cavs win!

it was such a bummer that daddy was gone for game 7 of the finals! given that it was such a big game for cleveland, i decided to let all of the kids stay up to watch the game. 

we watched despicable me 2 on another channel while waiting for game time and madelyn and manning were bummed when we had to switch channels before the movie was over. 

manning fell asleep before the pre-game ended. the rest of the kids were on pins and needles with every single shot from the very start. i tried to get them to pace themselves because the game was going to be long (and hopefully very exciting). naturally, we were cheering for the cavs. mason's comment at half-time was that he "thought lebron would be better." that cracked me up.

we watched the game with daddy via text.

we had a super special snack at half-time - goldfish and oreos. maddux fought hard to stay awake, but he couldn't finish the 3rd quarter. 

the game was SO exciting! i had to be careful not to yell with maddux sleeping on top of me. i wasn't sure that mason was going to make it. he was trying so hard to stay awake but his eyelids were winning.

the game was so exciting that madelyn stepped away from assembling manning's birthday legos to sit on the couch and watch the fourth quarter.

and they both made it to the cavs victory! love.

the close of basketball

mason was sad to see basketball end, but super happy to get a snack and a certificate. we didn't get to celebrate long because we were already late for their last chess tournament of the year. love.

basketball with friends

mason was super excited to be playing against his classmate today. henry is one of mason's best friends and one of his first classmates he met (during vbs before school started). what a surprise to find that they were covering each other and the same number! mason wasn't paying much attention to playing but was taking guarding henry very seriously. i love that he has such a great friend. love.

completely my daughter.

good morning rainbow

we were surprised on this super cold early morning with a rainbow in front of the rising sun. it was really beautiful and made it almost worth freezing. almost.

we have been so spoiled this winter with warmth that when it does get normal cold, it is extra painful. the kids were all excited to be at the gym so early. even madelyn put down her book to shoot a few hoops.

i haven't taken much video of mason playing (i am just too busy watching). here are a couple of videos but none of him making his shot. he makes quite a few each week but i never caught one. the first video is a little long (3 minutes plus) but in the middle you see mason remember that they aren't allowed to steal the ball from the other team. also note how much taller he is than everyone else! love.

morning basketball

mason is serious about basketball (just look at his concentration while shooting), but he loves it so much that he can't stop smiling while playing. love.

basketball morning

every week we see little signs of improvement... love.

jersey day

mason's team was feeling pretty baller in their new jerseys! mason picked the number 8 because "it is how old madelyn is." now they will scrimmage. today was basically someone running with ball while the rest of the team tried to stay on "their man" - even when they were on offense.

they are cute though and the parents are way into the game. love.

basketball

mason has been waiting for this day for a long time - the first day of basketball! it is just a "clinic" so no official games, but they will scrimmage for a bit each practice. (mommy forgot her camera and am stuck with just some blurry ones from my phone.)

kindergarten basketball is early - 8am or 8:45am - but we are all there to cheer on mason.

he is clearly the only kid on the team without a basketball hoop at home. at least he's tall!

madelyn and manning entertained themselves by screaming quietly into each other's faces.

this scrimmage (or game of tag) shows mason guarding his man (aka his friend from school).

he smiled the entire time. yay, mason! love.

still no snow? another road trip!

having lounged at home long enough, we decided that the weather was nice enough to drive to indiana to visit matt's grandma and see his cousin's daughter play in a basketball tournament.

we arrived yesterday afternoon in time to have dinner with his grandma and visit for a little bit. then we drove over to his cousin, jason's house to spend the night and head over for the first game of the tournament before driving home again.

the kids were delighted! maddux bonded with dayton during our summer visit and was super excited to see her again.

video game fun with the big kids

we were (sort of) surprised to find matt's uncle dennis and aunt joy at the basketball tournament too! we weren't planning on being able to see them on this super short trip, but weren't surprised to see them at the game.

pretty much all g family.

dayton is #23

mason and nolan

we had an easy time coming up with spirit wear for the game because dayton's school is the same colors as ours - orange and black - and all six of us were in our colors. it was a close one, but dayton's team won! so happy that we were able to make the trip. love.

a quick group shot before heading home.

burning energy

we had a thoughtful friend invite us to meet them at the ymca for open gym basketball a few weeks after the boys' swimming lessons. and i am SO thankful! it is now a standing invitation and we have joined them several times. they weren't able to join us today but we still played on our own. 

the hoops are still regular height and his ball is a little heavy (relative to his size) but he can make it in (not that i caught any with the camera). after the videos below, i went to remind him how to dribble and how to shoot the ball. mason would play basketball all day and asks to go back frequently (read: daily or hourly). there are lots of basketball men in the family (grandpas, uncles, etc.) so it wouldn't be a bad sport to settle on for him. for now, it is fun and helps get some energy out during the winter. 

the little boys mainly play with toy basketballs by throwing/rolling and chasing because the hoops are way too high for them. 

during my instruction time with mason, i suggested that we watch the "big boys" (aka high schoolers) play in the next gym so see how they dribble. the boys really liked seeing them dribble, shoot and run.

with still more energy to burn, the boys asked to go run laps on the upstairs track above the gym. and so they did.

i am not sure if i am wearing them out or just building their endurance, but they are growing to love "exercise" either way which is fantastic. love.