Zach and Allie's First Trophies

Allie shows off her trophy.

It came as fast as a 5-year-old chasing down the ice cream truck, but Zach and Allie's first soccer season came to a close this past weekend.

And like most kids in the under-9-or-so crowd, the lure of trophies at the end of the final game was almost as exciting as Christmas morning.

Zach and his hardware.

"Mommyyy ... we get trophieees!" they squealed throughout the morning of their last game.

But the real prize is that they both loved playing. Allie was one of the younger girls on her team and sometimes unsure of what to do and where to stand and when to move, but when the ball was in motion, she chased it down with the rest of the pack. When she played goalie and the ball came her way, she punted it down the field with all her might.

Allie chases the ball.

Zach, too, made it his mission to pursue the soccer ball every time he was on the field, many times with his tongue lodged into his cheek. He also loved throw-ins, forcefully hurling the ball into play, just like Blake taught him.

Zach closes his eyes and punts the ball.

The other great part about their first soccer venture was doing it with Gabe and Riley, the twins across the street. The four of them (and Gabe and Riley's brother Jake) are inseparable. When the kids aren't at school or sleeping, chances are they're together.

Happy kids and their trophies.

Allie and Riley