Fall Soccer 2009

Well the weather has finally cooled off here in our part of the desert and we are thrilled. The heat is always welcomed being it is how we make a living but when there is not as much work to be done we are happy to see the heat go and pull out our jeans and boots for a while. With this cooler weather come soccer Saturday's for us. This year Tanner is playing on the Stingers U9 boys team and Madisen is once again a Ruff Ryder. They are both doing well but something lit a fire under Tanner's cute behind and he has really stepped it up this season. Being on of the smallest on the team he has to run faster just to keep up but he is proving week after week to be determined to be good at this. This year they have gone from playing on a small field with only defenders near the goal to a larger field playing with a goalie. It is really fun to watch them learn to stay in their positions as well as try and

determine when to break away from their position and help out a teammate.

I love this picture because Tanner is smiling so big!!!

Madisen, as I stated above, is playing on a U7 girls team the Ruff Ryder's. She is only five but wanted to play with her friend Brinley who is older so we chose to play up a couple of levels so they could be together. She has really good games and then there are games like yesterday where she is more concerned with other things than soccer. When she is on her game she is awesome but she is easily distracted. Yesterday we brought snacks and that is all she could think about. She skipped down the field or danced her way to the kick off line more than she ran. Those games are hard for me to watch. I find myself yelling for her to get her head in the game which leads to her sings the "Get Your Head in the Game" song from the movie High School Musical which leads to more distraction and dancing and less soccer playing. How did I end up raising Erin? She is a delight to have around and her mission in life is very simple SPREAD JOY. Side note...the first game she played this season was against another team who wore purple jersey's and they had matching hair bows. This was a distraction for a few of the girls on the team. They asked why we didn't have matching hair ties. So Brinleys' mom and I decided that we would not be shown up in the accessories department another game. That week at both practices we made these hair bows which our coach gave us grief about. This week two of the girls lost their hair ties during the game and unlike the boys who continue to play if they loose a shoe they both turned around and picked it up causing us to loose possession of the ball. OOPS!! At least they looked cute!!! Next game I will bring bobby pins to secure those tighter.