Fall Birthdays- Nick 10; Brett 7

Well, Nicholas hit double digits this year!! To celebrate the momentous occasion, he invited some friends over for a swim BBQ. They played ping pong, swam, played football in the backyard and cheered on the Fresno State Bulldogs. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, watermelon and ice cream sundaes for dessert. It is pretty amazing how much 10 year old boys can eat!! We did not have any food left over!!
Brett had the same idea. He wanted to invite his friends over to play football as well. So, they got here at noon for pizza and then we went to the park for a real football game. They played for a while and then we returned home for chocolate chip cookie ice cream sundaes.

Nerd Day

I just had to post these pics because they make me laugh every time I look at them. Nelson had a Nerd Day during Red Ribbon Week and Cody and Brett played the parts perfectly. Nicholas had a great costume too but he got shy and took it off before leaving for school.

Soccer Season

Soccer season was exciting as always for the Castro household. Every Saturday this fall was filled with two soccer games. (God was very good to us this season by arranging for both teams games to be played each week at Dry Creek!! That means that mommy never had to miss any games since they were always at the same place on parallel fields.)

Nicholas and Cody were able to play on the same under 10 soccer team under Coach Rush while Brett played on an under 8 team under Coach Hall. The boys woke up every Saturday fired up for their games....often in their full uniforms by 6:30am despite what time their games were and never wanted to be late to practice. In fact, most days they begged me to take them to practice early.

Nicholas played every game as a midfielder. He was a tough defender and even scored 5 goals. He did not sit out one minute of any game and always made us proud by giving his full effort every minute of every game. We never have to tell Nicholas to try harder....he pushes himself harder than we ever would!!

Cody saw most of his minutes at the forward position. He loves to battle the opponent for the ball and loved the challenge of trying to score. My favorite part is watching Cody get a break away ball. He turns on the speed and gets that look in his eyes.

Brett played the majority of his games in the fullback position but would often get a few minutes at forward each game. Brett definately had the strongest foot on the team, but the softest heart. Any time Brett would get an open ball he could boot it half way down the field.....but if there was anyone from the opposite team approaching, he would only kick it half strength. When Nicholas asked him why he doesn't kick it his hardest, he replied, " I don't want the other players to get hurt." To which Nick answered,"Well, if you kick it hard they will be scared of you and won't get in your way."

It will be nice to have our Saturdays back, and our yard could definately use our attention, but Neil and I will both miss sitting on the sidelines and cheering them on....good thing there is next year!!

Run Nick, Run

Nicholas decided to go out for cross-country this year. Not because he loves to run, but because it is the only sport that 4th graders can compete in during the fall season in Clovis Unified. Wherever there is a competition, the Castro boys want to play!

The first race was held at Woodward Park with racers from all over the valley. Nicholas decided to wear his bright yellow Clovis West All Star hat although he was the only kid wearing a hat. This helped mommy a lot because it was much easier to spot him amidst the mass of running children. As the race began, our non-aggressive son ended up in the back 25% of the runners. I looked down at Cody and let him know that this did not look so good. All of the parents then jog over to the finish line as the kids run around the park. As I was sitting and talking with a friend, the first runnner came sprinting over the hill. As I was admiring his speed and his stamina, I looked back and there came the bright yellow hat emerging over the hill. Nicholas ended up taking 4th in his first race and it was very exciting!!

After that Nicholas wore his lucky hat for every race and ended up taking 3rd in the second race at Kastner against all of the kids in the Clovis West area. In the dual competitions he scored first or second in each race and was nomintated by his coach to compete in the district competition to race against the top three runners from every school in the district. Amid 109 other runners, Nicholas was able to earn a ribbon by placing 14th and so ended his running career. He has informed us that he wants to play football instead of running next year. Although his running career did not last long it was a blast for all of us. Every Friday I looked forward to cheering him on in his races and his brothers insisted on not missing one of his races!!

Nicholas coming over the hill at Woodward Park.

First Day of School 2009

Well, this year marks a milestone. This is the first year that all three boys will be in school full time. Nicholas is now in 4th grade, Cody is now in 3rd grade and Brett is now in 1st grade. I remember back when I was home with all three boys...when all three were in diapers at the same time and I could never get one minute to myself. I remember thinking, "Wow, what will life be like when they are all in school and I actually have time to myself?"

Well, the time has arrived!! Since I only work part time, I am off on Mondays and last Monday after I took the boys to school, I had to sit back and reflect. Although it was eerily quiet around the house, I have to admit, I did relish in the fact that I had all day to myself with nobody else's demands for my time!! I was able to clean the house without racing against the clock, take a nice restful shower, spend extra time reading, and get dinner prepared ahead of time. By 3:00, I was so excited to see my boys. I had actually missed them!!!

Although I often reminisce and wish I had more time with them as babies, I can already tell that I am really going to enjoy this season just as much as those in the past!!

Here are some pics of the boys in the cool new outfits Grandma Dorothy bought them for the first day:

Nicholas Paul- 4th grade

Cody Patrick- 3rd Grade

Brett Andrew- 1st grade