Soccer season

Fridays and Saturdays have been spent at the soccer field again with Norah. She loves soccer and it is fun watching her play as she averages a couple of goals each game. She doesn't love going to practices and she has an interesting dynamic this year with her coaches both being 12 years old, (don't get me started on that one), but given that she still plays very well. 

Norah on 4 defenders and she still dribbled in for the goal. What a beast!

Turning it around and heading back down to the field. 

GOOOOAAALLL!

 

She always ends with a smile on her face. (The yummy snacks help too!)

Soccer Playoffs

Grace has decided that in the fall she would like to play volleyball. Given that she wants to be involved in everything, we told her if she wanted to try something new, she had to give something else up. She chose to not reenroll for soccer in the fall. It was bitter sweet watching her play in the playoffs this year knowing that it may be the last time she plays. She ended the season off strong!

We love #20!

Switching seasons

Off the court and back to the field. The girls were pretty sad to see basketball season come to a close, but we're back to the soccer fields. Emma decided not to return for the spring season as she wasn't interested anymore and wanted to try softball in its place. We couldn't be happier for her as she doesn't miss it one bit.

Norah is still a beast on the field. She's been watching her big sisters enough that she just kind of "gets it" and plays very well. 

Grace still really enjoys soccer, but I think she's trying to soak up every minute of it this season as she is contemplating trying volleyball in place of soccer next year. As much as we hate to do it, we told her she has to start choosing what she wants to play to avoid having her too over-scheduled. the kid loves everything she tries. 

Goodbye basketball season. Grace played in her last 3 on 3 tournament and was sad to hang up her bb shoes for a bit. 

She had a great season, with a great coach. This team has been together since kindergarten so it was really sad to see the season come to an end knowing that they will not all play together as Jaguars again. Bring on the Royals...a new season awaits. 

Visitors

We had another weekend filled with visitors. Though most who stop by are interested in meeting Will, the girls were excited when Pastor Rabari (from Mark's parents church) took interest in them. He taught the girls a few soccer skills and had fun kicking the ball around in the backyard for a bit. Nothing like learning fundamentals from one of the best! Grace was sure to show off her skills and felt pretty special getting a little one-on-one practice with a pro!

Emma the defender

Emma found her calling as a defender. She's got a good boot on her, and isn't too fond of running all over the field. Though her energy seems to be endless, her strengths lie in having a defined area and defending it well. It was really fun watching her play goalie at her last game. She had a couple of pretty awesome saves.

Norah's beast mode

After an intial first week of soccer where Norah essentially stood on the field looking dumbfounded and uncomfortable, we questioned if she enjoyed playing soccer. However, it turns out, she was just nervous as she had never met any of her teammates before. We introduced her to some of the girls and the next game she broke out in full-out beast mode, scoring 6 goals! Needless to say, she's pretty excited about this season!

Grace Soccer

Grace has also started her soccer season off strong. She loves playing forward and scored her first goal of the season which sky-rocked her self-esteem. They are playing on the big fields this year, so we definitely have some conditioning to do, but she has really enjoyed her new team and coach this year. Go #20, go!

GOOOOOOOOAAAALLLL!

Rampage Game

We started our NYE celebrations early with a trip to the Rampage game in the afternoon. With a little "balloon drop" fun before the game, the girls enjoyed being on the field, jumping in the bounce houses, and of course, the countdown to the balloon drop. With $1 popcorns, we had plenty to snack on while we watched the game as well. If you haven't been to a Rampage game yet, it is a fun, family-friendly afternoon with lots of music, dancing, and of course...some great soccer. 

 

 Fun being able to go on the field before the game.

The bounce houses were fun...the girls especially loved the obstacle course. 

Popcorn ready...bring on the game.

The balloon drop during half time was an added bonus.

After the game we walked over to Need Pizza for a yummy dinner and then walked the skywalks back. Some of them were all lit up and really beautiful!

Soccer Season

The soccer season ended last weekend with some frigid and rainy games. The girls had great seasons and all three had a great time and learned a lot. With the cold temps settling in, Norah and I were glad to see the season come to an end as we are fair weather fans, but the girls played hard and closed out the season with a bang.

Grace loves playing forward...going in for a goal!

She's gotten much faster dribbling around other girls as well.

Norah's team plays 3 on 3. I had to laugh when it was her turn to sit out and she automatically knew that she could use her ball as a seat. 

Norahs on the left...they all look alike in their hats and pink jerseys!

Emma's team is still getting the hang of spreading out and covering the field. She loves playing keeper and makes a great defender. She doesn't let anything past!

Play offs

Today we spent most of our day out at Tuma playing soccer. The girls played really well as a team and had some pretty amazing games. They won the first game 7-3 and the second 5-0 so they will be playing in the championship game tomorrow. Grace is pretty bummed that she will have to miss out since she can't be there, but she has had an incredibly fun soccer season and is really improving her ball handling skills and coordination.

Game 1: Purple, taking it down the lane. 

Game 2: Orange, getting ready to shoot. 

Soccer sensation

Soccer season is in full swing again, and it has gotten EXCITING! It has always been fun to watch Grace play, but after an awesome basketball season, she has taken what she learned on the court and is now applying it on the field. Basketball has taught her how to run smarter and be more aggressive and it has completely transformed how she plays soccer. The little bit of added confidence it has given her has also really paid off. She's off to a great start and is LOVING playing soccer this season. Just when we had convinced her that this should probably be her last season playing...we've signed all 3 girls up for next season.

End of another season

The fall soccer season has come to a close. Grace had a great season adjusting to the new, bigger fields, and playing with an older, far more competitive group of girls. Though we are encouraging Grace to start streamlining her activities so that she is not so overly involved, she still loves the game and isn't sure she wants to see the soccer season come to an end. With an extended season, I am glad the frigid Saturday morning games are over with. I'm ready to spend my early mornings in much warmer places!

Soccer

Soccer season is back and we're in the BIG leagues! Grace has moved fields and is playing with some older girls this year that have some mad skills. At times she looks completely dwarfed out there, but she is working hard and learning a lot. She doesn't have the speed of some of the other girls, so she is really starting to figure out how to play a smarter game so she can keep up. Some of the exciting changes we're learning about...we now have Goalies! Although she still prefers playing forward she is excited to give playing goalie a shot. We are also learning the joys of a lot of new rules...the biggest, being off sides! Can't complain about the beautiful weather though...game days have been perfect!