Two more weeks and still no losses.

Well another two weeks have past and the Beard kids are yet to lose in soccer. Brooklyn's team went 1-0-1 and Maddux went 2-0. Brooklyn's team has had a dramatic turnaround as they have gone from worst to first. They are the number one seed heading into the tournament. Quite a change from being at the bottom of the league last season. Last week was very cold and rainy. You could tell that the girls didn't want to be out there and were very sluggish. The game ended in a 1-1 tie but on the bright side Brooklyn scored their one goal. That is just her second goal ever. Then yesterday they played the best team they have seen this year and ended up winning 1-0. The game was very defense centered but they did manage to score a goal in the first quarter. With that win they are the only team that has not lost this year and should have a first round bye in the tournament. They have a very good chance of winning the whole thing. That would be the perfect end to a season and team that has seen great improvements over the past year.


Brooklyn lining up to take a goal kick. One of the perks of playing defense.


Here she is tracking down the ball preparing to clear it up the field.

Maddux and his team continued their dominance of the U6 soccer league. They went 2-0 with two very impressive wins. Last week they won 10-0 with Maddux scoring 8 of the goals. Then yesterday they won 8-2 with Maddux scoring 7 goals. He is very aggressive and always going after the ball. While other kids are looking around and waiting for someone else to do something Maddux is off to the races. Jennie and I were talking the other day about how fun it will be to watch him play on a regular field. He has definitely mastered this league.


Maddux dribbling up the field with only one player to beat.


Maddux leading the pack on his way to one of his seven goals.


This is the sight for the majority of his goals. The only thing standing between him and another goal is a wide open soccer field.

Next week I will try to get some video of the games so you can see the real deal.

Brooklyn's 8th Birthday.

On Friday our big girl turned 8. It is amazing how fast the time has gone by. It seems like just the other day we were holding her in our arms. It has been such a pleasure to watch her grow up and develop into a little lady. We started out the morning by having Brooklyn's favorite breakfast, french toast. Then I took her out for lunch at Pizza Hut with her best friend Riya. Then we had all her friends over to our house for pizza, games, movies, fingernail painting and some cotton candy. Brooklyn then had 5 of her friends stay up all night and have a sleepover. It was such a fun time and I know that Brooklyn had a blast. We got extremely lucky as the weather was calling for severe thunderstorms all night and we really didn't get much at all. It allowed all the kids to spend most of the night outside playing on the trampoline and swing set while burning lots of energy and having a lot of fun. It was also very nice for us to have them all outside instead of running all around inside the house.


Here is Nolan with the marshmallow gun not knowing exactly what it was.


There was a lot of wrestling going on outside and here is Maddux getting dominated by Meghan.


Cannon getting beat up by just about everyone. You can see Maddux trying to help out but the boys were outnumbered and not very effective.


Brooklyn and Riya swinging on the swings.


This is everybody but 3 of the kids. I think we had a total of 20 kids at her party which made for a lot of kids and a lot of fun.


Bill was kind enough to bring over his projector so the kids could watch a movie on the wall. They watched Brooklyn's new favorite movie, The Princess and the Frog.


Brooklyn and Riya all cozy on the couch watching the movie.


Cotton candy machine was a big hit and a lot of fun for the kids. It is a little messy but I would definitely recommend it to anyone having a party. It is very cheap and makes a lot of cotton candy.


Not only was it Brooklyn's birthday but it was also her best friend Riya's birthday. Not only do they share a special friendship but they also share a birthday. We were glad that her family allowed her to spend the night with Brooklyn at her party. I know Brooklyn was very excited to have Riya over and is excited for Riya's party next week. Well another year has past which not only means that Brooklyn is another year older but also means that Jennie and I are another year older. It is amazing how fast the time goes by and we are just blessed to have Brooklyn in our family. Brooklyn, we love you very much and wish you a Happy Birthday. For those interested Brooklyn will be baptized on June 18th. We will have Jennie's whole family in town that week and are excited to have them share in her special moment.

And the Wins Keep Coming.

Well the kids have played two more weeks worth of soccer games and went 3 - 0. While Brooklyn had a bye week last week Maddux won 10 - 2 with Maddux scoring 9 goals. This week marked the first time this season when the kids played at the same time so I went to Maddux's game as Jennie coached Brooklyns. Maddux won again 9 - 0 with Maddux scoring 7 goals this game. He is just all over the field and usually a lot quicker and more aggressive to the ball. Some times I feel bad for the other kids because they don't have a chance against him. He had one goal this game where he blasted one of the other kids with the ball. The kid would just stay back by the goal and try to kick the ball out when our team got close. Well one time he wasn't quite quick enough and Maddux kicked it as hard as he could and drilled the kid in the side. The ball went in the goal and needless to say he didn't stand there the next time that Maddux came near.


This is Maddux breaking away from the other kids in route to one of his 7 goals.


Here he is getting right in the middle of the action while most of the other kids stand back and watch.

I was able to watch the first quarter of Brooklyn's game and they were up 3 - 0 when I left. There has been a big improvement with her team from last year. They are scoring a lot more goals and are playing better defense. They have doubled their win total from the last two years and are no longer the worse team in the league. It is fun to watch because the girls are having fun and it is nice to see their work pay off. The team that Brooklyn played yesterday was actually short a girl so Brooklyn got to play for them the first half and then another girl played the second half.


Brooklyn trailing the play just in case. She has become a very good defender and is starting to get a little more aggressive in her play.


Brooklyn right in the middle of everything helping her team get the ball out of there.


Nolan and Payton hanging out at Maddux's game.


Nolan is so ready to play soccer and should get his chance in the fall.


Payton just having a seat waiting for the game to end.


I love Payton's facial expressions.