A Fun Week of Basketball

The kids didn’t have school again this past Monday. They are really enjoying the Mondays off. We used the extra time to get a bit of cleaning done like washing bedding, vacuuming the whole house, and cleaning out some closets again. I feel like I am always doing that. I went through some of the old boy clothes and found stuff for Lincoln and the twins, got it washed and put away for the warmer weather. The kids also spent some time outside and got to go out to the ranch for a little bit while Andrew helped work some cows they just bought. I went out to pick them up a little later and get Jackson back to town for his basketball practice. After practice, we went to La Fuente for dinner, which made the kids very happy.

We had some warmer temperatures on Tuesday, but it was overcast all day and the wind was really blowing. I had originally hoped to get outside for my workouts, but ended up just riding on the trainer and running on the treadmill. The kids did get to get outside after school and I worked on cleaning out some of our flower beds. I made dinner and then we were off to the Mother/Daughter, Father/Son basketball games. I wore my hold Hawks jersey, which was fun. The way we worked it for the girls’ game, was we would go in when our daughter was in, which made for some entertainment. Ellie is pretty competitive, like her mother, and she really didn’t want me to do well at all. We had some fun back and forth play and it was fun to get out there and play again. I stuffed Ellie once and she was a tad bit flustered. The moms were ahead by quite a bit, but the girls’ score somehow doubled in the last few minutes of the game.  It ended up in a tie. Next up were the guys and they decided to play zone defense to ease up on the physical effort. It was fun watching them all play and I do believe Andrew may have been high scorer. I think people were pretty surprised by his skills. But I believe the guys did try to play it cool and weren’t as scrappy as the moms J.

After the game, we got some Dairy Queen and then it was time to head home and get ready for the next day. I had an eye appointment Wednesday morning, so I didn’t get my swim in. I did a little grocery shopping before and after the appointment. My appointment went well and my I guess my eyesight is better than I thought it was and he said the help I would need is so minimal, that he couldn’t recommend LASIK at this time. He did write a prescription if I ever wanted it to get glasses to use while I drive. Later, when I picked up the twins from school, they were excited to show me astronaut kits that they made. They were very happy about them. We did have to do some repairs at home though.

This Wednesday was our last night of three basketball practices. We dropped Jackson off for his last practice after school. His coach gave them “homework” at the previous practice and they had to write 30 things God had given them and what they would want to be remembered for if they were to die tomorrow. He gave it to them on a small piece of paper and Jackson assumed he wanted it written on that paper and proceeded to try to fit it all on there. When we got home I worked on dinner so Ellie could eat before she had practice. It was an early dinner for most of us since we ate before picking up Jackson at 5 and then dropping Ellie off. Then Lincoln was up next with practice at 6:15. Andrew stayed a little later at the office, so he picked Lincoln up at 7. The next morning, I had our women’s bible study. It was chilly out again, so I made some hot chocolate to go with the lemon blueberry buttermilk cake I made.  We had a great discussion and I think many of us feel like the book we are reading has a lot of great information in it.  

That afternoon after school, the twins were so eager to go outside and play with Lincoln and his friends. It was kind of chilly, but they didn’t let that stop them. They all love riding their scooters together and the twins love when they are included. Although, I don’t let them venture as far off as the older boys. Throughout the afternoon, our basketball plans kept changing. We were supposed to have our last two games on Thursday and Friday, but the Friday ones at LaPlata ended up being canceled. They thought we were supposed to play on Thursday and we already had games planned with Atlanta. Ellie had already missed two weeks of dance, so she wasn’t going to be going to the Atlanta game but I was thinking she would get one last game in at LaPlata. Then it was decided that the girls would play in Atlanta at 6 and then to to LaPlata and play again at 7:30. So, I decided Ellie could skip her later dance class and go to the LaPlata game and my mom said they could take her. But then it changed again and LaPlata said they went ahead and scheduled a different team, so the second game was off and Ellie’s season was over. They still may reschedule the LaPlata games, so we’ll see. So, I dropped Ellie off at dance and then Andrew and I took the rest of the kids to Atlanta for Jackson’s game. My parents picked up Ellie and came to Atlanta too and were able to get there in time for the game. Andrew’s parents made it too. The boys ended up losing, but they played a good game. Jackson had a great game and it was a great way for him to end the season. We hated to see the season end and were so thankful that Jackson and Ellie both had the opportunity to play. It was a great group of kids, parents and coaches.

