pre-k teachers + soccer = love

Carter and several of his classmates from school all play on the same soccer team. They were blessed with a huge surprise last night... their sweet teachers, Mrs. Waite and Mrs. McKay, came to their soccer game to cheer them on! 

 Carter hustling down the field

 good ol' Coach Jerry

 Carter had the ball and was headed to the goal... just had to get by the other team's coach!

 a water break with Gramps

 getting ready to give high-fives -- Carter's team won, 8-2!

(Check out Jerry's face here...)

Still waiting on those high-fives...

(And now look at Carter's face!)

happy easter!

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!!

 our "empty tomb" cake

 getting ready to hunt for eggs at Nana and Gramps' house

Happy Easter 2014!!

a few more action shots...

These are just a few of my favorite pics from the past two weekends...

 Grayson was sooo excited after scoring a goal during the tournament in Wichita -- love his face here!

 the infamous "wall"

 our friend, Brad, took these 3 consecutive shots of G doing a corner kick up in KC

a warm up drill with the coaches watching...

kc champions cup {2014}

The Wichita Knights played in the KC Champions Cup this past weekend in Overland Park, KS. It was located at a beautiful facility (turf fields!) and we had a fun weekend of soccer, friends, family, and yummy food!

 Getting a pep talk before their first game on Saturday morning against a team from Omaha

 one of Grayson's corner kicks

 Sooooo excited to come out with a 5-1 win!! I love the look on Grayson's face! :)

 warming up for their afternoon game

 another couple of corner kicks...

Coach Silas told Grayson after the tournament that his "corner kicks were money" -- all weekend long! What a compliment. :)

it was a soccer kind of weekend...

In the last 48 hours, we have watched a total of 5 soccer games -- 3 wins, 2 losses, and either 6 or 7 goals between the boys... I can't quite keep track. :) All in all, it was a great weekend. Grayson's club team, FC Knights, played in the Papa John's Invitational here in Wichita -- playing in a total of 4 games. Carter's team, the Tornadoes, had a regular game on Saturday. I was trying to take a few pictures and also get some video footage as well... so here's a little glimpse of our weekend!

 After Grayson's game Saturday morning, where they won, 7-1. It was a really fun game to watch -- G had a goal and some perfect corner kicks.

 Coaches Casey and Silas congratulate the boys on a game well-played

 after a quick lunch, we headed over to the Y, where Carter's team had a big win

 Coaches Jerry and Scott, and the Pre-K Tornadoes :)

(Carter is 2nd from the left)

 the best parts of the game are scoring goals and the snack afterwards!

 Getting pumped up for the final game... the boys were playing for 3rd place in their division

 This is Carter's "soccer wife" -- he loves his friend, Jordan! They hang out all the time at the games!

 talking after their final game, where they won in a shutout, 7-0!

Grayson scored two goals... one off of his left foot. Uncle Dave would've been proud!

 Wichita FC Knights '05

l-r: Levi, Trenton, Charlie, Clay, Taylor (front), Elliot, Wes (back), Dakota, Grayson

and a crazy pic to end the tournament, with a few little brothers joining them!

a lovely evening with jen hatmaker

Last week, we found out that Jen Hatmaker was coming to Wichita! Mom and I decided that we absolutely had to go! (Plus, KU had already let us down by losing in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament, so it wasn't like we were going to be sitting around watching basketball...) Anyway, we absolutely loved our evening with her! Jen is real, encouraging, hysterical, knowledgeable, God-fearing, and has just a sweet bit of sarcasm that left us smiling. She is also a pastor's wife, mom, blogger, and writer. After a night of worship and Jen's teaching, Mom and I decided that we should stick around and get a pic with her. It was so fun to chat with her for just a minute (in person!) and document our evening! If you haven't read Jen's book Seven, go get a copy of it -- or any of her other books -- and be challenged.

a little more from tanganyika...

a few more pics from our fun day with the animals...

 we got to feed the lorikeets -- love Carter's face here :)

 the lories are so colorful!

 Grayson had one just perched on his shoulder...

 and then two of the birds just dive-bombed on Nana and didn't want to let go!

 feeding the tortoises

 a few more minutes with the giraffes

 giraffe-hug ;)

A great day was had by all at Tanganyika!! Hopefully we'll be back soon!!