First High School Soccer Game

Alyssa survived her first official soccer game for Westlake High School and did so amazingly well.  She started on the JV Team.  It was like she has been storing up all of her excitement, skill and enthusiasm for that one moment because she played amazing.  She came within 6 inches of scoring the first goal.  It was so fun to watch and hopefully it is an indicator of good things to come.

It's Official!!

After an obscene amount of blood, sweat and tears (some of which were even Alyssa's ;), hours of driving in the car, suffering through countless soccer games in cold windy conditions, early morning conditioning, dinners of P & J on the go, fundraising, hours spent on the Booster Club Board, dealing with politics of coaches, parents and players, soccer camps, physical therapy and knee braces, and cheering until your voice is gone, it has finally paid off!  After a 5 hour grueling tryout, Alyssa officially made the Westlake High School Team.  Her dream is now a reality and she is over the moon.

Congratulations Alyssa!  She has worked hard for this and I am proud of her dedication.

Girls Week

Ryan was away for an entire week to Cleer Creek. So Brianna, Alyssa and decided to play.  We did various things throughout the week like tennis, movies, yummy bagel hunting and shopping for an entire day at the mall.  Brianna is a dedicated shopper and self proclaimed "girly girl" so we came home with cute hair accessories and outfits for all.  It was a successful day.

One of the days we had to go to Salt Lake to Primary Children's Hospital for a Doctor Appt. for Alyssa.  So we decided to make a day of it.  We went to lunch at Ruth's Diner which is located up Emigration Canyon.  It has been there since 1930 and it is a quaint place with good food.  We dined outside under a canopy of trees and it was perfect.  Later we searched out Banbury Cross, a donut place that makes a cinnamon-sugar donut that daddy loves.  Afterwards we explored the Daughters of the Pioneers Museum.  I remember this as a kid, especially the 2 headed lamb.  It was quite an extensive museum and we saw all kinds of pioneer artifacts.  We even found displays about our relative Rebecca Winters.  We saw the Golden Spike that marked the meeting of the two railroads here in Utah. We saw the wagon that Brigham Young rode in when he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.  And yes, the 2 headed lamb was also still there.  It was a nice day to spend with the girls.

BYU Soccer Camp

Alyssa's dream of attending a BYU Soccer Camp finally became realized.  She was able to spend a glorious 4 days with some good friends playing soccer all day long at the place she loves.       

Here she is in her dorm room with Blakely.  She stayed on campus in Helamen Halls.  She was able to experience a taste of college life with dorm food, coed activities, dances, the Creamery, independence, shared showers, roommates and so forth.  She loved being instructed by BYU players that she has watched and admired.  She hopes to someday play for BYU.

Makaela Smith, Stephanie Driggs, Alyssa and Blakely Byington

 

 We are in the "thick" of soccer right now.

Alyssa has improved tremendously since last fall and the High School Soccer team is on the horizon.

Happy New Year

Well it is the end of another year.  And what a year it has been.  I would use the word Phenomenal to sum it up.  Even though I haven't been terribly consistent in my blogging,  I hope that it does reflect a little of the many adventures we had this year.

Roger took New Years Eve day off of work and he and the kids enjoyed a fun and freezing morning on the sledding hill.  I have no pictures because I opted for warmth.

Later that day the girls went shopping for a new outfit for Alyssa for her first Stake Dance.  Well, it was going to be the girls but Brianna opted out last minute when she got an invite to play with a friend.  She told Roger, "Fancy is one thing, but friends are another".  It was probably better that she didn't come along because she is a good shopper and we probably wouldn't have gotten any thing accomplished for Alyssa since she would be too busy putting ensembles together for herself.

I tried to convince Alyssa to buy a pair of slacks.  Her dance card said they could wear to slacks to a semi-formal dance.  Alyssa had no clue what they were.  I had a great time joking around with her until I finally told her they were just dress pants.  Even so,  I couldn't convince her to buy some, I think it was the name that deterred her.

I tried to convince her into buying something really fancy.  After all it was New Years Eve.  But to no avail.  Alyssa stuck to her style and personality.  Casual but nice.  We were able to find her a cute skirt and shirt.  Even better it was on sale and we got the whole outfit for $16.  Score!  And she looked great in it.

Roger and I told her for weeks that we would be chaperoning the dance.  We couldn't wait to bust out all of our old moves.  You know, the cue tip, sprinkler and lawnmower.  Of course you couldn't forget the standard side by side.  Alyssa was mortified.  Needless to say, we let her go to her first dance on her own.

She looked beautiful and so grown-up.  She had a wonderful time.  She went with a couple of her ward friends.  Plus she had a lot of guy friends from school there and felt secure in their group.  I choose not to picture her dancing with boys although I am sure that happened too.  In the end, the night was deemed a success.

