Senior Night and Treasures of The Heart

They call it Senior Night.

The last home game of regular season play for the Seniors.

I knew it was coming.

I've done this before.

This is the eighth consecutive season that I've had a kid on the BHHS Boys' Soccer Team.

I also knew that this one would be a little different for a couple of reasons.

1) It's the last time.

And
B) This kid of mine loves this game down to his toes.

My good friend Deanna took time to come shoot for me during the presentations.

Thank you Deanna.




The coaches asked the Senior boys to each prepare something to say.


None of them really wanted to go first.

Since Dylan is the team captain he stepped forward and started first.

He thanked us for helping him with everything and for always being there for him.

And that's when the magic happened.

My boy could say no more.

He choked up a bit...and so did everyone there.

Our hearts all full of love.

Full of pride.

I can't think of a time I've been more proud to call this boy mine.

And he gives us lots of opportunities.

It was one of those moments.

 The kind when you know you need to soak it all up.

Squirrel away every piece of heart burstingness.

Draw a big 'ol circle around the whole thing and store in the corner of your heart.

So you can find the playback button later.

Here's the thing that surprised me....

I now technically have four adult sons.

I had no idea that my heart would keep making room for these things after they were grown.

There is no limit.

Hearts stretch and grow all the more for handing out what's inside of them.

I knew in my head...but still it surprised me.

I am so blessed and grateful.

Dylan had a great game and played his smelly shin guards off.

There were a few shots that didn't quite work out.

Some nice passes in the midfield.

And there was this:

A beauty of a pass from Thomas to Dylan.

Under a bit of pressure.

Dylan shoots with the left foot.

And in it goes.

The two of them work so well together.




And little later a similar set up.
The pass...

A little footwork.

One defender down...three trying to catch up.

Right foot shot this time.

And in it goes.

Add a little defending for good measure.

And call it a day.

The game ended in a tie.

The Bruins go into post season play on Thursday.

We've got a few more memories to soak up before this week is up.

Waitin to see how my heart gets stretched next,

Cath

Homecoming 2010 and Metamorphosis

There was lots of Homecoming silliness this past week.

And since my boy is a Senior he and many of his good friends were in the midst of it.

There were a couple of soccer games.

And you know how I love to watch the boy play.

And Friday brought the main events.

A big fat Bruin assembly with lots of strangely dressed Bruins in the house.

Let's just say the blue and gold were present in abundance.

Then there was the homecoming parade.

Friday morning I told Dylan to try get a spot on the float where I could see him.

I didn't have one single homecoming parade shot during his whole high school experience where you could actually pick him out.

Mission accomlished:

So here's my baby boy...

My honor roll student....

My little AP classes genius....

Who apparently has some difficulty with which way is up....

 Should I be concerned??





Friday night brought the big football game.

For many of Dylan's good friends it was Senior Night.

So we went to check it out and cheer on the Bruins.

I was telling Rich later that I went to snap this photo real quick I thought about Dylan's choice of attire.

The boy hardly ever does anything without thinking about it.

So this was interesting to me.

 What we've got here is the classic letterman's jacket ...

Loaded with patches...

And under that...

The bright orange sweatshirt of his most likely future college.



As we talked Rich said....
"Huh.  Kinda like he's ready to turn into a butterfly...
All he needs to do is peel off the high school jacket and keep moving forward"

He nailed it.

That's what this time is all about for Dylan right now.

I'm lovin watching the metamorphosis.


Cath

Bits and Pieces

It's been a while.

Life kind of took over for a bit as it has a way of doing every now and then.

And even in the unexpected there are gifts all around.

Though none of us would have chosen the circumstances, I got to spend some time with my Mom and Dad....in a hospital ICU burn ward after my Dad's race trailer blew up with him inside.

My dad is out and about and doing much better now but it gave us all a scare.

I learned a lot about the procedures involved in burn care and got to experience a very caring burn care team.

I got to see a couple of my brothers, brother and sister-in-law, Aunts and Uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews....all in the course of a week.

I'm still getting back around to my "normal" schedule (whatever that means) and am seriously in arrears here.

I have stuff to post tho...

It's coming I promise.

I just wanna share a few quick ones today.

A few weeks ago the BHHS boys and girls soccer team gave a soccer day camp for the local youth soccer players.

It was time put the boot on the other foot and play coach.

Inspire their charges.

And most of all...

Make sure they all had some fun!

The girls took charge of the littlest ... and cutest...future Bruins.

This guy definitely has a spot on the BHHS soccer team waiting for him.

It was a successful week overall and the players and "coaches" all learned a lot...and had some fun.



While I was away Dylan left for a week at Northwest Soccer Camps...now in their 39th year.

By the time I was back he was just about home too and full of enthusiasm about camp.

He learned a lot from the many coaches attending and had a very successful week.

During Power and Explosion training he broke two of the Power camp records.

One for vertical reach and one for power jump .... 5 standing broad jumps back to back.

He also tied the Explosion Speed record for the 20 yd dash.

And best of all....their "cabin" totally rocked the evening skits. 

One of the coaches there...Edu...played on the 1970 Brazil World Cup team with such notable teammates as Pele, and Rivelino...guys who only need one name...sometimes known as the best attacking team in the history of the game. 

He gave Dylan  this signed photo for his accomplishments at camp....pretty cool.

Dylan says he still has that amazing footwork the Brazilians are known for.

He also received lots of encouraging words from some of the other coaches on staff and at least one offer for a letter of recommendation if he needs one.

We'll see what the year holds.

Life in a remote place has its drawbacks.

Visibility is a big one.

We're all looking forward to the coming season.

We loooove watching the boy play.

Cath

The Thrill of Victory

I've been a blog slacker.

And I apologize.

It's not that I haven't been taking any photos.

I have.

Hopefully I'll get you all caught up soon.

But for now...

I've been feeling a bit like this guy I found floating around at our port.

Just trying to keep my eyeballs above water and motor ahead.


The Brookings Harbor High School boys' soccer team had an exciting week.

They won their 2nd round 4a playoff game 1-0.

When I texted my brother, Dave, with news of their victory and told him I'd taken over 800 shots at the game. He requested that he get to see at least one of them.

Hey someone has to get me motivated.

So Dave.... here ya go.

Opening intros and national anthem.


This series shows one of Dylan's favorite "tricks".

Turn on the turbo boosters and overtake the defender...


Get the defender up to top speed while you keep control of the ball...


Stop the ball dead...






Watch the defender keep going...






Take your time and find a pass.

He says it works everytime.... so far anyhow.


The fans were great.

They showed up and cheered on the Bruins in Bruin style.


A local photog got the guys together after the game for a group shot.

He wanted a "game face" shot.

But Dylan could not stop smiling.


Finally he called out "Dylan, stop smiling!" And for a second, he did.


But only for a second.






His first captains' interview with the local press


More smilin....

That smile just kind of went on the rest of the night...

The journey continues tomorrow afternoon.

Another big battle on tap for the Bruin boys.