The EOY Soccer Tournament! (The Backlog!)

Friday was the final practice as the sun set on soccer season. 

Saturday was Tournament Day. There are four teams in our league: Red, Yellow, Teal, and Blue. To face off against each other meant each team would play three 40 minute games (20 mins/half). 

We didn't have any back to back games. Our first game was against Red. We won without difficulty. Probably influenced by Coach O, all the players worked hard to set up Emma to score a goal.

We had a rest break in between games. I thought we had more time and almost took Shane to the library when we were called up for the match of the day.

Teal was undefeated.

Rather than having one standout player, they had four that were in the competition for being Top 5 offensive players in the league.

It was by far the most exciting game of the day. The Yes Sir's! were the only team that had a chance to beat them.

The score seesawed back and forth. This one got by Shane.

Excitement was high on both teams and in the crowd!

There was a lot of close play. Shane caught a corner kick here.

Suuuupppeeerrr---uuulllllltttrrraaa---PUNT!

Here, the other team's goalie dived on a ball and prevented a scoring situation. His teammate nearly walked on him and knocked the ball away!

I think it was tied up at half-time (I can't find my notes). 

The fields switched and the suspense only grew. Gabe tried to score on a breakaway here, but Teal's goalie was on it!

It was a good play!

Notice from the gif, how the keeper (Raiden? Brayden?) ran the ball out right away and punted. It was a high-energy game!

The ball ping ponged back and forth across the halves of the field as each team sought to break the tie. 

I'm trying to remember Teal's keeper took a turn on the field or if he just ran the ball up here. Emma was on the chase from the deep corner.

Gabe managed to cut him off, but nothing came of it as more Teal players swarmed to the ball.

The stakes were high when a trip earned Teal a penalty shot on Shane.

Under pressure, the ball sailed wide! It could have been the winning shot.

I think Teal had enough players for substitutes, but we were all in the whole time.

The shorter game length worked in our favor. We might have lost the endurance game over an hour.

It was a whole team effort. We looked way more in synch than at the start of the year (Great job, Coach!).

The winning shot came near the end of regulation. Gabriel was able to sneak one in between Teal's keeper's feet!

The crowd roared! Teal was dethroned!

The Yes Sir's! were on an emotional high, but both teams managed to end the game without any obvious hard feelings.

The final game final game could have just been going through the motions, but Emma finally scored her goal! It was a fantastic way to end the season for the team. I'm so glad Shane participated in SOKs this season instead of trying to drive up for SOCA (It was never a debate for me to begin with, but this reinforced the decision!).

When everything was said and done, Shane and I made that trip to the library.

We picked up some groceries for Carrie to cook with.

We spent the whole morning out! I didn't feel bad about letting Shane lounge around and play on electronics in the afternoon. What a game, what a game!

The Pet Update (The Backlog!)

I don't think the dogs differentiate between their names. If I call Loki, Kila follows him over. If I call Kila, Loki runs over and then Kila hops on his back! Whoever I pet, the other inevitably shows up.

Loki gets fed up sometimes, but overall they get along wonderfully. 

I think it's cute when they crash under the table near me at night.

Kila has to go in her crate before I turn in, but Max sometimes claims it before then! I feel a little bad kicking Max out, but it's not like Kila is going to a luxury suite. We need to lock her up to limit teething destruction, cat poop consumption, and possible running/barking overnight or in the early morning.

Kila prefers fabric over her chew toys. Carrie thought it was cute for a while when she'd chew on Shane's sandals or her big boots. Kila's teeth have graduated to causing damage now. To my dismay, I found my shoelaces aglet free! The turd!

I keep my shoes off the floor now. Once or twice, either she hopped up or a cat running knocked them off the bench by the dining room table. 3 out of the 4 ends of my laces are much shorter than the started out!

At least Kila's not an extreme chewer. Most of her energy comes out in the form of running and jumping!

Loki is the main target for her shenanigans. She's gained a lot of height and stands near even with him.

She's got plenty of room to fill out, though. He's still noticeably bigger (Notice that she's willing to drink from the water bowl without noticeable fear now? That's progress!).

Kila's a big fan of mimicking the cats when it comes to the couch.

Normally, I don't let her stay there if I sit down. Some dogs are just quirky, but others can translate how high up they sit to their status in the pack. I let it slide for a minute this time, because I thought I could get a funny picture out of it.

I had to act fast to avoid getting licked. I know where her mouth has been!

I'm not worried that Kila views herself above me. If anything, if my voice turns harsh she panics and runs! I need her to learn to come better. Her amount of training or trust in me isn't enough to override her fear of situations or my displeasure. She bosses Loki around, but she's a chicken-hearted little thing. There's not aggression in her actions, so much as boundless energy!

Loki won't jump on the couch unless coaxed onto it. Kila says hello to any cat who will let her.

She has no concept of personal space. She'll stand over cats or push past if she's trying to reach a human. I've seen her plop down on Max and Happy! Aria and Tsuki won't stick around long enough to allow for an accident.

