Spring Sports

This spring we had our four kids in five sports, plus piano. It was nutty! But we made it through--Kari in soccer, Joel in basketball and track, Aubrey in volleyball, and Grant in basketball. It was a month and a half of absolute craziness, and then things taped off a bit as soccer ended, then basketball, then track, and then the YMCA teams. Tennis started up right when it all ended, but it's very low-key and just over at Barlow, 3 minutes from home.

I already posted about Kari's soccer. She went right into training sessions for high school soccer after the spring season ended. That will continue through the summer until try-outs in August.

Joel deliberated over whether or not to play Hoopsource basketball. After a tough winter season of getting very little playing time and feeling pretty discouraged, he wasn't sure he wanted to do it, and we weren't sure we wanted him to do it. Two different dads decided to coach the team, and Joel ended up deciding to go for it. We are so thankful he did, too. It ended up being a wonderful experience for him. He regained some confidence, got to play more than he did all winter season, learned some new skills, and had a lot of fun. The coaches were super encouraging and did a great job of talking to the boys each time they came out of the game, making sure they knew what they did well and giving them pointers and tips for doing things better next time. We are so thankful for them and the way they helped Joel and the team grow.

Joel enjoyed his first track season, too. He was pretty busy with track practice every day after school, then basketball practices until 9pm two nights a week. He tried long jump, high jump, 800 meter, and the 4x200 meter relay. Lots of his friends were in track, too, and he just had a great time overall. His relay team took first in the championship.

Aubrey played another YMCA season of volleyball and got better and better. Their games got more and more exciting as the season went on. It's fun to see some volleys now. :)

Grant joined a YMCA basketball team with kids from school. About half the team was girls who had never played before. Their games were entertaining to watch. Grant and one other boy were the only ones who had played before. Grant had a great time, even though it was chaos much of the time. He was very good about passing the ball to the girls, and he was one of the only kids on the team who could dribble with one hand and not double-dribble. He had a great time on the bench, too. He talks to anyone nearby and makes friends wherever he goes! I didn't take a single picture of him playing this season. Oops!

Negligent no more

Finally taught this poor fourth child to tie his shoes. We have been remiss in this area of parenting, and by “we,” I mean me. Greg was responsible for teaching the lefties, and both girls were proficient by kindergarten. I was responsible for the righties and put off teaching Grant by buying velcro shoes the last couple times. New shoes with laces were a must. 

He is so proud of his accomplishment. He went around tying our shoes for us the next day on Saturday and said, "I should start a shoe-tying business!" Funny kid. On Monday he came home and told us he had tied shoes for several friends at school. Such a useful skill! :) 

I snapped the second photo after school one day. I subbed at East Orient that day and saw him on the playground with quite the mismatched outfit and made a mental note to take a photo later. He goes to school like this many days. I comfort myself by thinking, "At least he gets himself ready!"

😂

Piano Festival for Two

Aubrey participated in her first piano Junior Festival this year. She did well and earned a Superior ribbon. We got a smoothie at Silk afterwards to celebrate. A couple hours later, it was Kari's turn, and she, too, earned a Superior. She was upset after her performance, though, because she wasn't perfect and didn't play her second song perfectly. We had a good chat on the way home about how to give ourselves grace and not expect perfection. Only Jesus is perfect, and we can try our best but perfection is not something we can attain. Kari is very hard on herself in many areas of life, including piano. Her choice of treat was a Wendy's Frosty. That smile was a genuine one. She was cheering up by then. I love having beautiful piano music played in our home. I'm so grateful the girls are able to take lessons from Katie. She is amazing, both as a teacher and as a person. 

Honor Roll

Both Kari and Joel have earned 4.0 grade point averages this year, and I was able to go to the last two celebration assemblies, much to Kari's chagrin. She does NOT enjoy being in front of people and does not want me there watching, but I went anyway! :) Joel likes me being there. He's not too cool for his mama yet. He smiled for me to take his photos. Kari literally ran away from me after the assembly, but Kevin snapped a photo of her and Kylee and sent it along to me.

Last Rec Soccer Season for Kari

Kari played spring soccer with her same team she's played with for years, and this was their last season together. Next year they'll all be in high school, trying out for the team at Barlow. Contrary to what her expression says, Kari loved being muddy and dirty. She prefers to play in some drizzle, and that day was a bit too stormy, but she was still happy. Their last game had perfect Kari soccer weather--overcast, a little wet, and cool but not too cold. It was a tough, intense game, but Kari played well, and they ended up tied in the end. It was a great way to end her rec soccer career.

Easter

Easter was at the end of Spring Break, and I found myself wishing it was separated a bit. It all came at once, and I didn't feel prepared for Easter this year. Sickness and life got in the way in the weeks prior. We had a great Easter weekend, though. We went to church for the Good Friday service, which helped focus our thoughts and hearts, spent time with church family at the egg hunt at the Pate's Saturday morning, and enjoyed church Sunday morning and a day with family at my parents' house afterward. 

