Carly’s First High School Volleyball Season

Volleyball!  We had two high school volleyball players in the house this fall.  Abigail played on the JV team (post to come later) and Carly was on the C team.  For the most part their practices lined up pretty closely so Abigail was able to do most of the driving to/from the high school so that was really nice. Abigail and Carly’s games also lined up quite nicely – most were at the same school at the same time; however with them playing on different courts it was pretty tricky to watch them both as most schools have two separate gyms.  Our gym has bleachers between the courts so I was able to sit at the very tippy top of the bleachers and watch both games.  Tricky, but doable.

All the players parents were assigned to work at games throughout the season.  I guess they found this easier than asking for volunteers.  Since I had two girls playing that meant I got double the assignments – lucky me.  Justin is always busy at work in the fall and I’ve got five kids with five different schedules so it was tough to balance it all.  And while I’m ranting let me just say it’s really a drag that they make us pay to watch our kids play in the games, on top of already paying their $200 participation fee and buying all the unnecessary gear and attire they want the players to have.  It would cost our family $30-$40 to watch one of the girls games so unfortunately the kids don’t get to watch the girls play very often.  Sports are such a money suck.  On the flip side, I love, love, LOVE watching my girls play so it’s all worth it in the end.

Poor quality, but the only picture I have of both the girls and their teammates.

Justin did get a picture of Abigail and Carly together after one of their last games. 

Carly was the only setter on the C team.  She didn’t play setter in the middle school so this was new position for her, but she caught on very quickly and became quite a leader for her team.

Being the only setter for the team meant that Carly played non-stop.  There was one game that her team was all set for the win and her coach pulled her out for the last 30 seconds of the game.  Her teammates thought it was pretty funny for Carly to be sitting on the bench since it had never happened before.

Carly had fun playing on the same team as her friend Alyssa and had a fun season getting to know her other teammates as well. 

Carly was awarded the Wildcat Award at the end of the season banquet (which we didn’t attend), which I’m pretty sure is the coach’s award.   She had the best stats on her team with one of the lowest hitting errors and one of the best serving percentages.  So fun to watch this girl on the court!

Brenda & Fox Visit {Oct 17-20}

My sister Brenda and her son stayed with us for a few nights in October.  My kids still had school so we weren’t able to spend a ton of time with them.  They spent a day in Seattle and then Fox decided he wanted to head to Canada for their other full day.  Canada ended up being a bit of a bust for them unfortunately.  They flew home on Saturday, but we were able to have breakfast with them and venture down to the falls before they headed to the airport.   Justin and Jason were at Jason’s soccer game so they missed out.

Katie collect these huge leaves on the hike down 

   

It’s always fun to have our friends and family come visit!

We have a runner?!? Jason runs cross-country

I wouldn’t have guessed we’d have any kiddos running cross-country, but low and behold Jason decided he wanted to give it a whirl this year.  Cross-country and wrestling are the only sports offered to the 6th grade boys at the middle school.  Jason was also participating in soccer through our local rec program so it was a busy fall for that kid – two sports and starting middle school.  He managed very well even on the days he had both cross country practice and soccer practice.  Add to that piano, scouts, etc… he was a busy boy.

Jason did great for his first season – they run a 3k, which is 1.86 miles.  He fell in the middle of the pack with times between 13:51-14:52 – the courses were all different some with hills, some on wooded trails and some had portions of the route on a track. Ready, set, go!

It was fun to watch Jason run in the meets.  He gave it his all.  The runners look so miserable running that final stretch to the finish line.  I don’t get it, but apparently some people actually enjoy this sort of thing.

It’s been fun for Jason to be reunited with his buddy Matt this year in middle school (Matt went to a different school for 5th grade) – even more fun that they both participated in cross-country.

Drew’s First Soccer Season

Drew was thrilled to start playing soccer this fall.  He’s always been such a baller so we knew he’d love it and suspected that learning to play would come pretty naturally for him.  His first practice was August 23 and he played games twice a week from mid-September to mid-October. 

I felt a little tug on my heart strings as my “baby” went to his first ever sports practice

I loved watching him play because he enjoyed it so much.  He would do these little dance-like moves when he was waiting for the whistle to blow.  Pure joy on the field.

Drew scored often and became quite a strength to his team. 

   

SCORE! 

   

At this age the kids are often trying to get the ball from their own teammates

Drew’s coach was fantastic – one of the best coaches we’ve ever had.  He did such a great job teaching the kids and cheering them on as well.  The team name was Zombie, Sharks, Seahawks! – creative, no?

I’m looking forward to watching my boy play again next fall!

September Summary

Sept 9:  The girls ordered some new jeans for the new school year.  I could not believe the “Mom Jeans” they wanted to try.  

I told Abigail they were not going to be flattering.  High waisted, short length, ripped legs AND pleats!!  Nothing about this is right.  Thankfully, after trying them on, she agreed and returned them, but so crazy that these styles have made their way back.

Sept 15:  Drew went to his first little birthday party for his best buddy Cooper who lives next door.  Katie was also included on the invitation, but we decided it would make it extra special for Drew if it was just him that went.  He even got to ride with Cooper there and back.  It was held at the local martial arts location where they had a bouncy house and other fun activities.  Cooper’s mom sent me this picture and said “Drew was SO GOOD.  I’m so glad he could come!” 

Apparently Cooper and Drew were inseparable at the party.  We get to have Cooper over most Fridays after school for a few hours until his Mom gets done teaching.  The kids love getting to play together during the week.

Sept 16:  I spent so much time and energy last year fighting a development in our neighborhood {link, link}.  Today on our way to church we noticed a large truck at the building site and then further down the road, as I predicted and warned the city of, the curb was totally torn up.  I immediately sent an “I told you so” text to the councilmen I know personally.

He passed along the information to the city and it was fixed within a day or two.  The bonus was that this convinced them to move construction traffic out of the neighborhood and through an alternate entrance that was previously off the table.  Small victory for me.  The building process is still underway, but thankfully hasn’t been an issue within the neighborhood.  There will be plenty more issues once the throngs of people start moving in – and I suspect a few more “I told you so” moments on my end.

Sept 16:  Katie also went to a birthday party this weekend and came home with a bunch of little goodies – including some press-on nails.  One of my pet peeves is painted fingernails on kids – it often seems too mature and usually they end up chipped up and looking crusty.  She was so excited about them though so I put them on my little girl and her face lit up.

To my delight, she didn’t really love how they felt and by the end of the day they’d all come off or been pulled off so I didn’t have to send her off to school with fancy nails.

Sept 21:  Our high school football team had an amazing season this year.  Tonight the Seahawks held their first Blue Friday Night Lights event and visited our high school.   Abigail was pumped to make it on the Seahawks Instagram page (can you spot her?).  Justin decided to also attend the game with Jason.

Sept 23:  Just proof from my tween boy that I’m killing it at this parenting thing. 

Sept 25:  Such a beautiful fall in the PNW!

Sept 28:  It appears that the busyness of work, early morning seminary, volleyball, and school are catching up to Abigail.  Not sure why the pillow on her face – maybe to block out the light? Ha.