Roger and I attended the annual New Years party at the Essers' house.  This is our fourth time celebrating with them and many couples in our ward.  We always have a great time.  There was a ton of delicious food, super fun games, great conversation and of course the countdown at midnight.  We feel fortunate to be invited to such fun gatherings.

Ryan and Brianna played X-box Kinnect and watched movies to celebrate their New Years Eve.

Fun was had by all and it was great way to kick of the new year.  Look out 2011, here we come!

In the "thick" of Sports

We have become Gym Rats.  Yes, it is true.  And I am loving every minute of it.  Almost.  Well that isn't entirely true.  I love seeing my kids play.  I love that they are getting exercise.  I love that they are enjoying themselves and developing their talents.  I don't love how competitive I feel while watching the games.  I have to work really hard to "not care" about the outcomes.  And that is difficult to do sometimes.  But I am getting better at it.  I am even trying to focus more on the "fun" aspect of it :)

Alyssa's soccer team signed up for an indoor season and it has been a great experience.  Indoor soccer is very fast paced and aggressive.  You can't be timid and do well.  I have seen Alyssa blossom and her skills develop by leaps and bounds.  She has learned some great footwork and the desire to go after the ball whole heatedly.  She has even had to step up and play goalie at times and actually has done alright.  I can't wait to see how the team plays in their regular spring season.  There has been definite improvement all around.  It even made those 6 a.m. games worth it.

Brianna started her first year in basketball.  She got a wonderful coach, Ben Lungren, in our ward.  He taught these girls the basic fundamentals and from the beginning of the season to the end you could see vast improvements and understanding of the game.

Brianna really enjoyed playing and practiced really hard.  Brianna is right-handed (I think).  She writes and eats with her right hand.  But anything physical she does with her left.  She kicks with her left foot, throws with her left hand and dribbles and shoots the basketball with her left hand.  It is the darnedest thing.  So it took her awhile how to figure out how to shoot the ball.  But once she got it, she did quite well and made several baskets throughout the season. She was an excellent defender but also super kind if the girl she was guarding got hurt or something.  She wanted to make sure everyone had fun.

My favorite thing was watching her curl and stick out her tounge whenever she had the ball.  It helped her concentrate I guess. 

She had a great season and we will have to see what the future holds for her.



I currently don't have any pictures of Ryan on his Westlake Bantam Basketball team.  This year we decided he should give competitive basketball a try instead of playing for the city.  Tryouts were held and he made it on one of two teams for his age group.

It has been a rewarding experience.  He has an excellent coach who is so positive and has taught him so much.  His team his really good and so far they are undefeated.  We travel with this team, but so far we haven't had to do it too much.  Many of his games are at our high school. 

This league is run through the high schools to prepare boys to someday play for the school.  It is super competitive and quite rough at times.  Ryan has had to learn to toughen up and fight in the key for the ball.  He is a great defender and can hold his own against the big boys.  he is refining many skills and this experience should be a good indicator or whether or not he would want to play in the future.  So far he loves it.

I am the Coach for our Young Women athletics in our ward.  We are currently playing volleyball.  It has been great fun getting to know the girls in our ward and even teaching them a few things.  We are doing well against the other ward teams (not that it matters.  Hehe).   Our tournament is in a couple of weeks and it will be interesting to see how we do.

On top of that, Roger and I are still running at the Legacy Center and on our new treadmill.  It has been great having an exercise option in our own home.

Well that about sums it up.  Our life in a sports nutshell.

The big 14

We did it!  We survived the year of the thirteen year old girl.  Yes,  I was worried and had heard many a horror story of how it would be.  But over all it wasn't bad.  Alyssa has grown up to be a nice, beautiful, talented young woman and I enjoy her more and more each day.

We just had a small family celebration for her birthday.  Her favorite foods at dinner time and of course a cake.

Her presents included West Lake Gear,  FIFA soccer game, an MP3 player, books, and a RAGE warm up soccer suit from Grammy.  She was thrilled with everything.

This was her own personal cake made by Leslie Erznoznik, her Miamaid advisor.  She decorated it in the BYU colors, Alyssa's favorite.

My eldest daughter is 14 years old.  With that comes, Stake dances, parties with boys, and movie nights with mom.  Next year she will start high school.  I don't know where the time has gone, but I am trying to enjoy each moment I have now.

The R.A.G.E.

