Tournament of Champions 2010

We were out the door at 5:30 Saturday morning for a beautiful drive to Palm Desert. The girls had been working hard for the past 8 weeks to get to this final tournament of the AllStar season, the Tournament of Champions. The top 8 teams from Riverside and San Bernadino Counties advanced to face off for the title. Loved the contrast of palm trees and snow from our field.

Taylor and Mac

Our first game was at 8 am against High Desert. We won 2-0, although our girls dominated more than the score displayed. Between games, we watched our TVSA boys team play and ate some lunch in the shade. At noon, we played against Palm Desert and won 6-0. It was the team we had played in Yucaipa and beat 4-0. Our girls stepped it up and played beautifully.

Game faces!

After our games, we checked into the hotel and let the kids cool off in the pool. Yes, cool off in January! Gotta love Palm Desert! We had a 3:30 reservation for 50 for the players and families at Elephant Bar. The girls loved sitting at the Team Table and getting a chance to hang out and be "girly girls". Allison with some of the players' little sisters.

After dinner, I braved all of the girls in our room for snacks, games and tv. They all arrived in their jammies and had fun playing Catch Phrase, Trouble and War. That was all it took for Matt and Charlie to head out to the Yard House for a few drinks while Mary and I dealt with the girl invasion!
Mackenzie, Taylor and May ready for day #2.

On Sunday morning, we needed to get a win or tie to advance to the Championship. Thanks to a perfect long shot by Maylie, we beat Horsethief Canyon 1-0 to advance.

In the Championship, we faced Colton ( a team we have yet to beat). We thought this would be our year to do it, but it wasn't meant to be. Colton scored in the 2nd quarter and although we had many attempts, we weren't able to get one in the net. The game ended with a 1-0 score, the first goal scored against us in all 8 of our tournament games. There were a few tears and sniffles as the girls left the field, but they were all smiles at the trophy presentation. They were each awarded 2nd place individual trophies and we were given this gorgeous team trophy. Another great season comes to an end...

Poetry Night

Mrs. Atkinson's 4/5 combo has been working hard on poetry and different writing styles all year long. She wanted the kids to share what they have learned at a Poetry Night for all of the families to attend. Taylor is always so nervous to be on stage and talk into the microphone, but she did a very nice job (red face and all!).
Her poem was called Sometimes:
Sometimes life can be sorrowful,
Sometimes a breath of fresh air.
When I was 8 sadly my dog died.
I despise people who are mean to others.
I enjoy taking pictures, cooking and playing soccer.
I like going to the beach with my friends.
I dislike spiders, snakes and rats.
When I am discouraged, I could fill the ocean with tears.
When I am excited, I could jump for the stars.
But when I am cheerful, I can do anything.
I am special because I have true feelings that make me, me.

After all of the students read their poems, we mingled and enjoyed some cookies and juice. Mrs. Atkinson loves her students dearly and works so hard for them. This event was no exception. Taylor will certainly miss her next year, but is so excited to see her in Palm Desert for her soccer tournament this weekend. I don't know many teachers that would do that!

The Rapo's Come to Town

Although way too short, we had a very nice visit with Lisa, Daniel and sweet Olivia. They were in town for a family birthday, but we went out to dinner with them and they spent the night at our house. It was our first time seeing them since their move and little miss Olivia is getting so big. Taylor was at a sleepover when they arrived so Allison took full advantage of her alone time with Olivia.

Olivia inspected Allison's teeth...

pulled on her hair...

and stared at her.

Taylor was home in time this morning to help feed Olivia breakfast and cuddle for a while.
She will be a great babysitter.

We hope to get to Valencia soon to see their new house, visit with Auntie Lisa and Daniel and cuddle with Olivia some more.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

The weather forecasters are calling it the "Storm of the Decade". We were skeptical about their predictions, but decided to listen to the warnings and postpone our Big Bear trip. Although the snow would have been beautiful, skiing would have been tough with poor visibility and the drive home would have been a nightmare. We have had consistent rain over the last few days, but today has been brutal! The rain has been pouring down for several hours now and the pool is filling quickly. The kids are on rainy day schedule at school and have spent our soccer-free afternoons playing the Wii, board games and catching up on stuff around the house. The rain is definitely needed and nice as long as we don't have anywhere to go. Unfortunately, it has been a tough week for those in the LA burn areas who are being evacuated due to mudslides and flash flood warnings. Yikes! The rain is predicted to continue for another few days so more of the same. Can't wait to get to the mountains next weekend to see all of the snow...

Amazing Race-Birthday Style

For Lauren's birthday, Hank and Leslie put together an Amazing Race at the mall. The 12 girls were split up into 3 teams of 4 and given matching shirts and bandanas (pink, purple and black) and a parent chaperone. I raced with the purple team.

Once at Sears, the teams were given the rules and handed the first clue.

Purple team huddled together to read the 1st clue.

We were off to Build a Bear to dress a bear in purple and take a photo.

Then out to the train for a ride around the fountain.

Our clue said to find this photo and take a picture with it. The girls knew it was Hollister right away.

Then outside of Macy's for a food challenge. The girls had to taste 5 items (bologna, cotton candy, a chocolate covered strawberry, a buttered popcorn jelly belly and a lemon) and guess them correctly. Allison almost gagged on the bologna but the guessed them all and we were off...

