It’s that time of year again. As I sit here typing this, with my morning coffee beside me, my son and my husband are at the second weigh-in and tryout for the Upper Loudoun Youth Football League.   This is Wil’s sixth season playing tackle football (he’s 12, soon to be 13), and he absolutely lives for it.  Who would have thought that my intellectual, somewhat bookish, computer game-loving son would be happiest strapping on shoulder pads and cracking helmets on the field?  I was certainly surprised.

I write about youth sports quite a bit here on LoCoMusings, not in small part because I have four kids that participate on varying teams in Loudoun.  My three girls all play softball (two within the Western Loudoun Girls Softball League, and one for the Loudoun Storm travel team), Wil also played lacrosse with Western Loudoun Lacrosse, and this year two of my daughters will play basketball with Western Loudoun Basketball in the winter.  One of the best things about raising a family in Loudoun is the smorgasbord of activities across the county that the kids can choose to participate in.

What my son and daughters have learned from their team experiences is how to work together with their teammates, a sense of camaraderie, and a quiet confidence (well, sometimes loud confidence, but still) that comes from doing your best and having success with it. You can’t put a price tag on seeing your child completely excited with their achievement, and proud of him or herself. Worth every moment spent in the stands to get there.

Football is a huge time commitment, not only for my son but for our family.  My husband helps coach, and practices (starting the second week of August) are every weeknight until school starts, then twice a week plus Saturday games through the fall.  What you see at the practices though, is the best of western Loudoun: families spreading out to watch, moms and dads chatting, little brothers and sisters playing together, picnic dinners.  For games, parents and siblings (and grandparents, too) dress in team colors and rattle cowbells to fire their boys up. True community, and I’m looking forward to it. I love being a football mom!

By the way, please mark your calendar for Upper Loudoun Football’s second annual Football Fest…it’s slated for Saturday, August 28th, at Loudoun Valley High School. There will be music, food, and exhibition games, and it’s the primary fundraiser for the league for the year.  Keep an eye on the league’s website for more details.

Cheers,

Heather

Save the date! The 2010 LoCo Open Amateur Golf Championship is slated for Saturday and Sunday, October 9th and 10th at Westpark Golf Club in Leesburg. LoCoMusings is proud to sponsor the event for the second year in a row. Please consider playing or sponsoring…all proceeds are used to support junior golf programs for Loudoun County. Watch here or on Westpark’s website for more information in the next few weeks!

Cheers,
Heather

]]> http://www.locomusings.com/2010/06/26/save-the-date-for-the-loco-open/feed/ 1 http://www.locomusings.com/2009/12/01/oooh-festival-of-lights-time-again/ http://www.locomusings.com/2009/12/01/oooh-festival-of-lights-time-again/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:17:14 +0000 Heather Elias http://www.locomusings.com/?p=1110

It’s that time of year again! Throw everyone in the car and head to Centreville for the Bull Run Festival of Lights! This has become a family tradition for us,  my kids love to go drive through all the light displays and listen to holiday music at the same time.  The light show is open every evening between now and January 10th (excluding Christmas and New Year’s), from 5:30 to 9:30 Monday to Thursday, and 5;30 to 10 on Friday through Sunday, and also Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.  There is also a holiday village at the end of the route, which is open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday  in December, plus Monday, December 21st. The village has food, carnival rides, and gifts.  Admission is $15 per carload on weekdays (up to 14 people in the vehicle) and $20 on weekends.

Happy Holidays!

Cheers,
Heather

(photo credit teejayhanton)

Donations From the 2008 Drive

Century 21 Redwood Realty, the office where I hang my hat, is once again doing their holiday Toys for Tots Program! Starting November 1st, we will be accepting donations of unwrapped toys until December 16th, when Santa will stop by with the Ashburn Volunteer Fire Department to collect them.

Here’s the word from Redwood on the annual effort:

Please join us in supporting the annual Toys for Tots Program to provide for our local children in need. This event has become an annual event that we here at Century 21 Redwood Realty choose to partake in as it is near and dear to our hearts. If you are not familiar with the Foundation, it was originally created at the request of the U.S. Marine Corps. The mission of the Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted…..in our case, Loudoun County.

As previous years have proven to be extremely successful, we are kicking off our annual drive for collecting toys in our Ashburn office on November 1, 2009. Please feel free to drop off your donations during the office hours of 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday at our office located at 44075 Pipeline Plaza, Suite 215, Ashburn, VA 20147 (at the corner of Ashburn Village and Farmwell Road.)

We will accept donations through December 16, 2009, at which time we will celebrate the toy drive with a spectacular event. The celebration will include lots of goodies, such as cookies, candy, and hot cocoa. Santa will be making his appearance via a shiny fire truck to assist the local children with the loading of gifts for delivery and distribution.

If you would like to make a donation, and can’t get by to drop it off, please let me know and I’ll come pick it up myself!

Cheers,
Heather

Happy Halloween!

If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend, the Loudoun Museum is once again doing their Hauntings tours of downtown Leesburg, on Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th from 6 to 10 pm.  Meet at the Town Hall to tour historic homes, businesses, and town buildings, getting the ghost stories from each site. Included on the tour is the Lynch House (where a ghost named Eliza is reported to show up on the second floor in a white dress), the Town Hall and the courthouse. Tours are an hour and a half long, and are geared to ages 12 and up. Tickets are $20 at the door; you can call 703-777-7427 or email hauntings@loudounmuseum.org for more information.

Happy haunting!

~Heather

(photo credit…it’s not a Leesburg house, but Shane Gorski took it, so it rocks.. <smile>)