Category Archives: Soccer

Early Years of Soccer

The first game of the year was played after being delayed because of our smoke filled skies. Wednesday after our rain on Tuesday made for clear enough air for outdoor activities.

This age is a hoot to watch. The swarming of all the players caused a few trips with certain players landing on the pitch.

Our favorite player managed to stay on her feet.

Since there is not a designated goalie at this age level, the players take turns. She was not impressed with the stinky gloves!

I missed this little guys first game but was happy for the photos his parents sent.

The treats at the end of the game are every players delight!

Speaking of soccer and soccer fans, Josh and Laura are celebrating their 22nd Anniversary today.

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Here we are in Manchester, England at the legendary Old Trafford, September 2013. In less than a month we’ll be with them at another stadium in England to watch another Premier League soccer game. Another dream fulfilled, Lord willing.

Happy Anniversary Josh and Laura. We love who you are individually and as a couple. May God increase your joy and love with each other and with Him!

We’ll be at the Fair this afternoon checking out the animals and other treats a small town fair offers. Have a wonderful last weekend in August!

Summertime

Summer has been full of sunshine and some usual events and unusual events, too.

Fishing on the shore and throwing rocks is always fun.

Soccer camp is over but soccer teams have now formed and continue through August.

Our son Josh signed up for his first ever triathlon and his goal was to ‘not drown and to finish’. He achieved both and finished well. Laura was there to see it in person and document this epic achievement.

He was being cheered on from near and far!

We were all so impressed and happy that he could accomplish this goal. I was particularly happy he didn’t drown!

After all that excitement we were ready for a week of Vacation Bible School and that will be a separate post.

We are already at the middle of August and so many have started back to school already. It’s always hard for me to get my mind wrapped around that since I’m such a traditional school year kind of gal. Start up after Labor Day and end by or shortly after Father’s day! Happy days of summer to all of you.

 

Pass the Torch Hodgepodge

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It’s Hodgepodge time again and Joyce is celebrating Hodgepodge #500!! Congratulations to Joyce and Hodgepodgers everywhere. Click over to join in the fun.

1. Last time you drove/flew 500 miles (ish)? What’s a place you’d like to visit that lies approximately 500 miles from your current location? 

In December of 2022 we drove to Abbotsford, B.C. Via Bothell Washington and once we arrived in Abbotsford we drove on to Chilliwack with friends for our Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas party. That was just under 500 miles worth of driving.

It would be a nice vacation with Family to stay at Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast for a few days and enjoy the sand and sea just beyond our doorstep. Cannon Beach is 500 miles from us.

2. Tell us about a time recently it felt like you were ‘racing against the clock’. 

Being retired and older I don’t race much. I have felt the need to clear out things and let things go before our kids have to sort through it all.

3. Have you ever attended any really large sporting events?

Yes!

What was your impression of the experience?  

We have enjoyed memorable experiences at some large sporting events. I attended my first Rose Bowl Game on January 2nd in 1967 (USC v. Purdue). The Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game are always on New Year’s Day unless that day lands on a Sunday. When January 1st lands on a Sunday the parade and game are moved to Monday. My second Rose Bowl Game was in 1992 when Greg was a student at the University of Washington and the Huskies played at the Rose Bowl against Michigan. The Huskies won this game which made the experience very exciting.

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In 1984 the Summer Olympics were hosted by Los Angeles and we were able to get tickets to some rowing events at Lake Casitas. The most exciting part of these Olympic Games was the fact that my husband Greg was able to represent his company as an Olympic Torch Bearer!

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In 1994 our sons got tickets for World Cup games in Los Angeles and Stanford. The USA was hosting that year. The photo above was at the Rose Bowl for one of the games we attended.

Dan and I attended Brazil v Camaroon at Stanford Stadium. Attire was colorful and the party atmosphere was very lively. Both those countries know how to celebrate.

We were able to track down where the US team was staying and training and our sons met every player on the team and got all their autographs. That’s Alexi Lalas with our sons. That’s not a cigarette in his mouth.

When Dear and I were traveling with Josh and Laura in England in 2013, Josh got us tickets to a Manchester United game v. Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. That was a great time! Josh also made it into an Arsenal game on that trip.

The Superbowl, The Kentucky Derby, The World Series, FIFA World Cup, The Indianapolis 500, The Daytona 500, The Olympics, The Masters, Wimbledon, The Boston Marathon, March Madness, Tour de France, Monaco’s Grand Prix, The Open (golf), The Ryder Cup, The Stanley Cup Finals..of the events listed which would you most like to attend in person? Or maybe one that’s not listed? 

Fifa World Cup, it will be hosted by the USA/Canada/and Mexico in 2026.

4. Are you an iced tea drinker? If so, do you drink it year round, or only in the spring and summer months? Do you make your own or buy it bottled? Sweet or unsweet? Flavored? Lemon or no lemon? How about a Long Island Iced Tea? 

Not a usual for me. If I do have an iced tea it would be lightly sweetened with some fresh lemon squeeze or the last variety.

5. April 20th is Volunteer Recognition Day…do you volunteer in some way? Tell us about it. If not, tell us about a volunteer you appreciate. 

