The Great Adventure...: Our Soccer Champion...Joel B.!

This past weekend, we traveled to Joel B.'s soccer tournament...the whole family. This was our first trip as a family of 8!!

Imagine....

2 Pack-n-Plays
2 baby blankets
Hudson's special blankets and Benjamin's "Baba" washcloth
2 twin-size air mattresses
2 pillows (I have to have my pillow)
a Graco Double Stroller
(only) two medium sized suitcases (we have learned to pack lite) (which included per person: 2 pairs of socks, one set of PJs, 3 pairs of underwear, 1 pair of jeans, 2 shirts....and I packed TWICE as much for the babies)
a container of bathroom supplies (makeup, toothbrushes, toothpaste,etc)
camera
camcorder
small toys and books
stocked diaper bag (with wipes, bibs, sippy cups and baby plastic spoons)
Alaina's stuffed animals, crayons and coloring books/paper
soccer uniforms, ball and gear
8 winter coats, hats and gloves
umbrellas
and 8 people (2 adults and 6 kids)

I knew before we left that the weather was going to be very cold so I packed lots of sweatshirts and sweaters. We could have gotten by with just one suitcase if we didn't have all the big stuff. :) Joel and I pride ourselves in our ability to pack light as we have continued to add more little people to our family through the years. And Joel is the Master of Car Packing.

I'm sure I forgot to include something on the list but you get the idea. It took me a whole day to get it all together.

We were so happy to finally be on the road. We had a great start but then about half way through the drive, Hudson got car sick. He always gets car sick on long rides. He cried most of the trip (bless his heart). Alexis was sitting between the two baby boys. The one who has the privilege of sitting between them, gets to help meet their needs on the trip. As you can imagine, Alexis was getting a little sick herself helping clean up Hudson. We had to stop a dozen times to clean him up and change his clothes. As you can imagine, the clothes were in the suitcase, in the very bottom of the back of the van underneath everything. Joel B was so kind to give Hudson his t-shirt that he was wearing.

We finally arrived at the hotel and Hudson in his positive little voice says, "I'm fine." And he was. He and Benjamin ran up and down the hallway, so happy to be out of the van.

Joel B played two games on Saturday. Their team was amazing. They really played like we expect...using their incredible talent and team work. It was so fun to watch. All the games we have watched this season, I'm amazed at their skill level every game.

In between Joel B's games we were able to watch Zack, Abby's brother (a family we traveled with to China). Once you get to the 15 year old age teams, it goes to a whole new level of intense. Very exciting to watch. Sharla always gets such wonderful pictures of Zack...so I took one of hers to share.

On Saturday night, we were so excited to meet them for dinner at my favorite restaurant ever, Macaroni Grill. We enjoyed our short time together. We all missed the rest of their family as Sharla and Zack traveled alone this weekend.

Throughout the day on Saturday, the temps improved but Sunday was sooooo cold. The kiddos enjoyed "horsing" around and staying warm.

Joel B played two more games on Sunday, one at 7:30AM and one at 11AM. Again, the team did an incredible job.

Here they are...the U11 Champions!!And here we are after 2 full days of soccer... These games were Joel B.'s last games of the season. I'm so happy for the boys to end the season with a bang!! They earned that beautiful gold medal.