Newington Wrap Up

The Magic girls played in the Newington Wrap Up tournament over Father's Day weekend.  Their coach put them in the top bracket (of 3), so we knew in advance that it was going to be a tough weekend.  They tied the first game 3-3 and then lost the second 1-0.  Father's Day morning was a very tough game for them - they completely dominated, but could not land a shot and the other team was successful with only a handful of shots, so the girls lost a tough one 4-1.  Finally, they ended their weekend on a high note with a win against a weaker opponent.  For her part, Emily broke a long scoring drought, scoring in three of the four games.  She played progressively better as the weekend went on, but there is no doubt that she is looking forward to a bit of a break from the daily grind of soccer.

Emily would just love it if I could capture her scoring - this one was close, but one of her teammates made it count. 

Dads and daughters

Last Day of School

The girls finished the school year last Tuesday and we could not be more proud of them.  They both earned straight A's for the entire year, and Elizabeth was awarded High Honors for the year for her efforts (the Honor Roll is only awarded to middle schoolers).  Both girls received awards for Band, Drama and Perfect Attendance, and Elizabeth was awarded for Student Counsel as well.  We are so proud of their efforts during this school year.  With very little help from either of us, the girls organized themselves, diligently did their homework (including doing work while traveling for soccer) and balanced all of their extra curricular activities while still maintaining academic excellence.

Perfect attendance 

The last day of school crew. 

Emily and Gianna

May Odds and Ends

Elizabeth playing JPII soccer.

Emily playing JPII soccer.

Ready for Trek for Tech.

5th grade girls at Trek for Tech.

Emily and Meg

Elizabeth spent an amazing day at a Kent School admissions event.

We visited St. George's School in Rhode Island - it was a huge hit.

Kid naps hard.

Bowers Lacrosse Tournament

Last Sunday was the Bowers Lacrosse Tournament.  Middletown Lacrosse plays in this tournament every year and this year, we were there all day.  Elizabeth and Emily both played for the Juniors team, so we left the house around 6:45am Sunday morning for the one hour drive to the fields.  Then, Elizabeth played for the Seniors team in the afternoon, which meant that we didn't get home until almost 6:30pm that night.  It was a long day, but the girls played well and we have seen so much improvement, not only in our girls, but in the teams as a whole.

Laila, Emily and Elizabeth.  Lax is life. 

I spend a lot of time with Kate and Lauren, but rarely are the three of us together.  Sunday, I got to be with BOTH of my people!!

Emily and Elizabeth playing D together. 

Tierra, Elizabeth and Coach Anthony - the heart and soul of the team (in my opinion) right here. 

The food trucks this year were amazing and Emily capped off her day with a loaded baked potato.

Eleven

Our baby girl turns eleven today.  She had a pretty rough day, as she's been under the weather for several days and although she gave it her best, she spent a few hours napping after two brutal soccer games.  Going through all of the photos to make her video reminded me of so many great moments that she had this year - she had some really great moments in soccer and made amazing memories with her various teams; she tried a new sport; performed in All State band for the first time; and if possible, became a more voracious reader.  Emily is a complete goof ball, but she is serious (as a heart attack) about school and sports.  She's super competitive and when she sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her.  She still surprises us, from time to time, with her lack of confidence, but we are working on that.  Emily continues to love Jesus and we are impressed with her kindness and her devotion to her daily bible reading.  Lee and I are so blessed to have Emily as our daughter and we can't wait to see what this year brings!  Her lucky number is 11 and we believe that God has great things in store for her this year.  Happy Birthday!!!

Flute Recital

Last Saturday, Elizabeth's flute instructor at the Hartt School held a recital for all of her flute students.  This is the first time that Elizabeth has really performed in front of an audience, and the really the first time that she's had the chance to see some really serious flute students (some were seniors in high school).  She did very well and we are so proud of her - all of the rehearsal time she put in and her composure during the actual performance.

Waiting to rehearse with the pianist. 

All of the performers, with Dr. Hopkins.

Andante

JV Tournament

Last weekend, the JPII JV soccer team played in the Catholic School League Championship.  They won the regular season, with a record of 13 wins and 1 tie and they won the first game of the tournament handily, 7-0.  Unfortunately, the championship game ended in a 2-2 (Emily scored one of the two goals), and it went down to PKs.  It took seven PKs to decide the championship and when the dust cleared, JPII fell short.  Emily was devastated, as this is the first time in the school's existence that they did not take home the crown; moreover, she missed her PK (good shot, but the other goalie was good and he made the save).

Unlucky

In May, Emily played a lot of soccer games, which means that I watched a lot of soccer games.  I saw some really, really bad soccer and some really good soccer.  But no matter what - she just couldn't win.  Emily plays for three different teams and not one of them has won a game outside this spring.  It's really quite remarkable and the unlucky streak has to end soon.