There was no tearing his shirt off and playing up to the crowd. But we were all cheering for Noah when he scored his first goal of the season.
They won their game 2-0, and were all smiles on the sidelines. Noah and his best friend, Jack, scored the goals.
The pair also must have knocked down every kid on the opposing team. Noah really knows how to use his arms and his hips.
That’s what you should be saying if your son is playing against Noah, errr Mog, in soccer. This morning, Noah was slide-tackling and bumping all over the field. So were two other bruisers on his team. It was awesome to watch as a parent. After the game, I heard that the other coach was complaining about Noah’s physical play. I only have two words in response to that … Ha ha!
Not much has been able to slow down this crew lately, until the kids got sick. First Luke… then Noah. I thought we were done. A few sleepless nights getting up with the boys to throw up. No big deal. Neither one complained just vomited and went back to bed. But then Eden, Elizabeth and Jack all got sick at the same time. What a nightmare. Maggie still standing … for now.
Luray Caverns, a set on Flickr.
On July 21, 2012, the Kennedys took a grand adventure to Luray, VA and the Shenandoah Valley National Park. Eden, Elizabeth, Mom and Dad each had cameras to capture the fun and the sights. These are pictures from inside Luray Caverns.
Today, we were at Cascade Lake. Adventure number 4. I went on a huge slide called Miracle Slide. It was really fun. It’s not as scary as it looks.
I went to the diving boards and I went off the platform. I passed my swimming test. It was kind of hard. But I made it.
The bracelet was the color pink. I lost my goggles on the way. Good thing my dad was there with me, because he got them when I finished. I barely made it.
Noah went down the little slide. When he got home, he threw up lots of times. Poor Noah.
Marcia and I decided to take the kids on an adventure on Saturday. We planned the trip for a few days prior, but we didn’t tell them where we were going. We kept it a surprise. We only told them what to prepare: a change of clothes, a sweatshirt or jacket, cameras, shoes/socks and flip flops, a bathing suit and binoculars. The trip we had planned was a day trip to Shenandoah Valley. The kids asked fo days, “Are we camping?” and “Are we staying overnight?”.
We got the kids out of bed around 5:30AM on Saturday the 22nd. We left the house at 7:30. Our first stop was at Luray Caverns. None of us had been there before, and we were not disappointed. We spent about an hour touring the caverns. Then we spent time in the Garden Maze. And the kids mined for gems and minerals in the sluice. We left in time for lunch.
I thought it would be good to picnic at a scenic point in the Shenandoah National Park. We were planning to drive Skyline Drive and see the sites. It was so cloudy, we could barely see 10 feet in fron t of the car. So, we had a picnic in the clouds. And then we all experienced our first toilet pit along the Appalachian trail.
We took a hike down Dark Hollow Falls Trail. Luke on my back and Jack strapped to Marcia, we all hiked down to the falls. It was a beautiful sight. THe kids played in the falls at the bottom, and then we hiked all the way back up to the top of the trail.
But when we got to the car, our adventures weren’t over. The car was very low on gas, so we consulted with our maps. Found the closest gas station, several miles south, and gassed up. Phew. We made it. It was quite an adventure. And we caught the bug on adventures!
Marcia is convinced we all have Celiac’s disease. There is no cure, but it requires a gluten-free diet. Why?
The reasons are plentiful. For all of us. But most recently, Noah has had some blood results that are very troubling to Dr Arshad. He needs a litany of tests over the next few weeks. Yesterday, Marcia had me worrying about Leukemia.
After I bathed Noah last night, I talked to him as I was dressing him for bed. I told him he needed a lot more tests. From lady doctor? That’s right buddy. She needs to test you so the itchy rash goes away. And we need to get your blood tested again. Maybe all of this will stop your nose bleeds. I don’t like nose bleeds.
I’m proud of my son. Yesterday he was counting all of the lights in the room. And he was grouping them and adding together. There’s 2. There’s two. There’s 5. There’s 3. Altogether there’s 12! And last night he was doing Highlights magazine and wanted me to read to him.
I am overextended lately, and Marcia is way overextended. I find myself telling Noah “no” way too many times when he asks me to read to him at night. If I read to him, I fall asleep in his bed, happens every time. But, I need to do it more.
Noah takes everything like a man. We tell him he can’t do something or can’t eat something and he understands. Last night, he got very upset that he could no longer have bread and cookies, etc, in addition to already being “allergic” to peanut butter, milk and eggs. Poor guy.
