Movin' to Badger Country!

The Doran's are moving to Wisconsin. Seems almost funny that I started out in Badger and am going to Badger Country.  We are super excited for Lant, he was promoted to Service Center Manager of Fond du Lac (which means "foot of the lake".) Fond du Lac sits at the base of Lake Winnebago (see picture of us above) and is not far from Madison, Milwaukee or Green Bay.   I'm also excited to tell you that we have bought a house there and will not be moving again for the foreseeable future!  Max's main house hunting request was to have a basement and we've fulfilled his needs (well that and he seems to think he should now have the master suite, but isn't happening). Holyn already wants to head to Lowe's to pick out paint chips for her room.  I love her enthusiasm, and  I feel the same way.  We will close on the house on October 25th, just in time for Halloween (I gotta find the winter coats). I better start practicing up on my "you betcha's" and other Wisconsin speak.  Our realtor thought my accent sound like New Jersey!

Game Day

Holyn and Max had their first soccer games today and both at the same time.  Luckily, they played on fields right next to each other.  Holyn was thrilled to find out her team wore teal uniforms (her favorite color).  Max's team wore red and are sponsored by the Vincennes Firefighters.  Both kids ran until they dropped, Max even came home with a couple bruises.  Holyn tried to kill it every time she kicked the ball and ended up losing a shoe a couple times.  She didn't care and just kept playing. (No worries, I got her new soccer cleats). Holyn informed me after the game that I am now officially a soccer mom.

Soccer Sarcasm

Sarcasm is a favorite for our family and seems to happen regularly. With that said, Max started outdoor soccer practice on Friday, and seems to think he's an old pro at the game (he played at the YMCA this past spring).  He ran and kicked with his teammates on the field for a while, then took his spot as goalie.  Lant tried to offer some constructive criticism to which Max had quite the comeback.  He yells (because my children only have one volume setting) "Dad, don't talk to me unless you're going to encourage me".  Everyone on the sidelines cracked up, including us.  It's now become the new catch phrase at our house.

Kicks like a Girl!

Holyn started soccer practice tonight and is on an all girl team.  She let us know on the car ride home, she actually prefers to be the only girl on a boys team, but that wouldn't be the case this time around.  She did a great job keeping her eye on the ball and kicking really hard.  I love the faces she makes right before the boot.  Look at that intensity!  Her first game is Sunday, at the same time as Max's team plays their first game (of course, right? And somehow I volunteered to help her coach out too.  I might need to start taping my mouth shut or something.)  Max has yet to have practice due to the holiday weekend.  He will be on an all boys team, and I think he's just fine with that. 

Kindergarten Cop

As I waited to pick the kids up from school today, I witnessed this gem.  Max's class exited their building and waited with their teacher (which happened to be a sub.) for their parents.  Before Max even looked for me, he had to halt a burglary in progress.  He grabbed his teacher's arm for attention and shouted, "Miss Pam, Miss Pam, Damien has some toys from the classroom in his backpack".  I decided to stand back and watch this unfold.  The teacher called Damien back to the steps and asked him if he had anything in his backpack that wasn't his.  The child shook his head no.  Miss Pam asked him again and then held her hand out for his backpack.  He kind of shook his head sheepishly and looked down, but inside the backpack were the classroom toys.  Damien got scolded by Miss Pam (right in front of his parents no less, who didn't seem to have a pulse either) and all was well in the world again. Max then gave his teacher a hug and told her to have a good weekend (yes, my buttons were bursting with pride). We later asked Max why he decided to tell on his friend, and Max replied "I asked him if he was going to bring the toys back so all the other kids could play with them, and Damien said he loved them and he was going to keep them.  I told him I was going to have to tell the teacher".  Lant gave him the nickname "Kindergarten Cop".  By the way, nice work officer!