Thoroughly Modern Millie

I really missed Elizabeth this weekend! Last night we went to our school's production of the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. For the past four years, I've loved the weekend of the play. Costumes and makeup and kids hanging out at our house between the matinee and evening performances. From that freshman year "coup" of landing the part of Bloody Mary in South Pacific to last year's wonderful portrayal of Aunt March in Little Women, I had a ball watching Elizabeth and her friends perform.

At least this year I had a few ties to the cast. My niece Sarah was in the chorus, as was Nathan's girlfriend. Aaron's girlfriend had the lead role (Millie) and one of Elizabeth's good friends had the humorous supporting role, the kind Elizabeth often played. They did a great job. I loved it all. But it made me miss my drama girl!

Uniform and Knives

Well its the start of the second semester and i received my uniforms and knives for my culinary lab classes so i just wanted to post some pictures for everyone to see

Losing is Hard Work

Another loss, 76-25. In our defense, two of our tall boys, including our leading scorer, were out sick. Aaron managed 5 points, Nathan 6 points (2-3 pointers late in the game). I have to say, no one at our house it very sad that the season will soon draw to a close.

I know the Lord is teaching my boys through these dismal seasons--teaching them to persevere even when it looks like their effort is for naught. But that's a hard lesson. One some adults don't even understand! And so we journey on . . .

Another Pounding

We played a small public school last night. After the first quarter, we were only down by 2 points! But then they brought in two boys that apparently start, but didn't start that night. And it went downhill from there. We lost, 64-24. It didn't help that our leading scorer was home with a temperature of 103!

After a very slow start, Nathan ended up the leading scorer and rebounder for this game--seven rebounds, seven points. His cousin Chris scored six points. And Aaron, after many, many shots that just wouldn't fall in the bucket, finished the game with four points.

Six more games to go, mostly district games. And since we are in one of the hardest basketball districts, a win would be a miracle. But we will persevere with our young lineup and hope their experience pays off in the future!

Battling the Refs

Not sure what the refs were doing tonight. The other team mauled us--knocked Aaron all the way to the ground on at least two shots with not a call in sight, and yet if we stood still with hands straight in the air, we got called for the foul. Then at the end, when we were trying to foul, they refused to call our obvious fouls so we could try to get the ball back! It was truly one of the most awful games I've ever watched. And the shame of it is that even with all that, we only lost by 7!

Aaron finished with 4 points, Nathan with 3.

Now we have to switch our focus to finals!

A Better Game

We won! 50-25. Aaron scored 7 points. Nathan scored 12 (two of them were 3 pointers!). Both had a few rebounds and an assist. It was nice to have a bit or a breather from the hard games. But the break won't last long. Another district rival comes to town this week.

Stay tuned!

An Ugly Game

We lost tonight. We knew we would. But the officiating was so bad that it made everything worse. At the least the other team put 4 bench players on the floor for the second half (mostly). The score ended up 50-something to 20-something. Not really any high points to speak of.

On to next week.

Back to Basketball

I've been a little slow getting this up, but we started back with basketball on Monday night. We actually looked better than I thought we would after the break! We lost 35-53, but the game was much closer than the score indicates. In fact, we pulled to within 2 points in the 4th quarter! But then we had a run of fouls, ending with Aaron fouling out of the game. And, frankly, without Aaron on the court, our young team falls apart.

Aaron ended the night with 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists. Nathan had a tough game for turnovers, but still managed 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. He was 2 for 2 from the free throw line and two of his assists were to his brother!

This was the first district game. As in football, our basketball district consists of at least 3 teams that usually go deep into the state playoffs, so just a win or two would be quite an accomplishment for our young team. We'll see what happens.

'Tis the Season

 For the HCA mission trip!

The boys are down in south Texas helping with various projects. Apparently they've learned to tape and bed!

Third Time's a Charm

Yes, it's the third time we've played this team in a week. And the third win. But considering the fact that our team was winless last year, we'll take these three wins!

Last night we scored a total of 47 points to their 21. And our scoring was spread around, which was good, too. Aaron had 5 points, Nathan had 6. Both played well on defense and stayed out of foul trouble, too!

december Tournament Play, Game 3

We ended the tournament on a high note of sorts. We won, 47-29, but it was against the team we had already beaten last week (and the one we play again on Monday!) Still, it was a good game. It was close until the second half. Then we pulled away (after their leading scorer fouled out!)

Aaron had the second most points, with 13. Nathan was the leading rebounder with 10.

December Tournament Play, Game 2

I missed this one due to a doctor's appointment in Dallas, but they lost a heartbreaker, 49-42. Aaron fouled out with 3 minutes left in the game and apparently they floundered a bit out there without his leadership on the floor.

