Confessions of a Soccer Mom: Tournaments

I have a love/hate relationship with soccer tournaments.  Tournaments are great fun...hotel stays, lots of soccer, swimming, friends, new places!  But, let's be honest, tournaments are also a LOT of work!

Sitting in the freezing, wet weather while watching your child play in the miserable conditions is not always fun.

Me and my fellow soccer moms enduring low 40 degree temps and rain to cheer on our girls!

What is even less fun is the laundry that must be done after the wet, nasty conditions.  Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed in this weekend did not have guest laundry facilities.  So, this soccer mom (along with my fellow soccer moms) washed uniforms, slider shorts, and socks by hand in the sink in the hotel room.  I so wish I had taken pictures of the mess!!

Abby's keeper gloves were so wet and heavy, we decided to lay them over the heating unit in the room to speed up the drying out process.  Sounds great right?  Have you ever smelled keeper gloves?  This is how I would describe the smell...take the worst smelling shoes you have every smelled, put them in a plastic bag and set them out in the sun for a day or so, open the bag and take a big sniff...that is what a keeper glove smells like.  NASTY!  Needless to say when we returned that evening, the smell knocked us down when we opened the door.  It was BAD!

The mess just doesn't stop at the laundry...my house is now a WRECK!  Unloading the van of all of the gear, late on Sunday night, after traveling means that nothing makes it past the living room.  UGH!

Monday mornings are always a bit rough too...everyone is tired and grumpy.  It is a minor victory to get everyone dressed, fed and out the door without major breakdowns.

However, it is worth it.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend!

Getting pumped up!

Snuggling with Anna trying to stay warm!

Love this pic!

More details about the tourney to come...stay tuned!