1,2,3, POGO...

Gigi got the girls Pogo Sticks for Christmas and they are a hit! Allison was a little discouraged when she first tried it. She struggled to bounce just one time, but now she is up to 48 bounces without falling. Taylor can go all the way down our street and back without falling. Such fun!

Yes, she is wearing shorts and a T-shirt in January. 80 degrees today!

Ringing in 2010

We rang in the New Year at the VanSchaik's again this year with lots of friends we don't often get to see. It was great to all be together again. The evening started with a friendly game of Spoons between adults and kids, but as the night wore on everyone was out to get me since I seemed to be emerging as the Spoons "powerhouse"! Jeff and I played in the final round several times and we were soon nicknamed Mr. and Mrs. Competitive. Fitting! Jeff deals the first hand of the Spoons tournament.

Allison loved seeing Tim again.

The kids started their own Spoons tournament.

Happy New Year Babe!

The kids pose in between turns on the Wii.

Taylor challenges Tony to a game of ping pong and wins!

All the ladies posing by the fire pit.

The guys turn.

Madison and Allison, party animals!

Cheers to a happy and healthy 2010!

Celebrity Status

Not really, but it may be the closest we get to it! The Red Hots All-Star team was in the Californian today for winning the Scripps Ranch All-Star tournament. We went to 7-11 and picked up the last 3 copies.

The article said:

Red Hot

The TVSA U10 girls all-star team (Red Hots) won the Scripps Ranch All Star Tournament last weekend. The team defeated Escondido, 3-1, Lakeside, 9-1 & tied La Jolla, 0-0, putting them in the semifinal game against Jamul. That game was tied 1-1, and went into PK's with the Red Hots moving on with a 3-0 win. In the Championship game against Scripps Ranch, the two teams tied at 0-0 whick led to 2 overtime periods. The Red Hot's finished with a score of 2-0, making them the champions.

Another Danville Emergency Room

Last time we were in Danville, Allison was taken to the emergency room for a staph infection on the back of her knee. 3 hours later and a shot in the tush, she was on the mend. This time it was the dog. On Sunday morning, I realized that Max had been getting into something in my parent's sideyard. After a little investigating, we realized it was the turkey oil Chris had dumped after deep frying the Christmas turkey. He thought he had buried it in the gravel, but it was a yummy treat for Max- gravel and all. My Mom called us at the Curtis' about 4:30 to say that Max had puked all over her dog bed, but seemed to be doing fine. I rushed to Costco before closing to buy a new bed and we cut our evening a little short since we were worried she would keep getting sick.

Max was acting fine when we went to bed, but at 3:30am the fun began. She puked all over the new dog bed and in the family room. We called the vet hospital and got varying opinions, but hoped we could wait until the local ER opened at 8. Laundry put in the washer and we tried to go back to bed. 5:30-another wake up call. More throwing up, but this time it was full of sand and gravel. Uh Oh! More laundry in the washer and attempted sleep. At 8 we called our vet in Temecula to get her opinion. We were supposed to be on the road by now, but didn't want to risk it if she felt Max should be seen. She felt she should be seen, fearing she may have a potentially fatal disease called Pancreatitis. So off we went to the hospital with Taylor fearing Max wouldn't come home. Max pooped right outside the doors and it looked like wet cement full of gravel. Ouch!! Luckily, the vet wasn't too concerned. Max was upbeat, wagging her tail and responsive. However she was dehydrated for sure and suffering from a very upset belly. She was given fluid therapy and an anti-nausea injection to hopefully get us to Temecula without vomiting. We were told to give her rice and boiled chicken for dinner and keep a close eye on her. As long as she continues peeing and pooping and not vomiting, she appears to be passing the gravel and shouldn't have a blockage or Pancreatitis. PHEW! So far so good, but never a dull moment...

