Cami the Soccer Star

Well, where to begin.  About 2 months ago Cami really started showing interest in soccer.  She had a couple gift cards left from her birthday (thank you Haynes family), so Matt took her to Toys r Us and helped her buy a soccer ball.  We practiced and played and the interest continued.  Matt and I decided that she would enjoy participating on a soccer team, and it would be a good way for us to meet more people and get to know our community better.

So Soccer started the first weekend in September and of course Cami got a horrible virus and couldn't go.  So we started week two, which turned out to be no big deal.  Any how we are 2 weeks in (3 for the rest of the team) and having a great time.  She is improving and having a lot of fun.  Her team is made up of 6 kiddos 3-4 year olds.  Most have never played soccer before.  The coaches are 2 of the dads, so they def know how to work with preschoolers.

pretty excited for our first day

practicing

getting ready for the first game

game action  3 on 3

Each week they teach about a value (teamwork, communication etc) and an award is given at the end for the player who exhibited that attribute the best. and of course snack time.

So far we are having a great time.  We'll see how we feel about it when it is pretty chilly this weekend.

Chicago Trip

Our trip to Chicago.  Matt qualified for his 15th USGA Championship, an achievement in and of itself. Unfortunately the golf wasn't exactly what we hoped for.  It was a wonderful surprise for Matt to qualify this year, considering that when he played in the qualifier he had only played about 10 rounds of golf all year!  

We had a great time and we were fortunate that Grandma and Grandpa joined us for our adventure.  We left after work on Thursday and drove to Bloomington IL, then the next day headed into Chicago.  We were actually in a northern suburb of Lake Forest.  The event was played at Conway Farms and Knollwood Club.

The first day of competition we all went and watched Matt tee off, then I took the girls back to the hotel and grandma and grandpa followed him around.  After RJ took a nap, we headed out and found a local park.

playing pretend baseball

These were the cutest little t-ball field, they also had a little soccer field.

Sunday, I got up and went out on the course with Matt and grandma stayed back at the hotel with the girls.  I cherish getting to watch him play now, as it is few and far between.

After Sunday's round we all headed back to the hotel grabbed a sandwich and headed to the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It is right in the city and a very old zoo and FREE.  We literally could of spent all day there, it was so fantastic.  It is right across the street from Lake Michigan.  We were able to see downtown, the zoo and Lake Michigan at one time.

After the zoo, we found ourselves a Chicago style pizza place.  We wanted the full experience!  YUMMY

The next morning we packed up and got ready to hit the road.  But first we had to have one more swim in the hotel pool!

Both girls did so great on the road.  We stopped for a late lunch and park break in Iowa City.  We had a great time picnic-ing a playing before hoping back in the car.  We must have worn the kiddos out because they both took great naps on the second half of our trip.

Girls photos at 6 months

Well, Reese had her 6 month milestone without a big hubbub.  We were in Chicago when it happened, so I still haven't had a chance to take her official shots (like 4 mo) and to be honest we really need to do some family photos.  But I thought I would post a little comparison of my 2 sweeties.

RJ about 3 weeks shy of her 6 month birthday

Cam about 1 week from her 6 month birthday

We are home safe and sound from Chicago.  We really had a great time, despite the golf not being exactly what we had hoped for.  I'll be posting a blog about that soon.

trip to El Paso

We just returned home from El Paso yesterday.  We drove 2000+ miles round trip to celebrate my dad's life with friends and family.  I didn't take my big camera, but I thought I'd share a few pictures from our travels.

sisters at our first hotel stop

The second day of traveling we stopped in ABQ, we went to uptown and let Cami burn some energy.

Kaitlyn and Reese having some snuggles while Cami played in the fountain

My friend Michele and her 2 girlies

This was my first time meeting Kaylee as she was born the day after we left Abq

We were not able to see as many people as we wanted due to the last minute nature of our trip.  Also many our of friends were combating illness while we were going through.  We were thankful to get to spend a little time with a few people.  Thanks guys for making time for us.

We made it to El Paso Sunday evening.  We drove right to a family dinner at my dad's favorite mexican food restaurant.  There were 20-30 people there. It was nice to see people (man y of which I hadn't seen since my wedding).


The next day was the service, but it didn't start until 11, Cami kept our mind off of things as she dressed us all up in some of Aunt Arlene's and my nanny's old scarves etc.

Here is Nana

Here is Aunt Arlene

She also dressed up daddy, but I thought it would be better to not take a picture of that.

The service was lovely, it was a beautiful way to remember my dad.  Lots of wonderful stories and pictures of his life.

Matt flew home the night of the service so that he could go back to work on Tuesday.  The girls, my mom and I started the long drive home Tuesday after lunch

Cami and Reese.  Cami asked to hold Reese and soon as she got  up.  She loves her little sis.

We drove to Tucumcari that night.  We tried to break up the drive a lot more on the way back since we weren't in any hurry.  We only drove about 5 hours a day.  We went out to dinner and then did some swimming.

After tucumcari we drove to OKC and spent the night there.

Can you tell RJ was glad to get out of her car seat?

We arrived home Thursday mid afternoon.  We were all glad to be home.

My Dad

Dene Pierce 

February 23, 1930

August 21, 2012

As many of you know, My dad passed away this week.  We are leaving today and heading for the funeral.  I thought I would post a little blog about my dad.  He has been suffering for a long time with cancer, now he is at peace and with no pain, which lessens the sting of him being gone.

I have always said, as I prepared for this moment, that I am so thankful that I had the time that I did with my dad.  Being that I came late in his life he was always "old" compared to my friends dads.  But to me that was okay, my dad was also much more involved in my life than my friends dads. There were times in my life that I wasn't sure he was going to see me graduate from high school, let alone college, a masters degree walk me down the aisle and see me have two babies.

 In my whole volleyball career he only missed 1 game.  I had to finally ask him to stop coming to practices when I was a sophomore in high school.  That was one thing we shared when I was young, our love for Athletics.  Later in my life we shared an interest in cooking and baking, but sports was always first.

Saying that I was close to my dad would be an understatement, especially as a young girl.  Because he was a realtor I was able to tag along with him and his schedule was flexible.  I can't even tell you the countless hours he spent watching me (and friends) swim in our pools.   I can't even begin to tell you all the lessons I learned or how many things he taught me, A LOT!

All I can say is how thankful I am that I had him for as long as I did.  Love you dad and I will think of you, be thankful for you and remember you everyday.