Final Soccer Tournament of the Year!

Hard to believe, but it was finally time for the last soccer tournament of the year! Delaney's team Three Lions went to Indianapolis for the Fusion Fall Festival. We weren't sure we were going to make it. Delaney had been out sick all week from school -- fighting a not-so-lovely virus with a high fever, headache, sore throat and breathing issues with absolutely no appetite. Basically, she was pretty miserable all week. After two visits to the doctor, including bloodwork drawn and a chest x-ray, she finally started to get her appetite back Thursday and her fever broke that evening. Whew! The doctor had said if she was fever free all day Friday and felt up to it -- she could still go to her soccer tournament. We waited until Saturday morning for the final decision, and she insisted she was ready to go -- so off to Indianapolis we went.

They had two games scheduled for Saturday. Their first game Saturday was a decisive win. I think it ended up being 6-1, and Delaney got two goals. She played really hard, and it was hard to believe that she was as sick as she was just a bit ago. We had all dressed in layers for really cold weather and with the sun out -- it actually ended up being pretty nice out!











Their second game was a shut-out with a 0-0 score. Both teams had several shots on goal, but neither could get the ball in the net!









Then we were off to the hotel to relax, let Delaney hang out with her team, and Kyle wanted to go swimming! Our next game was EARLY Sunday, at 6:45 am our time. We had to be AT the field at 6:00 our time. UGH! It was horrid in so many ways. :-) Not the least was the FROST on the ground at the field, check this out:





Is that just wrong or what? It was FRIGID! I literally couldn't feel my toes by the end of the game. The freezing weather didn't hurt their play, as they won this game 5-0 -- and Delaney got another goal.





Now they were in the final game, playing the team that they tied 0-0 for the championship. Thankfully it was later in the day when the sun melted the frost away and warmed things up a bit. Not sure what happened with this game, but they just got out played. It certainly wasn't their best play of the season, and they lost this game 1-5.

Their team ended up finishing second. In fact, all the Three Lions teams finished second. :-) Great job, everyone!

I think Delaney's energy just completely gave out later in the evening. Obviously, being sick all week and then playing four soccer games in two days probably wasn't the BEST thing to do -- but she would have been miserable to miss the tournament. She went to bed early and is taking it easy this week to ensure she doesn't relapse.

What a great fall season Delaney's team had. They finished first in their league and second in every tournament they entered. Can't wait to see their next season! Delaney also tied with Michelle for the most goals in the season -- way to go, girls! Winter training next...

Ken & Dani

Halloween Fun!

I'd like to introduce you to our kiddos some visitors we had this Halloween. First, we had Kyle in his costume were honored meet the infamous Zorro! What a handsome, suave guy he was too -- love this guy!



He would hardly hold still for pictures, he was so excited to pose really knew his swordsmanship too -- amazing!

We also had Delaney in her costume a pirate stop by, and she was definitely strong-willed. She didn't need anyone to help her out -- she could handle it all herself! She kept her annoying brother away with her own pirate sword held off Zorro with her own amazing sword skills!!!

Once she proved herself, the two decided to join forces and scour the neighborhood for candy treasure! Watch out neighborhood, here we come!



They proved to be an unstoppable force. The candy they collected will last them forever treasure they found seemed never-ending!

They had to have their dad chaperone found one more cohort to lead their quest for treasure -- an escaped convict no less! His skills at keeping an eye on them at thievery were second-to-none.

Success! Can't wait until next year!!!

Dani

School Programs and, of course, Soccer!

As always, between school and soccer it seems like something is always going on! :-) Kyle just had his school program, "It's a Great Bug's Life." It was absolutely adorable. They sang songs like You're Nobuggy til Somebuggy Loves You, Dancing Queen, Together We Make Beautiful Music, etc. The kids' costumes were adorable. There were spiders, walking sticks, beetles, bumble bees, lightning bugs, stink bugs, worms, grasshoppers, butterflies and more.



Kyle was part of a centipede! He's the third one from the left - how cute is that?!?



He even had a small speaking part, so he got to go up and use the microphone too.

Everyone did a wonderful job, and while Kyle enjoyed it very much -- he wasn't upset to be done with practicing and go back to the regular school routine.

He had a great soccer season with his in-house Crown Point team this year, The Dome. While he likes trying for goals, like the one he snuck in here:

He seems to enjoy playing defense the best and even likes being goalie!



Unfortunately, he did catch a little something and got sick for a couple days and had to miss his last soccer game of the season. Bummer! But he's looking forward to winter training and starting his very first travel team in the Spring.

Delaney's soccer is still going strong. Her Three Lions team is doing really well so far, they just played their league tournament this past weekend. Their team placed 1st in the league, and 2nd in the tournament. Great job, ladies!

No soccer games on Halloween weekend, but they still have one more tournament to go for the season.

Dani

Bookmark signing at Borders!

This past Saturday, Delaney had a bookmark signing at Borders. She had a table outside of the children's department, complete with a sign showcasing her winning bookmark. The store would periodically announce her name and that she won the national bookmark contest and was there to sign the bookmarks. Delaney had also created a list of her "Top Picks" for reading, that was on display and handed out as well. How neat is that?





Both sets of grandparents were there, as well as many other family members to celebrate with her. Her cousins, Michael and Teresa, were one of the first to receive an autographed bookmark. :-)

Delaney was a little uncomfortable with all the attention, especially when people she didn't know stopped by. So she asked her Dad to sit with her until the signing was over, which while she loved the honor -- I think she was relieved when it was over.

Thanks to Borders for selecting her bookmark design initially allowing her the chance to win first place at the Library of Congress's Official Bookmark contest as well as for honoring her at the store and just making the overall experience a wonderful one!

