Hammond 3v3 Soccer Champions - U12 Girls Division

On Saturday, July 31, Delaney played in her first 3v3 Soccer tournament in Hammond. She was on a team with six girls total, two of which were on her Three Lions team. It's bit of an adjustment to regular play: smaller field & goals, a box around the goal that no one can cross (defense or offense), no goalie, you can only score on your side of the field, playing both offense and defense throughout, etc. But all the girls did very well! The Three Lions teammates worked extremely well together -- controlling the ball, passing and setting each other up for goals. They were subbed out with the other three girls, who were from Hobart. Kenny used to play 3v3 tournaments all the time (pre-kids mainly), and it was a lot of fun watching them again with Delaney.

Their team shirts were hot-pink -- not a color that Delaney was very thrilled about. Kenny and I had fun chanting, "Go Hot Pink," and watching Delaney shake her head and roll her eyes at us! :-)



Freakishly enough, the weather was perfect for hanging outside all day. It never rained, it wasn't too sunny and hot, it wasn't too cold -- definitely NOT the norm it seems for soccer games. Don't get me wrong, it was wonderful!



They played a total of four games that day. They won each game they played, although one was a nail-biter! In fact, they snuck one goal in RIGHT before the whistle and we thought it had tied the game. I guess we obviously had our goal count off because that last-minute goal won the game. Whew!





Here was one of Dee's many goals throughout the day!!!



After the final game, they headed over to the tent to receive their trophies with a lot of excitement!



And Delaney was THRILLED to receive another shirt (that was NOT hot pink) that said Champions on it!!! I'm sure this is the shirt that she'll be wearing most of the time.

It was a lot of fun. We'll have to do this again! Great job, girls!

Dani

Six Flags Day!!!

Kenny took Tuesday off from work, and we took the kids to Six Flags for the day. They had each earned their free ticket from reading, and we were running out of time to get there this summer. The summer vacation is going by so quickly! (* gasp *)

We had an absolutely beautiful, sunny day! Delaney and I started our day off in the Hometown Square riding a family roller coaster, the Whizzer.



Well... we definitely could have had a better start to our day. The ride got STUCK at the top of the spiral lift with US IN IT -- just hanging around 70 feet in the air!!! We did have QUITE a nice, lengthy view of the entire park from our unique vantage point!



One of the poor employee's working there, had to trudge by foot up every single circular level until he way was up there with us. He had to inform us what was going on, probably make sure that no one tried to get out and walk down, and inform us that they had the technicians coming over to get the ride going again. I'd say we were stuck there at least 15-20 minutes or so, before we finally finished the ride. YIKES!

We made our way over to the Southwest Territory to ride an oldie but goodie - the Chubasco, spinning teacups. Since Kenny can NOT handle spinning rides, those are all left to me while he snapped pictures!



Delaney was tall enough to ride every ride in the park, but that didn't mean she actually wanted to! We couldn't talk her into riding some of the bigger roller coasters with us. So Kenny and I ended up riding the Raging Bull by ourselves. It features a 208 foot first drop with a top speed of 73 miles per hour. It was pretty awesome! Maybe someday our kids will ride the "thrill" rides with us!





Then we talked Kyle into riding the Ricochet with Delaney and I (spinning ride again = no Kenny). Since there was only 2 people per cart, Delaney had to ride by herself. Away we went...



The spinning part didn't bother Kyle, but when they started "ricocheting" or swinging out the carts, Kyle was done with the ride. Problem was, the ride had quite a ways to go. :-( He was a pretty unhappy dude for a bit, but he was pretty ecstatic when the ride was over. He did not feel the urge to ride this one again. Delaney, however, was all for it.




Kyle's all-time favorite ride once again was located in the County Fair: the Buccaneer Battle! He probably would have rode this ride the entire day and been just fine.



Not that Delaney and Kenny didn't enjoy the ride too! I did ride it once, but that was enough for me! I somehow escaped being thoroughly soaked that ride, and I didn't want to push my luck with multiple rides. I was content to take pictures of them riding and continue to have dry underwear! LOL





Afterwards, Kenny and Kyle were taking turns on deck adding to the mayhem squirting riders on the boats! They were COMPLETELY soaked from head to toe.



Then in an effort to start drying off, the kiddos took their parents on a drive at the Great America Raceway. We had a nice leisurely drive -- it was nice being the passenger for a while -- and the kids were off to the next ride.





