Sam's Big Night

Last night a proffesional soccer match was held at KSU.  The Atlanta Beat, the women's team, played the FCGold Pride.  It was "school night" at the event, and several soccer teams from several counties in GA were invited to come play an exhibition match at half time!

Sam's team was included in the invite.  We were stoked.  We loaded up the camera and video, got tickets, and met Gram and Grandad there for a big night of cheering Sam on.

The venue was really nice.  Mom said it was used for some of the events of the summer olympics, back when they came to Atlanta.

And mericifully, the weather was not TOO hot or steamy.

Look at those rowdy grandparents....having way too much fun.

At the beginning of the match, some of the teams marched out displaying various soccer-related flags.  Sam's team was one of them.  (In the purple shirts.) But you won't find Sam in the picture because he had been selected to help escort the players onto the field. 

Apprantely, it is a big tradition for pro soccer players to walk out on the field, holding hands with children.  Sam is in that photo...somewhere, wearing a red shirt.

Then after the national anthem, the game began. Wow. What a difference between youth soccer and pro soccer!  Those women can really MOVE the ball...the plays were fast and powerful, the ball was constantly flying around, there was a lot of jumping and leaping and crashing to the ground, and I was amazed at how well everyone controlled the ball with their bodies.   It was definitely an action packed game.

Then at half time came the REAL show!

No, not him.

Nope, not the hot-dog eating contest.



....the Gilmer kids!

There's Sam, on his first night ever playing in a professional soccer stadium. 

More Sam.....

And more........

We watched and cheered, and Marty took pictures. 

Their scrimmage game was over way too soon, and they rejoined us in the stands, sweaty and worn out, but happy.  This was a big night for those kids and you can see they felt like stars.  They took it seriously, too, they played their little hearts out and did not treat it like a simple exhibition.  I  was very proud of all of them.

Then it was back to the pro game.  The women played hard and were fantastic.  But Atlanta lost.  Oh well.....

A very good night and lots of fun!  Way to go, Sam!

County Fair

Easily one of the top five most anticpated times of the year:  THE FAIR COMES TO TOWN! 

And this year it had a new ride...a swing ride that lifts you way high up in the air before spinning you like crazy.  The boys were enthralled!

Here they are, moments after riding the death-defying contraption.

So proud of themselves!

There were the usual favorites, too.  Bumper cars......

Ferris wheel, the Zipper, the Orbit, the Scrambler, and the mighty Ring O Fire.  (Once more the boys were too timid to ride the Ring O Fire.  But I suspect next year will be a different story...they actually thought about it this time!)

Of course there was lots of fair food.....

Benny and Sammy enjoyed this crazy spinning ride that was LOUD and FAST.  Benny felt a little sick after.

And as has become traditional, we capped off the night with Mom and boys riding the Ferris Wheel together.  This time I was told, not quite as kindly as in the past, to NOT squeal when the wheel dropped us rather quickly downward.

Here's a shot taken blindly over my shoulder....

As a huge BONUS all three boys ran into friends they hadn't seen all summer.  They then ran off with these friends to ride rides together.  Trying to keep up with them in the sweltering heat was not easy on old Mom.  But I did my best.   One friend cheerfully told Sam that he had "just gone and thrown up," but was ready to resume riding more spinny rides.  Nice.......

The boys entered some art and photography into the fair competition.  They won a blue ribbon (Sam) and two thirds (Benny.)  Mom got two second places.

A good time had by all despite the HEAT.  And you can be sure we'll be there next year!

Busiest Day of the Summer

In our final full week of summer, we were looking forward to another lazy week. But wouldn't you know it...Monday turned out to be the busiest day we've had in months.

First of all, we had to make a nearly-two-hour-round trip to the allergy doctor so Sam could get his shots. I thought, no problem...it's the only thing we have to do today. We'll go 'whenever.' But then we got a last minute invite to a pool party! The kids were so excited. And then it turned out we had soccer practice in the evening for both boys.

                                      

We set the alarm.  I hauled everyone out of bed.  We drove to the doctor, got the shots, and waited the required thirty minutes.  (they want to make sure there is no reaction to the shot.)  Then we drove home, arrived with exactly five minutes to change into swimsuits, and then sped off to the much anticpated (and far away) pool party. 

The kids had a blast seeing friends they haven't seen in three months.  That's Benny up there, doing a flip off the diving board.

There were water guns, a slide, a diving board, and lots of running and shouting.

More flips, more running and shouting and splashing and tumbling. 

