Long Time No Blog....

Yes, it has been way too long since I have updated this blog. We are busy, busy as usual. Kelly coaching, Jake and Kaitlyn growing. Time seems to fly. I am honestly going to try harder to keep this blog current! Jake is in 7th grade now. A middle schooler!! He loves it, especially since he gets to spend the day at the same school as his dad. Since he is with Kelly and they start earlier than Kaitlyn and I, we are a house divided in the mornings. Kaitlyn and I get up a little later, and I have really enjoyed our girl time together. But the evenings we are back to one, big, happy basketball family. Year round. For example, last night we had a pumpkin carving party with some of the girls from Kelly's team. We LOVE these girls. They are such a great group and a pleasure to be around. Everyone who knows me knows that I love fall, and I love carving pumpkins. And was it ever interesting!! We were cleaning out our pumpkins on the front deck and we ended up getting into a pumpkin gut fight! And yes, it was kind of gross. But listening to everyone laugh, Jake, Kaitlyn, and my basketball girls, the mess was well worth it. Check out the mayhem below. I will try to get some pictures of the fabulous pumpkins on here later.

Everything started out normal, ha. Just cleaning out our pumpkins.

And then, things got crazy! All it took was one person tossing a few pumpkin guts...

And then it was everywhere!!!

I think the girls really enjoyed getting coach!

The aftermath....

And then, finally, all my girls (and Jake) come in and get cozy to watch a movie.

How lucky are we to have so much fun!! Happy Fall and early Halloween to everyone!

Beaches and Baseball

It's that time of year again! Jake's baseball season is going strong. He's doing well as usual. I swear, the kid is getting so tall! And we finally had a nice enough day to go to the beach!! My poor Alaska kids, especially Kaitlyn! We couldn't stay out too long! No matter how much sunscreen I put on that poor girl she started to look a little red and we had to head out. But we still had a fabulous time. Here's hoping for some more sunshine soon!

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!

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.