A Dream Come True!

Every Fall I say a little here and a little there about Caleb and his volleyball team. I'm always emotionally invested, some years more than others. In the end though, I always know that as the coach Caleb thinks A LOT more about his team, their goals and what they need to do to accomplish those goals. And in the end, when the season is over, I'm usually ready to get back to every day life within a few days or weeks while Caleb spends months thinking about what they could have done better and how they can improve next year.

Caleb has been coaching ever since he graduated from high school. He's been the head coach at RCS for 8 years. From day one it has been his goal to some day win the State Championship.

Over the years Caleb has gotten closer and closer to that goal. 4 years ago, he was the first coach to take the school to the championship match, but the team didn't play their best and lost to Fowler in 3 games. They took 2nd in State that year. That was the farthest RCS had ever gotten in Volleyball, and Caleb feared at that time that he would never get that close again.

Fast forward to this year. Even since before the season started Caleb told me that this team was special. He said they had the heart, the drive and the talent to win State. Not just that, but they truly loved each other. So, from the very get go this team was determined to win.it.all.

As the season went on, they started to beat teams they had never beaten before, and the word "undefeated" started to spread amongst the fans and parents.

The first time I saw the team play this year, I could tell they were different. Like Caleb said, you could see their passion for the game, their passion to win, and their love for each other. As cliche as it sounds, they were special.

They continued to be undefeated and the excitement grew. A few weeks before playoffs, they beat Lutheran, the two time defending State champions from last year and the year before. That's when the excitement REALLY grew.

Then the playoffs came. They swept their way through Districts and become District Champions and the following weekend they became Regional Champions!

Hopes were high as RCS knew they were going to State as one of 3 undefeated teams.

Hopes were high, but so were nerves. Caleb wasn't eating or sleeping well, and every time I talked to my dad (a HUGE sports fan and also following the team well this year) I almost started hyperventilating.

Before I knew it, we were bringing a big group of fans just there to support Caleb. Saturday we had his parents, my parents, all 3 of my sisters, two of their close friends from out of State (Kelsey and Amy), two of my brothers-in-law, a close family friend, 2 of my cousins, and my Uncle Randy came to watch and cheer on the team.

The Friday and early Saturday matches against Meeker and Ridgway were pretty uneventful. RCS swept both of those teams (won in 3 games) quite easily.

Then Saturday afternoon it was time for the semi-final match (the top 4 teams). We had to play Yuma, the team that Caleb most wanted to avoid until the championship match. Caleb had been watching Yuma closely and he knew they were seriously underrated.

This was the HARDEST match for me to watch. I mean, in the history of watching volleyball. The stakes were so high, and it was win or go home. Caleb had told me that if they could beat Yuma, then their chances were REALLY good for winning it all!

At first, Rez made it appear like they were going to win pretty easily. Yuma was playing hard and so was RCS, but RCS was ahead most of the time and won the first 2 games. Then, momentum changed. Yuma was ahead most of game 3 and we couldn't get ahead. After Yuma won game 3 my heart started to speed up and my palms grew sweaty. Game 4 was SO very close. Too close. Every time we won a point, Yuma won the next one. Finally about half way through the gamy we pulled ahead a little bit (just enough that I started to breathe easier) and we were up 24-22. We were going to win, or so we thought. Then somehow Yuma won game 4 28-26! It was like a nightmare before my eyes. Yuma's fans started to cheer "Deja Vu" over and over.

Last year, Yuma beat us in Regionals and the games AND scores were almost identical to what had just played out before us.

When game 5 started, the RCS girls came out confident and ready to fight. I breathed a little easier as each point was awarded to our team. Finally, they won 15-12 and the match was over. It was official, they had made it to the Championship match! It took my nerves a LONG time to calm down after that one.



I really like the way CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Association) finishes the volleyball season with the State Championship matches. Before the match begins, they do a little ceremony and announce all of the teams (1A-5A) and their coaches while playing some inspirational music. ;) Then they have someone sing the National Anthem. It's a very cool experience to be a part of.



Anyway, we were all sick to our stomachs with nerves when game time came. As soon as the match started though, it was clear that we were the better team and we wanted to win more. After the first 3 points, RCS was ahead of Lutheran and swept them in 3 games! After all of the hard work they were officially State Champions!

