Willem is Nine!

I dragged Willem outside to take a few pictures for his ninth birthday post and, in typical Willem fashion, this is what I got...

Our loving, independent, all-boy, athletic, competitive, fun-loving, comedic, smart boy has turned nine!

We are so proud of our boy and just enjoy his personality so much. He had a birthday weekend with Daddy because I was with Cade in Chicago. Chad took Cade to the Nike Employee Store where we got goalie gloves. He went to the Lego store where he got an airplane and truck to put together. And they went to the John Deere store! They also got to go the the Cheesecake Factory for dinner plus they went out for a great breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa! 

Here's a little about our nine year old:

Favorite things to do: play soccer, play basketball, put together and play with his legos, just be outside in the backyard playing in the sand or with any ball, play xbox

Best buddies: Massimo (from soccer), Ethan, Jackson, Ben, Hayden (and more from school), his brother and sisters, his cousins, and also other soccer friends James and more.

Height: 4 ft, 9 inches

Weight: 77 lbs

Fastest mile: around 7 minutes, maybe a little faster

Fastest 100m: 16.2

School: Best subjects are math and PE; reading still a little slow but getting there; loves summer best but enjoys being with his friends at school too; teachers say he is helpful, a leader and nice to have in class; rarely gets in trouble and if he does it's usually at recess or PE when he's a little too competitive :)

We love you so much sweet Willem! So glad to call you our son! Happy 9th!

July Birthday Party!

Tonight we celebrated July birthdays with our families. The guests of honor were Cade (July 16), Willem (July 29), cousin Daniel (July 21) and me (July 26). I also thought of my mom whose birthday is also in July on the 25th :). I love our family parties as they are just relaxed and fun and a little crazy with all the kids. We were lucky to have four Loftsgard cousins from Nicaragua with us to help celebrate! It was nice to just sit and talk with everyone for a few hours. Happy happy birthday to my sweet and crazy boys and their big cousin!

The birthday boys: Daniel (19), Cade (13), Willem (9)!

So many cousins! Love it!

 

Leah, Opa, Jackie, Gabrielle, Marcus and Frances

Sergio, EJ, Sierra, Tere, Grandpa, Chad, Greg, Grandma

I tried to get a shot with the birthday boys and this is what we got :)

Nev insisted on being in the picture and Willem was just goofy!

So, I thought, how about we just get a family picture then (even though Elle was trying on a Scandinavia costume for Grandma!)....

And, still this is all we got! That's just how it goes sometimes!

Also wanted to include a picture of Willem's friends party at Putters. Will invited his soccer team and the boys played tons of games, ate pizza, cake and played in the play area...

 

Cousins!

Our summer can pretty much be summed up in two words: cousins and soccer! Almost all of our weekends are spent at soccer tournaments and most weekdays our kids spent at least part of the day with at least one of their cousins. And, often, soccer and cousins intertwine as well as our kids play on teams with their cousins, train with their cousins and just play around with a soccer ball with their cousins. Cade has been loving spending lots of time with his big cousins, Roman and Daniel, at their house, our house and working on the dairy. And, Cade also enjoys his time with Pascal many weekends when they are at the same soccer tournament and get to hang out at the hotel together. Elle gets to see Meleesa or Athena most days whether it be hanging at each others' houses or playing soccer or training together. Willem loves to tag along with Cade whenever he can to visit his cousins and it's been fun to see him and Carsten finally playing together and really enjoying each other at family get-togethers. Nev is so at home with all her cousins too and treats them all like her siblings! We are so lucky to have lots of extra cousins around this summer as Leah, Jackie, Naomi, Daniel and Jonathan have all spent time here (Daniel is staying to go to college here...hopefully that means extra visits from his mom, my sis!). And, it is always a big treat when Amber and Tony come over with Jacoby and Nia as they did this past week. We all love it too when Davida stops by with Marcus...I need some pictures of her! We just need to see little Tucker soon and our summer will be complete :). Here are just a few pictures of cousin time this summer (a big soccer post to come soon!)...

Nev, Elle, Nia, Naomi, Leah, Jacoby and Mariah at the park

Roman, Daniel, Jackie, Leah

Selene, Meleesa, Naomi, Willem and Mariah

Cade and Jonathan had a great time together when Jono was here

Nev loves her cousin Antonia. It was fun to see them play a lot together when Amber visited this past week. It was the first time they really played for an extended time together.

