what an athlete ..

after we wished granny and grandpa a fun and safe trip .. got over our meltdowns that grandpa took the freightliner and had breakfast we headed to vinita for soccer .. 

ellie's game was at 9 .. am .. ugh .. 

she is playing center forward again this year .. 

she is also the smallest kid on the team .. again this year .. 

she hustles like the wind is at her back and her dad is hollaring in her ear .. run ellie run .. drive that ball down the field .. 

for just a moment she thought that she was playing basketball again .. i asked her what she was thinking .. she was going to block the throw in .. and then she caught herself and said oh .. i can't touch the ball with my hands .. wrong sport .. 

she has quite the footwork skills .. unlike her mother .. i am lucky if i can get mine to go one in front of the other .. hers go sideways and backwards to .. 

i love this little series of pics .. 

this ball is all mine .. 

i am faster than you .. 

my soccer skills are better than yours .. 

i will take you out if i have to .. 

oh .. mom .. i didn't mean that part about taking him out .. i know that is not good sportsmanship .. i would never do that .. we play soccer because it is fun .. 

not to long after that 2 of the biggest boys collided right into her .. she tumbled onto the ground .. the boys stomped all over her and then fell on top of her .. they knocked the wind out of her .. gave her a bloody nose and broke a nail .. 

they stopped the game and called the coach over .. injured player the ref yelled .. i remained calm thinking to myself how bad can it really be .. when she stood up her face was bloody and she was gasping for air .. 

bad i yelled at myself as i dashed out onto the field .. 

i am going to be one of "those parents"

we got her nose to stop bleeding .. she caught her breath and i pulled off what was left of her nail 

she stood by the coach to wait until he could sub her back in .. 

she was not done .. she did not want to go home .. she told me .. quitting is not an option mom .. you just got to dust yourself off and get back out there .. get back out there and get even ..

her dad would have been so proud ..