It's A Girl Thing...: April 2013

Sunday, April 28, 2013

BEACH SOCCER JAM

After weeks of practicing in the local sandy creek bed, these girls were ready for their 5v5 sand tournament...Beach Soccer Jam at Fiesta Island. They were split into 2 teams, Beach Ballers and Sand Blasters, for more playing time. Allison's team, the Sand Blasters, was coached by Dan in the first game (due to a schedule conflict).

They faced Liverpool in their first match yesterday and won 6-2!

Faith and Allison

Reanna, Zoey, Allison and Turbo

Unfortunately, we had to face the Beach Ballers in the 2nd game and they beat us 6-2, although it was a nice friendly competition! They all posed together after the game.

We stopped at The Habit to feed our hungry players on the way home. Not only did they devour their burgers and fries, they still had room for ice cream!

We were back again this morning with several cheerleaders!

Today, they were armed with a little "warrior" face paint and both teams needed wins in their morning game for a shot at the championship.

Before the Sand Blasters morning game, Allison and Faith participated in the War of the Keepers. It was a one on one battle for keepers in punting and blocking shots. Neither of them advanced but they enjoyed the competition.

The Beach Ballers won their morning game 5-2 and the Sand Blasters won 9-0 over Crusaders to both advance to the championship...our best case scenario. Allison even scored a few goals to help her team! She loved getting time on the field.

It was a tough battle for the title between these two teams, but the Beach Ballers won 6-4. All of the girls were great sports, cheering each team on and congratulating all on a great weekend. They all got to take the medal stand to collect their Champions and Finalists medals.

Allison had a great weekend...playing a little goalie, providing some strong defense and even scoring 3 goals. All of the girls played some very physical soccer and we can't wait to see how it translates on the grass in our upcoming summer tournaments. We all left very sandy, sweaty and wind blown, but it was a great weekend of soccer!!

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Visit with Grandpa Al

We had a very nice weekend with Grandpa Al. He flew in on Friday morning and Matt and I enjoyed a nice lunch with him at Five Guys before picking the girls up from school. They both had soccer practice that night, so he got a chance to see both of them play.

Saturday morning, Matt and Allison took him to the Old Town Farmer's Market while Taylor was doing some volunteer hours at the high school. He got me these beautiful flowers!

Reanna joined us for the rest of the weekend and these three spent many hours at the kitchen table playing board games and Mexican Train dominoes. We also had our 2nd installment of Trivia Olympics that Al put together before his arrival. Allison and Reanna were a team and won $50! Taylor did well too and also ended with $50 in her wallet. Matt and I had some tougher questions like "What was Roy Roger's dog's name?" Seriously! Anyway, we both ended with $25 each and had a fun time.

On Sunday, we spent much of the day at Surfrider Beach taking in the sunshine and just relaxing.

Al couldn't believe how grown up the girls are getting and just enjoyed his time with them. We had a quick dinner with Hank and Leslie before Matt took him to the airport and we look forward to another visit in a few months...

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Counting My Blessings

On Saturday, March 9th, I was stunned to feel a pea-sized lump above my collarbone, so eerily familiar to 20 years earlier when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease. It took a while to process...one part of me saying the chance of reoccurrence was almost zero, but the other part saying here we go again!

On that Monday morning, I was at the lab for blood work and seeing my doctor that night. He was confident that it was just a swollen lymph node and my labs showed no signs of trouble, but he couldn't argue with my anxiety given my previous history. We both agreed a referral to a general surgeon was the best option, but only after enjoying our stress-free hawaiian vacation (which actually was stress-free).

Upon our return, I met with the surgeon. He didn't

seem too concerned either, but also agreed that I would never have peace of mind without removing the mysterious lump. He ordered a CT scan to see what he would be dealing with during surgery and after a few days of stressful anticipation, the CT showed no signs of reoccurrence! Great news, but it still didn't explain things fully. I had more pre-operative blood work and a chest X-ray and surgery was scheduled for the 16th. I did my best to stay busy, trying not to let negative thoughts take over, but this proved to be the most emotionally draining experience of my life. I didn't fear the surgery, but worried about what could be ahead!

Surgery day had finally arrived. My emotions seemed to get the best of me, but everything went smoothly. The hospital staff couldn't have been more caring and Matt was a wonderful support!!

Dr. Keenan said the lump was smaller than he expected and the surgery was easier than expected...more positive news. I went home with a one-inch incision and 2 steri-strips, but felt very comfortable and confident. Matt and the girls took very good care of me and friends were so kind to help with rides and call throughout the day. Stacy brought balloons and candy and Wendy made us dinner and dessert!!
I didn't expect to get any results until my follow-up appointment on Monday, but this morning while at Allison's Talent Show, the office called. EVERYTHING IS NORMAL!!!! It's explained as a benign lymph node with no further testing needed. I had been envisioning this call for weeks, but had also prepared myself for a very different one. I feel so very blessed to put this behind me and celebrate 20 years Cancer-free in just a few short months!
I am proud of myself for being my very best advocate and facing my fear head on. I'll hug Matt and the girls just a little tighter tonight and I don't know when I'll wipe the smile off of my face!!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Lemonade Anyone?

After a sleepover at Reanna's last night, these 3 spent the day making lemonade and rolling out cookie dough for an afternoon lemonade stand. In 2 hours, they made about $20! The party has moved to our house tonight and I can't wait to see what they think of next...
There is never a dull moment with them!!

Construction 101

Last weekend, Matt started tackling our rotting patio cover so he was eager to continue working on it today. Last night, Taylor actually volunteered to assist and was a huge help today!

Matt started by teaching her how to use the miter saw and how to measure the 2x6's for placement on the cover. After 1 or 2 with Matt's help, she was soon making the measurements and cutting the wood on her own. She handed him each piece of wood and held the ladder while he screwed them in.

After everything was measured, she even started using the drill. They spent about 4 hours together and had a great bonding day...not a single frustrating moment! She was the perfect apprentice and Matt was a great teacher!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Dress After Dress

Stacy and I took Taylor and Jenna to North County Fair to do some dress shopping. Taylor needs an 8th grade promotion dress and Jenna needs a dress for her brother's college graduation.

They seemed to have the most fun trying on some of the prom dresses we spotted...some more obnoxious than others!

Taylor found this cute one for the wedding we are going to this summer in Iowa and Jenna liked it just as much, so she got it too! We were successful in finding a graduation dress too, but I wait until the big day to post pics...