Soccer!

Austin and Sarah played spring soccer with the Shakopee Soccer Association this year.

Austin was on the U7 team called the Mavericks.

Sarah was on the preschool team called the Lions for her first year playing.

They both had fun playing and learning new skills and we had a blast watching their games and practices (when it wasn't pouring rain!).  Early in the season (before the more challenging weather), I brought our camera to catch some pics of Austin and Sarah playing. 

Austin is really showing some impressive skills and is always SO excited about playing!  It has been fun to watch him develop.  We are working with him on sportsmanship and winning gracefully, since he gets really intense about winning or losing. He's often SO excited about scoring so many goals (did I mention he's really good?) that he forgets that it can make other kids feel bad when he runs over to us for a water break and details how many goals he's made and how many more he has than the other kids.

Austin and Sarah's little fan!  Trevor does a good job getting dragged to everything the big kids are in (soccer, swimming, dance, basketball, baseball, etc) - the peril of being the 3rd child, I suppose.

 Sarah hanging out with Grandpa during Austin's game.

 Selfie from the cheering section.

Some of the soccer action...

Austin is aggressive and pursues the ball, then can take it and break away from the crowd, bring the ball up the field and score before anybody catches up with him.  He is developing skills at passing and setting up plays and he and his teammates did a great job working together.

So excited after scoring a goal!

Trevor can spot an airplane at a remarkable distance.  Here he is pointing one out to Grandpa.

He likes to play with extra soccer balls on the sidelines during the game.

Sarah excited to go to soccer!

My goofball!

Sarah started soccer 1 year younger than Austin started, but since Austin was doing soccer again, we asked Sarah if she would like to sign up and she definitely wanted to.  She was a little overwhelmed with the large group practice they did at one point and came out of the practice session crying, refused to go back out on the field, and said she never wanted to play soccer again.  By the next game and practice, however, she was right back at it.  She seemed to get overwhelmed if there were a lot of kids on the field or if she got stuck in a scramble for the ball, but she definitely started learn some good ball handling skills and even scored a goal of her own!

Having fun!

Water break!  I love how her cheeks get all rosy and her eyes shine in the sunlight.

This is how Sarah plays...she's always got her hands out and fingers spread like she is trying to create her own personal space on the playing field.  Once she gets the ball, she is methodical, but unfortunately, not usually fast enough to keep the other team from taking it from her.  I think she would rather dribble the ball on her own, unopposed.

This is right before Sarah scored a goal!

The rowdiest portion of Sarah's cheering section...

I can't believe soccer season is over already!  The kids had fun and we had a blast watching them.  

Just for fun...

Austin and Sarah watched "The Incredibles" on Daddy's iPad.  It has renewed their superhero playtime at home and Daddy calls them "The League of Incredible Cronk Kiddos."  Here is a shot of them dressing up in their superhero garb (Buzz Lightyear for Austin, mask and cape for Sarah, and a King costume for Trevor).  

(The big scrape on Trevor's nose is the result of a fall on a driveway a few days before...looking much better now.)

And striking a superhero pose!