Sereno Classic Soccer Tournament

This is one of those weekends I will never truly be able to completely describe in words.  We had to go to Phoenix on Friday for a 6pm game.  Samone went down with Lily.  Me, David and the kids went down around 2pm.  We checked in to our hotel and let the kids swim a bit while we cooked some hot links on the BBQ!!!  We headed over to the game.  It was certainly chilly out.  It was a good game.  We won 2-0!!  Samone stayed the night with Lily, so it was just the four of us at the hotel!!  The kids went right to bed.  The next morning we took our time getting ready, met Mary to pick up Samone and Lily, then headed of to "The Hood" four our League game!!!

Very interesting game.  The ref made 14 calls against us and 1 for us!!  It was so crazy.... It almost got to be kind of fun!!  Fortunately, we still managed to pull off a tie game, which put us in first place for our League and secured our spot in moving back up to State League next year!!!  WooHoo!!!

We got sandwiches and went back to the condo to let the kids lay around the pool for awhile!!!

Our next game was a tougher one!!  The Blackhawks 01 team.  It was 0-0 at half.  Then we scored early in the second half.  We got a PK called in our favor in the box!!!  Samone and Morgan both wanted to take the shot, but Samone got it!!  AND SHE MISSED IT!!!  Oh it just  killed her.  We ended up losing 2-1!!!  It SUCKED!!!!

That night the Hazlett's came to our condo and we bbq'd at the pool and let the kids swim!!  It was nice!!  Kids got to bed a bit late!!  The next morning David told Samone and I to go to the game so Kendall and Adrien could sleep in!!

That was a game!!!!  This time it was Sereno 01.  Pretty even the whole game.  0-0 at half!!  Then Val scored on a corner!!!  Unfortunately, they also scored and we ended in a tie..... going in to PK's!!!  PK's are HORRIBLE!!!!  I was so nervous I could barely watch!!!

Sereno went first and missed!!!
Samone went next and......... MADE IT!!!  This was her redemption to herself for missing that PK in the game.
Then Sereno again and they missed again!!!
Then Sierra.  She missed too.... just above the net.
Sereno's 3rd player made it!!
Then Alyssa was  up and MADE IT!!!   Oh I can not even explain the energy going on!! Everyone was up and pacing!!  It was crazy!!!
Sereno was up again and missed again.  So now it was 2-1.  If we made the next shot we would win! Morgan was up!!! SHE MADE IT!!!!  Oh my goodness!! We were all jumping up and down!!  It was so exciting!! I can't even explain it!!  We were going into the Championship!!!!  And guess who we were playing again.....  Blackhawks 01 team!!

Well, Samone and I went to collect the rest of our family.  We got checked out of the hotel and went to Streets of NY to eat!!  Got some Jamba Juice.... a bit of a mistake because first I spilt some on my seat then Adrien knocked a hole in Kendall's and it spilt all over her seat!!!  What a mess!!

But, the game!!  Oh my!!  I have to say it was a very different game then the first one we played against them.  This one, we clearly dominated.  It was 0-0 with like 5 minutes left in the game!!!  Then Sofie was able to get one in the net!!!  We thought we had it!!  Then, through some shady circumstances, they scored, with like 30 seconds left in the game!!  CRAZY!!!  So, off to PK's we go.... AGAIN!!!!

It was more than our old hearts could handle!!  We wanted this win so bad!!  SAMONE was up first.....
I almost couldn't watch!!  But SHE MADE IT!!  It just sailed in the net!!!
Blackhawks were up..... They missed!!!!  1-0 us
Next up, Sierra.....  SHE MADE IT!!!  Her redemption!!
Blackhawks were up.. They missed again!!!  2-0 us
Next up Alyssa..... SHE MADE IT!!!!  So Blackhawks had to make the next one....
Blackhawks up....  Mackenzie made an amazing block and THEY MISSED!!!  3-0 US!!!
WE WON!!!

OMG!!!  WE WERE ALL JUMPING AND CHEERING!!  THE TEAM ALL RUSHED TO MACKENZIE AND JUST SEEING THEM ALL OUT THEIR, JUST THE GIRLS, OUR THEIR CELEBRATING AND CONGRATULATING EACHOTHER!!  IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH!!

So many times we have been the ones walking away with our heads hung low, consoling our kids!!1  But now.... two weekends in a ROW!!!  WE WERE THE CHAMPIONS!!!  The girls were all running around spraying each other with water and just being silly and crazy!!  They were all just so happy.  And even the parents!!  We were so happy for them!!!

