weekend crazies

We had a rare weekend of all three sports overlapping for both kids - soccer, basketball, baseball. It was a little crazy, especially as I also fit in my final long run (9 miles) before my race next weekend.

Sebastian played in an end-of-season basketball tournament, with four games over two days. They lost them all, some more decisively than others, but seemed to be having a good time despite it. Seb played really well in the last game, sinking two 3-point shots and scoring a layup off a full-court fast break. I took a photo while they were winning this game, just to record for posterity that all hope was not lost. On Sunday afternoon he also had a baseball practice, as his team will start games within two weeks.

In between the Saturday games we went out for lunch and then the other three of us explored a park right next to the basketball gym. There were some very cool branch sculptures and a gorgeous new pedestrian bridge.

Liesl went to a birthday party sleepover on Friday night and then had a basketball game on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning, she played in and won her first outdoor soccer game of the spring season, with Steve as the new head coach of her team (he was the assistant, but the daughter of the former head coach has quit). Then that afternoon she had softball tryouts with a gaggle of friends (she's played coed baseball for three years but is moving into all-girl softball now). Her basketball team will continue playing until mid-March and then softball will start at the end of March, but for this weekend, they overlapped.

Making lanterns at Claire's birthday party.

 Post-basketball game silliness.

Post-softball tryout silliness, with Claire and Addie.

And finally, nearly forgotten in all this, sweet Jasper amid some bright daffodils. He was my faithful running partner for all 9 miles on Saturday, and 8 miles last Saturday, and is snoring on my feet as I type.

GS cookie booths

It is Girl Scout cookie-selling season, so Liesl and her troopmates have duly been standing outside various grocery stores selling cookies. It's freezing out there, as always, but Liesl is terrific -- she calls out "Girl Scout cookies for sale! Get your cookies here!" and makes eye contact with everyone in a way that is very hard to ignore.

First booth, on Valentine's Day! with Ella.

Second booth, on Sunday at Fred Meyer, with Campbell.

Third booth, on Monday at Market of Choice, with Adeline.

Cookie selling tactics: Hold a sign and stand in front of the doors!

Seb's basketball team

Sebastian's team played their last regularly scheduled game on Thursday night. They still have a playoff game and two weekend tournaments to come, but the season is winding down. They were moderately successful, ending with a 5-9 record, which was in the middle of the pack for 6th grade teams. They definitely played against a number of teams with players who had both more experience and more height, and those games were not always very close. But the team had fun -- Seb made a few new friends -- and they all improved as the weeks went on. They started to figure out how to escape from a full court and half court press, and to figure out that they too could force turnovers with more ferocious defense. Sebastian was less tentative this year, rebounding and defending aggressively,  and that was good to see. I do like basketball season -- quick, exciting games, played indoors! - but we are moving on to spring soccer and baseball.

Valentine's Day!

We had a sweet day -- I made waffles (heart-shaped) with raspberries for breakfast, we had red tulips and boxes of See's chocolates, and Steve wrote me the funniest card I've ever received. I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt, and then laughed even more. The jokes went completely over the kids' heads, which was also amusing. And then we went off to work and school --

snowshoeing Barlow Pass

The weather forecast was for three days of snow followed by a blue-sky Sunday, so Amy and I decided to venture out to Mt. Hood for a snowshoeing adventure. We were not disappointed -- it was an amazingly gorgeous day, with fresh powder, blue skies, warm temperatures, and a lovely trail through the forest. So happy. We parked at the Barlow Pass SnoPark, took a mile-long foray down the road toward Beaver Marsh (oops), and then got on the PCT to head toward Palmateer Point and the Twin Lakes.

We snowshoed about 5 miles and then headed home, tired but happy from our adventure.

Liesl's basketball skills

Liesl played a basketball game on Saturday afternoon, and for the first time this season looked solid and confident out there - she dribbled up the court, she stole the ball on defense, she shot and scored three baskets. It was pretty fun to watch her figuring out her skills.

IMG_2780 from B. Avery on Vimeo.