Soccer, Soccer and More Soccer

Friday-Sunday, May 5-7, 2017
Well, we really did do more than watch soccer these three days, but Anders sure spent a fair amount of time out on the soccer field as his team, Evolution, was in a tournament during that period of time. That meant we were off to the field on Friday very shortly after he got home from school.  Actually Jack took him as he had to be there early and the rest of us followed shortly thereafter.  Since his game was early 5:15, we decided to wait till afterwards to enjoy dinner. Sadly his team did not win but we sure got to see him in action as the left back as he played the entire game making some excellent plays.

Here he is in the green shirt stopping the forward movement of the ball and sending it back to the players on his team.

Since this was Cinco de Mayo we decided a Mexican dinner would be appropriate and a favorite Mexican restaurant of theirs, Mercado Juarez Cafe, was just a few blocks from the field.  There we enjoyed a great meal and family time.

Anders second game was Saturday at the same time as Karsten had gymnastics so I elected to stay back and watch his session while Jack took Anders to the game that his team won and Dagny stayed home with Ken.  It was fun seeing all the things they do with three year olds at the gym.  He was working on forward and backward somersaults on a mat shaped like a hill, learning to do a flip on the bars as well as hang and swing his feet sideways to work on his core, balance on a moveable board, walk on the balance beam (that sat on the floor), and jumping on the trampoline learning to sit and then stand again.  It was hard to catch pictures of him but I did take a few attempts.

As soon as Jack and Anders returned home, Jack quickly loaded all of the camping equipment, food and clothing he and Dagny needed for an Indian Princess campout and they were off for that event.  Here she is with her special vest with her Indian Princess name on it.

On Sunday we sent Janet off to teach her Sunday School class at 9:30 giving Anders and Karsten more relaxed time at home to dress and eat their breakfast and then the four of us walked to the church where we met her after her class ended and then she took them to their classes and attended the contemporary service while we attended the traditional service.

Karsten was so tired by the time that we returned that he couldn't even concentrate on eating lunch so he took a long nap.  Luckily Jack came back in the early afternoon in time to get Anders to his last game of the tournament.  He had set up a shelter for us to sit under as it was quite hot especially out in the full sun.  Janet and I then drove out to watch the game while Ken stayed home so Karsten could continue his nap and Dagny could rest since she had not gotten much sleep in her tent. (hard to settle down in that atmosphere).  Again Anders played the entire game and their team won 7-2.

During odd moments of the day, Janet and I worked on cleaning the toy area and clothes closets searching for items that could be given to a large family that has just arrived from the Sudan and was in great need of toys and clothing.

Janet had a great recipe for beef and broccoli that was made in the crock pot so we were able to enjoy that as a family when it came time for dinner.

Before we knew it, it was time for the kids to settle down in bed for the night.  Janet and Jack usually go to bed after that is done since their days start early (especially Janet's who goes to Camp Gladiator for exercise at 5:00 in the morning).  We followed soon after ourselves knowing we were facing a long drive in the morning.