This is going to be a long post because it was a long and fun-filled day! Thomas already had soccer lessons and then I thought he should start skiing lessons and then booked us on the Christmas Train the same day. I have no idea what I was thinking...
But such a fun day couldn't have an ordinary breakfast! Grannie made cinnamon rolls in her waffle iron while Matt was down visiting and he raved about how awesome they were. So we decided to give it a try this morning. They were indeed awesome! As was the fact that eggnog is now in stores and both of my boys love it. :)
Henry wasn't convinced when I told him we were having waffled cinnamon rolls, so he wanted cereal too. Whatever makes you happy, little man!
Soccer time! It's still in the dark dome, so it was just as frustrating as last time trying to get decent photos in there, but I managed to get a few of the little guys in action. The coaches all named their teams after real soccer teams, so his team name had nothing to do with the fact he has a blue & white striped jersey. I was so unimpressed by the boring name, I don't even remember it... ;)
We got there a little early today, so they both got a little fun practice time with their dad. Though I am pretty sure Henry was mostly just running away screaming...
The Kiddie Soccer and U6 play at the same time and the new head coach has a big meeting before the two groups head to their different fields. The best thing was that he taught them hand moves to go with the fact they are learning "Mad! Wicked! Skills!". Thomas is demonstrating the sassy arm cross at the end. So cute!
Henry has been doing pretty awesome at Kiddie Soccer this round, which is perfect since he will be old enough for U6 next session. They will actually both be in the same group for one session - hopefully Thomas can help his brother get the gist of the game playing!
Speaking of game times, Thomas has been getting better and better! He still prefers to hang back a little instead of getting after the ball, but he is definitely improving. I think he just has the heart of a goalie and that's not really a position they have the U6 group play.
Kiddie Soccer ends about 15 minutes before U6, so Henry gets to come over and cheer for his brother. He's definitely his brother's biggest fan! :)
Also, he is very particular about his socks. I always try to fold them over and he goes back and "fixes" them to this scrunched up weirdness. "It goes like this momma!" Ok...
Off to ski lessons! He was only getting half of his lesson time today thanks to the train, but half is better than missing all of it. Luckily the ski area is basically right up the hill from soccer, so it is pretty convenient! And doesn't he look super proud of himself getting geared up for his lessons?
Henry was pretty excited about getting to stay and watch the lessons today. And getting to hold the skis while Matt helped Thomas get all of his other gear on. Such a helpful little brohter!
I was probably most excited though - I haven't seen Thomas skiing either and Matt kept telling me what an awesome job he was doing. So I brought my zoom lens along for the day to get some photos of him in action. The bunny hill has a tow rope that he needed help with on the first day, but he was a pro at it by now! He walked right up to the line, looked back and grabbed it like a champ!
Once at the top, he got out of the way and waited for his instructor to catch up.
And skied down like a total champ! He was even managing to get some good turns in on the little hill. I missed exactly what happened at one point, but he fell halfway up the hill on the tow rope. I just noticed he was on the ground and his skis were off. I was worried no one would notice and help him out since the instructors have several kids.
But I shouldn't have worried. He quickly grabbed his skis and moved out of the way of the rope. He then put his skis back on by himself, skied down the hill and got back on the tow rope to go up. So proud of him!
Soon, he was headed over to the lift with the next level of skiers. He's obviously mastered the purple level skills and the instructors wanted him to get more skill practice in. He needed a little help getting on the lift, but then they were off!
Also, it's a little scary seeing your tiny kid on a lift for the first time. I'm sure it will be no big deal soon, but I am definitely not used to it yet. (And they don't have the safety bars on these chairs. Eeeek!)
Here he comes down the real hill! He had a little bit of trouble with speed control on this one and managed to plow into his instructor, but he still did pretty awesome for his first few attempts at skiing! :)
This guy was still excited for his brother!
On to the next exciting activity - the Holiday Train! Those might be the most half-hearted smiles they have ever given, but I promise they were excited. They just always get a little antsy until the train stars moving.
The activity book they handed out was super big this year! There were so many coloring pages to choose from for the coloring competition and they both picked the gingerbread house. Not to spoil it, but Thomas ended up getting a prize for his!
Henry didn't quite finish his and then panic colored when it was time to turn it in. He was still pretty upset about not winning though.
This train sells out so quick that it's easy to miss out on the fun. This year I sent out a reminder email to people that have told me they were interested as soon as the tickets went on sale. Luckily two of our friends managed to book tickets before they sold out the next day! Thomas was pretty excited to have his friend Lyla on board. (She is obviously more stylish than we are...)
Henry's friend Jaxson also joined us! They got *mostly* matching balloons and were super excited about it. The balloons were pretty adorable this year compared to previous years...
Also, I was excited that the two friends got to come because I also happen to be friends with the parents and got some grown up time in too. Win-win! :)
Cookie time! We were in the car next to the food car, so there were about 4 trays of cookies that went by smelling heavenly before we actually got our cookies. A little bit of torture on the train!
Finally Santa and Mrs. Claus came by! Thomas was all about saying hi, but Henry was not so into it. He told Santa he wanted "Nothing!" for Christmas. But Thomas definitely was ready with his answer: "Legos!" Which was when Henry decided that he also wanted Legos! Silly boy.
Overall, a super busy, but super fun day!
We might just chill out at home tomorrow though... ;)