Catch Up

Well I can’t believe how fast the holidays flew by! As you can probably tell from the lack of posting – we have been busy! So here is a quick summary of what has happened the past month:


Soccer:

Well both of the kids teams went on to play in the playoffs for their divisions. Mackenzie did an amazing job and her team finished in 2nd place overall. It was so much fun watching her play – she is so fast and aggressive. We can’t wait to see how she progresses over the years. I’ve included a picture of the medal ceremony. She currently is participating in a 10-week club training session with a few of her friends.


Blake’s team had a crazy Saturday! They won their first playoff game, so they went on to play in the finals. With about a quarter left, the other team was ahead by one goal. Blake scored and tied up the game. Then I think his coach didn’t think I was keyed up enough, so he put Blake in as goalie for the final minutes of the game. Blake had some amazing saves, then when there was less than a minute left, the other team had a break away and it was up to Blake to stop them. He charged the forward and took the ball away and cleared it! It was so exciting! They then went on to overtime – which both teams remained scoreless. So time for penalty kicks – I definitely needed a Zanax when I found out Blake was keeper during the penalty shots. He blocked the first two shots and then he was up for a shot on goal. He scored! We were now up 2 – 0. The other team then slid one by him – but our team scored again. Then Blake’s coaches yelled out that if Blake blocks this shot – they’ve won the game. No pressure. Blake dove and blocked the ball! The coaches rushed the field and picked him up and carried him around the field. Such an amazing game! I of course forgot to take video – I tried to take it with my phone – but was technologically challenged and couldn’t figure it out! Blake had such a great time during the game and was scouted by 3 different club teams by the end of the season. We decided that traditional club will be too much of a commitment at his age. He is however training with a club team and if he makes it – he can play as many or as few tournaments as he wants.

Christmas:

On the 19th we had our 2nd annual Christmas Movie Night. We watched Christmas Vacation & Elf. It was such a fun night with good friends – plus a ton of Christmas goodies - for some reason we only took a few pictures - majority of which were of the food! It's always tough to catch a good picture of the group at night time.

We also went on our 3rd Blue Wallet boat ride around Naples. It was such a great time! Jake, the kids and I also went to downtown Riverside and walked around the Mission Inn and the downtown square. It was beautiful and will definitely become a new tradition. As usual – even though we started Christmas in November – it flew by! We didn’t get in as many activities as planned – but it was still a great Christmas!

dowtown Riverside



Below: Knott's Berry Farm - Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve morning we went on Knotts Berry Farm w/ Jake’s family – to eat an early breakfast at the chicken restaurant. We’ve been doing this since Jake & I were dating – and his family started the tradition many years before. It was a great time to catch up with everyone!

Below: Naples Boat Ride

Below: Christmas Eve at our place

We hosted Christmas Eve & Christmas at our place this year. Christmas Eve was so much fun! We had Andy & Allison, Shawn, Lisa & the boys and Reagan & Ryan Van Steenis over for dinner. Each of us prepared a dish and Shawn & Lisa made crepes for all of us for dessert. Another great tradition that we hope to continue next year!

Below: Christmas morning

My family came over on Christmas morning and we enjoyed our traditional rice porridge. It was a very nice morning with family! The kids were entertained the rest of the day – for Christmas they were given a Wii and a ping pong table – so they had a great Christmas break!

Below: New Years Eve

Finally New Years Eve! We hosted a little get together at our house – we had such a great time! Once again everyone brought a couple of appetizers, I think it has taken me this long to lose the weight from all of the food I ate! Everything was delicious J I failed to take very many pictures – but included a few here.

Below: New Years Day

New Years day we woke up somewhat early and enjoyed some delicious monkey bread. We then met Mark and Sean at a local park and played a few games of soccer. Such a fun way to start the new year!

2009 was a crazy busy year – but I guess with our kids getting older they will most likely continue on like this – despite our crazy schedule – we have many wonderful memories with our friends and family! We look forward to see what 2010 will bring!

Happy New Year!