Soccer: Fall 2014

Just wrapped up a season of soccer. The journey came with more bumps in the road than we anticipated, but in the end it's been a memorable experience. At the end of summer we asked the boys if they wanted to play football and I was surprised when they seemed uninterested. Mote asked me if I could sign him up for soccer and I pretty much dismissed his request thinking he would forget about it. He didn't. He was so persistent and continued to ask me if I could register him. I called the league and the team he wanted to sign up for was full. Thinking this would persuade him not to play I told him and to my surprise he was still determined to sign up. Since he would be playing I convinced the other 2 boys to join and it was settled... all 3 would be playing Fall soccer. It's been years since they've last played and I didn't expect them be as great as they were. Mote absolutely blew me away. He is a natural and I was hesitant to say this at first, but he reminds me of Fatu on the field. The other 2 don't have the "average" physique for soccer, but they did amazing. I am so proud of their growth this past season and their discipline to learn this game. It was so fun to watch them play! It was definitely hard to work things out with my schedule and I lost A LOT of sleep, but it was totally worth it. I'm so glad we took this journey. I feel like the conditioning they got will only help them in any other sport they decide to take on. It was hard for Ti not being able to be here for every game. I would text him throughout both games to keep  him updated on scores and plays. There were days that we would spend 9+ hours at the park. On those days I would wake up before the sun was out to pack our cooler full of sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. We would load our cooler, blankets, pillows, and chairs in the back of the truck. Between games we would hang out under the shade of trees and eat or take naps.

These were the days - the days that we had double headers, that were probably most memorable. These days and days that I had to run the boys to 2 different parks to practices that overlapped made me appreciate my parents... and it gave me a lot of respect for Fatu. I remember him having the busiest schedule as a kid. I don't know how he was able to handle all of the chaos at such a young age. On Ti's last week off he actually flew out early to watch the boy's games. It was seriously the best surprise for them.

 

We ended the season yesterday at a duel for the championship. Mote & Nic's team actually made it all the way to the end. And what better way to go out than a shootout. The game was tied 2-2 which resulted in a shootout. Thank goodness it wasn't Mote's first shootout. He came through for his team to sink his goal. To make things more intense we were tied after the first round of shots, so we had to push things into a 2nd round. This time whichever team missed first, lost. Nic was the first one to shoot from our team and I seriously think I gained an ulcer from the stress. But he made his goal! In the end we won and came out champs!

It was such a sweet way to end the season. Not sure what sport is next, but I'm sure it'll be just as much fun.

2nd Trimester Award Ceremony

For the 2nd trimester all 3 kids got invited to their Award Ceremony!! I was so proud when they brought home invitations. Especially for Nic. He has seen his brothers bring home invitations throughout the years and this was the first time he got to bring one home himself. He was so proud to show me his letter when he got home from school and I was excited to see what he had accomplished. When they bring home the invitation it doesn't tell you what award your child will receive, it just tells you they are being recognized, so you don't find out until the actual ceremony when they call your child's name.
The ceremonies were broken up into different days at different times. This was a little bit of a challenge because I work grave so I normally am sleeping while the kids are in school.

Siope's ceremony was first. I remember coming home and taking a 30 min power nap. I was exhausted when my alarm went off and I was so ready to go back to sleep. I thought in my head that Siope wouldn't mind if I wasn't there and when I went to turn my alarm off on my phone I saw a text message that read "Mommy, don't forget that my award ceremony starts at 9am". Uuuuugh! So I forced myself up and made it to school to see my little man receive his award.

A-B Honor Roll! Whoop!

The next day was the 4th graders turn. The boys had asked Nici what award he thought he was getting. He kept telling them he wasn't sure and that it was most likely for citizenship. When I got to the assembly the kids started getting called up for their awards. And towards the end Nici's teacher said that she had 2 awards left to present. They were for the 2 kids in her class who worked extremely hard and showed the most improvement that trimester. Then I heard Nici's name called.

Most improved!! How awesome is that?!! So unbelievably proud of this kid!! With all of the struggles he faces, he has never given up!! He also brought home an award for citizenship. Great job Nici!!!

Last but not least was my 5th grader. For the 3rd consecutive day I came home and took a tiny nap and growled when my alarm clock went off. I headed to the school. As soon as I walked in the auditorium Mote spotted me and smiled and waved. I smiled and waved back then found my seat. With Mote there is no guessing when it comes to these assemblies. He has consistently gotten the same awards each year.

It is Mote's last year in Elementary and since he entered Kindergarten he has gotten Honor Roll and Outstanding Citizenship every single year. I cannot be more proud. He is the best leader to his younger brothers.

Although I lost out on sleep this week it was absolutely worth it. I would trade in sleep any day to see these kids succeed in school. I love them so much and am extremely proud of who they are becoming and what they have and will continue to achieve. They are my everything!!!!

Ries Elementary Field Day 2013

The boys have been looking forward to Field Day for quite some time. Siope and Nic had their turn earlier on in the day so I wasn't able to make theirs, but I got there just in time for Mote's. It was so fun to watch them compete. They had a blast!

Apex FunRun

The boys had a fun run today to raise money for their school.

Mote completed 32 laps...

Nic finished with 27...

And Siope surprised us all and completed all 36 laps!

I'm proud of all of them, but am seriously shocked with Siope. We always tease him that he's lazy. He is definitely book smart, but doesn't really carry an interest for any physical activity lol. He's not in to sports as much as the other 2... So when he came home and told me how he did I was blown away. I know he is capable of doing whatever he wants... it's just getting him interested and motivated that's the tricky part :)

Teaching Technique (Ti Tonga + Siope)

Biking

The kids have been long overdue for new bikes. They've been too big for their bikes for quite some time now, but we just didn't have the means (or didn't want to fork out the means) to replace the old ones.  Buying 1 bike? ... no problem. 2 bikes? ... okay. I can live with a dent in the checking account... but 3? At once? Not gonna happen... at least not for a while. So we put it off for as long as we could and finally decided, that these rambunctious boys needed some wheels, pedals, and speed in their lives. They got scooters for Christmas, which held them over a little while, but the time had come to finally get them some bikes. So a trip to Target, Walmart, back to Target, another trip back to Target for an exchange, and a trip to AutoZone for some tools.... and we finally were set to go with 3 bikes. Me and Ti of course still have our bikes, so the garage is getting a bit crowded with wheels. I made them ride their scooters one more day to school, so when they got home yesterday they were dying to get on their bikes. We all took a bike trip to the park (which I found out actually has a name... Nathaniel Jones Park) and rode up and down the trails. After an hour of going over bumps, going up and down hills, and falling down and getting back up again we rode back home. Today, the scooters remain in the garage and instead 3 little bikes have made their way to Wright Elementary with 3 happy kids as their drivers.