Go, Hotshots!

Kyrie asked to be signed up for soccer this season, and she's been anxiously waiting for the season to start ever since! Her coach (Coach Jessica) finally called last week and set up the first practice for today. Practice was scheduled for 4:30, and Kyrie just couldn't imagine having to wait all day before it was time to go. ;-)

I can't believe how much bigger she looks from her time as a Raptor.

So far, she's much more coordinated than she was back then. She had a hard time back then because she wanted to do a lot more than her gangly body would let her do. :-) So this year, she's really excited because she's grown into herself a lot more and is a lot more coordinated and capable. She did excellent at all the different exercises Coach Jessica had them do and is actually one of the best on the team!

Her coach is great! She's coaching 4 teams this season and is fabulous with the kids -- she keeps them engaged the whole time, her exercises are super fun and helpful, she's a wonderful motivator and tells the kids often how great they're doing, and she gives them a lot of one-on-one attention and instruction. We are just so excited for this season and to see how Kyrie develops over the next few months!

Here's a video of Kyrie doing one of the exercises. This was her first time doing this particular one, and Coach Jessica told everyone to watch how Kyrie was doing it because she was doing so well! Kyrie was so cute and proud of herself. :-) You can hear Coach Jessica in the background giving Kyrie tons of feedback and encouragement.

Untitled from Hillary Stephens on Vimeo.

While Kyrie was at practice, Derk took the kids over to the park. They came back and told me I had to come see Asher's new trick! :-)

Untitled from Hillary Stephens on Vimeo.

Her first game is Thursday, January 6th, and she is beside herself with excitement! :-) We're so proud of our little Hotshot and are excited for a fun season!

Christmas break -- week 3

I can't believe Christmas break is over and that school starts back up on Monday. It seems like it went by way too fast. I sure loved having Kyrie home so much, and I know she loved it, too. Really makes me feel strongly about considering homeschooling again. The thought of her being gone all day again makes me so sad. But that's another topic for another day.

Anyway, this week was pretty great. Monday Grandma and Grandpa Stephens arrived in town for the winter. They came over in the evening bearing tons of gifts from the cousins back in Utah. It was so sweet to see how Sydnee, Gage and Olivia had thought about our kids and had sent so much down to give to them. The kids sure had fun going through the big box. It was like Christmas all over again. The best part was that there was a movie in there for Kyrie that she had just been begging us to get her only a few hours before. It was pretty neat, and she was beyond excited.

Grandma insisted on babysitting for us on New Year's Eve so Derk and I could go out on a date. If you know Grandma, you know not to argue with her. :) We're so grateful to her for offering -- we hadn't been out in at least 7 months! It was so fun, and darn it, I forgot to take a picture of us all dressed up and ready to go out. But we invited some of our good friends, Trevor and Hillary, to go out with us and had such a great time. We had dinner at Olive Garden and then went to a movie. We were home around 9pm, and Grandma told us our kids were awesome. We were so proud of them, and Kyrie even earned $2 for being such a helper (Grandma gave her $1 and Derk matched it). I'm so glad because that means they'll be willing to come back again! ;) Thank you SO much, Grandma and Grandpa!!

After Grandma and Grandpa left, we watched Meet the Robinsons with the kids. It was a really cute show. They were so excited to stay up until midnight, but they were so tired from a busy day that none of them made it that far. Poor Kyrie only had an hour left to go before she konked out on the couch. :)

The biggest event of the week was that Kyrie and Asher both had their first soccer games today. They both started at the same time, so we were a bit worried as to how we'd juggle getting to see each child play, but their fields were right next to each other, so it worked out absolutely perfectly. We were able to get front row seats to both games without having to move. Grandma and Grandpa even came to watch them, and we all had a great time.

Grandma and Grandpa watching the kids play. Asher's field is the one they're
looking at, and Kyrie's is right to their right.

Kyrie is #6 and Asher is #2

Raptors vs. Busy Bees

Stretching before the game...


...Asher decided it looked like fun, though he couldn't quite figure it out. :)


Coach Hall giving his team a pep talk before the big game


Kyrie and her teammates cheering from the sidelines

Kyrie got to play most of the game. She does so great keeping up with her team, but she's afraid to get in there and steal the ball for some reason. She sure had fun, though!

Post-game hand slaps with the Busy Bees


Wildcatz vs. Scorpions

Asher on the field waiting for the game to start


Cheering his team on from the sidelines


Taking a half-time break in the stroller :)

Watching a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds playing a soccer game is much more hysterical than I thought it would be. Asher would just randomly run off the field to nowhere in particular, the kids would stop mid-game and just sit down, they'd kick the ball to the other goal despite all the parents screaming, "Other way! Turn around!" :) It was so funny and extremely adorable. They did great the times that they were actually playing and not distracted. :)

Asher also kept laying down on the field at random times. It was hysterical!!

Post-game hand slaps with the Scorpions


They are so cute!