Gymnastics - Something New and Something Fun

Once we got back into the routine of school, my friend and I decided it might be nice to get our kiddos involved in some type of activity.  Her daughter wanted to do gymnastics and the place that she looked into had classes for all the kids.  They had a boys only class for the older boys, a class for her daughter, and another class just for Kyran.  It was the perfect fit for all of them!  After a little bit of convincing, the boys agreed to go.  They had a GREAT time!  Kyran had a little bump in the road after the first class (he was a little scared to go back, but he made it through).  Hopefully in a few weeks we can sign them up for another round!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Last week we had a free night in our schedule and Katie and Addie had a swim meet that was somewhat close to home, so the boys and I decided to make the trip and cheer them on.  It was a typical swim meet...long, hot, long, hot, long, and hot, lol, but we had a good time!  The girls did a great job.  They each swam three events, but we only were didn't make it to the last two.  They had a gap of about 35 events, so I thought it was probably best to load up the boys that had been pretty good, and cut out before my luck ran out!

 Got a good pic of Addie swimming, but completely forgot to take one of Katie!  

Little Dribblers

Ben signed up to be a part of the Little Dribblers basketball camp this winter.  They met each week for five weeks and worked on ball handling and basketball skills.  It was a great time and Ben really learned a lot.  At the end of the camp, all of the kids got to "perform" their basketball skills at half time of the varsity game.  Ben thought he was BIG stuff, let me tell ya!  He and his friends did a great job, and I have the pictures to prove it, ha ha!

 Getting some pointers from his "coach"

 Ben's friend, Lauren, working on her ball handling!

 Ava (front and center) is doing a great job...and she's only 3!

 Blake (head down in the center) was a pro at dribbling!

Ben even made it in the paper the next day!  His friends, Blake and Ava, did too! Ave is top, left.  Blake is middle picture, looking at camera, and Ben is bottom, left.

Judging by the smile on Ben's face after the game, I would say that the Little Dribblers camp was a success!  He's looking forward to it next year!

It's soccer time!

This year, Ben was finally old enough to join the soccer club at our school, which is a big deal!  He was super excited, and even MORE excited when he found out that he was on the same team as his friend, Blake...how could it get any better???!!!  Well, wait for it...his mom is the coach!

Ben and Blake getting their game faces on!

Now, let me assure you that I did not ask to be his coach.  The league was in desperate need for volunteers, so I thought it would be something that Callie (Blake's mom) and I would just be great for it.  I'm sure Callie was super happy that I volunteered us for this, ha ha!

Their first game was last Saturday, and the team did great.  The weather was wonderful (thank goodness) and we had all 8 of our team members there.  They were having fun, and they even scored 6 goals!  I think this will be a fun season for Ben and his teammates...and for the coaches too, of course!

I just love his face in this one...pure excitement!

Go Wabash!

We had a fun time cheering on my cousin Andy and the Wabash Little Giants at Depauw tonight.  Ben especially had fun with Hannah...Andy better watch out, Ben may be trying to steal Hannah away from him!

Go Team!

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to go see one of our favorite little gals cheer.  Taylor is the daughter of "Uncle" Brian (who we are excited to say is marrying "Aunt" Ashley in just over a month)!!!  Taylor did a great job cheering on the team.  They went on to victory, and I'm pretty sure it was because of the fantastic cheering! 

And, so it begins...

Ben turned another milestone this past week...he started his first "official" sport, soccer!  I'm not sure how official three-year-old soccer really can be, but he had a great time.  They worked on dribbling and passing, played red light/green light, practiced kicking goals, and did a lot of running around :) 

 Doing some stretches before "practice" started...I can't believe how grown up he is :(

 

 Playing red light/green light.  They had to stop when the coach said red light, and put their foot on the soccer ball.

 

 

Kicking a goal :)

State Swim Meet

My niece, Taylor, did an amazing job this past weekend at the state swim meet for her swim club.  She swam the first leg of the freestyle relay.  Taylor had her best personal time for the entire season, as did her team!  Great job Taylor!

Go Team!

This week, Ben and I went to watch my niece play basketball.  She did a great job, as did her team...they won their game 22-16! 

Ellie's in the blue, shooting the ball

It was thrilling (ok, it was as thrilling as 4th and 5th grade girls basketball can be, and I now have a much greater respect for my parents who sat through years and years watching four kids play elementary basketball) to watch them come from behind and win it at the end!

Bringing the ball down the court

In all seriousness though, I was so proud of Ellie and enjoyed cheering her and her teammates on to victory!

Ben and Max...two buddies!

26.2 Miles to Sweet Victory!

26.2...the distance between a runner and marathoner. 

This past weekend my nephew Evan entered the ranks of a marathon runner.  The exciting part was he did this with his dad (this was Matt's third Chicago Marathon)...what a great accomplishment for both of them, and to do it together is priceless!

Mom, Dad, Stacey and I traveled north to cheer them on, and we could not have been any more proud!

Way to go Matt and Evan!!!

 Searching, searching, searching for them in the sea of runners...Matt and Evan were two of 45,000 participants! 

 "Team Walsh"

(also known as the pumpkin brigade)! :)

 Half-way there! 

Mom and Stacey enjoying some sunshine in Chinatown!

Friday Night Under the Lights!

I think almost every boy that has ever gone to a football game dreams about the day that he'll get to step out on that big field and get to play "under the lights".  Last night, for two of my favorite little guys, that dream came true...the youth football league played their games on the varsity field!  What an exciting evening.  It was truly football at its best; bright lights, cold weather, warm coats and plenty of popcorn!

 Getting excited for the game to start!

 The kick-off :)

 Analyzing the game...54 is my nephew, Max

 Ty, #4, getting ready for the next play

Two tough guys after the game



Of course, the little guys and gal were excited to be there too, but their excitement for football lasts only so long.  They were so good for the entire game, thanks to lots of popcorn and cousin Ellie (I see lots of babysitting in her future)!!!

 Future Chargers sporting their school colors of blue and orange (and we didn't even plan it).

 Something must be pretty funny :)

 Talking to the camera

 Ben's telling Ellie all about something (I'm sure it was SO interesting)!

After dinner, the boys found a way to entertain themselves while we paid the bills...this was the perfect little spot for them :)



It's Fall Y'all

This past weekend we went to a fall party at our good friend Ashley's house. It was such a great time, especially since my parents were able to come down and enjoy the evening with us. We enjoyed games with the kids, tons of delicious food, a huge bonfire, and great conversation with friends that we hadn't seen in a long time. My parents were so nice and decided they would take Ben back to our house for bed which meant that we were able to stay late and enjoy catching up with everyone!

Dinosaur Ben and his Grandma Debbie

Dinosaur Ben and Army Guy (a.k.a. cousin Max) hanging out in the Ranger

Ben watching the HUGE bonfire...we had to keep

moving our chairs back away from it!

The next day, Mom, Dad, Ben and I headed down to Indianapolis to watch my cousin Andy play football. He's a quarterback for Wabash College, and did an AWESOME job! Unfortunately, Wabash lost...but, we still had fun visiting with my aunt and uncle! After the game we did some shopping and then headed home to face another week of work :)

Here's a picture of Ben watching Andy play...he sat there for an entire quarter just watching the football players.