More Soccer Shots

Here are some more shots of the winning game. I was glad to see Sam playing more offensively as he is often more of a defensive sweeper. Way to go Sam!

Sam's Soccer Game

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Well, guess who got roped into coaching again. To be fair, I actually volunteered to coach the team, but Sam was a bit reluctant to have a "girl coach". Since Mike has never played the actual sport before and since I was a Newton Tigers soccer star, prior to my high school and college field hockey career, I probably would have been a good choice. But no, Mike won out and he is now seriously the best coach out on the field. He puts so much time and effort into planning each practice and really takes pride in what he is doing. And Sam is thriving and loving being with his Papa.

Kayaking in Austin

The four of us took a little day trip up to Austin last week and enjoyed some kayaking on Town Lake where we saw fish and lots of turtles sunning on a nearby rock. We then went to the Austin Nature and Science Center where we saw lots of animals indigenous to Texas, which of course, included REPTILES! Just can't seem to get away from them!

Beat Boys!

Here are the Piesman brothers reeking havoc on the escalators at the airport!!! Look at those faces!

Rosh Hashanah

It is so rare that these boys actually get dressed up, I tend to see them in mesh shorts and t-shirts all day. So it was so nice to see them dressing up for the holidays...what cuties!

Team Effort

Albino Snake and Emerald Tree Boa

It took almost all of the kids at the party to lift up this snake. Sam asked if we could get one of these at our home, thankfully I convinced him that our home was too small...it worked, for now.

Pythons

Sam enjoyed wearing 3 pythons around his neck and was even asking the Reptile Man if he had a fourth! This boy is not frightened of anything slimy or slithery, that is for sure!


Here is Sam showing his friends how brave he can be!

More Reptiles

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One of Sam's favorites were the two large and two small bearded dragons, one even rested on Sam's head, another on my shoulder. Tyler tried to get into the action by putting a fake lizard on his friend, Walker's, head.

The Reptile Man

What can I say, Jerry Foster, a.k.a The Reptile Man, is incredible! The kids loved him, the adults loved him (even the non-reptile loving me). He brought about 20 animals in all and most of them, except for Princess, this very large iguana, were free for the touching. It was a great day and Sam (and most of the partygoers) agreed that it was one of the best parties ever.

Sam's Birthday and Party Preparation

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I spent some time deciding if I could actually make a snake cake or not and, with Mike's help, and lots of poor frosting attempts, we finally came up with the Emerald Tree Boa snake. To be honest, I was hoping for the coral snake, but I cannot tell you what a challenge it is to try to make boatloads of black frosting, clearly not a novice task. Sam awoke the morning of the 21st with balloons all over the house ready for his birthday. The color theme for the party was a reptile green and brown, quite fitting and there were lots of fake snakes and lizards around. Let's just say that Sam was in heaven!

The Best Pinata EVER!

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Martha and her whole family spent 3 weeks crafting the most spectacular pinata for Sam's party! They really should consider going into the pinata making business. It was fantastic and as big as Sam and Tyler. I filled it, not with the usual sweets and candy, but instead with all things REPTILE! There were squishy lizards and snakes and reptile tattoos and hanging snakes and reptile silly bandz...you name it, it was in there and the kids LOVED it!!! Thank you Sarmientos.

UTSA Football...Finally!

We went to the first ever UTSA football game in the Alamodome with our friends, Clara, Tessa, Michelle and Mike Jaffe. San Antonio has never had a college team and somehow, UTSA just snuck into Div. I in its first season. We helped break the record for college game attendance at this game, go San Antonio, showing some fan spirit. The following weekend, we also had a great visit from our Atlanta friends, Lexa, Jamie, Melissa and Mike. We enjoyed time at Sea World and around our neighborhood. Very fun!

Sam's Birthday at School!

Sam enjoyed his 6th birthday with his new friends in his kindergarten class. Mike, Martha and I were there to celebrate and hand out the treats...dirt pudding! Sam requested the concoction and made it for all of his friends, basically chocolate pudding with crushed oreos on top and an animal cracker and then gummy worms-a true muddy treat!

Sam Practicing Piano...again

Sam Playing Piano