The twins were home on Friday, so they got to go with me to get the car serviced. Then we picked up a few more snacks for Jackson’s small group, got some McDonalds for the twins and then dropped off all the snacks at the K-Life house. Andrew ended up picking up the others from school and then he went to work on making over the original bike I gave him that we use on our trainer. I thought I would be a little handy too and got the tools out to fix a broken arm rest in my car. My fix was a little easier and quicker though. He worked through the evening while I worked on other things around the house and got dinner ready and the kids played. The twins and Lincoln were outside on their scooters again. Ellie was so excited to have some girls around…Kiersten came down and Lucy, from the basketball team, was with her. Then they met up with Grace and Averi. They went to see the donkeys over near Weatherstone. The owner told them they could actually go in the fence to see them and feed them. So, they grabbed some carrots before they left. When they came back, they got out the laser tag guns and played that for a bit before moving onto the clap game Molly taught Ellie last weekend.

I got a text from my mom that evening wanting to know if I wanted to go see The Shack with them. I have always been a little iffy about the storyline, but went ahead and checked with Andrew and he was fine with me going. He just continued to work on his bike all night. There was actually a line when I got there around 7:30, but my parents were already through and had my ticket. Molly and the Powells came too. The movie had some great messages but also some parts that I didn’t feel went along with my views of Christianity. I got home around 10:30 and while Andrew and the younger boys were all asleep in the family room, Jackson was still awake in his room and Ellie was in the shower. The next morning, Andrew went to the office for a little bit and then worked on his bike some more while I got on the treadmill.  When I do “longer” runs, I usually put on a movie to try to keep me entertained for the hour. This time I chose a Jim Gaffigan special. I have learned that it is hard to run when I laugh. It is like my legs get weak. So I guess no more Jim Gaffigan on the treadmill.

Lincoln had a basketball game at 10, we came home to eat a quick lunch and then Ellie and I went back for her game at noon. She said that not everyone needed to come, so the boys were good with that. Even though they did get to play on the playground a lot while we were at Lincoln’s game. That afternoon was nice out, so Andrew took the kids to the ranch. While Andrew worked, Jackson drove the others and Granny around to pick up empty mineral tubs and they got $1 per tub they picked up. I guess Lincoln was the hardest worker and made the best income. I promised myself I would finish compiling all information needed, doing spreadsheets, copying documents and filling out paperwork so that our taxes can be filed. I started on it a while back, but procrastinated in finishing up. I even procrastinated that afternoon and went around picking up stuff around the house before I started. It took most of the afternoon, but I got it done. Then I made dessert and dinner and they all got home about the time it was done.

Andrew took Lincoln to the office with him Sunday morning and then we all went to church. I started not feeling well the night before with a sore throat and cough, and didn’t feel much better in the morning, so I was dragging. After church, Jackson and Andrew went out to the ranch to clean up some stuff with the dozer and chainsaw and fix fence. Andrew said they got a lot done and he was thankful Jackson went with him. They also thought it was pretty funny that they spent $17 on snacks J. The rest of us went to the office to do a quick photoshoot as part of Lissy’s Bust a Move mini shoot. It took a little bit for them to get warmed up, but then Lincoln and Miles did pretty well participating. Bennett never did. It was a repeat of the Christmas program. And Ellie did a little, but held back a bit. Ellie and Lincoln stayed to help Lissy (Ellie brought Jackson’s Chewbacca mask to entertain the kids), while I took the twins home. I put on a movie and worked on stuff for the office. It was nice to get all of that and the taxes finished up over the weekend. That evening we went to my parents to have Mexican before Lissy went back to St. Louis. Bennett tried really hard to eat some chips with the Chewie mask on, but it just wouldn’t work.

Andrew wasn’t quite able to finish up the work on his bike, so he took it out to another guy before dinner who was able to fix it and Andrew had it back on the trainer for a ride that evening.