William at his first soccer practice

William and Brant running a drill together

Best buds looking forward to lots of soccer together

William and his coach, Elise

Well, it's official. I am now a soccer mom. William had his first day of soccer practice last Tuesday. He is playing parks and rec. soccer in Eudora with some of his friends from church. It's really a good deal. For only $30, there is practice each week and several games. We also live so close to the eastern edge of Lawrence, it works out really well for us.

It was pretty funny watching William go through his first drill. He has NEVER played any type of soccer, and while Kevin had fun showing him soccer on TV and XBox, we hadn't gotten around to going outside and really showing him soccer (really because it has been so HOT). Once William realized that it didn't work well to kick the ball as hard as he could each time, he picked things up really quick, and by the end of practice he was starting to look like a real little soccer player. He even got to play some 3 on 3, and he loved playing defense and not letting the other kids get past him. (He was actually pretty intimidating.) I personally love playing defense when I play soccer, partly because I don't know much about soccer, but really because most guys underestimate my aggressiveness and agility, and it's fun to surprise them. Kevin on the other hand, likes to play forward, or as he told William, he likes to score goals. :) We make great teammates, but clashing rivals. (It's always better for us if we are on the same team. :))

Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and I know William is looking forward to practice again this week. As parents, we did learn a couple of things, like bring camp chairs, or at least a blanket to sit on, and bring lots of ICE water. (ICE is definitely better.) All of the moms were REALLY nice, and it there were even some little girls for Kate to play with. She had a great time watching. Now, I guess we only need the van..... :)

William ready to walk to his first day of school!

William's first assignment (a coloring page, and writing his own name). Needless to say, he wrote his name as nicely as he could (Capital W, lowercase illiam, curved m), colored right in the lines, and "gave each crayon a turn."

William and his K teacher, Mrs. O'Donnell (Mrs. O.)

Well, it is official. William had his first day of school on Friday. No, I did not cry or even get weepy. (I guess I'm just a mean mom...) But, actually I had been unhappy about him going off to all day kindergarten , UNTIL, I woke up early Friday morning. When I woke up that morning, I knew it was the right thing. I had finally said a quick prayer the night before that I would feel good about it. (I don't know why I am still amazed at the power of little prayers. I guess I forget that Heavenly Father wants us to ask for his help, and it is right there waiting for us.) I have always had my doubts about public school, whether they will be able to support his advanced skills, why does he have 21 kids in his class!!!, and does he really need to be gone all day. I will miss him, but I know without a doubt that it is right, which is good because I still can't believe they allowed 21 KIDS!!!

Anyway, William has been struggling with obedience for a couple of months now, spending LOTS of time in time-out. I guess he started to not mind it so much, and while we all struggle with obedience (me included), he was definitely not utilizing his known ability. He is a little too smart for his own good, and thinks that sometimes he knows better than the grown-ups. You can imagine where this will get him at school, besides the lack of fun at home. Kevin was out of town on Friday, his first day of school, but he was able to give William his first father's blessing for school tonight before he went to bed. I know that Kevin carefully listens to the promptings of the Spirit in giving blessings rather than forming his own ideas, but Heavenly Father also had reminders in his blessing about learning obedience, listening to authority, and learning so he can be a good example at school. He even told William that He was watching, and that some things were tests. He also comforted William that He is there, He loves him, and knows all of his concerns. Overall, William felt a little humbled and comforted. We can only wait and see. (Well, we can say prayers for him as well.)

Tonight, I also realized that I had forgotten to teach him a couple things. I forget to remind him that he can ask for help when he's not sure of what to do, whether from his teacher or from us. He tries to be so independent (which we do encourage to a point) that he forgets to ask for help or direction. If he's not sure of whether he should do something, ASK. :) A lot of times he can figure the ways out on his own, but obviously not all of them, and we need to check up on that more often.

The other thing I forgot is teaching him that sometimes he will not learn the reason for a rule until later. He likes to know the reason behind everything right then, but we need to remind him that he can't learn everything all at one. Sometimes he won't learn the reasons behind them until later. We will fill him in as best we can, but sometimes there isn't time to explain right then, and he will have to wait until later that day, or sometimes even when he gets older. I can see so much of myself in him sometimes, though thankfully not as much. As long as he doesn't get suspended in first grade, he is already doing good. :) Kevin said something to him on Friday night I found funny. He said, "William, do you know how many times I got in trouble at school? (and he held up his hand in a zero)" Too bad, I couldn't help by saying that myself... :) Thankfully, I got it all out of my system early!

Oh, and after Kevin gave William the blessing, Kate climbed right up in the chair, folded her arms, and looked up at daddy. She wanted a blessing too! After waiting a little bit, and having Kate keep getting in the chair and folding her arms, saying yes when we asked her each time if she wanted a blessing too, Kevin also gave a her a short little blessing. And, Kate folded her arms and stayed completely still during the whole thing. It was really neat.

Anyway, we love William. We know that his is a wonderful spirit, and sweet boy (really), and that he loves the gospel. We are so thankful to have him as our son. He will be a great example to his siblings. We love him so much. Enjoy his pictures from the first day of school. In his words, "School was Awesome!"

So, Girl's Camp. I realize it has been almost 3 weeks since, but I don't want to forget it. When I finally realized that I was going to be in charge this year, despite my best efforts to find another, I didn't know what to think. I had little to no experience camping; I only went to Girl's Camp myself 1 time and stayed in air-conditioned cabins with a pool; and it was going to be outside all day in the last week of July. One of my sayings though is "Everything happens for a reason." And, while I was imagining a great burden on myself and my family, while already having 2 demanding church callings between Kevin and I, it turned out great. I had no idea that I even liked being outside that much. I think the whole Stake was praying for cool July weather, and we were blessed. While there were a few hot moments, we had lots of shade and many breezes. I also couldn't have done it without Erin. She was amazing. Without really being called, she was my co-director, and between the 2 of us our ward was organized and well prepared. Without her calls to remind me that I might want to start packing or without her vast experience camping, it could have been a disaster. As it turns out, I LOVE Girl's Camp. I would do it every year, as long as I didn't have a newborn. (Bishop, pretend that you never read this...) :) I had so much fun with the girls. I really enjoyed painting our awesome flag (which can now be seen in the YW's room, although some of it got washed away in a little rain), and a lion on some cardboard or our skit (which actually had a pretty good story line: Danielle and the Lion, with gum for the lions). Our girls all got along, took care of each other, and were fairly clean. We have a few funny stories, but I will share just one. One evening while sitting around the campfire with Erin and Sarah and Emily from 2nd ward, a large locust came flying at them. (Previously, a couple of the 2nd ward girls had been torturing this locust on the other side of camp.) Apparently, Sarah really has a problem with locusts. Erin tried her best (wearing gloves from working with the fire) to pick it up and throw it across camp, but every time she picked it up, it would turn around in mid-air and fly back at Sarah and Emily's vacant chairs. We then contemplated the fire. We could burn it, as it wouldn't leave, but that seemed a little inhumane. So, instead I suggested that Erin use a iron skillet-ish thing from the fire and put on top of it. However, instead of putting it curved side down which would have smashed the locust and killed it quickly, she placed it curved side up, so the locust was trapped inside of a burning skillet thing. Needless to say, the locust went nuts. I yelled "We have to kill it now!," Erin moved the skillet thing and I stomped as fast as I could. You may have had to be there, but it was HILARIOUS, and a little sad. That's about it for Girl's Camp. I just want to say THANK YOU, again to those of you who helped bring things out, take things home, pack their girls, and especially to ERIN for getting things going and organized. Girl's Camp was truly great.