Photo Dump

Here's some pictures of what we've been up to...  

Randy's brother Andrew got married.  He married a gal named Larinda... which, incidentally is my middle name.  Weird.

Kyla was inducted into the Elementary chapter of the National Honor Society.

Elisan was inducted into the Junior High chapter of the National Honor Society.

Kyla had awards chapel. She was awarded the award for outstanding performance in Physical Education, the highest average in Bible Memory and the Presidential Achievement award for maintaining all A's for the entire school year.  Great job!

Here I am congratulating my girls' track team for finishing FIRST place in the district track meet!  We had such a great meet!

Also, Elisan's award night was a big success for her.  She was awarded highest average in Bible, Math, Science, English and Spanish.  She also received the Presidential Achievement award as well.

Kyla's team recently had a soccer tournament and finished first place in their division.

Her team also finished in a three way tie for first place in regular season. 

During the tournament, Kyla crashed the goalie.  It was pretty intense.  (She's the one in black... flying over the goalie.)

Kyla also recently had tryouts for her new team.  She made the TOP team in her age group... basically in the top ten group of girls out of 200+.

Here's Elisan diving for the ball.  She had an amazing soccer season this year.  Her coach actually told her that she was the best goalie in the league!  WOW!  That's amazing... especially coming from her former professional soccer playing coach who once played with the world-famous Pele'.

And that seems to be about it.  Only 1.5 days left of school and I could not be more excited for some down time!  (If only that were true...)

Another Win!

Elisan's team won 1st place in a tournament over the weekend.  They played an older age bracket... and stomped the competition.  Fun weekend for them.

Force 03G

 Grace, Nayeli, Aria, Katelyn, Jewells, Elisan, Haley,

Addie, Hannah, MacKenzie, Elizabeth, Erin,

Carlyn and Aislynn

Elisan being congratulated by her coach for a great save!

Priceless!

Rebel Duckies

Over the weekend, both girls played in a 3v3 Live Tournament in South Austin. We sign the girls up for 3v3 tournaments about 4-5 times a year.  They are so much fun.

Elisan's team of girls haven't quite gelled yet, so they do "okay", finishing 4th or 5th place out of 8 teams usually.

Kyla's team, the Rebel Duckies, however are the reigning champs in their division for two consecutive tournaments.  They play in the under 10 age group.

Kyla's group of girls are such little firecrackers all in their own rights and it's been fun to watch them play together.  Kyla fits in perfectly with this group and loves playing with them. 

Here they are with their latest first place medal!

(Left to Right) Kyla, Jordan, Mallory, Natalie and Sabrina

The next tournament is at the end of January.  We'll see if they can hang on to their title.

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

COLD, COLD day for a soccer tournament today.

Brrrr…. 43 degrees with wind gusts up to 30mph!

Where art thou?

Ooops, has it been a month already since I last posted on my blog?  That dang instagram is getting all of my love these days.

I wish I could tell you that life around here has been more than soccer practices and games, with a little bit of school volunteering thrown in for added stress… but I can't.  Because that's what the last month has amounted to.

I do admit, I have had a fun thing or two tossed in for good measure, but truthfully… not a whole lot going on.

However, in short, here's quick recap of the last month…

Fall soccer is over.  Kyla's team finished 4th place out of 11 teams and Elisan's team finished 4th place out of 12 teams.

Elisan's team had a amazing season with only 9 goals scored against them in 11 games.  (To give you a perspective… the first place team had 14 goals scored against them - they just won more games.)  And since Elisan is a goalie… well, that means she did a great job (along with our rocking defense.)

Kyla's team did well this year.  They came up against some fierce competition, but held their own. In fact, here's Kyla holding her own in last weekend's game.

I've had a few photo shoots this month and I've been very pleased with the results.  

There are times when I "think" I want to do this professionally (i.e. get paid), but I need to do a few more things (in the photography area) before I start.  One, upgrade my current camera.  Take a class on lighting.  More hands on training.

I recently had the opportunity to assist a friend who is an amazing photographer for a recent outdoor family photoshoot and a newborn photo shoot in her home studio.  It was such an awesome experience and was really eye opening into what needs to take place to get that perfect shot.