Happy is by far the most tolerant. Here's proof: I caught her grooming Kila on camera!

They're not speaking quite the same language. Kila doesn't seem to understand what it would mean to sit still and return the favor, but it's cute to see them being gentle with each other.

Happy's a saint. She's uniquely forgiving for a cat. I don't think she stayed long after this shot where Kila dog piled on top of her, but it was long enough for me to capture it!

I've learned all of Loki's itch points, but I'm still working on discovering all of Kila's. She likes attention to her ear tips much more than he does.

She wears herself out and sleeps soundly throughout the day. She wears out Loki, too, so he doesn't have any complaints about catching some z's.

The horses are all doing well, too. Carrie has kept the fields open, so the work hasn't multiplied yet. 

Maddie's in her dry lot to prevent her from scratching herself raw on the concrete around the waterers. See how happily she drools?

Eowyn's off at Sarah G's to be sold. 

Eddie is old and happily bossing around Ernie. He can be a jerk about kicking Ernie out from under the lean-to in the rain. 

Meanwhile, Ernie looks a little stiff as the weather gets colder. He's showing some sensitivity in his front feet again. Carrie says the nerves have regrown from neurectomy. He's ready to be retired from riding. Laura got him out on the trails some with Carrie this season, but I think she may be retiring from actively riding herself.

Abby is still queen of the ladies' lot. She seems mostly healed from her phantom lameness. Micayla comes out to groom and play with her, but she's giving Abby the cold months off to make sure she heals up. Carrie trusts Micayla's skills and has given her carte blanche to play with Lilly when she likes.

Lilly is Carrie's main girl for the hunt season. The dogs and I greeted Carrie and Lilly out in the yard here. I was surprised the dogs were willing to get so close to her (That's why I bothered to pull out the camera!).

Lilly's mostly laid back while she can eat. Mostly. She gave the dogs some dragon ears here to tell them to mind her bubble!

That should cover most of the random animal pictures I have. I used to take a ton of pictures of the horses and share them at school. Barn ownership was newer then and the second year I did it because we were virtual and I was doing what I could to be interesting and open. Kila's the cool new girl in town, so she gets a lot of the fanfare. That may change when Beau arrives in December, but we'll see! I'm more of a dog person than a horse one.

Planning Things Out! (The Backlog!)

It's New Year's Day as I'm working on November 2022 in the blog. I have today and tomorrow to catch up as much as I can before school starts again. Tomorrow, there are chores and I have to switch my mindset back to teaching and prepare for that, so I don't know how much blogging I'll do.

I've had a good run. I feel accomplished knocking off nearly 11 weeks of Backlog blog posts in roughly a week of work. My well of energy for writing has dwindled, but I did absolutely no writing yesterday (12/31). That should recharge me enough for the final push!

I took this picture a few days ago. I was roughly sketching out plans for posts based on pictures I saw in my phone and events/topics I could remember as significant.

You may notice "Wrestling Starts" plugged in for Nov 2. 

That was wrong! It started the following week. I figured that out as I started uploading pictures, laying out drafts, and cross-checking my calendar and texts. Even the best laid out plans don't survive contact with the enemy (in this case, writing and posting!). 

Better get back to it while my focus and window of opportunity lasts! Shane's currently busy on the phone with Cole, Carrie's at a foxhunting tailgate, and I just let the dogs out for a bathroom break. 

Carrie's "Date Night" Without Me! (The Backlog!)

While owning a farm/horses requires much, I am thankful when it leads to Carrie being social. She's quite the introvert! Family fulfills the majority of her social needs, but I think it's healthier to have friends and belong to social groups outside of those you are related to. 

So when Carrie told me she wanted to go out to a charity band concert, I said, "Sure!" One of her friend's husband was traveling and she didn't have anyone to go to the concert with. Carrie agreed to be her +1.

Personally, I don't have much interest in going to a symphony orchestra's concert. I would do it on rare occasion with someone else who is excited about it to experience it vicariously, and Carrie was excited!

She came home late (past curfew!?) and exhausted, but still riding the residual exhilaration. "They were surprised I wasn't a music major!" 

Carrie has a keen ear and memory for music. She loves soundtracks for movies/musicals. Apparently, she knew all the songs and was into it. She was backseat conducting and moving to the beat!

She was especially thrilled when at the end of the concert, the orchestra played a score from Indiana Jones!

Foxhunting has been a social boon. Carrie has been involved. There are events, group texts, inside jokes, and she feels like she belongs as a valued member of the hunt. She's the second-youngest person in the group (with Jessica being the youngest!), so she feels like there's a a time limit on the experience. Will the group last? How much longer? She's been determined to make the most of it. Traditionally, her energy level has flagged with the lessening of light that comes with winter's chill, so I'm glad to see something invigorating her....provided she can stay healthy! Carrie's an accident-prone person, so her safety stays in my prayers!