Anna Banana

Anna is 13 now and in the 8th grade. I don't know who really likes jr. high but Anna seems to be having a great time. She is on the 8th grade basketball team and doing really great (especially for a soccer player). She is in advanced classes and a member of the National Jr. Honor Society. She was also just chosen student of the month. I was reading some older posts and realized that she was student of the month last year in Dec. too. Too funny! Anna is still playing competitive soccer. It's been a rough year with many changes for her team, but she is hanging in there. She got selected to be in ODP which is the Olympic Development Program for the state of AZ. Anna is growing like a weed and I can't believe how big she is getting! Makes me a little sad that my babies are growing up.

Sevie

Kayla is in 7th grade this year. Our little sevie! I can hardly believe it. Both girls have moved on from Bellair and are attending Desert Sky. Kayla loves jr. high and is doing great! She is is in advanced classes and making straight A's. She won a math award earlier this year, participated in the geography bee (nerd) and is on the 7th grade basketball team. I crack up at that b/c she is so small, but she is a really good point guard and is co captain of the team. Kayla is still playing soccer, but not with Anna. She transfered to the 97 Girls Black team and is enjoying her new team and teammates. She actually has a friend (Kylie) who is her size. Their trainer calls them the twin towers. Another big change is that Kayla is now in the youth group. It is weird having our own kids in the group, but it's been great. Kayla usually kicks everyone's butts in the games on Wednesday nights which makes the high school boys nuts. Go KK!

Career Ending Injury

Earlier this year Ryan and I were playing in a coed indoor soccer league. "Were" is the operative word. He's still playing, but I'm sidelined with a knee injury. I tore my ACL, MCL and meniscus in a game when I collided with a 250lb man. Not realizing how much damage I had done... I kept playing. Brillant I know and just two days before our RV trip with Ryan's family. The funny thing is I wanted to quit, (b/c I suck) but Ryan convinced me to keep playing. I blame him for it all. LOL! I had to have surgery in Sept. and now 5 months and $3,000 later I'm still limping and can't bend my leg all the way. It's getting better though and my new brace is bright red! I'm pretty sure I won't ever be playing soccer again which is no great loss to the soccer world....ha ha.

Where In the World Are the Goebel 4

One of my friends asked me the other day when I was going to update my blog. To tell you the truth...this year has been so crazy that I totally forgot about it. I pulled it up today and began reading some of my posts. It was cool to go back and look at the things we've done over the past several years....so....my New Year's Resolution for 2010 is to update my blog weekly. Even if no one reads it but my family (because I make them) and Christy (because she's cool that way) at least I have it as kind of a diary. So watch for updates soon.

MORE THAN A GAME

Anna and Kayla play soccer at CCV which is a local church in town. I love playing for a Christian club. Not only do they value God and family, but they also promote good sportsmanship and character. The club motto is MORE THAN A GAME. This motto became very real to our girls last weekend in state cup. (Where most of the teams are NOT Christian teams.)

OUR STORY from the 96 GIRLS BLACK

MORE THAN A GAME became real to our girls during state cup this year. After winning on Saturday, the girls advanced to the next round and were playing a tough game against Freedom Fuego out of Tucson. It was an important game for both teams. The winner would move on to the semi finals but the losing team would be knocked out of state cup. We were down 1-0 at the half. A few minutes into the second half of the game one of the Fuego players took a hard kicked ball right in the face. She was knocked out immediately. She fell to the ground and didn't get up. For a moment, no one noticed that she wasn't moving and play continued. Finally, the ref realized what was happening and blew the whistle. As the Fuego coaches and trainers ran out onto the field it became apparent that this was very serious. Immediately, our girls circled up on the field and began praying for the injured player. Our parents and coaches on the sidelines huddled up and also began to pray. As the paramedics arrived, the player was conscious, but barely moving. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital. It was a scary situation for all. The refs continued the game, but our girls hearts weren't in it. They couldn't get their minds off the injured player that was carried off the field on a stretcher. Somehow, winning didn't seem very important anymore. The girls were even willing to forfeit the game. It ended with a 2-0 loss, knocking us out of state cup, but the girls weren't concerned with the score. They only wanted to find out how the injured player was. A few of our parents went over to pray with the other team's parents and many more expressed their concern. The Fuego parents were blown away by the love that our team showed them. They said that they have never seen anything like that in competitive soccer before. We kept in touch with their team over the next few days and got regular updates on their injured player. We are happy to report that she is doing well. She had a minor concussion and black eye, but is recovering nicely. That isn't the end of the our story though. The Fuego team played the next weekend at Reach 11 and our players and parents were there on the sidelines to cheer them on. The girls brought a get well card for the injured player who unfortunately, had to sit out that game. The Fuego parents and players were so excited to see us there and couldn't believe that we would show up to support them. They hugged us, thanked us and took lots of pictures. They said that we were the classiest team they have ever met. We know that this is only the beginning of a long lasting friendship between the two teams!

