Happy Halloween 2010

Finally, Halloween is upon us!  A month full of costume shopping, house decorating, pumpkin patch visiting, candy buying, and party planning has finally brought us to the big day!  I have to admit I breathed a huge sigh of relief this year that Halloween was almost over.  It's been a great month but I think we are all ready for a little change!

This year, we were invited to an adult only Halloween party (on Saturday night) at our friend Keith's house.  It was fun to have an excuse to get a costume for myself and have fun with it!  Seeing as though Gina was here- it was easy enough to ride her costume coat tails and be a Teenage Mutant Turtle, too!  We had many a laugh while making our costumes.  People at the party loved our costumes but questioned why we were both Rafael.  Our answer was simple.  We thought we looked good in the color red!  Damien pulled out a last minute SNL MacGruber that was ridiculously hilarious!  "10 seconds MacGruber!"  All in all we had a fun and memorable night.

On Halloween night, we had some of Damien's family over as well as Gina and Fr. Art.  It was a good group and it was such a hoot to see all of the cousins dressed up together!  It is so crazy to see how big they are getting!  Everyone here came in costume so the night was really festive and fun!  Our house is situated in a great trick-or-treating area in Willow Glen.  It is a great location to go trick-or-treating and get a lot of candy but it is also fun to hear the doorbell ring all night and see the neighborhood kids all dressed up!

This was Emily's first year where she could walk all by herself to the houses and ring the doorbell.  Our neighbors certainly loved this and she thought she was just 'too cool'!  The kids were fast this year.  Faster than we anticipated!  It was clear very early in the trick-or-treating adventure that Emily and I would go back home because we couldn't keep up!  In the end, Damien and Mark took Michael, Claire, and Brennan out and Jocelyn took Matthew and Gabe.  This way, both groups could go at their own pace and have fun!

One thing I regret is that we didn't get around to carving pumpkins this year.  Whoops!  How did we manage that?  I think it goes to show how unbelievably busy we were this Halloween season!  We did however make caramel apples and Michael even made a caramel onion to play a prank on Papa! Yum! We also had dry ice which is always something my kids look forward to!  Emily and Matthew in particular loved it this year.  It was a great night.  Happy Halloween to everyone out there!  I hope you have a spookishly good night!

Halloween Parades and School Parties

I have a feeling that this is going to be a very long weekend.  Halloween is on a Sunday this year.  Boo!  What does that mean for most Moms?  A full three days of Halloween fun (please sense my sarcasm).  We woke the kids up extra early for school today so that we would have enough time to feed them and get them 100% ready for their Halloween party and parades today.  I tried to be organized.  Really, I did.  I sewed part of Claire's costume the night before, I laid out everyone's costumes, I had the colored hairspray, the face makeup, I wanted the morning to be seamless.  I wanted to enjoy getting them ready and not be stressed by it all.  Then it donned on me that I was going to be dressing four kids for Halloween and that no matter how I tried- it was going to be a major fiasco.

Michael decided (after MUCH deliberation) that he wanted to be a Gangster.  You know, like an Italian mobster.  (Matthew thought he was dressed as a GameStar.)  I loved the idea!  I even tried to tell him that it was authentic because he is indeed part Italian.  He looked at me with a smirk and said, "Mom, Italian mobsters don't have freckles."  I tried not to fall over laughing because what he said was hilarious!  I just answered him, "Look, Michael.  You are Italian and you have freckles.  I don't know what else to tell you!"  He smiled and seemed satisfied with my explanation.  This morning, he stressed over his costume.  He wasn't sure if it was appropriate to bring a fake cigar to school so I told him to bring it and if they said no- to just shove it in his bag.  Next dilemma was that he hated the way he looked with his hair dyed black.  Ya, there is no going back after you spray a redhead's head black.  My response to this?   Keep your hat on.  Then we colored his eyebrows black and he hated that, too! So- we rubbed it off.  Poor guy.  He wasn't thrilled with his 'new look' but by the time we got to school he was feeling confident!  Thank goodness!

Next, was Claire who knew she wanted to be Cleopatra once she saw it online.  (Matthew thought she was dressed as CLAIRE-o-patra.)  When the costume came in the mail- she was so happy and satisfied with the way she looked in it!  Whew.  This costume was a breeze!  I had to mend a few areas and also extend the size of the headdress because despite ordering a Teen size 12- the tiara was so small it fit Emily's head.  Claire got ready quickly this morning and thankfully Gina was able to help me with her makeup.  One less thing I had to do!  The thing that threw me off last minute with Claire was that she wanted to dye her hair black.  I had purchased glittered hairspray for her and hadn't planned on spending as much time on her as I had to.  What did this mean for the other kids?  I would have to finish dressing them in their costumes in the school parking lot.  I had to be on time to pick up my carpool so off we went!

