Double header weekend!

Not just ONE game of basketball this weekend, but TWO. And, one is on Saturday and one is on Sunday! Whahoo!

Game One on Saturday vs. Coon Rapids - they won this one!

Carter doing a little defense!

 Carter dribbling!

 Ben and Carter creating a jump ball!

 Colby and Dylan doing some good defensive work!

Game 2 vs. SLP - Sunday

They won this game, but had a little advantage.  When CR set up the league, they forgot to tell SLP and Blaine that they were mixing 5th & 6th graders onto teams.  So there were a handful of teams that we played that were all 5th graders.  CR is not the best for passing on info to the outside teams, being SLP & Blaine!  UGH!

Carter and I were cracking up when we saw this picture.  He got a little tripped up by someone and I just happened to be lucky enough to catch it!

 Part 2 of the trip!  Too bad there is a leg in the way, his face might have been pretty funny again!

How fast the colors change

You know me and my sunrises.  I am thankful for each one I get to see...though one day I would love to watch one come up in like, Hawaii!  Or Arizona.  Not sure I want to go to Mexico anytime soon...
But it is amazing how quickly the sky changes colors in the morning when the sun is rising.  It was just so darn pretty again this morning.  So lucky to see them.

More Basketball

I am sure that there is more going on in our lives than basketball and skiing, but that is what it feels like we do on the weekends!  Carter has become quite the little basketball player (guess he gets that from me!).  Ha!  Last year he really did not bring the ball down the court much - he had to sometimes but you could tell he was real hesistant to dribble.  This year though, he is one of the point guards along with the coach's son, Colby.  They are dong pretty good so far.  They have won some and lost a game or 2.  It sure is fun to watch them though.  Carter has become pretty passionate about it and really wants to win (last year they only won 2 games, guess that is what happens when 6 out of 7 boys have never played organized basketball).

I also am trying to figure out the new camera.  I am getting TONS of blurry photos so I guess that this is my "practice season" and maybe by next season I will have it all worked out.  I literally can take a hundred or so photos in a game, and many of them just end up in the recycle bin!  Oh well!  I will get it eventually!

 Colby's great pass to Carter against the SLP team - the only team they beat last season!

 Carter shoots!  It's a little blurry, but that is par for the course right now!

 Ben on a fast break!

Another Day of Skiing!

Today we took the kids skiing again...I guess maybe they took me skiing along with Carter's friend, Ben.  Ben hadn't been skiing since last year so the kids went to the bunny hill to start off with.  There were SO many kids there - a race going on that day and lessons - so after about 2 runs they had had enough and off to the BIG hills they went.  I was a little nervous as Ben said he did not need a helmet and we have ALWAYS had Carter wear one when he was snowboarding.  One bad fall is all that it takes.  But, due to the peer pressure Carter was not going to wear his helmet.  UGH.  Guess that if he wants to continue to go it is HELMET OR NO SNOWBOARDING.

Oh my gosh.  They had so much fun!  It was fun to watch them too.  I am a much better "watcher" than I am a "skier" if that is what you can even call me.  Let's just say that prior to Dave getting the season passes I had been skiing about 5 times...in my ENTIRE life.  Kendall and Dawson have WAY out-skied me and they are only 6 and 4.

At one point, Kendall and I went down a hill and the boys were going to meet us.  Kendall pulled a fast one on me and went down a hill that would take us to another area.  So, we got to the bottom and I was watching for the boys - it was taking so long, but I guess they were tired of waiting for us so they went down the hill again.  Needless to say after this little "event" my legs were jello (trying to push & pull Kendall down to the other area to meet the boys was a little hard on me!) so I just grabbed the camera, took off my ski's and watched for the kids to come down the hills!  It is a amazing how good they all are!

Unfortunately, the last run of the day, Dawson and another boy, who was quite a bit bigger, collided and Dawson really smacked his head good.  Good thing he was wearing his helmet or it could have been worse.  The boy that he collided with though felt so bad about it and made sure that Dawson was okay!

Reese's favorite shirt!

