Jude went to his first international soccer match: Brazil vs Panama

Last weekend was the long Memorial Day weekend but I was away in China. We are gearing up for our first conference in China and I needed to be there to move things along. On the Sunday night I was supposed to take Jude to see his first ever soccer international – a friendly match between Brazil and Panama. Since I was away, Marcy booked a babysitter for Anna and she went with Jude. She said she had a great time – it was much more fun than she expected. Jude, of course, loved it. He is quite the soccer fanatic these days.

Speaking of soccer Jude did tryouts this week for next season. He is moving into the competitive league and he very excited about it. He made the blue team which was the second highest level for his age group. His teammates made the level below and while Jude was disappointed not to be on the same team as them his competitive spirit meant that he was also pleased to have ranked above them. The season will start in the late summer/early fall.

With our Chinese partner in Shanghai with the iconic TV Tower in the background

I arrived back from China on Wednesday afternoon and we didn’t have a whole lot scheduled this weekend which was nice. Saturday, we went for a hike in the morning and just hung out at home in the afternoon. It was a warm day so our neighbors pulled out their slip ‘n’ slide in the front yard.

Hiking at Lair o’ the Bear

Jude on our neighbor’s slip ‘n’ slide

Sunday Jude had flag football in the afternoon and in the morning I took Anna out to get the car washed and then to the playground for an extended 90 minute play. She is in to “training” these days. She is strong and wants to get stronger so she pushes herself as she is playing. She spent a long time on the monkey bars, doing chin-ups and just going back and forth.

Then when we got home after Jude’s football she wanted to continue her training. This time doing handsprings in the backyard. I caught this action shot of her below.

Anna doing hand stands and handsprings  in the backyard