Touring Iowa

We had some down time between soccer session and after camp ended to enjoy some good meals and tour parts of campus.  This is the most photographed building I think...the old capitol building and the center of main campus.

 Across the large grass area sat this cute chapel right along the water.

Campus is split in half by a river, distinguished as west campus and east campus.  East campus had the traditional buildings, student union, several dorms and the cute downtown area. 

West campus was where all of the sports complexes and medical facilities are located.  We were so excited to see Kinnick Stadium and you can also see Children's Hospital to the right of it.  During home games, the fans inside the stadium wave up to the children and their families inside the hospital.

What a cool tradition!

A very impressive new track facility too!

Aunt Sheri told me about the yummy donut shop, Hurts Donuts.

 Such a cute shop and so many fun flavors to choose from.

 We chose our favorite 12 and brought them to DeWitt for a family dinner.

 Allison got to meet the 3 newest members to the Barnes family...Oliver,

 Brooks

 and Amelia!  We had a nice dinner with Greg and Sheri, Bill, Pat and Joyce, Mike and Cindy, Matt, Thomas and Becca, Kevin and Bethany and Mya.  It was so sweet of them to put a potluck together for our visit!

Monday morning, we spent a little more time in Des Moines before making our way to the airport.  We got lunch for the plane and walked around this frozen lake.  I think Allison enjoyed her time in Iowa and learned that she actually likes KU better than Iowa's campus for college, but we shall see...

Iowa Hawkeyes Women's Soccer Camp

We were up early on this cold and wet morning to tour the Iowa Soccer Complex before camp got underway.  Rade, the goalkeeper coach, spoke to all of us inside the training facility.  He talked about the staff, the training regimen, player expectations and the schedule.  We toured the locker room, saw the fueling stations and the indoor practice fields.

After a quick breakfast/lunch, Allison checked into camp and was part of the team called Seattle Reign.  She looked great in her Hawkeye gear!

There were 14 keepers working with the keeper coaches and then they split off into separate teams for scrimmages.

Allison loved the rostered goalkeepers and really learned so much from them.

It was such an impressive facility and a lot of great soccer over 2 days.  It was a fantastic opportunity to see the talent she is up against to try to commit to a D1 soccer program, but she played with confidence and did very well!

Here she is with one of the current keepers.  It was an experience she won't forget!

Des Moines

We landed in Des Moines after a full day of travel!  It was freezing, but really pretty.  Before driving to Iowa City, we made a few stops to check on some landmarks around the Capitol building.

The pretty skyline looking down from the Capitol.

We drove from spot to spot because the ground was pretty icy and we weren't dressed appropriately.

Senator William Boyd Allison

Then we stopped for dinner at this cool Iowa Taproom.  We loved the industrial look inside and the food was pretty tasty.

 I saw this spot on Yelp and just happened to park right next to it!

 Swings instead of barstools

and really good cupcakes!  Then we got back in the car for the 90 min drive to Iowa City...

CIF

GOHS advanced to CIF playoffs for the first time in quite a while!  They won their wildcard game and advanced to play Victorville.  They won again to advance with a home game.  It was another win on Tuesday night which was super exciting!  However, that meant Allison wouldn't be in town for the next game.  Mixed emotions, but excited for the team!  Unfortunately they lost 1-0 on Friday night, but it was a great season for the team!

Reunited at SDSU

The Curtis family was in town for Tanner's ice hockey tournament.  We met for lunch in Old Town SD and then reunited at SDSU for the Aztec basketball game and walk around campus.  

 Dave had never been to a game at Viejas Arena and the Aztecs played a great one today against UNLV!

 Campus sure has changed a lot since we all attended in the 90's, but this view remains the same.

Holden has applied to SDSU and is waiting to see if he has been accepted.  It would be pretty cool to see him attend!

GOHS Soccer Banquet

The Varsity league season has come to an end.  Our keeper did great and the team finished in 3rd.  They advanced to CIF playoffs which start tomorrow, but the girls still participated in tonight's soccer banquet for all GOHS teams.

 Allison and Sunny have become so close during this league season and hope to continue playing together in club.  They have really had each other's backs through some tough school stuff too. Grateful for the friendship!

The 3 sophomores...both great players and great friends!

Good luck in CIF Wolfpack!

Annie's Canyon

Tami and I took the girls to Annie's Canyon this morning for a fun hike on a chilly morning.

It is a short hike along a flat wooded trail to this cool rock formation.

 Cool caves and narrow passageways

After a short ladder climb, we reached the view point overlooking Solana Beach.

We finished the day with lunch at The Taco Stand and homemade ice cream at Handel's!

Memorial for Alexis

It has been an emotional few weeks for the Varsity soccer family, as we learned Zoe's sister Alexis passed away.  We have been neighbors as well since we both moved here in 2000, so this was very sad news.  

Both the boys and girls Varsity teams supported Zoe at Alexis' memorial and I know the family felt the love during this difficult time.

Alexis was beautiful, smart, talented and a true animal lover!  Her mom shrunk down one of the posters in her room and attached it to succulent boxes for families to take home and keep as a reminder of Alexis.  She will be missed by many and we will continue to pray for her family during this very difficult time!