S is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today is Tuesday, April 22nd, and we are on the letter S.

S is for Soccer and for Seattle Sounders Soccer Team

A couple of Joshua’s teams.

A couple of Dan’s teams.

Katie’s team.

There were a couple years in Junior High and High School that the boys played on the school team together. That was a fun treat.

It’s no secret that I have been a soccer fan since our kids started playing in their early years and continued into high school.

World Cup 1994 was in the United States and that solidified our national and international love of the sport. World Cup is coming back to the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

After their soccer glory days were over we became fans of the Seattle Sounders and our son has had season tickets from the beginning, since 2009.

In 1994 our boys were 15 and 13. We flew to Southern California to catch all the World Cup excitement we could. We found the U.S.A. training facility in Southern California and were able to see some of the team practice and get an autograph.

After finding the training ground we also found the hotel where they were staying and managed to meet up with most of the players who were very approachable and happy to sign the team poster.

Dan and I were able to attend a game between Brazil and Cameroon at Stanford Stadium.

Josh had tickets for games at the Rose Bowl.

Participating in this historical event was thrilling for our family.

After World Cup the boys still had years of soccer left to play before their Soccer glory days were over.

Since 2009 we’ve enjoyed professional soccer in person in the United States, Canada, in England and Scotland and Italy. Whenever we travel to the United Kingdom with Josh and Laura, a futbol match is in the itinerary.

Josh and Laura have been able to attend a few Major League Soccer Championship games along with regular games in several states. I was able to attend two of the championship games that ended up being in Seattle, 2009 and 2019. In 2009 Seattle hosted but didn’t play. We’ve all been to Seattle Sounders games but Josh and Laura have enjoyed the most games in person.

Josh and Laura trying not to freeze in Toronto in 2016! We won the championship!

Then in 2019 the kids got me a ticket to enjoy the MLS Cup Champions game and Seattle won again! It’s amazing to win a championship on your home field!

And now I get to watch our ‘Grands’ play soccer.

Great Uncle Arnold wrote this poem in a letter to Greg’s mom about our boys playing soccer.

Playing Soccer in the Rain

It’s raining steadily and hard,
So puddles, growing in the yard
Spill over, and run down the street
Past where this street and others meet.

The boys play soccer in the rain
They run and strive with might and main
To kick the ball into the net
In spite of getting soaking wet.

The teams they play on won 1st prize
It’s good that they could realize
Success for all the joy and pain
Of playing soccer in the rain.

The letter S was covered satisfactorily here today.

Hope your week is starting well.

Pass the Torch Hodgepodge

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.

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!

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!

Cousins Christmas California

Because we have 3ish more inches of snow on the ground and we are below freezing (high of 16 degrees) and the next few days are going to be cold and brutal in our area and many other areas, I’m stealing all the joy from photos that our Laura and our nieces Debbee and Kristin shared on Facebook from their cousin time in California Sunday and Monday, where the sun is shining and there is no snow. (That is one long sentence and this is one photo logged post)

Our Josh and Laura are intentional in their relationship building and keeping. God has blessed them with the means to follow-through with the desire to use their discretional time wisely in the love and care of others. Here it worked out for them to fly to Southern California to be at the annual cousin Christmas time with some of our nieces, nephews, and grand nieces and nephew and spouses.

They bumped into Santa at the airport.

The party this year was at our nephew’s home on the beach where the cousins were treated to the extra bonus of the Christmas boat parade that they could watch from the deck. Dave and Kristin hosted our kids overnight, too.

Our kids, Josh and Laura. My sister Kathy’s daughters, Melissa and Michelle with Michelle’s husband and Jack and Avery (our grandnephew and niece). My sister Vera’s son and daughter with their spouses.

Our beautiful girls…we claim them all.

My brother Steve’s son, Tim, and his family arrived so they had a re-do of the deck photo.

Some of the crew gathered at Disneyland on Monday and had a magical time together.

All day and into the night at the Big D.

Josh and Laura made the most of their 2 day stay in Sunny Southern California. They are coming home to snow today on their side of the mountains.

These cousins have had so much fun over the years together. Now they are enjoying the added fun of the spouses that their cousins married. We are so thankful the love continues. My mom and pop would love seeing these times continue.

“Stay together, Love each other” Their Dzeda (grandfather) left them with that encouragement and they are doing a good job listening.

The photos above are from the 80’s in California.

And speaking of World Cup Soccer (Futbol), (That is a weird segue!), here we are arriving at LAX from Seattle in 1994 to attend some of the World Cup Games when Los Angeles hosted the games. My sister Kathy and her girls picked us up from the airport. Our sons were able to get tickets for some of the games in Los Angeles and San Jose. Brazil beat out Italy to win in 1994.

World Cup 2022 just ended this past Sunday and what a championship game it was. Argentina came out ahead of France in the end and are the World Cup Champions for 2022. It was fun to see Lionel Messi finally add a World Cup Championship to his soccer accomplishments.