Aaron ended with 14 points, Nathan with 6.

Football Accolades

Although this season didn't afford as many high spots as seasons past, we did get some bright news recently. When the district awards were announced (and remember, of the four teams in our district, one was state champ and the other one state runner-up), my boys were honored as follows:

• Aaron was named 2nd team all-district wide receiver, cornerback, and kicker.
• Nathan was named 2nd team all-district quarterback.
• Nathan was named the District 2A Freshman of the Year. 

Wow! I was blown away! Congrats to them for their hard work during a tough season!

December Tournament Play, Game 1

First let me say: we played a small public school. We got pounded--literally, 52-13. (One boy on the other team was even thrown out of the game at the end for his flagrant fouls.)

But there were some bright spots. In spite of a ton of turnovers, we also had several steals. And the boys never quit hustling. Never.

Of the 13 points we scored, 8 were Aaron's (4 from the field, 4 from the free throw line) and 3 were Nathan's (a bucket, with a foul, and he made the free throw.)

We'll see what happens tomorrow!

That's More Like It

We got our first win tonight. I can breathe easier now, after last season's 0-fer. And what a way to win!

In the 48-13 win, Aaron scored 22 and Nathan scored 2. Yes, the Mateer brothers scored half our points! Aaron had a monster game, finally getting a feel for his shot and being in position to make it. Nathan had a great game handling the ball, he just didn't get an opportunity to score much. He had several rebounds and steals and assists, though, and that's pretty much what a point guard is supposed to do, right?

We play the same team again next week, but first we'll see how we fair in a local tournament.

Nothing to say

We lost tonight, 54-19. Not much else to say on that one.

Getting in the Groove

Tonight was a better game than a week ago, in spite of a holiday with no practice. We still lost, 60-34, but Aaron and Nathan and the rest of the team seemed to be more comfortable on the court. Of course, since Aaron sat out most of the last game in foul trouble, this was really his first chance to find his basketball groove.

Aaron finished the game with 14 points (leading scorer), 7 rebounds, a steal, and a few assists. (Also a few turnovers, but we won't talk about those!) He also drew more fouls than he gave, which was good, although his free throw percentage needs help.

Nathan again showed poise at point guard. He score 6 points, had 6 rebounds, a steal, and a few assists. His biggest accomplishment in this game was having 1 turnover--and he handled the ball the majority of the time.

Another game tomorrow, so we'll see if we keep improving!

Transitioning to Basketball

So we had our first basketball game tonight--just a week after the end of football. It was quite evident that our three starters who played football haven't quite made the transition yet. We got trounced--I can't even remember the score, although I know we did score over 30 points.

Aaron is going to have to learn how to play as a big man. Even last year he got calls because he was the littler guy out there. Tonight he was called twice for blocks that last year would have been charges and once for over the back. He's never been able to reach over anyone's back before! It will take him some time to learn to play with his new 6-0 frame. Oh--and those three fouls? They all came in the first QUARTER! He's rarely had three fouls in a whole game before, let alone a quarter!

Nathan went from running the offense on the field to running the offense on the court. My little point guard kept out of foul trouble, made around 10 rebounds, tied up the ball in jump balls several times and just hustled all the way around. He did finally score a few points (3 maybe?), but his biggest frustration was shots that just barely missed or went in and out. He hasn't had enough shooting time yet to get into that rhythm, but he'll get there.

All in all, it should be an exciting season, in spite of the bumpy transition. Maybe we can even win a game this year!

On to Basketball

The season is over. We kind of knew it would be after this game, but we didn't expect this game to be so--well, ugly. Our team just didn't look like itself. We lost 56-8 at halftime. Aaron did have one nice, long catch from a pass by Nathan, but everyone had some uncharacteristic mishaps, too. Like Nathan's three interceptions. And two fumbles by running backs. And Aaron jumping off-sides. And the other team just had it all together.

So football ends for another year. By the time we do it again, it will be Aaron's last season on the gridiron. But while the boys are sad it ended this way, they are happy that it is on to basketball. We're looking forward to a season of hoops!

Last District Game

We played our last district game today--against the #1 ranked private school 6-man team in the state. Of course we lost, 54-8 in the 3rd quarter. But that's okay. We are in the playoffs!!! The top three teams from our district go and we are #3. So off we go to the bi-district game next weekend.

On the upside of today's game: Nathan threw a touchdown pass to Aaron, who then kicked the extra point. Aaron actually caught a few passes and made some good tackles.

We're glad this game is over!