Soccer {plus} Family {equals} a GREAT day

Colin with Grandma Jane

Colin and Mommy

Mommy, Colin, and Daddy (aka 'Coach')

We did it!! We did it!!

After a 1-1 ending score and a shootout, the U-8 Storm Soccer team won the game 2-1!!

Number ONE!

Silly faces *grin*

Amazing job this season Storm!! Congratulations!!!

Championship Game

Today was a very exciting day.

Colin's U-8 soccer team played their hearts out in their first game this morning, and won 5-2!! It was a very tough, hard fought game and we were so proud of the boys!!

Colin playing some tough defense

 All huddled up, discussing strategy.  

{Yes, Cameron does think he is part of the team. Storm is Storm to him!}

 

 Lola fell asleep in the first half, so we cuddled for a while :)

 We had some fun on the sidelines....

Grandma Jane with Ethan

Gwen, Jordan and Lola

 

Mr. Not-So-Cooperative-Cameron *grin*, Spider-Man, and Mommy

Grandma Jane and a much more smiley Cameron

Sweet Kendyl--little girl, BIG grin!!

 

 Then, it was time for game #2. 

"One, two, three--STORM!"

 

This game was much tougher--not the team, necessarily, though they were better than we 

expected--but the kids were just tired.  Two hours of running is a lot for 6-7 year olds! 

Not even Daddy's encouragement and advice could spur Colin on--he was wiped.

We ended the game 0-0 and wound up in a sudden death shootout.

Oh my goodness gracious.

I'm not going to lie here, folks--this was about as nervewracking as it gets. In all my years of playing volleyball I was never as nervous for anything--championships and all--than I was during this game!

Colin's shot--a miss

(and all mommies groaned with me....)

Thankfully, I am happy (joyous!!) to report that we won the shootout, 2 goals to 1!!  So....we are in the championship game tomorrow!

Can I get a woooooot wooooooooooot!!??

We celebrated with a lunch out (great suggestion, my sweet Aimee!)  We were pretty high on our win.

I'm so proud of my little guy. Win or lose tomorrow, he has had an amazing 

season and it has been the most fun I have ever had at sporting events. 

 And, yes--most of the time I am keeping my eye on the kids and not the super hot coach.

Halloween appropriate attire

Yes...this will do perfectly.
*grin*

Tournament time

UPDATE: As of Saturday at 11:30, we have WON our first game! 5-2...we play again in about an hour. GO STORM!!

This weekend, our little kicker....

....is going to be duking it out....

....positioning for goals....

....slamming to the ground....

....and running his heart out....

....all in effort to win the U-8 tournament title.

He's very excited--so we are we!   

GO STORM!!!

Fall favorites -- apples

A couple of weeks ago, a very generous friend brought me a five-gallon bucket full of apples. After a bit of work washing and quartering...

....they were ready to be turned into beautiful, Red Hot applesauce!

And, because I know you are going to ask:

1. Wash, peel, core, and chunk up or slice your apples. {Only washing and quartering are necessary if you have a food mill!}
2. Over medium high heat in a large stockpot filled with a couple inches of water, cook your apples down until they are soft enough to either be mashed manually or put through your mill. I always used an old fashioned potato masher until I got my mill. It worked great, and gave a nice, semi-chunky consistency! I do not drain the water I cook the apples in. It will cook down quickly, so leaving the water in allows you to choose how thick you want your applesauce. If you like it a bit thinner, you can be done right here--a bit thicker, and you can just cook it down for a few minutes!
3. After the apples are mashed/ground down to an applesauce consistency, return them to a large pot (pictured above--I do this in batches because I make so much at a time) and add Red Hot candies. For the 21 pints you see in the photo (plus two 8-cup containers that I kept uncanned for eating RIGHT NOW *yum*), I used seven theater-sized boxes of Red Hots (which don't contain nearly as much as you might think-I'd say there was maybe 3/4 cup in each box.)

The Red Hots give a wonderful cinnamon flavor and a great pinkish-red color. You can add more or less to your taste--but remember, start with less! You can always add more Red Hots, but you can't take them out once they are in there!  I added less this year than I usually do, and we liked the sauce just as much as we always have.

If you try this for yourself, let me know how you liked it!

A funny for your Wednesday. . . .

....brought to you by my sweet, four-year-old niece, Reese.

(I couldn't not link to this, after experiencing quite a different childbirth (four times!) than what she describes.   Oh, sweet Reeser...how I wish this was the case!!)

Too funny--enjoy!

Guess what I see?

After SEVEN weeks and FIVE days....

It's good great to see Ethan's right leg again! 

Woooo-hoooo!

{Ethan is having an incredible amount of difficulty getting used to his cast being off. He is struggling to stand and walk--almost like he has forgotten how.  We know this is fairly normal, but it is hard to watch! Strangely, he is riding his bike like nothing has ever happened.  He has obvious strength in his leg, so we know that he isn't not walking due to it hurting him; rather, more that he is scared to or that he needs to relearn how.  Our prayer is that he would be able to adjust back to 'normal' as soon as possible--we would certainly appreciate your praying for that along with us!!}

Happy nine months!

On Saturday, Lola turned 9 months old!

She is doing some wonderful things such as giggling like crazy at her brothers,
babbling constantly at her Mommy and Daddy,

loving our family 'Soccer Saturdays',

Self-feeding!!

  She is getting pretty attached to this handsome guy

{and smiling constantly while in his arms}

She is also officially crawling--boy, can she get across a floor FAST!

Shane had to lower the crib down this month because I went in after her nap one day and found her sitting up in there all by herself. She is able to maneuver from sitting to crawling and back to sitting. Yikes! So many changes in such a short time.

She is also finally in a size three diaper. *grin*

And...

She is definitely pulling up/standing.

  EEEK!!

Where has my little baby gone?

(For all concerned Grandparents--the wood stove was cold while I was taking these pictures!)

  Last night, we caught her 'watching' the laundry. A girl after Mommy's own heart!

Lola has made these last nine months the best ever. We love you, sweet girl!