Soccer Season comes to a Close

The kids are back in school now and our household is finally back to a bit more of a normal routine as homework and activities start again. I'll have to get my back to school photos edited soon - I'm so far behind that I have barely uploaded photos from the tail end of summer yet. I'm also still editing soccer photos from the summer for distribution to the rest of the girls' soccer team.

While it took up most of our Friday and Sunday nights and four of our weekends over the summer, our girls had a fantastic experience playing All Star soccer this summer.

The coaching was fantastic, the team was such a wonderful, close group of girls, and the team did so well for its first year out.

The final tournament was a bit of a bittersweet event. The team made it to finals and played very hard, winning the silver.

They were hoping for gold, and that disappointment, coupled with saying goodbye to their teammates for the year made it a bit of a tearful final moment. Many of the players had their coaches and teammates sign soccer balls as a momento. The green ball is ours.


Since our town and thus our soccer league are small enough that we must combine two years of players - our 9 year olds played U10 this year - the team's players will be split next year as the 10 year olds move up to U12. Will we see a group this close again? I'm not certain, but I'm sure glad our girls had the opportunity to have this experience. Thanks so much to Coach Michael and Coach Gavin for an amazing summer!

Summer Captured

I'm so pleased that Scrapping Nook is hosting their Summer Photo Challenge once again this year. I enjoyed it so much last year. Having a list of photos to take really helps me to think outside of the box and I end up with great shots that I may not have thought of taking otherwise.

These are a few of my favourite shots from this summer. To see all of the photos I posted for this challenge, see my thread here. You can also look at last year's photos here.

9/11 Memorial

While my brother Chris and I were in New York last month, we were fortunate enough to visit the 9/11 memorial site. It was a very moving experience. I can't imagine how emotional a visit to the site would be for families who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragic event.

Like so many of us today, I am very conscious of and grateful for all of the wonderful things I have in my life.

I hope you are able to take a moment today to reflect on how truly fortunate we are to live in the abundant, safe and prosperous country we call home.

Here's Lookin' at You, New York!

It's long overdue, I know, but here is a quick peek at my trip to NY in August.  It was a wonderful whirlwind few days filled with sightseeing, scrap shopping, a Broadway (and a drum corps) show, celebrity sightings, tons of walking, VERY little sleep and of course, being in the audience to see Brene Brown on the Katie Couric show.

My brother Chris met me in New York and while he got his fill of about a hundred (OK, maybe just four) Broadway shows, I hit the Manhattan must-see scrapbook shops, The Ink Pad and Tinsel Trading Company.  I would have LOVED a chance to attend some of the classes at The Ink Pad - they have quite the fantastic line up.

Our celebrity sightings included Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Kristin Davis, James Earl Jones and (best for last....) John Stamos.  Chris and I took in the musical Once together.  I also managed to see DCI quarter finals in the theatre near Union Square, which was a great, nostalgic experience.

Of course, the real reason for the trip was being in the audience for Brene Brown's appearance on the Katie show, which should be airing sometime in the next few weeks.  Chris took a shot of me in the lineup to get in.  A few ladies and I were interviewed on camera before the show, but I'm not sure what they will end up using.

Look for me if you're watching Katie in September.

In other news:

• Back to school went very smoothly at our house, and since I'm still at my Project 365 - I've never made it this far into the year so woo hoo - I have back to school photos of the kids to post sometime soon. They are still on the camera and I haven't uploaded them yet, but I hope I can get to them soon.
• I'm really excited about Scrapfest Oshawa coming in less than a month! 
• Here's to Sue's cookie dough recipe, which I'm sure will leave us feeling like we don't need any dinner! :} 
• I'm also lucky enough to be heading out on a photo walk with Lee Currie in October.  Hooray!
• I have a layout coming out in Canadian Scrapbooker's winter 2012 issue - toot! :-}
• Scrapping Nook's 100 Photos of Summer deadline is fast approaching and I still have a TON of photos to upload. 
• And, believe it or not, I have at least a dozen scrapbook pages and part of my New York trip Smash album scrapped that I haven't had a chance to post yet.   I'm hoping to get something photographed and posted soon.  Stay tuned!

I hope the back to school transition went as smoothly at your house as it did at ours.  Fall weather is here reminding us that summer is truly over, much to our chagrin.

Thanks for checking in and have a fantastic fall!