Matthew knew from very early on that he wanted to be Captain America.  It suits him better than any costume I could imagine!  The muscles, the mask, the shield.  He wore it so well and was such a character in it!  I loved that there was no fuss with his costume.  Put it on and he was ready to go!  About a month ago, Gina and I tried to convince Matthew to be Santa for Halloween.  He wasn't having it.  He told Gina, "Okay, I will be Captain America and you be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle."  Not sure how he roped her into this one but he knows how to debate, apparently.  He loves being in his costume and loved the attention he got, too.  How can you not smile when you look at him?  He is just too cute!

Emily.  My sweet little girl.  I picked out her costume based on a certain criteria.  It had to be fuzzy, pudgy, and cute.  I found this kitty online and knew it was the one.  So what if people didn't know she was a cat right from the start.  If she looked like a lamb, a sheep, or a kitty I was fine with that!  Once I put the whiskers on her face, I think it was quite clear what he was.  She looked adorable in her kitty costume and everyone gushed over her.  She has been wearing this costume around the house for weeks.  She LOVES it.  I definitely got my money's worth out of this one!

Michael and Claire's school had a Halloween parade fifteen minutes after school started.  We brought the kids to school and then gathered with the other parents in anticipation!  Both Michael and Claire looked great while parading with their classes.  One parade down, one to go.

Next, we went to Matthew's Halloween party at his preschool and it was just too precious.  To see so many sweet little kids in costume walking around the play yard was just plain cute!   Matthew felt great to be with his friends and I know that he loved that this was his party, not Michael or Claire's.  He loves the autonomy this school gives him and we are all so happy to see him enjoying it!  He loved hanging out with his friend Luke and even let Emily sit next to him at this table for lunch.  And I don't need to tell you how cool Emily felt!

No sooner did I get Matthew and Emily back home did my very own GameStar and Claire-o-patra knock at the door.  Four kids in now filthy costumes, face makeup smeared everywhere, black hairspray on their necks and faces.  Need I say more?  I peeled off the costumes and washed them so they would be clean for Halloween part two on Sunday.  I ordered Michael and Claire to take showers and get the black out their hair and let them know we would NOT be doing that again on Sunday.  The black spray got everywhere and even stained the shower floor!  I am glad they all had a great morning and I really did enjoy watching them in all their glory.  All I can say is that we Moms deserve a lot of credit for getting these kids to school in full costume.  It makes an already hectic morning full of even more pandemonium!

Great Pumpkin Night

Keeping with tradition, we had another fun Great Pumpkin Night.  Just to refresh your memory, each year I have Damien distract the kids while I gather all the blankets and pillows in the house and set them up in the family room.  I bake pumpkin sugar cookies, make hot chocolate, and turn all the lights off except for the string of orange Halloween lights.  I have the movie cued and can't wait to surprise the kids with this special night!

This year, Gina was with us so it was super easy to distract them.  I told them I needed them to go in the family room to help match socks and when they opened the door- they knew immediately what was happening!  Claire and Michael started screaming and Matthew just went along with them!  I love that such a simple gesture can make them so happy!

We all snuggled into a viewing of It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and it was so great.  For the most part, Emily watched most of the 22 minute episode (it is so short without commercials).  After a few cookies and more hot chocolate than they probably should of had- we were done.  The kids were sad to have this little shindig over.  They look forward to it every year and it is hard for them to know they need to be patient for another year now! 

Claire's Community Helper

Just a quick post to document Claire's first oral presentation at school!  The assignment was to pick someone who is an active community helper, interview them, make a poster board, and then give a three to five minute oral presentation to the class.  After much thought, Claire decided to report on my Mom.  Recently, my Mom decided to go back to work after a few years off.  My Mom had worked in the Bellevue School District for around fifteen years before she decided to take a break for a while.  This summer, she decided she was ready to go back into the workforce and is now the school secretary at Peter Kirk Elementary.  The timing couldn't have been better for Claire's report.  Claire had a great time interviewing her Nonna and making her poster!  Nonna even brought down her Peter Kirk Elementary sweatshirt so Claire could wear it on her presentation day!  I know that Claire was nervous to give her first speech, but I know that it calmed her down a lot to tell her friends about her Nonna.  The last sentence in her speech was both adorable and true.  She said, "I only wish I was one of the students in her school!"  Thanks Nonna for helping Claire out and GOOD JOB Claire for completing your first big assignment in 2nd grade!

