Trevor Plays Volleyball

Trevor is having a great 6th grade year. This is his last year in elementary school and he is feelin' good about life. He is the old guy on campus. He is focused on his academics and his participation at school. He really is a grown-up compared to all the younger kids.

Trevor is enjoying his last season of elementary school volleyball. He has perfected his serve and is very focused out there on the court. And bonus, he gets to be on the same team as his BFF, Jacob.

(The entire team very much enjoyed all that weather we had last week. Rain + hail = NO PRACTICE or GAMES.)

We don't know if Trevor will continue to play volleyball in Jr. High or High School, but he is happy, confident, and trying hard where he is now. That's everything we hoped for our boy.

Logan the Wrestler

Wrestling season has finished for our Logan. He did not know what to expect in the beginning. He is not a physically aggressive child by nature. Logan had to learn that it was OK to take down his opponent and not worry about hurting him. He did a great job overcoming his nerves and learning how to succeed. Here is a short video clip from one of his matches this winter.

Logan wins AGAIN!!

The Fall Sports Awards Assembly was Tuesday, November 9th. Logan was honored like no other! His name was mentioned at least 6 times throughout the presentation. He was the first Cross Country athlete to be given an award - and boy, was it a good one! He received MVP for his team. What an honor! His coach had so many nice things to say about our boy. She even pressured him to continue running next year. (We'll see what Logan decides to pursue next year - football or cross country? Both are equally pulling at him...)

Here's Logan with his MVP trophy. Wow! He was so thrilled!! The coaches made up these cool t-shirts for all the kids that were selected to go to District Championships. Logan was so excited about the shirt that he put it on right away.

Logan was lucky to have such great coaches. They were so kind and supportive of all the runners out there. One of the coaches was Logan's kindergarten teacher - those kindergarten teachers are amazing people to begin with. :)

That is officially the end of the Fall Sports Season for Logan. He has begun his winter season wrestling practices and is enjoying learning something new. Soon, he will be out there in his fancy singlet taking down other kids on those wrestling mats.

Logan goes to District Championships

Logan is the family runner. The child that enjoys running. The one who doesn't even break a sweat when he finishes a race. Well... this boy has done well in his cross country season. He won all but 2 of his races (he placed 2nd and 3rd in those). Because of all that running success he was given the opportunity to run in the District Championship race - against all the other winners from 30 elementary schools in our area. And today was the big race.

Logan did not sleep much the night before. He woke very early this morning with race nerves already kicking in. He had himself quite worked up over this event. So much pressure to run against 120 kids that are just as good as you!

Here are our photos from this afternoon:

The line-up. YES, there really were 120 4th grade boys out there!

Here's a close-up of Logan just before the guy said, "Take your marks" and then shot off the gun.

It was a very quick race. We'll get his time tomorrow, but for now we'll just say it was quick. Start to finish in about 5 minutes. We got to see the start and then ran over to the finish line to cheer him on. Here comes Logan down the final chute to the finish line. See the look of agony on his face if you can zoom in. He was working harder than we've ever seen!

He came out of the runners area gasping for breath and sweating - finally sweating! He was exhausted and physically fatigued, but he had placed in the top 10. Logan had his heart set on placing in the top 7 so he could receive a medal. He finished 9th and got a ribbon and a free t-shirt instead. They handed it to him almost immediately after crossing the finish line.

He was disappointed at first because he didn't get that medal he had his eye on, but in the end we finally convinced him that really did better than most of the kids out there. Only 15 people got to take home an award - and he was one of them! He also felt better after a treat from the gas station - a 2 liter ice cold bottle of water and a new cap gun. Remember, the gas station always makes everything better. :)

Logan has done some amazing things this season and we cannot be more proud. He always tries his best in whatever task is at hand. All that hard work paid off. Big time. He's the only kid I've ever heard say, "I like cross country!" and actually mean it. He really enjoyed his time out there!

