Where Did all this Snow come From?

Alex shooting from outside....and made it!

Alex's team getting "talk" from Coach McCaffrey

Alex driving down lane for 2...made it!

Alex (on inside) had an awesome blocked shot

Elyse scoring on Oelwein

Elyse guarding Nikki from Oelwein

Elyse shooting and getting fouled vs Turkey Valley

Elyse on defense against Turkey Valley post player

Well, we are on snow day number 2.  While I was excited about having a snow day last Friday, simply because we had gone to "Rock of Ages" (Broadway show touring) in Cedar Falls and it was a late night Thursday night, I am not too excited about today.  Yes, it is nice, but I was excited about how early we were going to get out of school originally in May....notice I said "were going to".  Who knows what will happen now.

"Rock of Ages" was amazing once again.  Wayne and I had both seen it in New York City (and it wasn't quite as good as NYC but it was still good).  We took some friends of ours along and it was amazing how all of us knew all the songs (kind of scary too). Brought back lots of laughs and smiles for all of us....some we won't share with each other.  Hahahahaha.  Needless to say, when I was in New York and saw it, Vince Vaugn, the movie star/actor, was sitting 2 rows behind me.  This time, some teachers from Cedar Falls were.....hoping for a snow day tomorrow.  Teachers.....Vince Vaugn.....not exactly the same but it was still fun! 

We did get in a few basketball games last week that weren't postponed due to weather.  Alex was suppose to play Waverly today, which he was pumped about, as it was already postponed due to weather once, but guess they won't be playing today either.  He did play two great games against Charles City and Decorah.  He is discovering just how much his coach loves to yell, especially "KERIAN!", but she (yes, I said "she") is doing a great job with the boys and doesn't put  up with anything.  (They could not find a coach for the 7th grade boys so the jr high girls' basketball/volleyball coach is doing it.  She loves it and is VERY good!).  His team is still undefeated so way to go 7th graders!

Elyse had games last week vs Oelwein and Turkey Valley.  They came out losing one and winning one.  Elyse was a little disappointed after the loss to Oelwein as she had good minutes, they just couldn't pull of the win.  The varsity team is experiencing some "issues within" from some of the seniors and everyone is feeling the tension".  Let's just say this was the only night Elyse came home shook up and upset, one, because they didn't beat Oelwein (whom she hates) and two, lots of yelling by some teammates in the lockerroom throwing blames.  Hopefully the team will work through it and move on.  They pulled out a win Saturday night against Turkey Valley, and Elyse had a good chunk of play time the whole first half and 3rd quarter.  Somehow, we were up by 20 going into the 4th quarter and TV came back within 4 at one time. STRESSFUL!  We did pull of the win though.

She did get some play time against Nikki from Oelwein and did well on her.  Elyse chuckled afterwards that Nikki would not "shake her hand or pat her on the back" like players do to the girl they were up against after the game.  Nikki did the other post players, NOT Elyse.  Elyse just laughed and loved it!    She also put on her Twitter that night, "Until next time" towards Nikki.....

So, here we are today stalling to clean and do laundry.  I did make a quick run to the grocery store, cautiously as we have a lot of ice under the snow, and it was like a ghost town.  I suppose I should get something done today being I didn't do too much yesterday.  I did, finally, get to enjoy a book on my nook and I haven't done that in a long time!  Loved it!  That sounds like a great idea for today, right???

One last thing....GO GIANTS!  If it can't be the Vikings, it might as well be the Giants!  :)

Stay warm!

Elyse's Basketball....Full of Ups and Downs

Elyse's basketball season since Christmas has been just that, ups and downs.  The JV continues to dominate and are still undefeated, while the varsity continues to win some and lose some (in frustration).  Elyse is still staying positive (more than her parents) and hanging in there. 

She is getting some JV time, but still only part of 2 quarters.  She is enjoying being "back with her team" as they are her classmates, and she is doing well making the best of that play.  She had some nice buckets against New Hampton this past week and strong defense. 

Varsity - When we came back from break to play Waukon, while in and out the first two quarters,she went in the 3rd quarter with the team down by 10 and helped to get us tied up, but then he took her out.  She was very confused after that but not complaining.  Just confused. (and her Grandpa is NOT happy as she can be doing really well, score, and coach will take her out....let's just hope that Elyse's grandpa and her coach never meet in the hallway...could be ugly!)    So while she is getting varsity play time, it varies to how much and how the game is going.  But she is playing aggressively and hustling down the court.  I continue to be amazed how quickly she gets down the court as one of the tallest girls out there. 

Her team came back after break to lose to Waukon and New Hampton but won against Decorah and Osage.  Round two begins this week playing everyone again....and we start with....Oelwein!  Elyse is pumped!  She had her best game thus far against them last time so hopefully she can go in an dominate against "Nikki" once again. 

Great job Crestwood and Elyse...keep playing hard and staying positive....I enjoy not having to cook on game nights....although my butt and back are suffering from the bleachers.  :)  Top two pictures are from a JV game and rest are varsity.

Living and Breathing Basketball

Alex shooting for 2 and made it!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas".....oops....wrong song and a little too late. Christmas has past but we finally have some snow on the ground and it is cold!  I am not happy about this, but what do you do? 

As the title of this blog post states, we have been living and breathing basketball the last two weeks.  Alex is fully into his 7th grade basketball and are 2-0 thus far.  He is loving it and enjoying his time on the court.  While the first game of the season for the team was fairly easy against Turkey Valley, the last one was a little tougher and Alex did have to come out a while 3rd quarter due to some fouls and the need to "refocus" as he had a guy with 10 foot arms around him when he tried to pass the ball.  He did a super job starting out and made the team's first 6 points on some nice drives down the lane.  Great job Alex and the 7th grade A team!

It is definitely hard to go from a high school varsity game to a 7th grade game, but Alex's team is pretty agressive.  They are definitely fun to watch!  Two more games this week and hopefully they can continue to stay undefeated!

Oh yeah....Alex is number 44.  He wanted LeBron James's number...but they didn't have it.  Poor Alex.  :)