Spring hikes

 So far we have done two hikes this year. The first one was over Memorial Day weekend. We went to a place called Bear's Den right along the Appalachian trail. The kids were a little apprehensive about bears, but fortunately we didn't see any. There were rocks to climb over, and it was a nice day. Of course, that was when my allergies were at their worst, and when you have oak and elm allergies, hiking in the woods is not the best idea. I won't go into detail, I'll just say it was not pretty!

 We also went back up to the little Washington Monument in the Maryland portion of the Appalachian trail. We've been there before, but I think it's been 4 years. It's nice to be at a point this summer where all of the kids can participate in hikes, and Olivia doesn't need to be carried too often.

 My kids are pretty cute sometimes.

Easter

 This year we went to our community Easter egg hunt. It was one of those things where most of the eggs were just strewn about on the ground. My kids don't tend to be the die hard hunters. They kind of pick up a few, maybe fill their basket, and then are done. They all had fun, and Aunt Cammi came to join us with some of her friend's children.

 You might have to blow up the picture to find Olivia in her little zebra jacket grinning behind everyone here with the Easter bunny. Can you find her?

 Then we came back to our house and did another egg hunt. The kids enjoyed themselves.

 But soon my boys got tired of things and had to play some soccer with Daddy.

Spring Soccer

 So this year for the first time we signed up the boys for soccer. Nate was already almost 8 years old, so we figured that we ought to start him now if he was ever going to start. Both boys did really well for this being their first season.

 One thing that we learned about Spring Soccer is that it is cold. There were many practices and games where we were huddled in blankets.

 Graham was one of the better players on his team, but then again, there were many players who would much rather roll down the hill than kick the ball. But all the same, he scored many goals, (not that they keep track.) and he was a great defender. He was super excited about his trophy in the end.

 Nate was also a great player, and picked up on things really quickly. He was playing with kids who had been playing for several years, and he caught right up to them. He too scored several goals (not that they were keeping track here either.) and he was also a great defense player, which is the position he preferred to play.

We signed them up for a soccer camp this summer, and with the exception of some minor heat exhaustion from Graham one day, they did really well and had a lot of fun. Nate pretty much eats, sleeps, and breathes soccer here, and can tell you the names of several of the professional soccer players as well as the teams that they play on. Of course, Jesse is loving this, since he served his mission in Barcelona, which is one of the best teams in the world right now.
We're signing them up for the fall again, and it appears that we will now be a soccer family!