For now, we will put away our token cross country cheer, "Run, Logan, RUN!" now that the season is over. And look forward to the next sport season. . . . Wrestling!

Logan the runner

Logan has begun his first season of Cross Country running. He had his first invitational meet at the high school a month ago and surprise to us all - LOGAN WON HIS FIRST RACE! He came in first place while competing against several other schools! Wow!

Logan has had Cross Country meets almost every week since that first race. And he has done very well at every one. We like to brag that he's collected all the first, second, and 3rd place honors in gold, silver, and bronze. He is lightning fast!

He enjoys running and he also enjoys winning. He has expressed concern that it is a lot of pressure to win and he gets really nervous before he runs. We always remind him that we don't care if he wins or not (it is exciting when he wins - that's for sure), but that we simply want him to do his best out there. "You can come in last place every single time. We don't care what place you get, just as long as you don't give up and try your best," we like to tell him. That's all that matters to us.

And we will always be seen cheering our running boy. Go Logan, Go!

The Dodgers WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

Logan played his last baseball game on his birthday. It was the championship game for the entire league. Whoever won this game would take 1st place for the 2010 season. Talk about pressure. To add even more pressure, it was also a well known fact that the opposing team liked to steal bases and the pitcher intentionally liked to hit the batters with the ball. There were so many obstacles to overcome to be able to play a good game. Logan was no exception. He feared getting hit by that ball every time he went up to bat.

Logan's role on the team is #1 in the line up. First to bat. He was the one the team depended on to get a hit and get on base. It was his duty the entire season to be the man that got the ball rolling for scoring runs. Check out his intense stance. Can you feel the nervousness? The heart pounding? The anticipation of a ball slapping into his leg?

You can see he actually did hit the ball in the last picture here. It had just bounced off the ground and was coming back up at him.

Logan made a great play while he was manning 3rd base and tagged a runner out! Woo hoo!!! He felt so good to be congratulated by his teammates and coach.

There was a score. I have no idea what it was. All I know is that they won by 1 run. It was a quiet moment. I don't think most of the crowd knew it was actually the end. There was no great cheering. There wasn't a single, "nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, we-ee beat you!" The kids waited for the coach to give them the good news and then they dog piled the catcher. And that was it.

Way to go Dodgers. You deserve some silly time. Get all those wiggles out after being so serious for 2 hours!

At the team after party we learned a few things about our Dodgers... This team practiced more than any other team in the league. Most teams quit practicing as soon as the games began - no wonder we were so good! One other cool stat: our team made 55 runs this season (the most in the league). The next highest scoring team had 36 runs. WOW. Dodgers rock!

Here are the coach's sweet sentiments about our Logan as a player on his team.

There were some hard times - going to practice even when you didn't want to, wearing a cup for the first time, and making new friends. You pushed through all those challenges and actually ended up enjoying the time you spent playing baseball!

Yes, it feels good to be #1 and be the greatest champions of all time. We would be proud of you even if you weren't on the winning team. It's your good attitude and perseverance that have made you such a strong boy and great team player. Logan, we love you and are so proud of you for doing your best this season.

One more time...

Let's Go Dodger's! LETS GO! *clap clap*

Let's go Dodgers! Let's GO!

Logan's first ever season of baseball has begun!

His coach has the boys wear their full uniforms to all practices with the intent that they will play as a team if they look like a team all the time. And he also advised them that they didn't have to wash their uniforms between practices and games - only if they want to. This small factoid brings great relief to the laundress of our home (ME) and to Logan because he is in charge of knowing where all 10 pieces of his uniform are at all times. He can just pull off his dirty uni and throw it in his locker for next time. Awesome.

One of the 10 pieces of his uniform is a cup. Yes, a CUP. All kids (EVEN GIRLS) are required to wear a cup at all games and practices. It was quite a crack up to see all those boys walk onto the field at their first practice. Unsure. Timid. Knowing that for sure EVERYONE was staring right at the front of their pants! After the first 2 practices it finally became second nature and no big deal whatsoever. Oh, the joys of being a boy (or girl? what?).

