Hot Rod's soccer day

There he is ladies and gentlemen, my handsome husband known to the world simply as Coach. Here he is with eight 5- and 6-year-olds after their third and final game of soccer against 7-year-olds on a field more than twice the size of what they're used to. Add to that, the goals were bigger, yet the penalty area was tiny. Overall, the games were a bit frustrating to the boys, but they stayed in there after getting over the initial intimidation of the bigger kids and giant fields.

Each of the little kids got a medal and a patch for participation and they were thrilled. The tournament was Nov. 19, but last night as I was tucking Hot Rod in for bed he told me "I can't believe I got a gold medal." He was very proud of it.

Here is the team. Too funny. I love the little guy on the front left. He was SOOOO tired. He is our sole 5-year-old on the team and it is amazing what a difference a year makes at this age. I also love the smiles of all the kids and the kid on the front right looks pained. Little kids are so funny. I love this team, though, even if we have to operate on MST (Mexican Standard Time) for evertying. In case you're not familiar with MST, it is that they show up 15 to 30 minutes past the time you tell them to show up. They're just not in as big of a hurry as us, but we've gotten less anal about it and they're getting a bit better about showing up on time. Not a lot, but a bit. The gringos on the team smile about it most of the time. It is a great cultural exchange for the kids and us, so it is a win-win situation.

During the day, we had lunch at Arby's with some of the players and then we went to Braum's for ice cream for the whole team between games 2 and 3.

The boys had a no soda rule that they were good about following.

We rounded out the day by taking Hot Rod to Cabela's on the way home. So, he got to play there and then he went to stay all night with one of his teammates (the kid sitting next to him in both pictures).

He loved all the hunting and fishing gear and the fish and animals.

My personal favorite below. You can see where he gets his Indian name: Runs From Bear. My kids are such hams. No idea where they get it from.

All in all a good day. Capped with AoD and I seeing the Harry Potter movie.