st. louis continued

Later on Saturday afternoon, the Rojos went back for a team picture in front of the Arch.

 and then when you are 10 or 11, it's cool to tackle your teammates after pics ;)

 the boys had a late evening game that night, so we headed to an authentic Italian restaurant on The Hill, that Dad suggested... Cunetto House of Pasta. 4 or 5 other families came with us and it was delish!! 

 the boys lined up on the wall outside of Cunetto's to get a pic :)

 the pasta was a hit and it helped them win their evening game, 3-0!!

 a few action shots of our favorite Rojo -- #5!

meet me in st. louis!

When I was in high school, one year the drama department put on the musical "Meet Me in St. Louis." I was not in the production, but I can still hear the main song in my head... Meet me in St. Louie, Louie... Meet me at the fair!

Yes, I'm random like that. Anyway, moving on. :)

Last weekend, Grayson's soccer team played in the Lou Fusz Soccer Tournament in St. Louis, MO. We picked the boys up at school right before lunch on Friday, and headed out to make the 6 hour drive to our hotel. We stayed in Chesterfield, and our hotel was right next to a nice mall with a Cheesecake Factory. We had a delicious dinner (and yummy dessert!) that night!

On Saturday morning, our plan was to go to Grant's Farm to see the Budweiser Clydesdales and other animals, since the first game wasn't until 2pm. We drove all the way to Grant's Farm, only to be told that they were closed all day due to a private party. Poo!!

So, we decided to make lemonade out of lemons :) and took the boys downtown to see the Arch.

 it was about 52 degrees, lightly sprinkling at times, windy and COLD... Brrrr!

 love this pic of the boys at the base of the Arch -- it's made of stainless steel

 going underground to get ready to go up in the Arch

 going up in the Arch is similar to someone placing you in your dryer, closing the door, and saying "See you in 4 minutes!" 

 no windows, just prayers, and then closing my eyes on the way up -- lots of claustrophobic thoughts were going through my head ;)

 up at the top -- peering down at St. Louis through the windows

 there's Busch Stadium where the Cardinals play!

 up at the top -- inside the Arch! you can see the sign behind us... we were 630 feet up in the air!

the boys FaceTimed Nana from the top!

more St. Louis pics to come!

soccer shots {grayson}

Here are a few pics from Grayson's game this weekend. He continues to play left defender, but has also been playing right midfielder as well. He scored two goals on Saturday! :) 

In other Grayson notes, his feet are officially bigger than mine and he comes up to my nose. Will he be taller than me before he starts middle school?!? 

ku football opener

We headed up to Lawrence on Saturday for the opening game of KU's football season. It was crazy hot, sticky, and humid... but we had lots of fun!

 Hi there, Baby Jay!

 playing some games on the practice turf

 Carter got his face painted...

 and Grayson got a cool football balloon hat!

 But, our poor Jayhawks couldn't quite get the job done, losing 41-38. Bummer. :(

sunflower state

We have a huge field of sunflowers behind our neighborhood and it just burst into blooms!

 here's an idea of just HOW TALL the sunflowers are!!

the boys have picked two bouquets for me this week... so sweet :)

carter lost his 4th tooth!

Carter lost his 4th tooth last week with the help of Grayson! I loved watching both of their faces...

academy affiliate weekend {2015}

Grayson's soccer club headed to Kansas City for the Academy Affiliate weekend in mid-August. They played two friendlies against teams from Arkansas and Omaha, and we were able to go to the Sporting KC game on Saturday night. It was an action-packed fun weekend!

 G doing a throw-in -- see the ball way up there?!?

 sporting (no pun intended) the new uniforms this year

 with one of the Sporting players after a friendly -- Ike Opara

 Swope Soccer Village is where the friendlies were held. It's also home to the Sporting KC practice facilities, and where the FC Kansas City (girls) play. It's a beautiful setting, with lots of trees and foliage surrounding it.

 That evening, we headed out to Sporting Park!

Carter was trying some barefoot shooting here ;)

 G standing below the Sporting Wichita Rojos logo that is now at Sporting Park

 Jerry and Carter look like they belong with Dom Dwyer ;)

 Teagan and Grayson posing with Zusi and Dwyer

 We were sticky and hot, but had a great night rooting on Sporting! They came from behind in a dramatic finish, and beat Vancouver 4-3!!