Our Very Best

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Soccer

Anna has been trying a variety of activities in search of something that should would like to devote her energy too...tball, dance, tumbling, choir, you name it we have tried it! So when she said she wanted to try soccer I was thrilled and hopeful! Soccer is her daddy's game and such a great sport for keeping you fit and healthy so my fingers were crossed that she would like it! And she did! She seems to have her daddy's affinity for the game and some natural talent! She needs some work on her overall endurance (wow, there's a lot of running in this game) but she is aggressive and picked up the skills quickly! Trent coached the team and that was an awesome expeirence too! This is the first time he has been able to coach one of the kids and I love that he was able to spend so much time with her! It was really tricky with his work schedule, but he did what he had to to make it work! Being that this was the first time he coached for AYSO, Trent was given a lot of new players. After the first few games, it was clear that the Panthers were going to be the underdogs! But they never gave up! They worked hard and made improvements every single game! And as we know perseverance pays off...they won their very last game :) You would have thought we won the state championship when that winning goal was made!!!! People were even cheering from the next game over! It was a fun season and a great expeirence! Can't wait till next year!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Handball 101

As expected we are learning all sorts of new things from Laura! One of them is the great game of handball. When she told she played on a handball team at home, I was picturing wall ball with your hands...nope this game is entirely different. It's typically played on a court, and there is dribbling and passing and twirling and flips...I really have no idea what the rules are but it's aggressive and entertaining. After talking to some people we found out there is actually a team in AZ! Who knew? Although, Laura was hoping to play soccer at Mt. View she decided to try out the handball team until soccer started in late fall. After just one practice the team asked Laura if she could play in a tournament in Huntington Beach the following weekend...why not?? So we packed the car up for a quick trip to Cali! Overall it was a great weekend and so much fun to watch the tournament. The best part was the men's team was missing a player so they asked Trent to play! Yep, that's right...Trent played a game he has never played in his life during tournament...and they got 1st place!! Ha Ha! Most of the weekend revolved around the game, but we were able to spend some time on the beach, swimming in the freezing water, riding a huge bike down the boardwalk, shop a little and eat! As expected Laura loved California and can't wait to come back when we go to Disneyland!!!

1st place..Phoenix Men's Team!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

1st Day of School 2013/2014

Hard to believe it but school is back in session! Even harder to believe Aiden is in 5th grade and Anna is in 3rd! I am so excited to have them with me and get to see them throughout the day! This is going to be a great year!

It was Laura's first day too and we had to include her in our tradition!! Sophomore year woo hoo!!!!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Newest member of the Family

We have loved our experiences living in various places and learning about their cultures. Since we have placed down our roots pretty firmly here in AZ we decided if we can't move abroad we will bring someone to us! I have always wanted a foreign exchange student but I wasn't really sure how to get one! It's crazy how the universe always answers... I was talking to one of the parents on Aiden's baseball team last Spring and found out that he is a coordinator for a company called Educatius which places foreign exchange students. I knew immediately that I wanted to do it. After some convincing Trent agreed as well! We had to fill out a lot of paperwork, do a background check and a home visit but by the end of May a student was placed in our home for the upcoming school year. We were sent her profile (Laura, 14 y.o., Spain), pictures and interests and then waited for her arrival! After 3 days of cancelled flights she finally arrived on July 31st. I was so surprised that someone so young and foreign could hop of a flight with all smiles and hugs! She didn't seem the least bit afraid or sad! It was a little awkward at first as I wanted to bombard her with everything and anything she might want to know or see immediately, but the language barrier made for simple conversation on the way home. After a tour of the home, she gave us gifts from her family, chatted for a bit and then off to bed. I had just started at my new job and had to work the following day which gave her a chance to sleep in, unpack and hang out with the kids. Although her first few days in AZ were uneventful that weekend we were able to show her quite a bit of metro Phoenix, did some outlet shopping and attended a Cardinals practice game! The following week, Laura started her sophomore year at Mountain View High School. Getting her to school was going to be more of a challenge than I had thought as I have to be at work at 7:15 and thought she could take the bus. . . small problem the bus come at 6:15 even though school starts at 8! Ugh! My awesome mom volunteered to help so for the first couple of weeks, she took her. She said that the first day she took her Laura looked a bit nervous but she did it! She got out of the car and walked onto that huge campus (10X the size/population she was used to). Wow! Fortunately, a darling girl in the neighborhood introduced her to some other girls her age so she had friends immediately and didn't have to eat alone! Our awesome neighbor across the street offered to take her to school so that issue was resolved too! Everything has been pretty smooth sailing with lots of adventures and learning curves along the way...

Cardinals stadium

waiting for autographs...they were able to score quite a few!

1st dinner out...Texas Roadhouse! Thought we would show Laura, good BBQ and massive portion sizes right out of the gate!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

All Stars

Aiden ended a so-so Spring season with an opportunity to try out for the All Stars 10-11 year olds. The tryouts were a little stressful as he was up against a group of boys that all played for the majors in the Spring. Aiden was awesome at the tryout and I was convinced that he was just as deserving as any of the other boys. After the tryout was over we were told that we would be getting a call by 6:30 to let us know if he made it and that he would come back and start practicing that night. We sat by the phone just begging for it to ring. More than anything I wanted Aiden to know he really was good enough. The whole thing is kind of frustrating, because unfortunately it really is all about who you know. It's kind of political and certain kids will make it solely because of who their dad is, and if the coach feels an obligation to pick that kid. So as we sat by the phone and the time kept ticking away I started to get really angry. I know I am biased but I watched the tryouts and I saw the competition. Aiden was definetly up there with the best of the boys. So when 6:30 passed and we didn't receive a call I was crushed. I couldn't believe that he didn't make it. Aiden put on a brave face but I knew he was totally disappointed. As we began to console him and try to boost back his confidence the phone rang with a number I didn't recognize. I didn't even wait for the 2nd ring before answering and hearing "Hi is this Aiden's mom, this is coach Art"! He then told us that Aiden was great at tryouts and was only 1 of 2 boys from the minors team to make All Stars!!!!!!!!! After I hung up we did a happy dance! Such a proud moment and so validating. Aiden may be fairly new to the sport but he has worked so hard and we knew he was All Star material!

The downside to making All Stars is practice happens every night and it takes up at least the first month of summer. No chance for a vacay! But it was worth it. The practices were fun to watch and this group of boys that was selected really was the best of the best. I learned a lot about the game of baseball watching the practices as the boys were taught great skills. The actual tournament lasted for one week. We didn't know what to expect as Mesa North Central has never made it past the first 3 games. But once these boys started playing we saw they really had a chance. They annihilated the competition! They were winning games by spreads of 14-2, and even ending games early because of their leads. Mesa North Central ended up winning the District 7 Championship for the first time in 27 years! So fun! It was an overall great expeirence and we were thrilled Aiden was apart of it! A few weeks after the championship MNC went to Globe to participate in the state championship. It was full of highs and lows but in the end they were eliminated after two games. It was very bittersweet as they could have played better than they did but we were sick of traveling to Globe :) The boys were okay with it as they know it was an honor to make it that far! I wish Aiden could play with that team forever! We had a great time getting to know the boys and their parents. Since we have moved we will have to play with a different league next year and I just hope that we have nearly as much fun!