SOCCERDAY

Coaches are banished to the sidelines in the big kid games. Weird seeing Jay so far from his players.

Waiting in diamond formation for the kickoff

He worked hard, especially for a kid recovering from croup. We wouldn't have let him play if the fever hadn't disappeared Thursday afternoon. He was definitely struggling halfway through the game though (his energy was lower than usual and I could tell he was having a hard time, especially since they had zero subs for their game).

Halftime pep talk

We should have set up the sun tent, even for the 9:00am game. It was hot. Cora was trying to make some shade by sitting behind me and crouching down in daddy's chair.

U6 warming up. And Lauren photobombing them.

Coach says "Eyes on the ball!"

Practicing their throw-ins

Silly Lauren... I can't remember if it was Al or Cora who told her that her new (not pumped-up yet) ball was a hat.

High five from coach daddy after her first goal

Goal #2

Taking it in for goal #3. Cora says "Daddy, I LOVE soccer!"

And then she was done. Almost 1:00pm and so very hot. She retreated to the shade tent and refused to play anymore (well, refused to play well anyway - she stood on the field and goofed off when coach daddy tried to get her back out there), instead reading books to Lauren. That shade tent was so appreciated by our team parents, and it will get a LOT of use this season! Though I do hope fall weather will return in the next couple of weeks...

SOAKED THRU AND THRU

Blue water and an overfilled tub made Cora SO HAPPY this afternoon (and allowed James some peace and quiet to rest and heal after picking up our little energy-filled spitfire from school).

An hour and 15 minutes in the tub will make you uncomfortably prune-y though...

DO THEY EVER OUTGROW CROUP?!

Poor buddy is sick. When I got home at 1:30am Wednesday night (after bat sampling), I went in to kiss the kids and found him burning up with fever. It took about an hour for the ibuprofen to kick in enough to cool him down so he could fall back asleep. A trip to the doctor first thing Thursday morning (after dropping Cora off at school) found fever and croup-like cough. He also has poison ivy all over his back, arms, neck, and face (from collecting sticks during the Cub Scout service project). Luckily, a couple days at home and a couple shots (steroid and antibiotic) cured him right up!

Fever chills and mama forgot his blanket. At least I had a jacket in my bag from bat sampling...

 Two green days and one yellow allow for movie and Kindle time when you're sick (thankfully)

SPECIAL SOCCER PRACTICE

Cora's soccer practice was rescheduled for tomorrow due to an unnamed conflict/emergency with the academy coach. Knowing that we (and probably most other families) did not want to spend 6:30-7:30pm on a Friday night at the soccer fields, Jay offered his U6 team a regularly-scheduled practice with just him, since he has access to the fields and equipment anyway. They all showed up (plus a couple other kids whose parents didn't get the memo that practices were changed) and Jay said the practice was really fun (I was home with a sick James still, not that I normally attend weeknight practices anyway). Al sent me some photos to share (Lauren participated in the big kid practice too, which I thought was awesome):

BAT CRAZY

I spent the past two nights up in Delta National Forest, attempting to catch bats to get paired DNA samples (wing tissue and guano) for one of my team's current projects.

 

We met at Crane Lake Hunt Camp for registration and assigning netting sites and safety briefings, then split into 4 teams in the hopes of covering more ground and catching more bats. The group of scientists and USFWS employees (most or all part of the Mississippi Bat Working Group) planned this Mist Net Event to coincide with national bat censuses (similar to the annual Christmas Bird Count). The hunt lodge left a lot to be desired, and I was thankful that Vicksburg was only 35 minutes away so that I could go home to my own bed at night...

Our first night was spent working a water site (a culvert under Dummy Line Rd), so it was muddy, the embankments were extremely steep and slippery, and there was a lot of traffic along the road where we stationed ourselves between net checks (there are a couple small towns that are only accessible via this small road, which is just crazy to me - and I thought Vicksburg was small...)

The nets were run from sunset (7:10pm) until midnight, with net checks every 15-20 minutes.

We didn't catch a single bat... 

...but I did enjoy reading half a novel on my Kindle in between net checks.

Our second night was spent next to a small lake (Blue Lake) surrounded by cypress trees and thousands of frogs that hopped the trails all night long (note to the Kennedy's - it looked like a beautiful little place to take your new canoe, and there is primitive camping on site... )

There were two groups at this site. One worked high nets over the main road (they caught 3 bats, though one got away because a flying squirrel ended up in the net and knocked the 3rd bat out) while we set our nets along the trail (bats utilize open spaces as flyways, and we were hoping that setting our nets in spots along the trail that had more overhanging vegetation, we'd "funnel" the bats through our nets).