I knew I'd be somewhat emotional and overjoyed when they won, but I was not prepared for the emotion that came over me. I screamed and cheered and then hugged my dad and started crying. I mean, I was a bit of a mess. After regaining my composure I looked around and saw tears in all of my sister's eyes, my mom's eyes and Caleb's mom's eyes. There's just something about watching the person you love most achieve a dream that they have waited so long to see come true! And honestly, I'm so glad that dream came true with THIS team. They are quality girls that worked SO hard all season to remain undefeated. They love the Lord and each other.

The celebration lasted all evening and there was a sense of complete joy and disbelief at the same time. It's one of those moments that you never forget and you almost have to pinch yourself and ask if it really happened.

Here's a couple of great articles that were written:
http://www.reporterherald.com/sports/preps/ci_24492435/resurrection-christian-volleyball-caps-perfect-season-2a-state

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20131109/HSSPORTS06/311090055/Resurrection-Christian-volleyball-team-makes-history-state-championship

This was the quote I liked best:
 “We all wrote, ‘Audience of One,’ on our leg,” senior libero Carly Whitham said. “That showed we’re playing for God and his glory.”



Here's just a few of the many great photos that were taken:

  

I think it's going to take a long time to come off of this cloud! 

Arbitrary Autumn

Well folks, since I don't get much time to blog these days, I'm afraid I'll have to put all of my thoughts into another random post. I just had to come up with another word for random, so arbitrary it is. ;)

Suddenly I feel as though life is in fast forward. I'm not sure if I like it or not. However, I do like that we are in the middle of my FAVORITE season! I've been loving the beautiful weather and colors around here lately
.

We just came home from spending the weekend at the family cabin in the mountains and it was heavenly up there.

Speaking of life moving fast, my baby girl is 4 months old this week. FOUR months already! Even my sister Jenn agreed that Emsley's baby months are going too fast. I'll update on what she's like these days later this week.

Caleb's having a very successful and fun volleyball season. The team is currently undefeated and ranked 1st in 2A! Their record right now is 13-0 and they haven't dropped a game. I'm SO proud of him and his team. It's hard to believe that in 3 short weeks it will already be volleyball play-off time. It's going to be fun to see how far they go this year.

Speaking of undefeated teams, let's hear it for the Denver Broncos! Yeah, overall it's just a great year in our sports world.

I've got to say, I honestly don't know how any couple raising young kids survive without family around. I am oh-so-thankful for family that live nearby and have watched Ellie and Ethan a lot lately to let me go and support Caleb and watch his team. I've had so much help from my mom, my sisters and Caleb's parents too and it means the WORLD to me.

Elliana is loving preschool. I don't know why we ever hesitated about it. Every day I drop her off she has a smile on her face and never looks back. Then when I pick her up her smile is just as big if not bigger. I always knew she'd love school, and it's so much fun to see her blossom. I can't believe in less than a year she'll be in kindergarten and I'll be dropping her off 5 days a week! My heart is not ready for that...

I mean, seriously, wasn't it just yesterday that SHE was my little baby girl?

Ethan is so much fun. Every day I'm blown away by his wit and his ever expanding vocabulary. It's hard to explain, but he just makes me smile. Even though some days his crazy energy makes me want to pull my hair out, this boy has a special place in my heart.

I love how Ethan adores Ellie and how their relationship is SO tight! They are such good friends that some days I wonder how Emsley is going to fit into the mix. I'm hoping as soon as she's crawling around and showing more personality they'll become the three amigos instead of just the older two and the baby.

I'm sure a lot of moms can relate, but I totally wish I could get on one of those free makeover shows. I feel like I would be a great candidate. ;)  Most days I feel quite frumpy and I hate everything in my wardrobe. I'm working on becoming more aware of fashion and I'm looking forward to getting some shopping help from my fashionista sister Courtney next weekend. :)

I'm hoping I'll go from this, to this: Ha!

Now where can I get a new body? ;)

We're having family photos taken at the end of the month and I'm having a lot of fun putting outfits together for my kiddos. Our color scheme is going to look something like these photos:

I hope it all comes together well and I can't wait to see the photos!

That pretty much sums up life right now. I'd love to write more but I don't get a lot of kid-free time these days and I think I should go spend some of it with my man. :)

Dorothy and Elmo, Halloween 2012

Yesterday was a fun and exhausting day!

