Basketball Wrap-up

Bentley, Deacon, and Leo all did community basketball this year and it was a great experience. 

Bentley was in U11, which meant real games with refs for the first time. She was a little bummed at first that she didn't end up being on the same team as any of her friends. She was supposed to be in Div 6, which would have put her with Sophia Dunford at least, but I had to move her down to Div 7 because of practice time scheduling. She ended up with Coach Patrick and Assistant Coach Dan. They were very nice, although maybe could have stopped to teach them a little more and give them more tips. The team started off knowing nothing, and it was a little painful to watch some of their first games. However, as the year progressed, Bentley became friends with all of them and liked to go to practices to hang out with them. She was always a little nervous at the games, but did really well and would score at least 1 basket almost every week. The team learned how the game works, like inbounding a ball, and rules such as over and back. They definitely improved a lot, but unfortunately didn't win very many games. The last practice was a "family night," so Deacon and I went and played with them. They had lots of fun games planned. In the finals they lost and then were playing for the bronze medal. It was a really close game, but unfortunately they didn't come out on top and there were many tears shed as they watched the other team get their medals. The coach arranged a team bowling party the following week. We all met up at Chinook Bowl and then went to the food court to eat together in the mall afterwards. Deacon and I tagged along too and it turned out to be such a fun time! Bentley got along really well with lots of her teammates. I also have some photos of the time that Kellie took Bentley to her game and the cousins watched and cheered her on!

Deacon was still in Tykes this year. He ended up on a team with his friend Reed and Boston Ausmus. Dallas Ausmus was the coach and did a great job with the boys. They were all quite competitive and played really well together. They started out having to do half court, but after Christmas they were able to do full court and the boys just loved that! It was so fun to watch Deacon play, as he is getting really good. They got participation medals at the end, although Deacon says they beat all the teams. He is so ready for U11, even though he is supposed to be in Tykes one more year. We will probably put him up since he is old for his age anyways. 

Leo gave basketball a try this year in Jr. Tykes. He tried hard at first and did ok with the drills, but struggled to understand the game and stay focused. He became less interested as the year went on. We may have let him miss a lot of practices, but made sure he made it for the last one where he got a participation medal. It clearly wasn't his thing, so we'll probably try an individual sport next year, like swimming or something. 

It was a great season! Bentley and Deacon are about to start spring ball and are both playing with FYB for the first time. It should be fun!

Leo's 6th Birthday Pool Party

 Leo's birthday was long awaited, but it eventually came! He has a hard time waiting after he sees Bentley and Deacon have birthday parties. He planned out what he was going to do for the party and even had party bags for everyone ready a whole month in advance. When it was finally his turn, he was so excited!

Leo picked a swimming party, so we booked the Wingate in midnapore that we had done parties at in the past. We like the pool there because it is always so empty, and it has a slide and a hot tub. We invited most of the kids in his primary class to come, as well as his buddy Gus. There were a lot of kids that were away or couldn't make it for different reasons, but we still had a good number to make Leo happy. We had Leah, Ezria, Gus, Reed and Lucy, and of course all of his siblings. Grandma and Grandpa stopped in for the last hour as well. The kids swam for 2 hours and actually played so well together. Jeff and I got in the pool as well so we could help Boston. We brought a couple blow up toys that they all loved. Then we got dressed and went to the party room for lunch. We had pizza, fruit, and a tray of spring rolls, fried pickles, and wings. Leo opened his presents afterwards and was thrilled with everything he got! Then we did cake and a pinata. I had taken Leo to Dairy Queen earlier in the week to order an ice cream cake and pick whatever picture he wanted on it. I was feeling a little under the weather that week, so this was the best I could do! He wanted to stick to the "swimming" theme, so he found a picture with Nemo and Dory in the ocean and thought it was perfect. He made sure we got blue icing and writing on it. He had also been talking about having a pinata since we did one at Deacon's party. I took him shopping for that stuff as well and he insisted on having the exact same one with a funny face. He also picked out the exact same candy to go inside and then prepared it all himself. The day didn't disappoint for him, and everyone had a blast!

Leo has grown up so much this year and, even though it takes him a little longer to learn things, he constantly surprises me with the things he knows. He is getting the alphabet and sounds down, but he is definitely gifted with his hands. Leo can open any box and cut things out so well, and we all know his love for chopping and preparing food. His little fruit salads he makes are my favorite. He loves to make and wrap presents, organize things in bags, and make cards or notes for people. He also loves to play outside at the playground or ride his bike, and would hate to miss out on anything. He has such a good spirit and his laugh is contagious. We love our Leo!

Deacon's Baptism Temple Photo Shoot

I had Bree Johnson take photos of Deacon by the temple to remember his baptism. We bought Deacon a suit at Moore's beforehand, and he looked so handsome. It was fun to pull him out of school a bit early and hang out with him a bit after too. She did a great job with the photos!