A flurry of Basketball and the epic blizzard of Thanksgiving 2010

Last Friday Shane and I took the trip to Preston, Idaho. Tacey had her first game that day. You know, she gets nervous like the rest of us, but she was VERY nervous this day. It was a bit weird when we got there; they ran the JV and Freshman games at the same time in two different Gyms. That was a bummer because the other teams couldn't cheer for them. The Freshman team is very much a training team this year; there is lots of potential, but it was made known to them that they were using this year to train them and build for the future teams. Well, Tacey likes that idea, as do ALL the girls. They are a very coachable group. They came into this game with the coaches not expecting a lot from them. HOWEVER, the seven of them that have played together a lot KNEW they could win and had made up their minds to do so.

First there were captain duties to attend to!

Because they were running two games at once (which Shelley NEVER does) there was no one to keep stats for the Freshman team. As Shane's cousin is the JV coach, and his Uncle is the Stats keeper, he got asked to fill in for the game. This is the picture of the major injury this game. This is just before the girl stabbed her in the eye. She came up blind, with her contact folded in half and lodged up behind her eyeball. That is also the Varsity and Freshman coaches watching her. They immediately pulled her out and she sat down on the bench. After a few minutes she ran to the locker room. I ran after her. Her contact had finally come out, but she didn't have any solution to help her put it back in. Going on in the game without the contact was not an option as it was her bad eye that got stabbed. The father of one of her teammates had solution and eye drops in his car. He ran and got them for me, and we managed to get the contact back in with a great deal of pain. She was bouncing around and screaming because it hurt so bad, but she wasn't going to sit out the rest of the game! She later had a knee injury, but she muscles through all of it, and was fine the next day! (Except for the broken vessels in her eye and the big bruise on her knee!)

She recovered nicely, and went on to play a VERY good game. She was aggressive, shut down several of the other team's baskets, and shot more in that game than any 3 games last year. Okay, she didn't make any. BUT they were completely accurate, just lack the arch to make them drop. That can certainly be attributed to the adrenaline and nerves, so we expect that should improve.

She really took leadership as well, both on and off the court.

She never let down - not at all while she was playing.

In the end they won 33-29 in overtime! Yep, yep! It was also the FIRST time since she has been playing school basketball, that her team has won their season opener. Should I also mention that the JV lost 33-32 by a free throw in the last 3 seconds, and Varsity got spanked 62-39? I guess the Preston Varsity team has several girls that can make 3 pointers. That is all they did the first half of the game: shoot 3 pointers. So, in the end, the little team that wasn't supposed to do well was the only one that won! I talked to Tacey's coach after the game and she said the level at which the girls played was completely unexpected. She even admitted to them that she didn't expect them to win. Tacey and the other girls knew they were capable; they set out to win and they DID!

So, Sunday night snow began. Monday it was deep and cold. We went from a very chilly fall, to this in just 10 hours. McCade broke off the long icicles and wanted to eat them. I told him I didn't think that I would suck on ANYTHING that rolled off the roof. *yuk!*

You can see how the 40-50 mile and hour winds formed the icicles at an angle.

The discussion about whether or not it was a good idea to eat the icicles continued. . .

and continued. . .

The snow covered everything; so I decided to work on my picture taking.

Seriously, this bugs me. They plow, and move all the snow into the middle of the street. Then they bring this truck along that scoops it up and puts it into a dump truck. The problem is; I never see anything other than the plow. They leave the big piles there. Can you say 'Unfair temptation for small children?' or 'Driving hazard'?

It snowed all day yesterday and all night last night, and all morning this morning; television kept being interrupted by severe weather update. There was a Blizzard warning, and they closed ALL roads. The winds were 60 mph and above. By lunchtime the boys went out to play where the backyard used to be.

McCade standing in the snow. It doesn't really show how deep it is,, because he's standing on some of it.

It is well above his waist, so he can't walk in in. It is more of an army-crawl situation.

And Dallin has the snowball makers doing what they were created to do.

This is the perspective shot. The BBQ is at ground level. All that snow in 36 hours! I would say there is a good 3 feet out there.

Poor Shane had to drive home from Salt Lake in it last night. He barely made it. He plowed his truck through drifts as tall as the truck is. Then he spent most of the afternoon playing with a snow blower. Poor guy. Good thing he likes snow.