I'm finding that the more holidays I celebrate with little ones, the more I find myself completely wiped out at the end of the day. When you see the joy on your kid's faces, it makes every penny spent and minute planning worth it!

This year the weather was beautiful and unusually warm. Typically a Halloween in Colorado means snow and bundling the kids up so much that their costumes are covered up by coats and hats. Due to the nice weather, we got some fun outdoor shots.

Ethan's costume was a no brainer this year. Over recent weeks he has become obsessed with Elmo. I mean OBSESSED! He requests to watch ONLY Elmo movies, anytime he finds an Elmo book he'll bring it to me or Caleb and plop down on our laps to read it to him, and he can spot the smallest Elmo face on anything-even in a large, crowded store. When he spots Elmo, his face instantly lights up and he points exclaiming "Elmo!" So, naturally, Ethan HAD to be Elmo this year.

Once his costume came in the mail, he carried it around all week hugging it like a stuffed animal. When he was upset he would find his Elmo costume and snuggle it. Too funny.

It's really hard to get a good photo of your 19 month old son in constant motion. This was the best photo of Ethan I got only because Caleb was holding him. Ha!

Then there was Elliana's costume. I kind of laughed to myself when I realized that Elmo's pet fish is named Dorothy. Ellie was not Dorothy the fish. She was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Ellie has only seen the movie once or twice so I was surprised when she got attached to the idea of being Dorothy. I even tried to make other suggestions, but once she heard the idea of being Dorothy, she did not want to be anything else. I think she was most excited for me to braid her hair, something I don't do often. :)

I wanted so badly to get a good sibling shot of Ellie and Ethan next to each other, but no such luck. Again, Ethan's need to never stop moving didn't help.

This was the best one I got of my 2 kiddos:

After getting dressed up in the afternoon, we packed up the kids and headed to the Fall Festival at a nearby large church. This is the church that Caleb's school is attached to. We'd never been to the festival before and we heard it was quite the party for little ones.

We asked Jon and Jenn to join us with their 4 littles and I'm SO glad they did! We got some great cousin shots outside before heading in.

Here's the 4 oldest cousins. Aren't they adorable?!? We have Devyn as a 50's girl, Ellie as Dorothy, Hudson as a cowboy and Reagan as Tinkerbell. Ethan and Ashlynn weren't in the mood to take pictures.

Once we got inside the festival, we were amazed at how large and crowded it was! I swear, the church must have rented out every bounce castle and inflatable slide within 30 miles! There was SO much for the 4 older cousins to do that it was hard to decide where to start.

Unfortunately, these 2 little ones were just a bit too young to enjoy much of the activities. :( At least they had each other. :)

 

After spending an overwhelming hour at the festival, we went back to our house to host dinner for my parents, Caleb's parents, and Jeremy and Courtney. Jon and Jenn went home to have dinner and Trick or Treat with their neighbors, kind of a tradition. At our house we enjoyed 2 different kids of hot soup, rolls, and apple dumplings for dessert. Yum yum!

Of course Jeremy and Courtney were instructed to bring their dog Willow to play Toto to complete Ellie's costume. Ever since they got Willow, I've been saying she would make the perfect Toto and I finally had the chance to prove it. ;)

During dinner we got a few Trick or Treaters. We've never been home on Halloween before (we've always been with Jon and Jenn at their house) and it was really fun to see how many Trick or Treaters we got. We didn't expect very many since we're always saying we live in an old neighborhood and don't see very many kids around. To our surprise, we had quite a few.

After dinner we quickly took the kids in the wagon to Trick or Treat at just a few homes. We had a great time but it got pretty late quickly and after about 10 homes went back home to put the kids to bed.

I swear, the holidays just become more and more fun every year with our two sweet babes to keep us smiling and seeing life through their eyes.

I hope you had a fun and safe Halloween too!

Monday Miscellaneous

This is one of those "I have a bunch of random thoughts about nothing posts". Don't say I didn't warn you. :-)

Caleb and I were looking at our bed a few weeks ago and were admiring loathing it. We had the same duvet cover and sheets that we got when we were married 7 years ago and it was definitely time for a new set. One afternoon last week the new duvet set and pillows arrived and Ellie helped me set it up and surprise Caleb when he got home. We're loving the new look!