Nonna and Grandpa Visit

I love it when my parents come into town.  We always have a great time!  This visit was no different.  My parents flew in Thursday night and bright and early Friday morning- we were off to the pumpkin patch!  The kids were so happy to wake up and know their Nonna and Grandpa were here!!!  When Michael and Claire were younger and my parents visited- we were able to do a lot more things that we can now.  Now, we have to fit in fun activities between two different school start and end times, soccer practices and games! 

My parents have always loved to support my kids in sports (just as my family supported me).  They want nothing more than to watch them play basketball, soccer, or baseball and just take in all that it has to offer.  This was good news considering that the weekend they were here- I had a soccer game, Claire had a soccer game and practice, and Michael had two soccer games!  So when you consider we had to do fun things around four games and a fieldtrip (not to mention Emily's nap times- we were busy!

My parents took advantage of this weekend to celebrate my birthday a little early.  They treated us to a wonderful dinner and gave me some of my birthday goodies.  Matthew was really confused because he couldn't understand that it wasn't my actual birthday.  We had a really nice dinner and it was great to finally sit and relax after a long day of soccer games and activities. 

My kids gave Nonna and Grandpa an impromptu Halloween parade and they loved it!   Other than that- we basically just relaxed and enjoyed the time we had together.  We love Nonna and Grandpa and can't wait to see them at Thanksgiving!

Matthew's Pumpkin Patch Fieldtrip

Matthew has taken the back seat on a lot of things in our family.  I sure this has something to do with being the third child but he so graciously goes along for the ride!  I was so happy for him when he started preschool.  It was something for ONLY him and he is so proud of it!  One thing he couldn't wait for was his first fieldtrip!  Ballard Montessori takes a trip every year down to Hollister, CA to visit the pumpkin patch at Casa de Fruta.  I have been on this field trip three total times with Michael and Claire but I was so excited to be able to go with Matthew!  Lucky for him, Nonna, Grandpa and Gina were going to join us!

The school offers the option to take a big yellow school bus to the pumpkin patch.  It takes a little over an hour each way (due to the slower speed of the bus) but we opted not to do that.  I made that mistake when Michael and Claire went there.  The seating is super cramped, they are not strapped in car seats, the smell of exhaust permeates throughout the entire bus, and you have to go at the entire group's pace.  Instead, we drove there which takes only 40 minutes!

Matthew doesn't remember it- but he went with Claire on this field trip back in 2008.  Once we got there, Matthew was immediately beaming.  He felt so cool that we were all there for him!!!  His school was broken into groups so that we could more easily maneuver through the patch! 

We started in a tepee where we learned about how pumpkins grow.  Emily wouldn't sit too still we waited outside for the group to finish.  Next, Matthew got to pick out a pumpkin to take home.  He wasn't too particular and picked the first one he touched.  My Mom tried to show Emily how to pick a pumpkin and handed Emily the smallest one she could find.  Wouldn't you know that Emily threw it and wanted to pick her own?

The day was gorgeous.  We were too warmly dressed and had to peel back the layers because the sun was definitely out!  We got to ride a carousel, walk through a maze, mine for gold (pretty colored rocks), take a ride on a train, and also have a nice snack of water and popcorn.  I was glad we packed our own goodies! 

During snack time, we laughed the whole time.  The funniest part was that there were peacocks all around the snack area.  It seems as though they were there to pick up the scraps from the last group left behind.  Well, because my family struggles to be normal- Gina made a trail of popcorn down from the ground and up onto my Dad's shirt.  As all the normal families enjoyed the rest time, our family was laughing hysterically at the pecking peacocks coming so close to my Dad.  If you read my blog, you know that my Dad is not a animal lover.  To see him be so stoic and willing to let the peacocks approach him was absolutely hilarious!

Matthew and Emily had the best time.  I love when I have time to focus on them and give them the same experiences I gave Michael and Claire.  It was just the other day that I realized that I don't do as much exploration with them as I did with the first two.  I want to take them on walks more often to explore the great outdoors and maybe stop for once in the mall to let them play on the play structure (on second thought . . .).  My life is so fast paced now that sometimes I don't stop to do the little things . . . which consequently mean the most.  We had a wonderful time at the pumpkin patch- so thank you Matthew for letting us join you and your school!  We love you Goosey!!!!

Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot.

Yes, folks.  It is the annual flu shot post.  Originally, I created a post about the flu shot because I wanted my kids to be able to see before and after shots of them prepping for the flu shot in hopes that they could see that it isn't that bad.  Time after time it has been proven that they have a freak out meltdown before the shot and then laugh when it is over because (I repeat) IT DIDN'T HURT!  You would think by now they would have it under control but my deep feeling, emotional kids can't get a hold of themselves.  A few months ago, I heard that newish song on the radio that says, 'Shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot.'  Please tell me you know the one!  I know they aren't talking about flu shots but something struck me as funny. I imagined telling my kids that if they were going to get a  flu shot that day, I would have this song playing when I started up the car.  This twisted idea involved them panicking every time I turned the car on to see of the Shot Shot song came on.  I know, I am terrible but sometimes this whole 'Mother of Four' thing makes me crazy.

For the last month (and I am not exaggerating) Michael has asked me everyday if today was the day he was going to get a flu shot.   It drives me nuts how worried they are about it!  At the same time, I understand their anxiety but it does wear on me.  Well, today WAS the day.  Ironically, Michael didn't ask me today when he came home from school.  I thought that since Gina and Damien were going to get their flu shots, too- it might lessen the anxiety.  Michael was on to our whispered conversation in the kitchen about our plan of attack for that evenings flu clinic.  "What?  What are you talking about?  Are we getting flu shots today?" he said in a panic.  I looked at Damien and Gina (who had heard of my ridiculous 'Shot Shot' idea) and before we knew it we started the song.  Shot, shot, shot, shot, shot, shot.  It was evil.  I kinda feel bad about it.  But it gave me such a deep belly laugh that I decided that it was worth the moderate trauma Michael endured when he realized today was the day.  Man, I feel like I shouldn't have even written that.  I am terrible!!  (Just for posterity sake, Michael now thinks that song was funny.)  We loaded the kids into the car and off we went.

Having Damien and Gina get their flu shots, too didn't help the nervousness in the room dissipate.  Michael kept wiping his tears saying, "I know I am overreacting" while Claire (who was recovering from the stomach flu) was as white as a ghost.  Matthew and Emily were as oblivious as you could be.  This was just too much.  Dr. Safir came in and Michael volunteered to go first.  He got the shot and hopped off the table saying, "Why do I do this?  Why do I overreact?"  Then Claire went and she just laughed.  Matthew was braver than I had imagined him to be.  Dr. Safir gave him the shot and he didn't flinch but the suddenly his face started contorting into faces I had never seen before.  Then the waterworks came.  Emily took it like a champ, but most babies do.  Damien was really brave.  He got a gold star for his bravery.  Gina did pretty well.  See, Damien and Dr. Safir got into a discussion about the SF Giants while he was holding Gina's flu shot.  She was ready to go but they kept chatting.  Then she tapped on Dr. Safir and asked if he wouldn't mind getting the show on the road.  Whew.  And that was that.  Flu Shot Drama 2010.  We all rewarded ourselves with a nice healthy meal from In-N-Out afterwards and it made everyone feel a whole lot better. Only 364 more days until we have to go through this again!

Wiggin' Out

I need not say much with this post.  These pictures say it all.

Nike Half Marathon

Since mid-August, I have been training for the San Francisco Nike Women's Half Marathon.  Back in 2005, I ran the full marathon but that . . . will . . . never . . . happen . . . again!  (Too much training and wear and tear on my body.)  Halves are more my style.  Totally trainable and attainable.  Ooh.  That rhymes!  This year I set my sights much lower (but more mentally soundly) on running the half marathon.  I have done several halves over the years and know what I need to do in terms of training to complete them.  This SF Nike course is ridiculous.  There are so many hills and it is really a challenge.  You don't want to run this one to try and get a personal best.  Instead, my outlook was to do the best I could while having fun and enjoying the sights and energy that run though the veins of this course! 