This is what MORE THAN A GAME is all about. It's not about who wins the most games or takes home the biggest trophy. It's about character and sportsmanship and letting the light of Jesus shine through us. What a great lesson for our girls. We are different. We are CCV STARS!

Eagle Eye is a Lucky Duck

My husband has to be one of the luckiest people alive. Besides marrying me, of course, he has a habit of finding the most random things in the most random locations. When we first got married he found a tv in a ditch. It had been there for months before he brought it home. It had been rained on, snowed on, and who knows what else....but somehow, Ryan got it to work and we are still using it almost 15 years later. Over the years he has found a brand new wet suit, an assortment of tools, money, and who knows what else on the side of the road. I don't know how he spots these things, but now, every time he starts to say..."what's that?" the girls yell, "Dad...don't stop...just keep driving!"

When we were in Vegas last weekend Ryan spotted something in the bushes on the strip. Don't ask me how...eagle eye strikes again...Usually I get annoyed when he stops, but this time I was glad because in the bushes he found an ipod Touch. Are you freakin' kidding me! LUCKY DUCK! It looks almost brand new! We kept it of course because seriously, who are you going to turn it in to in the middle of the strip in Las Vegas?! He took it back to the hotel, erased the memory and downloaded our stuff. The story gets even better. Now I know what you're thinking...how is that possible? But it does....when we were in Vegas in January, Ryan found some cords for an ipod. We didn't have an ipod, but Ryan kept them anyway and it's a good thing he did because....fast forward to Vegas 3 months later....he found an ipod.

Indoor Outdoor

Tonight we had our second indoor game which was actually outdoors. I cracked up when I saw the sign next to the bench that said Beware of Snakes. Only in Phoenix. It was much easier playing this week! I could acutally breathe. I also wised up and didn't eat pizza before the game (and Kim didn't throw up at halftime.) I played mostly defense....but was on offense for a few minutes. I managed to dink the ball to Ryan right in front of the goal and he put it in! Go Goebels!!!!!

The other team had a Ginobili. He was such a faker! Our guys got 5 blue cards because of this guy. When you get a blue card you have to go down 1 man for 2 minutes. It was lame....but oh well....It was still a lot of fun! Here are some pics that Kayla took.

Soccer Moms Can Play Too

A group of soccer parents decided to play in an indoor coed soccer league. Not really sure what possessed me to agree to this mad plan. I've never played soccer before and watching and playing are definitely not the same thing. The other moms and I were assured that is was very low key and very recreational so we decided to give it a go. Our first game was this past Friday night. Anna was having her birthday party so we brought all the girls from the soccer team to watch our big debut! When we got there the whole "recreational" thing pretty much flew right out the window. There were girls there that play college soccer! How recreational can that be? That should have been my first clue that I was in way over my head. My second clue was when the team we were playing showed up in full matching uniform, were all Hispanic and 20! The panic set in and I wanted to cut and run right there, but the other soccer moms blocked my path to the door. So....we played and surprisingly enough I didn't suck too bad. Although, after the first 10 minutes I thought I was going to die. Even though I work out several times a week I was sucking wind so bad and the pizza I had for dinner was sitting like a rock in my stomach. One mom went and threw up at the half then came back and played her little heart out! I played defense the entire game and besides the fact that I couldn't breath I loved it. I actually stole the ball a couple of times and got in a few good body slams! We lost the game 9-4 but all in all....not to shabby I think. I must say that this was the most fun I have had in a long time. The girls were great fans! They yelled and cheered the entire game and were so proud of us when it was over. Today my body feels like I got hit by a truck and I can barely move, but I can't wait to play again on Friday!