Spring Break

The weeks before spring break were full of sickness (Joel with pneumonia, me with bronchitis, and Greg needing prednisone to help him kick that cough), so we were in survival mode for what felt like way too long. We were very much looking forward to a break from school and work! We went to Sunriver and stayed in a big, beautiful house with the Millers and the Wilsons for three nights. It was cold but nice. We took walks, played in some snow, did two 1,000 piece puzzles, watched The Greatest Showman, and the kids and some dads went to the SHARC and went down the water slides. We had a ping pong tournament, too, and Joel and Mike played in the championship. Mike took first, but Joel fought hard and well for second place. It was nice to get away and nice to have the rest of the week still, too. We drove over to Sisters on our way home to give Brennan his birthday gift and hung out with Ryan and Michelle and their kids for the day before heading home that Tuesday. Our drive home became much longer when we got all the way to Government Camp and stopped for a bathroom break, only to hear that Hwy 26 was closed and that we'd have to take an alternate route home. The only other way home is to take Hwy 35 around the mountain through Hood River and up the gorge. It added 2 hours to our drive. We had some deja-vu when Aubrey started crying about her ear hurting.  We'd been in this very situation a couple years ago when an accident shut down the highway after Christmas when we were coming back from Sisters--long detour and Aubrey screaming because her ears hurt. We finally made it home, but it was not a pleasant drive in the dark and rain.

The rest of our week we got things done around the house. Greg spent hours on the roof, scraping moss and laying down moss killer. I scooped out muck from the gutters and took on the daunting task of cleaning all our carpets. I was determined to get stains out, which meant I went over and over the same spots many, many times. It took two days, but we finally got it all done. I could hardly move the next day, and my wrists and thumb still feel the effects of those same motions over and over again, but it was worth it. Some of the high traffic areas are permanently stained, but it looks better than it did before, and at least I KNOW the carpet is clean now. We'd like to put in hardwood and replace carpet next year, so I'm hoping we only have to live with this carpet for one more year. It felt good to get some things done around here. 

before

during

after

Regional Spelling Bee

Aubrey made it through the first round with “tragic” but got tripped up by a little Spanish word in the second round—“adios.” Appropriate, wasn’t it? We are so proud of her for all her hard work and being brave enough to do this. She competed against kids up through 8th grade! There were only five 4th graders out of 48 kids. This whole Spelling Bee experience has been so great for Aubrey! 

State Basketball Tournament

Joel's team made it to the State Tournament in Bend this year. They finished in the middle of the pack, won 2, lost 2. We enjoyed seeing Ryan and Michelle and the kids, and we watched a lot of basketball! Joel had had a fever and been sick the weekend before during the league tournament and was still getting over that sickness, coughing a ton. Greg and I both got sick that week, so all three of us were coughing and fighting sickness all weekend. The day after we got back from the tournament, Joel came home after school, saying he said he wasn't feeling well and fell asleep on his bed! I knew there was something really wrong then. He NEVER takes naps. When he woke up, he had a fever, so I took him in to the doctor that evening, and after listening to his lungs, they diagnosed him with pneumonia and gave him a Rosephin shot (not fun at all). Poor guy! Over the next two days, he watched all three Lord of the Rings movies while he rested.

This was a tough season for Joel and for us. He received very little playing time, and we watched as his confidence fell lower and lower. He felt a lot of pressure to not make mistakes, and there were times when the pressure was just too much, and he broke. That was so difficult to watch. We had lots of conversations about how we have to persevere through difficulties and work at becoming more mentally strong. We are so proud of him for his positive attitude and for trying his best, no matter the circumstances. He worked hard at being an encouraging teammate, too. There were some difficult lessons learned this season, but hopefully, God will use this time and these experiences to grow Joel's character and his faith. 

Greg's birthday

I asked Greg what kind of dessert he wanted for his birthday, if he could have anything, and he said key lime pie. So, I looked up Pioneer Woman's key lime pie recipe, bought the ingredients I needed, and made him pie. We had Aidan and Abby with us overnight while their parents and brother were in Washington D.C., so I wanted to make sure I had enough and may have over done it a bit. We had LOTS of pie. And it was delicious. :) One more year of being in our thirties. We're getting old. Next year I anticipate hearing a lot about being the "older woman," after I turn 40 and in those 40 days before he joins me in the next decade. That'll be fun. ;-)

Kari Piano Syllabus, year 2

Kari passed her second year of Syllabus, which really is a great accomplishment. She worked hard many months to prepare for it. The house we went to for the event was beautiful and had very large doors to the room with the piano in it. Kari looked tiny in front of those doors! She was disappointed with her performance because she felt should have done better and could have done better, but she still passed, and I was still proud! We celebrated with a Dairy Queen blizzard before I took her back to school.