That was until I thought I was 20 years old again.  See, I am hard headed when it comes to thinking logically about my body.  I know it can persevere through almost everything but apparently this whole 'getting older' thing is changing that.  So, smarty pants over here ran an eight mile run on Saturday morning and thought that it would be a good idea to play in her soccer game on Sunday morning.  Despite the tightness in my hamstrings that was practically screaming at me, I played.  (Did I mention that I didn't stretch much, either?  Just have to get this off my chest.)  The first half of the game I was super careful not to go too hard and hurt myself but the 20 year old Lisa came back second half and tried to run full speed for a ball flying down the right sideline.  POP!  Yes, I felt my hamstring pop and no sooner did I hear it pop did I taste the dirt that my face was suddenly planted in.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  Smarty pants pulled a hamstring.

What did that mean?  No training, no running.  Lots of icing and hamstring massages.  Lots of moments cursing myself for pushing it too hard.  Despite all of my training efforts- I was forced to stop completely.  While I hoped and prayed that my leg would heal, the days leading up to the race were dwindling.  Should I pull out of the race?  I couldn't!  I wouldn't!  I could make this happen!  I signed up to race with a lot of my friends from St. Christophers.  I also signed up to run it with my sister, Gina!  I made the (stupid) decision to run it no matter what and hoped things would get better.

Race day came quickly.  The weekend was absolutely crazy!  My sister Gina flew down on late Thursday night and we were headed to San Francisco on Saturday afternoon to attend the race Expo and get our race bibs and timing chips.  It would be good for me to interject here that Gina (due to surgery and limited mobility) hadn't run more than three miles in the prior two months.  I hadn't really run for about five weeks so add those together and you get some insane 'we have no business running' answer.  We knew we were pushing it and that it was going to be hard but for some reason we thought it was funny.  When the friends we met up with at the Expo asked us how training went and we told them- they were shocked.  And to think we thought they were crazy to think that!

The Expo was great!  We met up with our big group and had a fun time looking through all of the vendor's products and enjoying the beautiful day San Francisco gave to us!  We headed over to the Nike Store where they had a mural with every racer's name on it.  It was really cool to see your name up there among the 12,000 racers.  We were supposed to meet up for dinner with a big group of ladies at a good Italian restaurant but the problem was, we didn't know exactly where it was!  Most of the ladies were going to walk there from the Expo so we thought we would, too.  Things were going well until my iPhone decided not to let the map function work.  Gina's phone had the directions until the battery died.  Awesome!  The two of us did the best we could to get there but we took the long way there which included some of the steepest hills you could imagine (which are no fun for someone with a hurt hamstring).  Oh well, it provided more than a few laughs for the both of us.

We spent the night at a hotel with our friend Lorraine and woke up early and reality had surely sunk in.  Ya, Gina and I didn't feel so confident anymore.  We had to run 13.1 miles with little training.  But the show must go on!  The mile walk to the start line was in the pitch black hours of the morning.  When we arrived to the starting area, music pumped and masses of runners (mostly women) swarmed around us.  It was so ridiculously exciting!  Before we knew it, we were off!  No turning back now.  The run was good but in unusual fashion, we didn't talk much to each other.  After the race we both confided to each other that we were freaked out.  It was cold that morning and the first two miles were tough to get through.  Soon enough, we loosened up and kept going.  We ran the first six miles no problem and then Gina's calf seized.  We had to stop and stretch it.  She was in total pain and I was worried we would have to pull out.  If you know Gina, she is not a wuss.  On she went as best she could.  We walked all the hills because that kind of calf injury makes it impossible to run uphill.  It just so happened that miles 6-9 were the hilly miles.  I believe this was when Gina made the hilarious comment, "Where the hell do you train for hills like this?  The Sierras?"  We took it easy and decided to not worry about our time (finishing time).  We just wanted to finish as healthy as possible.

I am speaking from the heart when I say that we both couldn't have finished the race without one another.  Gina certainly needed me to get her though the race but what she didn't realize was that she was distracting me from my own pain.  I played the roll that my sister Jill played for me back in 2005 when we ran the Nike marathon together.  I would not have been able to finish if it weren't for Jill's support.  Gina and I ran and ran and before we knew it, we were rounding the corner to the finish line.  The song "Dynamite" was blasting along Ocean Beach (just as it had at the start line).  Gina and I followed the lyrics and cast our fists up in the air singing,  I throw my hands up in air sometimes, Saying ay-oh, gotta let go.  I wanna celebrate and live my life.  Saying ay-oh, baby let's go.  This race went on and on and on and it went on and on and on!  But we finished and that was all that mattered.  I turned to Gina after we crossed the finish line and we both fell over onto one another in pure exhaustion both physically and mentally.  We did it.  Was it a smart thing to do?  Probably not.  Strike that.  NO, it wasn't!  But we found the strength within and did it.  We collected our awesome shirts and our Tiffany's necklace (every finisher gets handed a Tiffany's box by a firefighter in a tuxedo) and we made our way back to the hotel and got ready to drive home. 