We convinced Kyle to ride his very first roller coaster in Camp Cartoon, the themed kids' area -- Spacely's Sprocket Rocket: Campground Shuttle Service. We rode the ride, which Kyle was definitely NOT thrilled with, and at the ending of the ride -- WE GOT STUCK AGAIN! Can you believe it? At least we weren't up way up high for very long, we literally got stuck at the end of the ride (they couldn't open the safety bars) and only had to wait about 5 to 10 minutes to get out. Kenny said that Delaney and I were bad luck. :-(





The next ride was probably Kyle's second favorite, the Roaring Rapids -- a family rafting adventure. After all our water rides, where I was somehow able to escape with hardly getting wet -- my luck was over. I wasn't COMPLETELY drenched from head to toe, but I was definitely pretty wet after this ride.

During all this, we obviously had the typical amount of waiting and lines to stand in. Yes, thankfully the park wasn't very crowded since it was a week day -- in fact, less crowded than previous weekdays we've attended -- but still there were lines. Which pleasantly enough, the kids did very well with!





As long as it wasn't a big thrill ride, Delaney was pretty much up to riding anything. We rode the Condor in Orleans Place. I think it took you up over 100 feet, so you got quite a nice aerial view of the park. Delaney and I rode it, Kyle was a no-go with Kenny no on the spinning action.

We rode a lot of other rides. Delaney and I rode the Ragin' Cajun. We again went for the single rider option to avoid the long line. Delaney actually rode it a few more times that way. (That darn spinning thing left Kenny out again.) We also rode the Logger's Run; Kyle was pretty unhappy with this one too, the drops were freaking him out. Delaney and I LOVED riding the Whirlgig, the swings -- riding it several times. Kenny misses out on so many fun rides with his aversion to spinning! Delaney and Kenny rode the Demon, in the shortest line to that ride EVER (awesome). I'm sure there were more that I'm forgetting, and Kenny and the kids towards the end of the day braved the Rue Le Dodge: bumper cars!



After a very long (and exhausting) day, we changed into dry clothes and headed home. Another fun day at Six Flags (Kyle's BEST DAY EVER), and we now have another year to recuperate and think about taking them again next year. :-)

Dani

 

Delaney won a Chicago Fire Coloring contest!

Way back in April of this year, Delaney entered a Chicago Fire coloring contest. She received a phone call earlier this week that she had WON her age bracket (ages 10-14), and they wanted to confirm our address to mail out her prize package! Woo-hoo! How exciting is that?!?

We received her package in the mail today. They sent back her drawing, signed by one of the players: John Thorrington, #11. She also received a team jersey signed by many players (she's wearing it in this pic) --



As well as all this other Chicago Fire stuff --



Which includes a bag, a poster, another t-shirt, a teddy bear, a ball, a key ring, and more! Delaney is pretty darn excited and surprised that she won. Great job, Dee!

Dani

What a GREAT holiday weekend we had!

Our holiday started a day early on July 3rd, as Kenny and the kids went to Hebron to be in the parade with Aunt Danah and her boys. They were there representing her business, Greener Pastures, riding horses. Here is my dad Dan all gussed up for the event riding Sarah.



Here they are in the parade, Danah and Dad are towards the back.



Here is a closer shot of Aunt Danah riding Jackson.



Most of the kids were in the back of Danah's vet truck, ready to throw out candy in the parade.



Parker was in the gator with Kenny. They were trailing behind everyone in the parade on "poop patrol" cleaning up behind the horses. Parker was getting cheers everytime he cleaned up.



Afterwards, we headed out to Danah's to play the rest of the day in her new pool. Then we came back on the fourth to celebrate the holiday at Danah's big get-together, then we came back AGAIN on Monday. Whew!



The entire weekend had absolutely beautiful weather. The sun was shining, and it was simply gorgeous outside. The kids had on their new patriotic suits!





The kids wore Kenny out. They were having him toss them up in the air to flip and splash into the water. Parker got some great "hang time" here.



Delaney kept flipping completely over into the water.



Connor was the lightest, so he could really get up there.

Kyle had a blast, asking again and again to be thrown up in the air.

Great Grandma Imogene and my mom watched from the front porch, as the kids were going crazy in the pool.

Taggert even had his own "fourth of july" handkerchief for the festivities.

