Okoboji Weekend

This past week has been a wild ride. I think we had something going on every single evening, and then we headed to Iowa for the weekend, so it was very busy. 

On Monday evening, we had parent-teacher conferences. I am happy to say there weren't any surprises for us and the teachers had mostly good things to say about the kids. Emma still needs to not rush through her work so much, but otherwise they had glowing reviews. So, that was nice!

On Tuesday evening, we had Emma's last regular season game with her YMCA team. They had an awesome game. Emma's team won 46-4, which made me feel pretty bad for the other team. But, Emma had 8 points, a ton of rebounds, and she played a good game. Jeff and Samantha also came to watch the game, so the kids enjoyed them being there. 

On Wednesday, the kids had basketball practice, and then we had choir practice. Then, we rushed home to have supper and get groceries for the weekend. It was a blur of craziness. 

On Thursday, we had a somewhat normal evening. I have a WOB meeting, and Emma had basketball practice with her YMCA team. Then, we spent some time packing and getting ready for our trip to the waterpark. 

Finally on Friday, we had Emma and Elliott's last regular basketball games of the season. Elliott's team didn't do great, but they did really improve throughout the season. They lost 12-0. The kids are learning, and growing, and they will be even better next year. Elliott was pretty annoyed that they lost, but I think he has enjoyed basketball this year. 

Emma's team did pretty well, but they lost by 4 points. Their game was really physical and hard-fought. Emma ended up with a bloody nose from taking an elbow to the face. It took an entire quarter to get her nose to stop bleeding. She never cried or made a fuss, it just took a while to get it to stop. Emma played great. She didn't have any points, but she had a ton of rebounds, some steals, and she played great help defense all night. It was a great game. There were some tears at the end, but they all played so well. 

After the game, we left for Okoboji. We got to the hotel at around 9:30pm. We unpacked, got settled, and then visited for a while before finally heading to bed. It was a wild evening. 

Yesterday, we ate a good breakfast, spent some time in our room, and then headed down to the waterpark. It was pretty busy, but we all had a good time. We went down the slides, floated in the lazy river, and enjoyed the hot tub. When we got hungry for lunch, we went back to the room for tacos and chips and salsa, and then we headed back to the waterpark. We spent a couple more hours swimming, and then we were sick of the noise and the crazy amount of people, and we called it a day. 

We headed back to the room, showered up, and then headed out for supper. We went to the Nautical Bar and Grill and had a great supper. Afterwards, we headed back to the room for games and snacks, and drinks. The kids had a blast playing in the big rooms, and us adults enjoyed some games. 

Today was a catch-up day. We had a nice egg bake for breakfast, packed up, played a final game, and then all headed home. We got home around noon, and worked on laundry, cleaning, and just relaxing for the rest of the day. 

Now, we are still finishing laundry, and trying to prepare for another week. This next weekend, we are heading to Nebraska for the NELS basketball tournament. We are supposed to leave on Thursday, but there is a giant snowstorm coming again this week, so we will see what happens. 

Here's to another crazy week of weather and basketball!!

 

Basketball and Sleepovers

 Here we are, cruising into February. The weather has been amazing the past week. We have been hanging out in the 30s and the snow is starting to melt away a little, so that has been nice. 

We continue to stay busy with basketball and basketball practice. Both kids are still enjoying playing basketball, and it's been really fun to watch them play and improve (although it's still really frustrating at times). 

Last week, Emma got to play against Abby and Anna. So, it was pretty fun to have a game where the cousins got to play against each other. Emma's team won, but they all had fun out there. After the game, the gils got a bright idea to have a play date, so they made plans to hang out the following Sunday for an art play date. 

This past weekend was pretty busy. On Friday, Elliott had Jacob over for a sleepover. They had fun playing video games, hanging out, and just having fun together. Emma ended up going to Lily's house for a sleepover. So, it was busy. Then, on Saturday, the kids were signed up for a fishing tournament on the west side of town. We got kids dropped off and picked up, and then got ready for fishing. 

Elliott caught two really big fish, but he ended up not placing in the fishing tournament. Emma didn't catch anything, so she was pretty bummed about that. But, they each got a new fishing pole and then Emma got a scoop as a door prize, so it was a good afternoon. Also, it was 35 degrees and sunny out, so it was perfect fishing weather. 

In the evening, we had two tired kids that just were ready to watch some TV and relax. We all enjoyed taking some time to just relax and enjoy a Saturday evening. We actually started watching the Marvel movies with Emma, and we started with Iron Man. She seemed to like it. Now, we only have 37 more movies to watch..

Sunday was a good day. After church, John went ice fishing, Emma went to Abby's house for the afternoon, and Elliott and I enjoyed the house to ourselves. We did some reading and piano practice, and then just enjoyed playing and hanging out. 

This past week, I signed Emma up for fast pitch softball for this summer. This is the same league that Hannah, Hannah, and Abby are in, so that will be really fun for her. I also signed Elliott up for Dakota Alliance Soccer this spring, which he is super excited about. So, we will stay plenty busy this spring and summer. I also paid off my car this past week, so that was really exciting. We officially own both our cars right now, that's a good feeling. 

This past week flew by pretty quickly. Emma had a game on Tuesday night that they lost 14-16, so that was a heartbreaker. Our girls did not play the best, but every team has off days. 

I have the day off today, so I plan to do some cleaning and getting the house ready for our super bowl party we are having on Sunday. We are having the Hinners, Jen, and maybe Katie over. It should be fun. The Chiefs and Eagles are playing each other, so I guess I am cheering for the Chiefs!

 Jim and Barb wanted the kids to come to their house, so they are picking them up from school today, and then keeping them for the night. So, John and I are going to have a date night. We are going to eat out, probably go to Costco, and maybe get a drink after that. It will be a nice little date night.