Congratulations on making it through this post. I like to document these special times to look back on as a kind of journal of life as it happened. Sometimes they flow well and sometimes they have diversions…

Tuesdays With Moisi ~ Yorba Linda

From Wildomar to Yorba Linda. My parents decided to sell their home in Wildomar and move back to the “city” in 1987. They found a home in Yorba Linda which was in a good location for our family to gather more frequently. They lived in this home from 1987 until 1997 when they decided to sell most of their possessions to return to Russia as missionaries.

Their move was just before the time we were deciding on relocating from California to the state of Washington. This was also during the time of planning for our youngest sister’s wedding in July of 1988. July of 1988 moving vans loaded all our earthly goods and Dear’s mother’s goods to move with us to Washington State. Dear’s father had died in October of 1985 and we eventually had Dear’s mother move in with us and then she relocated with us to Washington state.

Father’s Day 1988. Moisi with all his grandchildren at this time plus our two nieces on Dear’s side of the family. At this time Katie was the youngest granddaughter.

A trip to Descanso Gardens in Spring of 1988.

We were in Southern California over Christmas and for Katie, Nina and Stephen’s birthday, December 27th, 1990. This is in the dining room in Yorba Linda.

We traveled from Washington State to Southern California for a few Christmases until it just wasn’t practical for us to continue. For Katie’s fifth birthday since we were in Southern California we decided a trip to Disneyland was a good idea.

Moisi barbecuing meat for a birthday party in the backyard in Yorba Linda. You can see part of his garden to the left.

In 1994 we spent a good amount of time in Southern California for World Cup. We stayed with my folks in Yorba Linda.

The kids and I made a road trip during Easter break in 1997 to say some goodbyes to Moisi (Dzeda) and Nadia (Babushka) who were getting ready to spend an extended time in Russia.

My Tuesdays with Moisi posts will be fluid as I come up with more photos or memories.

World Cup 2014 ~ Brazil

With World Cup 2014 in progress right now in Brazil I decided to re-post our photos from the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.A. I published this post on June 17, 2010. The kids and I flew down to Southern California and stayed with my parents for the duration of World Cup. Josh was able to get a ticket package for the Rose Bowl venue and Dan was able to get 2 tickets for the Brazil vs. Cameroon game in San Jose at Stanford. Dan and I traveled to Stanford to see that very colorful game.

In 1994 our boys were 15 and 13. We found the U.S.A. training facility in Southern California and were able to see some of the team and practice and get an autograph.

Later during our time in Southern California we found out the hotel the team was staying at and we traveled there and hung out watching for players so Josh could get his Team poster autographed.

Our patience won out and we had a great time.

This is Alexi Lalas with Josh and Dan.

Josh and Dan got every players signature on the team poster. Lalas, Meola, Harkes, Dooley, Wagerle, Balboa, Ramos, Reyna, just to name a few. They also managed to get all the coaches signatures but one. The players were all friendly and willing to talk to the boys and sign autographs. What an exciting and fun experience for Josh and Dan and me!

Dan and I drove to Clovis and spent the night with my cousin and then we drove to a train station to take a commuter train to Stanford for the Brazil vs. Cameroon game. We found a shop that had a Brazilian flag and bought it for the game. Brazil brings a party atmosphere to soccer games that’s hard to beat and we had fun experiencing it.

We finished off our time at 1994 World Cup with a game at the Rose Bowl where the final game would be played.

Participating in this historical event was thrilling for our family.

Dear was finally able to fly down to Southern California and join us at the end of our trip. The whole family had a fun day at Disneyland with our extended family in Southern California, too.

1994 was the first time the U.S.A. hosted World Cup. We were hoping the U.S.A. would be chosen for the 2018 World Cup or the 2022 but alas Russia and Qatar got the nod for those cups. Now we hear that there were some shady dealings in Qatar decision. The U.S.A. plays their first game on Monday against Ghana at 3 pm Pacific time. Our family room will be full of U.S.A. soccer fans!

Go U.S.A.!

I’ll be adding my World Cup link to ABC Wednesday this week since we are at the letter W.

World Cup 1994!

With World Cup 2010 in progress right now in South Africa I decided to dig up our photos from the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.A. The kids and I flew down to Southern California and stayed with my parents for the duration of World Cup. Josh was able to get a ticket package for the Rose Bowl venue and we were able to buy 2 tickets for the Brazil vs. Cameroon game in San Jose at Stanford. Dan and I traveled to Stanford to see that very colorful game.

This is Alexi Lalas with Josh and Dan. We found the hotel where the U.S.A. team was staying and training. Josh and Dan got every players signature on the team poster. They also managed to get all the coaches signatures but one. The players were all friendly and willing to talk to the boys and sign autographs. What an exciting and fun experience for Josh and Dan and me!

Dan at Stanford. We found a shop that had a Brazilian flag and bought it for the game. Brazil brings a party atmosphere to soccer games that’s hard to beat.

Participating in this historical event was a thrill for our family.

1994 was the first time the U.S.A. hosted World Cup. We are hoping the U.S.A. is chosen for the 2018 World Cup. 2014 will be hosted by Brazil. So are any of you watching World Cup 2010?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: World Cup 1994