Sporty Summer

Yesterday was the first day of the fall soccer for Sam and Mason, culminating the Summer of Sports for Mason. The season included two soccer camps, a tennis camp and countless Whiffle ball games in the back yard.

Though Mason's team lost its game, the soccer camp dividends were evident. Mason played some great defense and when playing forward ripped off some length-of-the-field dribbles and some crossing passes to attempt to set up his teammates for scores.

You might also have called this the Summer of Face Paint. The finale of each of the two soccer camps was a World Cup tournament, with the instructors at Paul Turner encouraging the kids to show their international spirit.

Benjamin joined in the face-paint festivities, too, simultaneously honoring the Tour de France, which was happening around the same time.

For those keeping score at home, Sam's team won its first game. Sam had a hand in the victory, too, tossing the throw-in that led to the pass that set up the game-winning kick.

Benjamin still has one more year before he can join in the fall soccer fun and mayhem. He was pretty disappointed at the start of the day. "Dad, I don't want to sit around for two hours!" Like me, he'd much rather be playing than watching.

Provided that Sam and Mason stick with soccer -- and there's no reason to presume they won't, as they both seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves yesterday -- next year will be the first time all three boys will be playing the same sport in the same season. We'll likely dispense with the pretense of carting chairs around town and simply pitch a tent at the Wing School fields, calling them our second home. Feel free to stop by. No appointment necessary!

Benjamin and the Lobster Hat

Benjamin and the Lobster Hat
Originally uploaded by spolay
At this very moment, Benjamin is talking
in a pirate voice, wearing his new lobster hat,
and yelling to the thunderstorm, "I'm going
to pinch you!"

Holy dying embers of summer, Batman! I've really not been keeping up with the family blog this summer. The Flickr photos and YouTube videos are plentiful... the words, not so much. So as we head into the kids' first week of school, allow me to play a little catch up, one blog post at a time.

Not only does this photo showcase Benjamin's crafting skills, but you can also see the remnants of the home addition/renovation project that had begin in February and finished up in July. Note the entertainment center still residing next to the refrigerator, and pay no attention to the BJs-powered restock of toilet paper and paper towels on the stairs.

At the point this photo was taken, we were days away from moving into the addition. Was so nice to get a large chunk of our house back! There's still a lot of work remaining: Painting and re-arranging upstairs bedrooms, re-installing a portion of the fence that had to come down during construction and removal of some trees to protect our investment (not to mention restock the wood pile). The downstairs, though, is completely reclaimed. More to come on that!

The Unknown Rock Star

The rock star gene has been successfully passed.

Garden mittens

DSCN1076
Originally uploaded by spolay

Benjamin was helping Brandy in the garden, and when he saw that she was wearing garden gloves he decided he needed to follow suit. Introducing garden mittens!

Brandy did shortly thereafter buy Ben his own set of kids-sized garden gloves, so that he could have use of all of his fingers. They are sure to make it into a future picture, though I doubt the Vogue-like pose in this picture can ever be exactly replicated.

Sam solos at the Sandwich Grade 5 Jazz Band Spring Concert

Tequila! And a surprise "Sammy" Joy solo!

We had no idea the solo was coming. So glad I had the camera rolling! We asked Sam about it later, and he said he had simply wanted to keep it a surprise.

The conductor announced him as Sammy Joy, and ordinarily Sam does not like to be called Sammy. He later confessed, though, that he didn't mind, likely because he was so excited that he had successfully completed the solo. I told him it would simply have to become his new jazzy stage name, which he seemed to think was a good idea.

Apologies for the jerkiness of the camera. Benjamin was crawling on me a couple of times during the performance. Next time I'll bring the tripod.

We all love a parade!

DSCN0738
Originally uploaded by spolay

The 2009 edition of the Sandwich Little League Parade inched closer to being an all-family affair. Sam marched with the band, and I joined Mason's team as the assistant coach. Another couple of years remain, though, before Benjamin can join in. Meanwhile, he is taking batting practice almost daily in the backyard to get ready.

