Sports for the Win

In a time when the girls are largely limited from social/school interaction, sports have come through for the win.  Being able to get out of the house and go to practice, see teammates, and be active have been lifesavers for morale and well being.  Nina’s team participated in a small meet last weekend at a high school in Maryland.  It was her first competitive environment in 8 months!  It’s hard to believe it’s been that long since she last competed, but they were at the culminating point of the indoor season when COVID shut things down in early March.  There is still no high jump, but she did get to run a new event (the 300m hurdles) which she really enjoyed, so that was great!  It’s a different race completely than the sprint hurdles, which she also runs, so it will be good for her to add this new event.

  

  

The next day we were in Arlington for a soccer game for Lyla.  The field has a nice backdrop of the Washington Monument, and it was a beautiful day to sit out and enjoy some soccer.

 

Another parent on the team took this picture of Lyla, so I can’t take credit for it, but I like it!

While Cayenne has no sports participation to report on, enjoying some beautiful fall walks during the day have been highlights for her. We’ve had some warm fall days to enjoy so far, and fingers crossed that we get a lot more of them before the cold weather sets in.

A Beautiful Start to Fall

In Virginia, we’ve had a beautiful start to fall.  While the school year has been somewhat isolating in 100% virtual school, at least fall sports have been moving forward.  Lyla’s team started playing regular season fall games this month, and we’ve enjoyed getting the chance to watch her play.  Mark is also coaching with Loudoun Soccer, so he and Lyla keep busy with games on the weekends.

  

 

 

Cayenne is still loving the family set up at the moment.  The kids are home all day, and Mark works from home, so the pre-COVID times she used to be home alone when I was teaching, she now has people to keep her company and beds to rotate to for most of the day.

  

One of the things we try to do every fall is get out to Middleburg for a walk around town and a trip to Scruffy’s Ice Cream Parlor.  They have a season pumpkin ice cream that is worth making the trip, so we get our ice cream, Cayenne gets her pup cup, and everyone’s happy! We also managed to get a few fall decorations out at the front of the house.  We don’t do a lot, but decorating for fall is one thing Nina and Lyla really look forward to.

  

   

While the track season hasn’t officially started yet, Nina has been training with her club, Ashburn Elite Track, to keep fitness.  The team has off-season workouts three times a week, and while she’s only getting limited hurdle time and still no high jump time, it’s been good for her to be able to get together with her team, run, and train.  This week the team had to do their work out sessions on their own, so we’ve been going over to the track at Independence High School (where she attends).  It’s a gorgeous facility, and we hope one day in the not-so-distant future, we’ll actually be able to watch meets take place there in person!