The Last Basketball Game

Yesterday was our last round of games for a while. We don't do any spring sports so I always look forward to this breather! Sports are fun, but they keep us so busy that it's hard to do other things. And other things are good too!

We left the house at 7:30 for Brandon's game. Yes, his last game was at 8:00. Another thing I won't miss ;) He has worked so hard this season but still hadn't made a basket during a game.

 Until yesterday! He played great! First basket during a game! He's very excited to say the least :)  (That's not a picture of his basket. He made an attempt in that picture but it didn't go in. I didn't get a picture of his basket. I was busy holding my breath screaming in my head, "SHOOT!" It was very exciting.)

Most of my pictures turn out like this:

Crazy-blurry. This is one of the good ones. They just move so fast. I can't tell you how many I have of nothing. Here he got the ball and was making a crazy-fast run down the court. Exciting! The final score was 25-26 Brandon's team won. He was doubly pleased that his basket made such a difference.

Megan's game was next. She's been making baskets during practice, but during the games she gets very distracted. She likes playing with the girl guarding her ;) and turning in circles ;) But not yesterday! There was some amazing focus going on!

 And guess what? She got her first basket yesterday too! I think they entire room cheered. That was pretty funny. The picture above is a picture of her making her basket but you can't see her! She's on the other side of all those girls. But that's her ball going in!

She didn't make this shot but it's a better picture of her ;)

 Check out her dribbling skills!

Nick's game was last. He also hadn't made a basket during a game. Talk about pressure! At this point we were 2/3 for kids getting their first game point, now it was Nick's game. And he did it!

 The above picture was it snapped a second too soon. The below picture was a good attempt but didn't quite make it.

I still like it :)

So it was a very exciting day for us! 3/3 kids getting their first game point in basketball! They all worked so hard this year and improved so much. It was the perfect way to end the basketball season :)

Having a Ball

Our kids have really enjoyed basketball season. In my opinion, the skills required to play this sport are many and not always the easiest to practice either. You definitely need a basketball hoop to practice shooting for example, so while I have many pictures of Todd outside playing football with the kids giving them advice on throwing and catching, our chances at practicing basketball are much more limited, especially this time of the year ;) There is a hoop in our cul-de-sac, but I'm pushing for one in our own driveway this summer :)

Since the main goal of Upward is not to make athletes out of our children, they only practice once a week. At this point in our lives, if it had been more than that we would not have been able to participate so I'm very grateful for that! But even though these teams are only meeting once a week, their progress has been amazing!! The boys' teams are running plays and learning the positions as well as dribbling, passing, and shooting. Megan's team has worked on plays too but mostly they work on dribbling, passing, and shooting ;) It has really been fun to watch our kids improve their skills! At practice this week, Megan made nine baskets! I'm not kidding! During games, it would seem that she'd rather play with the girl guarding her though ;)
Here are some pictures from our season.

 I just can't believe how much Megan has improved! When she started, she couldn't dribble more than a couple of bounces before it fizzled out. Now she can dribble and walk or run!

Nick spent some time last year playing with the guy who was guarding him too ;) This year, he's running plays and everything!

I don't have any more of Brandon than what I posted last month. His games are so fast and furious that all I ever see are the backs of boys heads. My mom joined us to watch the games this week and she couldn't believe how skilled (and tall!) the boys were in Brandon's game. Those boys are all over each other! I'll try harder this week.

Next Saturday is our last game of the season. I'll be happy to have my Saturdays back but it has been so much fun! We'll be a little sad to see it end :)

For the Next Two Months...

We'll be spending our Saturdays watching this:

 Nick is number 35.

 Brandon:

 Brandon got the ball more during this one game than he did all of last year. That was exciting!

 Cutest basketball player ever:

As you can see, all three are playing Upwards basketball! This is already proving to be a stretch for us schedule-wise so we'll see if we make it to the end of February with our sanity ;)  The good part is they can be active all winter long without me freezing my butt off! They have alot to learn, but the good thing about Upwards is that they will receive plenty of instruction. Even the refs, during the game, take the time to explain their calls. The refs during Megan's game would actually called all the girls over so they could tell them what had gone against the rules. And although the game gets more competitive as they get older (Brandon's age group is the only one of our kids' teams that keeps score) there's still a God-honoring manner about it. I love it! And I'm looking forward to devoting my Saturdays, once again, to sports :)

There's a New Player in Town

Basketball practice started this week and we have a new player! Megan has joined the boys in playing Upwards basketball! Last year, she gave cheerleading a try but it wasn't her thing. Don't get me wrong, I think she makes a great cheerleader, but with Upwards, their cheerleaders do alot of standing/sitting around. It's not like school sports where they're leading the audience in cheers. It was a bit...boring.

