Sebastian is playing 7v7 soccer this winter with his PCU team. They've played three games so far, all against older opponents (16-17 year olds), and have won all three matches. The games are quick, two 20-minute halves and no breaks for subs or throw-ins. It's been fun to watch, and fun to watch Seb bonding with some new players and teammates.
Liesl decided to try out for the 6th grade basketball team at her middle school -- she made the team, despite not playing basketball for 4th and 5th grades -- and has been enjoying her new teammates and learning new skills. The team kicked off the season with a double-header on Saturday morning. The girls played great, with a lot of focus and intensity on defense, and more skill in dribbling, passing, and shooting than I expected. It was a lot of fun to watch. They won both matches, 38-22 and 29-10.
We got a Christmas tree from Teufel's nursery again this year -- it's a 2-minute drive from home and is always unfancy and uncrowded. Steve and Liesl picked out an enormous tree - both tall and wide. We had to trim some branches off the bottom to get it to fit nicely into our living room, and I admit I was skeptical. But now that it's up and decorated, I have to admit it's a lovely tree and I'm glad.
On Sunday it snowed! Much of Portland got flurries and a dusting, but up here we had a few inches of very wet, packable snow. Perfect for snow balls and snow people and very happy doggos.
Liesl and Ella enjoying post-snow hot chocolate and a movie - Slumberland.
After a month-long hiatus, Sebastian's next soccer season has started in earnest. He had a week of really intense practices -- 45 minutes of conditioning, 90+ minute practices -- that were stressful and exhausting. He was pretty nervous going in, as it's his first full season with this team and he'd really like to make the Red 2 team (there are four teams, and that would be the second-best). The first day featured multiple sprint-laps during conditioning, and then even more during practice. The second day they worked on pushups, situps, and sprints, and then more running during practice. The kid could barely walk. But he said he played pretty well and was happy with his overall first week.
On the weekend, the two Red teams were signed up to play in a local tournament -- three games, Friday through Sunday. I missed the first game because it was mid-afternoon and I was at work, which was a shame because Seb said he played amazingly well. He started the game at center attacking midfield and played for the first 30 minutes of the first half. He subbed out and then came back in 5-10 minutes into the second half, and finished out the game. He was connecting with friends Lincoln and Oliver on passes through the midfield, he was making passes to the forwards, and getting back on defense. His team won 1-0. All in all, a terrific start to the season, and he was so happy and relieved.
The second game was on Saturday in the late afternoon and it was unbelievably cold. I was wearing multiple layers, and two pairs of gloves, and was wrapped in a Rumpl blanket, and it was still freezing. 34 degrees, dark, wet, with a gusting wind. Seb made it through the first half okay but was just unable to function in the second half -- he said his hands were so cold that he couldn't run or think about soccer. They tied the second game 1-1.
The third game was cancelled because of snow, thank goodness. It would have been terrible to play in Sunday's weather. We'll need to upgrade his base layers and make sure he has handwarmers before his next games and tournaments. They have friendly 7v7 scrimmages starting this weekend, a tournament in Tacoma in January, and then the season begins in late January.