And then there was lunch.  Don't you love kids this age....you can take a group of kids who do not know each other, sit them at a poolside table with hot dogs and ice cream, and for a short while, they are the best of friends?  There is chatter, laughs, and total comfort.  No awkward smiles, no self-consciousness, no uncomfortable silences or painful attempts at conversation.  Tell me, if YOU were asked to sit at a table with strangers, in your bathing suit no less, soaking wet, would you be at ease?  Would you be able to do anything besides stare at your plate or feel stupid?  I know I'd be miserable.  But not these guys. They had a lively time!

They didn't want to leave, but we had to move on, so after a few hours, I pried them away.  They were greatly sad to leave (and to be the first to leave, too...such an awful thing to walk away from your buddies still having a good time.)  But we had more to do!

Then it was a race back home, with exactly thirty minutes to change into soccer gear, grab a snack, and head back out the door.  Benny's practice was at 5:30, and they were all under "heat restrictions" by the rec park. They could only practice fifteen minutes at a time before taking a required five minute break. I kept the AC running in the van and the boys were glad to climb in and cool off.

After Benny's practice was over, Sam's began.  So while he started a two hour block of drills and such, Benny and I walked to the park next door and stared longingly through the fence at the FAIR.

Yep, the county fair is back.  Yesterday we watched the crowds ride the rides and plotted the things we'd ride when we got to go.

It was unbearably hot but nobody skips the fair because of heat, of course.  Benny just watched and watched and I finally had to pry him away and back into the air conditioned car.  We will be at the fair tomorrow and I'll be sure and post about it!

This is the much awed Ring O Fire, which the boys are enthralled with, but too scared to ride.

I love this picture, though it's not technically great.  Little boy, examing the huge mystery of a carnival ride.  Already he's wondering how long before he's 'tall enough' to ride the great Ring O Fire!

And as if the day were not eventuful enough, driving home we saw the most spectacular PINK sun.  We had to pull over and take photos. This picture does not even come close to what it really looked like.  But it's worth sharing anyway.

So pretty!

Water Park!

Last big day trip of the summer today....the waterpark out in Helen!

It's very small.  I mean, you see this picture?  That's it.  (plus the lazy river that surrounds it.)  But it's just the right size and price for an afternoon.

The kid's favorite part is the Lazy River. There's Benny, drifting along in a sea of empty tubes...the park was almost deserted today!

They are commanding a sea of challenges. Because naturally, you don't just float the Lazy River. You leap from tube to tube. If you fall in, all the better.

                                             

Life is easy!

Okay, now on to the "race" down the killer slides.  Because again, you don't just SLIDE. You invent challenges.  That's them up there!

I even tried the killer slide.  I banged my elbow and banged my head and that was the end of it for me!

That's them, coming down in the tandem tube.  Such fun!

A good way to combat the August heat!

Mighty Beanz

Our house is over run today with Mighty Beanz.  Have you seen them?  Some genius found a way to market a toy that's anything but a toy.  These little plastic pellets are all different....some are animals, some are people, some are monsters....the whole thrill of buying a pack of plastic pellets is to find out WHO you got.  No two packs are the same!

Here's a lineup of Sam's. 

I like the Mighty Beanz...they are cute and harmless and they remind me that the boys are growing up fast, and it will be very soon (maybe as soon as a month from now) when they are no longer interested in such things.

Meanwhile we are keeping our eyes open for the most coveted M.B. of all....number 100, the Hamster.  If you see one, let's talk trade!

Crystal Garden Growing Kit

In our house, we often have a little science project underway, or a puzzle, or something like that.  The kids like to see things develop and grow into something larger.  Benny in particular is interested in science, rocks, space, the whole nine yards.  So last week when we went to the science museum, I picked up two experiments for us to do:  A 'grow your own dinosaur,' and "crystal growing garden."

Both were less than five dollars and when I opened the package I thought, "well, you get what you pay for...this will never amount to anything."  We put together flimsy cardboard trees, a mountain, propped them up in a wobbly tray, and poured in the magic liquid.  The next day.........

Spectacular!  You'll be glad to know the day after this photo was taken, "snow" covered the green mountain.  The whole thing is a mass of spiky crystals.

Don't you love the buds on the trees?

The kids were suitably impressed.  As for the dinosaur, he's been a lot of fun too.  We put him in a pot of water at 1.8 inches long.  Each day we take him out, trace him, measure him, and compare to the previous day.  At six days, he is now at six inches!!  And at least ten times the volume he was.

So yay for science and summer projects!