The Lawyer Gene

Elizabeth has been arguing with us since she learned how to talk. And she's been good at it! I've always said she got "the lawyer gene" from her dad. Due to a wonderful new drama/speech/debate teacher at our school, she finally got a chance to channel that talent in a productive way--Debate!

She went to her first (and only) debate tournament today. Out of a field of 16, she came in first place. She had seven debates--and won them all. We are so proud of her! 

Tournament Play

Elizabeth's team is playing in a tournament, although Elizabeth only played today's games since she has her first ever debate competition tomorrow. Don't know if she'll make it back to play in the championship game or not!

Yes, they won both their games and will play for the trophy tomorrow. Elizabeth played well--2 for 3 in the first game with 2 RBIs, including the one that broke the 0-0 tie and opened the floodgates so that we won 10-0. The second game she was 1 for 2, scoring and driving in runs as well. 

Jeff got to watch her play today. I'm hoping to get to go next week.

Baseball Begins

Nathan started at pitcher today. His cousin Chris caught. They make a pretty good team! The boys won 7-2. Nathan pitched three good innings. He finished with 6 strikeouts and 3 walks. He had one earned run and one unearned one. 

He didn't do badly on the other side of the ball, either. He had two at bats. On the first one, he hit a solid pop up to right field. The right fielder looked shocked--as did the fans--to find it in his glove. The second time he hit a choppy ground ball to the shortstop and barely outran it.

Their coach this year really knows what he is doing. I'm really excited about this season, as are they. 

I took this picture of Nathan pitching. Don't you love the tongue sticking out of his mouth?

The Season is Underway

Elizabeth got to play shortstop in the team's 18-12 victory this afternoon. I didn't get to go. She bunted and made it to 2nd. She also struck out, had a sacrifice bunt, and walked. She scored two runs. 

Playing Softball

Elizabeth decided to play softball as her swan song this year. In all her other years of high school, she has avoided this sport 1) because it isn't her favorite, and 2) because the constant throwing tends to hurt her shoulder and she didn't want to injure herself for the next basketball season. But she wanted to play with all her friends one last time, and since there are no more basketball seasons to "save" herself for, she decided to play.

The team participated in a two-day tournament this weekend against larger private schools and a few smaller public schools. They came away with 4th place, 3 wins and 3 losses. They kick off regular game days this week, so I'll keep you updated. As for her tournament stats--she told us she scored a few runs and stole several bases. She mostly plays right field and bunts or walks when she is up to bat! We haven't had a chance to see her play yet, but we are looking forward to it.

Paying for College . . .

Just got a bit easier! We found out today that Elizabeth was awarded scholarships at NSU which will cover all her tuition and spill over just a bit into her room and board! Woo-hoo! Way to go, Elizabeth!

The Final Games

Our three senior girls did themselves proud tonight. No, they didn't win. In fact, they lost a heartbreaker, 30-34. We might have had a chance, but with Audrey fouled out and Elizabeth with 4 fouls and none of the other girls on the court understanding the concept of fouling to get the ball back, it didn't happen. But they played with heart and hustle and were proud of themselves in the end. Elizabeth had 8 points, including the last basket at the buzzer. There were lots of tears on the bench, including myself and Audrey's mother. I will miss watching her play basketball. It was always so amazing to watch her intensity, her athleticism, and her love of the game. 

The boys lost by nearly 50, which is so much less stressful than losing by 4! But those boys played hard. They never gave up, all season long. The sophomores stepped up and did a great job tonight on both sides of the ball. Aaron had 8 points, including 2 3-pointers. Next year should be fun with both Aaron and Nathan on the team. Wow. One team to watch! That will be a shock to our systems!

So where do we go from here? Nathan starts baseball practice on Wednesday. Aaron will run the 1600 and 3200 again in track. Elizabeth is going to play softball, kind of. She really just wants to be on the team because they are pretty good and its the last sport. She might play some, but since she doesn't care if she plays or not, it makes things much less stressful from the stands! 

And as much as I will miss basketball, I'm glad its over for now.

The Latest Creations

I still can't believe that my child can make things like this. After all, the only real training she has had is trial and error, cooking shows, and the internet. The first was our victory cookie cake for the Super Bowl. We worried for a little while that we wouldn't want to eat it, but the Steelers pulled out the victory, so it was okay. The second is the cake she made for her basketball team's party. Both are amazing!!

Close to the End

The Middle School season ended today in their tournament. They played a GREAT game, we were either up or down by only 1 or 2 points the whole game--until the end. We lost 22-18. Nathan had 6 points, several steals and rebounds, and some nice passes. He can't wait until varsity next year!

The Varsity teams had a rough go of it last night. Both teams lost by 50 points, but at least the coach of the boys' opponent didn't try to humiliate them like the girls' coach did. Even knowing they would probably beat us by that score (we'd already played them once this season), the girls came out with a full court press that they didn't call off until it was around 27-0. They continued to play their starters, take three pointers and go for steals until the end of the game. Our girls were just mad. They played their hardest and deserved to lose with dignity instead of humiliation. Elizabeth only had 4 points.

The boys kept trying, too, but with one of our key players out with a broken collarbone, it just wasn't happening. Aaron scored 4 and was a dismal 1 for 10 from the free throw line. He played hard, though, scrapping for the ball as usual.

One more game and we are done. I'm so ready for some rest!

Senior Night

Senior night. The last home game of her "career." It wasn't sad, though. It was quite a joyous occasion, actually. She and her friend Audrey have played basketball together since 6th grade. Tonight, it showed. Elizabeth was obviously back in sync after the broken hand. We lost, but they played great. Elizabeth and Audrey each had 18 points. And that was it. We scored 36 points, less than 20 shy of the win. We were so proud.

The boys both lost their games. Aaron had no points, Nathan had 2. They both played hard, it just wasn't their night.

Hanging Up Her Character Shoes

Elizabeth's career on the stage came to a close this weekend. She apparently even made a retirement speech before the last performance, telling the other kids that she was hanging up her character shoes in favor of her chef's knives and that unlike Bret Favre, she would not be coming out of retirement or joining any other team in the league. 

But what a way to go! The kids did an AMAZING production of Little Women: the Broadway Musical. Elizabeth was Aunt March and she was a hoot! She definitely milked the role for all it was worth. I hated to see it end, not only because it was a great show (I cried both nights!), but also because I don't think I can talk my boys into participating in drama and there is something quite wonderful about watching your children perform like that--in a venue where no one wins or loses!

This is Elizabeth and her friend Jordan, who played Jo March superbly!

This is Ethan, who played Mr. Laurence, and Elizabeth. They had fun being "the old people" in the play.

Here's the whole cast. It was such a fun play and done so well.