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!

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.  :)

Alex's AAU Tournament 2 - Tougher in Waverly



Alex on defense

Alex going up strong

Boys in retro warm-ups from high school

Alex on the steal

Alex going for 2

Tournament two for Alex's AAU team was a little tougher than the first one.  Waverly host a huge tournament so we didn't even start until around 4 in the afternoon.  The boys gave it their all but ended up with 2 losses and 1 win.  While the loss to Waverly was the toughest, as it was also the closest, the boys did well and it was good for them to play some tough teams.  Our first game was against an all-star team from Mason City that had already had over 20 games this season.  They were amazing!  The loss to Waverly was a close one between some of the boys' biggest rivals and friends in the district.  The last game was an easy win, which was probably good to end on that note as it was already after 6:30 on a Sunday night and we had an hour drive home. 

The highlight of the day came when their coach gave each of them the high school's old warm ups from the 90s.  The boys put them on and were in shock!  They said they were going retro and having a "flash back" day.  They looked like bowling shirts to me or something Charlie would wear on Two and a Half Men!   The boys wore them with pride so I had to post a picture of their "retro warm-ups"!  It was very nice for the high school coach to let the boys have them to wear! 

Great job Crestwood 7th grade AAU!  One more tournament before Christmas and then a little break!

7th Grade AAU Basketball has Begun...took 2nd Place At Tourney!

Alex making free throw

2nd Place Medal from Coach

Guarding "The Tree"

Alex going up strong

Alex on the shot - nice form!

Basketball season is in full swing, and so far everyone is still coming home from practices and games (Alex) with smiles.  That is a great way to start the season!

With one week of practice under her belt, Elyse woke up at 5:30 AM to get ready to leave at 6:15 this morning for some scrimmages in Mason City.  She was growley (as any teenager is at that time) so I hope she is taking some of the "energy" out on the basketball court.  She did not want us to go and watch, as many parents don't this first set of scrimmages.  She said they have some "kinks" to work out and she is just not sure where she will be playing as a sophomore.  So...anxiously waiting to hear updates about how they are doing.  (It truly is killing me not being there to watch but I will respect her wishes....this time!)

Alex had his first AAU tournament already last weekend down in my "old stomping ground" by Edgewood. (Alex is number 6 in pictures) The tournament was in Maquoeta Valley and their first game was at 8:40 so we had a chance to go down Friday night and spent the night at my parent's.  It was nice to go down and relax at "home".  Of course, Mom had a yummy meal made and played some card games with the kids (which they love) so it was a great night before a morning of basketball.

Alex's team did wonderful and came out in 2nd place!  They all did super.  We had one game that we lost in which the team had a guy who was 6'2" as a 7th grader!  He was like a tree to our boys so no one could stop him.  We just want to erase that game from the record and focus on the others that the boys won.  (The worse part was that one of my old basketball coaches, assistant coach my senior year and just out of college, was the coach of this team with the giant boy.  It was worse loosing to them simply because of the coach - whom I got along great with but just wanted to beat!).  And the fact that when I was talking to Coach Wright afterwards, he reminded me how long I have been out of high school...that left a stinger too! :)

Alex played great ball!  He did roll an ankle tripping on a shoe string (yes, he did) but came back and played strong after a little break. Alex has been consistently lifting weights and doing cardio after school in the high school weightroom and it is showing!   We love his dedication!

Alex Going in Strong!

 Grandma Janet and Elyse were along so it was nice that he had a little cheering section and did well!  Great job Crestwood 7th grade AAU!  Next weekend we head to Waverly for a tournament that is usually pretty tough and against some boys that Alex's team likes to talk "smack" with.  Could get interesting as they are all very competetive!  Excited!