The kids are not as happy though. School is out for the week, but if we HAD school yesterday and today, it would have been cancelled. McCade is behind on his reading, so I keep sending him to do it. Tacey not only had Basketball practice and dance cancelled for the rest of the week, she also had her game cancelled. Both of them are in bad moods. Dallin has escaped into a book, and I am wishing they would all find some happiness somewhere. So much for a nice, peaceful vacation! As far as the snow goes, there is no end in sight. This has really screwed up my exercise routine!

Danielle

Muffie Video for Grandma

Watch Muffie's Right leg. This was the better of the two legs.It gives you a perspective knowing they were both buckling.

Whoa! so much to catch up on!

Backtracking, backtracking, backtracking. . .
Well, neither the 5th or 6th grade football teams made playoffs, so the season ended with consolation games. Both teams played hard and the made the best of their last moments in pads.

McCade played hard; did a very good job. He had a good season, and says he also loves football. I don't know if he is counting down the minutes until he gets to play gain like his brother, but he is definitely planning on playing again.

That's him, #50. And this is the final score. At least they showed that other team team that Shelley doesn't get beat in their own house!

Dallin got to do what he LOVES most in the world on his birthday; play football! The coach was aware it was his birthday and asked him to be one of the team captains for the final game.

Quite an honor.

Ummm, here's to hoping he grows? That guy is a lot bigger than Dallin. He didn't let him by though! He got to play all of the second half. It was the best birthday present ever.

Yep, a good game. Shut them down. So their last two games the other teams were unable to score. Nice!

Some of the boys decided to drench the coach.

. . . and they did sing Happy Birthday to Dallin. That is the face of a truly happy birthday boy!

The moments where he is this unguarded and this happy at the same time are very rare. I enjoy this picture.

Dallin and his coach.

We also have a temporary house guest. Muffie, my Grandma's puppy is staying with us while she has some surgery done on her back legs. They wanted to charge my Grandma a TON of unnecessary money to fix her, AND Grandma wasn't/isn't really in a position to take care of her while she healed. SO, Muffie has come from warm San Diego to the frozen tundra to have people make her legs hurt; basically she is going to HATE my house! She had her first surgery on October 18th.

They didn't shave the bottom part of her leg; Tacey says she fits in here because she looks like she is wearing a fuzzy boot!

The yellow tape is holding on her pain patch.

She has really recovered quickly, which is good since we are having the same operation on her OTHER leg on Monday. She doesn't like it when I put her in the car anymore. . . .

And of course, I HAVE to catch up on HALLOWEEN!

Can you read Tacey's shirt? Yep, she went as America's Next Top Model.

We pretended to have a photo session.

Her modeling skills are far above my photography skills. . .

Dallin figured 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it!' and went as Indiana Jones again. He looks good!

And well McCade . . . well McCade couldn't decide what to be. He had absolutely no idea. However, I had the epiphany of the season! How cool is THIS costume!

You are thinking, what is this? Ah ha! It is SO simple! He is . . . . . .

WHITE TRASH!

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Man, I am funny. He thought he was just trash, but to those that would understand I explained that he was actually WHITE TRASH. Yep, I am still laughing!

The first weekend in November I collected my birthday present from Shane; a trip to NYC to see shows. I will say that I had a AMAZING time. Shane, well, Shane wishes the whole thing had never happened.

We flew out of SLC and as we passed Pocatello he looked and me and said "I forgot my coat!" Yep, not good. Also not good was that he ALREADY had a VERY BAD cold, and also forgot his glasses. I figured it would be okay. We would just buy him a coat when we got there. It isn't like Manhattan is full of stores or anything!

Well, I appreciate that Shane is careful with the money; it's not like it grows on trees or anything! But the first day there it was cold, rainy and windy. I was fine in my full length leather coat, he was freezing in only a light rain jacket. I tried to buy him a coat! REALLY! I did! But he didn't want to buy anything he already had at home, and really had his heart set on a particular KIND of coat. This particular KIND of coat is the ONLY kind we DID NOT find in Manhattan. So he got colder, and colder and sicker, and sicker... and no coat was ever purchased. Boo.