And there was soooooo much yummy food!!! I think we all ate way too much, but it was definitely good. Danah even made a special cake for the party.



The last couple of nights, we watched an awesome firework display orchestrated by Kenny and Scott. It was crazy how many there were, but they were definitely beautiful!



The fourth went by way too fast. But I'm sure the kids and I will be hanging out at the pool as much as we can the rest of the summer.

Dani

Where Did June Go?

Yikes! The summer days are going by way too quickly!!! How can June be almost over already? We've had quite a busy month. First, we still had a lot of soccer games to get through. Even though Kyle's season was over, Delaney's team Three Lions kept us pretty busy. They had a tough stretch with the League Tournament and the Challenge Cup playing the same team. They lost the League Tournament and came back the next week and played much better, but they lost in the final minutes of the Challenge Cup. Being at the Challenge Cup was an honor, only the top 8 teams in the state were there. (We qualified by winning the Fort Wayne Preliminaries.)



Delaney's goal at the Challenge Cup!

Afterwards, Coach Graeme handed out the awards for the season. Delaney was thrilled to get a trophy for "Most Goals Earned" with 23 goals for the season. Way to go, Dee! Great job!

After a short break, Delaney had her try-out with Three Lions and is thrilled to remain on the team. We can't wait to see what happens next season!

Even though the kids are "officially" done with soccer, soccer is far from finished. We've been out to the field a few times just kicking the ball around. It's hard to resist this beautiful weather. And, of course, our DVR is filled with World Cup Soccer games. We've been watching soccer game after soccer game. :-) And if that isn't enough, Delaney and Kyle have been playing Wii FIFA Soccer incessantly as well. If it had the annoying buzz of the vuvuzela (the noisemaker horn in the background of the World Cup games), I wouldn't be able to tell from another room if it was a real game or not. I CAN'T GET AWAY FROM SOCCER!!! :-)

The kids already had their week of Theatre Camp at the high school. With Delaney going into middle school next year, the kids camps were conveniently at two different times (not!). So I was having flashbacks to Kyle being in kindergarten with my day segmented into 2 hour and 1 hour blocks. UGH! Kyle was there from 12-2, then Dee was from 3-5. We really couldn't do too much that week -- SO GLAD THAT IS OVER. That is one of the reasons I like summer so much, the lack of structured events (no homework, practices, school events, etc.)!

Kenny wanted to make some "Guinness and Bailey Irish Cream Cupcakes" the next time he played poker with his soccer buddies. They apparently are aficionados of this drink when they get together, so he thought it would be neat to try them. I foolishly said sure without really checking out the recipe. It was a bit more involved than we've ever made cupcakes before, as we had to not only make the cupcake batter, but also a ganache filling to insert in the middle, as well as a buttercream frosting made with Bailey's. The scent was a bit overwhelming, and as I don't drink alcoholic beverages, I decided that these cupcakes could probably knock me out and passed on them. But I heard they were really delicious, and I found a few more fun cupcakes to make with a ganache filling, now that we know what we are doing. I think we'll try these next: Homemade Hostess Cupcakes. At least they won't be hands-off for the kids and me! :-)

We've also been having fun this summer: miniature golfing, movies, playing games and just "being vegetables" at times. It's been great. My sister just got a new pool, so we're hoping to bask in the sun and swim with our cousins here soon as well.

My BFF RuthAnn was able to come visit last Wednesday and Thursday, which with her four adorable kiddos is a difficult task to achieve. We had a great time, got a lot accomplished, and she took some great photos of Delaney and Kyle for us. We'll be sharing them here soon! I hope everyone is enjoying the summer as much as we are!

Ken, Dani, Dee & Kyle

Kyle's First White Sox Game!

A friend of Kenny's nicely gave him four tickets to Saturday night's White Sox game. Since Delaney had an early game in South Bend, and we were going to have to leave our house around 6:00am to get there -- we girls decided to go to bed early instead. So Kenny and Kyle invited one of Kyle's buddies, Jake, and his father to go with -- fellow White Sox fans!

Everyone was dressed appropriately in White Sox gear, of course.

How cute do they look? I mean, really!



They did have a little bit of on/off rain...

And unfortunately, the White Sox lost 1-3 -- but it was a fireworks night. And Kyle said, "They were AWESOME!"

Great first baseball experience with a good buddy and your dad! Can't beat that!

Ken