Soccer Saturdays!



With three Soccer Saturdays behind us now, I felt like it was time for a Soccer Post!

The separate team thing - working out brilliantly
...for them! 
(For us, it's a bit of a challenge - but all in all sooo worth it!)
;-)

Remember:
 Logan - BLUE.
Austin - ORANGE!

It's HOT out there!!

 The Soccer Posse!

Logan playing side-ball with his Uncle Mitch!

Logan (in the middle) had just kicked that ball away from the green team!

Go Logan! 

;-)

Before Austin's game, he and Logan had some time to play by themselves!

Although, the official word is that they won't have to square off against each other....

...this season.

They laughed the whole time!

All the kids do - even in the games! 

It's soooooo adorable!

And heartwarming!

Although either twin gets mad 

(when sitting on the sidelines with us)

if Nonnie or I clap for the opposing team.

They tell us we're not  supposed to!

;-) 

I love this picture!

for many reasons...

First off, for some reason - they look like they just got caught doing something!

Which is a look I'm very familiar with!

I also love that's it shows both of them in their cute little uniforms! 

And lastly, it's very rare for me to see the similarities in my children.

I still answer, "I don't know if they're identical..."

Cuz we don't know.

And for the most part, they don't look very alike to me.

However, in this picutre - I "see" it!

Where they look very alike.

I think it's cute!

FFF or WWF?

 Practicing their moves for the...

WWF - World Wrestling Federation

 Pause for a mini-burlesgue showtune!

And then give Mommy her FFF - Favorite Foto Friday!

(Austin's in the sharks, Logan's is the surfboards!)

First Day(s) of School!

Our Preschool FINALLY started last week. 

Our First FIRST day was just a "1-hour trial run." 

Then the first FULL day was Thursday.  

Then - we were out for the weekend. 

So, Monday was another FIRST - the FIRST day to the FIRST full week of preschool. 

Each of the days, I attempted to get a FIRST day of school picture!

FIRST - despite the previous SIX weeks of being bombarded
with millions of other pictures on facebook and blogger
showcasing EVERYONE ELSE in the world going back to school,
our OWN back to school SNUCK up on me
And I somehow forgot to get the twins' hair cut.

So, Day 1 - hair too long, but I did manage to have cute clothes on them!

Austin was cute - he asked if he and Logan were going to be in different classes.

Nope - sorry buddy.  Your school's not big enough to have two 4 year old classes. 

When I went to wet his hair - to get it to all LAY DOWN just I had done to his brother moments before,

Austin started fussin' - "But MOM!!  I don'twannaLOOKlikeaTWIN!" 

 (Logan left.  Austin right.)

Banana face!

Muchin breakfast!

The next day, I lost the clothes battle AND I still had not had their hair cut!

So I didn't bother taking any pictures!

Next attempt.

Monday.

Hair cut.  Okay outfits.  Silly faces!

;-)

But I didn't get their new self-made backpacks.

Next day, Camera died.

Next day, Austin was sick and didn't go to school.

blah, blah, blah.

So - I'm done.

I'm callin' it.

And stickin with their first FIRST trial run day!

Long hair, shadows, bananas, missing backpacks and ALL!

A Special Place

When my brother passed away earlier this year, he worked some magic from the other side to hijack my friends' emails and somehow "planted" the idea to get a tree planted in his memory. 

Later, in a dream, 

he showed me where to have the tree planted.  

In May, we had a huge picnic out at Brian's Tree and the day was thoroughly enjoyed by many of our friends and family.   You can see some beautiful pictures of that day by going to my friend Karen's website,   Gorgeous photos of a wonderful day!

Last week, Mom and I took an impromptu trip out to the park again. 

We met up with Anne and Eli and fed some animals at the zoo! 

Then, we headed out to Brian's Tree.

It's a little dogwood, planted next to a stream, with LOTS of big trees and all sorts of FUN spots to play!

Mom and I found our spot...

A big rock, that doubled as our picnic table.

The twins had a blast.

Mom and I relaxed.

We watched the twins.

We admired Brian's tree.

And we were grateful.

That he chose this spot.

Just for us.