He's playing for the Dodgers this year and has already played his first 2 games. He'll play 2 games a week until the end of the season. The most exciting play was at his last game. He hit a HOME RUN! But in the league he's playing in they are only allowed to advance 2 bases - so he didn't actually make it all the way home. It was really cool to see him actually hit the ball and run the bases. Pitter, patter, goes my heart for my little Logie Man.

That's all we have to report on Logan's baseball season thus far. I have Logan's game schedule ready to email out if you'd like to attend.

Service!

For the spring sports season Trevor was given the option to play baseball, volleyball, or track. He chose the only one he's never tried before - volleyball! He looks great out there in his green uniform. He's always on the ball (heh, heh... pun intended), paying attention, and in his ready stance. He has yet to get the ball over the net when he serves, but there is still time. Check out the intensity on his face when he's in server mode. He will do it!

He's played 2 games so far and has won both. Undefeated - that's how we roll (again with the ball puns). Trevor is also enjoying playing on the JV team. He gets out of school early to go to the game and then finishes before school is out - sweet! What a great set (pun pun pun).

Skiing with the boys

Jeremy learned to ski at an early age and has always wanted our kids to have the same opportunity. Two days before Christmas, Jeremy took the boys up to Badger Pass in Yosemite for their first skiing lesson ever. They were all thrilled to spend a "boys day" together. Cousin Jacob and Grandpa Doung also came along for the fun.

They began at the bunny hill or the turtle hill (or something beginner like that) and practiced their pizza plow. They were unsteady at first, but gained confidence the more they worked at it.



The boys looked really good by the end of the day. They had a blast! Here are 2 short videos: the first is their expertise in boarding the ski lift and the second is their awesome control when coming down the mountain.


Trevor came home and made sure everyone knew that skiing was his new favorite sport. They all had an absolute blast. Thanks to Grandpa Doug for coming along and helping out - the boys loved all the attention and one on one time!

where's my trophy?

Logan's soccer season has officially come to an end. It was his first year playing "Under 10s" and a longer season. He had a blast at all the practices and games as he improved his soccer skills. He was lucky to have a talented coach that loves the sport.


The last game was quite intense. The crowd was on it's feet for most of the game. The other team scored a goal in the first half and with a minute left in the game our team also scored a goal. Wow. The energy was thrilling! The game ended with a tied score 1 - 1. And we were all happy with that. They played their best and that's exactly what we're after.
Here's one last picture with Logan and daddy, who was one of the assistant coaches this year, happy with their performance and happy it's come to have finished with such great effort!

Way to go Logan! You are our soccer superstar! (And don't worry...you'll get your trophy in one week at the team party.)

BMX Bike Park

Trevor and Logan have found a new passion. Riding bikes at the BMX park. It's a great in-town location out at Woodward Park. The park itself is full of tons of professionally installed dirt mounds for doing all those cool bike tricks.

Got our helmets on for safety!

A few action shots...



And only one battle wound so far. Trevor tells us, "It doesn't hurt - just looks bad." He is toughening up!

The boys love going out there with their daddy. Jeremy equally enjoys spending time out there enjoying nature, biking, and quality time with his boys that are finally old enough to enjoy these types of activities. He's been looking forward to these moments since we first talked about having kids - finally a dream has come true!

Lizzie Plays Soccer

Lizzie had a great soccer season. She made lots of new friends, scored lots of goals, and got lots of daddy time as he was one of her coaches during her first year of soccer!
She is quite the little athlete. She runs like crazy and pays attention the entire time - no wandering off to pick flowers or anything like that. She really gets into it!

This second picture is classic. The look on her face is priceless. She scored one of her first goals and was so pleased with herself and could hardly believe it - that's what sheer joy and disbelief look like on a 5 year old.
It was a great season and we look forward to many Lizzie soccer seasons in the years to come. Goooooo Lizzie!!

