Love and Basketball

Basketball is a BIG part of our lives. Kelly coaches and Jake and Kaitlyn play. Saturday marked the opening day of the kids' seasons. I have to admit, being mom, I was a little nervous. It's amazing to me how protective of my kids I can be, even when it comes to playing a game like basketball! Kaitlyn played first, and she got moved up this year. Normally she would be playing in the Pee Wee league, which is 1st - 3rd grade girls. Well, they decided to have her play in the next age group up, which is 4th - 5th grade girls. Kaitlyn's team is all 5th graders except for her and one other 3rd grader. I can't ever remember feeling that nervous for either of my kids! Jake is just so confident in everything he does; it's just a different feeling when he plays! But my Kaitlyn went out there and worked so hard! She played some amazing defense and her team won by 20! She's not quite ready to shoot when they pass to her, but that's ok. I think Jake shoots enough for the both of them! Kaitlyn is number 14 in the pictures below.

After my little girl got done playing we headed to another gym for Jake's game. And do you think Kaitlyn was sick of basketball yet? No way! She sat right down and yelled for her brother. What a little sister!

Jake, below, getting ready to jump for the ball.

Fast break!!

Jake's team won 44-38. Jake scored 31 of those points! I guess we have a good balance between the two of them. Kaitlyn won't let anyone score, and that's all Jake does! I love watching my kids play, and I'm amazed at how far each of them has come from last year. Hopefully some of these "mom's nerves" will calm down by next game!!

Catching Up

I haven't been very good at updating the blog lately!! So we'll play a little catch up. Basketball is going which means we have a lot going on. Kelly is coaching, of course, and Jake and Kaitlyn are both playing. They have both improved so much from last year it's amazing! Kelly is coaching the high school girls this year, and we are LOVING it! The girls are so much fun, and are just great kids. We're getting ready for Thanksgiving next week, and we are so excited! We were gone last year, which was wonderful because we visited so many friends and family! But I didn't get to cook, and that was weird! So this year I'm sure I will make way too much food to make up for it! Below is a picture of the kids from Halloween. They had so much fun!

It is snowing here in Ketchikan today. I don't think school has ever been cancelled here because of snow. It's just not how we roll here in Ketchikan! So I decided I would give the kids their own personal snow day. There isn't a whole lot, but they have been sledding and having a blast out there. What can I say? I'm a sucker for snow!

Pokerface(s)

Our good friend Nick came to stay last night and we have had so much fun! He has been showing the kids how to play poker. It's pretty funny listening to them talk about betting. Or hearing Kaitlyn knock on the table to check. Or Jake say "burn and turn." Here are some pictures of our card sharks.

Welcome to Ketchikan Football

Some things can be a little different here in Ketchikan. Case in point: Ketchikan football. We don't play on a "field" here. Oh no. We don't have grass, turf, etc. We have an area with sand and rocks. Small rocks, mind you, but it's still rocks. As if that isn't enough, we don't exactly have great weather at this time of year. So tonight the family loaded up for a football game where not only were we going to cheer on our team, we were watching Kelly officiate. I had to laugh to myself. I've been to many football games, whether in high school or college. I remember picking out cute sweaters, shoes, and hats to not only keep my head warm but match whatever else I was wearing. I would also dress my kids warm, yet adorable. It's a completely different story here. We drag out all the rain gear we can find. We put on baseball caps, because lets face it, hair doesn't stand a chance. We put on our Xtra Tuff (it's a brand that's extremely popular here in Alaska) boots and grab umbrellas and we go stand, yes stand, because there aren't bleachers. Well, not right on the field anyway. It's also the baseball "field" so the bleachers are in weird locations. We stood out there in freezing, sideways rain for the entire game. We lost, but it was still fun to watch some football. And Kelly in his fabulous ref uniform. My kids are seriously impressive. Not one complaint the entire game. Talk about tough Alaska kids.

Kayhi getting ready to play.

My husband the ref!

It's hard to tell in this picture, but it's raining REALLY hard.

My two awesome kids. By the way, Jake is wearing his Husky hat and Kaitlyn is wearing her Cougar hat. We're equal opportunity Washington football supporters!

Adorable!

Stop Growing Up!

