Jake and I just returned from a whirlwind weekend trip to Tulsa, OK, 29 hours to be exact, and I’m still scratching my head over it!  Jake’s U14 (7th/8th grade) Fusion Academy team was competing in what I thought was a soccer tournament called the Tulsa Friendship Cup.  Turns out it was a combination of 3 things – the Adidas Sam Shannon Showcase/Boys ECNL National Event/Tulsa Friendship Cup 2018.  I don’t know what any of this means really, all I know is I had 3 games on my calendar against NPL teams (National Premier League) from OK and TX.

We had hotel reservations on the books for months and when the schedule finally came out, the boys were definitely disappointed.  Our first game wasn’t scheduled until Saturday night at 8:40 p.m.  This meant one less night to hang with friends in a hotel because there was no need to get to Tulsa any earlier than Saturday afternoon.  Let’s face it, these out of town tourneys are less about soccer and more about getting out of school early on a Friday, packing a bag of junk food, kids jacking around in the hotel, and parents bellied up to the hotel bar.  Don’t get me wrong, these boys love to play and are fierce competitors, so when we found out there was no championship on the line here, I started calling it a “fake tournament.”  I’m sure I got a few eye rolls for that one – but seriously…it seems to me that we just drove 4 hours to play 3 games that didn’t really matter!?  On a positive note, it is nice to get out and play some teams we don’t normally play and size up against other premier teams.

And another bonus, Jake is old enough to pack himself!  I have to admit, it was a nice change from me doing everything.  He had the van seats situated just perfectly, cooler packed, and all his gear bagged up.  yes!  I love this!  I didn’t even double check what he had.  I let him be solely responsible for his stuff and if he didn’t have what he needed, it was on him.  Ok, I’m acting really cool here because you know I am a total control freak, so this is really stepping out for me!

At the last minute, Jake’s teammate, Brett, and his mom Lori hopped in with us.  They are neighbors and we’ve known them for years so we really enjoyed the company.  We had many laughs along the way.  On our route in and out of our hotel we came across this street sign and it cracked us up!  I’ve heard of a speed “bump” but a speed “hump!?”  What!?  That’s a new one!

We dropped our bags at the hotel, said hello to a few fellow soccer buddies, and hit up a nearby restaurant, Bricktown Brewery for food.  You know Jake can’t go long without a cheeseburger in his belly!

Game 1 was good, albeit a late one and the sideline smelled like fish (apparently we were close to the river), the boys won 2-0 and at 10:30 p.m. on the way back to the hotel we found ourselves in the Whataburger drive thru, a recommendation from Brett.  We laughed so hard when I was trying to place my order and couldn’t get it right to save my life!  The cashier handed us a big bag of food and milkshakes and said “you ladies have a great night.”  I was almost in tears I was laughing so hard!  Apparently she didn’t see the boys in the back so it just looked like two moms on the town in a minivan having a GIANT midnight snack after a long and confusing ordering process!  I was practically best friends with those Whataburger workers at that point.  Ok maybe the boys were embarrassed but I thought it was hilarious!  We proceeded to let them run wild in the hotel past midnight with various run ins with the hotel security until we finally called it a night.

Sunday morning we packed the car (didn’t we just unpack!?), filled up with gas and headed to game #2.  It was very cold, drizzly, and the boys won 5-0.   Sweet.  This fake tournament isn’t so bad after all!  In the meantime, I’ve had a million phone calls from home so I was up to speed with all the activities going on back in KC.  Thank you babysitting crew!With a little bit of time in between games, we invaded Braum’s for more food and at this point in the trip,  Jake is on his 3rd cheeseburger and second milkshake.  The kid can eat!  AND he’s a mess….this is his side of the hotel room.  My side was perfectly tidy of course!Game 3 is about to start and Jake’s coach is asleep in his car right next to us.  It was a late night and an early morning for him (his academy girls team had a 7am game).  We have our handwarmers ready, a stack of blankets and this is going to be our toughest competition of the weekend.  Boys are pumped.

Some of the opponents this weekend were sporting full mustaches and word on the street is they were seen driving themselves out of the complex earlier in the day!  hmmm, interesting concept for 13 year olds!?

The game started late and we haven’t even played 15 minutes before there’s a yellow card, a massive yelling match between our coach, the center ref, and field marshals all around.  Coach gets kicked out, the center ref quits and calls the game final and we are on the road home with no explanation of what the heck just happened.  I still don’t know what to make of all of it but I can honestly say in all these years of 18 million soccer games, I’ve never seen that happen.I’ve driven 8 hours in the last 29, and I’m exhausted and sad for the boys that their final match got abruptly yanked away from them.  They were down 2-0, but our boys were pumped and ready to play what was going to be a highly competitive match.  It was the cherry on top to the fake tournament.

Either way, I had so many laughs this weekend and always have fun with my Jakers.  He’s a blast to be with and It’s certainly a trip I will never forget!  Don’t worry, we did stop on the way home so he could consume another cheeseburger.  Yes, that’s 4.  Should a cholesterol check for him be next on my to-do list?  No time for that.  I need to start prepping for Thanksgiving dinner!Love you to pieces, Jakey, I adore watching you play.  Keep smiling bud!!😘