini golf was free but we had to pony up $4 to get him into the gym for hockey and the bounce house. I think he could have played hockey all day.



There wasn't much for Katie to do, so we mainly diverted her with snacks and a few loose balls that strayed away from the hockey area. All in all, a great day.

Katie's First Steps

She was so excited to see Grandma M come home from her big trip. Grandma came by for a quick visit this morning and Katie did her knee-walk to her with open, pleading arms. During the visit, Katie broke her existing record of 1 consecutive step to take 3 steps.

Grandma was holding Katie's hands and R said, "Walk to me." and then Katie let go of Grandma's fingers and just stood there for second. Normally, her instinct would be to drop to her knees for safety, but this time she stepped towards R's outstretched hands. They tried it again a few times and Katie got up to 3 steps before she got tired of it and retreated back to the comfort of her knees.

13 months and 3 days.

Soccer Mom (and Dad)

She already had the SUV, and now R has the official title to with it. We mailed our registration in yesterday and now she is a bona-fide Soccer Mom.

Scott has always liked soccer, and the prospect of playing on a team in real games is something he can't wait for. We registered him for the U4 coed house league run by our community. Now we need to help him understand that it will be competitive. Until now, he's mainly played in our backyard or in a sports class where he has his own ball. I'm pretty sure we'll have a meltdown on our hands when someone swipes it from him or an opponent doesn't agree to share. Total meltdown.

Fortunately, it will be cold enough to take some of that heat off. From what I've heard about this spring, outdoor, EVENING league, it is downright frigid for the spectators. That is why R only agreed to this plan in the first place because I promised to attend all the games. Not only that, I had to be the parent volunteer from our household. I called dibs on equipment-guy duty.

That makes me a Soccer Dad. Bona fide.