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.

Rescheduling

We ended up not having basketball games last night. The other school apparently forgot we'd rescheduled the original games (which were to be on the night of our school play), so now we have to reschedule the rescheduled games!

Second-hand Report

Jeff and I missed the games last night. We went to a dinner where he was honored for his First Amendment legal work. But we kept up via text messages from Nathan!

We're beginning the second round of district play, so at least we knew we wouldn't be missing much last night. And we were right. Two blow-outs by a school known for its basketball, just like last time we played them. I don't remember the final scores, but suffice it to say, we were never in the games. Elizabeth had 5 points. Aaron had 3.

We do it all over again tonight. This time with all three playing. And it is Senior Night, the last home game of Elizabeth's basketball career. I'm sure it will be bittersweet.

A Win!

The Middle School boys played a great game tonight. It was a close one, we ended up winning by 3 points!! It was very exciting. Nathan played really well, with good passes, several steals and good shooting, too. He ended with 15 points. Must have been the new uniforms that FINALLY came in!

Only one more middle school game, then a tournament. But I won't be sad to say good-bye to the middle school game.

More Basketball

Yes, it seems like all we do around here right now is basketball. Last night was yet another of the marathon game nights. And as usual, it was not a night to remember. 

Middle school just looked a bit off. Of course yesterday was a holiday, so they've had no practice over a long weekend. Maybe that's why. Nathan only had 2 points.

We knew ahead of time that the varsity girls game would not be pretty. This school went far in the playoffs last year (maybe to the finals?). But we didn't expect an aggressive full court press until the game was 24-0! Then they pulled back the press from the baseline to halfway before the half court line until we were down by more than 30! Finally, they just ran a half court defense. We only scored from the free throw line until late in the third quarter. Elizabeth ended tied for leading scorer on our team, with 5. She made two lay-ups (against, I think, their third string team) and a free throw. Not our finest moment.

Varsity boys started off good. They actually won--the first quarter. It went downhill after that. Both our big upperclassmen were cold. Aaron only scored on a lay-up and took no charges, but he did have a few assists and was under the basket banging around for rebounds (he got a few) with guys much bigger than himself. But he hates losing. They are all discouraged. But young, small teams just often miss the mark in this sport.

They all have two more games this week (yes, it's a crazy week), but then we're just a couple of games away from the end of the season. 

An Ugly Loss

We played a small public school tonight--just the varsity boys--and it was ugly. We lost 68-30. 'Nuf said. (In case you are wondering, Aaron had 2 points and no other highlights.)

Back to Back to Back--Again

Two down, two to go on the back-to-back-to-back game nights! Last night the middle school teams had success while the varsity teams struggled.

Nathan's team won handily. He had his best game this season, scoring 11 points. He claims it was because Jeff wasn't there! He also had some nice passes and a couple of steals.

Elizabeth's tiny-in-stature-but-big-in-heart team couldn't do much against the big, tall girl that played inside. Her arms just went higher in the air than everyone else's! Elizabeth was banging around under the basket with her for much of the game, but 5'5" doesn't compete well against 5'9" or so. Add to that another girl who could shoot well from the perimeter, and we ended down by 20 points. Elizabeth had 4 points. One of the other seniors had 10. And that's all we scored!

The varsity boys trailed by 10 or so for most of the game but mounted a run at the end and actually pulled within 3 with 3:00 to go. But fouls killed us in the end and we lost by 7. Aaron had a good game, again tying for 2nd leading scorer with 6 and taking another charge.

I sure hope at least one of the varsity teams can pull out a win this season!

Basketball Marathon

Four times this season we will play back t0 back t0 back basketball games. Tonight was the first of those marathons. And none of it was pretty.

Middle school boys trailed the entire game, losing by 7. Nathan played well, scoring 5 points.

Varsity boys came out flat and trailed by nearly 25 points at the half. Second half was better, but by then the hole was too deep. Aaron tied for second leading scorer (again!) with 6 points. He also took 1 charge (and should have had 1 or 2 others called!). 

But the varsity girls played the heartbreaker game. They came out looking great, having added a couple of junior and senior girls who agreed to fill in (although one may stay) while Elizabeth was hurt and another player out of town. At one point we actually had four experienced seniors on the floor! Yes, Elizabeth was out there. No, she wasn't released to play yet. But have you ever known Elizabeth to be stopped by telling her "you can't"?

Anyway, they played great. They hustled. They scored. (Elizabeth had 4 points and 3 or 4 steals.) They led the entire game. Until the last 40 seconds. Actually, the last 2 minutes were a nightmare. I think they called 10 fouls on us and none on them. We literally couldn't get the ball back! With 40 seconds left to play, the other team went up 29-28 on free throws. We went down and couldn't score. They brought the ball up again. With just seconds left, Elizabeth fouled, as she should. When she did, the girl threw the ball at her and the ref T'd up the other girl. Then there was a huge delay as the refs discussed, because, of course, time had now expired. Finally, they gave the other girl 2 shots (double bonus) for Elizabeth's foul, then said Elizabeth would get 2 shots for the Technical foul. The other girl missed both of hers. Then Elizabeth shot--and missed both of hers. It was awful. She is usually such a good free throw shooter. Of course, she hasn't shot in the four weeks she's had her cast on. 

But the story ends on an up note. We were so proud of the way Elizabeth handled herself. After missing the shots, she was the first one across the court to shake hands with the other team. And afterward, she wasn't mean and nasty to us. She could smile and laugh and accept compliments on her play. So while she hated losing the game, she won in the arena of character. And that's what matters in the long run.

The Longest Away Game

Unlike football, our basketball away games aren't too bad, distance-wise. The longest is our trek to Sherman, about an hour away. What makes the trip so awful is that this district opponent is a formidable basketball school. Their teams, both girls and boys, are consistently in the last few games (or winning) the TAPPS state tournament.

 We got that one over with last night. (At least the one where we have to travel and get beat. They come here to beat us in a couple of weeks.) Their girls' coach was actually very kind. With their TWO 6 footers, they could have tromped on us much more than the 60-something to 17 win. But they pulled off their press early and sat their starters often. It nearly killed Elizabeth to have to sit on the bench. One more game as spectator, then hopefully she will be back in the fray.

The boys game was very physical, but our boys fared better than expected, coming away with a 64-44 loss. Aaron returned to second leading scorer with 9 and took 2 charges. They are playing better and better.

Off with her . . . Cast

The cast came off today. That was the good news. The bad news is that the doc said she still couldn't play basketball until he sees her again and makes sure the break is completely healed. (It's at 80% now.) Originally he said that would be two weeks. Then, when he heard the situation, that almost half her senior season of basketball would be over by then, he said he'd see her in 10 days and maybe he would release her to play then. That means she will miss two games next week but could hopefully be back by the third game. In the meantime, he said she could dribble and shoot, but without any contact from others. Those hands are important to her cooking career, so she needs to heed his advice!