Michael's Hoop Dreams

Last year Michael was recruited for a select travel basketball team from Scott County.  During one of the games in Louisville, a coach for a state basketball team asked us if Michael would play for his Hoop Dreams, a team that enters national tournaments.  After some debate, we agreed.  They practice in Lexington and Harrodsburg twice a week and have tournaments in the surrounding states (as well

as Florida, Texas, etc.).  Michael has loved playing for this coach, who constantly teaches him new skills.  Michael also loves the challenge of playing with and against great players.  This past weekend was Michael's first tournament with the team.  They went 3-1 in the Midwest Regional Tournament, held in Indiana, earning 2nd place.  Michael played most of each game and did super-well; the only thing I managed to catch on my new still-figuring-it-out flipcamera was him sinking 2 free throws.  So if you want to watch him making 2 points from super-far away, click below.

The joy of painting

Elizabeth and Michael switched rooms (long story), so naturally they needed new comforter sets .... and wall paint!   

Meanwhile, Steven stained the stairs .... rather liberally .... so we had to use a 12 foot ladder for transportation between the two floors for a few days as the stairs dried. Michael found it a great adventure; Elizabeth was less enthusiastic; Zoe remained grounded. Always the good parents (ha ha), Steven and I were merely preparing them for our upcoming trip to Holiday World and its vertigo-inducing rides.

Double digits

Oh yeah, Michael is 10! Everyone in the family is in double digits now. For Michael's party, 5 of his closest friends came over for an afternoon at the water park.  I learned just how much noise six boys can make and how much pizza they can consume.  One of his friends, Peyton, was invited to spend the night (same deal as Elizabeth's party for dinner:

Michael and Peyton chose to sit at a different table from me and Steven at Applebee's - guess we're getting quite the early taste of life once the kids are in college).  But alas, Michael's partying didn't start and end on Saturday.  During the week, he also had 2 other sleepovers, one with Stephen and one with Scott.  Plus we celebrated as a family on his actual birthday, June 08, when we made the oreo-pudding-whipped cream dessert that some of us (that would be Michael, Elizabeth, and I) can consume in one sitting with not that much effort and not that much of a stomachache later.  Michael really had a wonderful birthday week and a half!

   

ZOE, the amazing flying dog

Zoe's latest trick is to jump off the couch to retrieve a bedraggled toy, thrown by Michael. See attached video clip (IF I can figure out how to make it load).  Oooh, I think I did it.  I think we are all surprised by that.

Her favorite style of eating is when one of us (mostly Michael) throws her food at her and she pounces on it.  See video below.  This wouldn't be so bad, except she likes it done one kernel at a time.  She typically has about 200 kernels in one meal.  You do the math in terms of how long you think it might take to finish one meal in this fashion....you'll quickly get the idea once you see the first few seconds of the footage below (second video).

A relative is coming to GC!

After being a professor at the College for 15 years, I finally have a relative coming to campus as a student!  Matthew Huff (Steven's sister's older son) is enrolled as a freshman for fall.  I cannot WAIT to have a relative on campus!!  Matthew is a superstar soccer player - his Louisville team just won the state championship and he travels to Minnesota later this month for qualifying nationals play - and he's been recruited for GC's soccer team.  I am not sure he is a fan of psychology, but we will definitely be fans of his in the stands once the fall soccer season begins.  The kids are hoping he'll have reason to stop by every day (that's a direct quote from Michael) .... maybe he needs to do laundry, maybe he wants to watch a game with us, maybe he just needs some food.  We went to his graduation celebration last weekend in Shelbyville, where he lives.  Congratulations, Matthew.  

It's summertime (for E and M, finally)

The last day of school was June 1st.  Yay!!  Elizabeth and Michael are excited about the summer - no more early mornings, plenty more friends over, and the absence of homework - happy faces all-around.  They both had another great year at Western Elementary; it is so hard to believe E's 6 years there are over.  They genuinely loved their teachers this year (photos below) and all of their hard work paid off, evidenced by the school's Awards Program.

 

Michael earned all A's for the year, received the Math Master Award, and achieved perfect attendance.  His class had awards for enrichment classes, and Michael received both the Spanish Award as well as the Music Award (given to the student who progressed the furthest playing the recorder). He also was one of 2 students to be recognized for the Secret Closet Reading Society, as well as Writing Wizards (an enrichment program).   

Elizabeth also had perfect attendance for the year - her fifth year of perfect attendance!!  She received all A's for the year and was one of a few in her class to receive the Certificate of Excellence, given to students who earn all A's during the four years letter grades are given in elementary school.  Because Elizabeth earned over 1000 Accelerated Reader points during her elementary school years, the school designated May 13th, 2011 Elizabeth McKenzie Day and she received several prizes, rewards, and acknowledgements as a result.  We are so very proud of our children's accomplishments.

I know they're sad they won't see their school friends each day now, but I think the excitement they feel about summer break outweighs that sadness.  I personally am super-psyched about spending more time with them, especially because that time won't involve homework, spelling words, and permission slips!  Summer 2011, here we come!

Rough River, Great Time

My dear friend Kathy, with whom I've been friend for 40 years (how can that be, given that I'm only 35?), invited us to spend Memorial Day Weekend at her friend's lake front home on Rough River Lake. It was our first family vacation with a family to whom we weren't related.  Michael got a two-hour history lesson on Fort Knox and Kentucky's 120 counties from Jason (attorney who majored in history) on the ride down, while Elizabeth and Meredith watched a DVD in our car.  Zoe slept in Steven's lap (still not sure if that's legal, but at least Steven wasn't driving this time). 

  

 

Some of the activities included fishing (Elizabeth was the only one who caught a fish, and it took about 2.6 minutes for her to do so - see footage of the fish's miraculous escape below); hiking (short trails, because the majority of the trails were still underwater from the recent flooding); and kayaking (no one fell in, in spite of several close calls). The biggest surprise was when Zoe spontaneously jumped off the dock into the water and swam to the kayak, her little head the only thing visible. Be still, my beating heart. But she had a grand old time and went back in the water again later.

We played miniature golf (oh my gosh, I love miniature golf, who knew?!, and believe me, I didn't love it because I was so good at it - I was not, and pretty much everyone beat me). We ate a lot, feeling only slightly guilty for using paper plates instead of handwashing regular plates. We went to a playground, where sand castles were built, then promptly kicked down with a vengeance. Michael and Steven braved the 90+ degree weather to play tennis while the rest of us sought shade.

We unanimously agreed that the trip was fantastic! fun! and worthy of a yearly tradition!