April Fools Day 2009 recap

We had a little April Fools Day mirth on the homefront, starting with a prank Mason had plotted a couple of days in advance to get the jump on his older brother. Inspired by something he had seen on television, Mason asked me if I'd help him switch the innards of two of our cereal boxes so when Sam thought he was pouring Honey Bunches of Oats, he instead would be surprised by the Cinnamon Toast Crunch that landed in his bowl.

Of course I was all too happy to be the accomplice, making sure to make the switcheroo after the kids had gone to bed the night before. I took it a step further in the morning by doing some suggestive selling, strategically placing the breakfast options out on the butcher block table that acts as our kitchen island so that Sam would be sure to choose cereal over his other favorite, bagels.

Worked like a charm. Sam, still sleepy and a bit bleary eyed, grabbed the cereal, poured it into his bowl, paused, and realized that he had been fooled. Mason and I let out a couple of belly laughs, and Sam gave himself the I-should-have-had-a-V8 forehead slap.

Later, after reading Velma's post about her family's April Fools Day exploits, I was inspired to try a version of kitchen magnet chicanery. While Brandy and Benjamin were at the library, I cleaned off of the refrigerator, and placed all of the magnets on the back of my car so that they would be the first thing Brandy saw when she pulled into the driveway.

Brandy is not a big fan of stickers on cars. Even the dump and beach stickers are an aesthetic struggle for her. Sure, she likes getting rid of the household trash and taking the kids to the beach, but if it could be done using some sort of E-Z Pass-like system or by flashing an ID, she'd be so much happier.

So I knew there would be some shock value in seeing all of those magnets on the back of the newest car in the family, but the ruse was more successful than I could have anticipated. Brandy couldn't stop laughing, and was doubled over so much she couldn't get out of her car for a few minutes. Benjamin, not quite sure what was going on, laughed along with her for a bit, but after a few minutes asked Brandy why she was crying. She explained she wasn't crying, just laughing too hard.

Success!

Later, during dinner, we were asking Sam and Mason about their days at school. Mason said he and his classmates had tried to play a trick on their teacher, by hiding under their desks after she had left the room. As we understand it, one of the classmates wasn't so sure about playing along, so the trick was not a complete success, but the students had fun. Brandy and I surmised that April Fools Day must be the worst day of the year for teachers far and wide.

The wheels were turning in Sam's head throughout dinner. How was he going to get his revenge on Mason? He confessed he had been making a mental list all day of tricks that he was going to play on Mason the following year. I reminded him in a whisper that he still had a few hours left. That sealed it: He decided to tie knots in the pant legs of Mason's pajamas. While Mason excused himself to go to the bathroom, Sam excused himself to head upstairs to prepare his ruse.

At the end of the night, as I was helping Benjamin into his pajamas, Sam came in to show me what he had done. He had only tied off one leg, so I recommended he do the same to the other leg.

I'm such a troublemaker. Any wonder from whom they got that gene?

Later, Mason entered the room to change his clothes. I almost ruined it for Sam, as I could barely keep a straight face. I had to look away from Mason, so he wouldn't think anything was amiss. Sure enough, Mason started to pull on his pajama pants, and for a few moments kept jamming his foot into the pant leg when the foot wouldn't go all the way through, oblivious to what was causing the impediment. I finally could bust out some laughter, and revenge was sweet for Sam.

May the rest of the April Fools Days that lay ahead be as fun -- and as harmless -- as this year's! I am sure they are all plotting their revenge on me for next year.

Benjamin Riding at the Cape Cod Canal

Benjamin, on his second bicycle ride ever, heads for home along the Cape Cod Canal bike path.

Pay close attention to his countdown, which is a little out of sequence, but the intent is clear. He then takes a slight spill, bounces right back up, and then rides away from me. I had to run after him after I stopped filming.

He wanted to know why I didn't bring my bike. I told him I thought he needed more practice, and I wanted to be able to help him. Now, however, I think I must bring my bike next time just to keep up with him!