Seven Days* of Ice Cream

We just returned from our annual beach vacation and, of course, over-indulged in ice cream!

Lago's 

Ice House 

Memories 

Beach Plum 

Izzy's 

Annabelle's

 

*We had ice cream at a restaurant one night and alas, there is no photo of that 7th night.

Nutmeg State Games

Emily's soccer team is between tournaments and practices, but that hasn't stopped them from playing together.  A few weeks ago, the dad of one of her teammates reached out to the team to see if they were interested in playing in the Nutmeg State Games - the U14 age bracket was short a team, so it would be a good challenge and fun experience for the girls to play.  Almost everyone jumped on board and he rounded out the team with friends of the girls that played soccer.  He played the girls at just about every position, whether they were comfortable there or not - Emily played every position but goalie, and only because she never drew the goalie straw.  Even in the middle of a brutal heat wave and against older girls, the girls played great and ended up winning.  We were on vacation for the gold medal game, which bummed out Emily, but she had so much fun playing and hanging out with her friends.

Team photo

After the Friday night game, when the temps were still in the high 90's with a 6:30pm start, the girls cooled down in Marissa's pool 

Seaside Classic

Last weekend, Emily and her summer team played in the Seaside Classic in Rhode Island.  We love this tournament because the weather is always great and there are so many GVSA teams to watch between games.  The girls won their first game 5-2 and tied their second game 1-1 - the goalie for the team they played against in the second game was spectacular and single-handedly kept them in the game during the second half.  The girls then lost their first game on Sunday morning, to the only undefeated team, which meant that they could not win the bracket.  As they were scheduled to play another team from their club for their final game - and with temps heading toward 100 - the coaches decided to report a 0-0 tie and send everyone home, as the game could be played under safer conditions in the future.  Emily was sooooo disappointed, as were a few other girls.  We decided to stay and watch some of her teammates' siblings and, out of the blue, received a text from her coach saying that the 06 boys had no subs and the girls should play for them.  Although they were nervous, the girls took to the field and made an immediate impact - either because the other team underestimated them (and only for the first few minutes) or because they were simply better players.  All three girls came close to scoring and they had a great time playing two extra games.

Refueling.

Stretching after several hours of down time between games. 

Early Sunday morning carpool to Rhode Island. 

Our fearless girls. 

This is a very cropped photo - I moved my camera to watch the play because I was certain she was about to score her first header goal. Alas, she did not. 

This goalie was hearing footsteps the entire second half and did not like it one bit. 

I will give the boys (both on the GVSA team and the opponents) some credit - they seemed completed unaffected by the arrival of the girls.  They treated them as equals, passed to them as teammates and defended them just as hard as the boys.   

Fifteen

Elizabeth is fifteen today!  She has kept us on our toes since day one and I think that she just might for the rest of her life!  She works extremely hard at school - not only with her academics, but with her music and her athletics.  She is a loyal friend who has deep friendships with a few people and will not suffer the foolishness of others.  You always know where you stand with her.  We are so proud of the young woman she is becoming - strong, loyal, athletic, intelligent and witty.  We love you so much Elizabeth - have a wonderful birthday!!

On and Off

Exciting 24 hours at our house:

I can't believe how different she looks already!

Braggalope Bay 2019

Last weekend, the girls and I made our annual trip to Braggalope Bay to visit with Sheila, Clint and Travis, as well as my other high school friends.  Jen and her family couldn't make it this year, but Janet, Kevin and their boys were there to round out our day.  The kids were in the water from the minute we got there, and we had a really great time.  This is one of my favorite traditions.

Kevin paddle boarded an oar to Emily, who was adrift in the middle of the lake.... 

Elizabeth and Ethan 

Missing Jen this year. 

The kids. 

The thunder and pouring rain toward the end of the day forced us to take our annual photo inside.