World Cup Watch Party

Nashville Soccer Club had a watch party this morning for the World Cup Final at Von Elrod's - a beer garden next to the stadium where NSC plays their games.  We got there an hour before the game started to get seats.  Inside was filling up but the outdoor seating had just been wiped down from a morning rainstorm so we got front row seats for a 20 ft jumbotron.

It got packed fast after that!  I'm not sure they expected so many people.  NSC reps and a few players showed up about 30 minutes before the game.  Since we are season ticket holders, we got vouchers for a free beer or pretzel.  Brian got in line after getting the vouchers and finally joined us to watch the game at the 15 minute mark.

Our view of the game ...

Cuddling with Dad :)

Carter and I were cheering for Croatia - he was a little frustrated that they weren't scoring while playing so well the first half.

Rylan was cheering for France so he was super happy during the second half.

The rain held off until the last 15 minutes of the game and luckily never got too bad for us.  It was actually kind of nice after the sun had been blazing down for a bit.  Gray and Carter hung out under the table to stay dry which worked out well for them.

It was fun watching the game with a big crowd and I think the boys enjoyed the atmosphere as well.  They probably paid more attention to the game than if we'd stayed home to watch it.  Plus Carter got to get one of the NSC players' signatures he was missing :)

NSC - Game 10

Nashville Soccer Club's game on July 7th was at Nissan Stadium (where the Tennessee Titans play).  NSC played FC Cincinnati who is the top team in Group A of the USL.  We love when the games are at Nissan because our seats get moved to the sideline (and still front row).

Before the game got started, the Roadies (the main fan club) had a fun message for the FC Cincinnati fans sitting in the opposite endzone ...

I found the image online ...

If you have no idea what this means, search "Skyline Chili" :)

NSC played defense on our end the first half.  It was definitely NSC's stronger offensive half as the ball was on the other end most of the time.  Here's our favorite goalie Matt Pickens taking a goal kick in front of us ...

Gorgeous sunset ...

Carter got NSC colors on his braces this time!

Cute mini-fan!

The score was 0-0 at halftime.

FC Cincinnati had a better second half so the ball was at the other end again more but NCS still had a few chances ...

Moloto's corner ...

The game ended in a 0-0 draw but it was one of the better played games by NCS and we really enjoyed watching.

After the game there was a 15 minute fireworks show that was pretty awesome!

Gray didn't want to go because of the fireworks until we pulled out the headphones the big boys had used years ago for a monster truck show.

Carter and Rylan saw some of the fireworks but were more concerned with getting their shirts signed by some more players (they've been bringing the shirts they wore when they were escorts everywhere in hopes of getting more signatures).

Here is Brandon Allen signing Carter's shirt ...

Everyone else was giving the players their phones to get selfies.  We joined the bandwagon and got Matt Lagrassa to do a picture with us.

The boys have gotten a lot of signatures (we've gotten a few more the last couple of days at different events).  Both have 12 signatures though they aren't all the same.

Fireworks finale!

Here's a video I took during the fireworks ...

We had so much fun that night and are so glad to have this awesome team in Nashville!

Brentwood Library Summer Programs

As always, I signed Carter and Rylan up for a bunch of programs at the Brentwood Library this summer.  There is a new elementary coordinator and she's implemented a few new activities.  One is Coding Club on Mondays.  It's a lot like the coding class Carter did after school in second grade where they use some of the free programs like Code.org and Scratch to make games, animate things, and create stories.

Another class is the boys have been doing is Young Gardeners.  We've only been able to make it to a couple of those.  Last week the boys made homemade Chia Pets.  They are sitting on our windowsill and will hopefully start growing soon!

Little Brothers

Rylan wanted me to take his picture before we left for the pool.  Gray wanted to be in the picture as well ...

Finally got the picture he wanted :)

Rylan's Indoor Soccer Goals

Both Carter and Rylan are playing indoor soccer this summer with Williamson County Soccer Association.  Carter has several friends from school and previous teams on his team.  Rylan has one friend from school but he's gotten to know Luc better and is really enjoying playing with him.

I've gotten a few videos of Rylan.

