More Spring Break Fun

Cade and Willem had soccer camp Tuesday through Thursday of Spring Break. Those boys just cannot get enough soccer, it seems. I added up the hours Cade played soccer during Spring Break and it was 23 structured hours though probably much more with all the time playing with the ball on his own! Cade and Elle also had a couple of sleepovers and play dates during the week (which Willem was content to join in on!). It was so nice to be able to sleep in a little and not have much on the agenda. It made me long for summer break! Chad took Friday off and we asked the kids what they wanted to do. Their response? Dinner at Hometown Buffet. Oookay. I guess I remember loving the 'Chuck Wagon' buffet when I was a kid and I guess we never go to Hometown Buffet because it is not Chad's or my favorite. So, to Hometown Buffet we went!

On Saturday and Sunday, Cade had his first ODP soccer practices in Salem so we decided to make it a mini-Spring Break escape and stayed in a suite at the Grand Hotel in downtown Salem. We went swimming, had dinner at a good little steakhouse, played mini-golf and relaxed in the hotel room. It was a great little get-away. Now the countdown to summer begins!

While playing mini-golf, I wondered if we could all squeeze in the picture I took here with Chad's new iPhone. I love the result!

I love Nev in this one! I think Elle is the only normal one we've got ;)

All of us hanging out in the hotel room, Nev watching Barney or Dora on the iPad and the rest of us watching NCAA March Madness!

And one of Chad and me having fun with the new iPhone (love that phone....I want one!)

Nev loved taking walks with Chad and me in the hallways of the hotel. She was racing 
ahead of us and enjoying elevator rides with us. She's getting so big.

Indoor Season Ends

Cade, Gabrielle and Willem all just finished their second indoor soccer session. They all love playing indoor. It is relaxed, fun and fast-paced plus they get lots of touches on the ball and many more goals than outdoor. For some reason (I can't say NO maybe), I organized all three kids' teams and coached them all as well (Nev watched a lot of movies on the ipad while I coached; she also had fun with the players in the box). I do enjoy coaching our kids in indoor soccer; I love that there are no practices and it is dry and indoors! I also love that it is relaxed and mostly just for fun.

Elle's team finished the season in the U12 league at 6-0-2 and first place, Cade's team also finished first in the U14 league with an 8-0 record and Willem's team played U12 and finished the season 5-3. Good pictures are tough to come by in the indoor facilities but I was luck to get a few good shots of Willem from another parent's super camera. I just love Willem's intensity in these pictures. He is so much fun to watch!

Girls Night - Elle Style!

Somehow Gabrielle convinced me to take her and three of her friends to Portland for a night at Embassy Suites. The girls all chipped in for the hotel and had such a blast together. We headed to Portland around 2:00 pm Sunday and once we got there, started out with an early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory followed by a little shopping and then swimming in the hotel pool (probably not the best idea for a girl in a cast but, it eventually dried out)! After swimming the girls played a little in the hallways and then it was time for some room service and a movie. By the time the movie was over, it was midnight but apparently the night was just beginning. Nev fell asleep about 11:00 pm and I tried to sleep around 1:30 am but kept hearing the girls giggling and talking until I asked them to please be quiet and turn off the lights around 4:00 am! At 8:00 am they woke me asking if they could get breakfast! So off we went for breakfast and then more shopping. We finally headed back towards home around 2:00 pm. What a crazy 24 hours! Their agenda is actually very much what I would pick for a girls weekend except I would opt for a lot more sleeping!

The girls: Gabrielle, Athena, Kyndsi, Avalon and baby Genevieve

Congrats, Cade!

One of Cade's goals the past three years, motivating him to spend 100's (probably 1000's) of hours playing soccer in the yard, has been to make the Oregon Olympic Development Program (ODP) Team. ODP is one of a couple feeder programs into the US National Team. The top 25-40 kids from each state are selected from each birth year beginning at age 12 (birth year 1998 is the youngest age group this year) to form the State ODP team and from there the Regional ODP and then National ODP teams are formed which feed into the US National Team. This weekend Cade was selected to the 1998 Oregon ODP team; he was one of about five or fewer kids born in 1999 that were selected for the 1998 team. He is very excited and we are very proud of him! He will now train four weekends in the next couple months with the state team and then will play in a couple tournaments in May/June with the team in Portland and (we believe) Utah. Next year, as a 1999 player, he will be eligible to compete for a spot on the Regional ODP team which will inevitably motivate him to practices 100's of more hours in the yard!

 Here is the Eugene/Salem area select/regional team which Cade played with this weekend against four other select teams from Bend, Medford and Portland. From this team, seven players (including Cade and three of his club teammates) were selected for the state ODP team.

St. Patty's Day Party

Our friends, Amy and Kevin McCarthy, bought an evening with The Irish Echo (my friend Julie's Dad's band) at the St. Paul Auction. They invited a big group of friends and we all had a fun night of dinner, dancing, music and much needed time with friends. Thanks, McCarthys for a great early St. Patrick's Day party!

