We left around noon on Thursday, taking Emma's good friend, Annie, with us. I was listening to Gary Schmidt's Okay for Now while driving. It was interesting to hear the girls' becoming slowly enthralled with the book. Annie stayed in the same hotel room as us for the weekend and we listened to the rest of the book at night. They loved it, "And I'm not lying."
They played their first game at 7:00 Thursday night against Joga. They won 4-0. I rented a 70-200mm lens and had a great time taking pictures all weekend.
We went to St. George on Friday because they had no games that day. First we went to the temple where the girls did baptisms for the dead. I was able to go and do initiatories. Then we went to lunch and did a little shopping, which was really just wandering the stores that were there on that street--Dick's, Old Navy, Target, Ross. They were hoping they could find modest swimming suits but had no luck. We headed back to Mesquite and got there just in time for a glorious sunset so I took the four girls I had in my car to do a little photo session.
My Valentine's Day was not anything romantic. I had about 7-10 girls in the hotel room at any given time, making noise, taking pictures, watching the Olympics, eating snacks and making their own fun.
Saturday morning at 8:00, they played USA and won 1-0. This team was really physical and liked to talk smack but Forza won in a hard-fought game.
We went back to the hotel to ice legs and try and relax before the quarter-final game at 5:00. They played their main rival, Celtic, in a serious battle of skill and endurance. It was scoreless in regulation and in overtime, leaving penalty kicks to finally decide the outcome. After the first five girls shot their penalty kicks, the score was 2-2. We then scored the final and winning penalty kick, making the score 3-2. The girls were elated. It was like winning the championship. Emma was completely physically and emotionally exhausted after this game. We went to dinner at a buffet and she could hardly stand up. After much cajoling, I convinced her to eat something and she did perk up a little with the help of her friends.
We had Sunday off, thankfully, so we went to church in little Bunkerville, NV, and then headed up to St. George. We went to the tabernacle, ate lunch at Red Robin, wandered the temple grounds and visitor's center and then went back to Mesquite. The team met up at a Mexican restaurant for dinner.
The girls played another Forza team in the semi-final game on Monday morning. Their hearts just didn't seem to be in it. I think after the emotional high of winning against Celtic, they had already checked out mentally. They lost 1-2 against a team they really should have beaten. It was frustrating for Emma who was really playing hard and trying to rally the rest of the team. You just can't do it alone though.
After eating a late lunch at Brick Oven in St. George, we drove home, arriving around 7:30 that night. The weekend was really great overall. I enjoyed being with just Emma, reading books, and taking pictures. It was a nice break for me. Emma learned a lot about tournament play, dealing with people, and working through set-backs. She also had a lot fun being her friends and playing the game she loves.
The full gallery of photos are here.