This is my favorite.  Rylan got to take a penalty kick this morning.  You can watch what happens :)

Here's another goal he scored today.  I think he had a total of eight goals today (out of the 10 his team scored).

And this is just a short video of his team playing a couple of weeks ago.  It just gives you an idea of how they play ...

Rylan's Birthday

Rylan's 8th birthday was Thursday, June 28th.  Last year he took Hudson and Whit to a baseball game and this year he decided he's like to take the same friends to a Nashville Soccer Club game.  Gray and I gave up our tickets so the friends could go (Gray didn't get that memo and was crazy upset that he wasn't going!).

The only game around his birthday that his friends could make was the one on Tuesday, June 26th.  Unfortunately both Carter and Rylan had baseball games that night.  We got Rylan's moved to the early slot and had the boys leave their games a little early.  While they were playing, I picked up pizza and Hudson and Whit.  They got to watch Carter and Rylan play a little baseball and then we loaded up everyone in the minivan for Brian to take them to the soccer game.  I had decorated the car with balloons and they ate pizza on the drive up.

Brian got to play a Plinko game and won a scarf for Rylan.

Popcorn!

The boys took a walk to the berm to watch the game from there for a bit.

The birthday treat was Icees!

The highlight for the boys was playing games in the bar area after the soccer game on their way towards the exit :)

Rylan had a lot of fun and was happy to celebrate with his friends!

Gray and I got to watch the game on TV (though it took him almost an hour to stop crying about not being there in person!).

On Thursday Rylan woke up to his birthday presents in front of the fireplace.  His big gift was a new bike!

After swim team practice, we picked up three of Rylan's friends to go bowling and to lunch.  He invited Chace (who was in his class this year), Luc (who is on his indoor soccer team this summer and Rylan knows from recess), and Carson (who has been on Rylan's baseball team for a few seasons and also goes to our school).  And the balloons were still up :)

Everyone enjoyed bowling - except Rylan for the majority of the time because everyone had a spare (or strike) and he didn't get one until ninth frame of the second game.  I think he ultimately enjoyed it but he was very moody and didn't hide it.

This kid was pretty cute in his bowling shoes :)

From left to right ... Luc, Carson, Carter, Rylan, and Chace.

After bowling two games, I drove everyone to Chick-fil-A.  It is always packed there but we lucked out and hit it during a little lull and got two booths together.  After everyone ate, I busted out the brownies I had made at home and brought with us :)  Rylan wasn't too excited about everyone singing to him at Chick-fil-A!

That afternoon, we had a little down time, took Gray to his Lil Sluggers class, and then met Brian for dinner by his old office.  Rylan picked Newk's for dinner and then afterwards we went to Jeni's Ice Cream (a ridiculously expensive place) to get Rylan's free birthday scoop and use a gift card Brian had gotten from work for his birthday.

I'm pretty sure Rylan enjoyed his special day and everything he got to do with his friends.  Happy Birthday!!!

Another Golfer

I took the boys golfing this morning before it got too hot (it was still pretty nasty).  Gray decided he wanted to golf too.  So he pushed a ball along at almost every hole.  It was pretty cute.  And he claimed to win each hole because his ball went in the cup first :)

f

NSC - Games 7 & 9

Pictures from the June 16th and June 30th games ...

We finally bought a refillable popcorn.  They use plastic baseball helmets for the Sounds games.  The NSC games are bowls that look like half a soccer ball.

Showing off for the camera ...

Rylan wanted a selfie (Brian and I finally got NSC shirts!) ...

And one where we crossed our eyes :)  Rylan still has to look at his finger to do it :)

The Bavarian Bierhaus was passing out bracelets.  The boys each grabbed one.  The outside was advertising the restaurant but we were surprised and excited to see the "Our Town Our Club" on the inside (notice it on my shirt above ...).

Rylan caught another shirt!!!  Too bad it was an adult XL.

NSC was playing North Carolina FC and won with a walk-off goal on the final kick of the game.  It was pretty crazy!

On June 30th, NSC played Atlanta United 2 and won 3-0.  They moved up to 3rd in Group A of the USL (out of 16 teams).

I finally got Gray to wear his new NSC shirt!

The game this Saturday is at Nissan Stadium (where the Titans play) against the first place team in the group and we are super excited!!!