Meet Your Chiropractor

After the 4-day Surf Camp, Allison's back seizing up twice, a trip to the Urgent Care and two trips to the doctor's office, we know find ourselves at the chiropractor.  I was hesitant at first, but just want relief for this poor girl.  Dr. Hjelmstad looked at Allison's x-ray and examined her to determine she is likely suffering from Facet Syndrome.  She has a lot of inflammation on the knuckles of each vertebrae and has lots of muscle pain because of it.  We will see him for the next few weeks, work on stretching and icing at home and hopefully get her to a point where proper maintenance will keep her comfortable.  I'm sick of seeing my 10 year old walk around more like an 80 year old so sure hope this works!!

5th Grade Trailleader

There is a lot for Allison to look forward to as a 5th grader at TTES.  One of the coolest is being a Trailleader, a job only given to 5th graders.  Allison signed up today and got this cool shirt that reads, "Someday we will Rule the world but for now We Rule This School".
She signed up to help new students find their way around campus and to help tutor students who may be struggling in the lower grades.
I'm already beginning to realize how quickly this year will go and how we will be experiencing so many "lasts" in this final year at TTES...sniff, sniff!

GIL

 On our way home from school today, Allison spotted this turtle walking up the driveway at the end of our street.  We assumed it had to be someone's pet, but I certainly didn't want to become the proud owner of a turtle!  After we pulled into our garage, Taylor and Allison took a box down the street and brought the turtle home.
As soon as Matt heard about it, he remembered hearing a neighbor saying they lost their turtle when he was doing yard work on Saturday. We asked some neighbors who were outside if they knew anything about a lost turtle and they directed us to a sign posted on the mailbox.  It had a picture of "Gil" and a phone number to call, if found.  I called the number and our neighbor answered.  She was thrilled, but I had to laugh because she said, "We had Gil in the grass out front, turned around for two seconds and he was gone!"  Really?

Well, in two days, Gil had made it down the block about 8 houses and across the street without a single injury!  The girls gave him lettuce, hibiscus flowers and water until our neighbor came home an hour later.  Allison was really proud of her good deed and keen eye and the neighbors were thrilled to have Gil back!

OC KICKOFF CLASSIC

It was another jam-packed soccer weekend in Irvine at the OC Kickoff Classic for both teams.  

Allison was goalkeeper most of the weekend.  She had some amazing saves, but also faced some very tough competition.

Her team lost all 3 games...2-1, 6-1 and 2-0.  After two previous tournament victories, this was a tough one to watch, but hoping for much better results when the season starts in a few weeks.

 Taylor played right and left midfield most of the weekend. 

She had so many shots on the net, but probably had 5 blocked by the keeper.  

Her team tied 1-1 against the SC Athletics, won 3-0 against South Bay Force and won 6-0 in the Sunday game against Pacific Breakers to advance to the championship.

I actually got to enjoy some down time with these girls in between games on Sunday.  It was a nice break from the grueling heat and back and forth running around in between each teams' fields.

At 4:00, we faced FC Heat for the championship and won 2-0 after a great effort.

Our team lining up for the awards ceremony.

 This GU13 Red team finished the preseason with 4 out of 5 tournament championships and a lot of momentum going into the season.  Can't wait to get it all underway, but Taylor is looking forward to the next 3 weeks off to let her knee rest up before it all gets started!!

Off They Go...

I have a great feeling about this year!  My babies are growing up and ready to RULE THEIR SCHOOL as an 8th grader and 5th grader.

Thunder Didn't Crash This Party

Turbo's family was kind enough to open up their pool and house for a pool party/sleepover for the U11 team.  The majority of the team was able to make it, having fun swimming, jumping on the trampoline and playing tetherball outside.  However, the temperature suddenly went from 100 to 80 degrees as a crazy thunderstorm came through town.  As the lightning got brighter and the thunder got louder, they quickly switched to inside games until it passed through.
Allison was a zombie this morning when I picked her up, saying they stayed up until 2:00am, but they had a blast and continue making great memories as a group!

Olympic GOLD

 We have been glued to the TV for the past 2 weeks watching event after event from the London Olympics.  We loved seeing the girls from the Gymnastics team take home the team gold, cheered on Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings as they won their 3rd gold in Beach Volleyball, and learned a lot about Water Polo watching Maggie and Jessica Steffens (sisters from Danville) win gold as well.

 The highlight for us, though, was watching all of the incredible soccer on display over the past 2 weeks.  Allison loves Hope Solo and wants to be just like her and we love Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe!  We have watched every game and cheered on the USA in victory after victory.  The semifinal against Canada was one of the most emotional games I've ever watched!

 Today's game against Japan was fantastic too!  Hope Solo had several amazing saves,

 Carli Lloyd had two beautiful goals,

and Abby Wambach was a true leader for all 90 minutes!

Congratulations to the USA Women's team...TRUE CHAMPIONS!!!

UC Riverside Highlanders

 Our U11 girls had an extra special opportunity to attend a clinic with the UC Riverside Women's soccer team today, along with the U8-U10 girls.  Unfortunately, it was 107 degrees and probably several degrees hotter on the turf.  These girls didn't quit though and had a blast practicing shooting, receiving, ball skills and even learning some cheers!

I love these kinds of events where the little girls can see how hard work pays off.  These players were great role models and instructors and I hope we get the opportunity to work with them again!

Surf Cup

Today, Allison and I drove down to the Del Mar Polo Fields to check out this year's Surf Cup.  This is probably one of the biggest tournaments in Southern California, drawing in teams from all over the West coast.  There were 20 fields set up with games for all age groups.

Ashley and I have been friends since 1st grade and her daughter, Lauren, was playing in the U10 division.  They drove down from Danville for the event so it was an even better reason to go check it out!  We watched their team play against Pasadena and also saw SD Surf play a team from Denver...some great soccer even at that age level!

We also had fun checking out the Nike tent, the many booths and seeing the FIFA World Cup trophy displayed!