The Loopty-Hoop Show

The Loopty Hoop Show...starring Ella!

Soccer Season

Ella finished up her first season of soccer a few weeks ago. She had practice every Thursday and then games on Saturday mornings, so it kept us busy this fall. 

She was really excited to get started, and the season started the first week of school. 

Here she is practicing with Steve in the yard that weekend.

 

Her first practice

Hot and ready for a water break!

Snow cone after practice one night

Some notes about her season:

- Her team was called the Mighty Mites and she had great coaches - they were laid back, patient, and really sweet and kind with the kids - really great for her first time playing.

- The quote I will never forget was right before her last game. I was hiking up her socks over her shin guards, which is no easy feat, and I said to her "I have to say - I am not going to miss putting these socks on, this is my least favorite part of soccer." Ella's reply to me was "Oh yea, my least favorite part is the quarters!" (which is basically saying the whole game!!)

- She scored exactly two goals, both right at the beginning of the game that Dad was here to see. 

- After her first practice she told me she didn't want to get in trouble for taking the ball away from the other kids so we had to have lots of talks about the fact that if you're playing soccer, it's okay to try to take the ball from the other players. But it's really against her nature, she's not at all an aggressive player and also doesn't like the idea of falling or getting hurt. 

- Sometimes at the beginning of practice she'd make up funny little drills when they were each supposed to be dribbling or kicking on their own. As an example, she'd tap the ball with her foot and run 3 circles around the ball, then run in the opposite direction 3 circles. Even at the end of the season I was sometimes not sure if she really grasped the overall point of the game!

Here she is working on balancing the ball on her head, a very important soccer skill :)

Some pictures from a few of her games:

Ready for her last game!

- Overall I think her feelings were pretty mixed about soccer. She liked practice a lot, liked running around and enjoyed all of the kids on her team, and had times where she was really excited during the games. Then there were plenty of times she said how hard the games were, and she always seemed pretty happy when they got rained out (which happened a lot, so the season was extended a few weeks). 

- The games were fun - she played at a really pretty park just a few minutes from our house, and it was a great way to get some fresh air and start our Saturdays each weekend. 

-And probably her favorite moment from the season - getting her trophy at the little party at the end of the last game. 

She was thrilled, and so proud of her trophy. She's got it displayed in her bedroom and wipes it off and keeps it clean. 

Even though it seems that overall she was glad the season was over, she said she wants to play again in the spring so she can get another trophy! We will see what she decides when it gets closer :).

Disney on Ice

We went to Disney on Ice a few weeks ago for what has become a November tradition, this was our third time going. The show was great, and it was a fun family night out. 

Beauty and the Beast

It's a Small World - this was probably my favorite part, the lights and scenery were amazing

The whale from Pinnochio

With her favorite sweet, a snow cone!

The Day Before Thanksgiving

Ella has been learning about Thanksgiving in school and we've been reading some Thanksgiving books. She told me that she wanted to tell me the story, so she filled up several pages with her lines and then 'read' me the story... "the day before Thanksgiving!"

Picture Post

A bunch of pictures from the second half of October and the first half of November. 

Mom made Ella a girl sock monkey to be friends with her boy sock monkey, and Ella was very excited to introduce them to each other!

Spirit week at school - in her school character shirt

College shirt day

Visiting Jake and his new baby brother and sister. Ella loves getting to hold the babies and is so sweet with them! 

Guess who took this one?

She made this house all by herself!

We were all excited that Mom and Glenn moved all of their furniture and belongings into their house last month, and the house is looking great. 

Ella has her own room and was dying to sleep over right away. Here she is sleeping on her first sleepover night in her new room. 

At her little desk in Grammy's office 

Mom has a bunch of fruit trees in their backyard and there were many lemons ready to be picked

I love how you can see the rays of sun coming through the tree in this picture

So cute together in the backyard

 Fancy tea party

 Steve and I met up with friends in Seabrook and enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon and sunset by the water

Unfortunately Ella got sick at the end of the weekend when Mom was here, and she needed to stay home for a few sick days at Grammy's house (which she was actually very happy about).

Food coloring experiments

Family Lunch Day at school

We had an pretty cold day and Ella insisted on mittens in the morning. It was about 55 degrees out!

Going for a ride in the back of Steve's new truck on a beautiful Saturday morning 

Precious sleeping buddies

Fun movie night at James' 

Excited about the cake at Jake's birthday party

Having fun making Spin Art with Steve - together they made no less than 10 designs (and I think Steve did 7 of those himself!)

Very pretty view from the playground last weekend - and as close as we get to 'fall foliage'

After months of watching our oranges grow and then finally turn from dark green, our orange tree is now full of  ripe oranges! They are very sweet and delicious, and super easy to peel. I am so happy with them!

Super foggy morning