Funny Pictures: Junior

I dunno.

Did we mention that the school pictures we took (and posted in the last posting) were taken here at home? By Jon? You've gotta know that makes for some interesting snapshots along the way. Especially when dealing with Junior. Junior is the natural thespian in the family, and his expressions can run the gamut. Here are some of the funny ones, beginning with "I dunno" above. Thanks JuneBug!
Did someone say to open my mouth a little more? Me squinting?! OK, how's this?
Wanna see my dance moves?
OK, I've had enough. Are we done now?
The Mug Shot
No, the cat doesn't have my tongue...
...it's right here!
Heh Heh Heh!

Look, I'm a fashion model!
The Imp
The Duh Look
Is this the smile you wanted?
We're done?? Yes!!!

Olive Garden & School Pictures

Well, tonight we finally made it to the new Olive Garden here in Rome! It was kinda spur-of-the-moment, last-minute. We used a gift card and enjoyed a wonderful meal! There was no wait at all, as we were seated immediately. We had ordered within 15 minutes and were eating salad and breadsticks shortly thereafter.
And in honor of the occasion, I bring you new school pictures of our little tykes, starting, of course, with the oldest.
Synthia Lura Caruvana

7 years old

Second Grade

Jonathan David Caruvana, Jr.
4 years old
PreschoolStephen Thomas Caruvana
2 years old
Future Linebacker

Julia Grace Caruvana
11 weeks old
Smilin', Laughin' & Talkin' up a storm!

Awana Grand Prix 2007

We skipped the Awana Grand Prix last spring and moved the event to the fall of this year. Boy, was it successful! We had a great turnout, with lots of participants, but it started long before the day of the race. Sylvia and Jon sponsored two work days at the church. We had several stations where kids could work on their cars. One station was at the band saw, where the parents or Jon could cut out the shape of the car.
Here you see Jon cutting out Junior's car. He wanted a Lightning McQueen race car. Jon had fun cutting out the cars, and figured that he cut out cars for 10 different kids for the race.
Sylvia helped Junior sand his car at the sanding station.
Rachel McCurry weighed her future Hershey Bar car at the weigh station. You can see the drilling station beyond. Weights could be added to bring the weight of the car up to the maximum.
This is Junior's finished car, a Lightning McQueen style vehicle. We gave it and Syndi's car whitewall tires. Junior helped cut out pictures from online and glue them to the car. Junior had fun spray-painting the car, too. When Daddy ran in to check on something that was cooking, Junior and Stephen wandered off into the garage and started spraying things, including boxes and the driveway. Fun!

Then came Race Day! We had probably 75 to 100 people there to watch. You can count over 50 alone in the picture above.
Here you see some of the cars entered in the race. Junior's is in the forefront. Syndi's is in the upper left. These cars were from the Cubbies (6 closer cars) and Sparks (11 far cars) groups.
A full view of the cars and trophies. T and T cars are the farthest group. Vicky (l) and Trudy (r) were some of the workers running the race.
The kids anticipated each race...
...and were excited at each finish!

Syndi's car was an Awana Airlines airplane design (forefront). Here it prepares to race against a colorful and wavy car.
Syndi and Carson watch at the finish line to see who wins their race.
The Caruvana family was out in full force supporting Syndi and Junior! Junior wasn't too thrilled about getting his picture taken.
The winners showed off their trophies. Neither Syndi nor Junior won any trophies for speed, but Junior won a trophy for design. Syndi won a design trophy last year. Both kids did a great job!

Junior In Soccer

Junior joins his team.

Junior began soccer this past week. This also is through the Rome-Floyd County YMCA. At fiirst he never got a call from his coach, but Syl called and found out there was a meeting to put kids on different teams two Saturdays ago. She showed up and discovered they were having more of a "tryout" where kids had to run and kick the ball. Junior, an "I-need-preparation" man like his father, was not ready for this. So he spent most of the time curled up on the field, especially when they decided to have a "game." Poor guy. Junior on the field to play.

Apparently his coach had dropped out, and they were working on a replacement. A different coach offered to have him come to his Tuesday practice and was ready to take him under his wing. A few hours before Syl and JuneBug were to go to this Tuesday practice, they received a call from his new coach, with instructions to come to a Thursday practice. So the Tuesday practice Junior was prepped for was now a no-go. Poor guy.Junior's team is ready to play.

So he was prepared for a Thursday practice, but on Thursday it rained, and practices were cancelled. So he had a game scheduled for Saturday, and had as of yet had no soccer practice or training. And of course this happened during one of our busiest weeks this summer, so we never got out to practice at home. Poor guy.

The teams are lined up to start the game.
So we showed up for Saturday's game (this past weekend), and here is how things went: Jon talked to Junior to encourage him to be ready to play, but when Junior got 10 feet from the team (lined up to practice before the game), he fell to the ground crying. Jon's attempts to encourage him to play only got Junior off the ground and standing by the other boys. He wouldn't participate. Poor guy. Junior stood while his teammates took off after the ball.
The coach came over and pulled him into the huddle. This is where the pictures show what happened. Junior just stood there and said nothing, not even answering to tell them his name. And as things got under way (pictures 2-5), you'll notice Junior is basically in the same stance, not having moved an inch. He joined in, but wouldn't move. The coach basically put him where he was, and he stood there. Junior kicking the ball on the sideline with the coach's son.
So the coach set him to the side working with some older boys, one of whom was the coach's son. At first Junior wouldn't move. Eventually he kicked the ball, and before long was playing actively with the son on the sideline. He was smiling and having fun.
Junior after he scored one of his "three goals."

At one point we asked if he was ready to play in the game, and he said yes. So we encouraged him to go tell the coach. He looked back timidly halfway across the field, and we told him to keep going, which he did. He told the coach, who then put him in the game! Junior began to run around with the other boys, and chased after the ball. Eventually he even scored some goals.Junior having a blast!
Junior ran, kicked, and had a lot of fun once he joined the game. Notice the tell-tale tongue hanging out of his mouth! He got knocked down (a few times), but got back up and went after the ball. He ran over to tell us after he scored a goal. He did a great job. Hopefully next week will be easier from the get-go. Hopefully we can get in a practice today!

YMCA Homeschool Swimming Class

Syndi and Junior are again enrolled in the Y's homeschool swim class. Syndi is in the older group (as seen above), comprised of students who can swim on their own. They do their class in the deep end of the pool.
Junior is in the younger class (as seen above), where kids cannot yet swim on their own. Syndi began here two years ago and is now a very good little swimmer. She's not fast yet, but is working on it.
Syndi is the smallest kid in her class. She seems so big to us, but seems so small next to these other kids. Above she is seen swimming with a kickboard, used to help focus on leg and kicking strength.
Junior uses a kickboard also, but because he cannot swim on his own. At first this year he struggled with being willing to swim. I think he's just getting a bad attitude in some areas.
But on the day Jon took the kids, he talked with Junior, who decided to enjoy the class that day. Notice the smiles and "sticking-his-tongue-out" excitement.
JuneBug used this pole to work on going underwater in the deep end.
And back in the shallow end, he worked on floating on his back. He did very well that day, and boy was he proud!
Syndi did well, also. She really enjoys swimming. Here she practices diving form as she dives through a hoop. This has been a great opportunity for homeschooled kids to learn how to swim at the YMCA.