I'm BAAACK!

Ok, so I know several of you think I might have fallen off the face of the earth (except for those who keep up with me on facebook). While I have been around, it's been a very crazy several months. From kids activities (i.e. soccer, track, etc) to work activities and the every day challenges of life. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to. I promise to try and update a little more frequently.

Summer and soccer

We are 3 weeks into summer break and our schedule has yet to slow down. Maryna just finished soccer last weekend as she guest played with another team in a tournament. Her team finished second in the tournament and Maryna scored 4 goals in 3 games (high scorer). For the finals, the girls all sprayed their hair to match their uniforms.

Maryna's regular team finished strong on their season and won their division....this same team finished 5th in their division last season. What a great improvement from the team and great coaching from Brad.

Garrett still continues to do summer pick up games with his team (for practice/fun). He will probably play in a couple of 3v3 tournaments this summer. Both kids have tryouts for next year on the 27th and 28th of this month.

We have had a busy summer so far and it doesn't look like it is going to slow down any time soon. We have already had 4 graduation open houses that we've attended along with all the soccer stuff finishing up. This weekend is Garrett's team party, my birthday and father's day along with some adult soccer activities. Next weekend is soccer tryouts and then VBS begins on the 29th. The following weekend is the 4th of July and then we leave for Oklahoma on the 9th. We arrive back in town on the 13th and then Brad plays in a tournament on the 18th and 19th. Wwe leave for Chicago on the 25th as Brad's cousin is getting married. The following weekend is August 1st and pre-school activities begin along with the soccer season.

As you can see, summer vacation really isn't a vacation but we enjoy all of our activities together. We are excited to spend time with family in Oklahoma in July.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy summer!

School wrap up

Garrett has his school track meet (between 5 elementary schools) on May 19. He competed in the 100m, 800m and shuttle relay. Poor Garrett had a tough job as he ran the 100m prelims, about 30 minutes later had to run the 800m and then immediately go to the starting line for the 100m finals. He ended up placing 2nd in both events (although, given more time between the 800 and the 100, we're sure he would've won first). His shuttle relay team didn't fare as well as they placed 4th out of 8 teams. He was bummed about the 100m, but he knows he did a great job!

Both kids had games last weekend and Garrett finished up his season on Sunday with a tournament (they went 2-2 for the weekend). Maryna still has 3 more games until her season is done.

Yesterday was awards day at school. Of course, I wished I could've cloned myself as Maryna's awards program started at 8:30 and Garrett's at 9:15 at 2 different schools. So, I stayed until 9:30 at Maryna's and then headed to Garrett's. Both kids won the Presidential Gold academic award (based on ISTEP tests and grades - the highest honor). I was very proud.

Now the kids are on summer break. They were at home with their dad today and as of an hour ago, they were already complaining of being bored. I suggested that Brad take them to the library to check out a book and Garrett's response was, "Well, that doesn't sound like any fun." I had to laugh. We will need to figure out some activities to keep them occupied this summer.

Weekly happenings

So the past week has been CRAZY!!! Both Maryna and Garrett had soccer games last Tuesday (of course in 2 completely different locations). Wednesday, Maryna was supposed to have her school track meet but it was rained out. That evening, we had our AWANA awards night at church. Both kids did extremely well, but Maryna had to use the front pew to hold all of her awards :) Thursday was Maryna's large track meet (between the intermediate schools). She competed in the 100 m, the 4x100 m relay and the high jump. Her relay team placed 2nd, she took 2nd in the 100 m and still not sure about the high jump (although she did not have her best night at this event). It was a fun evening and the weather was perfect.

Friday, I took off work to get stuff done around the house, go grocery shopping, prepare for the half marathon and prepare for mom to arrive. Mom flew in really late Friday night (thanks to Ben for picking her up). Saturday morning was my race. I was very concerned about the weather as they had predicted severe thunderstorms that morning, but we didn't get any rain (couple of drops at the finish line). The weather was great (albeit a little humid) and I was so glad to complete it. Several have asked how the race went. I wanted to finish under 2:15 and finished at 2:11. I was happy with that time considering I was fighting leg cramps in my right calf starting at mile 6 and this course is EXTREMELY hilly. I know that if I didn't have those issues, I could have knocked at least 5 minutes off of my time.

