Monday, December 22, 2008

SNOW DAY

So it has been a long 4 years since we have been able to say those words. Those are the days that teachers and students live for. I guess since I am in the house with teachers and a student- that is a day that I live for too. So Thursday night we were all ready for this snowstorm coming- some schools opted already close Friday on Thursday and right there I thought we were in for the jinx. I figured now that some schools have closed already- a day in advance we for sure were going to get like 3 inches of snow. Low and behold- we were up around 5:40 and everything was closed. Chad went back to bed and I laid there for a little while before getting up. Mom and dad were off to work- mom to return just a couple hours later. This was after Chad had to go help her get unstuck on the other side of the block and at least make it to Aunt Gerry's house- good thing aunts and uncles live just around the corner. We spent the day just hanging out and watching the snow fall. Chad got to do some shoveling and has decided that when we get a house- we will have a snow blower. The girls got to hang out with dad, play wii, watch cartoons, and then we finally got around to decorating the tree that night.

Saturday morning the roads were clear and that meant off to basketball games in the morning. My team played the first game and I thought we were going to pull it off- we lost 15-16. After our game uncle Kurt played, so we hung around to watch that. We made it home with uncle Ben and uncle Kurt coming with us. Chad had a game later that afternoon that they were going to. The Chapmans arrived in the early afternoon and the boys and Maddie had some fun playing Wii. Grandpa, Joel, Ben, Sam, myself, and the girls all headed to Chad's game. They weren't any more successful than my team, well at least my team made it a game. Their's was pretty much a blow out.

Yesterday we braved the negative windchill (like -30) and headed to church. We were just going to lay low- but then decided to go see Bolt. So after nap we loaded up and headed up to Menomonee Falls to meet uncle Ben and aunt Lydia. They went to the movies and I went to Wal-Mart to get some last minute things. You always have to make sure that you have batteries for those toys. We met back at the house and hung out there for the evening. Kathy, Scott, and the boys got there yesterday so it was good to see them.

Chad has practice today and tomorrow- it is suppose to snow again tomorrow, so we will see about that. We are heading up to Germantown this evening and will be there until Christmas Eve night. I have just a few more presents to wrap and hoping to get those done today. Christmas will be here in the morning and then we will be heading over to my uncle Jan and aunt Sharon's in the afternoon. Since Jana has to work and Alan has to work the day after- we are doing Christmas with my brothers and sisters on Saturday and Sunday. We decided to cut out presents and instead head to a local indoor waterpark for two nights. I'm sure that all the kids will enjoy that.

The rest of break will be filled with more basketball practice for Chad, relaxing, and most likely playing in the snow. The girls have been eager to get outside, but with it being so cold that hasn't happened. We know for a fact that if we put Emma in one of the snow banks at the bottom of the driveway- we would lose her for sure.

Merry Christmas!!! I will be sure to put some pics up after the week.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Basketball and Door County

So right now our life is pretty much consumed with basketball. Chad got his first win on the 2nd when he traveled to Watertown Luther Prep to play. They had another game on Friday and they didn't win, but in the week and a half since I saw them last play, they looked a lot more like a team. The game on Friday was a nightmare. The officiating was not at its finest and we then came to find out after the game that one of the refs was the baseball coach from last year, in other words, the guys who's job Chad took. I am a firm believer that Freshmen basketball should be called a whole lot tighter than varsity, because they are still learning, but these guys were letting guys roll around on the floor with the ball and not call anything. Okay I could go on and on about it, but I won't.

My basketball team had their first regular season game this past weekend, they had played in a tournament the weekend before Thanksgiving, but league play started on the 6th. We are out of town, so my dad (who is helping me) coached on Saturday. It was a real defensive battle of us losing 10-6. My dad said that they couldn't make a lay-up to save their life. That meant that yesterday in practice we went back to the beginning basics ans started with walking lay-ups. It could be a long season. I think that I am not looking to set any records, but maybe just make them better players. We play on Thursday of this week, so we will see if we can make some improvements.

So Chad and I headed to Door County this past weekend for a surprise birthday "party". Kate is married to Ryan and he turned 30 earlier in the week. She rented a cabin for 11 of us to share and hang out in. 9 of us live in the Milwaukee area, but Nathan and Katherine even made the trip over from Fort Wayne for the weekend. We left after Chad's game and were on the road by about 6:30. We grabbed some dinner and were up there by about 9:40. We only had to stop once for me to use the bathroom. When we got there Kate and Ryan were there, Ryan was the one who we were surprising. Nathan and Katherine were there and Ben and Wendy got there about 15 minutes before us. About 15 minutes after us, Nick and Ashley got there and then about 15 minutes after that Craig arrived. Ryan was quite surprised- he didn't know anything about it. So by about 10:30 everyone was there and settled in and just hanging out. We were up quite late, but we had lots of laughs that night. Saturday morning, everyone slept in and when everyone finally got up, we all went to breakfast together. We went to the Door County landmark, Al Johnson's. If it wasn't winter, it is the place where the roof is made of grass and there are goats that are on the roof who eat the grass. It was nice to be lazy and not have too much to think about. Everyone was fortunate enough to leave their kids with grandmas and grandpas. We went back to the cabin and the guys watched football and napped while some of us girls just relaxed and watched some HGTV. That night we grilled out and played games. Sunday morning we took our time and most everyone was gone by about 11am. We were home by about 2:30. I drive most of the way- because Chad ended up coming down with the flu and even stayed home from school yesterday. I am just hoping that no one else in the house gets it. I think that if we haven't gotten it yet, we should be okay.

Maddie seems to be getting a little cold, but nothing to worry about. She is going to the fire station and library tomorrow with school. It is snowing once again, but hopefully it should be all done by later this afternoon. Chad was suppose to have a game tonight, but the school they were playing has no school because of the snow, so that is canceled. We are almost ready for Christmas. Emma is waiting for grandma to pick out her tree, because Emma insists that she is going to decorate it with grandpa. We have cousin Sam's brithday party this weekend and then just one more week of school.

Here are some pics from the weekend. Hope you are all staying warm.