 

I realized after I put up these photos of the bed that I've done a very poor job of documenting the many, many, many home improvement projects we've done since moving into our house 4 years ago. There are so many I could show but I'm afraid I don't have pictures for all of them. My goal is to do a better job of taking before and after pictures from here on out.

 

The weather has been so beautiful around here. I just love being outside in the fall when it starts to cool down. Even just taking a walk to look at the gorgeous colors in the trees makes me happy. :)

Since the weather has been so great, the kids and I have taken many trips to the park in the afternoons. I'm enjoying these two so much lately my heart could burst. I love spending time with them and I mostly love watching the two of them interact. Sure they have little sibling spats every once in a while, but for the most part they are best of friends and truly enjoy each other.

 

I had a sudden realization the other day that I am WAY past the half way mark between Ellie's birth and starting school. I'm now less than two years away from her starting kindergarten. Along with that came the realization that once that time comes, my every day, all day time with Elliana is over. Be still my heart-I may have to go cry now.

 

It's hard to believe, but our sweet baby Ethan will be turning 18 months old this week. His vocabulary is really taking off right now. He tries to repeat every word we say. Although probably only 50% of his words come out crystal clear, we know he understands us and he definitely has improved in communicating with us. Here's just a small list of words he says all of the time; Ellie, Mama, Mommy, Dada, Daddy, Elmo, Bobo, Papa, Nana, Abby, Night-Night, Done, More, and Ball. He loves when we ask him about sounds that animals make and we love asking him to show us where his nose, mouth, eyes, ears, hands, feet and hair is. He's gotten really good at this game. I hope to get this on camera soon.

Both Ethan and Elliana have grown like weeds this year. I had Ellie try on some of her fall/winter clothes from last year and although everything fits the same around her waist, all of her pants are very short on her. I'll be curious to see how Ethan has grown at his 18 month check up this month.

Ebay and I have a love/hate relationship. Most of the items I buy for my kids on Ebay end up being exactly what I hoped for. Recently I tried buying some clothes on Ebay to save some money and with the exception of 1 shirt and the earrings that I bought, everything else turned out to be a big fat fail. Turns out that even if you know your exact size, it's not enough. I finally gave in to the fact that an adult's body is much harder to dress than a child's. From now on, I must try clothes on before I buy them. Seems obvious to me. Shoot.

 

My side of the family rarely NEVER goes on vacation. We are currently trying really hard to schedule a vacation for some time next year (2013). We have 10 adults and 6 kids in the family. 5 of those adults are opinionated, emotional women. It's already been an adventure trying to plan and schedule a vacation.  I'm holding on to the hope that a vacation will happen and we WILL all enjoy it. ;) It could happen... right?

 

I'm going on a women's retreat with the ladies from our new church this coming weekend. While I'm ecstatic to be spending another weekend in our beautiful Colorado mountains in the fall (I've been in the mountains 3 out of the last 4 weekends), I don't know anyone really well yet. I decided that if I was ever going to make new friends that this is as good a time as any.

 

I'm also singing on the worship team for the first time next weekend. There's nothing like jumping in with both feet. I'm nervous, but I'm SO excited to have the opportunity to sing again. It's been too long.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, ours is off to a good start. :)

The End Of An Era

I've been feeling nostalgic lately. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with losing my Grandma Nancy. I've been thinking about all of the ways life is going to be different from here on out. Then it dawned on me. A LOT is going to be different this year, especially the holidays, and it doesn't all have to do with the fact that Grandma is missing from the picture.

This is the first year our family will be celebrating the holidays in separate churches.

 

Up until this past year, our whole family (my sisters, their husbands and families, my parents, my in-laws and Grandma Nancy) was still attending the church we fell in love with 13 years ago. It was the church where all four of us sisters met our now husbands, and it was the church that Caleb literally grew up in.

 

Over the past year, one by one, each sister and their families felt that God was leading them to find a new church. Caleb and I had been feeling that tug for much longer than just this past year and with excitement and fear, joy and sadness, we began the search for a new church this past spring.

Each family left for several reasons, some the same, some different. The biggest reason was distance. We all live all over Northern Colorado, and we all felt that God was leading us to find a church closer to where we each now live. Closer to our communities.

Let me be clear in saying that none of us left our other church in anger or frustration. We still love the church and the people we left dearly and we pray that it thrives.

That being said, the change has been good for all of us. We're all very much enjoying our new churches, and getting settled in.

