Soccer Tots!

Natalie started Soccer Tots today - and she loved it! It actually started last week, but since we were in Pinetop, she had to miss her first class. We were told to bring her to both classes this morning, one was her age group, and the next one was for kids just a bit older - the main difference being heavy parent participation in the first class, and little to no parent particpation in the other. I missed the first class, but met up with them for the second class, and my good friend Sylvia came too because she hadn't seen the kids in a while and wanted to see them. Oh and yeah, we wanted to go shopping afterwards. .

Natalie did really well in her class! We were so proud of her! She listened well, participated in everything, and you could tell she was trying really hard to do the "drills". After class, her coach made a point of telling both of us that he is going to recommend that she be moved to the older class, as he was very impressed with her - his words. Not that we think he's saying she's the next Mia Hamm after one class, I think it was more that she held her own with the older kids, and listened and participated well, and she's pretty good with the ball. It was a fun class to watch, and we think it will be good for her. It's an hour, but it goes quickly - they have various activities which seems to help hold the children's interest. All of the kids were given tee shirts after class, and she insisted on putting hers on right away. Each session is 8 weeks, and we're hoping she'll like it enough to stick with it! She's already more of an athlete than her mother ever was, or will be! I took lots of pictures today, and will post them tomorrow night.

So then we all went to lunch at Applebee. Soccer must work up an appetite, because Natalie ate an enormous plate of mac and cheese, and then was trolling for some of my soup! Sylvia and I left the kids with Jon, and set off on our merry way. Had a nice rest of the day. Got a bunch of clothes for the kids at Kohls - so funny to see all the heavy winter stuff out here. Then we went to Arizona Mills, which is a huge outlet mall - I'm not sure all the stores are technically outlets, but that's fine. Got some stuff for Jon's birthday next week, some beautiful illustrated Children's Bibles (like Jon had as a child) for Oliver's baptism/Natalie's Godparent day, even a few things for Christmas. And a ton of blisters on my feet. Yay! Long day, but so much fun. One of the best things about moving back to AZ has been reconnecting with good friends like Sylvia! She has two handsome boys of her own, and until my kids were born, her youngest, Adam, was the youngest/newest baby I'd ever held.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!