A Hat Trick, a Shutout (sort of) and a Princess

This past weekend we spent Saturday morning at Prattville HS for the kids' soccer games. Clark's team had its biggest challenge so far this season. They played a team that was very physical and could score. Late in the game we were down 5-3 and we thought the game was lost. However, Clark and the other forward on his team had other ideas. Clark took a pass and broke for the goal and while the goalie tackled him to keep from scoring, Clark was still able to get the shot off and scored. With the game nearing an hour played, we didn't think we had another chance. Then the kick off was stolen, passed to the far side forward who then worked with Clark to move the ball down the field. Clark finished off the drive with a score from the left side! After the goal the referee blew the whistle indicating the end of the game. Tied 5-5!! Clark was the hero of the game with three goals!!!!

Ryan continues to be impressive at goalie. He loves stopping the other team and no one has yet to score on him. His team did give up some goals, but as Ryan is quick to point out...not on him!! He cracks us up...one minute he will be a social butterfly and the next he is yelling out instructions and focusing on attacking the ball. What a nut!

Then there is our princess. Emma was a trooper Saturday. Her team was short handed and thus were out numbered on the field. While careful not to mess up her hair, she did manage to get into the mix and kick the ball. She did get tired at the end of the game and was ready to go home and play with her toys. I don't think she gets into all the sports stuff, but she does have fun and that is all that matters.

Hi everyone!

Along with this update there is also a new addition of a link to our photo album. The latest group of pictures include photos of the big storm that rolled through the Montgomery area, Easter and the celebration of Clark's 10th birthday at the Randall's.

The Randall's are a family from the ward that are close to our age and have three kids, two boys and one girl. The kids' ages are close to our kids age and we all get along really well. Jason showed Carrson some speakers he purchased for cheap and so he thought he needed some too! So, we now have a new amplifier and speakers hooked up to the TV...how exciting.

We had an Easter egg hunt in the Randall's backyard and everyone had a lot of fun playing games and eating candy, cake and ice cream. Lori and Stephanie have hit it off real well and it is great to have someone to talk to.

This past Saturday we had a severe weather system that came through that produced a tornado on the south side of Montgomery and one near Tuskegee. So everyone can know we were safe, Tuskegee is an hour away and Prattville is 10 miles north of Montgomery!!! Anyway we did get a chance to go on our back porch and take some pictures of some awesome cloud formations...one of which looks kind of like a twister. We had lots of rain and more rain and more rain. We had a river going down our driveway and a water fall out our front door.

The kids are on spring break this week and while our friends, the Edwards of Kansas, had a "screen free" spring break, we are not so disciplined and have broken out the PlayStation and X-Box!! We appreciate the letters, phone calls and emails. We are all well and keep everyone in our prayers.
Love ya' -- the Drapers in the South

Soccer in the Air

I know we mentioned that the boys would be starting Baseball, but here in Alabama baseball and soccer run concurrently. So, we had the kids decide which sport they wanted to play and they chose Soccer. Last year was a good year for both Clark and Ryan as their skill level really improved, thanks to the help of some great coaches. Thus, their liking of the game increased as well.

Ryan enjoys playing goalie and loves it when he stops the other team from scoring. In this picture he stopped a penalty kick!! He is a great goalie. His only disappointment is that the coach doesn't let him play goalie all the time.

Clark is the main forward on his team. His skill level has really improved and has had several break-aways. While he hasn't yet scored in his first two games (his team won game one 1-0 and tied 0-0 in game two) he has scored a few goals in some scrimmage matches. His coach enjoys having him on the team and rarely pulls him out of the action.

Emma gets to play too! I'm not biased, but she is really cute in her soccer uniform. Notice the cool shirts. While she still demonstrates her princess qualities on the field, she had a break-away Saturday.

Each of them have two practices a week and they all play on Saturday. They take all their sports seriously here and it is fun to see the young men referees in full uniform as well. They even try to set the fields up like professional soccer. It is rewarding and makes us proud to see the kids do well in their sport.

Finally, An Update!!!!

It has been too long since the last update, for this we apologize. The spring has kept us busy to say the least. Dad has been busy at work -- working long hours and learning lots. Mom seems to be running here and going there. The trees have bloomed and the tulips are long gone. March was dry and warm. We experienced 80+ degree weather, but not much humidity.

Our Church callings seem to be going well. We have had three family home evenings with the Young Single Adults and they seem to enjoy themselves...at least we hope so. Since Clark teaches the High Priest every third Sunday, Stephanie helps by instructing the YSA's that week and she even "volunteered" to teach one other Sunday to give Clark a break from teaching. She does a great job!!!!

April is here and for the first two days we have had rain...lots of rain. It is strange for us. In Utah the rains are cool and refreshing. While here the rains are refreshing, it stays warm. Very different. Our grass is finally starting to green up...it seems like it has taken for ever for the grass to snap out of it. We think it may be due to the lack of water the lawn received last summer.

We will try to do better with the updates.
Love ya'
The Drapers