So, we’ll try this diet for 30 days and we’ll see. Maybe Marcia’s right. Maybe this will make all the difference.
A few weeks ago, a man saw Liz and I playing catch and was very impressed with her skills. He’s associated with SkyWalkers club and wants Elizabeth to play there. He asked her to play in the Catonsville fall league. It’s a league for kids a few years older than Liz. She said yes. This morning, after she spent the night out at the Baecks, she was a little nervous about playing with the older girls (grades 5-8, she’s the only 4th grader).
But, when she stepped on the field, she did very well. She scored 2 goals. On one of the goals, she was tripled teamed, brought the ball out, juked all three and created an open lane to the goal for herself. It was very pretty, and many of the parents clapped. Marcia and I are very proud.
We are also worried. There are a ton of politics in Catonsville sports, and we’ve been hearing the ugly side of everything lately. I fear that Liz will not get her fair shot, and that Eden will also get her share of the shaft. Parents in this town are behaving poorly, very poorly, and I want to protect my daughters from all of the nonsense. I fear that I won’t be able to.
Also today, Liz’s field hockey team played the war hawks. Last year, the war hawks crushed every Catonsville team. Today, we beat them 11-0. Liz had a goal and she played very hard.
Eden played field hockey tonight as well and had a goal. Go Edie!
Noah played soccer yesterday with Jack. They play for Jack’s dad’s team. We are so pleased with Mike’s coaching, and the fun that Noah is having with his friend. They won 4-0, and Noah had a break away goal. It was great.
I am so proud. They are enjoying sports, and they are excelling. Elizabeth works as hard as any kid I know. I have a feeling that the others will as well as they get older.
Luke got his own lacrosse sticks today. PopPop and Grammy brought them over for his first birthday present. And he had fun with me on the floor, throwing balls to me, holding his stick, and putting the ball in the pocket of my stick.
“My first conscious memory was of my father crazy gluing a putter in my hand” – Tiger Woods (impersonator) – SNL sketch
I had a long day at work today. I was at work until about 7:30. When I walked in the door an hour later, Maggie came running from the other room to see me. Daddy, daddy, daddy. Giggle, giggle, giggle. Hide behind Daddy, then run away giggling. With her little pigtails.
Maggie and Noah welcoming me home from work
Some days I get home and the dogs are barking. Well, that is a given. The dogs bark every time I walk in the door. Some days though I walk into a hornet’s nest, everyone grouchy, and it’s high tension until the kids go to bed. Well, really til they go to bed, and then finally go to sleep after several trips to their room or yells up the stairs.
But tonight, I walked in the door late, and everyone was in a good mood. Noah hugged Maggie. Then he lifter her up, she was giggling. Then Edie wanted in, so she picked up Noah while he was picking up Maggie. They were all smiling and giggling.
Then, Marcia let me have my little Lukie while she got everyone ready for bed. I sat him next to me while I ate my dinner. And we made faces at each other. He smiled at me a lot. It was some night.
(that melt my heart and make me laugh)
A lot has changed these last few months. Luke is getting bigger. And just the other day, he ate his first bowl of cereal.
Liz got straight As in school. And she went to a lacrosse camp and won first place in a long distance shot competition; she won a stick.
Long Distance Shot Winner - Elizabeth Kennedy
Eden just got her third spelling test in a row back, 100% all around + the bonus words. Basketball coming up this weekend and Liz is in the all star game. Both the older girls are preparing for the lax season and finishing up basketball. We’re thinking about whether or not to start Noah this year, but probably not, he’s too young.
Marcia is a fiend on the treadmill. Her ass is so fine… damn.
Tonight, Noah got an awful hair cut. Marcia and I gave it to him. We used scissors and dog clippers. Geez, I hope he doesn’t remember. I clipped his ear and he cried. Even through the drama, it probably looks better than it did beforehand. A few more weeks and he would have been Justin Beeber.
Tonight I got home from work and Maggie was dressed as a hootchie mama. Yes. Her grandmother brought her some bootie-licious outfits. Leather pants for a three year old. And the jacket… seriously. Marcia asked her to put it on. It lasted about 2 seconds and Maggie took it off saying, “I’m too stressed to wear this.”
But the kicker tonight, the thing I really want to look back on and belly laugh, comes from the other side of town. It comes from a psycho known as Barbie Siecke. You see, Barbie had a crush on my older brother George in Kindergarten. I guess she never got over it. This week, Audrey took the kids out of town to go to Florida, and Barbie invited him out for drinks! Really Barbie, really?
Six With Sticks 