Flag Football update - Game 3

Connor's been doing football for a few weeks now. Yesterday was his third game and things are finally coming together with his team. I've been working with Coach Clay quite a bit over these weeks and the kids are learning the plays better and better and we're all making good changes and adjustments as we go.

Connor definitely enjoys it, however we think he was getting a little discouraged from the first two games. He didn't like the pressure of winning and losing and didn't like that people kept score in the games. Going in to our week 3 game, he told Mommy that he only likes the practices. We talked to him about how the practices are important because they prepare for the games and that with sports we keep score to keep track of our progress and to see how to improve. We all work to make sure it's fun and told him to not worry about the score or about winning and losing. We told him the important thing is to work hard for the team and to do your best.

At the game, Connor played hard and did great. He had three carries during the game. The first one would have been a touchdown, but he got tripped and fell just as he was turning the corner on the defense. The defensive player got a penalty called for incidental tripping and we got a first down as a result. Connor's second carry was on a reverse on fourth down, which was the last play of the first half. Reid, the quarterback ran to the right side of the field and handed off the ball to Connor as Connor was going to the left. Most of the defensive players continued to follow Reid while Connor used his speed to run across the field to the left side and past the few defenders that realized what was going on. Connor managed to get around everyone and got his first touchdown! It was very exciting and Connor was thrilled. Connor's third carry was also a good hard run in the second half, and although he made some good yards, one of the defensive players made a great diving grab and pulled Connor's flag before Connor could get past him. It was a touchdown saving "tackle" on Connor.

Connor was also fairly good on defense, however he was very tentative during most of the game. He'd run up to the ball carrier, but seemed nervous to get too close and would usually reach ineffectually for the flag from arm's length and would miss. Towards the end of the fourth quarter he did get one flag.

After the game, Connor was glad he played and was very proud of his touchdown. We're glad he's enjoying the games and that he's continuing to improve. Connor's team was great during the game and everyone ran the ball well and pursued well on defense. They won the game 20-6.

Winter Wonderland park!

There is a landscaping company near us that has transformed part of their property in to a cute event area. For Halloween they had a pumpkin patch, and for Christmas they've got a "Winter Wonderland" set up. We went there with some of our neighbor friends to check it out and it was a lot of fun.

As usual, there were the huge blow up slides, but one of them is supposedly the tallest blow up slide in the country. Connor went on it once and it terrified him thoroughly enough that he wasn't interested in it any more after that. There was a smaller slide that Connor and Paige both went down dozens of times.

There were all kinds of fun activities and both kids were very entertained while we were there. Santa was there to hear their Christmas wishes and there was no line so it was a perfect time to talk to him. Unfortunately, Connor hadn't really thought about what he wanted. Must be tough to have everything you want.

Mommy was surprised at how fast the tube slide was. I captured a cute picture of her with Sissy the moment they emerged at 1000mph out the bottom.

I got a video of Paige and then Connor also going down the slide.

Connor and Colton went in to the "Blizzard Room" a bunch of times. There's a huge blower hooked up to it and it stirs up a bunch of styrofoam bits that spin around in the tiny room. The kids loved it, Colton swallowed some of the styrofoam, Connor thankfully came out mostly intact although we were picking styofoam off him the rest of the night.

Spanish Class Party

Connor's been taking an after-school Spanish class on Mondays and Wednesdays and this past week they had a party and invited the parents to come see what they've been learning. Andrea went to his class and was entertained by Connor's class doing their Spanish songs and words. She took some pictures of Connor with his buddies and a cute video of them all singing the color song.

Connor's Parent-Teacher Conference Notes

Connor had his first parent-teacher conference a while back and we wanted to post the notes. Overall he had a very good report. He is strong with his math, letters, and especially his behavior. He's a very good boy and is always intent on listening and being good. We've got a few things to work on, but overall he's doing really well and we're very proud of him. Surprisingly he's very social and has made a lot of friends and is possibly too talkative sometimes at school. Up until recently he's always been a bit shy and was usually content to stand back from groups and just observe rather than participate in social situations. Recently, he's very outgoing and has made many friends through school and his sports.

Overall, he's really enjoyed going to school and is excelling and is having a good year in Kindergarten. We're hopeful he continues to do well.

Chick-Fil-A Christmas party

Andrea and Paige went with the Henry girls to Chick-Fil-A for a Christmas party on Tuesday night while Daddy and Connor were at football practice. They had a super fun girls night out. They made some Christmas tree ornaments, ate some yummy food, took pics with a Christmas Cow, and rode a little train. 

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

On Sunday night, we went with Grandma and Grandpa to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. It was a similar event as the Halloween party in that the admission was a separate event that you had to pay for, and Disney only lets a certain amount of people in. For the night we went, probably because it's so far away from Christmas, there were actually still tickets available on the day so it was even more sparsely attended than a normal limited-attendance event.

We drove down to Orlando in the morning, checked in to our hotel, took a nap, and then we went to the park. When we arrived there were quite a few people, however it wasn't extremely busy like it is in the Summer.

We met up with Grandpa and Grandma in Tomorrowland and then rode the People Mover.

Next, we had to ride the teacup ride.

Sissy was in no mood for pics with Daddy.

Paige insisted on the Dumbo ride next, we love the double setup they have now. We didn't even have to wait in line!

Eventually we wandered over near the new Fantasyland and were surprised to find that the Little Mermaid ride was open! We hadn't realized it would be open that day and I don't think most people in the park knew it either. There was literally no line to get on the ride! We actually rode it twice in a row.

Next to the ride was a photo opportunity with Ariel. Normally, we don't like to wait in lines for pictures, but there were only a couple people ahead of us. Sissy absolutely loved it. She later said it was her favorite part of the whole day.

There were multiple places throughout the park that were handing out hot chocolate, cookies, and apples.

Yum!

We missed the first parade because we showed up just a few minutes before it started. For the second parade, we grabbed a good spot. I bought a huge turkey leg to eat and Sissy absolutely loved it. She probably enjoyed it more than anything else I've seen her eat. She loved talking about how she was biting it with her "sharp teeth". She was a greasy mess afterwards and smelled like smoked turkey the rest of the day.

After the parade we went to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and there were some pirate performers doing a pirate music show. They were very talented and the kids both participated and enjoyed the music.

After we rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride we were done for the night. Both kids fell asleep in the stroller on the way out of the park. Andrea and I both wish we could have slept on the way back to the hotel room too!

It was probably the most fun we've had at Disney. The weather was cool, the kids were well behaved, the lines were short, the park was not too crowded, it was a perfect night. It was great to be able to share our fun with Grandpa and Grandma too!

Connor's first flag football game

Connor had his first flag football game on Saturday. We've been practicing for a while and it was good to get the first game in the books. There is a lot more coordination and work that goes in to football vs soccer, at least at this age. The kids on Connor's team did a pretty good job and Connor had a great time. He only got to carry the ball once, but did a very good job running. He pulled a couple flags on defense and we were very proud of him.

I'm the assistant coach on the team and I wasn't very involved in the first game. Clay (the head coach) asked me before the season started if I'd be willing to be the assistant coach for the team and I agreed to give it a shot. The league was short on coaches for this age range and I'm pretty sure I know why. It's very difficult to teach the rowdy young boys the game and there's a lot of pressure from the parents to spread the ball around, teach offense and defense, be patient, and win games. For the first game, I spent the entire time on the sidelines observing since I'd never even seen a flag football game done before Saturday. I'm planning on running the defense during games going forwards.