Dani

Delaney won the National Book Festival Official Bookmark Contest Sponsored by Borders!

Delaney loves to read, and she also likes to draw... what a perfect combination for her to enter a Bookmark Contest sponsored by Borders. During the summer, she designed and created her bookmark and took it into our local Borders store at the mall to enter the contest.

There were three levels to get through to try to win! First, you had to win at the local store level; then, you had to win at the state level; finally, all the state winners were competing for the top three spots. What a tough process to get through, so imagine Delaney's surprise as she kept getting calls from Borders that her bookmark kept winning! Then she received the major call that her bookmark was the Grand Prize winner -- she was beside herself with excitement!

Borders just released a press announcement. It’s weird -- if you put “sixth grader from Indiana wins” in Google – Delaney shows up everywhere!!! :-)

Here is the winning bookmark:



Her bookmark is the official bookmark of the National Book Festival this year. Her bookmark will be "distributed to tens of thousands of book lovers when they descend on the National Mall in Washington D.C. for the Festival Sept. 25". How neat is that?

What did she win? Well, at the store level she was awarded with a certificate showing that she was the local winner; then at the state level she was awarded with a certificate and a $25 Borders gift card; then at the grand prize level she was awarded with a $500 Borders gift card as well as a $500 Borders gift card for her school library. Simply amazing!

Way to go, Delaney! We are all so excited and proud for your accomplishment!

Love,
Dad, Mom & Bro

 

Palm Springs 15th Wedding Anniversary Trip!

We had purchased some raffle tickets for a fundraiser with the LAM Foundation, and somehow we won one of the trips to Palm Springs! The prize package included staying at the Hilton Palm Springs (right at the bottom of the mountains), a gift certificate to their spa, free breakfasts at the hotel, a gift certificate for lunch for two at Sherman's Deli & Bakery, a gift certificate to Riccio's Steak & Seafood (we couldn't even use it all!), as well as a gift certificate to The Wardrobe (ladies apparel). How fun is that?





We flew into the Palm Springs International Airport, which is the prettiest airport I think we've ever seen. It has an open air concept, so we were immediately enjoying the lovely sunny weather right when we arrived.



This was the view almost everywhere, palm trees all over with the mountains in the background. Absolutely gorgeous! It was so weird to think that we were basically in the middle of the desert.





We were able to check in right away, and we had a small beautiful suite. We remembered to take pictures of the room before we messed it up this time! Wasn't it lovely?



And here was the view outside our balcony, we had a beautiful scene of the outdoor pool. We decided it was a good thing we had kiddos at home, or we could have easily just never come home!!!

We were hungry from our four hour, non-stop flight (long time to be in an airplane, especially if you need oxygen to fly - UGH!). So we quickly redeemed our first gift certificate at the deli and had a wonderful lunch, actually there was too much food!



Kenny was brave and tried something brand new -- their chef's specialty, beef 'n latkas. While I went for the basic turkey melt -- I'm not all that adventurous when it comes to new foods, and I was hungry! I didn't want something I couldn't eat. :-)

We went to bed super late the night before, trying to make sure we covered all the bases with the kids -- their school, soccer, and everything that needed packed for them -- as well as trying to finish up our packing. So I was pretty tired, and I think I could have easily just called it a day and gone to bed early. However, Kenny was ready to go sightsee and talked me into just driving around and checking Palm Springs out. It did wake me up a bit. It was so beautiful out, we got to do some shopping, and we even watched a movie at the Imax - Inception. It was a very unique, complex movie -- you really have to pay attention or you'll easily get lost. It definitely kept me awake to the end! I was also able to redeem the gift certificate for a beautiful dress at The Wardrobe too. Definitely had fun with that, now I just need my husband to plan more date nights!!!



Basically, every morning we just put on our swimsuits and headed down to the pool. I was able to read several books, including a great trilogy by Matthew Reilly: Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones, and The Five Greatest Warriors. If you are a fan of James Rollins, Clive Cussler, Dan Brown, Steve Berry, etc. -- you will definitely enjoy this series.



Kenny apparently took more pictures than I was even aware of, while I was enjoying the sun in my bikini -- I'll spare you from seeing those!!! Our breakfast coupons only lasted until 11:00am, which I think was the only thing that got us up and moving from the pool. We had a delicious brunch late every morning, and either got ready or went back to the pool to hang out some more. It's so nice not being on a schedule sometimes. LOL





Kenny redeemed the spa gift certificate for a massage this morning, and then we dressed up and headed out to Riccio's Steak and Seafood for a nice evening meal. We sat out on their patio seating and just enjoyed the beautiful view and weather.



The next day we took a scenic trip through the mountains (at times a little harrowing, my passenger brake pedal just wasn't working properly!), as well as taking a ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.



This is a shot of the other car on their way down, as we were on our way up! The floor inside rotates 360 degrees the entire time you are riding, so you can see from every viewpoint. It is a 10 minute trip, 2-1/2 miles long starting you at elevation 2,643 feet and ending at elevation 8,516 feet!





Kenny isn't a big fan of these cable rides, so it was a big concession for him to ride one. :-) Although, I must admit that I wasn't all that thrilled when we had to go over a tower and the entire car rocked back and forth for a while.

But the views from above were simply breathtaking! There are a variety of activities available there, including nature walks and hiking trails (which I don't even think I could do with oxygen now) -- so we just did their Ride n' Dine option. We had a nice meal and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery.

Then somehow after another lazy morning at the pool, it was time to get ready to head back home. It was a wonderful trip, celebrating our 15th Wedding Anniversary just a bit early (September 2nd). Back to reality!!!

Ken & Dani