Spring Break

After our weekend tournament we picked up our niece Makenna and headed home.  Spring break was a welcomed week of R&R for our family after the past 5 months.  

The first day Kenna was here we hiked up to the tree on tick hill with lunches Lexy so graciously packed us.  It was fun just to play around with the kids and visit.  The next day I mostly spent cleaning and Kenna helped clean both of the kids rooms.  I am wondering if she will ever want to come back to our house?  Shaun and Amy came to pick her up that evening and we enjoyed dinner, a little basketball, and cooking smores over the fire before they headed back home.

Lexy's bunny is getting bigger and will be ready to come home with us by the end of April.  A bunny is much like a dog...8-10 weeks before it can go to it's new home. We make frequent trips over to the Wilson's to visit the sweet little balls of fur, as we can't get enough of it's sweet little face.

She/he (not sure yet, but Heidi is banking on it's a her) is so sweet and snuggly.  They are growing super fast.  Only a week or two ago they fit in the palms of our hands.  You can see mama Sitka and white baby Nanook in the background.

After the 2013 Racoon Massacre I wasn't sure I'd do chickens again this year, then after buying store bought eggs all winter long......I caved and decided (kind of last minute) to start over.

So we brought home 9 chicken nuggets for Barley to guard.  (Not Eat, barley.....Guard!!)

3 of them will go to market at the 4H auction in August so we will be left with 6 for home.  This year we researched the chicks/breeds and ended up with a variety.  1 Araucana, 1 Barred Rock, 4 Light Brahma's, 1 Silver laced Wyandotte, 1 Blue laced Red Wyandotte, and 1 Golden Sex-link.  They are all pretty cute.

Since it was last minute I just opted to mention to Tob that chicks were coming.  My theory was.....If I bring home chicks the coop will come.  IT WORKED.  He has been diligently building them a home in his spare time.

A perfect end to a great season.

Basketball season has officially come to an end for the year.  Maybe I should rephrase that....  Our time in the gym has come to an end for the year and I am just starting to recover from an illness known as "bleacher butt".  I look forward to healing before it all starts over again with Volleyball season in the fall.  Of course there will be friendly 1 on 1 competitions in the driveway and camps in the near future but the high school, junior high, grade school and AAU teams are done with their games.   Our boys finished out their season taking home the Championship medals in Baker Elkhorn Elite Tourney and then 2nd place in the Pine Eagle Tournament. 

 This was Lexy's first year doing AAU and the girls were able to get in 2 tournaments which gave them an additional 9 games for the season.  They finished in 2nd place in the Battle of the Blue's tournament and we were really proud of the progress they made in a short amount of time.  Not bad for a first year and only 2 tourneys.

 The girls love basketball, but love the fun social aspect of the tournaments even a little bit more I think.

 Although you CAN'T keep the boys off of the basketball court or take a ball out of their hands for much more than a few moments, truly enjoy time with each other and have enjoyed getting to know other players around the state over the past few years.....such as the curly headed photo bomber from the Grant Union team.  This was the end of the season photo and we had lost a lot of our regular boys so we picked up Isaac, Kaden, and Ethan to complete our team.  It was fun for Nojah and his cousin Isaac to get to play together.  These are a great group of boys and benefited from an extra 25 games this season with AAU tourneys.

Our little gym rats

It was such a blessing to bring along our nephew this last tournament.  We enjoy his positive attitude and smiles and certainly cherish all the time we get to spend with him.

It's been a great year and we are looking forward to spring track meets, summer golf, biking, and hiking, and then fall sports before heading into another 5 months of basketball.

She's 12 today

She's smart, she's sweet, and she's growing up!  Alexyss has been carefree since the day she was born and has a true passion for life.  She's not bothered by much and if something does get her down she can let it go fairly quickly.  She's beautiful, she's fun, and always willing to try something new.  We love her sweet spirit and so proud of the the young lady she is becoming. 

She's a good friend, a great sister, and the best daughter a mom and dad could ask for.

She definitely lives life to the fullest and has accomplished so much in a short amount of time.  With her lively spirit and her determination we look forward to watching her grow and succeed.  Happy Birthday to our Beautiful girl!!  We love you!

On March 7, 2002 our sweet baby girl entered the world and stole our hearts.  Our sweet 6lb 14oz little girl is 12 today.

We sure are enjoying every moment with this girl and look forward to many more years to come with many more moments.  My only issue is that these "moments" are flying by way too fast.

4 months down, 1 to go......

As most of you know we eat, breathe, live, and sometimes sleep at the gym during the Fall/Winter/Spring.  Our basketball season extends from November to April with Tob coaching High School basketball as well as AAU, refereeing, and filling in wherever he is needed, as well as the kids playing Junior High ball, AAU, and for Lex grade school basketball.  The best part of it is we don't make our kids play or expect them to excel, in fact it's the opposite.  We can't stop them and with as much as they play, they will continue to excel.  The little gym rats as I call them couldn't be happier with a ball in their hand and a basket in front of them. I spend a good majority of the time not coaching (well, unless you ask Nojah, I do a little on the side, much to his dismay) but running the score clock when needed and keeping books or occasionally stats.  It's a family affair!!  Due to both Tob and I having a job during the games I haven't been able to get many photo's this year, so basketball posts are infrequent, yet a huge part of our lives.  Thanks to the help of Emily at our last AAU tourney we captured a few.

We started out with 11 boys this season on the AAU team in hopes of a fully committed group.  However at our 2nd tournament we were down to 7 the first day and 6 the second.  It meant LOTS of playing time for those boys and they played their hearts out taking 3rd place overall out of 6 teams in La Grande.  Although LG is a 4a school and we are a 1a we enjoy playing them because our nephew is on the team and we know the coach and it's a great group of boys.  Our boys get killed (for lack of better words) every time, but in all honesty if they keep their chins up, which they do, they can only gain from the experience.

The best part about these tournaments is the family time.  All the cousins get together and they all get along so well.  As parents we love it.  We must have done something right because we have some wonderful kids who are caring, respectful, and look out for one another.

During halftime my oldest nephew Jake holds sweet Bella while visiting with Coach Uncle Toby.

We have Grandma's and Grandpa's who take their weekends to come support and watch these kids play.  Even though I don't have much time to sit and visit, I do appreciate everyone who takes the time to come and support the kids.  They are growing up fast and before we know it they will be done with this phase of their lives.

This is where I hang out for the games.  

This is Lex's first tournament and will have 2 more years left.  The girls had a lot of fun and won 1/3 games.  She very much enjoys the social aspect of the games as well.

This is Nojah's last year of AAU but will be busy with Summer league (ok maybe it is year round), basketball camps and then High School ball next year.  Ummm, did I just hear myself.....High School ball....I can't possibly have a kid that old.

Again, more bonding with cousins.  We also had my brother there with his family, but unfortunately no pictures.

Sweet Bella, taking pointers on how to become a gym rat.

Basketball tournaments also means sleepovers.  Sometimes with grandparents and sometimes with cousins.  These 2 silly bedheads enjoyed their time together.  Lex and Bella were pretty sweet as the snuggled down on the living room floor together and fell fast asleep.

and even though we can't get photo's with everyone, we appreciate the ones we do capture.

Even if Nojah secretly sneaks a banana onto grandpa's head for the photo.

We sure do love our family and are grateful for how close we are and the time spent with each other.  Between these 4 kids they had 17 games in 2 days!!  Wowsa!!