Beau's Life

It's been a little over a month since Beau came into our lives and he has changed dramatically already.  He no longer cowers at any noise; is a world class snuggled; and recently found his voice, regularly barking during the witching hour (late afternoon through early evening).  He loves to go for rides in the car, although he still struggles getting in and out of our vehicles.  He definitely does not like to go for walks in the cold or rain and returns to his skittish ways when walked without Baxter.  From what we can see, he is no longer chewing on the furniture, although he will go to town a box if we leave one on the floor.  And be certain not to turn your back on food, or he will figure out a way to get it right from under you!!  Beau is fitting in just fine.

He refuses to leave Baxter's side (unless it's to go for a ride in the car).  No matter where Baxter is in the house, Beau finds him and squeezes in next to him.

Literally on top of Baxter, sleeping in a chair.

Post-walk snuggles.

Beau's life.....

September Odds and Ends

Very few that didn't make a September post:

Craziness after the Labor Day tournament. 

Elizabeth attended her first ever Bat Mitzvah. 

Picture day! 

And we've added a new instrument..... 

Fall lacrosse.

IDS Invitational

Our second cross country meet was last Thursday and our team had a great showing.  The boys placed third out of nine teams, and they were only beaten by two very large schools.  Two of our boys placed in the top ten, which was awesome.  Our girls placed fifth out of nine teams.  Elizabeth was our first finisher, in a disappointing 28th.  She went out way too hard, although she still ran a faster pace than last week's race and had a faster time than last year on the same course.  Everyone on our team ran faster, which was great for all of us.  Looking forward to the final race of the season this weekend.

The girls cross country team. 

Elizabeth finishing strong. 

Elizabeth and Katie - best of friends, but rivals today.

Columbus Day Classic

Emily played in the CFC Columbus Day Classic over Columbus Day weekend with her premier club CFC. This is a huge tournament, spread out over several towns with hundreds of teams participating.  The weekend weather could not have been worse.  Although the ran held off for most of Saturday, it rained through her last game late Saturday afternoon and absolutely poured through two games on Sunday.  She had a 7:30 am game both mornings, which was tough (up at 5:45 and leaving the house when it was still dark).  Her 06 team's first game was against her team from last year and it was brutal.  I wasn't there (coaching cross country), but it was a bad loss. Emily can be a bit of a head case and playing against her former team really took a toll on her mentally.  She played better in their second game (which they won) and after resting a bit, went to play for the 05 team, where she had an assist on the only goal of the game.  On Sunday morning, her 06 team held it together quite well for the first half (down only 2-1 at the half) and then fell apart in spectacular fashion in the second half, for another brutal loss.  After a 45 minute break, she played for the 05s in torrential downpours, and played very well.  They won 3-0 (without their two top scorers) and earned a spot in the championship game.  The other team then forfeited the championship game because they felt that the fields were too dangerous to play - it was an anticlimactic way to end the tournament, but I think that overall, she felt good about how she played (other than against Sporting).

Magic teammates, opponents for a game.  Kudos to my friend Kate for getting this photo - Emily wanted no part of this picture, she was so upset about the loss.

I could barely hold the camera steady, it was pouring so hard and I was shivering so much.  Hoping to get better photos next weekend. 

Much to her dismay, I made her wear a poncho before warm ups for the championship game.  She was so embarrassed, but all of the parents (not kids, of course) were telling her how smart she was and how she must be staying so dry...... 

Abby and Emily sporting new tournament sweatshirts.  Note: Emily seems to be taller than Abby in this photo, although Abby was taller than Em in the summer.  She has recently started eating us out of house and home and this photo was taken after she inhaled an 8" roast beef grinder for lunch.  We are really hoping that she's having a growth spurt.

The 05s got their medals at practice last night and pulled Emily and Abby away from their practice with the 06s to make sure that they got their medals and were part of the team photo.

Sweet medals!

