From Fan to Player

When Sydney was about a 18 months old I remember being woken up in the darkness one morning (the clock read 4am) to the chants of "Seattle!...Sounders!!!," the teams most popular cheer.  At that early age, I knew it was only a matter of time before she made the switch from soccer fan to soccer player some day.

She already had a rich history of watching the English Premiere League games and Sounders games on TV.  She's also attended a few Sounders games in person (loved every minute of it), not to mention countless of my own games.



Sydney's first Sounders
Experience.

She may have been prepared to play earlier in her life, but unfortunately there are no leagues for those under 3 years of age.  But now that she has hit that milestone, we look forward to Monday night practices and Wednesday night soccer games.  She's ecstatic because she also gets to be on the purple team.


GOOOAAALLL!!!!

She's been working on her kicking, dribbling, and shooting, but I expect next month she'll be ready for diving headers and bicycle kicks.  Actually, at this age it's more like 'swarm' soccer, or as I used to refer to it, 'the blob.'  Positions are really meaningless.  Strategy- not even a concept yet.  It's mostly an act of kids surrounding a ball and kicking at it.  In fact, most times you have to remind them to turn around and go in the right direction.


Sydney's second annual trip
to the Sounders!

There's no pressure from us...we actually just want her to have fun.  If she wants to do it again, that's great.  If not, I'm sure she'll have 100 other interests to pursue!

More to come activity surrounding this new sport activity for Sydney.  In the meantime, we hope you all have a good weekend!!!



Sydney gets in the mix and dazzles
with her amazing skills!





Dad tells Sydney the secrets to
a good slide-tackle!

Summer Fun

This year has been extremely busy and summer shows no signs of slowing down.  June found us in Montana and August will find us in Oregon.  But this didn't leave July as an inactive month, as we recently enjoyed some house guests.

The Eastman’s (Chris, Jillian, Reina, and now Kaiya) recently made their annual return trip to the states from Japan. It’s always the perfect time to catch up and have fun when they visit. Sydney and Reina are only weeks apart in age, so their interests are pretty similar. They also tend to Skype every few weeks, so having her actually here (in person) is quite exciting for Sydney.

For lodging purposes, the two girls elected to sleep in tents in Sydney’s room. No one really knew what to expect from that. After they were put to bed the first night we were curious if they were actually sleeping. If you listened closely, you could hear two little high-pitched voices talking about whatever it was they were discussing. It was the 3-year old version of the slumber party. Bed time for most of the nights after that evolved into a marathon of requests, questions, and other excuses to be out of bed…I need to go to the bathroom…I need a drink of water…I need to be covered up…I’m too hot…I’m too cold. In the scheme of things it wasn’t too bad, but it was entertaining to see the dynamic of two 3-year olds and the logic they employed.

This trip also gave Sydney a taste of (and a little practice for) being a big sister. Kaiya gave Sydney the chance to experience what it would be like to have a baby in the house. Overall I thought she did well when she interacted with her, but obviously her attention was primarily on her peer.

The 4th of July also provided an opportunity for the girls to celebrate, eat good food, and use sparklers. They both approached it very differently but had fun and asked to do more.

In the next post I'll share one of Sydney's new endeavors.  I'll give you a hint, she's joined a team sport.  It also happens to be the best sport on the planet!  Stay tuned...

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

 Year 4

The girls having fun at the park!

Wedding Bells

Last week Karen, Sydney, and I went to Montana to attend a wedding for one of Karen’s friends from school.  Ok, I attended and viewed Mary and Jake’s wedding, but Karen and Sydney were in the wedding.  Karen was a bridesmaid, and Sydney was the adorable flower girl.  Sydney was very excited to assume these important responsibilities.

Like any three year old, Sydney definitely had behavioral moments during the week that had us nervous about how she would do during the wedding, both in walking down the aisle and also in standing up front during the ceremony without talking or jumping around.

Surprisingly, as soon as her dress went on so did her “game-face.”  She became very serious and quiet prior to the wedding, and she was not going to drop the ball in the big game.  It actually was funny how she transformed into this quiet little person we rarely ever see.  Of course, after the ceremony we headed to the reception site where Sydney (having accomplished her duties) became her extravert self again and got her groove on.  She spent quite a bit of time shak’n what her momma gave her on the dance floor, and she would have stayed all night if we would have let her.

