Tryout lockout

Thankfully I convinced Cindy to leave her large, 300mm zoom lens camera at home during baseball tryouts and instead rely on her iPhone. For some reason I think they may have dealt with "highly involved" parents before.

Garden starts

Ashley and Mike, our co-op garden couple, came over and taught the kids how to make newspaper pots. They're planning to grow beans in them.

"We" are also growing mushrooms this season and are looking for hardwood logs. If anybody has a lead on non-aromatic hardwoods such as oak, poplar (cottonwood), elm, maple and similar woods, we would love to put them to good use.

Can it be...

Baseball season is starting? Tryouts today!

Simple shot

I asked the boys for one picture. It took a while and, well, you can probably figure it out.

At least they smiled in the end.

Basketball buds

Gabi and Kenzie sported braids today. Kenzie said its perfect because she can be girly and still play basketball. I promised to braid them every week if she continues play that tough.

Tough girl???

Finally! Our girl is starting to show a spark and some aggression for basketball! Today was a turning point, I think. She hustled, took a couple of shots, and played aggressive! Coach-mom is happy.

One thing that I notice is that Mason is always looking at the ball in pictures, and Kenzie is always looking at the eyes of her opponents. I think that is telling.

Some of them it's harder to look in the eyes....this team was tall!! #10 was taller than me!

Quick Portland trip

Last Saturday we looked at Borja's soccer schedule, only to realize the game on Sunday was in Vancouver! So we made a day trip out of it, and had dinner in Portland.

What water?

He's catching up

This is our height wall. Mason is on the left, Kenzie is on the right. He is about the same height that she was two years ago, but the gap between them is getting smaller. We keep reminding her that he will be bigger than her some day so she should be nice to him!

Photo ready practice

As everyone knows, Cindy is the head coach and general manager of all household sports. She goes to every game, every practice, and even does the after-game video recaps. When she happens to miss a game, inevitably another parent lets me know that I'm not really an acceptable substitute. ("Wow, it's sure quiet when Cindy's not here. The kids miss her encouragement.") I do my best, but it's just not the same and I get it.

So last night when Mason learned that Cindy was taking a camera class this morning and missing his game, he was rather upset. He asked her to write down all of her advise on a piece of paper that he could put in his pocket and read during the game! (Presumably from the sidelines.) This morning, when he realized she hadn't done it and was getting ready to leave, he pleaded. So I helped and wrote down her pearls of wisdom.

As it turns out, it was just picture day and practice. Good practice for all of us I guess.

Tough D

Basketball season has begun. It's fun to watch this same group of kids grow each year. This year they are doing more passes, dribbling better, and making shots from farther away.

Mason is fun to watch because he gives it his all. They each get a wrist band with a color that matches a kid on the other team, paired together for 1:1 defense. If Mason gets a kid that isn't fully participating, he cheats - he picks another kid until the referee catches him. He thinks of basketball (and every other sport) as full contact. After the game a parent came up to me and asked, "have you considered hockey for him?"video<\a>

Foggy playing

Chilled drink

Chocolate pup

A new puppy would make me very happy, Mom.

No, not ours.

Boarding

Lauren took the boys snowboarding--first time for both of them. Kenzie said she didn't want to go, but regretted that decision as soon as they left. They closed the mountain down. Borja took a nose-dive, literally, but no broken bones. They had a blast!

Selection

We put Mason in a winter soccer academy. One of the coaches approached him about being on a "select" soccer team. (Yes, approached him, not his parents.) We were pretty hesitant about the concept for a couple of reasons. First, he loves the team that he has played on, has a great coach, and is having a lot of fun. Second, he's EIGHT! It seems very early to get too serious, and we have heard a lot about teams that are too serious. But, he love the sport, is good at it, and we want to give him all the chances to follow his passions. So, after much deliberation, talking, and deliberating some more, we decided to allow Mason to make the decision. We had talked to parents on this team and learned that the coach is fabulous and he would develop a lot of skills and discipline, but it is a big commitment. Finally, he decided, he wanted to do it...but he was nervous. As the day got closer and closer, he got more and more nervous! This is a side of him that we haven't seen before. He was nervous about failing. Tryouts are in May, so this is a privilege to practice with the team ahead of tryouts. Last night was the first practice. After the first 15 minutes he was settled in, butterflies out. He loved it. Came home so proud, so chatty, so happy.

He is the one with the blue shoes and the foot on the ball. One thing we notice is that the other kids kind-of bounce off of his broad shoulders. If soccer doesn't work out, there's always football and rugby. Oh please no...

Polar bear run

What better way to start the new year than to run with your kids in a 5K, complete with a polar bear swim? I say...have a good friend take them so you can stay home in your jammies. I'm so proud of all three of them. They all beat their time from the last 5K! Borja stripped down to his undies and took the plunge at Magnassen Park. Kenzie went down to her long underwear. Mason passed on the water but jogged the entire hilly run. Happy New Year!