What a day, what an accomplishment.  We won't forget this one anytime soon.  The theme for the Nike race this year was, I Run To Be.  I can think of a few things for which I do run to be.  I run to feel empowered.  I run to be in shape.  I run to be on my own for some good focused thinking.  I run to be strong.  I run because I can.  I run to breathe in the fresh outdoor air.  I run to feel bada*s (what?  sometimes I do!). I run to challenge myself and test my limits.  I run to be a role model for my children. I run to be what I want to be . . . an active, strong woman.  I hope I continue to run for years and years to come.  Maybe I'll just be smarter about it in the future.  Or maybe not!  I like to keep it interesting.

Michael- 2010 Dare Devils

I don't think Michael has stopped playing soccer since last season.  Seriously, this kid has so many different games that include a soccer ball that at times- it can be a little much.  From 'backyard soccer' to 'hallway soccer' (which ultimately has led to the demise of two of my nice picture frames) he loves playing soccer!  Not to mention the umpteen times Michael has come to either Damien or myself and said he kicked his ball over the fence.  Michael was also lucky enough to be placed on the same team as last year with Coach Sean.  I really appreciate what his coach does for the boys and how he approaches the game.  Basically, the guy knows his stuff!  Michael surely has benefited from being coached by Coach Sean.  Again, due to Michael's age- he has to play a year up.  He is doing great playing with fourth graders and I know that playing against harder competition will only benefit him in the future.

Michael's team this year is called the Dare Devils.  They are such a great group of kids!  Michael only has one classmate on his team but I think that he enjoys a change of pace from his day to day school life.  Michael plays left fullback most of the time.  He loves to be in the defensive line and shutting people down.  Michael has an uncanny ability to most always be in position and he takes the right angle to the ball every time.  His coach has also put him in as forward and he did great there, too!  It makes me so happy to see him having so much fun out there!  Michael's team is doing great!  They have had some tough games but these boys always seem to prevail!  It is so awesome to watch!  As I said in Claire's soccer post, watching my kids play fills me with such intense pride.  It's not always the big plays they make or some sweet move they had but that they go hard the whole game.  I love it!

I think Michael's favorite part of this season is that Damien is assistant coaching.  They enjoy their time together at Tuesday and Thursday practices and the games as well.  I feel so lucky that Damien can spend so much time with the kids.  This certainly is something neither Damien or Michael will ever regret.  This time of our lives is so precious and before we know it- it will be gone.  In the meantime, I am going to enjoy every last muddy minute of it!  Go Dare Devils, Go!

Claire- 2010 Strikers!

It's that time of the year again!  SOCCER!  Claire was lucky enough to be placed on the same team as last year with her friends!  She had so much fun last year and I know she is looking forward to this season even more!  Her team this year was named the Strikers!  The girls vote on the name and it is always so funny to see what they come up with.  All I will say is that they were one vote shy of naming their team Lady GaGa.  Seriously?  Do they even know who she is?  It cracked all the parents up and I think I can speak for all of us that we were thrilled with the name Strikers. 

Claire is being coached again by Coach Lang and Coach Doug.  The big event of the season last year is that the girls got to shave the coaches heads at the end of the season.  Needless to say, Damien wasn't interested in coaching Claire's team with that threat!  Claire has improved a lot from last season.  Size wise, she is still a full head taller than most of the girls out there which proves to be a huge advantage at this age.  What I love is that she is finally understanding how to really turn the ball up field and head to the goal.  Before she would dribble up to the goal- stop- and set herself to shoot and by the time she would shoot, the defender was there.  This year, she is just cracking shots without hesitation which is fun to watch!

At the second grade level, coaches still have the kids play almost every position to give them good exposure and understanding of the game.  She plays primarily in the front or in the back depending on who else from her team is in the game.  The Strikers have been really successful this year and it is a lot of fun to watch!  As always, I am always proud of my Clairey not only for her successes but for the effort she puts forth in every game.  While I love to play sports, I never knew it would be this much fun watching my own kids play.  It truly is a thrill!  Go Strikers, Go!