Greetings from Camp

Number One Son completed his first ever basketball camp this week. We are always a little nervous when he starts something new. Especially if it involves lots of people, action and noise. There are times when he will get sensory overload and things will start to bother him. He has played basketball before with his team, so he was familiar with most of the noise and action. When dropping him off at the camp, we were pleasantly surprised to find a few boys he knew from school. They didn't recognize him at first due to his expressive hair, but once the initial shock had passed, they all got down to ball playing business.

I was only able to stay and see a few minutes on two of the days so I had to rely on N1S to fill me in.

"Did you have fun?, I would prompt.

"Yeah."

"What fun things did you do?", I pried.

"I don't know."

"Did you dribble?"

Staring at Spongebob on television, "Uh-huh."

"Did you shoot the ball?"

Still staring, "Uhhhhh.....(trails off)".

"How many touchdowns did you score?", I tested.

"Oh, I didn't count.", still in TV trance.

So I gave up on that conversation. He did come home sweaty each day so I will assume that he actually played some basketball.

At the end of the week, he got his tee shirt and the coaches said he did fine. We are always a little nervous sending N1S alone to a noisy, crowded situation but he did pretty well for himself.

This week Sweet Pea also finished up on her week long Girl Scout day camp. She went for four days from 8:30am to 5pm. This week also was the hottest of the summer with each day reaching 80 degrees. Each day SP came home an exhausted ragamuffin. Even though she was tired, we always got the full story of her day. They made crafts, learned songs and did science experiments.

SP would usually relate most of what they did for science.

"First we took a cup and put some vinegar in it. Then we put some other stuff in it, and it crackled. Then we put some different stuff in it and it foamed over.", she explained.

"Do you remember what the 'stuff' was that you put with the vinegar?", I asked.

"Um....I forgot.", she answered.

Very excitedly, "Then the teacher took a bottle of pop and put some candy in it and it shot up."

"Was it Diet Coke and Mentos?", I hypothesized.

"Yeah! How did you know, Dad?"

"I used to be a girl scout, too.", I joked.

I'm glad she got the joke.

On the last day of the camp, all of the girl scouts went to the beach for a beach party. SP was a little frustrated that morning getting her new swimsuit on. Lady Di said she had two legs in one hole and the top on upside down. Lady Di straightened her out and showed SP the little logo on the swim pants.

"See where this says Speedo? That goes in the front.", instructed Lady Di.

Just then SP frustration left as her face lit up and her eyes widened with excitement.

"This is a Speedo!"

Where did a six year old learn what a Speedo is?

Lady Di was lucky enough to be a chaperon for the beach trip. She thought she would be able to lay on the beach and relax. On the bus ride to the beach, Lady Di was treated to a girl scout sing-a-long. The entire way. Listening to a busload of little girl scout shouting campfire songs was enough to make Lady Di rethink her luck.

On the way home, Lady Di had the idea to sneak over to the second bus. That way she would be able to sit with Sweat Pea and enjoy a little peace for the return trip. As Lady Di settled into her seat and lowered her eyelids, she heard a familiar voice from the back of the bus.

"I heard that this bus didn't get to sing on the way to the beach! Well, we'll fix that for the ride home!" , cheered the song leader from the first bus.

Lucky Lady Di.

Signs of Spring

Even though the weather is trying to confuse us, Spring is here and I have the proof. Of course, the trees are budding and perennials are starting to break the ground. The snow is finally gone and green has returned to most of the lawn.

I also use the kids as indicators of the change of seasons. We have window clings on display year round at our house. Every holiday has their own set. We have Spring flowers and frogs up right now. Our sidewalk chalk supply is being rapidly depleted and the bike miles are adding up.

I was also able to roll the basketball hoop into the cul-de-sac. Nothing is better than showing off to your neighbors by dunking on an eight foot hoop. Number One Son has shown more of an interest in basketball this year which, in turn, has improved his play. N1S hasn't been a natural athlete so it is nice to see him take a little pride in what he can do and improve himself with practice.

Sweet Pea, who is always ready to try something, has grown just enough to start shooting hoops too. I no longer have to, nor am able to, lift her to the rim to put the ball through.

It is also a good time for the kids to explore their backyard. As long as they steer clear of Liberty's contribution to the lawn, they can find lots of trouble to get into.

N1S was seeing how long it would take him to dig a hole completely through a rotten stump.

Sweet Pea and her friend decided that they wanted to build a fort. She came to me with puppy dog eyes and sweetly asked if I had any saws or drills that they could use. They settled for string and red duct tape. They started by gathering all of the largest sticks that they could drag on the ground. After a while they found my pile of extra boards. When I came out to check on their progress, SP's friend said that when they build forts at his house, they build cool forts. And when they build forts at SP's house, they are pretty forts."

Well, I think they did a very pretty job.

After all of that hard work, SP had to soak her feet in the water that collected in our fire pit table.

