Elie's Playing Soccer!

Tonight is quiet. I'm sitting at the dining room table, a grey Air Force hoodie pulled over my head (because I'm right under the air conditioner), reflecting upon the many wonderful changes that are currently taking place in our lives.

Something cool that happened tonight, was- Eleanore started playing soccer.

We've been nervous about this day since we signed her up. Its not that we don't have faith in her, its just that, well- Elie is kind of lazy.

Running, bike riding, walking, anything that uses her muscles... she just doesn't like to do it.

But Christopher and I vowed to push her (in every way possible). Not give in to her couch potato tendancies, not give her the option to watch tv as soon as the going gets tough, but instead, kick her butt out of the house and encourage her to move that beautiful body that God gave her.



So today we hit the field!

High of 105 degrees, but that didn't stop us!

Luckily there was a nice layer of cloud cover though, so the sun wasn't nearly as brutal as it normally is. We sat down on the bleachers with our back towards the playing field, got all geared up in our fancy new pink nike shin guard socks (I say we, but I really mean she), and went and met our new teammates!



Okay well Charlie climbed the benches and played "help me I'm falling" over and over again, while sister went and mingled with her new soccer friends.



She was so excited to be standing out there. So proud. She stood tall, and mostly with her hands behind her back (because you can't use them!). Every few minutes she'd look over and wave wildly, so excited to see us, as if we had just showed up.

They started the girls off with kicking the ball back and forth to each other. There were plenty of times when Eleanore was too busy watching her neighbors ball, that the ball that was kicked to her, went flying past her, and just kept on rolling.

Christopher and I sat back and narrated what we imagined she was saying. I had to stop myself multiple times from shouting instructions at her. Things like "now kick it!", and "watch what you're doing! Watching your ball!". ...just let it go Mama, shes got a coach to do that!



Charlie continued to play in the stands, while Evelyn happily chewed on and tossed around my lens cap. Christopher cheered on his little girl every other kick, never having been so proud.



After a little bit, Charlie couldn't stand the confinement anymore, and had to get in on the action. It didn't take long for him to find a ball, and a buddy.



Out on the dead grass, Eleanore was learning how to kick the ball into the goal. She did it her first try, by the way (so proud!).


Pretty awesome, right?



When he realized that his new buddy was a little bit older than him and maybe a little more advanced in his game, Charlie wandered off onto a hill that he had found, and raced with the clouds.



All of the kicking and running and not using her hands filled Elie's cheeks with a flush that only a good stretch and some cold water could cure.



(And I was there too, hiding behind either the baby or the camera)

Soon practice was over. Charlie had run up and down 2 different hills until his feet went limp, Evelyn used my lens cap as a frisbee until it got buried in the dirt, and Eleanore had learned some really awesome fundamentals for a game that we hope will be a big part of her growing up.



Now I know that face might look like a mean face, with its not so pleasant nose wrinkles and cranky eyes, but- thats actually the face of a really worn out little girl, who can't wait to get home and eat a giant green salad, take a bath, and play with the watering can that she hasn't been able to stop talking about all day (thanks Alexis).



What a little rockstar, she is. To us, at least.



Don't worry, younger siblings- your days of youth sports superstardom are well on their way.

This post has been brought to you by Grammy and Gpa Hillis- Eleanore's number one fans :)

Buried Treasure

I cleaned out the laundry room last weekend, and amidst that, uncovered our old CD collection. Christopher moved the pile from the floor below the canned goods shelf, to the kitchen table- and there they've sat all week long.

I'll get around to sorting through battered MxPx jewel cases later.

But yesterday as I was passing by, I noticed a familiar shape resting on the top, so stopped to take a peek.



A mixed tape.

Remember the days of mixed tapes? Rewinding, fast forwarding, and flipping sides. And having the time, to put them together?

Christopher must have made this one for me when we lived in our old Apartment on Morrison St in Portland. We had a big stereo in our sunken living room, next to our giant fluffy seated retro curved sectional, where I imagine him standing in his tight jeans and blue zip up hoodie, pressing record every couple of minutes, while he sifted through old magazines that we had gotten from the bins.

We were awesome back then, in a way similar to our awesomeness now, only, maybe with a little bit more energy and style to our stagger.



Look at the date on the top of the play list. It says 1/26/06. Which means this mix tape was for no particular reason. And I guess thats what makes it so awesome. Gifts when given on holidays, especially from boyfriends/girlfriends/husbands/whatever, are expected, and therefor hold a little less meaning.

But this was a just-because present. I don't remember him giving it to me, but after picking it up in my hands, I remember listening to it. And I remember all of the details of everything around me that played along with the lyrics to each and every track.

Velour track suits. Coffee people and Steph's house. Scrabble, scrabble, scrabble. Halloween lights year round, Coheed and Cambria on repeat because nothing else ever fit the mood the way they did. The windshield wipers being more constant than anything else in our lives, smoked salmon cream cheese on asiago cheese bagels from the Zupans across the street, and working minimum wage jobs during the day, and coming home to each other at night.

Mix tape = happy Tia.