Paige's special reward for her soccer game

Since Paige did so well at soccer this week, I told her we'd get her a special reward. We always tell the kids that they aren't expected to score goals or anything at soccer, but that we just like to see them try hard and do their best. Paige definitely did that this week and I told her she'd earned something special. Sometimes when Connor earns a reward, we'll let him get orange soda from a vending machine when we eat lunch. After lunch today we were walking past the vending machine and I asked Paige if she wanted a special drink for her reward. She very excitedly told me yes and we were all dismayed when she decided she wanted to have water. We'd just had lunch, and she'd had water at lunch. We were on the way home and we told her that she could have a bottle of water when she got home. Andrea went through the options in the machine, and Paige insisted that she wanted water as her reward, so that's what she got.

She was very pleased with her choice and told me it was very yummy and almost tasted like apple juice. I wasn't thrilled with spending $1.50 on water, but as long as she is happy I guess it's worth it.

Paige and Connor play in the sprinkler in the jeep

Last night was beautiful. Not too hot finally and the kids were able to play outside until it was dark. We took a bike ride and then chilled out in the front yard. The jeep happened to be all charged up, so Connor and Paige drove it around for a few minutes before noticing the neighbor's sprinkler was on across the street. Connor asked if they could drive the jeep through it and we decided to let them do it as long as they stayed on the sidewalk.

Andrea and I cracked up for a few minutes watching them and then I decided I had to get it on video. It is fun to listen to them screaming and laughing. They play so well together, I hope they will always be such good buddies.

Paige dominates at soccer game - I9

This Saturday, Paige had her third soccer game. After her last game where she scored her first goals, you could tell something kind of clicked in her brain and she was ready for action this week.

I dropped her off at Grandpa and Grandma Vernon's house in the morning since I had a match and Andrea had to take Connor to his soccer game. Connor's soccer game ended up getting canceled, so Andrea and Connor were able to go to Paige's game along with Grandma and Grandpa.

Before Paige's game, she did some sidewalk chalk.

She also helped Grandma with some plants out front.

At soccer she did a little bit of drills and then they did a lot of scrimmaging. 

This week Paige showed a lot of growth and progression. She was very aggressive, took the ball from the other team and controlled it well towards and in to the goal. Andrea thinks she got 3-4 goals, but there were a lot of close opportunities and Paige was pretty impressive. She really seemed to enjoy herself and it is neat to see her taking a liking to the sport and having some aptitude for it. We weren't sure at all prior to this whether she'd enjoy it, or hate it and complain about going. You just never know with Paige!

Andrea got one of Paige's goals on video.

Connor doing Basketball Upward drills and skills evaluation

This week Connor had his basketball tryouts for this coming season. He did a few different drills and did pretty well with them. You could really see that the basketball camps over the summer improved his skills.

I thought his most impressive drill was the dribbling drill. He did really well with his right hand and a pretty good job with his left.

Park and soccer practice with the kids

On Wednesday, the weather was nice so I took the kids to the park to play for a bit. Connor's soccer practice had been rained out on Monday, so Paige and I worked with him for a bit on being fast to the ball. During his game on Sunday he missed one opportunity to score because he was a little too slow receiving a pass and then shooting it. While we were at the park we worked on receiving a pass and kicking it quickly to the goal. It was a fun drill and Paige was good about being the goalie.

Gobles move back to Missouri

This past Tuesday, September 30th, the Gobles moved back to Missouri.

Ryan flew to California on Sunday for work, and Amanda and Graydon stayed until Tuesday so the movers could load up their things and one of their cars could get picked up to be transported. They stayed the night on Monday, and then Genie, Graydon and Amanda left very early for the long drive on Tuesday morning. They drove all day Tuesday and part of the day on Wednesday before arriving safely back in Odessa.

It was very disappointing to see them leave. We all grew much closer to them while they were here and it was fun to see Graydon so often and to see him warm up to us. Connor and Paige loved to play with him and by the end of their stay in Florida he would talk to them and was so comfortable around us. It was fun to hear him say "Connor", "Paysh", "Andrea" and "Shohn". When they first moved here a couple months ago Graydon was terrified of me, but by the end he would run up to all of us and give us hugs and kisses. He is a very sweet boy and we will miss getting to see him so frequently.

Sunday Soccer, first win!

On Sunday, September 28th, Connor had his soccer game with his team. It was a very hot day, and Connor's team prevailed and won their first game of the season 3-0. Their record is now 1-3 and it was nice to see them get a win. Connor didn't play a whole lot during the game, but when he was in the game he played on the offense and had a couple opportunities to score. He did well passing the ball and came very close twice to scoring, however he didn't get any goals yet. Grandpa Garry and Grandma Genie came to watch him play and although it was super duper hot, it was a nice opportunity for them to see our little man play his favorite sport.