A Soccer Weekend

Over the long holiday weekend a couple of weeks ago when we had Lukey and Kenzie staying with us, Kenzie had a couple of days of soccer tournaments so we spent quite a bit of time at soccer games.  One of the days was rainy and we left soaked but the next day was quite a nice autumn day which was a very welcomed change after the rainy and chilly day.

Kenzie is doing quite well in soccer now.  Actually...  I believe she is the leading scorer for her team this year and she has a few assists!  She is certainly one of the fastest on the field and she is able to put quite a bit of power into her kicks.  Occasionally, she plays on the defensive line and does well there as well stealing balls, blocking shots and passes, and disrupting the opposing team's offense but I feel she is far more useful on the offensive line.  It is really fun watching her excel in soccer now.

On the way to the soccer tournament, below...  I think she is trying to get her head in the right frame of mind for soccer...  or she was about to take a short nap...  or she was simply trying to ignore Lukey!

Lukey looks a bit wound up...  which might explain why Kenzie looks as though she is trying to ignore him...

On the first day of the tournament, the weather was so wet and chilly that I was going to leave all my photography gear at home.  At the last minute, I chose to take only my smallest compact camera.  This little camera has a lens permanently affixed to it so there is no option of different focal lengths so it is a severely limited tool for a soccer game but I figured I would have a far easier time using this compact camera with one hand while I held an umbrella with my other hand.  I had never used this camera for action and I have to say that it did surprisingly well!  The only thing I missed was longer reach.  

This first day was a lousy day for watching soccer.  By the time I got in the car to head home, I was completely soaked and quite cold.  I truly don't care for wet clothes, mud, or any environment that I find uncomfortable since retiring from the Air Force.  Camping is definitely off the table for me!  Unfortunately, this first game was wet and chilly and I left the stands completely soaked.  The car was about a half mile away and I couldn't get to it quickly enough!

Oh...  then when we got home, I was trying to make dinner as quickly as possible since it was already late (Chinese beef and green onion) and carelessly dropped the chef's knife which sliced through my thumb in mid-air (it is an exceptionally sharp knife).  That wound is still healing but it is healing well.

While we were waiting for one of Kenzie's games to begin, I shot some photos of Lukey and the scenery around the field (which can be seen farther down below).

Lukey used one of my little cameras for a short while.  He does a good job but, more recently, he seems to lose interest in shooting photos pretty quickly.  On this day, after shooting some photos, he went over to a different field to kick a soccer ball around with Ace and some other kids...

A Turkey Vulture was flying overhead most of the day...

Liza, John, Ace and Sophia joined us at the field to watch Kenzie too!

This next black and white photo, below, was shot with my little Fuji X30 compact camera.  I really like this little camera!  Here is Sophia...

Lukey shot this next photo of Ace using my Panasonic GX8.  I like the black and white output of the Panasonic cameras more than the color output...

At the end of the long weekend, we dropped Lukey off at his dad's house and then brought Kenzie to a short practice session near her home (which is an hour from our house).  After this short practice, we dropped her off at home.  Lukey's dad brought him to his hockey practice later that evening since there was no way we could get to both on time.  Honestly, I don't enjoy time in cars in the least so anything longer than 45 minutes in a car really grates on my nerves and negatively impacts my health including my spinal injuries.  The longer I am in a car, the more pain and more health issues I must endure.  That being said, there wasn't the time to get the kids to practices in opposite directions so that wasn't even an option regardless of how I feel about time spent in cars.

We had a great time with Lukey and Kenzie over the long four day weekend and we especially enjoyed watching Kenzie play soccer!