COMMITTED!

Kayla finally committed!  No, not to the funny farm...but, to Eastern Washington University to play soccer!  She is an Eagle! Eastern is in Cheney, Washington just outside of Spokane. They are a D1 school in the Big Sky Conference which just happens to be the same conference as NAU! They girls are now official rivals! It should be fun around here next year!

High School Soccer

Our last year of high school soccer at O'Connor! It's turning out to be a great season so far. Kayla is captain and moved from defense to play forward. 1st time that she's ever played forward but she's the leading scorer with 6 goals so far! She's also leading in goals and points for her division!

Operation Christmas Child

NAU Student-Athletes Give Back to the Community in Operation Christmas Child

Nov 25, 2014

 

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona student-athletes are always giving back to the community of Flagstaff and this past weekend, the freshmen class held Operation Christmas Child to start spreading the holiday cheer.

In an educational psychology class taught by Athletics Assistant Director of Academic Services, Megan Greene, and Academic Coordinator, Stephanie Hamilton, the two were able to organize 78 of NAU’s freshmen student-athletes and complete a total of 156 hours of community service towards Operation Christmas Child.

“Operation Christmas Child was a lot of fun and I am glad I was able to help out with it,” said football wide receiver Dan Galindo. “Preparing the gifts for the kids in need is a great feeling knowing that it will make them very happy once they open their gifts. Volunteering is a great privilege and I definitely want to help out any I can.”

Lumberjack athletes wrapped shoe boxes with Christmas paper and then wrote cards that were placed inside the shoe boxes. These boxes will then get stuffed with goodies for children in need and the presents go all around the world.

“Getting a chance to participate in Operation Christmas Child was a really great experience for me,” said soccer forward Anna Goebel. “Every year my mom, my sister and I always try to participate in Operation Christmas Child and it was nice to be able to do that when I am away from home.”

The class is designed to help students transition from high school to college, teaching the students about leadership. The Lumberjacks took on the leadership role and started off the holiday season by giving back. 

Intervention

The girl needs help!  Can someone do an intervention?!

Text Gone Wrong

All of the parents had to work a shift at the ECNL tournament this weekend.  I signed up to work at the college coaches booth. Basically we just made sure they signed in, got a player book and had plenty of snacks. Kayla went with me and sent this text message to Anna.....
                                               

ECNL Tournament

Kayla and her team rocked it at the ECNL tournament this weekend! They played teams from Chicago, North Carolina and Dallas and won all of their games! There were a ton of college scouts there and Kayla got a lot of interest from coaches. Now she's just ready to lock down where she will be playing next year!

WAY TO GO DEL SOL 97!

NCAA Tournament

After winning their conference, Anna and her NAU soccer team had the change to compete in the first round of the NCAA playoffs of Saturday night! They played against ASU which was great for us because we could actually go to the game. It was a sold out crowd and I believe there were more NAU fans than ASU fans.  NAU put up a great fight but lost to ASU 2-4. Still what a great experience it was for those girls! Thanks for such a great freshman season NAU!

The gang was all there!

Griffey loves him some soccer players!

Anna and GT

Anna and her BFF Brooke!

Divisons 1 BIG SKY CHAMPIONS

The NAU women's soccer team won the Big Sky Championships! Now it's off to round 1 of the NCAA tournament! The Jacks will be playing ASU on Saturday night at 7:00 in Tempe.























Recap of the tournament:
Montana was seeded first in the division so they hosted the tournament in Missoula.  NAU went in as the #3 seed and played Eastern Washington (#6 seed) in the first round of playoffs. Eastern Washington had beaten NAU earlier in the season but in a very tough fought match NAU pulled off a 3-2 win.

Idaho (#4 seed) played Idaho State (#5 seed) with Idaho State winning that game.
Montana and Portland State got byes the first round.

In the second round NAU played Portland State (#2 seed) whom they tied in regular season play. It was another close game but ended in a 2-1 victory for NAU

Idaho State (#5 seed) knocked off Montana (#1 seed) to compete in the championship game against the Jacks! The game was tough.  It was pouring down rain and 37 degrees.  Both teams fought hard but NAU was victorious!!!

The game was broadcast over the internet so we were able to watch the Jacks go on to victory. Anna actually got to go in for a few minutes in the first half!  She was so pumped.  After the game she called me and said, "Mom, I've never won anything significant in my life before!"

The team flew into the Phoenix airport that night so Grammy, GT, Kayla and I....along with some friend went to welcome the champions back! We had signs and chanted N A U...NAU as they got off the plane.  We also gave them packets of mashed potatoes that said Way to Smash 'Em! (they beat Idaho...get it?  Potatoes?) The girls were excited to see some fans but so tired. They got back to NAU about 2:30 to a crowd of NAU students/athletes congratulating them!

Halloween 2014

It wasn't too hard to guess what Kayla would be for Halloween. The girl loves her some donuts! You can't tell in the picture but she is wearing Krispy Kreme boxers and donut shoes!  Gotta love this crazy kid and her creativity!