But, the change for me is very bittersweet. People will no longer meet or know me as one of "the Sanchez sisters" and for Caleb and I we will know longer be known as Duncan and Laney's son and daughter-in-law. On the one hand, it's exciting for people to meet us as Caleb and Christine with our two littles, but on the other hand the truth stares me in the face. We're really grown up now. We're really our own family unit. Of course this is good and the way God intended it to be, but I had a good childhood and I am still proud to this day to be a Sanchez sister and a part of Caleb's family.

I already miss watching the cousins run around with each other, or watching Ellie run up to her grandparents when the service was over. I miss Grandma Nancy asking if we could do lunch after church every Sunday.

Now, as I look ahead to this fall and the Holiday season ahead of me, I know I'm going to miss so much more. I'm still feeling excitement and fear, and joy and sadness.

I will miss going to the Women's Retreat that my 4 sisters, my mom and I went to early in the fall. I will miss the annual Turkey Dinner that the church put on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I will miss sitting with Grandma at the table. Most of all, I will miss being together, in the same church all dressed up on Christmas Eve.

I know we are all where God wants us to be, and that this change is good. Still, it's hard not to note that this is the end of a beloved era.

Our 3 Day Weekend - A Perfect Beginning to Autumn

We had a wonderful 3 day weekend. We were finally able to get away at the family cabin in the mountains. I'm not sure what it is about being in the Colorado mountains, but being there always brings the peace, rest and relaxation that I need.

This was a big weekend for us and the cabin. Our family got to break in the "new" cabin. Confused? I'll explain.

When Caleb's parents built the cabin 3 short years ago, they never dreamed their family would grow as quickly as it did. In 5 years they gained 5 grandchildren and another daughter-in-law. Because of the size of their expanding family, it became nearly impossible for the entire family to all stay at the cabin at the same time. When they built the cabin, they built it with the hopes that the whole family would make memories there together, for long weekends and holidays.

So, they decided this past year that the cabin had to be expanded in order to accomadate everyone. That's 8 adults (4 couples) and 5 kids (all ages 5 and under) to be exact. So, over this past summer the cabin was under construction as it was expanded to 4 bedrooms (2 large bedrooms for the couples with kids) an extra bathroom, and a larger living room. Now we can all easily fit in the cabin and enjoy it for a lengthy stay - even in colder weather. :)

After arriving and oohing and aahing at the addition, we helped set up furniture and got a little settled in. In the evening we made a campfire at their firepit and enjoyed burgers, hot dogs and smores.

 

We slept wonderfully Satuday night. It may have been the best night of sleep I've had in months! Then Sunday the kids, Laney (my mother-in-law) and I spent the day hiking, walking, splashing at the nearby lake and playing in and around the cabin while Caleb helped his Dad finish staining the outside. After dinner we headed home. It was a wonderful time and just what we all needed.

 

We wanted to be home Monday because our small little town makes a big deal out of Labor Day weekend. They put on a Harvest Festival that includes many fun activities. We really wanted to see the Labor Day Parade and go to the fair where they have kids rides, face painting, a petting zoo, booths and food.

Of course I always have big dreams about what days like this will look like and most of the time reality falls a bit short. I forget how young my kids are and that they just don't have the ability to last as long at these things as I would hope. ;)

We only made it halfway through the hour and a half parade. Thankfully, the parade was very close to our house (within walking distance) and the 45 minutes that we were there, we all had a wonderful time. The kids loved it! I think their favorite part was jumping out of the crowd to catch candy that was being thrown out to the kids.

After we cut the parade short we headed back home to rest up a bit and cool off from the heat.

 



 

The calendar may say that Fall is coming, but unfortunately the weather doesn't agree. I'm so ready for Fall weather. We still had 90 degree days this past week.

Anywhoo, after a brief rest we headed to the fair. Ellie got to ride on the swing ride (too bad the rides cost a LOT more than I had remembered)

 

...and Ellie and Ethan had fun petting the pets in the petting zoo.

 

After only an hour at the fair the kids were hot and exhausted so we all headed home for some lunch and a little nap and rest time. We went back for an hour in the afternoon and Ellie got to ride just a few more rides.

 

 



Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. It was just the R&R that we needed and I got to spend some quality time with my adorable, beautiful babes and my handsome hubby.

Now bring on the cooler weather and some more Fall fun!