Celebrating 16

Matt has to work on Thursday and life has been so crazy lately, but we found a day with no work/sports to celebrate our upcoming 16th anniversary.  A big thank you to Hank and Leslie for keeping the girls so we could have a day together!   

Matt suggested a round of golf at Redhawk since the weather was beautiful and we are both sick of driving all over San Diego and Orange County.  I haven't played in a few years, but it was really fun getting back out there.

It seemed like we took turns playing well and each had a few "shanks", but we didn't keep score and just enjoyed a day out together.

 We stopped for lunch at Rico's Cantina after the front 9 and played a total of 15 holes before my arms were too dead to continue.

 The course had gorgeous scenery and it was surprisingly pleasant weather for a late July afternoon.

 After golfing, we came home to cool off in the pool for a while and had a nice dinner in Old Town at the Public House.  Neither of us were that impressed by the food, but the place had a cool atmosphere and it was nice to hang out for a night with my hubby!  I can't believe we have been together for almost 23 years already, but I can't wait to see what the next 23 have in store for us!

Copa Del Mar Champions!

Taylor's team is on quite the roll right now.  They just added a third tournament win to their summer schedule...this time the Copa Del Mar Sharks Invitational in San Diego.

In bracket play, they beat San Marcos Revolution 1-0, beat Del Mar Sharks 3-0 and OC Premier 4-0!  

On Monday morning, they were back on the field to play SDSC for the championship.  Taylor had a beautiful goal off of a corner kick and a great shot across the goal box to take an early 2-0 lead.  Miranda added one more on a break away, but Legends gave up 1 goal on a PK to finish 3-1!

 This team is working so well together and improving with each game.  The opposing coach said this was the best team they have played against all year.  Everyone is contributing and they are getting great results.  Coach Amanda was very proud too!

Taylor had her best weekend yet!  She scored 5 goals and had 2 assists.  She is contributing so much right now and has proven to be a real leader on this team.  She is playing very composed and confident soccer and we are so proud of her!!

20

Today was a huge milestone for me...20 YEARS CANCER-FREE!  I know many Cancer patients never get a chance to celebrate such a milestone and I understand everyday how fortunate I am to say those words.  Although there have been a few scares along the way, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel blessed to have battled it, beat it and become stronger because of it!

Albion Cup Showcase

It was Allison's weekend of soccer...this time in Carlsbad and 4S Ranch for the Albion Cup.  

The first game was against United and the girls played the best I've ever seen them play.  However, they lost a tough one 2-1.  In the afternoon they played Arsenal in one of the weirdest games.  They won 3-0, but it was crazy bunch ball and not much skill.

When we found out we would be playing at Stagecoach Park, we got word that we were just down the street from Rita's Italian Ice.  What an amazing creation...frozen custard on the bottom, Italian ice in the middle (we all got mango) and another swirl of frozen custard on the top!

Sunday mornings game was a "must win" if we wanted to advance to the semi's.  The girls played Castro Valley (from the bay area).  There is no way some of these girls were 11 as they were bigger than half of our parents, but oh well.  It was a tough one both on and off the field.  We lost 3-0, but were more disappointed and disgusted by one of the opponent's parents on the sideline.  He was cursing and so inappropriate that we had to get a field marshall to stand next to him the entire game. Really?  We didn't advance which was disappointing.  The girls have one more tournament in a few weeks before the season gets underway...

May Be Our Last Beach Day...

 We are running out of summer days to get to the beach so took advantage of one last day with no camps, practice, appointments, etc.  We didn't see much of the sun at Moonlight today, but it was a nice break from the heat at home.  Taylor had fun with friends from her old team and enjoyed introducing them to Mallory, a friend from her new team.  Add in all of the siblings and it was a fun for all!

Allison even caught a fish with her bare hands!  Well, she actually stepped on it when coming in from boogie boarding and scooped it up.  She brought it on shore long enough to show it off to everyone and then let it swim off back into the ocean.

Legends Camp

 Taylor spent Monday-Thursday doing Legends Camp.  The morning sessions were 3 hours of skills training and the evening sessions were 3 hours of team building activities.  Each team was given a color to wear to the team building sessions and Taylor's group was NEON!

Lauren's team was black.  Sure loved the cape and black lipstick, but only for this kind of event!

On Tuesday, the team building activity was a scavenger hunt around town.  Taylor called asking if they team could come over to cross a few things off of the list since we live closest to the field.  They were able to swim a lap in the pool, all climb in our bathtub for a photo, put 15 straws into a Diet Coke and all drink at the same time 

and take a photo with a police officer!  Then they ventured to the mall to teach a group martial arts, make a baby laugh, have someone do 5 juggles with the soccer ball and many more fun tasks.

Thursday night was the final session with games and prizes and a final chance to perfect their team cheers.  Mallory's little brother, Bentley,  really got into the festivities with this awesome mohawk.  Taylor is  enjoying her new team and this was another great way to bring them closer together!

Hawks Pool Party

A big thank you to the families that hosted today's pool party at the Paseo community pool!  The girls had a great time swimming, playing games and just bonding as a team off of the field!

Mission Bay SportsCenter

We gave Allison a gift certificate for an afternoon on the water at Mission Bay SportsCenter.  We attempted to go a few weeks ago, but the weather was too cool and windy.  I'm glad we waited because today was perfect!

She chose stand up paddle boarding as our first activity.  We weren't too thrilled about having to wear the lifejackets but we didn't let it get in the way. 

 

 After trying this activity in Maui this spring, we were excited to try it again.  Matt had a much better experience...claiming the board was wider and longer.  I'm sure the smoother water helped as well since we were just in the bay.  Success!

