This Friday (September 26th) we are hosting a Final Friday Art Show at work to show photographs taken by Scott Thome, Brandon White, Erick Riedell and me (we all work together at 360wichita.com). The show starts at 6pm and ends when people stop showing up. Our offices are located at 914 E. Douglas in Wichita (just West of Douglas and Washington on the North side of the street (look for the 360ideas awning)). All photographs and artwork will be for sale by the artists. Profits made from artwork during the show will go directly to Erick Riedell to help assist with unwanted medical bills during his Bad Ass Cancer Tour. See you there.

We have finally returned from the double elimination soccer tournament in Hutch this weekend (and have finally settled down with most chores around the house done). Mikayla’s first game was on Saturday afternoon at 2pm. On the way to Hutch, I presented a pretty decent idea to Mikayla to encourage her to score some goals and win some games. It went like this. For each goal she scored, she received $1. For each win the team accomplished, she received one milkshake.

We arrived at the fields around 1:30 for a little warm up before the game. The first game was against a local Wichita team, The Arsenal. We crushed them. Although I can’t remember the score exactly, I believe it was 1-0. One milkshake for Mikayla. In addition to the game, we also ran into my brother and his family on the fields (my niece was playing in the tournament also…on an upper division team).
The second game on Saturday was at 6pm against another local team, the Cheetahs. So for a few hours between games we hung out under an umbrella of trees, ate snacks and played around. As the second game rolled up, the girls began to become restless. The second game was not so kind to the Strikers, as they were continuously out-run by the Cheetahs. After the game, we headed to the local Sonic for food and milkshakes (while the milkshakes were good, I highly suggest not eating at the Sonic in Hutchinson on Avenue A. Although the “food” was hot, it was ill prepared).

We arrived home sometime around 8:30 on Saturday night and hit the sheets immediately. All the kids were exhausted and ready for a recharge. This morning (Sunday), 5:30am came very early for all of us. After a short stop at Scooter’s Coffee House for a recharging Latte and Cappuccino, we headed to Hutch for another day of games. Mikayla’s first game was at 8am. The Strikers played hard in the brisk morning air and defeated the opposing team. This allowed the Strikers to continue at least one more game into the tournament.

The final game was this after noon at 12pm. Since we had some time to kill between the first game and second game, Juli whipped out her new Blackberry and we found ourselves a close Catholic church to attend 10am mass at. After a spiritual recharging, we headed back for the fourth game in two days. The first half of the game was pretty promising for the Strikers to take home another victory. However, the second half took a turn for the worse and the Strikers quickly showed a lack of energy. The Strikers lost this final game, giving them 2-2 for the tournament.

We left Hutch around 1:30 making it home in time for some much needed food and naps. After a handful of chores around the house and grocery shopping, we’ve successfully completed an extremely busy weekend (and managed to get sunburned through it all).

Yesterday was Mikayla’s second soccer game of the season (Saturday’s game was rained out…rescheduled for Saturday, November 1st, 9am). And what a game it turned out to be. At some point within the first 4 minutes of the game, the Strikers (Mikayla’s team) managed to score a goal against the opposing team. This quick goal would set the tone for the rest of the game.

Now, to bring a little background into the “Milkshake” portion of this story, Mikayla was promised by myself and Juli that if her team won, she would be treated to a milkshake of her choosing at Sonic. So with a peanut butter and fudge milkshake vivid in her mind, she stepped onto the field with a mission.

At some point in the first half, Mikayla (on the field as a left forward) took the ball down the left sideline with at least two attacking defenders from the opposing team hot on her trail. With a swift kick off her left foot, Mikayla fired the ball directly into the goal, whizzing right past the goalie. It truly was an amazing shot that will be talked about for days to come (Mikayla would like everyone to know that she made that goal with her left foot, not her stronger right foot).

By the end of the first half, the Strikers were up 5-1 and by the end of the game, the Strikers pummeled their opponent in an astounding 9-1 victory. We celebrated with milkshakes for the whole family. Way to go Mikayla, you did an awesome job!