Getting our kicks

Sydney's dance class doesn't offer much for photo opportunities. Parents are encouraged to wait in a side room and watch through a window, so as not to be a distraction. Thus, the first chance I had to take a picture of my ballerina wannabe was as she grabbed a piece of pizza shortly after class ended.

Did I mention one of the perks of the dance studio is that it's attached to the local pizza shop? As luck would have it, this week there was about an hour-long gap after Sydney's dance class, before AJ's soccer game. So we took advantage of the time and location to have a little dinner.

Then it was off to soccer, where we learned yet another new rule. In addition to playing with goalies and big nets, we also have to deal with referees and the random rules they choose to enforce. For instance, kids aren't allowed to wear glasses, unless they're secured with a strap. That would have been nice to know ahead of time. 

Poor AJ was clearly struggling... and squinting. Or maybe he was just hampered by an untied shoe.

As luck would have it, the father of one of AJ's teammates happened to have a strap for his sunglasses in his truck, and so ran to the parking lot to get it. I'd like to say that once AJ's vision was restored he was back in top form. But that's not exactly how it happened.

AJ's coach is really working to teach the kids to play positions, which has thrown AJ's comfort level all out of whack. I can tell he gets distracted trying to remember where exactly he's allowed to run.

A side note - AJ had informed the coach at one of the first practices that he'd prefer to be called Alex. During last night's game, on several occasions I could hear the coach hollering directions such as , "Alex, go to the net!" Often times those instructions seemed to go unheard, and so the coach would follow with, "AJ! Go to the net!"

Sadly, AJ's team lost again this week. AJ's friends Evan and Nicholas played on the opposing team, which made the loss slightly easier for him to accept. The coach gave the kids a pep talk when it was over.

And then they did what's become their tradition. Rather than standing in a huddle, stacking their hands in the center, he has them all grab a soccer ball and toss it in the air. (AJ's #43, if you can't tell.)