Soccer, soccer, soccer and a celebration
Alyssa's fall soccer season has just begun- she's played no league games yet. But, she had a stretch of eight days recently that contained a plethora of soccer. From Saturday, August 20th to Sunday, August 28th, Alyssa played in six soccer games and had four training sessions. That's a lotta soccer!!
August 20th and 21st was the weekend of CU CUP tournament that I wrote about last week. She played four games in that tournament. Then between Monday - Friday of last week, she had her normal three training sessions. Saturday the 27th, her team was supposed to play its first league game but that was canceled. Her coach turned the time frame of the game (plus some more time...) into a training session.
That brings me to Sunday, August 28th. The day began innocuously soccer free. We decided to go to the later church service which meant that we didn't have to leave the house until around 11:00 am. Prior to getting ready for church, I was cutting up veggies in the kitchen for a couple of dishes that I was making for company that was coming over later for birthday celebrations (could the sentence contain the word "for" more?). Donnie was in the basement working out. His phone was near me and when it buzzed, I read that text that appeared. It was from Alyssa's soccer coach asking if she could guest play two games that day for one of the 2005 CUP teams. As soon as I read it, I knew our day was veering sharply off its original course :). Soccer would now play a central role in the day!!
Donnie responded to the text stating that Alyssa could play the games. He told Alyssa that it was an honor that she was asked to play. Alyssa wasn't so sure about the prospect of two games that afternoon- particularly after Saturday's extremely hot training session. "Is it going to be hot out today?" she asked. It would have been nice to tell her that the weather was going to be perfect but that would have been a lie. When we told her it was going to be hot like the day before was, Alyssa's soccer spirit sank a little :(.
Her games were at Posey at 12:00 pm and 3:30 or 4:00, I forget which. There wouldn't be time for Donnie and Alyssa to come home in between games so they would be gone for a long time. They left the house around 11:00 am and didn't get home until 5:30 pm (they made one stop on the way home). I went to the first game, leaving the house around 11:30 and getting home a little after 1:30. I couldn't be gone for the whole day as we were having company over for dinner at 6:00 pm. Alyssa's games went well. The team she played for (CUP Black) won its two games. Alyssa played defense exclusively in the first game that I saw. Donnie said that she played defense and outside mid in the second game.
At 6:00 pm, Donnie's family (his sister, dad, Donetta, mom and Uncle Doug) was coming to the house to celebrate his sister's and his birthdays. Their birthdays are about two weeks apart and it makes sense to celebrate them together (tempted to say that celebrating their birthdays together kills two birds with one stone but that sounds kind of negative :)). I decided to make two different kinds of chili (because NOTHING says welcome to the house on this 90 degree day like steaming bowls of chili!!). I had several reasons for making chili rather than something summer appropriate- bottom line is I decided on that menu before I knew how hot the day was going to be. The AC was cranking so at least we didn't have to eat the chili in literally 90 degree temperatures :). Everyone brought items to share for the meal so that made meal prep/ planning easier on me. We had a good time and the day ended on a good, full note. I don't think the birthday celebration day could have gone much better for Donnie- Alyssa getting asked unexpectedly to play two soccer games, Donnie getting to watch Alyssa play two soccer games and then coming home to eat yummy food, receive presents, and visit with family :).
Here are some pictures from the day:
The umbrellas/ tents shown in this picture were not up so that people could stay dry from precipitation. Rather, they were attempts to keep the sun's relentless rays/ heat at bay.
Defenders don't have the luxury of not moving quickly, no matter the temperature!!
After the team scored a goal...
Water/ shade break
The little girl plays with the big girls- Alyssa's younger age and size was apparent...
Meanwhile in the cool of the house, I was preparing for our meal. I extended our kitchen table by two leaves so that all ten of us could fit at the table.
I started to set the table very informally- plastic plates, bowls and utensils were part of my original plan. Then I noticed my lovely centerpiece. I had "won" it the evening before at a dinner for Donnie's work. I wondered how my formal china would look with it...
Um, YES!
Much better!!
That rose!
The rose on my china-
A note about my china- My Aunt Katy bought this twelve piece setting of Noritake china when she was in Japan many years ago. It was the china that my aunt used for the many family gatherings/ holidays that she hosted when I was growing up. My aunt generously gave me the china when Donnie and I married. My aunt continued to host many meals after our marriage so it was a sacrifice on her part to give me the china before she was finished hosting. She gave the set to me as opposed to my sister or cousins because of the pattern's name:
"June," which happens to be my middle name
My middle name "June" is a family name. I was not named after my aunt's china pattern :). Our names being the same was just a coincidence that turned out good for me :). The glass with the etched "R" in the picture below was a gift from Donnie's Grandma Rineer when she moved out of her apartment. I love the etched glasses, too (we have a number of them).
Before there was chili to serve, there were veggies to chop:
I made two different kinds of chili. One was traditional (the recipe that I used was a Wendy's chili copy cat recipe). The other kind that I made was non traditional. The recipe is called Crock Pot Sweet Potato and Quinoa Turkey Chili that I found on this food blog. I used ground chicken instead of ground turkey. It sounded healthy and different.... I had wanted to make this for a while but knew there was NO WAY my kids were going to like it so I had to wait for a time when other food items were going to be available for them to eat- hence the traditional chili and other sides.
Off to an interesting start...
Looking better...
I tried the chili when it was in the crock pot before I served it and thought it was really tasty. I didn't want guests to take a bowl full if they didn't end up liking it (that would be wasteful plus people generally feel bad if they have a bunch of food in front of them that they don't like) so I had little sample cups available for them to use to try it.