Back when Carter was just a baby, the first round of the Charlie Brown statues came out - I believe snoopy was the first one to come out.  They were all over the cities.  When he was 2, we went out looking at them with my friend Katie and her son, Jonah (who was due on the same day as Carter, darn Carter for coming a month early, so their birthdays are 3 weeks apart).  I bought this yellow Charlie Brown t-shirt for him.  He wore it occassionally.  Then along came Dawson, he wore it occassionally, too.  Then along came Kendall, she wore it a few times too!  Bringing up the rear is Reese...and she wears it ALL THE TIME!  I don't know what it is about it, but she probably wears it every 2 weeks, at least.  She has learned that when it is cold she has to wear a long sleeve shirt under it.  I think that this shirt probably has had the most wear out of any of the clothes the kids have ever had...well, maybe the Gymboree PJ's that Auntie Jen bought for Carter back when he was one.  Those have been worn a lot also - can't wait to pass those on to their baby!

 The girls were having a teaparty in the living room!  They had everything set up for them and their dollies!

Carter's First Basketball game of 2013!

Carter was supposed to have his first TWO games today, but the 2nd game ended up being moved to next weekend.  Last year Dave coached - he only had 7 boys on the team, 6 of which had never played organized basketball.  Needless to say, despite the EXCELLENT coach, they did not have a very winning season.  I would call it successful since the boys really improved and they actually learned why it was important to have plays (they originally thought they really did not need plays!).  This year, Spring Lake Park did not have enough boys for 2 teams so they combined 5 of the SLP boys with 5 Blaine boys, though one of the Blaine boys ended up not playing.  So, at least they have almost a full team this year.  It will be interesting to see how they do!

I was also excited to try out my new camera.  The old camera just did not capture the images because it was too dark!  :(  After the game, I downloaded the photos and was NOT the happiest with them.  Lots were so blurry!  Guess I will have to sit down and figure this camera out!  It is not that simple point-and-shoot that I was used to.  That Best Buy Lady better have sold me a decent camera!

They lost their first game... but we will see how the rest of the season goes!  And, Carter and Ben BOTH fouled out!  Guess Carter is a chip off the old block!  :)

 The boys after they both fouled out! 

NO MORE NEE-NEE'S!

Today was a big day in our house.  Last week we took down the crib (don't ask, that has not been going well!) and today we are getting rid of Reese's nee-nee's (not sure how this name got started but that is what she has always called them, not nuks or nukies!) - she is giving them to Auntie Jen for the new baby when he or she arrives in April!  She was so proud!  Guess if Aunite Jen and Uncle Joe have a girl, I better go buy some of these same "nee-nees" so she thinks that they are her old ones!  Just another sign that our "baby" is growing up!  Not sure that I am completely ready for this...

New PJ's!

Well, the girls actually got them for Christmas so they are a few weeks old, but today they were both wearing their matching PJ's and they dressed their dolls in their PJ's also!  I am sure that some day this will get "old" to them and they won't want to match but for now, I love every minute of it and so do they.  Well, occassionally Reese just wants to be Reese & she doesn't want to match Kendall, but most of the time she plays along, especially when it includes a matching dolly outfit!  I remember as a kid wearing matching, or at least coordinating outfits with my sister, Jen.  Same patterns of a dress, just a different color.  Or same afghan knitted by our grandma but different colors!  And, as you can probably tell, the girls were fresh out of the shower, wet hair and all!

I tried to include Dawson in this and for some reason he did not want to partake in sitting and showing off his new PJ's!  INstead he thought he would run away and be silly!

Snacking!

I sometimes get so tired of the monotonous PBJ sandwiches, turkey/ham sandwiches, mac & cheese, grilled cheese and so on.  So we have been trying to have a few different things weekly... I remember when I was younger @ one of the birthday parties for my brothers my mom was making up some snacks.  Since a lot of kids don't really like celery, she can up with "turds on a toilet seat" vs. the common "ants on a log!"  So, we did our own version of this today and the kids loved it - Apple slices with PB and raisins on them.  Yum!

Sleeping beauty

No, not a picture of me!  But how can this be comfy!?  This is how I found Reese sleeping tonight.  Good thing she just sleeps on a toddler bed!  there are so many nights where she is in such crazy sleeping positions... one of the most popular is with her legs tucked under her and butt in the air!

Another Painted sky!

Winter sunrises are so pretty.  I just love taking photos of them.  Maybe one of these days I ought to get outside and take some so that they are not through the glass window!  Just look at these colors, though.  I am not sure that it gets any prettier than this...well, maybe, just maybe, if you were sitting on a nice warm beach!?