SPORTS AND FARM TRIP

So this year we signed Shade up for 2 sports he said he was excited for. T-Ball and Soccer. Kellen even got a tee, bat, and ball for him to practice with. Shade was really into it until the practices - he said they were pretty boring. But the more we motivated him to do things during the practices, the more fun he had, and the more he liked it. And he loves his uniform (thanks aunt Cristi!). Unfortunately, the games haven't gone so well. We missed one for a baptism, and one was after the rigorous Father and Sons camp out, so he was already pooped by the time we got to the game. But I like how it is mostly to teach the kids how to play -- no one gets out, the kids get to swing as many times as needed until they hit the ball, and they only run one base at a time. Also, it has been fun getting to know the kids - 3 of them live close by us and are going to the same kindergarten as Shade.



As for soccer, we just put him in the Kangaroo Kickers. It is mostly a skills building class for Pre-Kindergarten kids. But Shade loves it. He gets to start out "warming up" by practicing kicking goals for 5-10 minutes (each kid has their own ball, so they don't have to wait around taking turns), then they break up into small groups and practice drills, and end with a small game simulation with those same groups. I think it is a good way to introduce some young kids to the idea of group/team sports. I think sometimes young kids get turned off to organized sports when they realize how different it is from kicking or throwing a ball around with the parents. In the pictures below, Shade is the one with the plaid shorts.



Anyway. Another fun thing we got to do recently -- like many preschools in the area, Shade's preschool got to take a field trip to the Real Farm. It was sunny, but still pretty chilly (high 50's). But we had a blast anyway. Kellen worked from home and watched Olive so Shade and I could have the day to ourselves. Shade got to ride a horse (he really wanted to ride the small one until I asked him why and he said he was scared to ride the big one, but after talking about it, he decided he wanted to try it, and loved it), play on the playground, feed/hold/pet baby animals, milk a cow, and take a hayride (which he ended up not liking when he realized the straw kept going inside his shoes, especially when the other kids kept throwing it around). His most favorite parts were playing on the hay bales in the barn and "seeing the baby pigs cuddling." After the farm, we had to take advantage of our time together without the baby and stopped to get some ice cream (we love ice cream but Kellen is not a huge fan). It was an AWESOME day!

Horse, Playground

Baby Pigs (Cuddling)

Haystack, Holding Bunny & Baby Goat

Feeding Mommy & Baby Cows, Baby & Mommy Goats


Milking a Cow, Hayride