*** Our Soccer Nut ***

Ireland #27 Blue Lightening Spring Season 2009

Ireland started playing soccer about a year and a half ago,
and it seems that she has found her thang....
For two seasons she played on the Blue Dolphins but
her coach didn't continue so the team kind of fell apart until
the coach of the Blue Lightening called and asked
if we wanted to combine teams-
It turned out to be a great thing- the girls all learned
to play very well with each other.

During the very first practice Ireland raised her hand when
Coach Jason asked who wanted to try to be goalie....
crazy girl.
I was freaking out because I thought she would be under a
ton of pressure being the goalie but, it turned out
that she rocked at it!!!
She would usually play as a forward or on
defense during the first half
and then she would be goalie for the second half-
and let me just tell you, she was AWESOME!!!!

She was actually scouted by a select team coach after
one of the games.He came up to Rich and I and told us that
he was very impressed by her and
he would love for her to come to a practice and see if she
would like to play for his team-
It was a very proud moment for Rich and myself! =o)

At the end of the season the team had a swim party at
Beth's, the team manager,house-
We had a BBQ, the coaches handed out awards
and then all of the kids had a blast swimming.

In the end the team took 3rd place in there division-
they missed taking 2nd by one goal- they all did very well-
it was a great soccer season and
we're looking forward to the fall season.

Accepting her awards from the coaches

Ireland as a kick butt goalie!!

All the girlies being silly- it's fun to watch how
they all interact on the field and off- they are growing into to such awesome young ladies.


Way to go Ireland!!! We are way proud of you
and all of your hard work!!!

***HaPpY fAtHeRs DaY!!***

Happy Fathers Day to my wonderful husband, Rich!

He is an awesome Dad and I am very lucky to be

married to him. He works a ton so we don't see

him as much as we would like to-

but,we know that he is working hard

so we can have a great life.

We have learned that it is not about the

quantity of time spent,

but the quality of time that matters.

I also want to wish all of the other men in my life-

Grandpas, father-in-law, uncles, brother-in-laws,

father figures and friends-

a very Happy Fathers Day.

My dad passed away when I was 5- and though

I didn't know him that well,

I still felt the weight of his absence throughout my childhood.

But thanks to all of the men I listed above,I was able to

have great male role models.

But, the greatest one of all was my Papa-

he was such an amazing man!

He passed away in 2001 and it is still very

hard to believe that he is gone-

I miss him so much!!

I know that he is in heaven looking down and

watching out for us- just as he did when he was still with us.

*********************

I love you all and I hope that this is a wonderful day for you!

***Go Sponge Bobs!!!***

Kaston #10- The Sponge Bobs Spring Season 2009

Rolie, Kaysee, Alexander, Brendan, Kaston & Dean



Alex was always good for a laugh!

Brendan had to get in on the action =o)

I am very behind on my blogging, so I am going to start posting random blogs as often as I can-

Starting with Soccer....For those of you that don't know, I was the head coach for Kaston's soccer team, The Sponge Bobs (that's what happens when you let a 5 year old name the team) and Rich was the assistant coach. We coached for 3 seasons and had a blast for the most part. The responsibility was hard at times when it came to practices-Rich wasn't always able to be there due to work and let's face it, there were days I didn't feel like playing soccer- plus Ireland plays soccer and it never failed that we had conflicting practice and game times- but, besides all of the little frustrations that come with being a coach, we truly enjoyed coaching these kids.

This Fall Kaston has decided to test his skills at baseball so we will no longer be coaching- our parents of the team were sad but understanding- I kept teasing them all and saying that I would hate to continue to rob them of the experience of coaching their own child- they told me they were fine with us doing it-- but, sadly (yet somewhat relieved) we have to pass the torch.

We had our soccer party at a park- we handed out trophies, gave out awards- Kaston's was for best team player because he was always great at assisting his team mates- we had cupcakes and let the kids play while the parents talked- it was nice to hang out as one of the parents rather than have to be in coach mode. There is a part of me that is very sad that I'm not continuing to be Kaston's coach, but the logical side of me says it is a smart move- I tend to spread myself too thin at times, as I'm sure most moms do.

All in all, it was a great experience that I will remember and cherish forever!!