This year, she's decided to give basketball a try and she's excited! She has a lot to learn, but she sure did look cute out there :)

Um, cheerleader?

 She was so cute catching the ball. She turned her head every time!

Another cheerleader pose? Hmmm...it's going to be an interesting season :)

Our Basketball Season

Yesterday, the kids finished their Upwards basketball/cheerleading program. We have really enjoyed it! In the past, I'd asked Brandon if he'd like to try basketball, but he always just shrugged his shoulders and gave me the impression of "not really" so I didn't push. I like being home :)

This year, however, I leaned on him to give it a try. He agreed and along came Nicholas and Megan to join up too ;)

I've sang the praises of Upwards before; how it's a Christian-based program and they focus more on teaching the game and less on the actual winning/losing part. I really appreciate that. I like that there are kind coaches who don't make a big deal out of things and instead choose to celebrate the victories of each individual based on their skill level. I think that's very important for young people who are learning something new.

So, here are some of my favorite pictures from this basketball/cheerleading session!

Check out Nick's blocking skillz ;)
I love this picture because not only does he have a huge smile but he has friends on the cheerleading squad on the sidelines :) (Margot, do you recognize any of them?? ;))
He did good at staying with his guy.

Our little cheerleader. Megan missed the last game because she has strep (UGH!).
She LOVED the mascot (a lion).
She wants to try basketball next year.

Brandon enjoyed this the most I think. He looked forward to every practice and game and really gave it his best. His age group does keep score but again they really focus on teaching the boys the game. It was really exciting for him to know some of the other players too, even though they were all on the other team! Our first game he and Kyle, who is a very good friend, were assigned to each other:
They had a great time blocking each other!
Brandon learned how to be a bit more aggressive:
I captured two of my favorite things yesterday:

First, they pray before each game. What a positive example for these young men :)
And then, this has nothing to do with basketball, it just happened to happen there:
Nick took a book to Brandon's game ;) He carries books everywhere now! Amazing!

In summary, we will do this again next year! It was a great addition to our winter (although it drags me out)!

Busy Saturdays

Last Saturday was a little different for us. We had three kids in things ALL DAY LONG! Basketball games started last week so for the next seven weeks, we will be very busy on Saturdays :) When I got our game schedule right before Christmas I just about had a panic attack! For some reason, I assumed Megan would cheer for one of the boys' games. I don't know why I thought that. She's not, of course ;) So we have three separate game times each week. Last week, Nick's game was at 9:20 this week it's at 12:20 and it will be different next week. Megan's are always the same and Brandon's flip between two times so that's not too bad. But Nick's are crazy.

The good news is that they love it! This is their first year in basketball and Megan's first year cheering and they all are really having so much fun! So, even though I'm used to a way more relaxed Saturday schedule, I'm happy to do this for them :)

First up, Nicholas:
You can barely see him in this picture, but I love it!
He took his job guarding very seriously:
So cute!

Brandon:
Brandon's age group only has two teams so they get to play each other every week. What's really funny is that he knows some of the boys on the other team from co-op! Last week, he and Kyle (a very good friend) were even assigned to each other as their person to guard! I think they both had some fun with that :)
I couldn't get any good pictures of Megan last week. I'll have to make up for it this week ;)
She's still cute ;)

Christmas Break?

Could you believe the balmy weather yesterday? Last night was the perfect night to go to the zoo and see the lights. But we couldn't go. Why? Because, for the first time, we've decided to participate in winter sports! GAH! The only gorgeously warm day and we had cheerleading and basketball practice as well as boyscouts! I knew there was a reason I don't sign my kids up for evening things!

Anyway, I may as well put up a few pictures from last night ;)

I was taking pictures from the back so I wouldn't be a distraction:
I didn't get her sweet, little face, but I know you know which one she is ;)

Kristen was helping me figure out my camera! This is zoomed with the flash. It's dark as many of my inside and zoomed in pictures are:
I was complaining to Kristen (who has taken photography!) and she made some adjustments and this is what I got:
You can see my little basketball player! Much better!

I'm just pretend-grumbling about taking the kids to their stuff last night. Both the boys have told me how much they love basketball! How exciting! And, of course, Megan loves cheerleading! We are so lucky to have the Upwards programs close to home :)

The lights at the zoo will have to wait for a few more days! (no doubt we'll go on the coldest day!)