We spent Halloween at Anna's soccer game. If you wore a costume you got into the game for  free.  Mom and Marcy thought that their Halloween shirts and pumpkin earrings counted as a costume. I told them it wouldn't and that Kayla was the only one wearing a real costume. They tried to give the guy at the gate the business, but he wasn't having any of it. Luckily Anna had left us passes at the box office so they got in free any way.

Big Sky Championship

Anna and her team head to Montana today to face up against Eastern Washington in the first round of the Big Sky Championships!  The game is Thursday at 11:00 am mst.
Go Jacks!  Kick some AXE!

NAU STRONG  Click the link to read more about the Lady Lumberjacks!

Sweater Girl

HS soccer tryouts are this week....which leads to the beginning of hell month. The club girls go from high school practice after school to club practice after that. It's a long few weeks for them!

It's funny to me how a kid can show up for tryouts in HS for a sport they've never played before. Usually they don't make it past day three when they realize how much running is involved.
You can always spot those kids right away. Last year a girl showed up wearing her shin guards on the outside of her socks. This year it was "Sweater Girl". Kayla came home the first day of tryouts and said, "Mom this girl wore a sweater to tryouts today.  A wool sweater!'  Then yesterday I asked Kayla how sweater girl was and she said, "It was worse!  Today she wore leggings! She looked like a ballerina!"

It's gonna be a fun season!

Way to Go Idaho

I took Kayla to Spokane, Washington for a soccer camp/college visit last week. She is really interested in going to Eastern Washington University to play soccer next year. Not sure what attracted her to the school. Maybe the fact that they are in the same conference as NAU which means she will get to play against her sister! She had a great camp and really liked the soccer coaches. The campus is beautiful and especially this time of year when the leaves are changing colors. EWU  is in Cheney, a small town just a few miles outside of Spokane. One of her teammates, Maria,  also went to the camp and flew back with us on Saturday!  When Kayla found out that Idaho was only 30 minutes from Spokane, she made me drive her there to get a potato.  Apparently "Get a potato from Idaho" is on her bucket list.  What we didn't know is that most of the potato farms are on the east side of Idaho, not the west. We tried to find a farmer's market, but they were closed so we went to an organic food store. First time for that too, but at least Kayla can check that off her bucket list.  No telling what else is on that list!

SANTA!!!!

And in the off season, Santa apparently drives a bus in Idaho.  No joke! 

Anna and her team traveled to Idaho last weekend for soccer and were picked up at the airport by the jolly old man himself.

Anna made him show her his driver's license and his legal name really is Santa Claus.

He even has a tattoo of Rudolph on his arm.

I told her to tell him that I've been extra good this year.  Hope he believes it!

That Ain't Mickey- Part II

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something run around the corner and into the pantry. That something was a mouse!  (Pause for a  MAJOR FREAKOUT MOMENT!)

I quickly put something over the crack at the bottom of the pantry so it wouldn't escape and then waited patiently for Kayla to come home. Ok....so I wasn't very patient...I was pacing back and forth on top of the couch as I looked up the number for our realtor.  TIME TO MOVE! No way I'm living in the house with a mouse.

FINALLY Kayla got home and after she had her own FREAKOUT MOMENT we came up with a plan. Not sure how good it was, but I've got too much crap to move so the only other option was to get the mouse out. Using the kitchen table, couch cushions and cardboard we built a pathway to the back door which we left open. I got on a chair on one side of the pantry with the broom and Kayla stood on a chair with the Swiffer on the other side. The first try was an epic fail!  When the mouse stuck his head out we screamed so loud I'm surprised the neighbors didn't call the police.  It seriously sounded like someone was getting murdered.

We regrouped and tried again. This time it actually worked! The mouse ran down our little pathway and out the back door....which I quickly shut behind him!

Kayla and I begin jumping up and down high fiveing each other. What a rush! We were so pumped up we decided to go out and celebrate. When we went outside all of the neighbors were standing at the end of our driveway. We thought for sure they had heard us screaming and called the police. Luckily they hadn't. They were looking for a lost dog and asked us to help. Kayla and I were like no problem...we got this. We got rid of a mouse, we can find a dog. We are awesome.  Well....we are awesome, but we didn't find the dog. 

update: The dog was found safe and sound and returned to his owner! 

That Ain't Mickey Part 1

I am terrified of mice! TERRIFIED! In fact I'd much rather run into that rattle snake in the dark then a mouse. With that being said....over the last few weeks I've had several run-ins with these nasty little creatures.

The first was all Bruce's fault. Bruce is our pool cleaner and when he stopped working I figured he sucked up a rock. That was no rock. It was a dead baby mouse. I couldn't just leave it, and there's no one else to do it, so I had to put on my big girl panties and take charge. Kayla and I tried to flush it out with a hose, but when that didn't work I had to pull it out by it's tail. It was completely disgusting! I get the willies just thinking about it!