Fall Soccer - A first for our family

Alyssa has played soccer since she was in Kindergarten.  She loved it for many years, went through a phase when she wasn't so sure about it and then eventually swung back around to having a "passion" for the game.  A couple of years ago, we learned about the existence of a competitive league.  Since Alyssa is my oldest, there are many things I learn about "after the fact"  This was one of them.  By time we decided it would be a good thing for Alyssa she was too old for the team here in Saratoga Springs.  So we did what we always did and signed up for the city league.

We then learned of another opportunity for a team in Lehi and tryouts were this past June.  Alyssa was psyched and determined to play.  Tryouts turned out to be a joke.  Players were already chosen by "who you know" and so forth.  Alyssa was  heartbroken.  Needless to say, it was a rough time for her having to "give up on her dream".

I have tried to teach Alyssa that there are many times in life when we are disappointed and don't get what we want.  I also tried to teach her that The Lord has an understanding of each of us and knows what is best.  That He will bless us in ways that we don't always understand.

That very thing happened to Alyssa.  An incredible opportunity came to Alyssa to be a part of a new team right here in Saratoga Springs.  She got on the team without difficulty, knew many of the girls beforehand, and our home field is Westlake High School.  They have an excellent coach that has played professionally and is a woman that knows and understands girls.  Overall we couldn't have asked for a better situation.

They worked their butts off this summer getting in shape and learning to play as a team.  We have some disadvantages because we are a new team that will play teams that have been together for many years.  It is going to be a rough year but provide a lot of opportunity to play and grow.  This is exactly what Alyssa needs.  She hopes to play for the high school someday and maybe even BYU.  This will be the first stepping stone.

 

So the team played their first game on a gorgeous morning.  They came together and even though they lost, it felt like a triumph.

Alyssa is having a great time and that is the most important thing.  It is fun to watch the games since they are certainly on a different skill level.  It should be a fun season.

Another School Year

Well "it" happened.  Yep, no matter how much I fought, it still came.  No matter that I did everything in my power to make time stand still, the day arrived.  Even though I crammed every possible moment with things to do, the inevitable happened. . . .

The first day of school!

Normally this is a cause for celebration.  Usually at this point in the year, moms are counting down to the time when they can have that wonderful peace and freedom that school affords.  Kids are anxiously assembling their school supplies and dreaming of recess, friends and even learning.  But this year, it just came way too fast.

I don't know why I have been dreading the end of summer.  Maybe it is loss of carefree days of sleeping in, playing and reading in the sun, having no set schedule and hours of conversations with my kids.  Maybe it is the thought of colder days to come.  Maybe it the frantic pace of carpools, soccer games, early morning scripture study, homework, chores, and school functions.  Perhaps it is the knowledge that someone else now has more time in influencing my children's lives each and every day.  Who knows.  I even wonder if deep down inside,  the fact that my youngest child is gone for the whole day makes me a little melancholy.

I find myself in a weird position.  It doesn't feel like that long ago when I dreamed of having just an hour to myself.  When I was in the thick of diapers, nap times, car seats, tantrums and all that comes with it.  The idea of doing errands by myself seemed so elusive and yet enticing.  And here I am at the other end, with a quiet house and endless possibilities.  I realize that once again I must reinvent myself as a mother of all school children.

Don't get me wrong.  I am excited in many ways.  I have 13 years of projects to catch up on.  I hope to even have a completely clean and organized house at some point.  There is a list a mile long of things to do.  I am sure I can keep myself busy.  I just hope that I feel that all my productivity is meaningful.

Needless to say, the kids went to school whether they were ready or not.  Brianna was thrilled.  She has been counting down the days,  She loves to learn and couldn't wait to be a 1st grader.  Ryan was okay with going back.  He had an activity in the summer with his teacher and I think it got him a little excited for the fun things ahead.

Alyssa has been dreading it.  Well at least she acts like it.  Deep down I know that she truly enjoys school and couldn't wait to get back to see her friends.  She is 13 after all and has to act like it is uncool.

So I got some neat pictures to start the day.  My children have grown so much and I am so proud of them.  I wouldn't trade them if I could (now you know I am being a little nostalgic :)  Anyway I love them and I hope their day is as wonderful as mine.  (Roger took me to breakfast and then I got a pedicure).

Future Bakers of America

For her birthday, Brianna wanted a beach cake to go along with her Hawaiian theme.  We researched various cakes online and came up with a master plan.  Then we decided to try and do something new.  We attempted to use gum-paste to create the various minatures and designs on the cake.

The kids thought it was glorified play-dough.  We had a wonderful time using our artistic talents and creativity.  The kids admitted it was harder than they imagined and I had to agree.  Yet it afforded us a good couple hours of entertainment.  The overall result wasn't exactly how I imagined it to be but the pride of the kids was evident and that is enough.  Not to mention, Brianna loved it which was the most important thing.