Wickham Park Invitational

Yesterday was the Wickham Park Invitational.  Due to various circumstances, I am actually coaching the middle school cross country team this year, which has been an experience.  About half of the team was able to run this weekend (we lost several kids because of the holiday weekend) and almost all of them were new to the team, so it was their first race.  And the course at Wickham Park is very difficult, so I was a bit worried about how the team would do.  I wrote each runner a personal note and gave it to them at practice on Thursday - apparently, all of them read it because they couldn't wait to tell me that they beat the goal that I set for them.  I gave each runner a goal - keep up the strong running, try to run the whole way (no walking), etc. - and a time that I wanted them to strive for.  I was particularly demanding of Elizabeth and a couple of other runners that I know can do well.  I took 30 seconds off of Elizabeth's time from last year and set that as her goal - and she crushed it!  She ended up running 1:02 faster than last year, which was so great.  All of the kids did so well and I am so proud of them for showing up, overcoming their nerves, running a good race and finishing strong!!!

The girls at the start line. 

Elizabeth working hard. 

At the finish - she was trying so hard to catch this girl. 

Most of the team (a couple of boys had already left).

One of the other moms was able to get this video of Elizabeth as she ran up the hill to the finish line.  She was so mad that a few people passed her, but she had nothing left, which is exactly what I wanted.  So proud of her.

September Soccer

September has been an incredible month of soccer.  After winning the Labor Day Shootout, Emily's Magic team has continued its strong play and is currently undefeated, winning 3 league games, a friendly and an incredibly tense and hard fought Cup game.  In general, Emily is playing really well and with such confidence, we are just so happy for her.  So far this season, she had seven goals and eight assists.  Last weekend, she played three games and had three assists and three game winning goals - she is just doing a really great job either finding the net or finding a teammate who can put the ball in the net.  There is always room for improvement, but we are very happy with what we are seeing.  Most importantly, she is having a great time and really looks forward to every practice and game, even when we have to drive more than an hour.

The girls were losing 3-0 to Avon with 15 minutes left in the game and were able to pull it together and win the game, 6-3. 

Emily scored the only goals in a  2-0 win over Berlin. 

Hard fought 4-3 win over Enfield, a team that clean their clocks last year. 

Hard fought 1-0 win over Ridgefield in their first Connecticut Cup game. 

Coach Goran sent them on the victory run to the parents after the big win against Ridgefield.

On the premier side, we are very happy with her play at CFC as well.  Her coach approached me after her first practice and told me that she and her sporty bestie Abby should make a partial move up to the next age group.  They now practice one night a week with each team and they are rostered on both teams for games.  This has really given her a lot of confidence and both girls look like they belong on the 05 team.  Neither is used to not starting, nor are they used to having a coach that gets mad when the team is winning, but they have moved up to a more difficult level of playing, coaching and strategy.  On Sunday, Emily had an assist in the 05 game and played almost the entire second half, which is a lot more playing time than we expected her to get.

First game with the 05s 

Playing hard for the 06s. 

First assist for the 05s. 

Emily and Abby are two peas in a pod, waiting to go into the game.

Beau

Last weekend, we welcomed Beau to our family.  We have been looking for a dog for about a month now - all of us are finally ready to move on from the painful loss of Elliot.  We had a failed meeting with a senior dog that was terribly hard on all of us, followed by the loss of a dog that was adopted right out from under us.  Finding a rescue dog that is good with other dogs and good with kids is actually a lot harder than it sounds and the girls were becoming very despondent over how difficult the process had become.  We found Beau through a local rescue organization and took him home the same day that he arrived in Connecticut.  He is a two year old bull terrier mix, just a little guy.  He was found in a basement an abandoned home in North Carolina and brought to a high kill shelter.  Our local rescue pulled him and placed him with a foster family in NC and he was treated by a vet and neutered.  As all rescue dogs do, he has his share of "issues" - clearly, he has never walked on a leash; until he got to our house, he never navigated stairs (amusing all day Saturday and Sunday, I have to say); he refuses to walk through doorways, you have to push or pull him; he's never had human food; and he's scared of humans, dogs, cars, trucks, fog, Emily's soccer coach, headlights, loud noises, and pretty much everything else you can think of.  He has no idea how to get in and out of our cars, but he does love to go for a ride and he is very well-behaved in the car.  He loves Baxter and follows him everywhere, much to Baxter's great annoyance.  As we complete our first full week together, we feel very good about adding him to our family.  We hope that Beau continues to adjust well as we really do love the little guy.

This is the photo the rescue organization posted on its Facebook page.

He looks tiny in the picture, but he's 45 pounds. 

Emily and Beau, hanging out. 

Sure guys, make yourselves at home on our bed. 

As soon as the girls leave for school, they sack out on Emily's bed. 

Beau has no concept of "personal space."