A weekend FULL of soccer!

BIG soccer news in our family.  Leighton isn't the only one playing on a team now.  Little sister Riley has taken the plunge and is now playing, too!!  Her friend Kathryn (Leighton is on a team with her big brothers Luke & Braden and their Dad Scott coaches) started playing this season, but Riley was hesitant to try it at the start of the season.  Mid-way through, Scott asked if Riley wanted to come help out their team, and she decided to try it!  We were really proud of her for being brave enough to try something new.

The day of her first practice, she was pretty excited for her new sports shorts and pink shin guards.  We borrowed cleats from a friend because we weren't sure she'd last longer than one practice, and if she did, she'd likely need a bigger size by next season anyway!  The fashionista decided that a rainbow halter was the best option and denied my suggestion of a sporty t-shirt like Leighton wears to practice!

We weren't sure if she'd be timid on the field or if she'd be shy of her coach.  We also weren't sure if she knew the basics of the game and rules, but Leighton quizzed her and she did!  And from the first moment of practice, she was TOTALLY into it.  She was fast and aggressive and having a great time. She learned how to dribble around a cone, take a throw in, and play offense and defense.  And she scored a few goals in their scrimmage!

On Friday night, we went to the Dash game.  And we got to go into the tunnel before the game to high five the players.  Leighton was super excited to see the national team players who play for the Dash.  Unfortunately, his fear of characters came back a bit and he got scared of the mascot.  And he got a little bothered by the noise of all the squealing girls.  After a few moments, he felt better and was able to enjoy the opportunity and the rest of the night.  Riley had a fun time with it all!  Our seats were lower down than we've sat before, and it was really impressive to see and hear how hard these ladies kick the ball!

The next morning, both kids had soccer games.

Riley got a chance to play all the positions, including goalie (and her brother gave her some helpful coaching!).  Her team lost, but she had so much fun that it didn't matter to her at all!

Leighton's team played the team who beat them a few weeks ago, and they won this time!

To celebrate the fun soccer times, we went out for lunch and then for beignet!