Seattle Soccer Tourney Weekend

This past weekend we went to another soccer tournament but as usual, it was much more than just a tournament. This summer we decided that because we will be in hotels for tournaments six weekends this summer, we would make those our vacations for this summer as well. So, aside from the tourney there was lots of....

1. Hanging out with friends. Cade loved spending time with Liam and Edgar as well as his other teammates that stayed at the same hotel as us. Gabrielle had a blast with Liam's two sisters and Hannah.

Edgar, (Will), Liam, Cade, Aidan, Josiah

2. Relaxing in the hotel, eating a whole half gallon of ice cream that Chad bought us and watching all the World Cup games we could. It was such a bummer that the USA lost but we still had fun watching it with a big group in the Hilton Hotel lobby.

Enjoying ice cream! And (I love this picture) Will and Nev hanging out!

3. Playing in the hotel hallways and pool...

Nev is still very 'into' trying on everyone's shoes and walking around in them. Sisters in the pool!

4. Venturing into Seattle for an afternoon. It happened to be 'Gay Pride Festival' weekend which led to some interesting conversations. Willem was a bit perplexed by the men wearing underwear with large holes cut out of each butt cheek (sorry, no pictures of that :)...

Gabrielle took the shot of Chad, Genevieve and me

5. Goofing off at the fields after games...

 

Willem is so content on the soccer field, playing with anyone who will play!

6. And finally, bonding with the team and playing some soccer. Cade's Boca Jr. team played some great soccer this weekend. They ended up with one win (vs. WA Rush '98) and two losses against two top Washington teams (NW Nationals and Crossfire) in the top division of this regional tournament. But, the boys outshot and outplayed NWN and, after two early goals against, they played right with Crossfire. Of the teams' five goals, Cade had three assists and one goal. He played well and was even named 'man of the match' by his coach in one of the games. Best of all, Cade was very positive and worked very hard all weekend. It was fun to see his improvement. But, he still really wants to make it to a final in one of these tournaments!!

Somehow Willem got in on the team huddle! Liam, Cade & Edgar after the final game.

7. And, we cannot forget the car rides! The ride up was pretty good. We listened to a good book on tape and ate at Burgerville (yum!). The way back was a little tougher as Genevieve was a tired little girl after several late nights (we're booking a suite if at all possible next time so we can put Genevieve to bed a little earlier than the rest of us :)

We got a little desperate on the ride home, stopped at Target in Longview, WA and bought a Wiggles DVD (as well as Teddy Graham crackers and tic-tac treats) for Nev hoping that would get her through the last three hours. It was the first DVD purchase for Nev and it worked...for a while!

World Cup 2010!

The World Cup finally started (nearly two weeks ago now) and our kids could not be happier! And, with the USA team advancing to the knock-out round, we are all especially happy! My family and some friends have gathered for all the games at our house or my dad's to cheer the USA team on. Here we are for a 7:00 am game cheering for the US...

It was four years ago during the last World Cup that Cade officially became obsessed with soccer! I remember well, him playing for hours and hours outside. This year both Cade and Willem are playing for hours a day. Cade has been playing at least five hours a day (that's his goal and he actually keeps track of the hours) working on his skills as well as playing games with Willem. Willem is so happy being out there with his brother playing soccer. He also plays on his own for hours, kicking the ball against the wall or fence and catching or trapping it with his feet. Gabrielle has also been getting out in the yard playing for about 30 minutes a day on average.

Yesterday Cade set a new personal juggling record of 624 juggles! Here he is juggling (he only did 70 or so here but you get the picture :)

Cade Juggling

And here are two more videos of Cade working on his moves (for you diehard soccer fans out there). He spends hours a day doing this! At the end of the first video he offers his World Cup predictions. He is a little annoyed with the videos because Genevieve only allowed me about six takes before she needed some attention; he promises he is much better and can do moves much better than the videos show :) I just think it'll be fun to look back on these. I'll try to get a video of Willem soon as well though he is more into taking and stopping shots on goal than juggling or working on moves.

Cade Moves and World Cup Prediction

More of Cade's Soccer Moves

Doorway Sleeper

Many nights I find Willem asleep in the doorway of his bedroom on the hardwood floor. He says he likes sleeping on the floor and swears it's not too hard! If he's not in the doorway, he's often asleep on the floor next to Cade's bed with dairy magazines, equipment catalogs and soccer catalogs scattered around him!

One and a Half Already!?