Host Amy, Me, Christy, Amie, Julie

Julie's Dad, Don, and more of the Echo Band. They played Irish tunes as well as some good oldies.

 View of the crowd enjoying the band

Good Friends (and host Kevin peeking through)!

Matthew Knight Arena

We are lucky to share four season tickets to Duck basketball with my brothers and, mid-season this year the Ducks moved into the gorgeous new Matthew Knight Arena. Opening night in January was awesome. There was an very cool opening ceremony with amazing music, dancing, fireworks, fun video clips and more plus a touching speech my Phil Knight. And, the Ducks, who were expected to win very few games this season, are now 17-17 and in the second round of the CBI tournament. We took all four kids to the opening round game last Wednesday and had a great evening together. I can't wait until next year and the years to come as Duck basketball inevitably gets better and better. I am sure the new arena will provide lots of great moments including, hopefully a little March Madness! Go Ducks!

Opening night pre-game ceremony before a great win over USC

Our most famous alum, Phil Knight

I think the 'Deep in the Woods' court looks very cool!

A quick picture on the cell phone before the game on Wednesday

 Having fun with Nev during timeouts of the game

 Love this little girl!

Amandi Family Visit & B-day Party

It had been way to long since Amber, Tony, Jacoby and Antonia visited us, so we were very happy they came to visit last weekend. Our kids really love having Jacoby and Nia around. Genevieve is especially excited when they are here. She loves being a 'mom' to Nia and she and Jacoby really played together this time; they played tag and giggled and giggled while they played. Of-course there were still little 'issues', like us having to convince Nev that Nia could play with certain toys Nev still likes. But, all in all, the kids did great together. Genevieve even went potty on the toilet a few times, trying to follow Jacoby's lead. It was pretty cute seeing them both on their potty chairs. On Saturday night, we had a family birthday party for Opa, Pascal and Gabrielle which was fun, as always! Here are some pictures from the weekend.

 

 Isn't Nia (11 months) adorable!

 One minute Genevieve was helping Nia, giving her a nuk, the next she was taking toys away from her!

 Jacoby is such a fun, happy boy and I love that he loves our house and kids so much!

  

Opa came to visit while the kids were playing outside

 All one year older...Pascal 13, Opa 72, Elle 10

 

 All worn out!

A Bad Week

My week started Sunday with a dislocated kneecap (very painful) and ambulance ride for me (a first for our family), continued on Tuesday evening with a broken forearm for Elle, followed by surgery today for Elle to actually fully break her forearm (it only cracked and bent on Tuesday and, left to heal with the bend would have resulted in a forever crooked arm). Not a good week. Elle and I have gotten some good couch time together which has been nice though we are both pretty bored! I am feeling better and got out and about today which was very nice but it'll be a 6-12 week recovery for both of us! Oh, and, yes, both injuries were incurred playing indoor soccer :(

Before Elle's surgery with her sling and my brace

With daddy putting on a brave face

But she was actually pretty nervous and scared

Ready for surgery

We really hope Elle recovers quickly as she was so excited for the spring soccer season which started this past weekend and goes until early May. We really hope she gets a chance to play in some mid-April games. Fingers-crossed!

Elle's Basketball Season Ends

Gabrielle played her last basketball game of the season this weekend. This was her second year playing with The Hoopsters and they played in 5th grade Y-Ball. Her team is comprised of six of her fellow club soccer players plus one other girl (all 5th graders except Elle and Jorja). Their coach, Tod Hayes, has been so great for the girls. He is so positive and a great teacher; Elle learned so much and gained a lot of confidence this season. Most games, she scored a basket or two but was mostly valuable for her tough defense, rebounding and post play. Her team finished the season 5-3 with a lot of good close games. I really enjoy watching basketball and, I think even more so because I never played myself so I don't think I see the little mistakes Elle or her teammates may make (like I always seem to see in soccer) and can just enjoy their hustling and having fun.

Gabrielle's dribbling skills improved so much this season. Chad and I sometimes wonder how good should could be if she ever practiced on her own or played more that a couple months out of the year.

Katlyn, Lindsay, Tod, Elle, Aliyah, Ashley, Jorja and Brianna

Aliyah (our keeper in soccer) is such a great basketball player. It'll be fun to follow her 'career' playing in high school. It was nice having Elle's classmate and good friend, Jorja (foreground) playing as well.

Elle playing some defense

Lindsay is one of our tough and speedy point guards. One of the best games of the season was a close win against the North Eugene team which had two of their soccer teammates on it (in red on left is Jordan W, a good friend and soccer teammate). It was very competitive but also fun and it was a glimpse into the future when we can watch all these girls we've gotten to know so well through soccer play against each other when they are in high school, whether it be soccer or basketball or other sports.

Ashley is another speedy and good little point guard!