The End

The end of basketball season is in sight. 

Cole and Heather had their end of season Jr. Hoops tournament at Lake Region on Saturday. Below, Glover boys play against Irasburg at a bright and early 8:00 a.m. game. Players have to be on site half hour before game time, so it was a huge commitment for Cole, who is usually a late sleeper on the weekends!

They won against Irasburg but eventually lost to Barton in the championship game that evening to become the runners-up. The game against Barton was very close and they played hard. They did a great job.

There were so many Glover girls that signed up for Jr. Hoops basketball this year that they had to make 2 teams. Here, Heather's team plays against the other Glover team and wins.

They also went on to the final game but lost to Orleans to become the runners-up. The games went late and the tournament didn't finish up until close to 9:00p.m. They were tired! Grammie came to watch both Cole and Heather's final games. She was a great cheerleader and they enjoyed having her there!

And now just one more tournament for the middle school - the St. Johnsbury Rotary Tournament this week.

And then, BASEBALL!

Basketball is NOT Over

The regular season is over, but the tournaments are never ending. Over February break the Newport Rotary holds a huge tournament at North Country High School.  Below, Glover plays against a combined team of Brownington, Orleans, and St. Paul's. Glover wins.

Jeanne was foot loose and fancy free with Peter away at camp all weekend so she came to take in a couple of Wayne and Cole's games during this tournament.  She took this (above) photo with her  phone. Good thing she did because I got a new (old) camera (dslr) and have yet to learn how to use it. 

The next day, another game, this one against North Country. 

 Wayne gets a break and Cole waits to go in.

Glover lost this game and was eliminated from the tournament. There is another tournament next weekend put on by the St. J  Rotary and there is also the Jr. Hoop tournament at LR for Cole and Heather's younger league. I'm not sure how Cole will manage to play in both tournaments in the same weekend. Furthermore, the Glover 8th grade is responsible for making and selling concessions at the Jr. Hoops tourney, so Wayne will also need to be in 2 places at once. Cloning device anyone?

Meanwhile, a little outside time is always welcome.

Gelli Print Art

When school was closed the other day due to freezing rain, Heather and I got the urge to be creative.  We got out our gelli plate and acrylic paints to make some prints.

 Acrylic paints dry fast so you can print one pattern (as we did above with a paper towel texture) and then print another pattern over it (as we did with our homemade leafy vine stencil). It's a lot of trial and error on our part. Sometimes the patterns turn out magical and sometimes a mess. In any case, it's addicting.

We've used our prints to make covers for homemade journals and we've also used them to make cards. I've seen some artist use the to make Eric Carle-like pictures. We're not that talented yet, but we had fun not going to school that day.

Catching Up

Pancakes for breakfast on a Tuesday because school is CLOSED!

A week or so ago, Heather and I cleared off the pond to find ice as smooth as glass. 

The skating was great, but the skates were a bit too snug this year so...

 ...Heather called up her friend, Kelby, and we went to the rink where she was able to rent more comfortable skates.

 And eat better snacks.

We are really looking forward to vacation next week. although we have a lot of Dr.'s dentist, and orthodontist appointments filling up our days already.

Travelling Back in Time

Every year, Mrs Tester, the third grade teacher, does a big unit on the Little House series. On Thursday, the class will put on a museum exhibit. Students are encouraged to bring in items that might be from the 1800s. They have to be very knowledgeable about their items and may even dress the part. Mrs. Tester can provide a few costume items, but (below) Heather tries on a dress from Mary (or Martha? We've had it for several years just waiting for the right moment) and displays a sad iron borrowed from Joanie.

Heather is a lucky girl to have such helpful and creative aunts!

Basketball, All the Time

Three kids, three teams. It's all basketball, all the time for us lately. Here's how it works: Heather is on the girls' Junior Hoops team.  It's for kids in grades 3 thru 6. Cole is on the boys' Jr Hoops team. These are not school teams, but each town in the district has a team and practices and games are held at the schools. Coaches are volunteers. Wayne and Cole, as middle schoolers, are on the school team. So you see, Cole, as well as several other 6th graders, is on two teams.

Here is a little video of Wayne and Cole's game at Albany this past week. Cole is not in this video. As a younger player, he doesn't get as much playing time on this team, which is why Jr. Hoops is helping out with experience. Wayne is #22 on the green team.

Albany has a very small gym!

Heather's team plays Brownington Saturday morning and wins. Heather is #30, green shirts.

 Cole's team plays Brownington and wins.

 Wayne and Cole's middle school team had a tournament on home turf. This was an 8th grade fundraiser for their trip to Hershey, PA. Wes ran the clock for several games. I sold tickets. Wayne, between games, had to sell tickets and concessions. Lots of 8th grade parents helping out, selling hotdogs, baked goods, chips, candy, drinks... The tournament ran all weekend, starting Friday evening, all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and just now Sunday evening can we finally come up for air. (Time to do laundry for school tomorrow!)

 They were winning this game by a long shot, so Cole and the other younger players got some playing time here. 

Cole looks like he's doing some dance moves.

They played well, but ultimately lost to North Country Jr. High in a later game.

Although they didn't win the tournament, the fundraiser was a success and raised around $2000 for their trip (they need $14,000 and they've been working hard all year to raise money.)