Please excuse my lapses...

Hello everyone! We are, once again, having laptop issues.. It seems to like giving a home to little things such as worms and viruses.. So while I wait for Mike to, once again, reload and fix the f-ing thing (oh yeah.. dropping the f-bomb.. You know it's serious now..) I am relegated to the kids desktop. Which, by the way, is not nearly as comfortable to work at as my reclining couch in front of the tv is. So I will try to get my creative juices flowing in this hostile environment I call a playroom, however it will not be nearly as frequently or picturey (OK, I made up that word..) since I can only download my pics to the laptop (which isn't working..) That is until Mike shows me how to do it again on this desktop.. I was fortunate enough to get a few pics of the formal downloaded before the big crash.. Look for an update on that as well as Mikey's birthday and some wine-making experiences in the future!

Sunday night soccer... Mikey style..

The next 4 or 5 Sunday evenings are now filled with watching 3/4 yr. olds "play soccer". Mikey is lovin' it! He is doing much better this season than last... Daddy Mike is coach again for his team, however he is having the asssistant coach go out on the field when Mikey is playing.. (If you remember last season all Mikey did was hang on his Dad when he should have been playing..) Mikey tries much harder now! Way to go Buddy and keep having fun! Look at that fancy footwork above!!

Blasting by the competition with the ball to score..

Action shot..

The girls.. They get extremely bored, buggy, and whiney while watching Mikey play.. Tough luck girlies.. Suck it up! (and quit whining!!!)

Another new school year.. Another new season..

Just as another school year has started, so has another soccer season. Maria had her second game this morning. Let me first apologize for the horrible pics and no video.. I tend to get so into my cheering that I neglect the recording part! (Obviously I can't do two things at once..) The girls did GREAT! They didn't only beat the other team.. they annihilated them!! 10-1. I am so impressed with the coaches this fall.. They make those girls run drills over and over and have practices twice a week in the cold, heat, rain, dark... you name it! This ain't no pussy-footed school team!!! Maria has learned so much this season and has really improved.. She mostly plays left wing (to take advantage of her left kick, I am told..) and goalie. And the most important part, the girls are having a blast!! I am actually really starting to enjoy going and watching the games now... It's not just a huge cluster of little girls running around chasing the ball with their prospective parents urging them on anymore... There is actual strategy and passing and positions being played.. It is really exciting! I can't wait until next week! Go Hawks!!! You girls are doing phenomenal!! Keep up the good work and have fun!!!

Goalie pic...

and the immediate aftermath after a goal assist.. I think this was goal #3 or 4...

Look at the defeated goalie in the background.. I actually am glad they scored 1.. I was starting to feel really bad for the other team.. They are, after all, just girls doing their best as well and needed a moral boost!

The Watch doesn't Lie...

As most of you know, a few months back my dear, sweet, ever-attentive husband decided it would be fun to sign us up for the Army Ten-Miler (on Oct. 4th..). I since then have been on a training mission. I am determined that I will make it through and not die. Well with the race only a couple of weeks away, I finally feel ready. Wednesday I ran 10 miles.. and did not die. If you look at the picture of Mike's schmancy-fancy running watch above you will see 10.00 mi distance reading in the bottom right-hand corner.. That was all me! I ran it in 1hr 41 minutes 39 seconds... at a 10:09 min/mile overall pace.. Now at the risk of sounding like a snobbish runner, I could have run it a little faster... However I had the distinct pleasure of company from a dear friend for the first 5 miles (who runs just a little slower than me). We ran at her pace for the first half and then broke off and I continued on at my pace for the second half. I was not running for time on Wednesday, just going the distance! The true test will be the race where all us runners know you always run faster than you train for! Anyway, I did it, won't do it again until the big day, and, oh, did I tell you?? I did not die!!!!

Back in Commission

Well, where to begin! For the past few months the Gross household has been very busy with alot of new and exciting things to share!! RV's, trucks, soccer, school, training, trips, are to name just a few.. Now I know I will not be able to fill you in on everything that has happened the past few months.. But I will do my best to skim over the big events in my future posts!! Stay tuned.. And I promise you I will try to do better with keeping this blog current!