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.  :)

Wonderful Holiday!

Wayne skyping with Kirstin and Pete putting antlers on him

Randy and his White Elephant gift..wears it well!

Wayne opening gifts at home

Kids opening gifts...dogs playing with theirs

Alex, Graham and Connor flying kites at Gma's.

Alex and his twin, Connor, watching basketball

Connor, "Let me help you Graham." 

Playing cards with Great Gma Rita

"Alright!! Jump in the paper!!!"

We will help you Elyse

Elyse, Graham, Alex, Connor

With my holiday break soon over (yes, we return January 2nd...too soon!), I thought I would quickly send out a post sharing some pictures of our Christmas gatherings.  We had a wonderful time at all of the gatherings that we had with family and friends!  Thank you to Randy and Lori for hosting the Kerian Christmas gathering, my mom and dad for hosting the Nadermann Christmas, and Wayne for cooking for our family Christmas as I was not feeling well Christmas eve day.  Everything was perfect, it couldn't have been better, and it was so nice to have Kirstin home!

With the weather being in the 30s and 40s Christmas day, Wayne brought his kites to my parents and the little boys enjoyed flying Wayne's kites, as did Wayne, except there were a lot of power lines around that we had to be careful of.  Connor can now say "Kite" and it is so cute.  He can also say "Lyse" and "Aex" but not "Kim"....come on Sara.....get working on that! 

It was also nice that on Christmas day we got to spend some time with my grandma, the kids' great grandma.  She is a major card player, so she played cards with the kids, chuckling at "What kind of game do you play...this is crazy!"....as Elyse immitates Gma Rita in her older lady voice.  I was very glad to get to chat with her and see her!

Kirstin was not able to be home in time for the Kerian Christmas, but we did skype her in to watch and be there as much as she could.  She, sadly, left to fly back to NC this morning.  It was a very emotional morning for her, as I think she realized how much she misses Iowa (or maybe just sleeping in and never having to cook...yeah...that might be it! :)  Just kidding Kirstin!  We were so glad to have you home!  Your dad is still pretty shook up about you leaving....

I came across some old pictures of Ken that some of his friends had on Facebook while he was at West Point.  It was fun and bittersweet to look at those pictures and show the kids how Ken "really looked".  Kind of warmed my heart for the holiday break, but still miss him endlessly.

We hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends over the holidays!  Thanks to our families for a wonderful holiday!

Seeing "Enemy" Once Again...

Elyse shoots....she scores

Boxing out Nikki

team time out....Elyse is "35"

Elyse turn around shot...did make it..

Won't say much about Elyse's basketball game last night against Oelwein except that the officiating DOES make a huge difference!  Wow!  Crestwood never got a break the whole night. 

Elyse did get a little action on the JV, not much as she has to save her quarters, but she did get in and scored a few.  The JV dominated over Oelwein and pulled off a huge victory so that was fun to watch.  Long though as the officials called everything and Oelwein's JV had a few freshman on the team that struggled.  Lots of whistles blowing throughout the game, but super job to the JV. They are still undefeated!

Varsity has gone to 4 and 3 overall, 1 and 2 in conference.  Last night was a rough night as the girls ended up getting called for everything.  I had to turn to my dad and tell him to calm down many times, even though we were all yelling at the officials.  But Elyse was pumped because she knew she would face "Enemy - Nicole".  Those of you who follow this blog know who she is.  Elyse went in the middle of first quarter, all of 2nd quarter, and most of 3rd quarter playing awesome ball, great defense, and shut Nikki down!  I feel comfort saying she had one of her best games defensively thus far.  She ended up having 4 fouls half way through the 3rd quarter, some legit calls, some not.

So although we were winning at half and tied or close at end of 3rd, the varsity team ended up losing.  Can't win them all....but Elyse wanted this one desperately!  Next time...

A Beautiful - Fun - Night at Madrigal



Elyse racing Tiffany on "stick horses" in front of everyone

Elyse middle jester

Elyse, front middle, bidding audience fare well

Molly, Elyse, Alexis

I will admit, I wasn't that excited to go to Madgrical at first.  Wayne and I had been to it a few years ago and it was nice, but let's admit it, also long.  It was in the high school, and they did a super job trying to change it into the time period and Christmasy, but still the high school.  Well, that changed this year as Madrigal was wonderful!  I will admit, I even had a few tears at the end watching Elyse singing up and having fun!  I looked over at Wayne many times, and he was just staring at his "little girl" with a grin on his face.  I wish I could have captured that moment.

This year's performance was held in a building that used to be a catholic church and is now called the Heritage Center.  It was decorated with so many Christmas trees and Christmas lights while all other lights were dimmed.  The atmosphere alone was just nice to relax and be a part of.

Elyse was a jester for the two performances of Madgrical. Wayne and I knew not to make eye contact with her throughout the performance or she would come over with her group of jesters and pick on us.  Needless to say, there were only a few comments directed at us so we were pretty safe the whole night! Wayne tried to pay her off before the night so that he wouldn't have to do anything.  The one time we did go years ago, Wayne had to get up in front of everyone and spell words with his butt.  Tramatized for life!!! :)  She did a wonderful job performancing as the jester, even picking on her cousin Tiffany who happened to be in the audience Sunday evening.  Tiffany had to have a "horse race" like midieval times against Elyse.  It was cute because they used the horses with the heads on a stick.  Elyse's horse ended up going out of control and Tiffany won...very cute! 