We had to go to the Temecula Police Substation and take a photo with Paul Blart, the mall cop in the back office.

Some of the other stops that didn't require a picture were the Disney Store, Justice, buying Zoomania out of the vending machine, buying 1/2 pound of candy at Sweet Factory and completing a puzzle outside the movie theater. The race took about an hour and a half and the girls had a blast. They worked so well together with the older girls reading the clues and Allison directing them through the mall and racing to the front counter to get the next clue.

We were the 1st team to arrive but were given a time penalty for 2 mistakes along the way. Unfortunately the pink team arrived before our penalty was up so they were crowned the winners. Everyone was so tired and had so much fun that winning didn't matter much. Great job Hank and Leslie!

Happy 11th Birthday Lauren!

Visit with the Thomas Family

Brandi, Mike and the girls are spending the week in So Cal visiting friends, family and a certain little mouse in Anaheim! We were happy to schedule at least a few hours to catch up and visit while letting the girls run around and enjoy a beautiful weather day. To maximize our time we met in the middle at this adorable little park in San Marcos, Jack's Pond. Nature Center and play area

Rec Center and Tot lot

The girls hadn't seen each other since last January and they keep growing like weeds!

After playing at the park, we walked along the trail and came across an access path to the pond. We had quite a few nature lovers, who spent most of the walk picking up snail shells and looking for little creatures. Taylor helps Rian spot the ducks.

Rian and Jessie-so sweet!

Hayden and Taylor first met when Hayden was just a few weeks old.

Love this picture!

After our walk, we packed up the cars and headed to Mama Kat's for lunch. We sat outside and loved it. The Thomas' were certainly enjoying being out of the Colorado cold! They almost didn't get to make the trip because sweet little Rian swallowed a charm bracelet the night before they were due to leave. After many stressful hours at the hospital and many hours on the phone with the airlines and hotels, they were able to make their flight and Rian is healthy and bracelet-free! We are so thankful for the times they come out here, even if it is mainly to see the mouse!

Team Sleepover

Mary promised the team of sleepover at her house if the girls one last week's tournament. They held up their end of the bargain and made sure she held up her end. Last night all of the girls spent the night playing Rock Band, foosball, the Wii and card games until about 1am. After a few hours of listening to them, Charlie, Mary and I were happy they chose to be soccer players. I don't think any of them have music in their future! Not sure where Taylor's other slipper is?

Donuts-Breakfast of Champions!!

Staying Red Hot and in the News

Our team made the paper again with a nice caption about our President's Cup win. It was a nice reward for the girls and a fun momento of this great opportunity!

Celebration at Yogurt Island

There was no time for a formal celebration after our big win on Sunday because Charlie had to rush off to work, so he cancelled Monday's practice and asked the girls to meet at Yogurt Island for a little get together. Most of the girls came in their "Champions" shirts and told stories about the weekend. The parents did their own share of reminiscing, as well.

Taylor, Mac, May, Lauren and Jenna

I think the highlight of the night was when Maylie gave the girls invitations to a game night sleepover for the whole team this Friday night. I think Mary is crazy, but the girls are so excited. Team bonding at its best!

The Red Hots are ON FIRE!!

This was the weekend we have been working towards for the past 8 weeks. President's Cup in Yucaipa is the All-Star tournament for Riverside and San Bernadino counties and determines which teams get to advance to Tournament of Champions. We went in to the tournmanet confident that our girls would play well and represent our city. We couldn't have predicted just how well they would do.

Our 1st game was at 8:00am on Saturday against Wildomar. We played well and won with a score of 2-0. At noon, we went up against Palm Desert and won 4-0. Taylor played the game of her life, scoring 3 goals and playing with a fire I have never seen in her before. She was a team leader and a powerful presence on the field.

We drove home after the 2nd game feeling confident that Day #2 would go just as well. Taylor spent the evening relaxing her muscles in a hot bath and getting a good night sleep. Up early again Sunday for our morning game against Cornerstone Community Church. It was a solid 7-0 victory and it even gave us a chance to rest some of our girls and give other girls the opportunity to play in positions they weren't used to. Taylor got kicked in the knee late in the 2nd quarter, came off the field in tears and sat out the rest of the game to rest up for the Championship.

We had advanced to the Championship without a goal being scored against us and only one punt by our goalie. Amazing!! But we knew Yucaipa Valley would be tough competition in the final game. We had played against them last year and lost in a heartbreaking 3-2 game. Our pep talk before the game was all about playing the game the girls knew how to play and using all of the skills we had learned. We wanted them to give the parents something to jump out of their chairs for and be the team with the championship in the end.

The girls played their hearts out. We battled the entire 1st half, but the score stayed 0-0. In the 3rd quarter, Delaney fired a long shot and it took a bad bounce and dribbled past their goalie. We were up 1-0 and the sidelines went crazy! Now we were in defensive mode and just trying to hold them. The field went silent though in the 4th quarter when one of our defenders was called for a penalty inside the goal box. Our goalie, Ashley, would have to block a direct kick. AND SHE DID!! It was beautiful and protected our lead. When the final whistle blew, the girls rushed each other screaming and jumping all over! The Red Hots-President's Cup Champions!!

The girls doing our team cheer around the coaches

Matching 1st place medals!

Let's do it again in Palm Desert....