My boss and the retired ERDC employee who joined our team for the night were not very hopeful, since they prefer to work water sites, but they gave it a shot because we hadn't caught anything at our water site the previous night. Unfortunately, we didn't catch a single bat, and were thus the only team to get skunked both nights. Womp womp. On the bright side, I finished my novel AND walked a total of 6 miles checking nets, since they were spread over a 0.3 mile stretch of trail.

This is the other group, which we joined briefly when they captured a Myotis austroriparius, so we could collect genetic samples. The kids belong to my boss - since they are homeschooled, they joined our mist netting adventure both nights as part of their curriculum. Made me a bit jealous - my kids would love to do something like this, but there's no way they could stay out until 2am and then go to school all day from 8am-3pm. Maybe when they're older...

CONSTITUTION DAY

I'm not exactly sure what Southpark does for Constitution Day, but I know they said the Pledge of Allegiance, sang the Star Spangled Banner, and Cora brought home some American flag worksheets. And they wanted the kids to wear red, white, and blue instead of their uniforms.

(James was out sick today, but he wore his blue and white to the doctor's office...)

HELPING HAND

Wednesdays are a giant rush to get from school (lets out at 2:50pm) to home (to walk Buster and get Cora changed for dance) to the studio (dance class starts at 3:30pm, and is 15 minutes from the house). The past few weeks mama has gotten more than a little flustered, yelling at the dog to "just GO already!" and fussing over Cora as she delicately puts on her tights "by myself!" and dealing with Cora throwing a fit (tears, screams, drool - the whole works) about getting her hair pulled back into a ponytail (mamas with older girls, please tell me she'll stop the insanity someday...) James has stepped in on more than one occasion (unasked) to put on her shoes while I brush her hair or walk the dog for me. Today, on daddy's first dance duty day (mama was out catching bats!), James' helping hand was in the form of zipping up Cora's cover-up (required by the director while dancers enter and exit the studio). I hope she knows how lucky she is to have such an awesome big brother - Jay and I are certainly grateful for his help and his unfailing sweetness. He truly adores his little sister and has more patience with her than us adults do...

1ST CUB SCOUT SERVICE PROJECT

James spent an hour or so picking up sticks around the yards at Knights of Columbus Sunday afternoon with the other younger boys, while the older boys (and adults) painted the parking lot spots. They lucked out with beautiful, cool weather (and a project that only took an hour out of the 4 hours they had set aside for the endeavor).

Last night (after the kids were in bed), daddy came home with James' new Cub Scout uniform. I had completely forgotten about it until James noticed it sitting under the cookbooks this morning and picked up the hat, asking me "Uh, whose is this?" When I asked him to tell me what the animal was on the hat, he got a HUGE grin on his face and said "Tiger Cub!", realizing what it was. He is very excited to get to wear his uniform to his first Pack meeting next week (and now mama needs to figure out how to sew the patches onto his shirt in the next 6 days...)

"GOING TO WORK"

She marched through the living room and told me she was going to work. As what, I don't know. Then I noticed her taking my photo (with a fake Fisher Price camera from the 1970s) from the kitchen, and it cracked me up because I thought she kinda looked like a birder out on the hunt (not that I've ever worn a leotard for such adventures...), which caused her to come marching back into the living room, scowling at me for laughing. When I tried to explain that I just thought she looked adorable and loved her pink leotard, pink backpack (filled with who-knows-what), and pink hat, she turned to the side (to fully show off her outfit?), still scowling, and took another photo of me...

 Sometimes I laugh because she's hilarious.
Sometimes I laugh because I'm scared of her...

(P.S. That long-sleeved leotard that she's never once actually worn to class because "Nobody wears the sleeves mama! Ugh!", even in the middle of winter, is obviously too small. But it obviously doesn't matter, since she only wears it for dress up around the house anyway.)

GRANDPARENTS' DAY

 On Grandparents' Day, the kids Skyped with Grambot and PawPaw, and FaceTimed with Gramma. Cora looks like she's singing here, but she's just gesturing grandly... The kids also made special pictures for their grandparents, so we need to get those in the mail ASAP...

JAMES, READING LIKE A CHAMP

This was his 3rd time reading this book, so yes, some of it is likely already memorized (he's quick like that), but still... a few bigger/more difficult words in there, some inflection, and a whole lot of confidence. We are very proud of the progress he's made these first 4 weeks of school!

(Linked HERE because it's too long for lame-o Blogger...)

50s BABY!

Since it was just 54 degrees outside when we woke up this morning (hello fall, come on in! please?!), we started the coffee and stuck the bacon in the oven, then took Buster out for a family walk. Jackets were not necessary, but oh well. Cora would have complained about being cold if she hadn't had it.

 Ninja Turtle masks and Harry Potter wands...