Red Lion Soccer Recap

As I mentioned at the beginning of the school year, Alex was trying out for the soccer team again this year. Well, he made it. Technically, he's a sub, but he still on the team and still gets to play.

Below is Alex's own recap of this past Friday's game against Wilmington Christian School.

It started out a rainy day… and stayed windy and drizzly all through the game. Brrrrr… We started practicing and soon enough the game started. We only had 4 subs because of a bug going around (swine flu!), so there was a large chance I’d be in a long time. And I was. The first half… not so much. I got in as the left striker then 10 seconds later the half whistle blew. We huddled up for a little bit and talked about what we needed to do (not as much) and what Wilmington Christian needed to do (A LOT). We shot on the goal to practice for a few minutes then the second half started, me still being the left striker. We scored about 2 more goals making it 3-0. I took a break because my hands were getting numb (again, brrrrrr). Then I went out again as the right midfielder. I got a couple kicks on the ball since they were throwing it in when I started. We scored 2 more goals making it 4-0 (ouch) and then my shining moment came. I was able to get the ball and get it down the field. Seeing defenders come at me I passed it to a teammate and he scored! I got an assist! It didn’t make much of a difference since it was already our game (by far) but it still made feel good. I stayed in for the rest of the game and booted it out twice when they (somehow) got it to our side. We scored again making it 6-0 (again, ouch). That’s it. We won!

As of this writing, the team's record stands at 6-2-1. Way to go Lions!

Field Trips, Field Trips, Jiggity Jig

Time has suddenly gotten away from me and I've allowed 3 field trips to pass by. So lets see if we can wrap them up. Shall we?

On Tuesday, October 6th, I ditched work in favor of taking Amanda and her 3rd grade class to the Camden Adventure Aquarium. The trip involved a very pleasant hour-long bus ride to Camden, New Jersey (translation: I took a 45 minute nap on the bus ride in), some shark petting, seals, penguins, hippos(?), some stingray non-petting (translation: Amanda just couldn't bring herself to stick her hands in the tank) and a very pleasant hour-long bus ride home (translation: I took another 45 minute nap). Seriously, the aquarium is very nice, the kids were very well behaved and we had a great day.

On the heals of the aquarium, Aidan, with Mom in tow, had his first field trip this past Tuesday: To the Acme. At Fox Run. So, on that note, here' a recap of the trip. In Aidan's own words:

I was getting a pumpkin cookie. I did not touch the lobster. I just ate cheese. We put the chicken in the 2009 so that it will have a sticker on it (Editors note: Huh?). I was getting a yellow balloon. I was taking my balloon to our house.

According to Mom, Aidan's favorite part was watching the Butchers run the meat packaging machine. Apparently he wanted to try it himself. And apparently one of his little friends exclaimed to the butcher, "I wanna go to Walmart."

Finally, Alex had a field trip scheduled for Thursday to the Cherry Crest Adventure Farm, just outside of Strasburg, PA. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, the teachers decided that having the class run around in a corn maze in the mud wasn't such a great idea. So, as an alternative, the Strasburg Railroad was kind enough to accommodate not only Alex's class, but also another group of 117 students from another school in the same pinch. After a 45 minute train ride (right past the corn maze the kids were supposed to be in, BTW) they headed over to the Rail Road Museum of Pennsylvania, right across the road.

All in all, it wasn't the day they had planned, but it still was a day off of school.

Runners Take Your Marks...Again

On Sunday, September 27th, Mom took part in her third 5k Run/Walk this summer season. Again taking place at Glasgow Park, this time the proceeds went towards curing Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP).

The results: Mom came in 23rd out of 89 participants, finishing 2nd in her class (30-39 year old women). The big news is that she finished the course in 26 minutes 50 seconds. That's a full 3 minutes faster than her previous 2 runs this seasons. Way to go, Mom!

Last First First Day of School

This past Tuesday our baby ushered in a new chapter in his life and headed off for higher education. Like his brother and sisters before him, Aidan will be attending preschool at Glasgow Christian Academy (GCA).

And with only 2 days under his belt, the projects are already beginning to pour in...

Final Fling

Taking advantage of the long Labor Day weekend, we trekked southward this past weekend for one last shore excursion for 2009. Sure, the kids started school 2 weeks ago, but that doesn't mean the beach is closed... :)

Nothing out of the norm to report. I'll just let the pics recap the 2 days...

Story Time

So its late. You need to get the kids to bed. But your youngest is accustomed to a story before bed. What do you do?

All Good Things...

Like a favorite song or an afternoon nap, so too summer vacation must come to an end. And as such, this past Monday saw the 3 older kids return to Red Lion Christian Academy for the 2009-10 school year.

Alex is now in 7th grade. Academically, he is 2 years ahead in math, taking Honors Algebra 1. He will also continue his efforts in band, but has also expanded his extra-curricular efforts into the middle school newspaper and is trying out for soccer as well.

Abigail has graduated up to 5th grade. Aside from her academics, she will continue playing the clarinet for band and is also seeking a larger role in a dramatic production.

Amanda has stepped up to 3rd grade. Academically, she's doing something none of the other kids (nor her father) have done and is being introduced to Spanish. In fact, I came home from work this evening and she very pointedly greeted me by saying, "Hola!"

As always, I present for your viewing pleasure our traditional pic of the kids leaving for their first day.