V-A-R-S-I-T-Y

Taylor had 3 days of tryouts last week for the Varsity soccer team.  Last night I got a call from Allison P. saying that Taylor made the team and they would be at our house at 3:20am for the traditional "kidnapping" of new teammates.  After a long weekend of little sleep, I knew this would be tough for Taylor, but I was so excited for her.

 I set my alarm for 3:15am and met the girls at the front door.  They quietly walked up the stairs and busted open Taylor's door…screaming and spraying her with silly string.  It scared the crap out of her!  They gave her 1 minute to put on leggings and grab her school bag.  Luckily she slept in a sports bra, just in case!

After picking up Chloe too, they were blindfolded and driven to the sports park for early morning conditioning while being sprayed with water.

They were given lovely new looks and had team breakfast at IHOP and Starbucks.

Once at school, they had to perform a dance on the Senior Lawn and blow their flutes whenever their names were called.  This poor girl is beyond exhausted, but so happy to be on the team!

At 8:00am, the roster (Taylor was #42) was posted on the website and they have their first meeting at lunch today.  I can't wait to cheer her on and am so happy to see her hard work paying off.  CONGRATULATIONS TAYLOR!!

HOMECOMING 2015

The Homecoming festivities continued today with the dance/carnival.  Taylor had a crazy day with an early morning at school setting up for tonight and then an 11:50 soccer game.  She rushed home to shower and Lauren was sweet enough to come over to do her hair and makeup just in time for Andrew to pick her up at 3:15.

I followed behind them for pictures at the Old Town Community Theater.  I loved Taylor's dress and shoes!

 I thought it was so sweet of Andrew to text Taylor a few tie options last week so they could match each other.  He picked the one she liked and they looked so cute together!

 Devan, Taylor and Madison

Carter, Tim, Cody, Andrew, Parker and Nathan

 These guys were troopers.  It was hotter than heck, but they put up with us moms as we asked for pose after pose!

 Jacob arrived a little late because he had a soccer game too.

 He looked so handsome and I love the friendship Taylor has with him!

 Chris and Kim did a great job putting together dinner at Madison's house after pictures.

They decorated and picked up Rosa's Cantina for dinner.

 A few more girls joined in after they finished a late day of dance practice.

 Devan, Caitlyn, Taylor, Summer and Madison

Jenner and his date, Miranda arrived just in time for a few pictures before they all left for the dance.  With 2,800 tickets sold, I'm sure it will be a great event…dancing, ferris wheel, carnival games and more!  GOHS is amazing!

Homecoming Game

GOHS faced off against Corona HS for tonight's homecoming game.  Taylor left this morning super early to set up the rally and then stayed at school to be in line for the Red Wave once the gates opened at 5:00pm.  

 It was super hot so Allison and I waited until 6:00, just in time for the sun to go down behind the mountains.  We had fun sitting with Wendy, Tami, Kylee and Feliza.  GO played great and were 3-3 at half.  The halftime show followed the Grease Homecoming theme.  

 The marching band, cheerleaders and dance teams were all involved, along with Danny and Sandy dancing to Grease songs.

 There weren't any helicopters or crazy surprises like last year, but it was a cute show!  At the end, the male dancers all took off their jackets to reveal the Homecoming Queen's name spelled out on the back of their t-shirts.

The halftime ended with a cool fireworks display and GO won the game!

Temecula Valley Women's Club

Back in June, Taylor attended the HOBY leadership conference at Chapman University.  The Temecula Valley Women's Club paid for 2 students to attend from each of the 6 local high schools.  Today those students were invited to their monthly meeting to speak on their experience.  Taylor and I attended the meeting and the sweet ladies were so kind to all of us.  

 We first had a buffet breakfast and then the kids each took turns speaking.  Taylor thanked them for the opportunity to attend and shared some of her favorite memories from the 3 day conference.  She was grateful that they had career counselors to help them decide on their college major and career path. I was very proud of Taylor's public speaking…especially in front of over 100 people! 

It was clear that all of the ladies were so impressed by the accomplishments of these students and get great pleasure in helping them get to HOBY.  

After they all had a chance to speak, we went outside to get a photo with the HOBY committee leaders and then the girls were dismissed so they could get back to school.  

Kaia Turns 2

 My family thinks I'm a little crazy to spoil Kaia with gifts on her birthday, but I'm going to do it anyway.  This sweetheart has been such a wonderful addition to our family and she deserves a celebration!

 When everyone was up for the morning, we showered Kaia with all of her gifts.  She quickly devoured her peanut butter bone and loved her new purple collar and leash.  Well she didn't tell me she loved them, but she didn't complain either!

She got new squeaky balls and a stuffed giraffe and had a great time running around the park with Matt and me. 

 Happy 2nd Birthday Kaia!

"Women in Business"

 Securitas sponsored a table at the Temecula Chamber of Commerce's "Women in Business" event at South Coast Winery.  Kelly invited me to attend, along with Paradise, Marie and Diana from our branch offices.  When we arrived this morning, there were about 40 different companies with outdoor booths at the Expo and Corner Bakery provided breakfast.

At 9:00am, we took our places inside to begin the series of guest speakers. 

 There were 4 different professionals speaking on storytelling as a positive tool in the sales industry, portraying your "best self" through fashion and personal image and several self-motivating topics for women in the work force.  I especially enjoyed the 1980's Olympian javelin thrower who is now President of her own company.  She spoke about "being Olympic" and always striving for more.

We had a fantastic lunch and I enjoyed the time with the Securitas ladies. It was even nicer to get out of my normal office for a while and feel like a real professional!

Playing Tourist

 Labor Day weekend ended up being a last minute soccer-free weekend so the girls and I made the most of it since Matt was in the Bay Area visiting Dave.  With nothing on the calendar, we decided to spend the day in Santa Monica.  We started with lunch at the new Steak and Shake and shopping on the 3rd Street Promenade.  Both girls found some cool stuff and we watched lots of great street performers.

 Then we walked a few short blocks to the Santa Monica Pier.

 It was a busy beach day as summer comes to an end.

 There were so many cute food trucks, but we were saving room for Afters on our ride home.

 This fun new ice cream shop is in Chino Hills, although I think there is at least one more location in Torrance.

 It is home to the "Milky Bun" and is so cute inside.

 They have very unique flavors and are all hand written on the glass.  We tried "Churro", "Cookie Monster", "Cookie Butter" and "Triple C's" (Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Fudge and Caramel).

 Here is the famous "Milky Bun"…a warm glazed donut filled with a scoop of your favorite ice cream. I went with Triple C's and it was delicious!  The first few bites absolutely melt in your mouth

 but by about this bite, it was getting a little too sweet!  I'm glad I tried it, but we all agreed we could have shared.  I think the ice cream in a waffle cone would have been even better or the donut alone would have been perfect!

It is certainly a popular place.  This was the line out the door as we were leaving.