My kids won't stop growing! I know this is what happens; kids get older. But it seems like lately they are growing up at record speed. Jake is now in 5th grade. How did this happen?? It seems like only yesterday was his first day of preschool! I can no longer pick out his clothes, kiss him in public, and I can barely hold him down to tickle him! He's just too big! Not to mention the fact that his feet are pretty much as big as mine. Too crazy. Kaitlyn is now in 3rd grade, and she is definitely no longer the baby of this family! She's more outgoing than ever, and I'm so impressed with everything she is willing to try these days. Gone is my shy, scared little girl. This Kaitlyn is ready to take on the world! She's more confident and is realizing she can do anything her big brother can. This brave girl got a shot last week and didn't even blink. She just told the nurse to bring it on. I told her afterwards that I had never seen her that brave, and she decided that if she can handle that, she was ready to get her ears pierced. So we took her yesterday! I don't know who was more nervous - Mom and Dad, or Kaitlyn! I was sure she would make a run for it, but you know what? She sat right down and my daughter now has pierced ears. They are adorable. And this morning, she was so excited to show her friends and I just had to take a picture. And we can't take a picture without including Jake, of course. Here are my two cuties. Who are growing up way too fast.

Summer Fun

What a summer this has been! We went on a whirlwind basketball trip, had amazing weather, had a super basketball camp here in Ketchikan, and just had some special visitors. Aunt Mindy and cousin Kaleb came to stay for a few days! It was so nice to see them, and the kids had so much fun together. They all had a "slumber party" every night and watched movies in Jake's room, who graciously slept on the air mattress on the floor. The kids start school in a week! Already! Kelly gets back from camp tomorrow for good, and he will be back to school Monday. It's been a wonderful summer, but I think the kids are ready to get back to school. Well, Kaitlyn is ready to wear her new fab clothes, and Jake is ready to tear up the basketball courts at recess anyway!

Beating the Heat

The kids and I went to the beach today. It was so hot! The kids swam from the time we got there until the time we left. Thank goodness for beaches and cooling off!

My Little Grown Ups

Well, Jake is officially on his way to Wrangell for the All Star tournament. I really wanted to take some pictures of him leaving and getting on the ferry, but he was very worried I would embarrass him. So I took these before he left. Is it me, or are my kids looking way old????

Champions

Jake's team pulled out an amazing win this past Friday to win their league championship. He was so excited! Now on to the All Star tournament!

Lawnmower Man

I was going through my pictures on my iPhone and decided I had to put this on here. When we were in Oregon we were shooting around at this park where the grounds crew was mowing the lawn. Kelly kept saying all he wanted to do was ride the lawn mower. Finally he actually asked the guy and he said yes. So, here is a picture of my hilarious husband riding the lawn mower!!

July 4th 2009

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th! We watched the parade without Jake this year, as he was on the truck with the rest of his 9-10 year-old select team. Kaitlyn didn't mind though...it just meant more candy for her!!

Kaitlyn's silly face.

Jake having fun on the truck.

Family Love

It's not very often that you arrive at the airport and not only do you get to see family, you get to see family that you haven't met before! You would never have known it though. We arrived on Thursday in Seattle and Jacob and Kaitlyn met Samuel and Benjamin, as did Kelly and I. It was wonderful. The kids became fast friends and are having a wonderful time with their cousins as we speak. Many thanks to Aunt Shanna for taking our kids on and loving them and showing them a wonderful time!

Waterfall

We went for a little drive last night and I took a picture of this waterfall from my phone. Thought I would share.

It's What's For Dinner

One cool thing about living on an island is the abundance of seafood. Kelly went to work today and came home with crab. Yum! We boiled it up and ate it for dinner. Kaitlyn isn't a huge fan, but Jake can't ever get enough. The only thing that would have made it better is friends to share it with!

Bear Sighting!

As I was standing on my front porch talking to Kelly on the phone, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. A baby bear!! Checking and making sure mama bear wasn't near by, I snapped a couple of quick pictures. Apparently he was looking for a snack!

Summertime

It isn't summer yet, but let me tell you. You wouldn't know it in Ketchikan. We've hit 85 degrees three days in a row, and we're lucky to get that in August around here. Now the way the weather works here in Ketchikan, it will most definitely be raining by next week, which is ok. It's what keeps everything so green and beautiful. But we're trying to absorb all of the sunshine and warmth we can. We went for a drive tonight and I snapped a few pictures. The pictures really don't do the sunset justice. It was so gorgeous! Jake and Kaitlyn are pretty gorgeous too!!