I believe that my photos have come a long way in the last two years, but I still have a ways to go.  Until then, I'm saving every dollar and selling anything/everything on eBay to save up enough money to upgrade my camera!

In other news, over the weekend, Randy brought us girls to the qualifying round for Formula One.  The Circuit of the Americans was JAM PACKED with people… and it wasn't even race day!

 I have my camera on a high shutter speed to capture this shot.  

These cars were going SUPER fast!

Sebastian Vettell… he has won 8 consecutive F1 races this year alone,

including the on in Austin over the weekend.

Finally, my birthday is coming in up in three weeks.  I'll be forty-one.  Yikes.  That is totally surreal to me, especially considering the fact I still feel 30.

Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin'...

It's already June 10th.  Heck practically June 11th from where I sit.  Did y'all know that?

Goodness, it's been a busy couple of days... Randy's in Taiwan, heading back tomorrow and we've been busy with our summer vacation planning.

But, in the middle of all of that, we've had lots of fun.  Been swimming, biking, running and hitting the local parks.

Randy bought us girls mountain bikes about a month ago and already twice this week, I've loaded the bikes in the back of the van and we've hit the biking trails around town and the nearby town.  LOTS of fun.  I never thought I'd enjoy bike riding so much, but I truly have.

Last weekend, my friend Cyndi and her kids Joey, Suzie and Elizabeth came for a visit!  We were so excited to see them.  Even though, they only live in Houston, we still don't get together but about once a year.  Sad, I know.

Anyway, I've known Cyndi since her oldest was 6 months old, so not only do we go way back, but the kids go way back as well.  What's nice is that their friendship (much like Cyndi's and mine) is seamless and we all pick up where we leave off every time we get together with them.  That's the mark of a true friendship!

Some exciting news on our front... Elisan made the TOP soccer team in her age division.  In two years, she has worked her way up from the third team to the first team.  That is virtually unheard of around here... but I tell you what, she has put forth the work required to make the leap she made and we are incredibly proud of her.  Her new coach is a fellow by the name of Wolfgang Sünholz a former professional soccer player.  (He even played with Pelé, probably the most famous Brazilian footballer of all times, back in the 70's.)

Speaking of Elisan, for posterity sakes, I wanted to publicly commend her for a fabulous school year.  This year, Elisan received the HIGHEST AVERAGE award for 5 of her classes - Math, Science, English/Language Arts, Literature and History.  At one point, they just asked her and another boy to just stay on the stage as they passed out her awards!  Talk about a proud mama moment!

Kyla was in the school's talent show the last day of school.  She was part of a trio of girls who danced and sang on stage!  She was so cute and I'm very proud of her for getting up there and performing.  (She says she suffers from "stage fright".... um, okay?)

And finally, I leave you with this... we had a free weekend morning and I brought the girls out to have their (better late than never) Spring pictures.

My girls are growing up... sniff, sniff.  (And, yes, they are wearing a smidgen of make up.)

Blog Brain Dump

Y'all.  I'm tired. It literally takes every fiber of my being to drag myself out of bed.   As usual, this time of year (mid-April to the end of May) is our busiest season of the year.  And let me tell you... I will be so happy when summer break finally arrives.  I'm tired.  The girls are tired.  Randy is tired.  We're all just tired.

So, yeah...

I am coaching 5th and 6th grade track again this year.  For the record, I love coaching track.  It's so much fun and I truly enjoy seeing these kids find an event they love and do well in.  But, goodness, I'm at the school 4 days a week during their PE times this year and needless to say it's chaotic.  In case you didn't know.... we live quite a ways away from school, so oftentimes I will just stay at the school until it is over because well... the cost of gas is nuts and burning that much gas going back and forth from home to school multiple times a day... it just ain't worth it.  So, my house and laundry are suffering the most these days.  Plus our diets... because we have had to eat a lot on the road, which is YUCK... but you do what ya gotta do.

I have one more full week of track practices before our meet and then, it will be May 1st and that's when the real chaos begins with end of school stuff.

