Somewhere around 7:00 last Sunday night you may have heard me exhale. Sunday evening was the end-of-season football party (organized by the team mom - aka me and Bob) and marked the last of the 2012 fall sporting events for our family. Lacrosse wrapped up with their party around lunchtime on Saturday and the football team lost our playoff game Saturday afternoon, ending their season.
You are all probably tired of hearing me talk about the big boys sports, but they make up a HUGE part of our lives. We had practice 4 nights a week, sometimes 5 - plus games. That's around 10-14 hours a week at a field (not including travel time). When you pile this on top of full time jobs and add in a couple of wee boys, it's impactful.
We had a couple of really great seasons this year! Watching Quinn play lacrosse for the first time was really fun. I can honestly say that I really think he's going to be a significant player if he sticks with it. He's already decided that he wants to play lacrosse in the spring instead of baseball, which is a pretty big decision for our resident baseball boy. Quinn is fast. Really fast. (No idea how he picked that gene up, so don't ask!) He also has a wicked shot on net and is a mostly accurate passer. He can't catch the ball to save his life, but that will come with practice. One of the best traits Q has is that he's really humble, which makes him super-coachable! I can't wait to see him play again!
This is the 5th year Spencer has played tackle football. And aside from the magical first year (undefeated and league champions) this one was easily the most fun - for everyone involved. The parents all got along, the coaches mostly got along, the kids learned a ton and we won 4 games! (Some people may not think a record of 4-5 is impressive, but to those people I will only say that over the preceeding 3 seasons we won a TOTAL of 2 games. You do the math!) Football is easily my most favorite sport to watch (although I do have to admit that lacrosse is really fun, and I'm really not just saying that...) The fact that Spencer enjoys playing football is pretty awesome. The fact that Bob and I remembered how much fun little league football *can* be is bonus!
So it's all over for a while. Most of the kids roll out of fall sports and into a winter activity - basketball or wrestling. We've done wrestling before and I would love for the boys to do it again, but they really didn't like it so we didn't push. And aside from a single basketball skills camp the big guys did the year Zane was born, we just aren't a basketball family. So we've got the winter off. Exhale!
In just 4 short days I've realized that despite how much fun the big guys have playing sports and how much Bob and I enjoy watching and how well the little guys play along the sidelines every night, it's pretty nice to just be home. To just be together with a little downtime to enjoy each other. It's pretty awesome to get an opportunity to not only catch our collective breathe, but to re-cement family bonds at the same time.
And it's pretty fascinating to sit back and watch what happens when we aren't racing out the door every night. When S & Q have a chance to play together (which they didn't get much of for the last few months) they come up with some very entertaining stuff.
In the past week we have had wrestling matches, box head battles, cuddle fests, quiet TV nights, tickle fights, video game accomplishments, reading in bed time and relaxed family dinners. I know by the time February rolls around we will be ready for something to do again, but for now we are blissfully happy. I had to capture a couple of the more interesting activities with my camera. These boys crack me up!
Foyer jousting - one night the boys decided to joust using the toddler cars (which have gotten WAY more use by the big boys than I would have imagined) as horses and foam sticks as lances. They even pulled out their shields to make things a bit more authentic! Spencer and Quinn took aim at each other several times before Beckett decided he needed to get into the mix. So like the good big brothers that they are, they prepped him for battle and stuck him on his horse. He giggled the whole time! (So did I!)
Pumpkin baseball - I think one of Spencer's favorite parts of Halloween is the destruction of the post-trick-or-treat night jack-o-lanterns. He finds great joy in smashing these things to bits. This year was even cooler because he had a BB gun which allowed him to shoot them first. Oh my goodness was he excited. He was so excited that Quinn joined in and then I joined in. We each took our turns at shooting those poor pumpkins before we decided to play a little baseball. We made the BIGGEST mess in the backyard. But we had the BEST time! We were loud and crazy and running around throwing pumpkin pieces at each other. Zane even joined in so he could hit some pumpkins. It was so much fun! We had to stop because it got too dark to see and as we were walking back inside, wiping pumpkin goo off the baseball bats, Spencer summed things up perfectly when he said, "That's the most fun I've ever had with produce!"
Here's to more goofy games and more awesome memories. Here's to a much needed and much deserved 3 month break! Here's to FAMILY time!
PS - Beckett is officially walking now. He's still in that most adorable wobbly, sea-leg phase. He still falls down. But he's on his feet and he's cuter than ever! Pictures soon!
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