I volunteer at church under Women’s Ministry. I’m the branch leader of Hospitality serving the church family in planning, supplying, and carrying out fellowship opportunities involving the entire church body. Responsibilities include: Maintaining the kitchen and supplies. Helping with food serving and cleanup for church events like potlucks, Easter brunch, pie and praise, and funerals.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We celebrated our grandson’s 4th birthday this past Saturday. We had a T-Rex crash the party and we had a cute dinosaur and delicious dinosaur cake. If you want to see more of the surprise T-Rex entry click here.

I’ll be sharing more from JJ’s Dino-wonderful party on Friday.

Thanks for stopping by for #500!

Mid August Fun

Our grands were dropped off last Thursday for some time at Gramps and Baba’s.

The new dollar store water blasters were broken in.

Hunting for hidden marbles is always fun.

Big Wheels in the backyard…

…and Big Wheels in the front yard.

Inside fun consisted of washing dishes (tupperware), working on a craft and building with Construx. All too soon it was time for them to be picked up for home and lunch. Hope they were still hungry after all the snacks they had at Babas.

It was fun to see this photo of our ‘Coast kids’ enjoying time together at the Seattle Sounders game on Sunday night. Too bad the Sounders lost. Thank you Laura for taking this photo!!

We are in another hot pattern here with the high predicted over 100 on Thursday. Watering in the early hours will have to be the norm for a while longer. Hope this new week is going well in your corner.

Big Boy Bed

August is a big month around here with this little guy’s crib being converted to his toddler bed. He is quite proud.

August is also soccer team month for Addy while JJ gets to hang out and get creative on how to enjoy his snacks.

And this week has been busy every night with Vacation Bible School where I am helping by selling the t-shirts.

Both our grands can enjoy Zoomerang which will finish up tonight.

Our church was converted to the Land Down Under with Koalas, Platapi, Kangaroos and Dingos.

And in the middle of all this fun and excitement there is a new puppy.

I’ll share a full post about Ember next week.

We Are the Champions!

What a day. What an epic event. Victory is always sweet. Our day was fabulous from beginning to end. More to come from our dinner event after the championship game with our beloved friends!

I’m back home tonight basking in the comfort of our country bungalow reunited with Dear. I hope to catch up with your blogs soon.

Seattle and the Shop

Tomorrow I’m flying with our DIL and our two grandbabes to Seattle.

I’ll be giving my full 90 on Sunday at the Major League Soccer Cup game between our team, the Seattle Sounders FC, and Toronto FC. I found this old ticket from 2012 when we played Toronto for our opening game of that season. Seattle is all a buzz with the excitement of hosting this game on our home turf.

I’ll be seeing all our kids this weekend. This is an early anniversary gift our kids had made for us. The photo was taken in Seattle on September 8th. Brought me to tears when I opened it. The best of gifts for sure.

I’m not taking my computer with me because I’ll have a 2 year old in tow and I need both hands without an extra carry-on. I’ll be scarce until next Wednesday.

Dear will be staying home and continuing work on the shop roof.

He’s a hard working guy! Our son chain sawed out the notches on the top of the posts. That was a huge help to Dear.

We’re still hoping the roof will be on by the first big snow. Time will tell.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I’ll check in with y’all next Wednesday or Thursday.

Family Colors

Early on Tuesday Laura started a text with our family members asking us to show our Sounders Colors. We texted her back our shots of support and she made the collage. When it comes to sports we are a Sounders Soccer Family. And right now David (Sounders) beat Goliath (LAFC) 3-1 on their home field. Our boys are going to the MLS Cup Final on November 10th against either Atlanta or Toronto. Those two teams play each other tomorrow night. It was fun sending texts back and forth during the game. It will be a while before I can fall asleep now…

…So I’ll add some fun things that more people can relate to in this post.

Speaking of colors Jamie and the kids were able to enjoy some color and leaves before the weather turned on us.

How cute are they covered in leaves!? Maple Trees are the best for an abundance of leaves. This was how the day was going before we had that freak snowfall on Monday the 28th of October. All the snow is gone and temps are still cold but we are on a slight warming trend.

Fresh apples off the tree before the bear eats them all. Yep, our kids have had a bear visiting their property. Hopefully he’ll go find a place to hibernate soon.

Do you have any wild animals that visit your property?

U.S.A. Soccer

Congratulations to the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team on their Gold medal victory in France. Such a fun soccer week for me. I’m a huge soccer fan. Besides FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019, CONCACAF Gold Cup is finishing up today.

The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup is the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men’s football championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The U.S.A. Men’s National Team is competing and they are in the finals against Mexico tonight. More soccer for me to watch.

Maybe in the future we will be able to see Addy play soccer.

Uncle Andrew was a good trainer.

 

Time for a water break.

We had an action packed few days enjoying time with Andrew, Katie, Dan, Jamie, Addy and Jaymison. Katie and Andrew are home on the Coast again safely and we are thankful for safe journeys.

Overheard these last few days:

Addy was a little confused when Katie called me momma. Addy looked at her and said, “that’s baba.”

When Katie was pushing Addy on the swing Addy said, “sing Katie.” Katie started singing and Addy then said, “louder!”

Okay is Otay right now. Gramps is Damps.

Hope you all had a good weekend.