Geddessentials

For a kid who has been going to soccer games since she was a newborn, eager seems too mild a word to describe how Miss Amelia Jane has felt about trying her own hand at the sport beloved by her older brothers.  So the news that she would be taking her first Kids Love Soccer class came with much joy, albeit sadness that she would stop dance class to do so, and anticipation.

We had a great experience with KLS for the boys' first soccer classes, and so far so good with Mills.  They incorporate quite a bit of silly and fun to keep the little ones laughing while learning some basic skills.  For example:

We took a little trip north to Muir Woods on President's Day, a place we haven't visited in a lot of years. In fact, the last time we went little Benito was so small he was in a pack on Stephen's back. How could I forget how breathtaking that place is? 

It's a good thing we weren't deterred by the five million other great minds who thought a sunny Monday off in February would be the perfect day for a hike. For being a national park, that place does not seem equipped to handle a crowd. Either that or everybody values the beauty and serenity of Muir Woods enough to hoof it two miles from a parking spot to the park entrance.  Anyway, we hiked it. We loved it.  We shushed and hollered at our kids way too much, however, as we realized they have absolutely no respect for trail rules and quiet signs. Sigh... Someday I will have the Zen experience I long for at Muir Woods. Maybe.

Pre-hike bathroom stop, I mean bear ride

Foreshadowing of what's to come on the trail

Poor wooden bear having his nose picked by Eli

We saw some HUGE salmon in the stream



Benito striking a lovely pose (Alisa, do you recognize this sweatshirt?)

And we're off

We let the kids take over the camera and look for wildflowers

They did a pretty good job, eh?

Moss popped up on here too

And ferns

And bridges

And Eli?  So much for wildflowers...

The yahoos, all of them :)