We have had so many downs, these recent ups have been so refreshing!!!!  And Samone just ROCKED IT!! She played defense the whole weekend and it was actually the first time EVER that I wasn't hoping they would put her in Mid!!  She needed to stay in D if we had any chance of winning!!  Stay in D she did and WIN WE DID!!!!

Samone played 100% of 5 games in three days!!!  We figured it was about 330 minutes of soccer!!!  Sweet little thing was EXHAUSTED!!!  I let her stay home on Monday just to recuperate!!  She is a rock star!!  So proud of my Sweet Samone and so proud of her team!!

My Birthday Weekend

What a fabulous "Birthday Weekend" I had!!  I woke up to a shower of gifts and hugs and cuddles from my sweet loves.  David took Kendall and Adrien up to Snow Bowl.  I went and treated myself to a Manicure/Pedicure then picked Samone up from school and she and I met the others up at Snow Bowl.  We sat and enjoyed the GORGEOUS weather outside and ate some lunch before hitting the slopes!!!  It was an amazing day of skiing.  Then we went straight from there to Sakura for dinner!!!  It was a great treat and we got a fun and entertaining chef!!  Then home to relax on the couch with some wine and American Idol.

In the morning, we were off to Phoenix for the Blackhawks Invitational Soccer Tournament!!!  Samone is just an amazing soccer player and I love watching her play!!  They won their first game!!  We checked in to our hotel - Mark's timeshare condo!! It is a great place to stay!!  Then back to the fields for game two!!  They won again!!  Woo Hoo!! We stopped at a Sport's Grill for dinner then headed back to the condo.  We all went and sat in the hot tub for a bit before bed!!

The game the next morning, we won again!!  So we had to stay in Phoenix a bit longer!!!  So we grabbed some sandwiches and hung out at the fields and watched some other soccer games and hung out with some of the team.

So, the championship game!!!!  They WON!!!  WOW!!!  The first place champions for the first time since they were U9's playing in Las Vegas!!!!  It was a great way to wrap up the weekend!!  It really was a fabulous weekend!!!

Games

ADRIEN loves playing games!!  He will get the game out, get it all set up, get everyone's places all set up and then start begging us to play!! It is just too cute and, of course, we have to play!!  He just enjoys it so much!!!
Right now we are playing Apples to Apples.... me and the kids!!  I love that we can all play and everyone can read the cards and play by themselves without any help!!!  These are the special times!!!!!

PF Changs Rock n Roll Half Marathon

We have been training for this for the past 4 months.... and finally the day has arrived...  The PF Chang's Rock n Roll Half Marathon!!!

Cindy came up to Flagstaff on Friday night to stay with the kids.  On Saturday morning, David, Samone and I head to Phoenix to her soccer game!!! It was a very depressing soccer game!!  After the game, Samone left with Lily and we headed to check in to the race.  We ate lunch first.  It was nice.  We sat outside at a Greek restaurant in downtown Phoenix.  Then we headed to the Expo to check in and walk around!!!  We checked in to our hotel and then headed to downtown Scottsdale.  We walked around a bit then headed to Bucci de Pucci to meet Kari, the Wrights, Donn Merrick and another friend of theirs for dinner!!  We got back to our hotel and relaxed a little before heading to bed!!!

RACE DAY!!!  Up at 5:30am!!  We got ready and then headed to the lobby to catch our shuttle to the race!!  ONLY THERE WAS NO SHUTTLE!!!  The shuttle was stuck in traffic!!  It got pretty frantic, with so many of us racers there waiting for the shuttle!!  The manager on duty was nice enough to drive us in her own car!!  She got up pretty close!!!  As soon as we got there, we found our corral!!  It really is just such an exciting event!!  All the people, the music, the atmosphere!!!  It really gets you pumped up!!!  AND WE"RE OFF!!!  We separated pretty quickly!!  My goal was two hours so I was keeping my eyes open for the 2 hour marker!!  I passed the 2:15 marker pretty quickly.  David caught up with me about mile 6.  That was about when I closed in on and passed the 2 hour marker.  That is also about when my leg started giving out on me!!!  OH MAN, it was HURTING!!!  I just started praying!  I was praying and praying that God would just let me finish this race in 2 hours.  I could not let this slow me down!!  I was so determined to finish this race in 2 hours!!!  I knew I had a good distance between me and the 2 hour marker, so I did ease up a bit!!  David and I were running together for awhile, he just a few seconds ahead of me.  Then he headed over to one of the stations to get a drink and I lost him!!!  I wasn't sure if he was ahead of me or behind me.  At this point, about mile 10, I just had to put my head down and focus!!  Then the  2 hour marker was about to pass me!! Oh no, I had eased up too much.  But my leg was killing me!!!  I was so afraid it was going to give out on me!!  More prayer and more focus!! I was able to put some distance between me and that marker again!!  When I passed the finish line I knew I was under 2 hours, but not sure by how much!!! Drum roll please......