 

Where does the time go? Genevieve turned 18 months last week and is changing and growing so fast. Her personality is really coming out and she most definitely has an opinion about lots of things now. Here are some highlights:

~ Genevieve learned how to say "NO" this past weekend and she's enjoyed using it often :)

~ Nev loves giving hugs and kisses to people, animals and stuffed animals. So sweet!

~ She says all sorts of words but has not put two together yet. She says bird, doggy, ya, no, mom, dad, Will, bye, Cade, Elle, potty, eat, baby, please and several more quite clearly as well as a bunch more not so clearly. She babbles away often and has a lot to say though the babbling is not recognizable yet.

~ Genevieve loves being outside more than anything

~ Nev has been known to scream and cry when she doesn't get what she wants though I am still pretty good at distracting her; luckily she gives up pretty quickly if I ignore or distract. If she really wants something we are eating she will scream and cry until it is finished or we give her some :)

~ Genevieve takes one nap for 2+ hours around noon or 12:30 and sleeps at night from about 8:30 or 9:30 pm until 7:00 am or longer now that it is summer (though the longer is usually in bed with us).

~ Nev loves her siblings so much. She is much more independent when they are around. She is entertained by their activities and interaction.

~ Our girl loves to kick balls (soccer balls, basketballs, tennis balls...she thinks they are all supposed to be kicked!)

~ Genevieve is eating more and more like the rest of us which means she gets a few too many bars (granola or power bars) throughout our busy days. She still loves eggs, sausage, asparagus, broccoli, chicken, pancakes, yogurt, nuts as well as anything sweet which I try hard to keep her away from!

~ Nev is still not too interested in TV. She gets excited to watch the Wiggles but usually only sticks with it for 5-10 minutes.

~ Our girl loves music and loves to dance. She especially loves us to hold her and dance.

~ Genevieve loves, loves, loves babies. She says "baby" whenever we see a baby and wants to watch and touch them. Nev also loves dogs and points them out whenever we see one.

~ Nev is quite active which is why it is tough for her to sit and watch TV or read books with us. She is finally starting to get more interested in books; I read to her for five or so minutes before every nap and bedtime and she finally actually started sitting still for me to read to her in the last couple weeks.

~ Nev is pretty fearless. She climbs up everything and is pretty daring though still pretty careful not to fall too often. She can get up on the kitchen table or the island though she usually only does it when we are nearby.

~ Genevieve plays outside in the backyard for 20-30 minutes on her own sometimes, coming in all sandy and often a little wet. I check on her every couple minutes and leave the door ajar so I can hear her and she is quite content if it is her idea to go out there in the first place. She loves it most though when her siblings are out there too. The other day I found her on the trampoline and I still do not know how she got in it. I had put the chair and ladder down but she still somehow managed to climb up and was calling for me as she couldn't get down! Since then I put the step ladder with the chair next to the trampoline so she can more safely climb up and down.
~ Weight: 25.5 lbs (70%); Height 32.5 inches (76%)

Genevieve is so much fun and has such a fun, spunky personality. She is such a joy for all of us! We love our sweet Nev-Nev!

United Cup Tournament

This past weekend we went to Portland for Gabrielle's soccer tournament. I so enjoy going to our kids' soccer tournaments especially when a fun group of parents and kids go like the Athletica group and we all stay at Embassy Suites with rooms next to one another. The girls loved ordering room service and watching movies at night while the parents were able to sneak away for dinner (thanks to older siblings and a couple dads for sticking around with the kids!). Though it was busy at times chasing Genevieve around at the games, I feel like I can really enjoy my kids and not worry at all about work or to-do lists at home when I am at these tourneys. Plus I just love watching our kids play soccer! The girls played well in some games and not their best in others. They ended up 2-1-1 with the loss coming to the eventual winner (Salmon Creek again) and the tie to the 2nd place finisher (United SA). Though they finished as the consolation winner, they showed they were one of the best teams there, they learned a lot and we all felt they should have been in the final had they played just a little better and/or a call or two would have gone their way...but that's sports! Overall, it was a great weekend and we all had a blast! Next up is Seattle this coming weekend for Cade!

The girls had so much fun together all weekend, playing soccer as well as just hanging out. Here are some of Elle's 
teammates (Evyn, Athena, Elle, Kyndsi & Jordan) at the Nike campus after watching some older Eugene girls play a game there.

The full team being silly!

Elle working hard

Elle playing with passion!

 The girls all did each others' hair before games, it was very cute to watch. And Nev LOVED riding elevators and walking the halls
which I did with her for a couple hours one evening. It was fun just following her and enjoying my little girl!