Like I said before... summer can't come soon enough.

And, then there's soccer.  Soccer everyday... soccer on the weekends... soccer games 100 miles away... indoor/outdoor practices...  we are the family that lives and breathes soccer right now.. which is kind of embarrassing.  I mean... we have become the family that most people, "tsk, tsk" about.  Part of me wants to say... just wait 'til your kid is old enough and you are running them around to their various practices, meetings, events, etc.  And, it doesn't just have to be sports related.  It can be orchestra, drama, dance, chess club, Girl Scouts, etc.  Ours just happens to be soccer.  So, hold your "tsk, tsk" for now.

But, y'all, as crazy as our life seems right now, I know looking back on it, perhaps the only thing I wish I would have done differently was NOT complain about it... because truth be told... this is just a season of life and I know I will miss it once it's over.  (Sniff)  Makes me want to have more kids so I can relive it.  (Did I just say that out loud?)

My Elisan has been such a joy lately.  She's becoming so mature and interesting to talk to.  I pray that the joy of these pre-teen years are an indication of what her actual teenage years will be.  She's so easy to get along with, doesn't give us a lick of trouble and is just a true blessing to us.  I am immensely proud of her in every area of her life.  I know there are times when she gets frustrated or feels "wronged", but I pray that these times will build up her inner strength rather than tear her down.

Stepping onto my soapbox... I think a lot of what we are doing at home... no cell phones, no texting, no Facebook, no instagram, no sleepovers, limited television and music influence has made a big difference in how she behaves with us and in public situations.  Now, I realize... as she gets older, we'll have to loosen the reigns a bit and allow her more privileges, but for now... it works for us.  Plus, she's too busy with school and soccer (and too exhausted in the evening) to even think about the stuff her friends are consuming themselves with.  And too busy to spend time with kids who may or may not be the best influence on her (in actions, words and attitude.)

And Kyla Mae... she's just so darn cute and funny and happy... but I will add sassy to the mix.  Kyla is a bit more impressionable and I've seen it affect her this year.  She's glommed onto one particular girl this year, who by all accounts, is a nice enough girl, but who most certainly has "attitude" with a capital "A".  I've had to call Kyla out on several things that she has said or mimicked in direct relationship to this child's behavior and let her know that what she is doing is not acceptable.  Y'all.  This has been hard to do.  Because NEVER have I seen such an influence attach itself to my child.  I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, these two will be separated next year in the 4th grade.  I need to start sending up prayers NOW for this.

In soccer news, Kyla and Elisan are both doing so well.  Randy and I could not be happier with how they both are progressing.  Kyla is definitely talented in all things soccer and has potential to be a great athlete.  Elisan still has to work hard, but I know that her hard work will eventually pay off.

I leave you with this.... Kyla invited her third grade teacher to her soccer game last weekend and SHE CAME.  Miss Hurt has been such a blessing to Kyla this year and we're so blessed to have her a part of our lives.  Miss Hurt is an amazing Christian woman, who is passionate about God and His children.   Her expectations are high and all of her students strive daily to meet or exceed her expectations.  They love her just as much and she loves them.

Soccer Sisters

There is no greater fun that watching both of your girls play soccer for the same team!

This Spring season, Kyla was asked to join Elisan's team by the coach and Randy and I jumped at the chance to do so.   I mean, how convenient is it to have both kids on the same team, rather than running in two different directions because of game conflicts.

Kyla is 9 years old playing on Elisan's team of 11 year olds.  Don't think for a minute that I don't get worried seeing my baby out there with those big girls, but honestly, she's holding her own and doing very well.

Elisan is even happy to have Kyla out there with her because they trust each other and know what the other is capable of doing.  It's definitely been a neat experience watching them flourish on the fields together.

Sadly, this will likely be the last opportunity for them to play together for a while, so we're enjoying this season as much as we can and taking LOTS of pictures.

Spain Goalie Training

Both girls were invited to attend a private session with a goalie trainer from Spain.  Aside from the brief translation gaps, the girls had a great time and learned so much! 

So Proud!