Undefeatable

The first season of football has come to an end - a GLORIOUS end! Trevor's team won EVERY. SINGLE. GAME. And, bonus, none of the teams they played ever scored. Complete shut outs at every game. What a season! Trevor's team is officially undefeated, but Trevor likes to call them "undefeatable" - and they were!

Here are a couple final pictures of Trevor (a.k.a Clank) #78.

That is one proud boy. He did it. He finished out the toughest sporting season of his life thus far. That is pure relief and calm rolling across his face.

Will he do football again next year? We don't know and he doesn't know either. We'll just have to wait and see what he decides when the time comes. All Trevor knows right now is that it was great to be part of something so great.

Goal of the Season!

It has been a great season for Logan. He's done so well this year in his progress and growth as a soccer player - he really is a great little soccer player! The games have always been positive, upbeat, and well played, but... they've never once won a game. They try their best every week and have never tasted the success that they work so hard for at practice each week. Well, today was Logan's second to last soccer game of the season. They played a team that they'd previously played and lost to.

It was a great game, both teams played hard (especially the other team as they pushed and shoved our kids around the entire time). Neither team had scored the entire game and the time was down to a minute left. Logan was in the right position at the the right time to nudge the ball past the goalie and into the goal. Our cheering section went nuts!! Logan looked shocked at himself and then grinned the biggest grin an 8-year-old boy can grin. Our coach threw in 2 subs and within 20 seconds the game was over. Logan scored the one and only goal of the soccer game and WE WON!! - our first win of the season!!

Way to go Logan! We are so proud of you for always trying your best and attacking that ball! Keep up the good work because there's only one game to go! You can do it!

"Here we go T-Wolves, here we go!"

Trevor was not the only one excited to be at his first game. Lizzie had a BLAST at the football game and was so sad when it was time to go home. She wasn't the least bit interested in what was going on on the field. It was the cheerleaders in the stands that had her completely drawn in! When we arrived, we moved down the bleachers to our school's cheering section and sat down right behind the cheerleaders. The look on her face was priceless! It was as if she'd just received the best dream gift of her life! The jaw dropped. The eyes about popped out of their sockets. And she slowly sat down as if to gather herself back together. She had no idea this would be the best outing ever!

Check out her stance here: (she's the little girl on the left in white mimicking the ponytailed girls in front of her.)
She was locked into this position the entire game, memorizing every move and every cheer. The girls thought she was the cutest thing and did their best to help her learn the words to the cheers.



Watch out world - we've got a cheerio on our hands! Thank heavens we have a few more years until she can officially join the spirit squad - which I understand is not an inexpensive sport. For now, she'll just have to fulfill her cheering dreams from the sidelines. Go Lizzie! Go!

Fifth Grade First Football Experience

As a 5th grader at Trevor's school the sports opportunities open up nice and wide. Last year, as a 4th grader, only Cross Country was available. But now, he can do football in the fall! All of his friends had been talking "football this" and "football that" all summer long so he decided it might be fun if they're all doing it together.

The season has begun and it has been a challenge. It is hot out there during practice and games + all the pads and helmet makes for one miserable experience. And it's been a lot of hard work. Up and down, back and forth, push and shove - these are not Trevor's normal fun activities. He is more of the mellow, hang out, not so physical type of kid. He has been stretched and pulled into this sport and finally he is enjoying himself.

The first surprise of the season came when the coach put Trevor and his best friend/cousin Jacob on the Varsity team. What?! Jeremy and I were so surprised. He just started learning the game - how could he be that good already? We had to clarify that he really was on Varsity and guess what - he is!

Trevor is number 78. He plays on the offensive team as a blocker/lineman (- hopefully that's right. I plead ignorant mom, here. I can never keep all those positions straight!). Jacob is number 85. They stand on the line right next to each other. The coaches have nicknamed them Tank and Clank. Trevor is Clank and Jacob is Tank.

