3rd Grade Holiday Program

This is always one of my favorite days of the school year as it is filled with holiday songs and crafts and snacks in the girls' classrooms. Unfortunately this year we only had one performance to watch and Mrs. Siptroth was doing a class party that didn't include the parents:( Matt and I were only at the school for about 1/2 an hour to see the 3rd grade performers. Lorien, Kaylee and Allison in their winter wear

Allison's class was up on the stage and we were lucky enough to get front row seats!

The classes sang their hearts out to Feliz Navidad and Frosty the Snowman, along with a few less familiar songs and each class recited a poem. Allison's class taught us about Emperor Penguins.

Unfortunately there weren't any holiday festivities at the middle school so that was it for the day. The girls are both excited for the 2 week break from school. Taylor finished her finals yesterday and I couldn't be more proud of her effort and her grades. A 95% in Social Studies was her lowest grade and she finished the semester with a 4.0 GPA! She was sad to be done with Home Ec, but is looking forward to starting Drama when school resumes January 4th...

Santa Visit

It is pretty tough getting in the Christmas spirit when it is 88 degrees in the middle of December. However, Old Town Temecula has done a great job transforming itself into a Winter Wonderland (even if we did walk around in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops). We loved attending the parade last weekend and they have gorgeous lights lining Front Street. There is festive music playing on the streets and ice skaters rounding the ice rink at the Civic Center.

These carolers sang Jingle Bells as they found the limited shade near Santa's house. We have made it an annual tradition to visit Santa in Old Town, but for the 2nd year, Taylor has opted out:( Allison continues to work hard on her letter and wait in line to share it with Santa.

"Dear Santa,

I have ben a good girl this year. I would like a Itouch with a Paul Frank Itouch cover and a $50 Itunes gift card.

Love, Allison"

She even drew a picture of an Itouch on the back in case he didn't know what it was!

Santa thanked Allison for the letter, gave her a candy cane and promised to see her in twelve days. He will be awfully busy between now and then...

Presidio Cup Champions!!

After our 1st place finish in league play, we began our post season in the Presidio Cup tournament. We kicked it off with 3 games last weekend in Menifee. The girls defeated FC Murrieta 3-0, tied Matrix Tierrasanta 1-1 and beat Point Loma Riptide 3-0 to win our bracket and advance to this weekend's semi-finals!

Yesterday, Emily joined us for our semi-final game at Mira Mesa High School. We played Matrix San Elijo and, although it wasn't our prettiest win, we squeaked out a 2-1 victory and advanced to today's final!
We had an early morning drive back down to Mira Mesa for a 9:30 game against PYSL Blast. Coach Charlie gave a great pre-game pep talk reminding the girls of all they had been through to get to this point and how it certainly wasn't by accident. He encouraged great passing, talking and composure throughout the game to bring home the title...and the girls delivered. They definitely dominated the play and really fought hard in the 80+ degree heat (yes, in December!).

Taylor missed a shot on goal late in the 1st half and was so frustrated at halftime. I told her the best way to redeem herself was to go into the 2nd half and put one in and that's just what she did...24 seconds into the half! She scored a 2nd goal with some fancy footwork and along with the 2 other goals scored by Jenna and Kenz, we took home title with a 4-0 victory!

It was such a team effort with nice passing, good defense and strong goalkeeping.

WE ARE #1!!

It was a great Birthday present for Coach Charlie!

Medal Ceremony

Taylor with her friend Jenna

This season has been such an amazing ride! So far, we have been crowned Beach Soccer Champs, Carlsbad Cup finalists, Encinitas Cup Champs, Presidio League Champs and Presidio Cup Champs. We have two more tournaments before the year is done and can't wait to see what the girls will do...WAY TO GO HAWKS!!
After leaving the field, Mary fulfilled her promise and treated the girls to Cold Stone after the big win. Thanks Mary!

League Champs!

Our GU11 Hawks team finished in 1st place in the Presidio League's AA-C North Division!! We played 12 games, one home and one away against 6 other teams...Temecula United, FC Murrieta, La Costa Matrix, Westfield Lightning, Encinitas Express and Oceanside Breakers. We finished the season with a record of 9-1-2, scoring 28 goals and allowing only 4!
Taylor played most of the season as a left forward or left midfield and contributed to the team's success with some beautiful crosses and shots on goal.
We are now looking forward to a successful post season with the Presidio Cup, Hawks Shootout and State Cup tournaments December-February!

WAY TO GO HAWKS!

Old Town Holiday Parade

We have made it a holiday tradition to watch the holiday parade, but this year the city decided to change the route to parade through Old Town. It is a much prettier spot, but we were worried about difficult parking and how difficult finding a spot to sit would be. Matt decided to head down early to block off a spot for our big group to sit. He called me with frequent updates on parking and road closures.Thanks to his decision, we were able to all park right across the street from where he had set up camp and walk the short distance to our seats. I stopped at McDonald's before heading to Old Town and picked up 18 cheeseburgers and 11 medium french fries and brought a case of water to feed our hungry crew.

The girls lined up, munching on dinner before the parade started.

Reanna and Amanda with their mouths full.

Lauren, Madison, Maylie and Taylor

Taylor, Cooper, Zoe and Allison

Joe and Matt entertaining the crowd throughout the parade

The parade had everything from junior high and high school marching bands...

fire, police and other rescue vehicles...

restored and antique cars...

team mascots, including Thunder from the Lake Elsinore storm...

company or team floats...

and of course, SANTA CLAUS!

