Hermiston Tournament--February 16-17th

The kid and I travelled to Hermiston on Saturday, February 17th for another AAU tournament.  We stayed with my parents in the Tri-Cities, and Logan got to have quite the crowd to cheer him on.  I think he was a little nervous because he didn't play very well in the game that Papa Berries, Bob and Tona came to watch.  But the rest of the games he played great.  My mom and dad and Amy, Thomas, Alyson, and Mylee all watched several games and Samee and Nate drove down on Sunday but couldn't find the school we were playing at so they ended up just driving back home...that was a bummer!!  I'm pleased to say that Wenatchee 5th Graders ended up winning the tournament--CHAMPIONS!! This was our first championship of the year.

Dave was at a training in Seattle so he couldn't come on Saturday so he left a little note for Logan.  Unable to stay away, he drove to Hermiston on Sunday morning.

We noticed that the 5th grade Pasco team had a Legard playing and my mom and dad were able to figure out that he was the son of Dan Legard (my mom's third cousin).  He had such nice parents and was so polite.  I asked if I could get a picture of Ethan and Logan together, and even after Pasco lost to us, Ethan smiled and was kind to Logan.  I think we'll be playing against this Legard for years to come.

On Sunday we had about a 4 hour wait between games and Harper started to complain about her ear...she's only had one ear infection in her life, so I was unprepared.  Grandma ran to Walmart to pick up some Motrin, and voila, about 30 minutes later she was laying on some bean bags asleep on the sidelines.  We gave her one other dosage during the championship game, but she never complained the rest of that day or the next.

The championship game was held at Hermiston High School.  They had an announcer that announced the starting line-ups and announced the player's name when they scored.  Also, the players names were displayed on the scoreboard when they scored.  It was very cool to see Logan's name in lights. 

As you can see,  the Hermiston Fifth Grade team was really never in the game..we beat them by 18 points to win the championship.  

Had a great week-end with this crew...

The championship game was at 5:45 and we didn't get back to Wenatchee until close to 11.  We had to stop for gas in George and this is what Logan looked like in Dave's back seat...5 games in 2 days will make you sleep like a champ!!

Valentine's Day

The kids woke up very excited for Valentine's Day.  I made cereal with pink milk and pink eggs and they had some cards and treats out to open before school. 

The kids love a good school party.  They knew that chocolate was waiting for them and that they'd get to open up their friends' valentines.  I told Logan to enjoy his last Valentine's school party. Harper and I volunteered in Ry's classroom, where they made ice cream sundaes, but I walked down to both Presley and Logan's room to check out their parties.  

Ry's teacher, Miss Ferrians, gets the kids attention with a bell and then the kids need to stop what they're doing and put their hands on their heads--Harper caught on to that real quick.

Dave had a dozen roses delivered to me and I, thinking all gifts should be useful, got him a new razor and razor blades...ha ha!!

And just so I'll remember next year what the kids passed out to their friends...

These two are pretty special Valentines!!

Coyotes, Explorers, Basketball, and Wedding Dress Shopping

Kind of a random, hodge-podge post, but I wanted to get these memories down and the pictures up.

On Monday, Rylan looked out our window and saw a coyote in our backyard.  Unfortunately, it seemed it was on his last leg, literally, as his front leg was mangled and twisted in a very wrong way.  It wasn't skittish when we knocked on the window, and we do hear them often at night, but still, to see a coyote roaming around 10 feet from your back door was a bit unnerving.  I think my Papa might be impressed with this and I'll be sure to tell him this story.

  On Tuesday night, we had Explorers Night for Logan's class.  He had to dress the part--this jacket he wore has made several appearances at Sunnyslope (and more to come for sure).  We bought it for him when he was 4.5 years old in Disneyland.  It's a Captain Hook coat.  He wore my boots and they weren't that much too big for him. He was Captain Cook and the kids had questions we were to ask and then we had to try to guess which explorer they were portraying based on the information.  Dave and I were pitiful!!  He has such a good group of friends.

Logan's AAU Basketball team played in a local tournament last week-end too.  They didn't place this time, they went 2-2.  I don't think Logan was happy with the way he played, but he did just fine.  And just so I remember, Logan begged for the pink Nike Elite socks.

