Last Thoughts for February

Wacky Day

The hats and messed up outfits (which aren't really shown in this picture) are part of wacky day at school today. I'm glad they still want to do things like this. We are all home now in front of the fire with the temps below freezing on this last day of February. The average temp is 50 degrees in these parts but it was 10 this morning. We are also watching as another storm is heading this way. It's going to inundate California with rain first, wing across middle America then spin up over the Atlantic and head northeast up the coast. Possible snow day again on Monday.

Disappointment

One and done in a playoff game tonight. The boys put some effort into the game but Gainesville had some hot hands from the field and neat the Patriots 52-35. Sam had 13 points and 13 rebounds and for the first time, he was better than 50% from the line. Dylan had 2 rebounds in about 5 minutes of work. I was proud of how they played and lost. They kept it together pretty well. They learned a lot this season of real basketball. The rec league would not have helped them become the solid players they are today. An AAU coach approached me after the game and asked if they would be interested in joining a team this spring. I think we are moving on to soccer and baseball for a change of pace. No need to focus on one sport yet.

I wish they would have won but the benefit is we have a totally free weekend now. More time to celebrate our 13th anniversary.

Getting Ready

Playoffs start on Thursday. Time for some intense practice.

More Snow

It's coming down hard but is not expected to last.

Birthday People

All celebrating birthday around these few weeks and enjoying a 5th grade basketball game. I wish the boys could have brought them a victory but it was entertaining all the same.

End of Regulation

The regular season ended with a thud against the #2 seed in the up coming tournament. The boys played well for about 3/4 of the game. They were tied at the half and came out strong in the second half but lost all their energy with about 7 minutes left. Dylan got a bunch of minutes this game and ran up and down the court extremely hard. He had 2 points, 6 rebounds, an assist and a steal. Sam had 6 points and 8 rebounds. He mentally turned off early in the second for some reason. I need to figure out why he does this because he has the potential to dominate a game if he had Dylan's motor. They have a playoff game on Thursday and with any luck, another one on Saturday.

Birthdays

Gil, Linda, Elaine, many birthdays to celebrate in Alexandria tonight.

Burst of Spring

It warmed up quickly around here and we've had a few days of 60 degrees but winter is about to come back early next week.  Linda and Gil are here to celebrate their birthdays and see the boys play basketball.  I'm hoping that they the team can pull together a total effort on Sunday and get a victory against Vienna who has beaten them twice this year.  Once in a pre-season tournament and once in regular season play.  The team can beat anyone if they are hitting on all cylinders so we will see what happens.  Eliane is coming down tomorrow for a birthday dinner in Old Towne and see the boys play as well.  This taste of spring is nice but I'm not ready for winter to leave quite yet.  I get the impression from my friends in Minnesota that they are not having the same feeling.  

Narwhal

After many snow days, the boys returned to class today. Dylan finished his project this weekend and I they both took them to school this morning. I had Presidents Day off and did a lot of nothing all day long. Back to work tomorrow.

One Project Done

All these days off does not mean the homework goes away. It actually seems worse. Sam's appears to be complete and Dylan's is almost done.

Winter Workout

Nicole got at it early this morning. I helped a little at first but like shoveling so much I let her have the rest. We got about 10 inches so I'm sure I will be out there later for the end of the driveway and the plow berm. No school, work or anything else today. A big storm but not crippling.

Recruiting

Uncle Adam knows someone who works for Jim Boeheim or Jim himself and he has had a couple posters and other Syracuse swag sent to Dylan over the past couple years. We just got a team photo with signatures from each player on the 2013/14 team. Dylan eyes were wide open when he saw that. Go Cuse!!

CUSE!!

Dylan's favorite college basketball team is Syracuse and they just won on a last second three pointer against Pittsburgh. It was was a shot from well outside the three point line by freshman Tyler Ennis with less than a second on the clock. Pretty remarkable game and very exciting for Dylan. The picture below is with the ball in the mesh. Dylan wanted me to post it.

Pax

Winter storm Pax is on it's way and threatening the most snow in one shot since the snomaggedon\snopocalypse storms of 2009/10. Of course, a slight change in the track up the coast and it could be mostly rain.  Anyway, it's a good chance that school will be cancelled again tomorrow and we will likely get some white stuff.  That will all seem rather small compared to the 42 inches we got in Breck a couple weeks ago but it's snow all the same.

The boys were instructed to bring home all their school stuff for some home schooling tomorrow and Friday if the storm produces more than expected.  No more free ride snow days for them this year.

Another Loss

We are still without our high scorer but we lost another sqeeker, 45-43. Sam had 15 points, three blocks and around 15 rebounds while Dylan scored two, had 5 rebounds, a couple steals and a blocked shot. They both played well but Dylan was extremely high energy today. Sam was pretty energetic as well and got a little more rest than normal which helped. Sometimes coach keeps him in too much and he can get pretty winded. Hopefully Micheal is back next week and we win our last couple games before the playoffs. This team is good and can beat anyone but has not been getting the breaks lately.

Dropping Fast

The little Patriots are in a free fall and lost 33-38 today to a team they manhandled back in December. We were without the teams best player due to a playground incident and 12 stitches but the whole team was pretty off today. Sam had 14 points and a bunch of rebounds but went 0-8 at the free throw line. Dylan got limited time but rebounded well. The other boys were turning the ball over left and right and no one had an outside shot working. I'm hoping this is just a slump and they rally for the playoffs which are coming fast. After starting the regular season with 3 wins they are now 3-5. It's a tough division but they are better than their record.

Sent from my iPad

Breckinridge 2014

Breckinridge 2014, a set on Flickr.

Ice Castle

We visited the ice castle that was built in town on the first night. There were also a whole bunch of snow sculptures that were all lit up that I will upload to flickr layer this week. We are home and back to work and school but with good memories of 42 inches of fresh snow and some great skiing.

The basketball team had a rough outing when we were away last Saturday. Sam and Dylan bring a lot of rebounds and points to the team. We have a scrimmage and two games this week as we match towards the playoffs.

Faces of Breck 2014

Some close ups like last year but with some snofies with me and the boys. We had a great day of skiing today. Beautiful blue sky, chilly in the morning but rather balmy in the afternoon. We covered two peaks (8 and 9) and got an equal amount blues and green runs. Nobody had any major wipeouts and we are going home without any broken bones. We are watching the Super Bowl now and watching the sun set behind the mountains.

Frisco Tubing

Frisco Tubing

Spent the morning on the tubing hill in Frisco and then wandered Breckenridge and had lunch. We are saving our energy for the slopes tomorrow.

Caveman

Dylan went to town on some ribs last night. He seems to like eating things with his hands like his uncle.

Extra Seat

The boys even like to sit together on a three seat chair.