The end of soccer

This morning was our last soccer game. I think the boys are going to miss it but when I asked them if they'd like to sign up for Spring soccer or t-ball they both said t-ball. I was a little surprised but am glad they at least picked the same thing. Alex made a goal early in the game today. Then after halftime he came over to me and said he didn't want to play anymore and was cold. I gave him a blanket to wrap up in and the coach did convince him to go back in later. Zachary didn't make any goals. Well.....he did make one for the other team again but the ref had already blown the whistle so it didn't count.

After the game we had our closing ceremonies. It was squeezed in after the 9:00 games and before the 11:00 games so the big kids got their trophies first so they could go warm up. The 4-5 year olds got a little antsy but finally made it to their turn. The coaches passed out the trophies. They have a little plastic soccer ball on top that spins and the kids think that's so cool.

It just so happens that today our formal soccer pictures were also ready for pick-up. They turned out so cute!


Thank you Tigers for a fun season!!

Adoption Milestone

There are a lot of milestones during and after an adoption. Today is one that makes me especially happy. I just mailed out our three year post placement reports. 3 year = LAST ONE! We had to do one at 6 months home, 1 year home, 2 years home, and three years home. This means a social worker visit with a written report plus photos of the kiddos. This all gets sent in to our agency which then sends it on to Russia (they probably translate it first). I wish I could say that copies get sent to the baby homes where the boys lived the first part of their lives but it doesn't. I think it would be great for the people who took care of them to see the updates and pictures to know how much they are loved and that they are taken care of. Oh well, at least the country of Russia knows.

Next Tuesday the 9th is also the 3 year anniversary of our court date. We were declared the parents of Alex and Zachary on that day and their names were legally changed.

Trick or Treat!

Our neighborhood has an annual Halloween festival in the neighborhood park and then we trick or treat on the walking trail. It's much easier than driving door to door (we're too far apart to walk door to door) and lots of fun. The first step to Alex & Zachary's costumes this year - hair!
They loved their new temporary hair. Without making you wait any longer....introducing Harry Potter and Ron Weasley!
We somehow ran a little bit late getting ready for the festival despite the fact that the boys whined about it all afternoon. They are not very patient when it comes to waiting for something fun. We missed the first of the costume contest categories, which was group or family costumes (I was dressed as Hermoine). We did make it in time for the under 5 category but didn't win anything. First place was a toddler dressed as a baseball player and his dog dressed as a hotdog.

We had to wait around a bit to get through all the contest groups before the trick or treating got under way. Some people were just sitting in lawn chairs along the path giving out candy but others set up card tables with decorations, lights, or games. Very cool.




I was a little disappointed that everyone thought both boys were Harry Potter. I mean come on - no glasses and no scar = not Harry Potter. Just like last year we had a good time, got tons of candy, plus we even got to meet a real live scarecrow!


Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin carving

The boys were so excited to get started on our pumpkins today. But my parents came today while the boys were still in school. We ate lunch, walked around some shops, and happened to find (well, maybe I knew it was there *wink*) a cupcakery. I'd never been in it so we had to check it out. We could hardly decide what we wanted so we got several thinking we'd eat half of this one and half of that one..... We got espresso, pumpkin, red velvet with chocolate chips, and rolo (like the candy). Oh my goodness!
After our after school snack we got down to business. First the boys got to decorate their own mini pumpkins with markers. Alex drew faces on the front and back of his. Zachary wanted to cover every square inch of his with different colored scribbles.


When it came time for carving the big pumpkin my dad took over. At first Alex & Zachary both seemed to enjoy pulling out the ooey gooey pumpkin guts but then Alex decided he had enough and washed up. Zachary loved it and did a great job pulling out handfuls of "guts" and seeds. Papa carved a regular Jack-o-Lantern face. We decided not to go to crazy with it this time.

We've named him Jack and instead of putting him on our front porch where nobody will see it (and the deer will more than likely eat it) we've put it in the living room.

Next we roasted up the seeds. Zachary loved them but Alex ate only one and had to spit it out! Chris asked us to mail him some so if I can keep Zachary out of the bowl he may just get a few after all.

The pumpkin patch

Boy were we late getting to the pumpkin patch this year. I kept thinking we had plenty of time and here it is three days before Halloween already! On the other hand our pumpkin won't rot in the Texas heat before Halloween. Zachary fell asleep after school so we headed out right at the perfect time to have the sun shining in the boys faces the whole time. We searched high and low for the perfect pumpkins. There were tons of warty ones and several different colored ones.

The boys finally chose theirs and then I found a big fat one for me.
The plan is for the boys to draw faces on their own small pumpkins with markers and then we'll carve the big one. Tomorrow my parents are coming over so that'll be the perfect time to make jack-o-lanterns and roast the seeds!


Happy fall, ya'll!

More soccer for daddy

We had a make-up soccer game tonight because our last game was rained out. We did pretty well. Zachary made one goal at the very end of the game that I think was kind of an accident. The ball was near the goal and he was running and sort of just ran into the ball. When the game was over and I congratulated him he told me that his goal was magic! Although Zachary made a goal Alex had more ball time. He couldn't seem to get one in the goal but he had lots of good kicks. He's getting better at "getting in there". Zachary still tends to hang around behind the group going at his own pace. I didn't really get any good pictures of him tonight but here's a few of Alex.

He looks tough, doesn't he?

Meet Zacharina

My beautiful daughter with gorgeous flowing hair.
O.K. so it's really Zachary. He got a kick out of trying on the wig I got for Halloween today. Alex put it on and couldn't stand the feel of it and pulled it off right away. He wouldn't even let me take a picture.