soccer life

We toyed with the idea of signing Brooke up for soccer last year, but in the end, decided that she was still too young.  In January, we started talking about it again and Brooke was pumped about the idea, especially after finding out that a few of her friends were signing up as well.  I planned on signing her up right away, but life got in the way, and I kept forgetting. When I finally sat down to do it, I found out that I missed the deadline by ONE day!  I was so frustrated with myself, especially since the "early bird" rate was $65, and the regular price was $80.  I called the director, and he said that if I sent him an email, he could place Brooke on a team if they had any openings.  I then had the nerve to ask if there was any possible way she could be on a team with her friend Pyper.  He said he would do his best, but I knew that I needed to just be grateful for what I got!

I emailed him right away, and a few days later, he called to say that she was on a team, AND with Pyper.  I was super stoked.  The soccer program is put on by a big baptist church near our house, and they do Saturday practices, followed by a game. Sounded pretty great to me. A few days before the first practice, I headed to Dick's Sporting goods for her cleats and shin guards.  They literally had ONE pair of cleats in her size, and they were bright pink.  Brooke thought they were awesome, but the practical person in me wanted black so that Colby could possibly use them in the future.  I bought green shin guards (gender neutral, haha), and let Brooke pick a brand new hot pink ball.  And a whistle, haha.  She was so so happy about that whistle. Colby just wanted to crawl all over the store with a ball under her arm, and he climbed right up by Brookie while we tested out shin guards

I ended up ordering a few pairs of black cleats on amazon (thank goodness for two day shipping) and hoped that they would fit! (They did, hooray!)  Her first practice was at 9 am, so we prepped the night before so the morning would go more smoothly.

It was a super chilly morning, so she had lots of layers on.

Once we met up with her team, they received their jerseys and socks, and Brooke and Pyper looked pretty official.

They decided on the team name "Shine", and here they are doing their first cheer.

I think because it was so cold, Colby sat patiently in that chair and ate his snacks.

The first week was just a practice, but it was so fun to see Brooke run around and do the soccer drills.  She did really great, and I loved that she kept looking at us for approval, and to see if we were watching when she kicked any goals. I am excited to see what this season holds in store for my little soccer girl.