MIA

It feels like FOREVER since I posted! It's been about soccer, school, RE, more soccer practice, laundry... & this past wkend, Flagstaff. It was nice to FINALLY get away! But after packing up the Suburban, Carlos was looking at ALL the stuff packed up in it! I wish I took a pic of it all. It looked as though we were going away for 3 wks+! It was just a simple 2 nite, 3 day trip. BUT w/3 separate suit cases for girls, a big bag for Carlos & one for me, Carlos' equip. mgr duties of hauling 3 team benches, our 10x10 canopy, a cooler, 3 pillows, Graciella's soccer backpack, bags of things to do for the girls, a bag of snx, my bag of cds & books... you get it! Carlos even took the back seat out, thinking we'd have more room. Hmm... we left at 6pm on Friday, got up there at 9pm. All was good, even w/Antonia giving us temp readings each time it went down, every few mins. We left home at 102 about, by the time we got to the hotel, it was a nice, chilly 53. First thing in the am, it was 40. It was beautiful! We spent the entire wkend outside, screaming, hauling stuff to & from the fields, eating w/the team, answering the door to our room 20 times to all the girls on our team looking for so & so, eating brkfst w/our team & the parents. It was great to get to know all the girls & parents finally!

The girls lost all 3 games but learned, got banged up, hung out w/friends... The first game, the girls were so much bigger & played like they've been together for awhile. In the end, this team was in the wrong division. NICE one! Also, our goalie was taken to the ER bcuz of a save she made. (after seeing her dr. he said she broke 2 bones in her wrist!) Graciella got kicked in her tummy 4 or 5 times! I was crying watching all this! She was tough though & kept on playing! It didn't help that her team had NO subs! She also had the ball hit her cheek at close range, after she kicked it & it ricocheted off a girls knee to come back to hit her own face! She grabbed her face & was crying. I ran over to her after she got off the field & calmed her down. She had to regain her breathing too. It was HARD to take a deep breath up there! Especially after running for an hour straight each game! Graciella was good after a few mins & was ready to play! These girls had a lot of heart (& strength for that matter!) to go after it like they did. Although they lost, they didn't let it dampen their spirits! Way to go 98 Blue!!

After all was done, we took the girls to eat & for some ice cream at DQ & drove home! I finally got a start on the Twilight series. I read thru half of the first book. Yeah, it's difficult when you have 3 little ones asking you for this & that, put this cd on, she's doing this to me!... Graciella & Clarissa kept txting each other. So by the time we got home, we unloaded the truck, went to Sharon's to p/u our puppies & Carlos left to go p/u Clarissa. She spent the nite & we had Pei Wei. YUM! I guess G & C didn't get enough hanging out time over the wkend!! ;)

The woman who took care of our puppies was the greatest! I got her name from Miss Kelly. Now, Miss Kelly has about 4 dogs at all times in her house! So I didn't second guess this woman at all. After talking to her, I had the best feeling about leaving Harley & Hugo w/her. No doubts at all. BUT I will tell you what I had doubts about! Leaving any one's pet at the Ocotillo Animal Clinic & Pet Resort! I stopped in to check it out, after passing this place wk after wk. Sure the people seemed nice but when I got the tour & asked questions... not impressed. The tiny rooms w/a clear door, resembling a shower door - was like having your dog spend the entire time in your walk in closet or coat closet. It was 5x5. They only go out 3 times a day w/no interaction LOVE from anyone. Any extra time, you had to pay for! THANK GOD I had asked Kelly who she used. Although, I almost drove them down to Tucson to stay w/Melina! This woman is located 30 secs from us & after meeting her, ALL WAS GREAT! Her name is Sharon & she also has Yorkies! If anyone is interested, check her out HERE. But she does cater to all your puppy's needs & quirks. We gave her a list of stuff we could think of, to make our little furry ones feel the most safe, usual routine, everything. She took care of it. THX AGAIN SHARON!!

I have much to catch up on. I stayed up till 315am last nite. I did my ME pg for the store, ate & watched Lipstick Jungle on the DVR. (Gotta love that thing!) Amy & Katie slept over last nite too. THX Jeannie for the McD's. It hit the spot! hee-hee

Our prayers go out to her husband, Bill & his family. His Grandmother had passed away & they were flying out to Jersey this am.

Until later... Have a great day.