Daddy Love

Daddy came home from his two week trip to Dubai and the Netherlands Friday and was showered with little girl love. He even got a little big boy love as well (teenagers, it seems, aren't the showering type).

Daisy didn't want to leave his side and Kyle seemed happy to have someone able to stay for the entire game instead of me, who has been juggling the two soccer schedules and only making half of games for the last few weeks and none of the game last week (scheduling two games at the same time at different parks is pure evil).

We even got to celebrate his 40th birthday yesterday. With school, dance, a doctor appointment, homework, and two soccer practices it was quite understated but Abbie has been insisting for weeks that we take him to sushi and bowling. We didn't make the bowling, couldn't afford the iPad he wants but we did manage to finally pull Kyle out of his teenage funk for long enough to try some sushi that he ended up loving, enjoy a really quick but nice visit with MamaThom and PapaThom and give Tripp a lot of loves and kisses. It certainly isn't the birthday he deserves but a soccer friend of ours last night said something really prophetic, "We are parents, we knew what we were getting into." Well maybe some people didn't and certainly many people still expect more or complain about the birthday celebration they think they should have but Tripp is the best and appreciated the few small pieces of good we were able to get out of yesterday.

He hit the road (or the sky) this morning for (well, I really don't know where). He was asked to speak at Notre Dame to Professors or students or something but luckily this group must have a short attention span and he is back in a couple of days so we can give him some more "Daddy Love".

Happy Birthday Sister Howey!

Kristen graciously allowed us to celebrate her birthday a week late (we couldn't find a time closer to her birthday that worked with both our schedules) and it couldn't have been better timing.

With Tripp still out of town and Kyle spending a special weekend with MamaThom and PapaThom (didn't go over well with the girls - both having Kyle gone and not being invited), they needed something fun to look forward to. Our million usual Saturday activities weren't cutting the mustard so a walk to the smoothie store and buying Sister Howey a smoothie was just the thing they needed to rally spirits.

There is nothing like a dose of Kristen to make Abs and Daisy smile. We had a lovely walk and tasty smoothies and a lot of fun wishing her a belated "Happy Birthday". Thanks again, Sister Howey, for letting us share in your birthday fun. We love you!

Fall Soccer

Fall soccer actually started in early August. Kyle started practicing three days a week about a month ago. He has a few new players on the team and this year moves up to the final level where they man the entire field and play on a full field (I believe). His week long soccer camp (the most intensive one to date) paid off...blisters and all. The team was impressed with his much improved juggling skills (not always his strong suit). And big news, Abbie is playing soccer now as well. She actually started practicing about the same time as Kyle. Luckily, her coaches are parents of a sister team of Kyles so the practices are at the same place and roughly (give or take an hour) the same time. Yay for me.

Eagles Schedule - Played at Green Valley High School

9/11: Noon

9/18: Noon

9/25: Noon

10/2: 9 a.m.

10/16: Noon

10/25: Noon

10/28: 6:30 - at another field

11/6: Noon

11/13: Noon

The Grasshoppers - Played at Sonota Park

9/11: 2:30 p.m

9/18: 1:30 p.m.

9/25: 12:30 p.m.

10/2: 2:30 p.m.

10/9 : 11:30 a.m. (probably out of town this week)

10/16: 11:30 a.m.

10/23: 1:30 p.m.

11/6: 9:30 a.m.

11/13: Noon

Labor Day Weekend At Duck Creek

We spent Labor Day Weekend at the cabin with Grandma & Papa. We left Friday a little later than planned but early enough to enjoy a quick visit with MamaThom and PapaThom on the way up the road and a little time with Grandma & Papa before bed.



Saturday morning, Grandma & Papa had a wedding to attend so we took the 4-wheelers out for a long ride. We rode around the area (my first time driving), stopped for a hike to a waterfall, then rode into town for lunch. It was a nice morning for all of us...great to breath in the fresh, cool mountain air.

After a late lunch we met Grandma & Papa for what I think was the highlight of the day for the kids, fishing. All the kids caught at least one fish each...Abbie three. Kyle cleaned out the fish for us and made friends with the bird, Jake. Jake would walk over to Kyle and crawl on to his arm and around his back and head. He would then start dancing. It was pretty funny...he really, really loved Kyle. There was also a huge pond for fly fishing and Abbie and Daisy got to feed these enormous trout. Lots of fun for sure. Grandma got to kick back in the shade for a few minutes and read her paper.

Some highlights of the rest of the weekend include:

*Smores by the campfire.

*Staying up late playing Sequence.

*Cabin church (always nice to go and always a good laugh).

*Coloring in Grandma's Ballet West coloring book.

*Feeding and petting the horses.

*Playing with MamaThom and PapaThom Monday afternoon on the way home.

Generally, it was just nice to get away and spend a weekend in the cool weather with Grandma and Papa. Too bad our schedule is full during soccer season and we can't go more often.