Okay, so I took no pictures in Manhattan. One of the things I like when I am in NYC is that all the street vendors and whatnot leave me alone. Why do they do this? Well, I would like to believe it is because I look like a New-Yorker. Maybe it is just a fancy delusion, but I enjoy it. Real New Yorkers DO NOT take pictures in Times Square, or in front of the Marquee (They also don't jump when they see rats). You will have to imagine me as a bored looking, know-where-I-am-going-and-what-I-am-doing New Yorker! Yep. I fit there.

That first night we saw The Addams Family: The Musical starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Newirth. It was incredible. Nathan Lane is amazing, the entire cast was hysterical. Definitely a go-see.

The next day we took a QUICK trip to Washington D.C. and RAN through all the sights and the ENTIRE Smithsonian. Good thing I have a heavy, regular exercise habit! I don't want to look like a politician, so I took pictures here (where they were allowed anyway. . .)

I saw the Capital

I like all the museums, but the Art, American History and Natural History were my favorites. My favorite painters are DEFINITELY Seurat and Monet. Thinking I might need to start collecting some prints.

Remember this elephant from the second Night at the Museum?

I thought of McCade when I saw this Giraffe. I would have brought it home to him if I could have! It wouldn't have even begun to fit in the front door though, much less the house.

This cheetah knows the value of food storage.

This tiger was jumping right out of the wall!

The Washington Monument!

This is my attempt at an 'artistic' photograph of the Washington Monument. ha!

And last, but certainly NOT least, the White House!

Back view.

Front view.

That night we drove part of the way back to Manhattan and stayed in Philadelphia. We got up the next morning and drove the rest of the way, excited to see some more shows. HOWEVER, when we go to Manhattan, Shane realized he had left his wallet in the Hotel in Philadelphia. Another not-good thing.

We saw Billy Elliott that afternoon, and Shane left me in Manhattan and drove the 2ish hours back to Philly to get his wallet, then back to Manhattan to get me. What did I do? I wandered around with the million people there for the NY Marathon the next day, then I went to go see American Idiot by myself.

Billy Elliott; AMAZING dancing. That 13 yr-old-kid made the Broadway dancers look like amateurs! The singing wasn't fabulous, but the set was a star all by itself.

American Idiot; an interesting morph of the Green Day album, Rent and Cats. Actually think the Broadway cast sang/performed the songs better than Green Day; the dancing was a cross between Contemporary Dance and Hip-Hop. The set was very Urban and media-based. It was a big change from the stuff I normally see.

After the show got out I had to wait for Shane on a street corner! HAHA! I was trying really hard not to look like a prostitute or an easy target for a mugger!

The next day was the last one, so we were going for the show I had spent FOREVER talking Shane into seeing. I REALLY wanted to take him to see Phantom of the Opera. I have seen it, but it was like FOREVER ago. (I would put a number on it, but it would give away my age which I deny at every given opportunity). We were going to see it the previous night, but Shane went to get his wallet. I was VERY UPSET to learn that Phantom of the Opera was COMPLETELY DARK that day. Seriously? NO PERFORMANCES AT ALL. Boo. Boo. Boo.

At this point I was beyond frustrated at trying to make the weekend good for Shane. He was hideously sick, nothing was going right for him and now Phantom was dark. I gave up on the TKTS booth and went and paid full price for tickets to The Lion King. It was pricey, but I made sure we had the best they could offer; 6th row. It was worth every dime. I hope that kind of made up for the horrible time he was having.

So, yea. I had an amazing time (when I wasn't worried about Shane and his ever diminishing health), and Shane had a horrible time. I must say though, he kept up a happy face for me. He really spent the entire weekend worrying about NOTHING except my comfort and happiness. I appreciate that, in even the face of double pneumonia. He is wonderful to me.

Now we are back, life is rushing on, and I have finally found a few minutes to update this. *sigh* I've hardly taken any pictures the last month! What is wrong with me?

OH! BUT THAT WILL ALL CHANGE VERY SOON!

While I was on my way to NYC I got a phone call from Tacey. She was having some sort of freak out-meltdown on the other end. It took awhile to calm her down. I was getting very worried; I knew the final Freshman Basketball team roster had been posted. Did this mean she hadn't made the team? I couldn't imagine that happening, but weird things happen sometimes. When I finally got her calmed down, she told me that not only had she MADE the team but she had been asked to be

CAPTAIN!

WOOT! WOOT!

Here is to my children getting their Dad's athletic abilities!

haha!

Danielle