Basketball Coaching Update

I have been having a great time coaching Leah's basketball team these past two months. I feel like I have gotten to know her friends/classmates a lot better and they are a good group of girls. We did have curb the talking during practice with push-ups (if you got caught talking while I was talking) which has beefed up some of the girls :) Our team has been involved in a year end tournament this past week. We lost our first game and got moved to the consolation bracket. We then won our next game, so we get to play in the championship game of that bracket. Go Lions, Go!

Remembering when. . .

. . . the three girls ENJOYED sharing a room. . .

. . .EVERYONE wore a party hat for birthdays. . .

. . .Andrew WANTED to help mow our horse pasture. . .

. . .Daniel was barely tall enough to play carpet ball at camp?

It is hard to believe they grow up SO fast!

What to do when you retire

Yesterday, the Principal at the kids' school retired and they held a retirement party for him. Julia is seen here reading a list of what Mr. Leopold should do after he retires. They are dressed in Hawaiian clothes because Mr. Leopold was taking a cruise to Hawaii to kick off his retirement. Julia did a great job reading in front of the whole school with her class.

He's got. . .

. . .a licences to drive! Yesterday, Andrew turned 16 so we went to the licence office to have him take his test. He passed and was given his temporary driver's permit. He now has to complete his driving hours for driver education. Congrats, Andrew! Thank you to all of you grandparents, family, and friends who helped financially and prayerfully to contribute to Andrew getting this privilege. You may someday get the honor of riding in his vehicle (the old gray mare; Ford Windstar!)

Filling the LONG days of Winter

Snow Camping

Andrew just returned home after a busy weekend at a snow camp with his church youth group. He is very tired and just wants to go to bed. He even turned down a shift at McDonalds!!

Tomorrow is Family Day and most businesses and schools are closed. I still have to work at the Post Office because we are a national business and the Family Day is a provincial holiday. We are currently trying to decide what we want to do since we are supposed to get MORE snow this coming week!

We are still trying to recover from the flu. Some days we feel like eating, and other days we don't. That makes trying to cook a challenge. I guess soup for the rest of the week???

Sick, Sicker, Sickest

That is what we had to decide these past couple of days to determine 1) Who was eating supper, 2) who was going to make supper, and 3) who was going to clean up AFTER supper! We all got the flu at different times this past week (except Andrew, whose turn might be just around the corner!) Now, I know that "sick" is another work for "cool" but this was NOT that. Thankfully, it was not a long flu and we are all recovering quite well.

Our Echo

Here is a photo of our little Toyota Echo we bought last fall. I really love driving this for running errands instead of my van. It is soooooo easy to park and I can't believe how much trunk space it has. It also gets awesome fuel mileage!

Basketball Coaching Update

Just an update on how the basketball coaching is going.

I am currrently coaching my daughter's (Leah) eighth grade basketball team. The school did not have a coach and sent a plea to parents to help volunteer. This is a new venture for me, so I am learning lots and am having fun. We have so far won 1 game and lost 3. It is a challenge to know how to set up the team (we have 17 players), get everyone some time on the floor, and still win the game. We have some talented players and lots of heart on the team. I am really glad to be back in the game, though!

Photography by Andrew

Andrew loves to experiment with his camera and editing. He also really enjoys trying to give his mother a heart attack by claiming he is jumping off the roof. You decide, but Julia doesn't look too concerned!

Julia at 3

Fun in the sun

Julia holding her cousin Caleb Siebenthal

First Day of Jr. Kindergarden