A Weekend With Friends

You cannot beat the beautiful weather that we have been having, sunny and warm, perfect to get out and play.  Saturday Bobby was invited to Joey's 7th birthday party.  We opted to skip the first hour of the party which was basketball and a couple of other activities because I didn't think that Bobby would be too interested which can cause his behavior to be problematic.  We did go to the second hour of the party, which was swimming in the Lakeview Fitness Center pool.  Bobby had a great time.

It takes Bobby close to 10 minutes to get into a pool that he has never been or one that he hasn't been in a long time.  He hadn't been here for a couple of years.  I just give him his time and he gets on in and has fun.

 The birthday boy.  I still can't believe that he is 7 years old.  It just seems like yesterday that Shelly carried him into my house in his baby carseat carrier.

 Sonny loves this hot tub.

 Joey and his friend having a sword fight.  Better watch out, those noodles are deadly!!

 All right Joey, we know that she is very pretty, but can we have a smile!!

 Bobby got two pool noodles of his own to sit on and float around the pool.

When we got home after the birthday party, Daddy was outside washing the car.  Bobby thought that he could be of some help.

 Yes, he got that sponge washed out extremely well....such a big help!!

 Zoi found some shade to relax in, too hot when you are wearing a fur coat.

 Do you see what I see??  Yes, the leaves are changing, autumn is here!

I usually love autumn and can't wait to get my decorations out.  This year, however, our late vacation has made me want summer to stay.  Obviously I love the beach much more than autumn!!  There are NO stinkbugs at the beach!!!!  Bobby and I have no fall allergies at the beach!!!  I finally succumbed and went into the storage area and found my friends, Mr. Scarecrow, Mr. Pumpkin, Mr. Turkey and Mr. Autumn Decorated Pencil Tree.  They were happy to see me and wondered where I had been. After we caught up, I brought them upstairs and put them on display.

 Above the hutch in the dining room and an open shelf that is also in the dining room.

 The rest of my friends went to the back porch.

We had another picture perfect weather day on Sunday so we met some of our friends at the Stepping Stones Miracle Field.  We brought some balls to kick into the soccer net and we also brought Bobby's EZYroller for the kids to ride.

 Bobby got right onto the riding toy and off he went.

 Daddy kicked some balls to Bobby and he actually kicked them back.

 Sonny and Joey both wanted on the riding toy too so they took turns.

 Sonny's taking a break in the dugout.

 Sonny hanging out on the ground!!

 Does Natalie catch the ball that is in the air???

 Of course she does!!!  By the look of that smile on her face, she is pretty proud!

 Looks like Natalie is having a great time!

 Joey finally got his turn on the EZYroller.

Now it is time to unwind and get ready for Monday morning, or if you're Bob, it's time to patiently wait for the Breaking Bad series finally!  Will Walt die??  In a few more hours the world will know.

Soccer Star

I was excited when I got the last flier from Stepping Stones, which is a local agency that provides recreational activities for people with disabilities.  For the first time I saw soccer listed as one of the activities.  This seemed like a much better fit for Bobby than baseball since there is more running around.  So I signed him up for his first organized sporting activity.  Our life is such that there is no way of asking, "Hey Bobby, would you like to try playing soccer, baseball....?"  I just have to decide for him and take him along for the ride.

Bobby has never seen a soccer game.  We don't have a soccer ball at home.  If he has ever had any introduction to soccer, it would have had to occurred at school.  So our expectation of how soccer practice was going to go was extremely low.

Hey Bobby, rule number one of all soccer stars....you have to wear shoes!!!

When he got to the Miracle Field, which is a hard surface baseball field that is wheelchair and walker accessible, he went right into the field and started running around.  Yay, hurdle one is completed!  This same time last year Bobby would have probably refused to go in with this many people.  However, he immediately took his shoes off.  Oh Bobby!!!  He wasn't too interested in the group stretching and getting to know each other activities.  We had to keep bringing him back to the group.

When it was time to practice kicking the ball back and forth with a partner, Bobby did a little better when he was further away from the group.  He stayed in the dugout and kicked the ball to Daddy, just like when we are at home and Bobby stands in the garage and kicks a ball to Daddy standing in the driveway.

He did go out onto the field and kick the ball around with Jenny, a Stepping Stones staffer, for a couple of minutes.

He also spent time really watching the other players and trying to figure out what the heck this was all about!!

He then went to the dugout and sat down.  He was finished for the day.

We stayed for about 25 minutes of the hour long soccer practice.  Funny thing about this soccer team.  It is made up of "kids" ages 8-18.  Some of the older boys were so excited to be there and announced that they were "really good" at soccer.  Will Bobby be announcing the same thing when he is 18? Only time will tell.  For now, we will work on staying a little longer at each practice.