FINALLY!

After weeks of waiting we finally had our first soccer game. It was cold, windy and misty but they played. Note the stocking caps and gloves...it was NOT soccer weather! We did not win this game, but honestly, no one cared. The only score our team managed was made accidentally by the other team!


This second picture was taken of our team and the coaches having fun congratulating each other on a good game...note the happy, laughing faces...now that is a sign of great coaching (not to mention great kids!) when 8 year olds can have this much fun after losing their first game.

Games we play...

We love games around here, card, board, video. We are game-y...uh, in a good way. LOL Recently Gwen has taken to challenging each and every person in a game, or several, of cards. Currently the favorites are the Spiderman Crime Stopper Card Game and Clifford's Beginning, Middle and End Card Game. We have played MANY hands of these games in the past week. She also has an I-Spy Card Game that she enjoys playing.

Board Games are also a big hit around here. Our most recent faves include, Clue Junior, the original Clue game and the Harry Potter Mystery at Hogwarts game (similar to Clue). Gwen also enjoys a mean game of The Backyardigans Mission to Mars/Pirate Treasure Game. Monopoly is one of Brian's favorite games and one of my LEAST favorites, so I occasionally have to suffer while he and Alyssa enjoy a L-O-N-G game of Star Wars Monopoly. Funny though, it seems like I always win...ironic ain't it?

Puzzles are prominent in our game cabinet too. Gwen can do pretty hard puzzles and enjoys the challenge. Alyssa is mostly a joiner of puzzle fun...it would not necessarily be her choice of game to play. Brian is a fan of puzzles and likes really challenging ones, I, on the other hand, like the ones with little wooden handles on each piece...LOL...well, not THAT easy, but pretty close! We have some "family" puzzles to start on one day, but we have to wait until the youngest child can control himself around things that need to be left alone...tick tock. Due to my anal nature, I like a puzzle you can put together, enjoy and then put away...all in less than an hour. Puzzles that must take up table space make me uncomfortable.

Video games, well, that would be ALL Brian's influence because I could really just leave them...shhh don't tell anyone! Computer games, X-Box 360, PS2 and Wii are all options around here and let me tell ya, they all offer something completely different. We ALL love the Wii and it's simple little sports game that comes with the console. Fun, Fun, Fun. Alyssa tends to dominate on the Wii...something I can not explain. Gwen has been trying her best to get through the Scooby Doo Unmasked PS2 game and she is putting a real dent in it. Over the past year she has gone from making everyone else fight the monsters to getting through levels without any help. She is fast approaching the level that Alyssa, Brian and I have been unable to beat. We are stuck. I will be thrilled to see Gwen just beat the heck outa that level!

Here's to games...and more games. Brian and I are currently discussing introducing Alyssa to our favorite pastime of all, Dungeons and Dragons. I can not wait to begin adventuring with Alyssa and eventually bringing in all the members of the clan...we will be unstoppable!! LOL

Harry Potter...the end of an era

Well, approximately 10 months later, we finished the series. We loved it. The whole family quickly became fans of Harry and his gaggle of loyalists. As I finished reading the last page of book 7, Alyssa looked at me and said, "can we read them again?" LOL

Our new read aloud book is the first in the Trixie Belden series, The Secret of the Mansion. This series was one of my absolute favorites as a child. Alyssa is loving the first one and I am excited at the opportunity to read all of them again!

It appears that mysteries are the new interest around here. Alyssa has been reading some books, that my cousin gave us, from the Clue Mysteries series. We are searching used book stores and antique markets for the rest...hard to find actually. I am also searching out the rest of the Trixie Belden books, I have found a few and had no idea how hard they would be to find. Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books fill the shelves but there's slim pickin's when it comes to Trixie. I think her fans must be pretty die hard collectors. There are so many great books to read, I am just glad that we have been fortunate enough to pick some really fun ones. The first Trixie books were released in the late 40s and although some of the language is dated, we love reading them...cliff hanging chapters don't hurt a bit!