The evening ended with Christmas songs that all the audience joined in.  This was exactly what I needed to get me more in the Christmas mood!  And I will say....not sure where she gets it...but Elyse has a beautiful voice.....

Another proud moment to share.  All are invited to next year's Madgrical....

Where do we go tonight??? The "Open Door"....

Playing defense on inbounds

Elyse is guarding this Mammoth!

posting up against "Mammoth"

another big girl from Charles City

Nice Elyse!

Going for 2 in blue

nice elyse!

As everyone else, life is spent building that tolerance back up for the bleacher butt watching basketball games.  Alex has had a little time off and gearing up for his next tournament the 17th.  It will be the team's last one and then they start 7th grade boys basketball at school.  He is so, so, so, so, excited for that!  Last night during half time of the varsity girls game, he was out doing the "dollar a shot"- you pay a dollar, shot a 3 pointer, and get 2 back if you make it.  He made 6 so he was pumped!  Funny how we gave him the dollars to play but we did not reap any of the benefits.  :)  We are anxious for him to start as he is spending lots of time in the gym, practicing with Kyle, and lifting/footwork every day after school at the high school.  He is a trooper!

Elyse's team, varsity, is now 3 and 2 overall.  As mentioned before, they started out strong and then went into a rutt losing to Waverly and then to South Winn.  We won't even comment about the South Winn game except for the fact that Elyse found out how much her coach can yell...and she better have a tough skin....:)  But she continues to do well, as others,  but loving the challenges and the pushes she has been getting. Defense continues to be her favorite.   I don't know where they all came from, but there are some BIG girls in our conference.  Wow!  Two games have been against 6'2" girls - only an inch taller than Elyse but probably 25 pounds more. Hesitate to take it up against them??? Yes, she is! :)

A funny thing did happen last week against the big girl from Waverly.  6'2" big girl and strong!  Elyse went in and was playing hard defense, wasn't even in 30 seconds, and got called for intention foul for pushing too much and "grabbing the girls' jersey".  Her coach was furious as the officials and told her to keep doing it!  She had a look on her face like "What the heck just happened?".  Luckily the girl missed her two free throws, but they did get the ball back.  Elyse walked in the door and we all started laughing.  She quickly ran down to email her Lightning coach to tell him what happened.  He responding with some funny comments and then told her to remember she isn't "down south" playing any more!  :)  Too funny!

She did get to play a few minutes of JV last night for the first time  (just part of 2 quarters) to get as much play time as she can (they can play 6 quarters a night), which she enjoyed because she was back playing with her "original team" and "besties"  of sophomores!  She's still not sure where she fits in exactly, but she's staying positive....and "enjoying the journey", as her Lightning coach would say!  :)

Thanksgiving in Minneapolis and Birthdays in Red Wing

Wayne and Grahams' Funny Faces

Alex and his buddy, Connor, watching football

Connor decorating cookies..."One More"

Wayne playing CandyLand with boys downstairs

Skyping with Kirstin on iPad...Graham was showing her his picture

Cousin Cuddles!  Adorable!

Elyse and Alex making cookies

Graham and Sara with cookies

We had a wonderful time spending a few days in Minneapolis at the Johnsons.  They hosted their first holiday in their new home and it was super!  Sara made a wonderful meal, Derek was a super host, and the boys were so fun to play with.  The weather was beautiful so it couldn't have been a better Thanksgiving!  There was, and is, lots to be thankful for!

Along with a fabulous meal, there were fun times playing outside, skyping with Kirstin in North Carolina, lots of football on TV, and a few naps in between.  The kids also had fun decorating Christmas cookies, which was cute to see.  Connor's comment of "One more" every time someone stopped giving him frosting or sprinkles to put on his cookie (and eat) was so cute!  It was just a wonderful few days in Minneapolis!  Thank you Sara and Derek!

We were home for a night before Wayne and I headed to Red Wing to join the Kerian family for a surprise birthday for his sister Carol.  We met up with some of the others before surprising her with some fun in Red Wing.  While I am not a gambler, it was fun to walk around with the Kerian family, eat a nice dinner, and watch some of them do some bowling at this really cool, retro, bowling alley.  I also have to comment that there is no one luckier than Wayne's mom!  She has a special "touch" for gambling as it seems she always hits it big!  She did again, which is exciting for her!  Yahoo Judy!  While some of the others gambled, Wayne and I sat in the lounge area and listed to an amazing band!  They played every type of music from 80s, 90s, and current. 

So after making a few stops in Rochester along the way home to do some Christmas shopping, we arrived home to relax and prepare for the week.  I seriously think I need a vacation from my vacation as I am exhausted!  Could that be that we stayed up too late last night.....and we are getting old?  Nah!  It was a great weekend of making more memories!