Maryna's game Saturday evening was cancelled as fields were under water. Sunday, we went to church and then both kids had soccer games (1:00 and 3:00) and then Brad and I played an outdoor soccer game at 6:00.

I was glad my mom got to see the kids play while she was here. She flew out Monday morning (thanks again to Ben for taking her). As you can see, we had a very busy but very enjoyable time. Garrett has his school track meet tonight so we are excited to see how he does. The weather is perfect.

Soccer weekend

So, both kids had soccer tournaments this weekend in Ohio. However, Maryna's tournament was in Cincinnati and Garrett's was in Columbus. Therefore, Brad ended up taking Maryna and I took Garrett. I have decided that it is a lot more fun when all 4 of us are at one tournament as opposed to being split between 2. The weather was beautiful and I know Garrett's team had a really good time (I think Maryna's did as well). Neither of the kids' teams did very well in the tournament, however, my kids individually performed great. Final count...Maryna had 2 goals and Garrett had 4 goals. Maryna's 2 goals were corner kicks that she bent into the net. Two of Garrett's 4 goals were from cutting around multiple defenders for shots and the other 2 were from outrunning the defense and taking the keep 1 on 1. Great work from both kids. Since I couldn't clone myself and my camera, I only have pictures to share from Garrett's weekend.

Back home again in Indiana

So we are back home. The trip to Florida was great. The weather was beautiful. When we left Indy on Friday, the wind chill outside was -27 degrees and when we landed in Florida it was in the upper 50's. All weekend the mornings were a little cool but quickly warmed up to the 70's each day. We had no rain to deal with just sunny skies. It was great. Both teams did a great job. The guys unfortunately were placed in the most difficult pool and ended up not make the final round (2 teams in their pool took 1st and 2nd in the entire tournament) but played extremely well. Our women's team got off to a slow, rocky start but finished strong winning our final game 4-1.

It was a great time. We had 12 of us in a condo and had a blast. We went out a couple of times and spent Monday evening at a karaoke bar at CityWalk over at Universal Studios. It was so much fun.

We were happy to be home to see the kids, but I could do without the cold weather for sure.

Last weekend of soccer

So, Garrett's fall season is now complete. He played in his final tournament for the fall season this weekend. His team played 2 games on Saturday and 2 more on Sunday and finished undefeated in their division outscoring the other teams 12-2. Did I mention it was COLD outside (like in the 40's all weekend with high winds). Here are some pictures from this weekend.



We are so proud of how both kids did this fall. They will both be playing basketball this winter and then have some off-season training for soccer after the first of the year. So just when we think we might start getting some down time, something else is just around the corner.

I am excited, however, to get back into the gym and start working out again on a regular basis. I have 2 months until our Florida tournament and want to make sure I'm 100%.

Another exciting note...we have the kids' baptisms scheduled for Sunday, November 9th. I know the kids are really excited and have had some pretty indepth discussions with their grandpa about the process.

Grandma is planning to join mom and dad when they come at Christmas time. It will be so great to have all of us together around the holidays. I'm really looking forward to it.

Well, that's it for now. I've got to get back to watching the Indianapolis Colts-Tennessee Titans game. GO COLTS!!!

Soccer....soccer..and more soccer

This weekend was full of soccer activities. On Saturday, Maryna started a 2-day tournament. She played at 10:45 and 2:30 on Saturday (tied first game 1-1, won second game 5-2). Then after that game we traveled to watch my former girls soccer team play in sectional finals.


Sunday morning, Garrett and I went to church while Brad and Maryna headed back to the soccer field for another10:45 game. They lost this game which kept them out of the finals at 2:30 (somewhat of a blessing in disguise as Maryna had not felt well all weekend). Brad and I then had an outdoor game at 5:30, I had 2 indoor games (6:40 and 8:05) and Brad had 1 indoor game (8:55).


























Needless to say, we are all pretty wiped out this morning. The kids are on fall break starting on Wednesday and I am taking some much needed time off work to just relax and hang out with the kids. This coming weekend, the chaos starts all over as Garrett has his last tournament of the season. His game schedule is 2 games on Saturday and 2 games on Sunday.