Gavin's Soccer Life

You might have noticed that just about every time Gavin appears in this blog, his soccer ball appears too. That boy definitely has an all-consuming passion! Not coming remotely close to his passion for soccer, but a passion nevertheless, is his love for Culver's cheese curds. Well, Gavin found a way to combine these passions: we went to a soccer tournament this summer and Gavin said, "If I score a goal, will you buy me cheese curds on the way home?" I told him if he scored three goals throughout the tournament, the cheese curds were his! You can see below that he did it! Hooray! We went directly to Culver's from that last game and he was a happy guy. 

They didn't place in that particular (the first of the season) tournament, but Gav's three goals made it exciting for us!

However, two weeks later, they came in second in their division in the Plano Premier Labor Day Tournament (20 teams total, with over 600 teams in all the various divisions, including many from other states)!

Caden finds entertainment during one of Gavin's games (actually, this is a frequent source of entertainment during Gavin's games!).

A pre-game walk around the lake by one of the soccer field complexes where we often spend our Saturdays (see all those stadium lights in the background?) as Gavin is warming up. This was an interesting walk because every tree around the lake had been planted for someone and it was fascinating to read each memory plaque. 

Go Sharks!!!

We are gearing up for another tournament this weekend, which should be interesting: Gavin's first game is at 8:00 Saturday morning with temps predicted to be in the low 30's. Time to pull out my mummy sleeping bag again! I'll keep you posted!!

Caden goes to Cub Day Camp!

No doubt it would be nice if I were posting our adventures on this blog in chronological order, but alas... I'm obviously not! This summer was Caden's second time to go to Cub Day Camp, and he loved it! It was soooo much better in all ways than the year before, including the directors (our stake Primary presidency), activities, the venue, the weather...I could go on and on. The weather was comfortable enough that I even enjoyed my day with the boys (the year before it had been in the afternoon and it was 106 with no shade--I did not enjoy that so much).  

Ready to go on Day 1 with a clean shirt and lots of swaps!

Caden and Ryan--just a few weeks before Ryan's move to PA.

Starting out strong!

OK, this is a lot harder than it looks!

 

Caden was a good shot!

Definitely wasn't cold enough for shivering--not sure what's happening here!

Best part of the day!

Umm, what exactly is in this owl pellet??

"I found everything on the list!"

Decorating swords and shields to go along with the Medieval Times theme--it doesn't get much better than that! Kudos to the cub master in our ward who cut out hundreds of shields for all the boys in the entire camp!

It is safe to say a great time was had by all!!! Let's do it again next year!

Homecoming

Homecoming was a little lower-key this year than last, at least for Tristan! He decided he wanted to go to a neighboring stake dance instead, with his "squad," of course. I was worried he'd regret his decision to miss out on Homecoming his senior year, but he hasn't. He especially does not regret not having to purchase a senior "mum" for his date, which is an essential element of a Texas Homecoming--and which can range between two and three hundred dollars!!! That's a lot to spend when he is not currently attached to any one girl (well, it's a lot to spend regardless!). 

He felt that he'd had his official Homecoming experience last year, and was just fine heading to a free dance with his buddies instead. (It should be noted that Tristan is a dancing fiend, and attending stake dances all over our region is his favorite thing to do! He has made friends with lots of people in multiple neighboring stakes. I can also very truthfully add, having been a stake dance chaperone, that he personally makes the entire dance more fun for everybody else--getting dance competitions, swing dancing, and dance trains going with great enthusiasm! He has been known to go to neighboring stake dances completely on his own. I can say with absolute confidence that I would NEVER have done that, despite my own love for dancing when I was a teenager.)

Kevin, Tristan, Kyle, and Chris

Tristan's best buds all attend a different high school, so they weren't missing out on their Homecoming--but I think they probably wouldn't have cared anyway. These guys became friends while serving on our stake's Youth Council and planning Youth Conference together. We couldn't have chosen better friends for Tristan to spend his time with.

Homecoming night also meant a BIG adventure for Gavin! The Homecoming theme was "Through the Decades," and a friend's mom in our ward planned an incredible party based on that theme. She rented a HUMMER limo (I am not making this up!), took them all to Chipotle for dinner, then took them all over the place for decades-themed activities--a different one every hour from 5-midnight. Gavin said it was the most amazing party ever, and it sounded like it! The whole freshman seminary class was invited. I immediately pointed out that Gavin was in 8th grade, but she insisted her son really wanted Gavin there. We decided to let him go, despite the boy/girl mix and the fact that he isn't yet 14. After all, he's been to numerous mutual activities and Sunday School parties with this same group, and there were parents present throughout the night. We're glad we let him go, because it was a great and memorable experience for him!

I'm not sure which decade Gavin dressed up as...kind of a 60's/80's mix!

Meanwhile, a trip to Kids Kastle with the Ridings is still an adventure for Caden! Here he decided he'd make use of one of the turrets to just take it all in. 

So fun to capture the memories!

Stay tuned for more adventures on Spencer Scoops!

Caden Turns 10!

As Caden and I were discussing his birthday this year...crepes with berries and whip cream for breakfast (of course!), doughnuts for his class, Chick-Fil-A for lunch, and treats for Scouts later that day, I said, "I don't think you'll even need a cake, with all these treats lined up!" And he said, "Mom. It's fine. I need a cake." So there you have it! Of course--I made a cake. 

Choosing crepes for the b-day breakfast just never gets old!  

The Celebration Station had to move locations due to fall decorations that were already on the Celebration Station...

Gavin gets Caden a cheese-themed birthday present! (And Caden is wearing his gift from Tristan--a cool sweatshirt!)

Caden gets a long-distance gift from his best pal, Ryan!!

Thanks, Ryan!!

Cleats have come a long way...

Lunch with Mom at the Wellington Cafe...

A selfie of a favorite birthday tradition! 

Can you see the "10" on there?

Caden chose a birthday party similar to the one we had for Gavin when he turned 11. We went to the lake, played Capture the Flag, ate pizza, had a campfire and s'mores (and more cake: "Mom. It's fine. I need a cake."), and an altogether fabulous time! 

Caden and his friends!

Happy Birthday, Caden!!!

Back-to-school/hiking fun!

Now that I've posted about Halloween, I thought it was high time to catch up on a few other goings-on around here! 

Caden begins life as a 4th-grader:

 Gavin begins 8th grade:

Tristan begins his senior year:

The Spencer boys head off to school...

 And mom is just as quickly out the door for a first-day-of-school hike with great pal, Amy!

And speaking of hiking, can I just say how much I love my jaunts into the woods and around the lake? Every time I go, it's a guaranteed burst of happiness. (And no wonder, studies have shown that exercising outdoors, especially near trees and bodies of water, improves mood and even self-esteem. I did not need a study to figure that out...!)

One of the "green pools" we love to hike by.

Amy, me, and Kristi--the hiking crew (no make-up required!).

Lately, I've started biking a lot too--here's one of my favorite look-out spots.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the lake early on a Saturday morning and discovered that the lake levels are so low that the shoreline is now open for miles. It was windy and cold and I could kind of pretend I was on the Pacific Northwest Coast. Oh, my, did that make me feel happy! 

Waves "crashing" on the shore! Those of us who are landlocked have to make the best of what we have...and really, what we have is quite amazing!

Today the temps took a 34-degree drop from yesterday, but we bundled up and went hiking anyway. I was reminded of a quote I'd heard about Seattle, "There is no such thing as bad weather--just inadequate clothing!" Thankfully our clothing was adequate and our hike was still fabulous!

More to come soon on Spencer Scoops!