Well, this weekend we finished off our first AYSO season….

It was bittersweet, of course.

I will not miss coaching, although it was not terrible at all. But I did my duty and stepped in so that 5 sweet little boys had a team to be on. A HUGE thank you to Coach Tim, who fortunately knows the game, for assisting me. And to Jay for filling in as the ref from time to time!

Elliott absolutely loved her team ~ again, the nicest group of girls….it absolutely broke my heart that she burst into tears and was SOBBING as she watched the little video she received from her coach at last night’s party. “I just want us all to be on the same team again”, she said through tears and catching her breath. I love that she is sentimental like her mama. I love that she enjoyed it so much that the thought of not having the same team again is heart-breaking to her. That means that she loved this season and that she has special memories attached to her first soccer experience. And that was the goal….to learn, to play your best and to have FUN.

The season seems like it started long ago in some aspects and in others it seems to have gone by in a flash. Just a mere 4 months ago we didn’t know we were going to be The Cotton Candy Girls or The Sharks. We didn’t know who would be on our teams. And we certainly didn’t know that we would enjoy it and be signing up again for Spring ’13. When Elliott and Holden both expressed a joyful “Yes!” when I asked them if they wanted to take a little break and play again in a few months, I without hesitation went to the first registration night and signed them up. Yes, two games dominate our Saturdays, but we are laying the athletic/fitness foundation for our kids and it is most definitely worth it.

{Friday night clinic before practices even started}

{Her first practice}

{His first practice}

{Picture Day}

{Oodles of snacks}

{Getting instructions from Coach}

{A muddy end to the season}

{Easiest most stress-free party ever}

{Receiving her trophy after pizza and video games}

*****

I didn’t want to have a banner sitting around in my garage so I cut out the boys’ names and made little plaques for them.

I used some 8X10 artist canvas panels that I found at Ross. I taped them off with 2″ painter’s tape and brushed on some acrylic paint in the team color and removed the tape to reveal almost perfect stripes. I just hot glued the soccer ball on and picked up some ABC’s & 123’s stencils, traced their numbers onto the canvas and colored them in with a thick black Sharpie. I found some little shark stickers, added those and then covered with a light coat of Mod Podge to help keep in place. Then I just got a thin Sharpie and added our team name and the year.

{Tape off and paint your canvases}

{Add the finishing touches}

{Shark bite gift tags}

{Wrap some twine and add a blue candy cane and you’re done}

And the Cotton Candy Girls certainly couldn’t go away empty handed. Found some Bonne Bell cotton candy lip smackers at Target and added some sweet treats to a little cello bag and voila!

*****

Yes, I’m glad the the season is over just in time to enjoy the holidays, but I will miss the friends we made and cheering {loudly} at the games.

Again, THE GOAL was to have fun and I can certainly say we achieved that.

Until the spring……