I was quite happy Logan's team did NOT make the afternoon championship game because I spent Sunday afternoon in the Tri-Cities wedding dress shopping with my cousin Tricia and Bob's wife, Tona.  Tricia had made an appointment with David's Bridal for 3:30 and by 6:00, she had her wedding dress!! It's fabulous and she had some tough decisions to make because several dresses looked nice on her.  But, the last one she tried on was the "winner, winner chicken dinner" and she rang the David's Bridal "I selected my wedding dress" bell.  It fit her so perfectly, Tricia walked right out the door with it in her arms, enclosed in a non-see-through bag.  I think (hope) she took it to her mom's house to be put away.  I have a picture of "the one" on my phone, but will not post it.  Then, I stopped by my parents house and my mom and I had dinner at Casa Mia before I drove home.  I was so thankful to get to spend my Sunday this way.

Sunnyslope Spirit Week

Last week was the kids' Sunnyslope Spirit Week and the kids got to wear something special each day.  Class pictures were on Tuesday so I did not let the kids wear their favorite team jerseys.  But they participated the rest of the week.  This week leads up to Sunnyslope Fun Night, the school's main fundraiser, with dinner, games, auctions, raffles--you know, the expensive for parents but fun for kids kind of stuff.

Monday (Crazy Socks Day):  Harper had to have some on too.

Wednesday (Crazy Hat Day):

Thursday (Superhero Day):  Ry in his Ninja cape and Presley as a doctor

Friday (Sunnyslope Spirit):

On Friday night we went to the Sunnyslope Fun Night and they each had their games bracelet so they could play whatever games they wanted.  Sadly, no one won a cake at the cake walk.  Presley and Logan ran around with their friends, and Ry and Harper spent most of their time in the Kendama Zone (he had a pro sign his kendama) or at the climbing wall.

On Monday, this picture from the Fun Night Photo Booth was in Presley's folder. ADORABLE!!

At the beginning of the night, I gave Logan, Presley, and Ry each 6 raffle tickets and Harper 2.  There are like 50 raffles so they had to choose which prizes to put their tickets in.  Logan and Presley tried to win the IPod mini and put all of theirs in that box.  Ry put all his tickets in to try to win the Kendama.  Harper just walked up there and placed her 2 measly tickets in 2 different boxes--I didn't even know which two boxes she had chosen.  She was our big winner for the evening when her ticket was drawn for Tinkerbell roller skates.  I was volunteering at the prize station in another room and the kids' classmates and parents were coming in to tell me that Harper's name had been drawn to win something, but I couldn't leave to find out what it was.  Finally, Dave came in with her and her package to let me know.  Ry had won enough tickets at different games to "buy" a guitar like Presley's from the Father/Daughter dance. Fun times!

 

Logan's Half Birthday

February and August are big months in the Nelson household.  We've got 3 half birthdays and one full birthday in February and 3 full birthdays and one half birthday in August.  February 5 was Logan's half birthday and we celebrated with half of a cupcake from a new bakery in town.  He's officially halfway to 12...such an exciting time!!

 

Father-Daughter Dance: February 3, 2013

The first week-end in February is the annual Father Daughter dance in the Tri-Cities.  Presley has been every year since she was 3 (except the year she chose to be in the school play, which runs the same week-end), and this was Harper's first year.  Presley chose her dress and shoes this year.   It's an exciting time with Dad.  They have dinner together, games, pictures, and dancing.  We drove to Grandma's house and got ready there and then headed to Amy's house to meet up with a  group of girls and Dads to go to the dance together.

 Over at Amy and Thomas' house:

 Dave, Harper, Presley, Mylee, Alyson, and Thomas

Pictures from Papa who DJ'ed the dance at Shilo Inn.  That little orange guitar has been fought over for the last 24 hours.  

 Unfortunately, little Harper was not feeling too well and I picked her up early.

I'm so thankful our girls get a special, fancy night with their Dad.  I took the boys out to dinner at Bob's Burgers with Grandma, Cristy, and Amy.  I should have got a picture of the boys with all the ladies. 

We drove home that night and watched the Superbowl as a family the next day.  Presley won 10 dollars and Ry and Dave each won 5 dollars in our quarterly score grid.  That was more exciting than the Ravens winning for the kids. 

Steve Talbot Tourney--January 25-27th

I'm still playing a little catch up from the weeks we were sick.  The end of January is always a big, local  AAU tournament where the parents have to volunteer.  It's also the week-end of Dave's big National Sales Meeting in San Diego.  It has never been a good week-end to be a single parent, and this year, with me and Presley feeling so icky, Dave got out of flying to San Diego and I was extremely thankful.  So, we got to watch a bunch of fun basketball, volunteer our time, chase the little ones off the court, and watch the 5th graders bring home another 2nd place finish.

Harper has discovered that I bring a little treat for her, Ry, and Presley to the games.  Ha ha!!