These pictures are from Trevor's first time in uniform on the field at the football carnival where they played 3 separate games - which they won, by the way, every. single. game. UNDEFEATED BABY! You can easily see Trevor by his light green shirt he has on under his jersey - it's hanging out in every shot. He's doing a great job holding 'em off in this one!

Here's a short video from that day. There are 2 plays - the first they make a touchdown and the second shows Trevor doing some awesome blocking.




These boys were so nervous before the game. Those nerves lasted until they had finished and removed their helmets. They had won after all and felt like hot stuff in their uniforms.

Check out the relief/pride on this face. He felt so good after playing in his first game. He did it!
Trevor, we are proud of you for choosing to try something new and sticking with it! You are doing great in your first season of football and know you'll finish it out with all you've got.Way to go Trevor!

GOOOOOAL!

Last weekend, Logan had his first soccer game of the season. He was an animal out there! Check out his concentration - that is one intense little dude. All that concentration paid off when he scored the first goal of the season! Woo hoo! Way to go Logan.

Here comes Logan through the tunnel after the game was over. He got to play goalie for the second quarter. He blocked so many goals and did his best out there.
The atmosphere was so positive by the end that you'd never guess they didn't win that game. It really was a great game.We are all looking forward to a great season. Great coach. Great players. And great cheering section!

Summer Polo

Trevor and Logan got to do summer water polo camp this year - first time ever. Oh, daddy was so proud! (That was his sport of choice in high school - many many years ago...) The camp was 5 weeks long, but they missed 2 full weeks due to our vacation schedule. They got up every morning to be there by 8AM. It was early, but they didn't seem to mind too much.

Here are some action shots from the games they played. Trevor is #30 and Logan #8. They both scored goals at the games they played - way to go boys!

Emma was also on their team. She is also a great little athlete. She's #14. And yes, it was all co-ed teams.

Daddy had a great time teaching the kids some serious techniques in our pool at home. He got to relive some of his old glory days as he explained the rules and strategies of the game to our sweet boys.

Trevor and Logan are already planning to play polo again next summer. Daddy is thrilled about this opportunity and can't wait to teach them more of his tricks.

Trevor does Track

Trevor started his first season of track a few weeks ago and Friday was his first meet! He was excited to compete in two events - the 800 meter run and shot put.

He did the shot put first. Here he is with his shot put team mates. They look cool under pressure, but you could definitely feel their tension as they stood here waiting their turn in line.

Here's a play by play sequence of his shot put.

Trevor looks like the kind of kid that could chuck the weight really far, but this sweet and gentle boy does not have a lot of aggression yet. He finished shot put at the middle of the pack which we were thrilled with.

Here's a picture of the peanut gallery that followed me around the track for 3 hours. They look like a fun crowd, right?

We brought our picnic lunch, plenty of water, umbrella and picnic blanket. They had fun playing with all the other little kids that got dragged to their siblings' track meet. So it really worked out well for all of us.

Here are some pictures of friends and cousins that also participated in the track meet. (Our team is the one in green) Emma ran the 800 and Jake ran the 100 - check it out, his feet are both totally off the ground!



And here's Trevor at the start of his 800 meter race. He tries so hard to do his best and we are so proud of him for that. (He's the one in green on the far right.)

Go Trevor Go! He ran the entire way. 2 full laps around the track = 1/2 mile. That's a long way man! Hopefully he'll get to run a shorter distance at the next meet. Trevor was much more calm and collected at this meet compared to his first few cross country races. Now he's more confident and comfortable in the sporting atmosphere. We are so proud of him for choosing a sport and sticking with it.

These are Trevor's good buddies: Jacob, Jake, Spencer (he goes to another school, but was also at the meet), Emma and Trevor. It was so nice to be surrounded and supported by good friends that cheered each other on.
Trevor, keep up the good work! You are our first track star!