A few weeks ago some friends asked if Isaac would be interested in joining a soccer league, and he jumped at the idea. I was a bit less enthusiastic; I've never had a great relationship with organized sports, and I was a bit hesitant to add more obligations to our family's life. But after two practices, Isaac was so happy to be involved that I had to drop my concerns. Today was the first game of the season, and it was a lot of fun.
Summer and the older kids had to be elsewhere, so Evan and I took Isaac to the game, which was held at a park on the north edge of town, not far from the foothills. A half-dozen or so games were going on at the same time, and the atmosphere was fun. Isaac's team, the Tigers, includes two other kids from the ward, one boy whose family moved to the other side of town from our ward last year, and three other boys.
Here are some pictures from the warm-ups and game:
It’s hard to believe that the last update to this blog was over two months ago. The era of frequent blogging seems to have come to an end-or at least have been interrupted. But, since last week was Spring Break around these parts, there’s a fair amount to recount.
The big plan for the week was to drive to Phoenix for some Spring Training, but that changed pretty quickly. The condition for the trip—finishing the retaining wall in the backyard—showed immediately to be more time-consuming than expected. So we scrapped that plan and stayed in town most of the week.
In addition to the wall, we also made some little outings. Bowling Monday, Explora and a picnic Wednesday, and a hike at the volcanoes Thursday. The weather for most of the week was great, and it very much felt like Spring was on its way. This, of course, changed Friday evening, and we awoke Saturday to a decent snow storm that left us with over an inch by 10, all of which melted by noon.
But Friday was the day. We decided to make a trip, albeit a shorter one than we had initially planned. We drove to Alamogordo and White Sands National Monument, a place we visited four years ago. It’s about a four-hour drive, so we spent a lot of time in the car, but it was worth it.
White Sands is a great sight—the sand is gypsum, and the dunes extend for miles. After driving in to the big dunes, we ate lunch and then sledded and played. Here are some scenes from the dunes:
Ryan aboard the sled
Summer and Isaac in the dunes
Evan amid the sand
On our way out of the park, we stopped by the dunes nature trail, a one-mile loop through the ecosystem of the dunes, where tenacious and adaptable plants and animals have made a home amid grueling conditions. The most amazing thing here was where shrubs rooted and created islands where other plants, followed by animals, make home. In some places, these islands include compacted sand that forms rock, a truly amazing sight.
Isaac on the hike
Ryan, Summer, and a wall of sand rock
The boys at an island
Driving home, the kids fell asleep, and we hit wind, rain, and a bit of snow. It was a long day, full of all four seasons (I got sunburned at White Sands and drove through snow that night), and a lot of fun.
Isaac in the game for the first time
Shooting and scoring during warm-ups
Lining up for practice before the game