SNAKE!

This is not the actual snake I saw. I'm pretty sure the one I saw was much bigger!

The other night I went to take the trash out. It was dark....I was barefoot....and this thing was lurking just outside my garage door. Thank goodness I saw him before I stepped on him. It caught me off guard, but luckily he slithered away. From now on I will only take the trash out during the day when I am wearing shoes!

Water Wing Wonder

Why has Kayla been walking around with a water wing on her arm for the past week?  I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.  

Kidding! Apparently it is all part of a game called Assassin. Kids  form groups of 4 and then attempt to eliminate players on the other teams using water guns. There are rules about where and when you can eliminate someone and it all has to be caught on video. If you are wearing a water wing you can't be shot.  You look completely ridiculous of course, but safety first. 

Tonight Kayla and her friend tried to ambush a girl outside of the Olive Garden when she busted out the water wing.  Epic Fail!

TOUCHDOWN!

September 15, 2014
7:00pm
O'Connor High School Powder Puff Football Game
Junior girls vs. Senior Girls

MVP- SENIOR KAYLA GOEBEL

Seriously the girl killed it! She's a beast! She scored 2 touchdowns to win it for the senior girls 14-7! Her 2nd touchdown was a pick 6.  After bouncing off of 2 people, Kayla scooped up the ball seconds before it hit the ground and ran it back 60 yards for a touchdown!  The cheerleaders (football players dressed as cheerleaders) ran onto the field and carried her off on their shoulders!  It was so freakin exciting!  I yelled so hard the next day I didn't have a voice!  She was definitely the hero. The boys wanted to recruit her for the Varsity football team!  HA HA!

She's a BEAST!

Seniors vs. Juniors

SENIORS RULE!

LET'S DO THIS!

THANKS TO ALL OF KAYLA'S FANS FOR COMING OUT TO SUPPORT!

College Girl

It's been awhile since I've been able to post. What can I say?  Life happens and around here...it's non stop craziness. Anna is enjoying her time up at NAU. She loves to call me and brag about how cool the weather is in Flagstaff. I can't wait until winter when she's snowed in and I'm sitting by the pool enjoying the beautiful 60 degree winter weather in Phoenix!

Soccer is going well. Anna loves her team! She's had to learn some tough lessons though.  When you go from playing all the time to riding the bench it's hard, but the kid has handled it like a pro! She works hard and has a great attitude and all of her teammates love her! I couldn't be more proud. She has gotten bits of playing time here and there and scored her first college goal last week against GCU! For Anna it was extra sweet to score on GCU because 2 former club teammates play for them.    Now they call Anna they "Antelope Axer" because she took down the Grand Canyon Antelopes. (By the way....Antelopes is a seriously dumb mascot for a college team.)

The soccer roster at NAU is huge...about 40 girls. Because it is so big not everyone travels to away games. Usually they take about 20 girls. Making the roster is a big deal! Anna was super excited to make the roster last week when they traveled to UTEP.  I was able to watch the live feed which was exciting until Anna got clocked and taken out of the game. Because there was no sound I couldn't tell if she was really hurt or what. She called me after the game mad as a hornet because the ref made her come off the field. Apparently there is a new rule that if you get hit in the head you have to come off right away. Good rule, but Anna didn't get back on so she was really upset. However.... she is extremely thankful for any playing time that she gets.

This weekend is family weekend and KK and I will be driving up to Flagstaff tonight. Grammy, Aunt Amy, Malone, Aunt Marcy and Cousin Timmy will be coming up tomorrow to see NAU take Portland State. The girls are on a 4 game winning streak right now! Go JACKS!

Here are some recent pics of Anna and a link to her interview after the game.  OH YEAH....she also signed her first autographs!!!!

Anna's Interview

KAYLA HAD ANNA AUTOGRAPH HER LEG!  THEY LOVE EACH OTHER!

THE GIRLS ARE EXCITED AFTER ANOTHER NAU WIN!

ANNA MADE THE NAU ATHLETICS FRONT COVER AFTER SCORING HER FIRST COLLEGIATE GOAL!

ANNA SIGNING HER FIRST AUTOGRAPH!

Throwback Thursday (again)

Realized that all my posts have been about Anna lately.  Didn't want the little one to think that she wasn't the favorite any more so here is flashback to a junior high Kayla!

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday to the 5th grade Science Fair!

Anna's 5th grade teacher sent this to me today.  Not gonna lie....I teared up a little.  About to send this little girl off to college in 3 days!  Struggling a bit.  Gonna miss her so much!!  So excited for her though!  What an awesome adventure she is about to begin! 

The Last Episode 4- Team Party

Last night we had the very last team for party for Anna's club team.  All of the girls will be leaving in the next few weeks for college.  Altogether they have earned over $800,000 in scholarships! So proud of these girls. It was a sad night, but also fun to look back and see how they have grown.  Always sad to close one chapter of your life, but excited for the new ones to come.