More Basketball

What can I say?.......This is Amanda's life right now.

Basketball, school, friends... And making dopey faces everytime I pull out my camera.

Saturday the bus driver started up the bus at 6:30 a.m to try to get it warm by the time he picked up the girls at 7:45. It didn't get warm until long after they were at their Milwaukee destination- at almost 9 a.m. Another wonderful freezing cold day around here.
Amanda shooting a free throw at the Pewaukee game...Jocelyn behind her.

We took down the Pirates!

Actually, I am happy to report that the team won 2 more games this past week. They now have 3 victories!
Ya Hoo.

Childhood Dreams

Jacob has wanted to be a cop all of his life.....

It is a childhood dream that he never outgrew. Last Saturday, he had the opportunity to ride along with an officer from the Pewaukee Police Department to have some first hand practical experience of what this career is really like. He has decided on either Law Enforcement or Computer Game Design for his college major.

Posing for Mom who just HAD to take a picture. My son is very patient about my need to make every moment a Kodak one.
The really fun part was calling up my Mom and telling her that the police "had Jacob". I, of course, gave her enough time to panic and think the worst before telling her what was really going on....and that he was in the FRONT seat of the squad!

As they drove away..... the tears began to flow.

My little boy - almost 19 years old now - and moving on to live out his dreams.

Meltdown

This past week was soooooo cold. I don't mind cold, but when the wind chill dips down to double digits below zero - then I become a big baby. This is the cold that I can't stand.

It is so difficult to function in this kind of weather. And forget washing the car. My car was so full of salt and sand from the roads that it was white instead of black, but I couldn't wash it for fear that the doors and locks would freeze shut. Also, the house felt cold all week and we were all huddled under numerous layers of blankets at night. Basically, the whole week is a blur due to brain freeze.

Now, it is supposed to hit 50 tomorrow - begin Meltdown! We have a lot of snow piled up outside - so look out for flooding! It is also supposed to rain. RAIN! What is that??? It's January -in Wisconsin - not April. Crazy. At least I can clean up the sand off of the garage floor and do I dare wash the car?

Again...

Well, Amanda's team lost AGAIN today. I feel bad that they don't have the opportunity to play more teams that are a bit more compatable to their skill level. They are actually a "B" team playing in an "A" league. The problem is that the other schools in the area are not large enough to have both an A and a B team. So here we are....

The girls really seem to take it all in stride. They were in good spirits after the game.

Jocelyn and Amanda headed out to the mall. A little "retail therapy" heals all wounds. Amanda is on the left front end and Jocie is next to her.
A "real" fan in the stands today : ) That is someone other than her Mom and Dad - thanks Grampy for coming out to cheer Amanda on!

Vacation Fun

Christmas break is almost over.......

The kids have really enjoyed all of the snow that we have here. Both of them have been snowboarding a few times and Jake had the opportunity to go "up nort" to enjoy some snowmobiling. This was his first time driving a "sled". He loved it.

No photos of the snowmobile trip - or the snowboarding -but here are some of my famous "yesterday" photos.

Jake in about 8th grade - boarding with friends. That's Kyle on the far right.
This one was not posed. I just happened to catch them all with their eyes closed at the same time - what are the chances? It looks like they are pausing for a moment of prayer before going down the hill. Amanda (r) was probably in about 5th grade here.
My little athlete.


The first Christmas break spent at the ski hill. Jake at 11, Amanda at 8, and cousin Nick. The ski hill had a great deal during vacation that year. 4 lessons along with an all day lift ticket each time - all for $100. It was a great opportunity for the kids and their friends to learn to ski.

The skis Amanda is holding were about the length of a yard stick. She was so tiny!
Amanda tried snowboarding for one day, but then switched to skis. Skiing was much easier for an 8 year old to master. Now, seven years later, she is back on a snowboard.
Bub - age 11. It was extremely cold on this particular night. This was his first time on a snowboard. He has stuck with snowboarding all along and has yet to try skiing.

New Year's Day

Amanda and some friends went snowboarding today. This was her second try at riding a snowboard.

Our little ski hill - no mountains in Wisconsin.
Ummm...the one riding on her butt is Amanda!
Ready to hit the hill.
It was a pretty sunset tonight. Bunny hill in front and the chair lift going up the BIG hill in the background. We are definitely not in Vail.

Goodbye 2007

I rang in the New Year with the party animals in the photo......

They fell asleep before midnight. Needless to say, it was a wild evening.

Earlier in the evening, I was channel surfing on the TV and I ran across a Planet of the Apes movie marathon. All 5 of the movies were being played in order all night long. I have no idea why I stopped looking and decided to watch these....I never really liked them back in the 70's when they were first released. Actually the movies gave me nightmares as a kid. Anyway, this is what I did ALL night long! Finally at 3:30 in the morning- I taped the last one because I couldn't stay awake any longer. No nightmares.

The highlights of my evening were the calls around midnight from Jake, Mandy, Mom, Dad and Teddy.

Jacob was celebrating with friends in the Wisconsin Dells - now HE has stories to tell!

Amanda was at a party with a group of her friends. I dropped her off at 8 and picked her and a few friends up at 1 a.m. They then came home and partied until 6 a.m. She also may have stories to tell.

Welcome 2008!