It must have been warm enough to say that Spring is here.

Basketball Night

Last week we had a family night. After work we ate out at a fancy fast food restaurant. We then went to the local high school gymnasium to cheer on the boys basketball team. Number One Son had his play practice at the high school too, so he missed the first half of the game. Sweet Pea missed most of the game too even though she was present for entire game.

As soon as we sat down in the bleachers, Sweet Pea said she was hungry. Mind you, we just came from eating supper. She would have to wait for her popcorn. Well, then she was tired, and then hot and then thirsty and then hungry again. And then she was, "Soooo bored with this." Then the game started.

"Here's a dollar. Go get some popcorn.", I said. And then hastily added, "And bring back the change."

She came back with her popcorn, eating it as she walked. She kept spilling it on her way up the clumsy bleachers but it didn't stop her from feeding herself on the way. She sat down and I asked, "Where's my change?"

"I don't know.", she shrugged. And then ate a handful of popcorn.

"Well, how much was popcorn?", I pressed.

"I don't know." Another shrug, another handful.

I now had a decision to make. Do I go to the concession stand and ask for the price of popcorn, and then ask if they knew of a little girl who got ripped off a few minutes ago? I decided I was too lazy to do that. We found out later that popcorn actually was $1. Now who got ripped off? I can remember when high school basketball game popcorn was ten cents. We usually had to ride in covered wagons, battling dinosaurs on the way to the game in our day, but the popcorn was at least affordable.

Number One Son arrived at half time from his play practice. He was thirsty too so we sent him to the concession stand with a couple dollars to get two bottles of water for him and his sister. He came back later with nothing and said, "I didn't have enough money for two bottles."

"What!" I could feel an increasing ache in my wallet area. We told him to go back and get one to share then. He then came back with a bottle of Gatorade. He said that Gatorade and water were both $1.75 so he got Gatorade.

I can't fault his logic but since when did water cost as much as Gatorade?

I wanted the game to be a teaching opportunity for the kids to learn more about the game of basketball. We mostly had a lesson in economics and inflation. And the kids learned how cheap their dad is.

Well, we stayed until the end of the game and unfortunately our team came up a little short. It was a close exciting game so I believe we got our money's worth.

At least that is what I'm telling myself.

Basketball Memories

Number One Son is, once again, playing on a basketball league this year. Last year, he showed some real improvement, so I hope he will be able build on that success.

Before his first formal practice, I thought it would be a good idea to refresh our muscles at the local open gym.

I posted about what happened last year at the gym and this year I did much better. I stood back and let N1S do most of the playing. We practiced shooting, dribbling and passing. We played a little one on one and worked up a little bit of a sweat.

When it was time to go home, we changed our shoes, got our backpack and started out. I noticed that N1S forgot his coat, so I gave him some subtle hints to see if he would remember before we went out into the arctic air. We are trying to teach N1S how to be more responsible for his own things.

I asked him if he was ready to go.

"Yup"

"You didn't forget anything?"

"Nope"

"What do we usually wear in the winter?

"Boots"

"What else?"

"Hmmm...jackets...Oh yeah. I'll go get my coat."

I'm sure he would have remembered eventually on his own, but I didn't want to be all the way to the pick-up before he did.

On the way home, N1S drank his juice box and we pulled into the garage. I handed N1S his backpack and asked, "Hey, did you see where my gloves went?"

I then remembered that I had laid them on the floor, next to the backpack, next to the bleachers at the gym.

I guess I deserved the drive back to retrieve them.

Dad Madness

What has happened to me. Tonight is the opening night for March Madness. I have no idea who is in the tournament. In my youth, I followed college basketball with a passion. I liked the action, the stats, the history, everything. When March came, I was just as nervous as the teams 'on the bubble' trying to get to the "Big Dance". My finest hour came in 1988. It was my second year at college. The dorm started a basketball pool and I gave them my dollar. I made my picks with Duke winning it all. That was the year of a lot of upsets. I think that was the year Georgetown and Syracuse lost early and Villanova made it to the quarter-finals. Anyway, Duke made it to the Final Four for the first time. I was the only one in the pool with Duke that high. I was also one of the few that picked any team in the Final Four. This brilliant flash of genius earned me $40 dollars. After that, I entered a pool every March, and every March saw me one dollar poorer. Some years were better than others, but I never made it back into the money. I blame the Indiana Hoosiers for most of my failed years.
Which brings me back to 'What has happened to me?"
I haven't entered a pool for about 8 years now. Is it coincidence that my oldest is eight? Is it coincidence that I was 30 years old when I last participated? Is it a sign of getting old? I can't be old yet.
If it is a sign of getting old, I am going to put a halt to my lethargy right now. I am going to put on my Air Jordan's and wrist bands and I am going to fill out a basketball bracket. I'll get Lady Di, Ethan and Emery to each ante up their dollar. And I am going to pick Duke to go all the way once again. $$$