The weather was pretty warm, the parade was very festive, the kids had a blast and we were home 10 minutes after the parade ended. We couldn't have asked for a better night to kick off the holiday season!

Twin Day

Allison and Lorien put these cute outfits together for Twin Day. They matched perfectly, even down to the same color Vans and hair clips!

My New Car

After much contemplating and discussing every possible scenario, we decided to trade in my Accord and purchase a new vehicle. I have been researching online for about a month and eyeing every car on the road, while also looking for the best deals. Leslie reminded me about the Costco Auto Buying Program and that turned out to be the best bet (thanks Leslie!). This morning I requested a quote on the Honda CR-V from our local dealership, received the emailed quote while we were at Knott's and then Matt and I went to the dealership tonight to do the paperwork. It was a little more time consuming than we anticipated, but all in all, we got the deal we were looking for and got the car I was hoping for.

I love the sportiness of this car, the color, the roominess inside and am happy to stay with Honda.

Taylor is hoping this will become her car when she turns 16...just as it is paid off! Until then we will enjoy our fun purchase!!

Salute to the Heroes

Every year, Knott's Berry Farm honors Police and Fire personnel with a month-long tribute. Officers and a guest get in free and additional family gets in at a discounted rate. Taylor won a raffle at school so she and Allison were free too!Before the park officially opens, everyone pauses for the National Anthem played over the intercom as part of the special tribute.

Then it is off to the coasters...we headed right for Jaguar, our favorite in the park. It is the only one that all four of us will do together!

When we got off the ride, there was no one else in line, so we jumped on again.

We made our way to Boomerang, but Allison chickened out after watching in line, so Matt braved that one alone. He said it was probably a good thing! The girls could do these swings all day. Allison spreads her arms and legs out as wide as possible and flies like a bird. Taylor, however, holds the chains most of the time:)

Lines started getting pretty long later in the day, so we spent some time walking through Camp Snoopy and Ghost Town.

There are lots of great shops and kiosks and even better people watching from this bench!

If only this hat came in a bigger size! By 2:30, the place was packed and we don't do crowds well, so we made our way home. I would have been disappointed if we would have paid to get in, but we had a good time and appreciated the free entry. It was nice seeing so many heroes honored and we are grateful to have one in our family!

Trailblazer of the Month

Today, Allison received the Trailblazer of the Month award and was called up at Friday Flag Salute.

Mrs. Siptroth is out on medical leave this week, but Allison was thrilled to have Chessa as her substitute. She called Allison up to the front of the class and read the kind words that Mrs. Siptroth had written:

Allison is climbing the Pillar of Success in the area of Responsibility! Allison, thank you for being such a reliable person. All year long, I have noticed that you automatically know how to behave appropriately in any situation. Your mature sense of responsibility shines through whenever I glance your way. In class, you are always hard at work and I can trust you to make the right decision wherever you go. In addition to being a wonderful model for other students, you are also a positive and willing classroom volunteer. I just love being your teacher this year!

Love, Mrs. Siptroth

WAY TO GO ALLISON! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

So Long Silver Bullets

The Silver Bullets finished their season tied for 9th place out of 22 teams. They had a lot of talent on the team and we were hoping for a playoff opportunity, but fell just a little short. However, so many of the girls improved throughout the season and Allison really came on strong as a defender and even better goalie!

Allison, Elizabeth and Rachel

Tonight was the end-of-the-season party at Pizza Factory. The girls had fun hanging out in the arcade, snacking on pizza and breadsticks and buying prizes with their ticket winnings.

Kaycee, Meagan, Erica and Shelby

Matt was the assistant coach and did a great job with all of the girls. He gave direction to the defense and really taught those players how to play positions. He really enjoyed his time on the field and is looking forward to continuing as the assistant coach for the U10 All-Star team!

Coach David was a lot of fun this season too. He kept the girls smiling and having fun at practice and on the field. We look forward to seeing him out there each season.

Although the season is over, Allison was nominated to tryout for the All-Star team and continues practicing her goalie training at the Hawks goalie clinics every Wednesday. She has grown so much as a player and really enjoys her time on the field. I think we will have a busy few months with lots more soccer and we wouldn't have it any other way!!

Happy 11th Taylor B!

Wow, how did this adorable 11 week old turn into a beautiful 11 year old so fast? I can't believe it has been 11 years since we welcomed our 1st baby girl into the world. You have been such a blessing and I love you more and more each day!

I have always loved the sparkle in your gorgeous blue eyes and your smile melts my heart. You are such a considerate daughter and always try your best. I am proud of the friend that you are to everyone you meet and am so proud of your accomplishments at school and on the soccer field. I love your new found sense of adventure and eagerness to try new things.

As you turn 11, you surround yourself with great friends, have all A's in 6th grade, just won the division championship on your Hawks team and celebrated with 15 friends with a Pop Star Mystery Birthday party. You love painting your nails, playing on your laptop, listening to music, mastering new hairstyles, helping me bake, texting your friends and sharing stories about your day. You make us laugh with your funny voices and lack of common sense (sometimes). You can't wait for the ski season to start, but were so sad that we didn't get many warm summer beach days. All of these things, make you YOU and I wouldn't change a thing.

I love you with all of my heart and your Dad and I couldn't be prouder of the 11 year old we are raising. We love you so much Taylor and wish you the best year yet. Happy 11th Birthday!!!!