Soccer Season

Gracie's soccer season is over. The Kilkenny Cubs had a great spring and really started to play well together. The kids seemed to all have fun, they all learned a thing or two, the parents were great, we had the best turn outs (even on rain days), and every single player got at least one goal, so they were happy.

Gracie started to really lift her head up and play well. She's still a little hesitant to get in the mix, but when she sees an opportunity, she jumps on it. She can dribble the ball the length of the field, and keeps it close and under control.

She's a good team player and likes the social aspect of soccer just as much as the physical. And snack time... she likes snack time...

She gained a little more confidence from last year and even though she's still one of the smallest, she's brave enough to get in there and have fun. She calls out her teammates names before she passes and actually thinks out her moves. 

She was also lucky enough to have her dad as coach this year. I can credit a lot of the changes I saw in her to Brad's skills as a coach.

He was great with the kids, a perfect mix of silly and serious. I was impressed that he could keep them organized and doing drills for the hour long practices and motivate, encourage and even strategize during games. He was willing to teach skills, but was still aware that it's Under 6 soccer. 

Great season Cubs! Emma and I had fun cheering for you. 

Chocolate Pudding

Emma and Gracie love a good worms and dirt dessert, but Emma really got into it this time. 

Emma, Pudding Ninja!

or innocent babe? You decide.

Judge me all you want, but a bit of instant pudding, graham crumbs, whipped cream and a gummy worm in a cup brings everyone joy.

Trends and Travel Layouts

I love this nautical line by Glitz, called Uncharted Waters. I got a 6x6 paper pad of this line, and love using the pages straight out of the book, just ripped out rough, with the border piece on top. It seems to work.

Also, I like anchors, and the pink border has a bunch of tiny anchors on it. I'm practically a sailor, Brad and I went sailing in the Whitsundays for a week once, so I'm pretty authentic ;)

Excuse the photos of the preggo with a bad shorts tan, apparently this sailor doesn't wear swimsuits much. Despite this, I do like how this layout turned out.

Yes... life is better at the beach....

or at the Alhambra in Spain. 

Beautiful gardens, castles and water features make for a nice distraction from my usual bubblegum pink, girlie layouts. 

I love these buttons. They're from Prima marketing and they are so perfect for travel photos, even if they're French and these pics were taken in Spain.... I'll let it slide.  

Plus, there are feathers on the layout above. See them? As well as anchors, and all things nautical, I also like anything navajo, even though both of these trends are probably old news by now. I'm a Navajo Sailor, through and through.

Well, does anyone else have the travel bug? 

I'm ready to head for the ocean. Just need to finish up a few more pictures from this trip....

Father's Day Gift

We made a homemade gift for Brad this year (okay, we do every year...) 

This one may be more useful than the hand-painted candy bowl for his desk. Since he's been doing more bike races this year, we made him a bib holder to hang on the wall. 

This helps me as well, because I found these five race bibs scattered throughout our bedroom. Now they have a home. 

The plaque is another great piece of MDF that my brother cut out for me with nice routed edges (I'm not sure I'm saying that properly... it sounds funny). Perfect for this project.

Gracie and I painted it blue and then placed the Hazel and Ruby stencils over it to spell RACES, and applied a quick black coat. A few cup hooks (hook-screws), some sanding and inking and it was done.

I layered my handprints, Gracie's and Emma's in different colours underneath, because we're his biggest fans ;)

Perhaps you have a racer in your life who would like one of these?? 

Hello spring!

Well, it's been rainy, but there are heat spells in between the rain, and we are making the most of them. 

Here's what's happening so far around here:

Frozen yogourt tubes are a big hit here. It almost makes me feel good about giving them sugar, because they're getting dairy, too....

but they're cold, as Emma is demonstrating ;)

and delicious (as Gracie licks her lips).

 We have another fairy garden. This one is definitely magical...

Gracie is a soccer star, and Brad is an awesome coach!

Check out G giving her friend, Serina a high-five after a goal. Gracie is playing in the Under 6 league which puts her as one of the youngest and smallest, but she's used to that. She doesn't let it stop her from picking flowers and steadfastly avoiding the ball ;)

We've been visiting the parks in our neighbourhood a lot more. 

Emma is getting around so well now and loves the park.

  And Gracie bikes to them now, so my stroller is a little lighter. Perfect!

That's it. Hope you're enjoying the sunshine.

Gracie's Goal!!!

Gracie scored her first goal of the season, last night at soccer. It was such a moment, I have to share it. 

Another mom on the team captured a few shots, but nothing can quite capture the moment.

Gracie got the ball in our end and dribbled it down the length of the field, ahead of the other kids. 

She went right to the net, and kicked it straight in, no problem. This was something else from the girl who likes to hang back and stay out of the fray at soccer. Not only did she touch the ball, she got a goal!

Then she turned, and was smiling so wide, I thought her face would crack. She ran back to Brad (who was coaching, so was on the field) and was so thrilled, she started laugh-crying and threw herself at Brad. She then came to the sidelines and almost high-fived her sister right over, and gave me the biggest hug, while still sobbing. 

Choke. I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, and thought, why am I crying? Then I looked around, and all of the mom's and a few dad's on the sidelines were choked up, too. 

Oh my.

What a memory.

There may be no tears in baseball, but apparently there are in soccer. 

EPL wins Library of the Year!

Just a quick congratulations and a reminder to all those in Edmonton who don't use the library, you are missing out!!!!

Edmonton Public Library won library on the year! This is the first time a Canadian library has taken home this honour, and as a complete nerd and library enthusiast, I think it was well-earned!

Pretty impressive.

I've been a member at 5 libraries throughout my lifetime, and Edmonton has the best system, hands down.

If you want free, drop in classes for kids, book clubs, free song downloads, e-books, free online courses, ESL programs, free sheet music downloads, live music streaming, Lego programs, gaming programs, magazines, movies, 3-D printers, literally anything you can think of, they've got it and memberships are FREE!!!

What?!

Yes, free.

I honestly think we've saved thousands of dollars by using the library, just as a family, since we moved to Edmonton. Plus, they have the best online system so I can reserve whatever I want ahead of time, and even make lists of books that I want to read at a later date. I usually have 25 books or so on hold at a time, with my pick up dates spread out across the year, so I always have new books to read.

Okay, that's my plug....

Congrats EPL!

Here's a copy of their application. It's long, but interesting to skim.