3v3 Basketball Tournment

Willem and his buddies played in a 3v3 basketball tournament in Salem and had a great time. Their team won a couple and lost a couple and their basketball skills were a bit rusty after not playing for months but it was still a great time! Willem played well, scoring quite a few and getting beat up quite a bit as well. Luckily he's tough!

Willem, Jackson, Ethan and Max

With the older Spartan team (boys from Cade's in-going 7th grade class)

All Comers' Meet

Willem just loves going to the All Comers' Meets at the UO. It might have something to do with the fact that before yesterday, he had only lost once (well gotten 2nd) in anything he has entered. He is fast and springy like his dad and his brother. As a kid, I sometimes wondered what it would be like to be that kid that always won and was known as being fast. That wasn't me, but I have to admit it's pretty fun being on the parent side of it :)

Yesterday, Amber and I took Antonia, Jacoby, Willem and Genevieve to the All Comers' Meet. They had a blast! They all had smiles on their faces pretty much the whole time...except Willem when he found out he was 5th (and not first) in the softball throw! Willem did win his heat of the 100 meters in a time of 16.3 seconds. He also won the long jump (out of 20 boys) with a jump of 9' 8". In the softball throw, he threw 88 feet. 

Genevieve did the softball throw, long jump and 60 meter dash. She, like her cousins, was excited to get a ribbon in all her events (all kids ages 1-6 get a generic ribbon). Nev actually won her heat of the 60 meter dash and when I asked her how it went, she said "I won" and I asked how the other kids did and she said, "they lost". I guess there's a little competitiveness in her as well :)

Nia and J were adorable to watch. Nia had the best form of the group in the long jump; she took that and the other events pretty seriously and seemed to really try her best and she did great. Jacoby was just happy being there not really caring about winning but loving the excitement, ribbons and dirt!

Thanks to my sis for a great picture of Willem's long jump

Historic Hayward Field

 

 Willem far left, ahead in the 100 meters

 

Nia is just adorable :)

 

While I was in Seattle for Cade and Elle's tournament in June, Willem went to the All Comers Meet with Grandma. It was held in the middle of the Olympic Trials which made it extra special. He had a great time competing and volunteering. He was proud to show off his blue ribbons to me when I returned.

And here's a link to a video of Willem's race at Hayward Field in June 2012 (he's the leaders/winner in lane 5): 

http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?video_id=72624#ooid=FoanA4NTqNNJqAuyTvF7nsbrEcbGD9SS

Cade is 13!

Age 10 / Age 13

How is it possible my little boy is a teenager?! It has been a joy being his mom and I so enjoy our young man. He definitely keeps us on our toes, challenges us and amazes us with his tenacity, motivation, drive, kindness, empathy, competitiveness, insightfulness and love. 

Cade Enjoys: Soccer (still his first love; he practices an hour or two in addition to practice everyday and often-times more than that though chronic injuries to his knees this year have required him to rest more than he'd like); music (he likes all kinds of music including rap, rock, old and new but isn't a big fan of top-40 or country); his older boy cousins (especially Pascal, Daniel, Roman & Andy); his soccer teammates (he likes to show up 45 minutes before practice every time to hang with his friends and kick the ball around); sleepovers at Liam's house; movies (comedy and action are his favs); TV (Pawn Stars reality show, comedy shows, sports and more); xbox; and, yes, girls

School: Cade is not a fan of school though he still does pretty well usually getting about half A's and half B's. Favorite subjects: PE and History 

 Stats: Height: 5'4.25" (4" increase the past year), Weight: 110 (with clothes), fastest mile: around 5 minutes

Work: Cade started working on the dairy this summer and usually works 7:30 am to 11:30 am though lately has been working up to 6-8 hours/day

For his birthday: Cade hung out with his cousins, chose pizza for dinner, enjoyed donuts, and went to a movie "The Avengers" with Chad. We will have a family party next week and, if we can fit it in between soccer tournaments, a movie and sleepover with a few friends.

We Love You So Very Much Cade! Happy Birthday!

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon was so beautiful, it was a shame we only had one afternoon to take it all in. It was my first trip there and Chad's first in over 30 years. We really hope to return to hike into the canyon and just take in more of the breathtaking beauty. Here are some shots of our four hours at the Grand Canyon...

 

 

Visiting the Native American ruins

 

Beautiful sunset