David and other parents and siblings were great, as always with Genevieve, helping me out the first two days before Chad was able to join us.

Genevieve had a ton of fun playing in the fountain at the Nike campus!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there and especially to my fantastic dad who gave me and my siblings the best gift a dad can give his kids in loving our mom for the 42 years of marriage they had together. He continues to be a great Dad and Opa (to 23 grandkids and counting)!

And to my hubby and great daddy to our kids. Thank you for your love and patience. I am so glad to be on this parenting and life journey with you! You are amazing and I love you so much, Chad!

After a delicious lunch today at the Cheesecake Factory in Portland

Chad and the kids played in the yard this evening for a couple hours. 

I love seeing them all play together!

Chad was even so nice as to push Genevieve AND me (on Nev's insistence) in the (broken) jeep!

Amber and Kids Are Here Again!

I love it when my sister visits and now I get to enjoy her two kids as well! Here she is on a little walk on the dairy with her and my kids...

And here are a few more of our day today...

Jacoby and Nev enjoy each other more and more each time we get together

Genevieve has always been very interested in babies and lately 

she has been snuggling with her little baby doll

Genevieve especially loves looking at, hugging and touching her little cousin Antonia

Signs of Summer

Everyone who knows me well knows that summer is my MOST favorite time of the year. I love hot weather, tank tops, no school, lazy mornings, watching & playing soccer in the sun, flowers, evening walks on the dairy, fresh fruit, blackberry picking and so much more about summer! But, the rain just seems to keep coming, causing summer to seem so far away. I have, however, seen a couple signs of summer this past week. I finally bought flowers to plant in my pots (6 weeks later than last year) and actually planted a few and we've been eating a lot of strawberries lately which is always a first sign of summer. 

Hurry up summer weather and summer break!! 

 

Cade's Shiner

About 45 minutes after dropping the kids off at school yesterday (on my way to finally getting a workout in), I got the dreaded call from the school. Is someone sick? Did someone get in trouble? Or did someone get hurt? None of the options are good. This time, it was Cade (it usually is :); he and another boy collided in P.E. and the principal thought I should come take him home. So, we ended up having a nice day at home together. He was fine, iced a few times, watched a lot of TV and filled out my World Cup bracket. It's looking pretty ugly today as it starts changing colors. Here he is an hour or two after it happened.

Genevieve talking and bathing

It's been on my mind to take more videos of Geneveive so last night I finally captured Genevieve saying a few of her favorite words on video while she was taking a bath.

Before she starts repeating words, Nev gets a visit from her big brother Cade where you hear some of the babble-talk we hear a lot these days...

She Really is Sweet

Genevieve took sweetness to a new level yesterday at our older kids' school carnival. First, when she met a girl two months younger than her, she walked right up to her and gave her a hug and then gave her (open-mouthed) kisses. It was so sweet...

Then, she approached another little girl who has crying on the grass (her mom says she was having a little 2 year old tantrum) and Genevieve sat right next to her with such a look of concern. Also so sweet!

So though there may be a little mom-bias, when I call Nev sweet (over and over again :), she really is sweet!

The Annual Jog-a-thon

On Friday, our kids' school held its annual jog-a-thon fundraiser in which the students have one hour to complete as many laps on the Marist High track as they can. You might think this is a morning of fun for the kids but it actually causes a fair amount of stress for our competitive kids as they all want to run the most laps in their class and run more laps than they did last year. Cade worries the most followed by Elle and then Will who (thank God) is actually pretty carefree about it (though he still wants to be first :)

Chad, Grandma and I helped out at the event, timing laps for Cade who wanted to be on a certain pace, marking laps for our and other kids and running with and encouraging them all. They all ended up doing great. Cade got 34 laps though he actually ran 32.25 laps (just over 8 miles!) in the hour but they let all the kids finish the lap they were on plus his class was given a lap for their first warm-up lap. Gabrielle got 23 laps though actually ran 22 laps (5.5 miles) and Willem, who was happy the whole time, ran 23 laps (not sure where he was on the last lap so it was probably 22.5 laps). I was very proud of how hard they all worked and pushed themselves, Cade actually got the most laps in the school, Willem was top in his class and Elle was the first girl and tied for second in her class!

Ben, Jace, Connor, Cade, Caleb

Phoebe, Sarah, Elle and Jorja

And a couple shots of Cade and his buddies at the carnival later that day...

Hayden, Jace and Cade

With smiley faces painted on their heads!