I’m Cheering for the Mav - Durs

For Christmas we planned to take Keagan to the OKC game in Memphis during our week of spring break. This was going to be his “big” present from us. But then I ran into a soccer mom in Wal-Mart, and she told me the highschool team is planning to play at the beach “sometime in March.” That had me worried. I didn’t want to miss the basketball game because of soccer. So at the last minute, I switched the Memphis game for the Mavericks game. 

Evan is a huge Mavs fan; Keagan is a die-hard OKC fan. Though it was a much longer drive, it would mean both boys could cheer for their team. We arrived two hours early, so the boys could get autographs. 

Evan got Luka’s. 

Poor Keagan just missed Westbrook and got pushed out of the way just as Adams arrived. On top of that, his team lost by a point and Westbrook, his favorite player, had the worst game! His Christmas trip was not at all what I had hoped for him. After the game, though, Keagan gave me a hug and told me thanks for a great Christmas gift. Oh, how I love his grateful spirit!

As a bystander happy with either team winning, I must say tonight’s game was as exciting as NBA basketball gets. Luka and DeAndre put on a show! It was a great game to see live with the winner determined with a last second, missed shot.

Merry Christmas

Santa arrived! Evan and Keagan must have been very good because Santa has been so good to them. They both got new shoes and new jerseys.

Evan's gift experience is a tour of Cowboys Stadium, his favorite gift. He's on the grind putting his Lego Cowboys helmet together. Already he's professed the directions are not clear enough and the colors are not accurate. He's threatening to throw it in the trash. So pretty much it's like the Christmas morning from eight years ago when he got a Star Wars Lego set. We are all about traditions in this house!

Keagan's favorite gift was his robe. He says he feels like a Chinese emperor wearing silks and fine clothing. (I'm afraid Amazon is a far cry from Chinese silks.) He has made his way to the bonus room wearing his robe, carrying his new gaming mic, and clutching a bag of candy. He says he will see us in about four hours.

Wes is super happy with parts for the gun he is building. He bought them. I wrapped them. He acted surprised when he opened them. I did the same with the two pairs of shoes I ordered for myself.

This is the first year in a while where we haven't spent the holiday doing laundry and packing for a Caribbean get-a-way. Next year's trip to Iceland will be epic.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Evan and I started the day at an annual holiday event serving meals to the underprivileged. We were in charge of the dessert table and were given strict instructions to not let any one touch the cake. After the first two hours of standing guard, Evan almost fell asleep. We were salivating by 1:00 watching everyone else eat and lucky enough to get our own meals.

We then headed home to pick up the rest of the family for the candlelight Christmas Eve church service. It’s my favorite time to be in church. This year they ran out of candles when I entered the church. I had Wes go in search of one (since I love the candlelight so much), and he found one, but it was defective. I had hot wax all over my fingers within seconds and I had to blow it out earlier than the others. I’m not sure what message Jesus was trying to say about my “light.”

Dinner time meant loaded potato soup and sausage balls. We opened a few family gifts (Mallory’s gifts from the school store are always the highlight!) and made cookies for Santa. Mallory remembered Keagan loved Lightning McQueen as a preschooler and got him a LM ornament. Wes got red duct tape to protect extension cords and Direct TV cables from Ryker.

Now we await Santa’s arrival with Christmas movies and hot chocolate and just a few cookies.

Family Day

Since moving to Tennessee, we have a tradition of driving to Nashville to see the holiday displays at the Gaylord.

Although we didn’t see nearly the over-the-top decorations we have seen in the past, it’s always great to spend a day just the four of us. It’s always difficult to persuade Keagan to leave the game room and the PS4. He’s a home-body and never wants to go anywhere or do anything. It took a lot of convincing and then finally, “You are going to family fun day!”

I ran into a former student in the gardens, the boys ran into the keyboarding teacher, and Wes took us to Inglewood for authentic Mexican food. We are in fear of being the next victims of a robbery, but the tacos were good and the guac was great!

Here’s to the wonderful family traditions!