Beyond the wedding itself, this trip to Montana gave us plenty of time to spend with Nana.  There was some fun the pool, as well as some nice down time at Nana’s house.  This included playing the piano (or really randomly hitting keys) and also getting some dog time in with Alex.  All in all it was a great trip (even with the heat!).

This week we are looking forward to Reina and her family joining us from Japan.  Reina and Sydney are only weeks apart in age and they always have a great time together.  More to share on that in the next post! 

Have a great week!!!

The Baby is a....

We went in for our 20 week ultrasound.  That tends to be a big visit, as it reveals really what you are expecting in there...if you know what I mean.  That really puts the 'ultra' in the whole ultrasound visit.  The tech searched and verified, and just as I suspected, it is human!  At least as far as I can tell.  I had a weird sense that Squishy was humanoid, with arms and legs and digits.  That's more than I could ever ask for considering the situation with it's mother (ha ha, only kidding babes).  So, I'll be a happy father to another human being.  OK, so beyond the fact that it is human, we did find out that we were in fact getting a boy :) 

I wasn't too concerned ahead of time about specifically wanting a boy, or definitely another girl.  I was truly fine either way, but somehow it does seem to be a nice balance having both.

Sydney needed to make some adjustments to the news.  We had thought Squishy was going to be a girl, so Sydney was preparing to have a sister.  She did start to warm up to the idea of having a brother, but she specifically indicated that she wouldn't mind a brother as long as it was a girl.  She's not quite getting the whole message there, but that's OK.  Since then, she's really looked forward to having her brother join us this Fall.

In other news, we're looking forward to going to Montana in June for a wedding.  Sydney will get some quality time with Nana from Montana, and we'll also get to attend Mary's wedding (one of Karen's close friends from high school).  Although I'll be attending the wedding, Sydney and Karen will actually be part of the wedding.  Karen will be a bridesmaid, and Sydney will be an adorable flower girl.  Both are very important roles.  I'm sure they will excel in their responsibilities and not buckle under the pressure of meeting expectations of a perfect wedding.  I may be assigned bachelorette party duties, but I haven't done exotic dancing in a while, so I'll need to brush up on my moves :)  Ha ha, I'm only kidding...it was recent, so I'm always ready to go.  Poor Squishy...he has no idea the family he's getting into.  In advance of his birth, I apologize for all of the embarrassing things that I will do, I will make him do, and that we'll do together.  I think his DNA will be programmed to understand, and possibly even respect and admire the talent that goes into being...let's just say 'unique.'

There will be much more to come.  The summer is packed full of many more fun events.  Stay tuned!!!

Have a great weekend!!!

Disney World & Other New News

Since we had sooo many pictures from our recent trip to Florida, I decided to make the most of them and include a few more in this post.

The view from our room at the
Boardwalk Villas.

While this was Sydney’s third Disney trip in her life, there is still much she has yet to experience.  While some of that is due to her age, most of it is actually do to her vertical 'limitedness.'  Unfortunately, she does not meet the 40 inch requirement that may rides require.  So while she is able to go on the coasters built for smaller people, there truly is a whole new world for her to experience…and the Aladdin pun was not intended…FYI.

So, while Sydney was restricted from participating in certain thrill-seeking attractions, the same was actually true for Karen as well.  This had nothing to do with her age (even though she can also act three at times), and it was not due to her height (safe above 40 inches), but had more to do with her width.  That’s not intended as anything mean, but is merely saying that in her ‘condition’ she can't ride anything that jostles, bumps, spins, whizzes, or is otherwise turbulent.  If those weren’t big enough clues for those who do not yet know, Karen is pregnant.

Who wants a turkey leg???

Even though I was on a trip with two girls that were restricted to certain rides, it was a great time.  In fact, it’s actually kind of entertaining seeing how a pregnant lady navigates Disney World.  For two days straight, Karen kept saying, “I just gotta get one of those jumbo turkey leg.”  Every time we passed a turkey leg stand, and even often when we didn’t, she kept insisting she needed to get one.  I’ve heard of many cravings, but never “I need a jumbo Disney turkey leg.”  It gave me flashes back to the show ‘When Animals Attack,’ or ‘When Good Pets Go Bad.'  Cravings should be taken seriously, and desires of pregnant women should not be taken lightly.  There’s no warning, and the wake of destruction from unheeded requests can be similar to that of a hurricane.  I made sure to keep all of my fingers at least two feet from the devouring of carnage.  Lesson of the story, don’t get in the way of a prego lady and her turkey, or deprive her of it.  You might not be able to tell from the picture, but this thing could actually feed a family of five.