 Then we switched to tandem kayaks and had a relaxing hour cruising around.  This was a lot less strenuous on our arms and we were able to cover more distance.

It was a very fun family afternoon and I'll keep my eye out for another Groupon deal so we can do it again! 

All of this exercise made us very hungry!  We went to Miller's Field for dinner and caught the first half of the US Men's Soccer game.  On our last visit to Pacific Beach, I had spotted a make-your-own ice cream sandwich shop, but we weren't hungry at the time.  I made sure to have a small dinner to save room for dessert and I'm so glad I did.  Two chocolate chip cookies with mint chip ice cream=delicious.  We loved The Baked Bear!

Canyon PSA Champions!!

Taylor's team spent the weekend playing at Cal State Fullerton for the Canyon PSA Invitational.  Their first game was against Santa Clarita Valley Magic and it was a big 6-0 victory!  5 different girls scored which is great for their confidence.  In the afternoon, they faced MB Sand and Surf and won 2-1.  Taylor had a great score off a corner for Legends to take and hold the lead.  

With two wins, they advanced to Sunday's semifinal against Empire SC.  It was a hard fought 0-0 tie that went right into penalty kicks.  Jenna, Taylor and Jules scored on our 1st 3 penalty kicks and Linze blocked all 3 of the opponent's.  Although that should have been enough to win, the ref made us go through one more round of kicks.  Miranda missed hers, but Linze blocked another...giving us the 3-0 victory!

 Legends faced Inland Brasil in the championship.  They were a very fast and physical team and had won their previous games, 10-0 and 4-0!

Our girls battled hard in the heat and came away with a 2-1 victory and took home the trophy and championship medals!

The team has won 2 of 4 summer tournaments and look better with each game.  They will enjoy a fun week of camp and a nice weekend off before meeting in the Copa Del Mar tournament in two weeks...

Goodbye Sweet Max

 The hardest day for a pet owner is the day you have to say goodbye.  This morning, we made the difficult decision to say goodbye to our sweet 15 1/2 year old Max.

 We rescued her from the pound in January 1999, along with Bailey, and they were our babies before babies.  Although Max was a very hyper youngster, she has been the most loyal, loving dog this family could have ever asked for.

We all adored her and we will miss her terribly!  She was still going pretty strong for 15 1/2, but her hips just couldn't take anymore.  We know she is at peace now and reunited with Bailey.

We love you Max and will never forget all you did for our family!!

So Long Midwest

 Today we said goodbye to Chicago with a final lunch at Grand Lux Cafe, sitting above Michigan Avenue.  We have had a great week exploring, visiting family and reliving some of my childhood memories. The girls were so fun to travel with.  We missed Matt a lot and wished he could have joined us, but I cherished our "girl time" and am so proud of the young ladies these two have become.

We love traveling and I love seeing it all through their eyes.  I think we can officially say they have been to 18 states and look forward to adding a few more to the list in November!

On Top of Chicago

 This morning, we were up early for our last "must-try" treat, Dunkin' Donuts.  The girls had never been to one and we spotted this one on our walk yesterday, just a few blocks from our hotel. 

 They were good, but no match for the Barnes Foodland ones we had on Friday!

 It was a little rainy this morning so we took the city bus to Willis Tower, previously known as Sears Tower.  At 103 stories and 1,353 feet, it is the tallest building in Chicago and in the Western Hemisphere. 

 It is an office building to many large companies and also has its own restaurants, gym and even a post office.

Taylor was not looking forward to the trip up to the Skydeck but was determined to fight her fears.  This is quite the tourist spot, with lines often hours long, but I think the rain must have been a deterrent.  We walked right in!

Visibility wasn't that great because of the weather, but we were still 

able to see the Chicago River, Lake Michigan and Soldier Field and there was no denying we were HIGH!

 The coolest part of the Skydeck are these four "ledges" that creep 4 feet past the edge of the building.  Walking out on them is a little sketchy

but the view straight down is unbelievable!

 On our way up to the top, we were in the elevator with about 12-15 Amish young men and women.  The girls both love the show Breaking Amish and were waiting for the cameras to come out. We were fascinated by their language and attire.  

We took the bus back to our hotel, ate our left over pizza and then walked a mile to Navy Pier.  It was still a little overcast, but we appreciated the cool temps to walk around.

 From the pier, there are gorgeous views of the city skyline.

 View of the John Hancock Building.

 Navy Pier reminded me a lot of Pier 39 or Seaport Village...lots of touristy shops and restaurants.  The ferris wheel was beautiful, but it was  a little too windy for us to feel comfortable to ride.

We took a little nap in the hotel this afternoon,  rested our feet and got some dinner before heading back out on Michigan Avenue for some shopping.  While we walked yesterday, Taylor spotted a girl with a Sprinkles bag.  We asked her for its location and had to stop tonight for dessert.

So many choices, but we narrowed it down to the Chocolate Marshmallow, Red Velvet Cake and Vanilla Coconut.  We shared all 3 and they were delicious!

We couldn't believe that there was a cupcake ATM outside...use the screen to pick your flavor and the cupcakes pop out in individual boxes. So clever!

On our way back to the hotel, we shopped at the coolest Marshall's and HomeGoods and Taylor bought a pillow for her bed and Allison got some clothes. Outside the Peninsula hotel, there were hundreds of screaming girls lining the street and police officers everywhere.  We inquired and learned that Justin Beiber was in town and the girls had been there since 7:00am hoping for a sighting.  Crazy!