I have the bird flu...no...seriously...I do.  My Kindergartner "shared" it with me.  That's what I get for teaching her to share.  Sheesh.

But...if you'll bare with me, I'd like to share with you our first experience with Youth6 soccer.  Grace is on the Bluejays.  Hence the blue jersey.

 And Earl's the coach.  No...really...he is.  They gave him a "coach's bag" and everything.  I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Earl has this freaky ability to understand and play any sport you present before him.  This theory holds true on a soccer field full of 6 year olds as well.  Any sane person would run screaming the other direction...well, at least I would run screaming the other direction.  But not Earl...I'd venture to say he enjoys it.

Maybe it's because he's been wrapped around Grace's finger since the moment they met and he would do anything she asks of him...or maybe it's because he is genetically programmed to delight in all things athletic.  It's probably a healthy combination of the two.  Whatever it is...I'm glad it's him and not me.  I am content to bring snacks and cheer, loudly, from the sidelines.

The first game was 2 weeks ago.  That very same morning I was 30 minutes south running in a 10K run with a dear friend of mine.  (We had a great time...just in case you were wondering)  So when I finished up the run, I went straight to the soccer fields to meet my little Bluejay and her handsome coach.  Because I was not home to help with getting the kids dressed, Earl had his very-first-ever-in-a-lifetime experience of putting hair in a ponytail.  He didn't do too shabby.  I was quite impressed.

 Warming up before the game.

 Practicing kicking the ball in...

 And throwing it in...

 And then the game begins.  5 minute quarters.  4 quarters.

 We played the Orioles.  They were bigger.  And badder.  And more experienced.  Oh...and they were all boys.  Girls and boys are two amazingly different creatures.  And nowhere is it more obvious than on the soccer field.  Earl called the "little" boy on the far right of the picture above a "man among boys"...and he was right.  The kid was a machine.  He kicked soccer butt...I think he may have been taking names. 

Let's not talk about the score (which was something like 0-8, we'll never really know...there is no score keeping in Youth6 soccer) and instead, we'll talk about how much fun Grace (and Earl) had.  It was nice to be outside in the warm air and only worry about which direction a size 3 soccer ball was going.  Those two were truly living in the moment. 

And then as quickly and chaotically as it began, it ended.  There was Gatorade and oranges and pretzels.  The girls were thrilled to have a sort of post game "picnic". The boys sat around grumbling about the score...or really the lack thereof.   I can tell you that at the next game the Bluejays were able to rally and score 3 goals.  Morale is rising.

Before I stop here...I want to show you a few more pictures.  These were taken by Sam.  He sat on the sidelines with me. He hasn't really gotten the hang of cheering for his sister.  He was more focused on getting the hang of using my camera.

I just love the view point of a three year old.  Earl must seem like a giant to him! 

We have 6 more games before the season is up. 

Here's hoping for more goals, good snacks, and lots of "living in the moment"

Oh yes...and a quick recovery from the bird flu.