Fall is here!

Wow. Where did the summer go? It has been a crazy whirlwind of travel and excitement, including a wedding, a tournament in Argentina, and the arrival of my puppy! As I sit here in the brisk fall weather, I realize I've been so busy, that I barely had time to stop and enjoy the warm summer months! But I love the fall, and I am excited for all the wonderful things it brings along with it! Pumpkins and everything pumpkin smelling and tasting! The beautiful fall colors and changing leaves. The hay rides, corn field mazes, haunted houses and Halloween. (I am especially excited for these things in Lancaster!) Apple cider, yum! AND since we don't have any more tournaments for the rest of the year, I will be settled (FINALLY) in Lancaster to enjoy all of these activities and adventures!

Before fall gets underway, I want to share a little recap of the end of my summer, because it was quite an amazing month! :)

One of my best friends in the whole wide world got married on September 6th, and it was absolutely beautiful!!! A huge congrats to Sterling and her husband Keegan!! They are both such amazing people who have touched my life in so many ways, not only by being great friends, but by leading through their actions in faith. I thank you for all you have done for me and I wish you all the best in the future because I know God has some great things in store for you two! Love ya!

A week after the wedding, I headed off to Argentina with Team USA for the Pan American Cup! I hope you were following us while we were down there competing!! We played in Mendoza, and stayed at the same hotel we've stayed at each time we've been played there (my third time, at least!). But it was perfectly cozy and we already knew where all the shops were and the park for our pre-game walk/stretch! The whole tournament was a lot of fun and I think it was the best I've seen our team play. We won all 3 of our pool play games against Mexico, Chile, and Uruguay before we defeated Canada in the semi-finals. Without surprise, we faced Argentina in the final, on their home turf, in their brand new stadium. The crowd was packed and they were rocking. It was one of the loudest stadiums I have ever played in, but I sure do love that atmosphere!!! It is always fun playing in front of a crowd that loves the sport and loves to see it played at the highest level. Those are the games we play for. Those are the games that get my adrenaline pumping! It was a hard fought game from both sides, and unfortunately for us, Argentina was the only team to put a goal in the back of the net. Although we were disappointed with a 1-0 loss, we have a lot of positives to take away from that tournament going forward and a very bright outlook for next summer in the Netherlands. Despite the loss, we still earned ourselves a spot in the WORLD CUP in the Hague, Netherlands in May/June 2014!!! This is a huge accomplishment for our team and we are extremely excited for that opportunity! We will be ready! And hope to face Argentina again! :)

And last, but not least..... on return to the USA from the Pan Am Cup, I got to pick up my PUPPY!!! Her name is Kora! She is a pitbull from Tom Garner Kennels! And she is amazing, and I love her so much! :) She is a sweetheart who loves to cuddle! She is playful (of course, she is only 3 months old, still a puppy!) and happy! She is so smart and already knows how to sit, and in less than a week, she is almost fully housebroken! Shout out to my boyfriend Eli for teaching her to sit while I was in Argentina! Oh and shout out to my roommate, Stefanie Fee for teaching her how to go down the stairs! Good work guys! Now... to teach her the fun tricks... like how to ride a skateboard and pull me on a sled... haha ;) Those mayyy take a little longer to learn... just maybe though.

So many pictures! You will definitely see a lot more of her!!

Also, check out her crate!! She loves it! Eli and I made it! (Okay, Eli did most of the work... he's so talented!!)