1 hour, 57 minutes and 11 seconds!!!  I was on cloud nine!!! I DID IT!!!  However, once I quit running, I now could barely walk at all!!!  I found David.  He was 2 hours 1 minute!!  Apparently his stomach started bugging him and he actually threw up!!!  Poor guy.  He was pretty upset about it!!  We got our snacks and then headed off to the meeting spot.  We had our free beer and met up with everyone!!!  We walked to Hooter's to meet up with everyone and I was in so so so much pain I could barely walk.  By the time we finally got back to the hotel I was hurting so bad!!!  But it was so worth it!!  I am so proud of myself and so proud of my time!!!!  Can't wait to do it again!!!

Life is Good!!!

I mean... Really Really GOOD!!  The kids are all doing great in school.  I am able to volunteer at Knoles regularly.  I even volunteered a bit at Sinagua.  I have been running a lot and have already really improved my speed!!!  I am running at about a 9.4 minute mile pace!!!  My inspections have been really flowing well and I never feel overwhelmed with them!!!  I have been able to keep up on the house and chores so that when the kids get home I have had time to visit with them, do homework with them and just ENJOY them!!  They are also older now and able to entertain themselves without needing my constant attention!!  They do still go at it with each other from time to time, but hey... that's life!!

The other day Samone and Kendall spent the entire afternoon in the office teaching themselves how to "knit"  It's not perfect knitting, but they are able to make pretty cool scarves!!  Adrien is just soaring academically!! He is so smart.  I really want to spend some time working with him and Kendall more to get them really ahead in math!! They are all three so so so smart!!  They just amaze me.

And my wonderful husband!! Oh how I adore him.  Yes, he can drive me nuts occasionally.  But I also drive him nuts, too!!!  But he takes such good care of all of us and we are just blessed to have him! I could not imagine my life without him!!!

So, that's it for now.... Just that LIFE IS GOOD!!!

FOOTBALL!!!!

So, Adrien is playing football!!!  I know, some people think we are totally crazy for letting our 6 year old play tackle football....  But they don't know Adrien!!!

Practice started the frist week of August.  Then they had their draft pick.  Adrien was picked for the RAMS!!!!  WooHoo!!  He was super excited.  Then we started practicing with the RAMS!!!!  For the first two weeks practices were 4 days a week for 2 hours.  WHEW!!!  This is not for the weak at heart!! This is some intense stuff.  The first 10 hours are all conditioning.... then they get into the good stuff!!!!  And Adrien has just LOVED it.  He is only one of two 6 year olds on his team.  He only plays defense, on the line.  He doesnt get tackled, his job is to tackle.  Over the past several weeks, he has really been picking it up!!  He has been doing great!!!  Now we practice 3 nights a week (T, TH, F) and have games every Saturday.  We have had some home games and some traveling games.  This weekend we travel to Prescott Valley. It'll just be me Adrien and Kendall.  David and Samone are going to her tournament in Phx!!!  We are now having to split up with everyone's schedules!!!  It does get a little crazy, but we love it!!!

GO RAMS!!!

Fall is Here!!!

Adrien didn't have practice this Friday.... very unusual!!!  So we decided to do something as a family.  The kids all voted for swimming, since it's been so hot this past week!!!  Well, about noonish, clouds started rolling in, thunder lightening and then the rain!!  It poured!!!  It was cold and wet and gray outside.  So it was perfect movie weather.  We all cozied up in the living room and watched RIO.  I got our fall decorations out and we decorated the house.  After dinner we hopped in the car and headed to Yogurt U, and new self-serve yogurt shoppe in town!!!  Yum Yum!!!  We got home and played some Wii bowling before sending everyone off to bed!!!

Then we all actually got to sleep in on Saturday!!!  Samone made everyone pancakes for breakfast!!!  We got ready and headed off to Samone's soccer game!!  The game was stressful, as always!!! But Samone ROCKED IT, as always!!!  We ended up tieing the game 1-1.  After the game, our little family headed downtown the Oktobefest!!!  It was fun, we stayed for about an hour.  We got the kids a pizza and brought them home.  We left them at home and headed down the street to Jotini's to meet Mike and Tami!!!

After awhile, we decided to drop Lauren off at our house with the kids and we all headed to the Muesum Club.  We actually ended up at the bowling alley and bowled two games!!!  It was so much fun!!!  Sunday was cold and rainy all day long.  Kendall's soccer game got cancelled, so we just hung out at home all day Sunday getting stuff done around the house and watched football!!!!  Fall is here!!! I love it!!!!