Sami's game

Yes, this was the same weekend...we had 7 games to go to this weekend. The coldest weekend of the year (we are actually supposed to get snow sometime between Mon-Wed this week!). Sami played well and scored a great goal as an outside midfielder! Too bad mom didn't get it on film. Anyhow, they took 3rd in the tournament and she got her first trophy. :) They are preparing for their State Cup in Jan. Congrats to our Sami girl!

KK Season Finale

I can't believe it. Michaela's first club soccer season is officially over. After tryouts in Feb, beginning practice in March, spring league, summer tournaments/practice, fall league, State cup and multiple fall tournaments...it was over today with our last home tournament. The girls finished strong. It was ridiculously cold today (33 deg when I left home at 8am) and it got colder through the day. KK took a very hard ball to the face (see pic with big red mark on her face) where they stopped the game to let her recoup during her the first game -- she actually cried, which doesn't happen very often -- and the second game she rolled on the ball and a player clocked her again (see the photo where she is in white jersey diving for the ball). Sigh. She sort of lives for those moments, since she doesn't always get action. Call me a sicko, but I'm sad to see the season end. Truth is, I don't like goodbyes and this is the end of a wonderful season, with great parents and awesome kids. I hope it's the first of many fun seasons for KK. She has been invited to guest play with a neighboring club for some tournament down in SoCal (maybe Anaheim) during Jan, so we'll see...

"I Want it Now!"

Christmas Program

Ellie's cute school Christmas program was last night. They make the cutest little sweatshirts for them to wear. :) Sami got to be one of the announcers at it and then also got to perform a selection from Willie Wonka as a teaser for the upcoming performance in Jan (she is the 'snotty brat' - Veruca Salt). She did great, although the lame sound people didn't have her mic on the first program and second program again, it came on half way though...but she pulled it off like a pro. :) We'll try to put a snippet of Sami singing on soon.

Ellie funnies

Ok, so I know I've said this before, but Ellie is the funniest kid! She makes us laugh all the time. Yesterday we were walking outside the gym, she said something and I told her "Ellie, you're so smart" to which she replied "yep, pretty much...I already know'd that". She's a humble little thing too. :)

Brian took her to Lowe's today and when they were on the way in, there was a hot dog stand with a young African-American kid sitting there eating a hot dog, and Ellie pointed to him and said "Hey dad, that guy looks like Barack Obama." Brian said 'what'??? And she repeated it again. The funny this is, Brian said he did kinda look like him. I would tell you again how smart she is, but you already know'd that.

NORCAL State Cup CHAMPIONS!

It's hard to express how exciting it was to watch these girls this season. They are such a great little team of 8-10 year olds (U10's) and little did we know when season began that their journey together would culminate with a NORCAL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP - Platinum Division!!! It was a tremendous accomplishment that they can't even begin to grasp...they just play each game to win. It was a 3 month journey and lots of games in-between, but they just did so well.

The final championship game was against a Mustang team and the girls won 2-0. Michaela had such an awesome game with some incredible stops that were just breathtaking! Her coach allowed her to take the State Cup trophy home first (they will pass is around) for her performance. I believe they are ranked about 9th in Northern California. They certainly will be fun to watch over these next years!

Ellie to the Pumpkin Patch

The annual Kindergarten Pumpkin Patch trip...lots of fun! Ellie's first trip in a "big bus" was great for both of us. Can't believe my baby girl is in school...

Ellie's 5th Birthday

Ellie's 5th birthday was also spent at home. She seemed to delight in each gift and it was just fun to watch her. Notice that she picked the "Spiderman" theme for her balloons and her candle on her cake. Ellie got a Target gift card and she picked out a game for her new Leapster and then had just enough money to buy the complete Batman outfit, which she wears all the time (including to public places, like the new Chick-fil-a that we visited)!

Slacker!

I could give a thousand excuses on my lack of blogs for the past month, but I better just start with the highlights. I'll list each post and photo set separately so it's easier to follow. Tessa's 8th birthday...mellow and at home. She got her Nintendo DS Lite and is in electronics heaven. :)

Cheez-Its Anyone?

Ellie and I were in the car driving to who knows where, rockin' out to Tessa's new Kids Hillsong CD she got for her birthday. A song came on and the guy began to rap, and Ellie said "I don't like this song, I like the one about Cheez-Its." I asked her to repeat it and she started singing until I realized that in the original song they were shouting out "Jes-us". I had to clarify with my food-loving-daughter that they were singing about Jesus, not Cheez-Its. I guess she is her mother's daughter!

Ellie's First SOCCER Game

So Ellie had her first game a week ago Saturday. She was mad at me because I forgot her water so she played hard for about the first quarter (8 minute quarters) and then checked out. This last weekend we definitely remembered a Gatorade for her, and she made it all the way to end of the third quarter before asking Brian when snack time would be (of course, while she was on the field and the ball was in play). She is one of the littlest ones out there, and isn't overly aggressive, but is pretty funny to watch. Their team keeps getting killed (5 of their 9 players are 4 years old, playing in the 4-6 league)..but hey, who's keeping score?

Michaela's 10th birthday

I'm procrasting folding the weeks worth of laundry, so thought I'd post KK's birthday pics. We had to squeeze her birthday in after we picked her up from school and an unusual Thursday night game (more on this in a minute). Michaela has asked for about 3 years for a violin. We told her after 2 years of piano we would consider it. So she reminded me about a month ago that she was starting her 3rd year of piano and when could she start violin. We decided (along with some family members) to get her the violin for her 10th birthday. Do you know that there are a kazillion different kinds of violins??? I finally found a guy online who taught strings for 44 years who found her a beautiful instrument for a reasonable price. So needless to say, when KK opened her present, she was beside herself. :) It was one of those priceless moments.

We then jammed to the fields where KK got to be a captain. They played an awesome game, winning 2-0. KK was on fire! At the end of the game for this particular game (a seeding game), each team takes 5 penalty kicks to be put into a computer score (not affecting this game, but perhaps seeding in the future) and KK stopped all 5 of the other team's PK's and our girls made all 5 of theirs...it was a great birthday. But the best part is that a friend pulled some strings and invited Brandon (goalie for the Fresno Fuegos -- our semi-pro team) to come watch KK play since he coached her at goalie camp this summer, and he actually came to watch her after his practice. She didn't see him until after the game, I had Brandon holding the Soccer cake with the box lid in front of his face and when we sang her Happy Birthday, I pulled the lid down and she saw it was him. She was shocked! It was very fun. She said it was her best birthday ever (didn't she say that last year????). :) Can't believe she is now double digits. Enjoy the pics...they speak a thousand words.

Ellie's first soccer practice

After years of asking when she could play soccer, Ellie was finally able to go to her first practice! Of course, we couldn't find shin guards small enough, but she managed just fine. She is on a team with 7 boys and 2 girls. I wasn't sure how she would do, but she definitely would get in there and hold her own. It was very cute. I even caught Ellie doing a pull-back move when they practiced changing directions! Games to come in a couple of weeks. They only play 3 on a field with 2 fields going at the same time, so it should be interesting. And of course, enjoying a little Taco Bell after practice...