so, ava has had soccer camp all week--a week-long, half day of soccer. she has had a great time, loved what she learned, loved getting new gear (in fact, the cleats and shin guards are what sold her on it), loved eating in the cafeteria, and generally has done very very well. all of her friends are there, and she is very proud of herself.

but, oh my god, she is tired, and all i can say is thank god there are only 2 more days left. (that, and i am very tired of scrambling to make sure that i do the dark load at night to make sure that her one and only official t-shirt is clean and ready the next morning...)

my only question/concern: we have to do this all YEAR for kindergarten?

the first day, they gave us a black and white ball, which ava LOVED. black and white is her favorite. that night, the kids were told to go home and decorate it. have you ever tried decorating a soccer ball? not exactly pourous, and nothing stuck. even permanent markers. (i later learned that only sharpies work). so finally we found some paints that seemed to work. a little later, we had a very colorful ball. i was sort of worried, because i thought maybe she would be upset that it was no longer black and white, but she did not say anything. later that night, i was cleaning up the paints, and noticed that they said "washable" -- and i knew instantly that the paint would be off in 3 seconds, the minute that ball got wet in the morning grass. i warned her, and said that it might fade. well, fade it did. when i picked her up, she had a brand new, totally black and white ball. when i asked her about it, she said "i like it better this way. i don't want to color it..."

interestingly, tonight, when i asked her what her favorite sport was, she said "art."

today they were supposed to have a huge water fight, but it rained, so it was postponed. yesterday i went on a 2-county search or a super soaker water gun, and finally found something suitable at the dollar store. that and water balloons, which, if you were wondering, are something that an almost 3-year-old cannot help but pick up and throw inside the house, no matter how many times you have told him that it is not to be touched...so, after soccer, with a bag of water balloons and 2 huge super water squirter things, we decided to have our own water fight on the beach in the rain. this was a LOT of fun, though i think most everyone thought we were nuts, or at least i was, for allowing my children to practically swim in their rain coats. actually, ava did swim in hers.

we went strawberry picking yesterday. carter got stung by a bee, but neither child really knows that, otherwise they would never go outside again. he was fine after a bit. they had a great time otherwise, and we have been swimming in strawberries. tonight we had strawberry shortcake with fresh whipped cream. mmmm. no jam though. since 1 jar lasts for about 3 months around here, i figured that was not necessary.