Spring Break

The past few years we've headed to Sunriver for a few days over spring break, but this year we decided to save vacation days and money and stay home. We usually go with the Wilsons, and sometime others, but they have a big trip planned this summer, too, and wanted to save money and vacation time, as well. Greg did take Monday and Friday off to give him long weekends with us. He took the kids to see a movie Monday (I was sick with yet another sinus infection. Boo.) and enjoyed a free day with us on Friday. It truly felt like a break. We relaxed, read books, watched movies, spent time together as a family, and just enjoyed being home, not running every direction for activities and sports. Russell and Ellery spent a day with us, and Kari had a couple tennis practices, but that was about it. After a hectic winter of basketball, it felt great to have some down time. We went for a little hike with Grandpa and Grandma M. on Saturday at the end of the break. It was a beautiful day, a great day to get outside for some fresh air and sunshine.

Joel Basketball

Joel finished his fourth season of Barlow Youth Basketball with pretty much the same team as the previous years. This season was much better than last year. He got to play more minutes, had more confidence, and felt more a part of the team. Every member of the team was able to contribute, and it just made the whole experience feel much more more positive. Dan Stump and Isaac Eivers coached, and they did an awesome job with the boys. They qualified for state early in the season, and we decided to take the whole family to Bend this year. We stayed with Ryan and Michelle in Sisters, and the kids got to spend time with their cousins. A couple weeks before the tournament, Sisters had four and a half feet of snow dumped on them. The middle school girls' tournament the weekend before the boys' got cancelled because there was just too much snow.  By the time we got there, some of it had melted, and the roads were cleared and drive-able. The snow drifts, though, were over 5 feet in some places on the sides of the roads. Ryan and Michelle's front yard had so much snow piled up that they kids had snow caves and carved out tunnels--pretty fun for our kids who rarely get to see that much snow. We watched a lot of basketball, hung out with friends and family, and just had a really great weekend together. Great way to end the season. Joel's team went 2-2 in the tournament. They would have liked to win at least one more, but it was a respectable finish in the gold bracket.

Photo credit: Lynette Fay Photography

Greg's 40th Birthday

Greg ordered and picked up his own birthday dinner and ate it alone. He decided he wanted sushi, but no one else in our family cares for sushi or even to try it. Aubrey tasted at California roll and declared it "okay." Greg enjoyed his sushi, though, and the rest of us ate some cooked dinner. :-) He requested yellow cake with lemon filling and chocolate frosting, though, and everyone enjoyed that. His big birthday celebration is in May. He, Eric, Andy, Mike, Paul, and Ryan are heading to Cleveland, Ohio to Cedar Point, "the roller-coaster capital of the world." They'll have a blast, I'm sure. Tickets and flights have been purchased and housing secured.

Aubrey Basketball

Aubrey played competitive basketball for the first time this year with Barlow Youth. Greg was an assistant coach for her team. They learned and grew a lot over the course of the season. Aubrey had a lot of fun but also had a few tears, most of which were in the second game of the league tournament at the end of the season. The second game of the day that Saturday was very intense--close score the entire game, the crowd hyped up and yelling, overtime, and an unkind ref--and the girls cracked under the pressure, our girl especially. At one point at the end of the game, Aubrey was playing point guard, crying as she tried to dribble up the court with a girl screaming, "BALL, BALL, BALL, BALL!" in her face. They ended up losing the game, and every single girl on her team was crying afterward. Thankfully, the next day of games to finish the tournament went much better. They were able to end the season on a high note with back-to-back wins.
Photos credit: Lynette Fay Photography