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY ANNA

My firstborn turned 13 on Saturday. She is now officially a teenager! I can't believe it! Where have the years gone? Happy birthday Anna....WE LOVE YOU!

You Might Be A Redneck If....

You might be a redneck if....your mom cuts your hair in the parking lot of Red Robin. Of course I myself would never do anything like this. Even if I needed a trim really bad and I was too cheap to pay for one!

I'm the Alfalfa

Ryan's parents came in town from IN this week. In the nine years we have lived in Phoenix, they have only been here 3 times. We were glad that the weather was so beautiful and that they finally got to see the girls play soccer. On Monday, we played hooky (shhh don't tell) and took them hiking in the Superstition Mountains. Let me just tell you that Kayla is a monster! That girl could hike circles around anyone. Halfway up the mountain she looked at me and said, "Look Mom! I'm the leader of the pack. I'm the Alfalfa!" I just cracked up laughing...That girl never says anything right. I told her she meant Alpha. Ryan looks back and sees his mom struggling up the hill. He said, "yeah Kayla...you're the Alpha and Ma is the Omega!"

The Great Cookie Sabotage

A group of us at school are participating in our own version of the Biggest Loser. My team is called the Scale Smashers and I know we're going to win. I know this because I am fiercely competitive and I can't stand to lose! In fact, I hate losing so much that I will do whatever I deem necessary to win... even if that involves sabatoge.

So begins the Great Cookie Sabatoge of '09....
Yesterday, one of my students brought in treats for her birthday. I told her that I didn't want a cookie, but wouldn't it be great if she went and offered one to Mrs. Chaves (she is on the OTHER team)... So she did and Chaves took the bait. I never thought it would be so easy. I think she swallowed the cookie whole then licked the napkin for good measure. So funny, but I should have known she wouldn't go down without a fight. Today, I got a special delivery from my "secret admirer"....(aka....Chaves). It was a coke (does that woman know my weakness or what). But you can't trick the tricker....I told my class that if they worked quietly until the end of Social Studies I would draw a name and that person would win the coke. When I had my winner I had them take a paper to Mrs. Chaves and told them to make sure that she saw them drinking the Coke. Needless to say she was none to pleased. LOL!

I call this a twofer. I got 20 minutes of peace and quiet (which is very rare in my classroom) and I got back at Chaves.
All I have to say is...BRING IT!

soccer pics

Isn't she a doll?!

Kayla's wild ponytails!

Anna loves to slide tackle the other team

Anna in the heat of battle

Coach Freddy

Back to My Roots

I can say from first hand experience that blondes do not have more fun and let me tell you....it's a real pain trying to keep up those roots. I decided it was time for a change. A BIG change! So I went back to my roots. I'm pretty sure my natural color is somewhere around a medium brown, but I've been coloring my hair for so long that I can't be sure. It's pretty dark right now, but should lighten up in a week or so. I really like it although my students weren't too sure. They'll get used to it.

Never Mind

Kayla tried to poison her dad in Vegas. Hard to believe I know. She looks so sweet and innocent. HA HA! Here's the story....
Sunday night Ryan started munching on some celery that we had in our hotel room. With his mouth full he asked whose celery it was. Kayla sat up in bed and said, "I wouldn't eat that if I were you." Ryan asked why. Kayla just looked at him and said, "Never mind" and lay back down. Ryan asked her again why he shouldn't eat it and she said, "Well I dumped my contact solution out in it." Needless to say Ryan spit out what he was chewing. We all cracked up! How is the kid gonna say never mind when she knew what she did? Crazy Kayla!