Winter Break

It’s my first day of winter break. I went to bed last night at 8:30 and slept eleven hours. Twenty 8 year olds the week before Christmas did me in - I was toast! I was up early today to get my hair cut. Otherwise, I might have slept 14 hours.

Later in the day, Evan and I headed to the church for volunteer work. I signed us up to sort clothes in the free store for the upcoming Christmas Eve event for the underprivileged. Last year we were tasked with putting up and decorating a Christmas tree, and there was no way we were going to do that again. However, Evan was not thrilled with sorting xxl used men’s pants with smells that made him gag. The German chairperson immediately tasked him with a more “manly” job of moving boxes. For two hours he moved boxes? I’m not sure where he went off to to avoid stinky clothes, but he clearly had the better plan. Next year we are chopping potatoes!

What’s Cash?

I was at work today when my phone rang. It was Evan. “Hey, Mom. I need gas for the Jeep. How do you pay if you only have cash?”

I’m still laughing. Four days later and I’m chuckling. 

The Jeep is still sitting on empty. 

He’s Got Game

The middle school team played tonight’s opponent in November when we were in Jackson. They lost by 30 points that month. We lost again tonight, but it was a much closer game and we only lost by seven. Keagan had 12 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. He had a great game!

The coach in the background kneeling near the bench had his eye on Keagan throughout the game. In fact, he came to a past game to scout Keagan. He’s notorious for watching games, taking notes, recording stats, and creating plays that will be used to keep the strongest players on each team in check. He works at the most challenging middle school in the county and has a great reputation for working with challenging players. In short, he’s a great coach. Keagan has mentioned Coach K is his dream coach. He’s never had the best basketball coaches, and he truly yearns for good training. 

After tonight’s game, Keagan kindly asked if he could have a word with Coach K. Coach was completely caught off guard but agreed to talk. Keagan said, “It would be a great honor to play for you. I have great respect for you and the way you coach. If you have a summer AAU team, I would love the opportunity to try out for a roster spot.” Coach K was flattered and told him he would love for Keagan to play for him, but he planned to take the summer off from coaching to play some golf and sit on the couch. 

Keagan was disappointed, but I was so proud of him for asking. I was even prouder of his articulate compliment and well-thought out approach. The search for a team continues...

St. Nickolaus Day

It's St. Nickolaus Day and he visited us last  night. With the threat of Ryker eating the candy and tearing up the boots, I (I mean St. Nick) had to keep the boots in the closet and the candy hidden. Thus, there are no picturesque photos of the loot. I do have a pic of the dog, though.

Suffice it to say that Ryker is still causing heartache and costing us money. He ate the Direct TV cable again this week, he has broken/eaten every snowman ornament that I have collected since Keagan was a baby, and he has bitten into two PS4 controllers. Both of the bird feeders are destroyed. He can't keep blankets in his dog house for making cotton confetti and he loves to play chase around the house while carrying your prized Rothy's, or in the boys' cases Vans and Jordans, in his mouth. The cat hates him. I'm constantly cleaning up after him. Keagan loaths taking care of him; Evan only tolerates him when he is sleeping. But Wes loves him. We finally persuaded Wes that Ryker needs training. Good, solid, professional training.

So St. Nick visited last night, but all I have is this dog-gone picture of Ryker.

And He’s Off

He drove himself to school today. I followed him to the interstate just to make sure no one pulled out in front of him. He drove himself to personal training this afternoon. Wes followed him this time to make sure he made it to the gym without losing his way. 

He drove Madalyn to the basketball game tonight. 

Eventually we won’t think twice about his driving himself. Eventually Keagan will be okay riding as his passenger. 

I pray he drives responsibly, safely, and slowly! And to give me peace of mind and make sure he’s taking this responsibility seriously, I’ve downloaded an app that will let me know if he doesn’t. 

Safe travels, Evan!

Soccer Showcase

Six soccer games in two days. There is no better way to spend a weekend. Evan’s team went 1-2 in Memphis; Keagan’s team went 1-1-1. Saturday’s games were played in mud pits. Sunday’s games were played in brutal winds. But I consider myself lucky to be able to watch both boys play at the same venue.

