3v3

I have to admit I wasn't really looking forward to this year's 3v3 after the sweltering, unbearable heat of last year!  Luckily, the weather cooperated a little bit better and we had a great day at Rancho Jurupa Sports Complex.

 The Academy team merged with the Black team and created 4 teams of 6 to compete in the tournament.  Allison was on the Hawkquitos with Kat, Abby, Monica, Aubree and Kemberly.  

 I got to put my coaching cap back on and enjoyed spending the day with these girls.  We won our first game 6-0, lost our 2nd 4-1 and won the 3rd 5-0 to advance to the Semi's.  Unfortunately, we lost 5-0 to a very tough Legends North team.

Allison scored a few goals and had a great time spending the whole day as a field player, since 3v3 doesn't use a keeper.

 These 3 were sad to all be put on different teams, but still spent their downtime together in the shade or cheering on each other's teams.

After a long, hot day, we stopped for dinner and ice cream at The Habit with Zoey and Darian. The girls will enjoy a nice week off for 4th of July and then get back into practice to prepare for our upcoming tournaments in July and August.

Amazing Race

Reanna turned 12 yesterday and we helped her celebrate with an Amazing Race party.  I was one of the lucky drivers and got to chauffeur the big girls (Team Red).

 Hank worked really hard to put together the race with 3 teams.  They started by having to lace up and tie each other's shoes and then run to the park to find their first clue.

 Allison's team took the early lead when she found their yellow shirts hidden in a tree.

 Once each group found their shirts, they had to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies in a very chaotic kitchen.

 Each team split up from there.  We started with animal rides around the mall,

 then to swim 20 laps in the pool.

 The girls arrived at Painted Earth soaking wet

 but painted these cute tiles for Reanna!

 They each hit 30 balls at the batting cages

 and matched paint swatches at Home Depot.

 We stopped at Walmart to buy nail polish to match our paint swatch and went back to Reanna's to paint nails.

 Then it was on to the middle school to hop a lap in a potato sack and more swimming at a different pool…Impossible!  It got really exciting when we stopped at Barnes and Noble to research questions and Lauren ran out of the store with a  book we didn't purchase.  We realized as we drove over to McDonald's and had to drive back in to return it before the cops were notified…Classic!

 Our little robbery stunt cost us first place by 30 seconds, but Allison's yellow team took home top prize and the girls all had a great time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REANNA!

Living the Good Life

While all of the Moms and Dads were busy working this week, these kids lived the good life in SD!  A huge thank you to Poppy for being "in charge" and supervising all of their activities at and around the hotel.  The girls spent hours each morning lounging in bed while watching the World Cup and just being lazy.

They took lots of selfies,

 spent hours in the pool,

 ordered virgin pina coladas poolside

 and even went to a Padres game.  The SD fan support was visible all over the stadium and surrounding neighborhoods.  Tony Gwynn was a true baseball legend and wonderful coach at SDSU.  

 Throughout the week, they also got to eat at Burger Lounge, The Old Spaghetti Factory, Joe's Crab Shack, Chocolat and Gaslamp Pizza.

They are already counting down until next year. They seem to think Lauren will get to drive them all over since  she will have her license.  We will keep letting them think that...

Faculty Dinner

 Most of the husbands were able to drive down and stay the night for the faculty dinner.  This year's event was set outside and was a little more casual than last year.  The weather was perfect right along the water and we all cleaned up pretty well!

Leslie, Me, Marci and Wendy

The outdoor space had several different stations with drinks, dinner and desserts.  We started off at the Nitrogen Hibiscus Margarita station.

 Yummy and strong!

The dinner stations were sushi, scallops, several seafood risottos, carving stations and salads.  

 For dessert, we loved these Antigriddle lollipops…White Russian Mousse with raspberry and Cinnamon Mousse with Dulce de Leche.

Larky, Wendy, Su, Leslie, Kelly, Me and Marci

Love these ladies!

 We were entertained by a great band

 and the fun photographer again.

 Poppy took all of the kids to dinner at Burger Lounge, but spotted us on the lawn when they returned.  They all joined the party too for a few fun pics!

 Hannah, Taylor and Lauren

 Reanna and Allison

 We were even able to capture one family photo!

 I had such piece of mind this week knowing all of the kids were having so much fun together and really all getting along so well!

A super big thank you to Leslie for making me a part of the SDSI team.  It has been a great experience and it sure is fun working with friends!

SDSI 2014

We were back at the Hilton Bayfront for the 31st Annual SDSI Course!  After months of preparation, nearly 430 registrants and faculty began arriving from 35 different countries.

 We spent most of Monday meeting in Larky's room (check out just a few of the gift baskets that needed to be delivered to the faculty), putting packets together for all of the participants and enjoying a delicious dinner at Donovan's with Dr. Esch.

We added a few members to this year's staff and it was such a great group!

Wendy and Leslie took our server's suggestion and ordered Sidecars.  They loved them!

 Cheers to a great week!

 Dinner was amazing…filet, shrimp scampi, au gratin potatoes and veggies.

 The triple brownie sundae was outstanding too and we all shared a Benedictine and Brandy in honor of Dr. Esch's father. 

 Tuesday morning we met with the Hilton staff that would be assisting us all week.

 Breakfast was on the 30th floor and the views were spectacular.

 We had a perfect weather week forecasted too!

The course officially got underway Wednesday with labs, lectures and many different breakout sessions over the next few days.

 We even had a chance to sneak in on some of the Arthoscopy cadaver labs taking place...

Fascinating to watch and the doctors really learn so much from the hands-on instruction!

 We worked hard, but played hard too!  We had a fabulous Baja BBQ at Bayfront Park Wednesday night and cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the Exhibit Hall on Thursday night.  There was even a photographer taking fun laugh shots with his fisheye lens!  Hard to believe this crew got rave reviews!

 We didn't get too much time to enjoy the fresh air of this beautiful city, but we sure had a fun time working together and loved all of the interesting stories shared by doctors from around the world.

The course had its biggest attendance yet and we have the next 3 years contracted at the Hilton to watch it grow even bigger!