Coronado Holiday Cup

 After getting postponed by rain last weekend, the Coronado Holiday Cup tournament took place this weekend in gorgeous Coronado.  The weather was much better and our views were picture perfect!

 We had early games both mornings, but it was tough to complain with this sunrise view as the team warmed up.  Unfortunately, the Hawks girls didn't have the best results…a 4-1 loss to Coronado, a 4-0 loss to Carlsbad and a 0-0 tie to the Hotspurs this morning.  

 We made the most of it though and had a fun day by the water after the tournament.  We had a delicious brunch at Wonderland Ocean Pub in Ocean Beach with Coach and all of these girls.

 Then we walked along the pier to check out the big surf.

 Not bad for a winter December day!

We finished the day with a little shopping at Brandy Melville and treats at The Baked Bear! 

White Elephant 2014

The long-awaited White Elephant party was finally here!  The pressure for funny gifts is getting greater and greater each year. The Lebitski's hosted this year and we had a great night!

The "Littles" aren't so little any more

 Some of the "Bigs" are bigger than others, but they are all beautiful young ladies now and growing way too fast!

 We started with a delicious dinner of BBQ ribs and chicken with all of the sides and spent time visiting in their new backyard.

 Then we drew numbers (29 this year) and took our places in the family room.  There was lots of stealing and lots of laughter!

Jenna was up first and got this fun Rasta hat, but it was quickly stolen by Maylie 

and frozen when Hank stole it from Maylie.

 Poppy wasn't too impressed by his "Instant Underwear".  

 I was proud of my gift chosen by Marcie…a Beta fish and a bag of chips for Fish and Chips!  It was quickly stolen by Lindsey and frozen by Luke.  I hope he gives the fish a good home :)

 Katy with the basket case game, although after getting stolen, 

 she stole Allison's sign for her bar!

So Allison stole Zoey's People of Walmart calendar and framed photo of Charlie from 8th grade (another one of my ideas!)

Charlie then and now…Ha!

 Stacy with her Obama surfer from Hank and Leslie's recent Kauai trip.

 TJ did not like his "You're So Special" angel figurine.

Matt opened my favorite of the night.  He was confused at first by the glass ornament that said Sweet Tooth and was full of sprinkles.  After a closer look, he found Darian's eye teeth from childhood dangling off a string.  Disgusting, but super good one Darian!

It now proudly hangs on our Christmas tree!

 Darian got the Christmas Story leg lamp

and Taylor was very embarrassed by her Ball Lifter Briefs!

 Hayden got this hideous troll-looking statue

 and Lauren sported her granny wig.

 I opened this lovely poop soap which looked far too realistic.  Thankfully it was stolen and I ended up with a wine cork.  

 The pickle-flavored candy canes, Barf-flavored jelly beans, owl ornament, fire hydrant cookie jar and a few others I can't recall rounded out the list of fun, yet disturbing gifts. Another successful exchange

 and a fun night with great friends!

Hawks Sock/Cookie Exchange

 Tonight was the annual Hawks Christmas party.  Thank you to the Settle's for hosting!

 The girls each brought a plate of their favorite Christmas cookies

 and they did a cute sock exchange.

Merry Christmas to all of our Hawks teammates and friends!

Light Tour

While Taylor was busy studying for finals and Matt was grading papers, Allison, Kaia and I headed out to look at lights around town.  We toured Bainbridge last weekend as a family (didn't take pictures), but several Facebook friends have posted about some other great ones.

 This one was our favorite!  It was set to its own radio station and the lights changed to the beat of the music.

 Even Kaia was mesmerized by the flashing lights!

We didn't have a lot of time to do to many "festive" things this month, but this sure put us in the Christmas spirit!

Tournament Champions

The GOHS JV girls had their first tournament of the season over the last 3 days at Linfield Christian. Thursday's first game was against Horizon and Great Oak won 4-2.  Taylor scored 1 of the goals!  In the 2nd game of the day, they beat Woodcrest Christian 11-0!  Taylor added 3 more goals and the whole team played great.

 Friday night's game was in the pouring rain against our Frosh/Soph team.  It proved to be a very tough battle for our girls who struggled to keep possession and have nice touch on the ball.  I think they also let their emotions get the best of them…playing their own friends and classmates.

 We were prepared with umbrellas and blankets but still froze!  The game ended in a 1-1 tie, with Taylor scoring the only goal for her team.

Taylor and Devan's sweet friend, Jenner, sat in the pouring rain and cheered them on!

 He even returned for Saturday night's championship game against Linfield with these cute signs!

Taylor had a beautiful corner kick that was headed in by Emily and then Taylor scored the 2nd goal that led to a 2-0 victory.

 Great Oak JV- Tournament Champions!

These girls played really well together and I know Coach Bell was very proud of them.  It was such a pleasure watching Taylor play with such confidence and skill.  I hadn't seen her play that well in quite a while and she really held her own out there…scoring 6 out of the team's 18 goals and assisting in several others.  

HOBY

I was so proud to learn that Mr. Skaggs had nominated Taylor for this year's HOBY conference!  She was called up to the counseling office on Thursday and given the news.  She called me after school from the locker room to share the exciting info.  The only bummer is that it's during the same week of the shoulder course, but we will make it work because this is a huge opportunity.  

Taylor was chosen for her hard work in WSB and the conference will help motivate and empower her to be a strong leader at her school and in our community as she continues her leadership efforts at Great Oak and beyond.  She can't wait to live in the dorms, participate in all of the seminar activities and meet  students from other high schools.

Congratulations Taylor!!  

Day at the ZOO

 As Taylor was returning from Disneyland, Allison and I spent a day roaming the SD Zoo.  It was an 85 degree day at the end of Nov, but the animals were active and the park has changed so much since we last visited.

We took the tour by bus and also walked most of the park to check out the giraffes,

 rhinos,

 kangaroos,

 elephants,

 polar bears,

orangutans,

pandas, 

and my favorite Okapi!

 The view from the Skyway was just perfect and so was our day at the zoo.

Before heading home, we also made a stop at SDSU to visit the bookstore.  I love this campus and loved sharing it with Allison.  This is the new Student Union building and such a pretty backdrop for the campus.