Griffins On The Go: October 2008

Friday, October 31, 2008

Hugs & Happy Halloween

October 31st, 2008

Happy Halloween Nicholas, Benjamin, Zach & Jack O' Lantern! :)

I posted a little site for the Huskies on this, feel free to preview for a little more info on what's been going on. I know you guys are going to have so much fun today with your friends and Trick-o'-Treating. Remember that one house you went to? When you knocked on the door it seemed like a man with the largest hand in the world reached into his bag of treats and dropped 20 pieces of candy into each of your bags. Hopefully, you'll find another house just like that one.

We had a little Halloween for the team here in New Zealand. Other teams were having meetings and here we were trick-or-treating around the hotel and we haven't even won a game yet. Oh well, we'll have to try harder versus Paraguay. Do any of you know where Paraguay is?

Amy Colquhoun(Coordinator)

Mike Alosi (Videographer)
Sean McNeil (Trainer)

Amy Griffin (GK Coach)
Ally Griffith (Massage Therapist)

This is just a small part of the Waitomo Caves that we went and saw today. The cave we went into was as big as the park by our house. Kinda spooky on Halloween.

Have a great Day! If you get a chance, drink some water, eat a piece of fruit and save me a chocolate treat. :) Miss and love you all.

Hello Dawgs

I asked the boys if it'd be okay if I said "Hello" to the Huskies via their blog, and they gave me the green light. Internet service in New Zealand is like trying to find a good restaurant in Corvallis. Let me just say I tried to tune into your OSU game and match tracker was blank; like the game never happened. I immediately freaked out when I kept checking and nothing was on and deducted that you guys had gotten in a bus accident and were unable to make it. Can't tell you how elated I was to hear you were all safe and victorious. J-Roe, thanks for keeping your streak alive against the Ducks! Anyway, I've been here a week and we lost our first game 3-2 to Japan. If you want to check out the highlights, it is on http://www.fifa.com/u17womensworldcup/video/videolist.html It felt like we got creamed, but after watching the entire game on the video, it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Worrysome, because that means France actually has a chance to beat Japan. If they do... our group may come down to Goals For:... meaning we need to try to wax Paraguay which isn't always easy.

Some funny things about our staff. I think Ozzie, our asst. coach has narcolepsy. He falls asleep in meetings as well as in the hotel lobby; sometimes for the entire night. Kaz, the head coach needs to get out more. He has asked me things like. "What is the difference between a sheep and a lamb?" and "Do ostriches fly?" I think my favorite moment so far where I really thought this trip was worth it and I was being helpful was when Kaz told me that versus Paraguay we would be able to sub in 9 fresh players and I had to remind him we are only allowed 3 subs. YIKES!!! And another thing... I feel a little strange about having a Halloween/Dance party in our meeting room when on either side of us Japan and France are having a meeting regarding... oh yeah the World Cup. They have asked us nicely a few times to keep it down. Ohhhhhhh, us silly Americans really do have to have a little candy and whoop it up a bit.

We have been able to see the stalagmite caves as well as the glow worms. When you are inside and look up at the ceiling, it looks like a galaxy of stars. Very neat.

Me and the GK's

And one last item for your review. Take it to the Coug's today. It's scary enough to have to be in Pullman on Halloween. Win the game and get out of there!!!!!!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

First Days in New Zealand

Nicholas & Benjamin,

I learned how to 'blog' so that I could do a better job communicating with you little rug rats. New Zealand is a beautiful country. There are lots of hills, trees and beaches and everyone here pitches in to make sure the country stays clean. I have been on 4 walks, and have not found one piece of litter on the ground. (Not even one little candy wrapper. :)) I also have noticed how friendly all the people that live here are. Every person has a smile for you, every person goes out of their way to help you in any way. I hope I can take that part of New Zealand back to the USA

When we fist arrived, it was a gray, rainy day & I was hoping we wouldn't be wet our entire trip. The soccer gods have been with us because the black clouds seem to disperse right above our practice field during our practice. I have to admit, when I landed so far from home, I was missing you and thinking saying things like "Deedle - Dee" in my head to the windshield wipers and picturing you carving pumpkins.

When I got to my hotel, I was greeted with a nice Happy Birthday sign as well as a tiny "Happy Birthday" music box, some crazy glasses and bath salts. THANKS!!! I also had a birthday cake at dinner with a loud song sung by the team. Very embarrasing.

There is much more halabaloo about this World Cup than our tournament in Trinidad. There are signs in the streets and coverage daily in the newspaper.

The team has been practicing so hard that all the players remind me of how hard Nicholas hustles with his Mach 10 team. Hopefully all the hard work will pay off and we can get off to a good start with a win against Japan.

Oct. 27th: We had only one practice today & during that practice the team wanted to pass along a little message. Click on the video to receive your message.

The team couldn't say Hello to Benjamin, without adding a "Hello" to Nicholas. One video is definitely better than the other, but I like the first one because one person forgot the "L". You'll know what I mean when you hear it.

Hey Nicholas, I hope you can tell the team has heard lots of stories about you. :)

We are finished with our practices and have been watching all the other World Cup games on T.V. It looks like every country has done a great job of preparing their teams. Many of the games are wide open with lots of attacking chances. If the Huskies can win 2 on the road; I am hoping that the U.S.A can do the same. A few pictures of New Zealand and USA.