Hong Kong Clay Pot

For the past year and a half, the girls have been raving about this restaurant that Chris and Aimee took them to in San Francisco. They couldn't stop talking about the Ginger Crab and Honey Walnut Prawns and said Matt and I had to try it. We were happy to oblige and Chris was happy to get us there. On Saturday, Chris picked us up and we headed to the city. Drive on the Bay Bridge.

Chinatown

Hong Kong Clay Pot is on the 2nd floor of a building in the heart of Chinatown and I would have walked right by it. The girls however spotted it right away and led us up the stairs. You know you are in a good Chinese restaurant when every table is full of Chinese patrons! We sat down and let Chris and the girls lead us through the ordering process. I needed to ensure there were a few things I was comfortable with, but let them expose us to some new stuff too.

Cashew Chicken, Ginger Crab, Pork Fried Rice, Honey Walnut Prawns, Kung Pao Beef, Peking Shortribs, white rice and tea

Thank you Uncle Chris!

The girls were in their glory and we had fun too!

Christmas Day

Allison came running out of bed to tell us she saw the reindeer in the grass and heard Santa eating carrots. She was certain and I love the excitement! She went right to her stocking and Santa stuff sitting by the fireplace. She was so excited to see her teacher supplies, lava lamp and stocking full of goodies.

Taylor couldn't believe she got the laptop she had hoped for and loved winning $19 and 2 more tickets on her lottery scratchers that were in her stocking! She was the big winner this year in what has become an annual tradition. They both liked their new water bottles, panties, candy, school supplies and hair clips that filled the stockings.

Once Chris and Aimee arrived, we began the present opening in the living room. We started opening one at a time, but that didn't last too long.

Allison loved her new goalie gloves, books, ski jacket, bible and other goodies.

My Mom got this solar-powered flower that will be perfect in her hospital room this week!

There were lots of gifts left to open, but we took a break to eat the breakfast casserole and breads that my Mom baked and refuel with coffee and juice. Once back to the living room, Matt was thrilled with his ITouch, Dutch Harbor Fire Dept. shirt, portable grill and other goodies. I guess I was just bad at getting pics of it all. Taylor loved her ski gear and lift ticket, hair dryer, soccer books, etc. She is hoping to get to Big Bear soon.

Allison couldn't believe it when Santa called to tell her that he saw her looking out the window this morning when she spotted the reindeer. He thanked her for the cookies and milk, but had to go because he still had more presents to deliver. Thanks Santa!!

After all of the present cleanup, it was on to the dinner prep. Chris has become the pro of turkey frying. It only took 40 minutes to cook a 15 lb turkey and it was unbelievable!
At dinner, Chris passed around Party Crackers for everyone to open. I guess it has been a tradition in Aimee's family and he wanted to keep it alive. So fun! Everyone opened a cracker and out popped little toys and these tissue paper crowns.

My Mom's cousin Mike and Joanie

Taylor and Grandma

Zach and Allison

A table fit for kings and queens!

After dinner, we quickly cleaned the kitchen and got ready for the Charger's game. An extra special Christmas treat! My friend since 2nd grade, Brent, and his Mom came over to watch the game and enjoy some drinks and dessert. It was nice catching up with him while watching the Chargers crush the Titans! The perfect ending to a very festive Christmas day.

Christmas Eve

Chris, Aimee and Zach came over Christmas Eve afternoon . We cooked a spiral ham for ham sandwiches and made Potato Corn and Chicken Noodle soup for dinner before church. It was perfect for the chilly night. We all posed for photos before Matt, my parents and I left to go save seats at church. Amazing that you have to get there an hour early just to get seats, but you do what you've got to do! Chris and Aimee brought all of the kids a few minutes before service started at 8pm.

After church, the girls did the traditional preparation to get ready for Santa: sprinkled reindeer food in the grass, plated the cookies and carrots, poured the milk, put out the Santa key and hurried to bed. Santa is on his way!

