Lots of grandkids

What can I say? Sometimes we just have to be happy that we can get everyone in the picture. If only we had the 5 other grandkids -- this would be complete. All of the cool tie-dye t-shirts are thanks to Aunt Rachel - -and her never-ending patience. She spent an entire day -- outside in the freezing cold -- helping the kids create these masterpieces. They love them - -and the memories! She is a much better person than I!

And some more basketball

Taking votes here...do you think someone needs a haircut?

Check out the coach in the background. There were many of those,"you've got to be kidding me" kind of moments.

After going the rounds with North Ridgeville about their ridiculous scheduling of kids basketball (namely, that 6 of Cannon's 8 games ended up on Sunday...including the championship game), we signed him up to play in nearby Strongsville. That was before we realized basketball, baseball and soccer would all overlap. Yes, we are insane parents...but that is a story for another day.
Anyway -- Cannon's basketball team struggles, to say the least...but hey, it's good exercise and usually, I think it is kind of fun -- or at least it is supposed to be. Of course, there is nothing fun about last Saturday's double header with losses of at least 20 points each.

Track 2012

100 meter hurdles vs. Midview - started so well.

Addysen was in the lead.

And then, sadly, disaster struck. She said she timed her step wrong and slammed the hurdle and fell into another lane.

On the ground, hurting, and trying to figure out what the heck happened.

But, she got up.

And finished strong.

This kid -- Demario - is incredible to watch. He's got some serious speed.

Addysen went on to win the 200 meter hurdles after her fall. Her relay team took 3rd.

North Olmsted Relays -- hurdle shuttle

Addysen hates the pictures that look like she is "power walking" in between hurdles.

The day after the fall.

Sometimes the track meets are just too long for little girls to handle.

Racing the 200 meter dash -- against her friend, Danielle. (vs. Fairview)

Danielle beat Addysen by mere tenths of a second. If you are going to take 2nd...might as well have your friend take 1st.

With 4 track meets down in the first week -- the girls have won 2, lost one and participated in the North Olmsted Relays. Addysen has had several first place finishes in the 100m hurdles and the 200 meter hurdles. She's taken 2nd and 3rd (losing to Danielle both times) in the 200 meter dash. Her relay team took 3rd yesterday - -and she would have placed first in the 100 meter hurdles if disaster hadn't struck and she'd fallen. Good lessons come from falling though...things that can't be learned from taking 1st. (She's sitting right here and not agreeing with that statement.)

Random happenings

 In no particular order, here's a photo recap of the past several weeks. We enjoyed a fun day at the park with cousins.

 Addysen turned 13! We have an official teenager in the house. She celebrated by having some friends over on Friday night. (That was good since Cannon's basketball team ended up playing 3 games on Saturday and Addysen spent the day babysitting the girls. Incidentally, Cannon's team ended up making it to the Championship game - - which was held on Sunday. He missed the game but was happy to have gotten a "cool" second-place trophy. ) Greg was at a meeting all day in Columbus and didn't make it back in time to go out for Addysen's birthday dinner. She thought her actual birthday was rather lame, until she finally got a gift at 9 that night -- a new Kindle Fire.

 We celebrated our 17th anniversary by attending church. For the second year in a row, I was asked to speak. We had a special "Invite a Friend to Church" day and I was asked to speak on the importance of the family. Our friends that attended seemed to learn a lot and enjoy themselves....not because of my talk, but in spite of it.

 Another birthday celebration - -Kenzie is 6! She counted down the days to her birthday for the entire month. We were all glad when it finally arrived.
 

Spring in OH - rain and mud

 Brynnley wrote about Greg's friendship with President BROCO BOMA. Gotta love phonetic spelling.
  

 Spring has sprung -- much earlier than normal this year! In fact, we had the warmest winter on record. Addysen is doing her science fair project on Global Warming and I say, "BRING IT ON!" I love it. 70's and 80's in March...I will take it.

 The basketball season ended -- a bit earlier than we would have liked. Addysen's team was knocked out of the tournament in the first round. They ended the season with a winning record of 10-7 (I think.) Given that she hasn't played since she was about 5, she really learned a lot and came a long way. She was the "REBOUNDING BEAST" and contributed her fair share of points as well. It was really fun to watch her play and I look forward to the years to come.