Soccer and Dance

Well, the regular soccer season has come to an end.  We have been with this team since practice began in July.  It was a very long season with quite a bit of drama.  We were the 2nd place U10 (under 10) team and went to a tournament 2 hours away with other teams from our district.  We knew it would be a tough weekend but our boys did very well.  We won our first game 5-0 and then lost 5-1 and 6-3.  The second team played dirty and called our kids names the whole game and even said stuff about our parents and coach.  The kids got very beat up physically during that game and David almost got a red card because he was so mad about no calls being made when our kids were getting hurt.  7 of 9 kids came off the field at the end of the game crying because they were either hurt or called a name or both.  I am so proud of them for going back out there today and keeping it together to play a really tough team.  Here is the collage I made for Andrew. Each player will get his own collage this week at our team party.  I did this in the spring and everyone loved getting one.

It was a busy weekend as Grace also had her winter dance recital today.  Grace and I left early this morning to drive home and relax and take our time getting ready. She doesn't really like being at the soccer games which makes it not very much fun for me (and the other parents I'm sure) so we skipped today's game and came home.  David and Andrew drove home after the game and went straight to the school to sit and wait to save our seats for the recital. It was a long day for them away from home.  Here is Grace in her tap outfit.  I didn't get a picture of her in her tumbling outfit.  We had plenty of time I just didn't even think of it.  I'm going to see if I can figure out how to get the routines on here so you can watch them.  They all did such a great job and Grace has improved so much!

School is out for Christmas break on Thursday, Grannylou gets here in a couple days, and Andrew starts practice Wednesday for All Stars for soccer. David is going to be the assistant coach for all stars and I am proud of both of them for being chosen.  So we leave one team and join another.....no breaks!  We then go straight into basketball and back to soccer in the spring.

Competition

This past weekend we went to Grace's dance competition.  I was a little shocked at a few of the young dancers (like 5-6 yrs) that dressed and danced so inappropriately for their age.  One of the routines was so shocking several of the dads around us were uncomfortable even watching them.  It is so sad to me that the parents think this is ok and the little girls are learning that this is ok.  Anyway, Grace had a great time and had her best performance yet!  Her group had a high score giving them a 1st.  They also received a special judges award at the end of the day!  We were so proud of all of them and had a great weekend away.  The kids spent about 5 hours in the pool with their daddy while I watched the older age group perform in the afternoon session and then I joined them for a while.  Then we grabbed dinner, Grace took a nap, and we went back to the pool with our friends that stayed at the same hotel.  I'm sad that I didn't get pictures of all of us together that night but it was a fun time!  Someone has pictures of me and a friend in the pool making up our own routine and performing just for fun (and no there was no alcohol involved)! 

 She is on the left with the black and pink.

 Perfect lift.

 Hard to see because my camera couldn't focus fast enough but that is Grace doing her cartwheel.

 Pretty little girl.  She looks so grown up here with makeup on and no bangs.

 Checking out her trophy!  She is so proud of it!

With one of her best friends.  Belle actually danced 3 times that day.

Performance

The kids performed at church last week and it was sooooo cute! I wish I had a short video on my camera but it's all on the regular video camera and the last time I tried to get the video on my computer I almost threw the camera and computer out the window! It's a simple step that I miss every single time I attempt the download. Anyway, here's a couple pics. They dressed like cowboys (and cowgirls) b/c one of the songs they sang and danced to sounded like country. It was so much fun to see them on stage. Grace danced a little. She kept moving, not necessarily the right moves but she did her best. Andrew never stopped smiling and knew all the moves and just had a blast! It's so awesome that the kids learn these moves and get to dance to the songs. Such an awesome (and fun) way for them to worship Jesus!