With an abbreviated season, these are the only pictures I have of Evan this season. And they were taken with my phone! 😢 The tongue. Always. His signature look.

I’m afraid this is the last of travel soccer for a while - maybe ever. My heart is saddened at the mere mention of giving up something that is such an integral part of our lives. But sometimes our paths in life take an unexpected detour. Something better lies ahead.

They Missed Him

While we were living it up out West, the middle school basketball team had a game Monday night. The team lost. Big. The boys looked bad. After the Game, the boys went wild running through showers, yelling, acting silly. A fellow eighth grader said, “You wouldn’t be acting this way if Keagan was here.” Then he broke down in tears - embarrassed that his team was in such disarray. After a long pep talk and a “we’ll get ‘em tomorrow guys,” Coach went home and told his wife, “I’m flying Keagan back for Tuesday’s game. I can’t handle another game like we had tonight.” Unfortunately, Tuesday’s game was just as bad. Keagan was despondent; he hated missing the games and receiving texts about the scores knowing he wasn’t contributing!

Tonight Keagan was back. And he played the point like he hadn’t missed a week of training. The best part, though? We came home with a Dubba!

Day #5

We wrapped up our week in Jackson with some shopping, a photography gallery, and a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. 

Our wildlife sightings this week have been extraordinary. We awoke to fresh snow and prints right outside our door. We speculated bear, cat, and everything in between, but the park ranger told us we were looking at the prints of a harmless otter! What a great week we have had! Next trip on my bucket list is Iceland! 

Day #4 Happy Thanksgiving

We started our day of thanks with a tram trip to the top of Rendezvous Peak, 10,450 feet above sea level, in the Tetons. 

At the top, we were greeted with heavy snowfall and strong winds, but what an experience!

After a Thanksgiving Lunch, we watched the Cowboys game - some traditions can’t be broken. 

At dusk, we hoped the quiet and peaceful day would lure the elk out so we could get a close up view, but we were only greeted by mule deer. 

What a blessing it is to be with family! Now we hunker down for the winter storm.

Day #3

We started our day in the National Elk Refuge. Within minutes, we found bighorn sheep!

Then we headed to Teton Village. Nothing was opened so that trip was short lived. 

On our way back to Jackson, we stopped at a park to hike. The views were stunning! The weather was just perfect and the skies were a beautiful clear blue!

After a late lunch (where Wes finally got his bison burger), we went for a hike near the Snake River and Antelope Flats. After we got home, we learned there were bears spotted a half mile from us. 

What a wonderful day! 

Day #2

We began the nine degree morning with a wonderful breakfast, and it all seemed we were in the beginnings of a great day. 

When it was time for our pre-reserved wildlife tour, we were told our reservation for ten was no where to be found. For an additional $981, the company would happily escort us to see wildlife. We refused. We rented a van and took off on our own. Our first stop was to see elk. There were dozens to be seen, but none were close enough to be photographed with my phone. We were thrilled to drive right past a bald eagle roosting in a tree! 

Our second stop was the local art museum where we learned of a famous photographer who photographed animals. We also saw pieces of the outdoor sculpture garden.

Late afternoon, we drove to the marsh land to try to spot moose. We found a half dozen and then went off-roading in our ten passenger van and found bison! Our trip was made!

Tomorrow we hope to see big horn sheep. 

Dream Vacation

Wes’s dream retirement trip was a month long RV trip to the national parks. Luckily for me, there is no way you can drive a RV in November through the mountains, so we found a cabin next to Flat Creek and decided to explore Jackson Hole for a week. We were shocked to learn, after we bought non-refundable plane tickets, that the parks here are closed for most of November. We decided to make the trip anyway. The view of the mountains alone was worth it!

We spent day one soaking up the views, window shopping in the downtown area, and soaking in the hot tub. We have spotted mule deer, ducks, geese, and otters on the property. Our goal is to find moose and elk before we leave.