Viva Las Vegas 2

The girls gave it their all. They played their little hearts out, but in the end were one point shy of making the semi finals. No one was too upset. We were proud of the way they played and the definitely proved that they can hold their own against the out of state teams. Sunday after the game everyone got together to watch the Cardinals game. At least one AZ team won that day. It was really exciting! After they game all of the families went down to the strip. The Vegas strip at night was a big culture shock for the girls. Now they know why it is refered to as Sin City. They did have fun at the M&M and Coke stores and they loved watching the water at the Bellagio. They also enjoyed seeing all the different hotels like the MGM Grand and New York New York.

We slept in on Monday, since there was no school, then hit the buffet one more time before we left. When we got to the parking garage we realized that sometime during the weekend someone stole the stuff out of the back of our truck. We had some heaters, propane tanks and a few other things. Probably about $300-$400 worth of stuff. It could have been worse though. They didn't mess up the truck so that was a blessing and stuff can be replaced. I jokingly told Ryan that we lost big in Vegas and we didn't even gamble. We got home about 7:30 that night. It was a great trip, but we were exhausted! We have another tournament this weekend, but luckily it is in Phoenix this time.

Viva Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas except on my blog. Unlike the majority of the people that come to Vegas, we came to Sin City for a soccer tournament...the Vegas Cup. It's our first ever out of state tournament. The girls were bummed that Freddy (our coach) couldn't come, but they were super excited to go out of town! Our team is staying at the Santa Fe Station Hotel. They have a movie theater, bowling alley, arcade and food court. The service has been excellent and besides the smell of smoke, it has been great! We managed to get most of our rooms togther so the girls are having fun running back and forth from room to room. Today we had 2 games. We weren't really sure how we would stack up against some of the out of state teams, but we did well. We beat the first team, FC Vegas Copa, 4-1. Anna got a goal (woohoo) and CC got a hat trick! (That means 3 goals for some of you non sports people.) We played the Colorado Rush in the afternoon. We were tied 1-1 most of the game and then they got a last minute goal to beat us 2-1. Not too bad, but unfortunately not good enough. We are in 2nd place right now. We either need to win tomorrow or Colorado needs to lose for us to advance to the semi finals. It's going to take a miracle to make that happen though. We are playing the hardest team, San Diego Surf and CO plays Vegas, the easiest team. The good news is that miracles can happen. Look at the Cardinals! Maybe tomorrow will be Arizona's day. We will win and so will the Cards!
After the games we came back to the hotel and everyone went Cosmic bowling. It was a blast! Well...now it's curfew so I am going to go to bed. I will post an update tomorrow.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!

Principal's List

When I was in school being on the Principal's List was never a good thing. But for the girls, being on the Principal's List is a very good thing. It means that they made straight A's. I am so proud of both of my girls for making Principal's List this quarter. We are planning on getting double scholarships for soccer and academics. Woohoo! Way to go Goebel Girls! They get their brains from their mother you know.

Soccer- It IS A Contact Sport

If you don't believe soccer is a contact sport you should have been at our game yesterday. Just ask Abbey. Instead of going home after the game, she went to the hospital with a broken wrist. Our team has been playing competitive soccer for several years and know that it can be a very physical game. Physical is one thing, but when the girls start trying to "take out players" instead of going for the ball the refs need to step in. I was extrememly disapointed in the refs yesterday. They were a bunch of young guys who really didn't care what happened. They let it get out of control (on both sides) and Abbey ended up paying for it. All in all, yesterday's game was not much fun. I probably shouldn't have been, but I was very surprised at the mouths of the girls on the other team. Talk about potty mouths. Geesh! These girls are only 12 and 13, but you should have heard them. They were talking trash and dropping the F bomb! Anna said most of the kids at her school talk that way. The part that made me the most upset was that they actually cheered when Abbey got hurt. How sad! I am so thankful that my children are playing in a Christian club and for a coach that teaches them sportsmanship and respect for others.

By the way...we tied the game 1-1.