We are expecting the (now size of a bell pepper) kiddo to come in late October.  We have no idea of gender, but we’re going to wait until it comes out to know what it is.  Haha…I’m only kidding.  If you know us, you know there’s no chance of that.  We’ll actually find out next week.  Well, that’s it for now.

Replica of Doge's Palace (Venice)
at night.

 

I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend!!!

Land to World!

What could be bigger and better than Disneyland?  Well, the answer to that question just might be Disney World.  Forty-six square miles of unbridled fun, entertainment, and food that would satisfy any palette.

All in all, this Disney trip represents Sydney's third trip in her young three years (two to Disneyland and now one to Disney World). With an average trip of one per year...she is already a tamer of the Tea Cups, a connoisseur of the Carousel, and a master of the Main St. Electrical Parade.  She exhibits a mastery of the 'fast pass', and keen intellect of which line to get in (the left one is usually best).

Nana from Montana joined this jaunt to the most south-eastern part of the country.  Donna, being the trooper she is, battled through the Aerosmith Ride.  With one full inversion and two cork-screw turns, she took it like a theme-park champion.  Joe couldn't in good faith encourage her onto the 'Tower of Terror' after that.  She did enjoy other attractions, but she'll have to return to enjoy some of the attractions she couldn't fully appreciate in her flu-induced state.



Hello Bruce!

Karen got to hit some of the great rides, such as Soar'n Over California, but she had to be careful about some of the real 'thrill rides.'  I'll leave you to determine why.  But I'll just give a hint by saying that it's to protect a fetus that is due in October, but that is only a small hint that I'll give.

As for the trip itself, we saw parades, fireworks, theatrical plays (The Lion King), and more than the average human will experience in a lifetime.  It was a great seven days, but it could have easily been doubled to fourteen days.  We could only hope for that many days to experience the wonders, but that will have to wait for another time.  Until then, please enjoy the few pictures that we have to share.

The Castle at night.

We enjoyed EPCOT, and we enjoyed the Magic Kingdom.  We experienced Animal Kingdom, and put our energy into Hollywood Studios.  They were all great in their own ways.

The last picture shows our new home away from home.  That's right, we are new DVC members.  The picture is from the 'Boardwalk Villas,' our new home when we're not in Washington State.  It was a great place to live in for a week.  We were lucky to experience live boardwalk games right outside of our room at night, and it was just a great atmosphere in general.  We'll miss this home, but we hope to return soon!!!  Until our next trip....

Supervising two kids in the airport
on the last day...

The Boardwalk Villas.

From Sydney to Sydney

A couple of years ago Karen had the opportunity to help our her Uncle Dennis by donating bone marrow.  She had gone through numerous tests to confirm she was a proper match.  Before we knew it, Karen and I were on a 14 hour flight with an 18 month old, destined for Australia.

While we were there we made several trips to the hospital for testing and for the actual procedure, but we did get to enjoy spending some time with Kris, Becca, and Dennis.  We also got to see some of the sights of Sydney. 

This April, Uncle Dennis made the jump over the big blue pond to make several stops in the U.S. This gave us a chance to catch up and visit while he was here.  So, he literally traveled from his wonderful Sydney to our wonderful Sydney.  I know, from Sydney to Sydney sounds like the sequel to another bad chick flick.  But, of course, Sydney was thoroughly excited to have company.  We managed to have some great conversation about tips for creating the best espresso, and also shared camera tricks for getting a great image.  All in all, a very fun day.  We hope he enjoyed his time in the states, and will look forward to the next time we get to see him.

In other news, Sydney completed her last swim class.  She'll take a little break before beginning whatever he next endeavor is.  Beyond that, we expect a busy busy summer with a trip to Florida, then a trip to Montana for a wedding, and then the arrival of our friends from Japan.  This will certainly be a very full schedule, but it's all fun stuff that we are looking forward to.

That's it for now, but we'll have some fun things to share soon! 

Have a great weekend!!!