two-part post

Lots to show and tell today...so this will be a two-part post...

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PART ONE: The Soccer Tournament
We left work early on Friday, and arrived in Dallas at 7:30, just in time for Chris to check in for the tournament. Upon check-in, Chris discovered that our entire schedule had been changed, that we were in a different bracket, and that we would be playing on a totally different field. Oh my! A lot of the evening was then spent on the cell phone, letting the players know about the changes, etc. Chris and I had a delicious dinner at Steak-n-Shake, found our hotel, and got settled in.

Our first game was at 9:00 on Saturday...our opponent was "need a team". We showed up, and there was no team for us to play, so it was an automatic forfeit and we got 10 points right off the bat. The girls were rearing to play, but they had to wait until the second game at 2:30. We ended up losing this game, and we thought that it was pretty much over for us. But the tournament gods were looking down over us, and it turns out that there was only one other team in our bracket, and we only had to beat them to get into the quarter-finals. We played this team at 5:30, and ended up skunking them 8-0. It was such a fun, fantastic game! We enjoyed watching the girls, and the girls had a grand time kicking some ass! :) This win put us through to the next round, the quarter-finals. To be played Sunday morning at 9:15.

That evening, we all went out to dinner at the Magic Time Machine, a fun and crazy place where everyone is dressed up in costumes. Our large group of 30+ had a good time with our waiter, Zorro...and the kids had a blast.

Sunday we woke up to freezing weather, so we bundled up and headed to the game. Our girls scored right away, and we thought that we might actually have a chance to move on to the semi-finals. But alas, we lost 1-4, so our tournament was over. We were proud of the girls for making it to the quarter-finals, and I think it was a good experience for them all. We headed home and got back around 2:00 in the afternoon...

I tried to take some good pictures during the tournament...these were a few of the best ones. I really need a better zoom lens for sports..but!



This is Cassidy...



I was thrilled to get some great fall leaves photos while there too!



Coach Chris, wearing Assassin orange, was very focused on the games...



This is Hannah, the youngest girl on our team...but one of the best players...



Hottest Coach ever! :)



This is Katie...she's a crazy girl...she's very much her own person, and proud to be!! She has told me, EVERY SINGLE game for about the past three years (seriously), that she "likes my earrings"...EVERY single game! She makes a point to come over and tell me. And on Saturday, I changed clothes before we went to dinner, and changed my earrings too...and she told me again that she liked my earrings...so she does actually notice the earrings! :)



All of the girls after the big ass-kicking game...they were soooo pumped! They were dancing around and doing cheers and just living in the great moment...



Here's a shot of all the freezing parents! I lost all feeling in my hands...

It was a fun weekend, and we need to get the girls to more tournaments. It will really improve their game. Make them grow. I see more of these in our future...

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PART TWO: Decorating for Christmas

When we got home at 2:00, we got right to work. Chris got all of the Christmas decorations down from the attic, and I started getting the house decorated while he put the tree up (we do artificial)...not long after we got the lights on the tree, Chris had to head to work to help with a few things. So I was left to decorate the tree on my own. Kind of left me feeling a bit empty, going through this tradition by myself...I wish he had been able to join in on it. Sometimes work happens though...which is understandable.

Luckily, Aspen got home in time to help with a bit of the ornaments, so we had fun putting them on the tree. It turned out fairly well...we like to do a hodge podge of ornaments. I'm not one for a totally matchy matchy tree. I collect ornaments from all over, and I like that each ornament has a story. I've got the pickle ornament, which is my favorite...tradition is that you hide the pickle and whoever finds it first gets an extra gift...we don't do that, but it's still my favorite because I'm a lover of pickles! I've got the little dog holding a diploma that my friend Amy's mom Betty gave me when I graduated from college. I've got a few of the many ornaments I got each year growing up...though most were damaged in an apartment storage room flood, I still have a few that always make me smile. I much prefer a tree that has some meaning...not just beauty.



I like white lights, white beads, and red beads, thanks to my mom. That is something that I took from her annual Christmas tree style. I like it to have an overall classy feel...



Here are the new stockings hanging in their place on the mantle...we're still trying to decide who gets which one!



The big bowl of apples on the kitchen table was replaced with red, silver, and green ornament balls...adds a festive touch to the kitchen!



Chris got these adorable tins for me last year on an after-Christmas sale...and I was at a loss on what to do with them. I was pretty excited when I thought of this!!! Love how the greenery comes out of the tree shape...

It's a bizarre year for me...I am not in the Christmas spirit at all. I'm just not feeling it. I don't want to Christmas shop, I don't want to bake, I don't want to sing carols, I don't want to be all fa-la-la-la-la...decorating felt like it was something that HAD to be done. Something to check off the list, something that had to be done as soon as possible so that Christmas didn't come with our house undecorated! I'm feeling tired. It's been go go go for so long, and it never seems to cease. I'm feeling jaded. The world seems so mundane to me a lot of times. I'm feeling unjoyful. When I want my everyday life to be filled to the brim with joy. Am I having a mid-life crisis? In these last few months before I turn the big 3-0, am I just losing my joy for life? I want to laugh freely and smile til my face hurts. Sometimes I just feel like stone!

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Well, this post has become quite long...hope you enjoyed the soccer recap and the photos...