OUCH!!

8 minutes into Allison's game this morning, she takes this unbelievable hit to the face!!  The girl in blue was coming down the field to take a shot and Allison came out of the box to challenge her.  The girl took a shot, the ball hit Allison in the head...enough to lift her off of the ground.   She fell to the ground immediately and didn't move .  The referee took forever to blow the whistle for Charlie to come get her off of the field.  I rushed over an ice pack and we will wait to watch for concussion symptoms.  After a rough week with her back acting up and now this, we have one tough warrior!
(Follow-up: Allison sat out of soccer and PE for the entire week following her hit because she had a consistent headache.  Finally this morning, 10/5, she is headache free, so she will sit out a few more days before returning to activity.)

Hawks vs. Australia!!

 Allison and I went to Birdsall tonight to watch the BU17 Hawks host a BU17 team from Australia.  They drew quite a crowd under the lights for a mid-week game!

Charlie brought lots of snacks for all the girls that showed up and we watched some great soccer as the Hawks won 1-0!

Heritage vs Wolfpack

 Tonight was the first home game for GOHS against Heritage. 

 Grandpa Al was in town for the weekend, so he joined us for the game.

It was a high-scoring, back and forth battle with the Wolfpack finishing on top 43-40!!

Taylor sat with her friends in the Red Wave section.  I love the school spirit and I see many more Friday night games in our next 7 years at GOHS!!

Spirit Week

 This week, GOHS celebrated Spirit Week in preparation for the first home football game of the season.  Some very creative person based each day on salad dressings... so clever!

Monday-Ranch Dressing (wear Western)

Tuesday-Thousand Island (wear Hawaiian)

 Wednesday- Bleu Cheese (wear all things blue)

Thursday-House Dressing (wear Spirit gear)

Hawks vs. Legends

 Switching to Legends at the beginning of the year has been a blessing for Taylor in so many ways, but she truly misses some of her closest friends that still play for Hawks.  She has anxiously and hesitantly awaited their league matchup for the last few weeks!

 She spent the morning with her great friend Jenna.  She has been so supportive of Taylor's decision and very understanding.  

 Tim and Stacy brought the girls to the field because Matt was working and I was in Chino Hills for Allison's game.  Matt and I got there just in time for the game to start and we could quickly see the nerves were consuming Taylor.  I'm not sure what had her so worried, but I know it stirred up a lot of emotion.

It was a pretty good battle, but Hawks came out on top with a 2-0 victory.  Her old buddies were so good to her after the game

and she loved the support from Lauren and Reanna.  I know she is happy to have that game behind her and is looking forward to a successful season with her new team!!

Our New Kitchen

 For almost 13 years, we have had this kitchen and for almost 13 years, we have wanted to change it.

 We finally decided to bite the bullet and make the change.  After a week or two of getting quotes, we hired Troy to get the job done.  He came highly recommended and I visited several homes in the area that have used him recently.

Matt took a day off of work and helped Troy with the demo so we could save some of the old cabinets for the garage.

 It was crazy seeing this blank slate, but I was sure happy to get started!

 Troy spent 4 or 5 days putting in all of the chocolate glazed cabinets and center island.

 I love the new built in pantry and extra storage space surrounding the refrigerator.

 The next step was the granite countertops, which Matt and I picked out at a granite yard in Ontario.

 The tile guys came in to do a beautiful subway tile backsplash and Troy finished with the cabinet hardware, new outlets and new oil-rubbed bronze faucet to match the granite sink.

We are thrilled with the outcome and are so happy to not have to wash dishes in the bathroom sink anymore!!

Labor Day Fun

 Wendy, David and the boys drove in from Arizona for the long holiday weekend.  We spent both Saturday and Sunday at Moonlight Beach and had a great time!

 It was hot, even for the beach, so we all spent much of each day in the water.  Parker loved just playing in the waves and digging for sand crabs or building sand structures.

 Nolan had much more fun on the boogie board.

 Taylor spent hours with him, getting him up and over the waves and setting him up with the perfect wave. They loved it!

Allison took turns between catching the waves and playing on shore with Parker.

 We loved getting to see Jenee and Carlos too, along with their 3 kids!

 Sunday night we all went to dinner at Lazy Dog Cafe...

and Monday we went to the park and swam in the pool before they were back in the car for the drive to AZ.  We sure wished they lived closer, but am thankful we get to see them so much more than when they lived in Ohio!!