Just for these reasons!

We miss you, B!

I'll never stop missing you.

But my face and my insides light up with joy 

when I think of you

on the Other Side

basking in your peace and contentment.

Love ya, baby!

And THANKS for the Special Place! 

Pizza!

Seriously - why do we continue to buy toys

when there is so much fun to be had with everyday items?

Like pita bread -

In an all too quiet house (NEVER a good sign),

 I crept upstairs to see what Austin and Logan were up to...

Duh!  I should have known!

(Austin heading up his bunkbed with pita bread in his mouth.

...and placing it on the ceiling fan, uh the "cooker" I was told...

They were "Cooking Pizza, Momma!!!"

I didn't get mad at first, cuz I thought it was pretty  darn creative.

Then, I stepped in wet pita bread.

"Boys, why is the pita WET?"

Cuz it fell in the water.

"Water?  What water?"

In the bowls, Momma.  We was kitties before we was cookers.

And we was drinkin water outta our bowls, then they fell over.

Okay - CLEAN UP, time!

ALL the pita.  ALL the water.

Later, I came back up to check in on their clean-up progress.

They used that time to sneak out and  head downstairs.

And then I heard a loud SPLASH.

"BOYS!!!  What was THAT!?!"

I came downstairs to find two boys

stripped naked (again)

and

WATER SLIDING across the kitchen floor.

They had actually filled a bucket with water and dumped it out

ON. THE. FLOOR!

(Didn't tell you about that part, did I, Daddy!?)

After this ten minute span of fun (between the pita-pizza and the water slide),

they spent the next 1.5 hours cleaning the kitchen floor,

cleaning their toy room

and cleaning their bedroom.

(Even though Daddy still found "pita everyWHERE!")

Truthfully, this sort of stuff does not send me over the edge.

NOT listening, disobeying, acting up a fool when we are OUT,

THAT'S the stuff that SENDS ME!

As long as it CAN be cleaned up,

I can handle it.

(Daddy may disagree here!)

Well, I'm off to see what adventures today brings!

Stranded at the drive-in....

Branded.  A fool....

What will they sayyyyyyyy

Monday, at school....

Know it?

From Grease?

Got it stuck in your head yet?

Okay, then you're ready for this post!

A trip to our area's "just like in the old days"

Drive-in Movie Theatre!

Our cast of characters for the night:

Daddy and Mommy, big brother Mason and his girlfriend, Lory.

Wish you could have been HERE with us, Evan and Amanda!

And we joined forces with our favorite playmates, Scott, Tracey and Van.

Pre-movie!

(Logan left.  Austin right.  Van in the middle!)

That's it - that's the SCREEN back there!

Along with Daddy Scott!

Some creative seating arrangements

(Logan left.  Austin right. Vanin the middle!)

And more of Daddy Scott!

(Austin left. Logan right.  Van in the middle!)

Snuggling down in the back of the van.

Partying in the back of the van!

Three little angels in the back of the van!

And yes, the drive-in is still romantic! 

Enjoy these quick raw footage of the opening scenes!

Precious, aren't they?

Can't wait to do it again next year!

When this little guy, Zak

(Van's brother currently waiting in China for the last few steps

of his paperwork to be completed!  Say some prayers his way!)

will be here to join in on the fun!

And for the record, we're putting him in charge of the other three!

Improvise!

Being in a recession calls for tough measures. 

Feelin' like you can't take your children to that expensive water theme park?

There's no need to rob them of the joy experienced 

in hurling down a slippery slide at breakneckin speeds! 

As shown here by my husband, simply combining a few backyard toys

and a water hose can create TONS of fun for the boys! 

1. 
   

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jump!!

This week's Favorite Foto(s) Friday is Jump!

My lifetime, longest friend, we grew up next door to each other, Karen,

took these photos for me while we were on our annual summer vacation (that I've yet to blog about):

(Logan, left.  Austin, right)

And to tell ya just how good of a friend she is, she took these pictures moments after we spotted this in the grass:

;-)

To see more FFF and to join in on the fun,
Hop on over to Hannah's blog!

Going out as a Singleton

In my Twins Mom group, we use that word to descibe non-twin children. 

