Soccer Party!

Today, being the last game of the season, was also the end-of-season party.  We all met at Jollyman park.  Only one family was unable to make it, which was really nice to get to chat with the parents and the kids to play something other than soccer...made me wish the season was longer, to get a chance to hang out more with them.  Such an interesting group of ladies.  One other stay-at-home mom, a pharmacist, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, an anesthesiologist, and I don't know what one other mom does.  As a side note, two families from Z's soccer team live in Cupertino, land of the best schools in the state, yet send their kids to a non-religious private school that costs upwards of $25k per year.  That is just not my life.   We would consider a private school if 1) the public school where we live was not good, 2) it was closer to affordable, and 3) it was bible based.  Alas, that is not our issue here...perhaps wherever we move next.  I digress...badly.  Soccer party.  NOT surprising is that most of the kids spent the majority of the party playing a version of 4 square.  Sheesh.  These kids cannot get enough.  Some pizza, fruit, veggie, side dishes and drinks, plus about 3 hours at the park, made for an enjoyable night.  PLUS, our family, scored a bunch of free leftovers at the end.  As in "you guys have small kids, you'll use this gallon of apple juice right?", and "none of us like Veggie Straws, why don't you take them home".  I secretly wondered if perhaps we look like "those people", the party moochers who take home more than they bring.  Who care, we scored veggie straws and pirate booty. :)

Art made presentations to each of the kids giving a small speech for each one about them over the season, and I handed out the pictures and medals.

Then, surprise to the coaches, Zachary and Mikey presented gift certificates to their dads, Art and Pancho, the team coaches.  Lucky for us, I was in charge of procuring the gift certificates, and picked a restaurant near us (and Pancho's family) that we really liked.  A mexican restaurant.  

Here is a picture of the boys sitting down at the table clowning around waiting to receive their medals.

Zachary is number 3.  We thought it was funny to see how many of the kids wore their jerseys, having not taken them off after their game 6 hours previously!  left to right: Ethan, Mikey, Nolan, Zach, Dylan...not pictured William (who was there somewhere), and Chirant, who could not make it.

All three kids had a good time at the playground, and were sad when it was finally time to go.  Most of these kids are moving up to U10 division, the next level up, and won't be in the same division as Zachary, U8.  He is extremely bummed about this, but I keep reminding him that he did not know anyone on his team before he started, and now he has lots of new buddies!