Speaking of non traditional, I thought it would be fun to try these s'mores M & M's. Just no- no one liked them much (I'm pretty sure the sweet potato and quinoa chili went over better than these did).
The Swiss cheese dip was a winner. Alyssa's dinner consisted of this dip, Wheat Thins and fruit!!
Us
August 20th and 21st was the weekend of CU CUP tournament that I wrote about last week. She played four games in that tournament. Then between Monday - Friday of last week, she had her normal three training sessions. Saturday the 27th, her team was supposed to play its first league game but that was canceled. Her coach turned the time frame of the game (plus some more time...) into a training session.
That brings me to Sunday, August 28th. The day began innocuously soccer free. We decided to go to the later church service which meant that we didn't have to leave the house until around 11:00 am. Prior to getting ready for church, I was cutting up veggies in the kitchen for a couple of dishes that I was making for company that was coming over later for birthday celebrations (could the sentence contain the word "for" more?). Donnie was in the basement working out. His phone was near me and when it buzzed, I read that text that appeared. It was from Alyssa's soccer coach asking if she could guest play two games that day for one of the 2005 CUP teams. As soon as I read it, I knew our day was veering sharply off its original course :). Soccer would now play a central role in the day!!
Donnie responded to the text stating that Alyssa could play the games. He told Alyssa that it was an honor that she was asked to play. Alyssa wasn't so sure about the prospect of two games that afternoon- particularly after Saturday's extremely hot training session. "Is it going to be hot out today?" she asked. It would have been nice to tell her that the weather was going to be perfect but that would have been a lie. When we told her it was going to be hot like the day before was, Alyssa's soccer spirit sank a little :(.
Her games were at Posey at 12:00 pm and 3:30 or 4:00, I forget which. There wouldn't be time for Donnie and Alyssa to come home in between games so they would be gone for a long time. They left the house around 11:00 am and didn't get home until 5:30 pm (they made one stop on the way home). I went to the first game, leaving the house around 11:30 and getting home a little after 1:30. I couldn't be gone for the whole day as we were having company over for dinner at 6:00 pm. Alyssa's games went well. The team she played for (CUP Black) won its two games. Alyssa played defense exclusively in the first game that I saw. Donnie said that she played defense and outside mid in the second game.
At 6:00 pm, Donnie's family (his sister, dad, Donetta, mom and Uncle Doug) was coming to the house to celebrate his sister's and his birthdays. Their birthdays are about two weeks apart and it makes sense to celebrate them together (tempted to say that celebrating their birthdays together kills two birds with one stone but that sounds kind of negative :)). I decided to make two different kinds of chili (because NOTHING says welcome to the house on this 90 degree day like steaming bowls of chili!!). I had several reasons for making chili rather than something summer appropriate- bottom line is I decided on that menu before I knew how hot the day was going to be. The AC was cranking so at least we didn't have to eat the chili in literally 90 degree temperatures :). Everyone brought items to share for the meal so that made meal prep/ planning easier on me. We had a good time and the day ended on a good, full note. I don't think the birthday celebration day could have gone much better for Donnie- Alyssa getting asked unexpectedly to play two soccer games, Donnie getting to watch Alyssa play two soccer games and then coming home to eat yummy food, receive presents, and visit with family :).
Here are some pictures from the day:
The umbrellas/ tents shown in this picture were not up so that people could stay dry from precipitation. Rather, they were attempts to keep the sun's relentless rays/ heat at bay.
Defenders don't have the luxury of not moving quickly, no matter the temperature!!
Water/ shade break
The little girl plays with the big girls- Alyssa's younger age and size was apparent...
Meanwhile in the cool of the house, I was preparing for our meal. I extended our kitchen table by two leaves so that all ten of us could fit at the table.
I started to set the table very informally- plastic plates, bowls and utensils were part of my original plan. Then I noticed my lovely centerpiece. I had "won" it the evening before at a dinner for Donnie's work. I wondered how my formal china would look with it...
Much better!!
That rose!
The rose on my china-
A note about my china- My Aunt Katy bought this twelve piece setting of Noritake china when she was in Japan many years ago. It was the china that my aunt used for the many family gatherings/ holidays that she hosted when I was growing up. My aunt generously gave me the china when Donnie and I married. My aunt continued to host many meals after our marriage so it was a sacrifice on her part to give me the china before she was finished hosting. She gave the set to me as opposed to my sister or cousins because of the pattern's name:
"June," which happens to be my middle name
My middle name "June" is a family name. I was not named after my aunt's china pattern :). Our names being the same was just a coincidence that turned out good for me :). The glass with the etched "R" in the picture below was a gift from Donnie's Grandma Rineer when she moved out of her apartment. I love the etched glasses, too (we have a number of them).
Before there was chili to serve, there were veggies to chop:
I made two different kinds of chili. One was traditional (the recipe that I used was a Wendy's chili copy cat recipe). The other kind that I made was non traditional. The recipe is called Crock Pot Sweet Potato and Quinoa Turkey Chili that I found on this food blog. I used ground chicken instead of ground turkey. It sounded healthy and different.... I had wanted to make this for a while but knew there was NO WAY my kids were going to like it so I had to wait for a time when other food items were going to be available for them to eat- hence the traditional chili and other sides.
Off to an interesting start...
Looking better...
Speaking of non traditional, I thought it would be fun to try these s'mores M & M's. Just no- no one liked them much (I'm pretty sure the sweet potato and quinoa chili went over better than these did).
The Swiss cheese dip was a winner. Alyssa's dinner consisted of this dip, Wheat Thins and fruit!!
Comments
Post a Comment