Christmas Time in Danville

We drove up to Danville on Tuesday-dog, kids, luggage, gifts and all-to spend almost a week with family and friends. The girls had fun baking with Grandma, going out to breakfast with Papa and seeing some friends along the way. We met Scott and Elizabeth at one of our favorite spots, Pete's Brass Rail and Car Wash (I know, an odd name for a restaurant) for lunch one day. We enjoyed catching up and walking through downtown Danville.

We stopped at a candy store and Scott bought Allison this crazy candy called Grillz-fake gold teeth with candy attached. Right up her alley and Scott loved it too!

We also visited with Sarah and Molly and got a tour of the Danville Railroad Museum from Papa, who is a docent there.

The girls went on a Scavenger Hunt looking for treasures throughout the museum. Very cute!

Although I forgot to take pictures, we also spent a day with the Curtis family. We went to lunch at Luna Loca and the kids just enjoyed playing the Wii and board games while we visited with Dave and Jenny. We were happy to watch the Cowboys get a win for Dave too!

All-Star Holiday Ornament/Cookie Exchange

Charlie and Mary hosted the 2nd Annual Ornament/Cookie Exchange for the team. Each player and coach brought a wrapped, unlabeled ornament and a dozen of their favorite cookie to share. We started the night with a little "visual practice" to go over some of the play over our tournament weekend, but after such a great performance, there was little to discuss.
Then it was on to hot cocoa, popcorn and a Christmas DVD for the girls. They spent more time chit-chatting than watching Charlie Brown's Christmas. Maybe they are getting too old for it! On to the ornament exchange:

Taylor got this cool soccer ball.

I loved my Smore soccer player!

The team shows off their new ornaments.

Scripps Ranch All-Star Tournament Champions!!!

We signed up to play in this tournament to get some practice before our big weekend in Yucaipa January 9th-10th. The Red Hots have only been playing together for a few weeks and although we knew there was a lot of talent on the team, we were unsure of how we would do matched up against other All-Star teams. Yesterday morning, we met early for team check in. The girls were excited to finally get to play together and have really bonded quickly as a team. Our 1st game was against Escondido and the girls looked great... lots of passing, talking and aggressive play and we came away with a 3-1 victory. We had 5 hours between games, so we got lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and relaxed at the field. Emily came along to support us and join in the fun. The girls spent time hanging out on the blanket in the shade... watching our other opponents...

and playing around with the ball nets that they all purchased.

Game #2 was under the lights against Lakeside and we blew them away with a 9-1 victory!
We were all exhausted and headed home to wash uniforms and get a good night of sleep.

We were back at the field at 9:30 this morning for our 10:10 game against La Jolla. It was a very hard fought 0-0 tie. We just couldn't get one in the net, but the tie was enough to advance us to the semifinal at 1:15. I think this was the toughest game of the tournament. We were down 1-0 against Jamul with 4 minutes to play. Then Maylie faked out the defender and made a beautiful shot to give us the tie. The game ended 1-1 which sent us into Penalty Kicks.

We had to pick 5 players to take our kicks and line them up in order on the mid field line. Taylor was #5 and she was scared to death!! Luckily, thanks to amazing goalie saves by Ashley and perfect shots by Mac, Jenna and Delaney, we won 3-0 and Taylor and Maylie didn't have to shoot. On to the finals...

After a quick snack and drink, it was game time again at 3:30. Our girls dominated the whole game, but couldn't score again. We ended in a 0-0 tie after regulation. However, in the final, there are 2-5 minute overtime halves. Ashley scored a beautiful goal in the 1st OT and Delaney sealed the deal in the last minute of the 2nd OT.

Temecula All-Stars are the Champions!!! Coach Charlie presents Taylor with her trophy.

The team sporting their gold!

One last cheer...Pump, pump, pump it up! Pump that Red Hot spirit up! Keep, keep, keep it up! Keep that Red Hot spirit up! Go Red Hots!

So excited to finally get 1st place!

I guess practice makes perfect and we look forward to playing tough in Yucaipa!!