H's Season-Ending Soccer Tourney

(Written by Hayes)

 

This year, with Hayes' soccer team, he participated again in the end-of-the-year soccer tournament throughout the last weekend before school ends. The setup is you play 2 games on Saturday, one Sunday morning, and if you make it, the championship Sunday afternoon. Early Saturday, Hayes played and won his first game 4-0. Later, Hayes tied 0-0 in a hard-fought battle. Sunday morning, Hayes and his team clinched a trip to the championship with a 5-3 victory.

Hayes and his team WON later that day 4-1!! It was Hayes' first championship in three appearances. He played good, quick, and most importantly confident soccer and had so much fun!!

Here he is below with his good buddies Martin and Owen, who are also on the team.

Receiving his gold medal from Coach Alex,

And finally a team picture with the golden trophy \ cup.

Posing with his medal.

Hayes played tremendous out there and he can't wait to try out again for the team come June!

Hayes's Poetry

 

Hayes's class spent the last few weeks of school working through a poetry unit.  Of all of the poems he wrote, this one below is my favorite. 


I once knew this boy who collected his tears
In a real silver cup. He saved them for years.

Each time he cried he would catch every drop
'Till they filled up his cup; 'Till they spilled out the top.

This boy carried his tears through sunshine and storm
And he once took a sip. It was salty and warm.

He remembered each sad day from when he was young
But he still tasted joy on the tip of his tongue.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day fell amidst the craziness of May.  Both boys made me cards at school that they shared with me.  Hayes's card

incorporated some of his sarcastic humor as he (1) copied some cartoon headlines he got from our Week magazine (in the middle in black) and (2) listed my "favorite" people.  Ben's first card was from school

 

and then he made the second card when he determined that he had made me mad about something.  

Look who we ran into at the mall!

(Written by Ben) 
Me, mom, and Hayes all went to the mall while Eleanor was at a birthday party at the mall.  We ate at Bantam Biddy then when we were going to look around Hayes spotted Dwight Howard!! I looked and could not find him but then I spotted him.  He was like 7'5! We went in the store and took a picture with him.  Mom was to embarrassed to go in so a nice lady took our picture with him and Hayes talked with him for a little. It was a really fun night!

Brandon Field Day

Written by Hayes:

 Another Field Day is in the books. This year, the theme was "Olympics", with the Summer Olympics coming up in Rio de Janeiro. Each grade level was required to wear the same color shirt, as each grade also represented a country. Here is Ben with his good buddy Emmy is they marched onto the field.

And Ben with his classmates.

With Hayes' 4th grade, they wore the color white and represented India. Here are Hayes and his classmates doing the Bhangra dance.

The very beginning of the hysterical dance.

Later that day, Ben would have his Field Day fun and games. Hayes would later have his on Friday. After all, it was another very successful Field Day 2016. Happy May!

One note: This was Hayes' last Field Day at Morris Brandon, as he will be at Westminster next year.

Dixie - My Sweet Companion

In the afternoon, before I walk to pick up the boys from school, I often sit in my favorite green chair, drink my afternoon coffee and finish up any part of the two papers we get daily that I have not read yet.  Dixie always joins me in this spot, either behind the chair just by the air vent or sitting up with her head on the arm rest of the chair, waiting for me to acknowledge her existence with a lovepat on the head. 

Ben's Spring French Performance

Hi this is Ben. I will tell you about my French Performance. 

 

We sang 6 songs. The Performance was really fun. I kind of shaked my legs to the music. We sang 2 Music songs and 4 French songs. My class sang 1 French song about your parts of your head in french. We sang the days of the week French song. we sang colors in French. For our regular Music songs we sang "I'm a Tamborine Kid" and "We're Making Music". I was happy to see my mom and dad there I had a great time. I think we sang very good!

Deep Thoughts from Ben

Poor Ben.  Being the third kid is hard.  He told me the other day in the car when we were driving home from taking Hayes to soccer, "I know too much about the world for my age."

Italy Trip - Venice

For Spring Break this year, we ventured to Italy with Papa.  This trip was the kids' first outside the U.S. so they were both excited and a little anxious.  (Ben was especially nervous about being in a country where we didn't speak, nor understand the native language.)  We flew to Rome, left Papa there for the weekend and immediately hopped on the train from the Rome airport to Venice where we spent Saturday and Sunday nights.  Once we arrived in Venice mid-afternoon on Saturday, our hotel arranged for a water taxi to take us to our hotel in the center of Venice.

In case you were wondering, the weather was cold and wet. 

The Palazzo Stern, our hotel, was located on the Grand Canal and we could watch the boat traffic from our bedroom windows.  We all got a kick out of the police,

 

firetruck, plumber, produce boats and more that passed by our hotel.  I took this photo the next day, when the sun shone for a bit.  Our hotel is the red brick one in the middle of the picture with the white umbrellas set up out front. 

Venice experienced "high water" on our first night there.  The alarms sound throughout the city and raised walkways are set-up along all of the streets as "high water" signals that the canals will flood the city.  Venetians all own "waiters" or rain boots that they were on these occasions as the water can get over knee-high.  We were told San Marco Square flooded that night as the combination of the high tide, wind and rain made for one of the highest "high water" levels of the year.

We started our Sunday in Venice with a guided tour of the highlights of the city.

We walked all over the city streets and wish we had had more time to explore some more!

Here is the gondolier headquarters where many rest their gondolas (and their hats) when they aren't working.

Here we are on the Academia Bridge

and some of the regal homes that line the Grand Canal just west of the bridge. 

One of Venice's symbols is the winged lion which we noticed all around the city as it also represents St. Mark who is believed to the buried in St. Mark's Basilica in San Marco Square. 

And here we are in the famous Square with the Basilica just behind the kids. 

We went to the top of the San Marco Bell Tower

 

and found this view of the city

and more winged lions in the square. 

Here the kids are standing on the risers that were still out from the high water the night before. 

San Marco Square is also famous for its pigeons.  I told the kids that the last time I was there (summer before my senior year in college) I chased pigeons in the square so they wanted to do it too!

We passed the Bridge of Sighs

 

before starting our walk back to our hotel after a great pizza and pasta lunch near the square.  Everywhere you looked, you would find tiny canals leading to people's boats and their homes.

Here is the hotel where George Clooney got married, located on the Grand Canal just down from the Rialto Bridge (which was under scaffolding while we were there so not worth a photo in my opinion). 

The sun was out in the afternoon so we grabbed this picture of the kids at the hotel overlooking the canal. 

Later, when we ventured out before dinner, many of the boats were back home for the night, either in their boat garages our tied to their piers.