A singleton.

;-)

And I think I am just as excited

As Logan and Austin are

about their upcoming Solo Soccer debuts.

As we've seen documented here already,

Austin and Logan both posess some sort of athletic ability.

To be fair to each of them and to their own ability

and to give them their own experience with a coach

who just knew that child

without comparing him,

Gary and I decided to place the boys on separate soccer teams.

The boys seem to be perfectly fine with this.

Last week, Logan got to go meet his coach and pick up his uniform.

Because I wanted Logan to be "seen" as a singleton and not as "part of a twin"

I left Austin with my bff and her family.

Logan and I began the evening with a date night to
The Great Nasty Taco Fast Food Place

(his choice)

Logan's team was getting together the night we left to take Evan to college.
And the coach's son was out of town.
So, Logan got to meet just the coach.
It was still all very exciting.
Afterwards, on the way to pick up Austin, Logan changed into his uniform.
Upon seeing his brother in his fully outfitted uniform, Austin burst into tears.
He said his (little) heart was broken (to pieces), because he didn't have his uniform yet.
He cried.  All night.
At least 2 hours.
Until I finally told him that he would get to
PLAY with his team and MEET his teammates when it was his turn.
Then, he stopped crying, and said
"Ha-ha, nanny-nanny, boo,boo"
to his brother.
:-)

Both Austin and Logan have been wearing Logan's uniform.
When it was Austin's turn to go meet his coach.
Logan put his uniform on.
And we dropped him off at the same bff's house.

Austin was super shy at first.
And hid behind me.
He and I finally played some soccer and then the coach practiced them for an hour! 
He had a BLAST!
I kept busy by making a fool out of myself with the other moms.
"Has he played soccer before?"
No, they've done gymnastics and some basketball camp.
"Is he is preschool?"
Yes, they go to TLC.
See?
It aint easy untraining Mom.
I finally fessed up.
That HE was a twin and this was his first solo team experience.
Not that I was gonna keep it a permanent secret.
But I just wanted them to get to know Austin as Austin.
And I'm sure they still will. 

Austin was ecstatic after his practice.
Just glowing!
And sweating.

He too, changed into his uniform.
And he made me stop by the same dreaded Colon Cleansing Place again for dinner.
(Cus that's what Logan and Mommy did).

When we went to pick up Logan, he was excited to hear about Austin's night.
Nobody cried.
They both talked "soccer" all the way home.
And played/practiced in the backyard until dark.

Here's our current set-up:
Logan, Team Dolbermans, blue jersey, #2
Austin, Team Huskies, orange jersey, believe it or not, also #2
(For the record, this was the jersey # each child was handed.)

Now, we just hold our breath until the schedule comes out
and see how much their games overlap
and if they are even on different fields across town!

And IF THEY are gonna PLAY AGAINST EACH OTHER! 
(insert me biting my nails!)

Okay, so I didn't want to whip out the camera during our first (one on one) meet and greet with Logan's coach and I didn't want to be the only mom snapping away pics at Austin's first practice and having the moms look at me with even more distrust (why does she refer to her child as "they?" and take lots of pictures?)

Instead, I opted to take just a few pics of them before we left to take Austin.

Logan put on his uniform.
After having witnessed Austin's jealous fit last week, Logan planned on being prepared!
And Austin dressed in his interpretation of "soccer."

Enjoy!

Logan actually pulled his shirt out of the dryer (still wet) and wore it cuz,
 "It's not wet, Mom - it's WARM!"
(Yeah, check back in a few minutes, Logan and let me know if it still feels WARM, k?)

Truly, stud-muffins in my book!
Logan knows this is how you wear your soccer shirt.
Tucked in.
;-)

Austin, baby - those are not SUNglasses.
YES. THEY. ARE. Mumpy!
(Mumpy is my new nickname.  He only uses it when he's whining or mad.)
(He uses it a LOT.)

Austin, those are your 3-d glasses.  For the movies.
NO. MUMPY!  When I wear THESE, its like everything is raining! 
(I truly cannot stop laughing!)

My cuties!

First game is September 11th!!