October 2023 Part 1: Our Crazy October Saturdays

For the Fall 2023, we tried this crazy thing: Let's let Gabe do two sports! So, he gave tackle football a shot (we thought it would be a good outlet for his aggression), and he continued with soccer. So, with Michael and Gabe both in tackle football, and Gabe in soccer, our Saturdays in October were pretty nuts--just like I probably mentioned in our September posts. The saddest part of this is that my nephew, Elijah, was baptized on one of those Saturdays, and we couldn't make it to be there in person, though we did get to watch on a video call. Thank goodness for technology!

At one of the games, Gabe got to be a captain. He's #15. 

I'm amazed by how well some of these kids can play football. My science teacher brother told me that kids are incapable of tracking a football and catching it at this age, but I saw so much evidence to the contrary. It's always funny to see these kids whose helmets are almost bigger than they are trying to play this complicated sport. 

He did so great this season. He was super busy trying to get to two practices and Let's Play Music on Thursdays. 

Here he is with his coaches. 

And with me. 

During one of the Saturdays, there was a solar eclipse. We were outside the zone where you could really see it, but we were able to see part of it. So, during Gabe's soccer game, we pulled out our glasses to check out what was happening. 

Eclipses are so cool, but nothing compares to being in the path of totality. We're so glad that we got a chance to experience the one in Idaho several years ago. 

Gabe got to play goalie one game, and his team did such a good job keeping the ball on the other end of the field that Gabe must have gotten a little bored down there. 

Rachel got dragged to a lot of games. She mostly read books or played in the grass, but hey, she was there! 

Here's Gabe's team. 

 One of those Saturdays in October, Rachel's dance studio complicated things a little bit by having pictures. Here's our sweet girl in her costume from last year. 

And here's her tiny team: Rachel, Lindsey, (not sure because she quit not long after this picture), Zelda, and Bliss. 

Michael did great this season in Football, but apparently we didn't take any pictures of him during October. He was a lot of fun to watch. 

We're so proud of all our kids and the hard work they put into their sports.