I was lucky enough to be able visit Arizona recently with some great friends. I had an absolutely wonderful time! We visited the Phoenix Botanical Gardens one morning and I took loads of pictures. It’s hard to choose a favorite. The desert was in bloom and the photo opportunities were plenty. We also did some hiking, went out dancing, did some unmentionables…. We truly had a fantastic time!
I know the video is terrible. I took it with my phone. The picture quality is awful and the sound has some very obvious distortion. Listen or not, this was Geof’s favorite song from the evening. Geof is the one on the very edge of the stage.
9 AM – Geof’s Basketball Game
Over the last few weeks Geof has really, really improved. I think by the end of the season we will be amazed by the strides he’s made. He made an INCREDIBLE!! shot during his game and Neal missed it! He was so proud and they won. Bonus!
-An hour break for some donuts and chocolate milk-
11 AM – Eli’s Basketball Game
Eli’s doing wonderfully. His team really works as a team and it’s so fun to cheer them on. Would you believe I’m the loudest spectator? It’s true. They lost this one, but it was a good fight!
12:30-3 PM – Chinatown!
I suggested that we go to the International District for the last of The Year of the Dragon festivities and Neal was in. He’d heard about it on the radio and wanted to go taste all the food. They had a lot of the restaurants (20?) participating in a $2 sampler item. We went to lots of restaurants down there and tasted lots of new foods. The boys were totally into it. Eli was the only one who liked the Dim Sum and we all liked the Egg Waffles, Pork Fried Rice and the Vietnamese egg rolls. There was soo much more too. I can’t even remember it all. We ate a good number or things and watched the Dragon Dancers. Heard the drummers and had a lovely afternoon.
It was hard to see the Dragon Dance because it was all on the street and we weren’t the closest (We were busy eating!) Claire got the best pictures of the Dragon.
(Needed that diffuser so I didn’t have the reflection in the window… That’s the egg waffle! Yum!)
And, I used this as my photo for my project..
…and made it this!
4 PM – Eli’s Second Basketball Game
Before Eli’s second game I told him if he made 5 baskets, I’d give him a piece of pie! What he didn’t know was that I’d made the pie the night before and he would have gotten a piece anyway. It worked though. He made 5 baskets exactly! He scored 10 of the 30 points his team made. The single most of any kid on the team. Apparently my kid is really motivated by pie. I will try this tactic again! They enjoyed their first win of the season. Way to go Golden Eagles!
This is my first video with pictures like this, I know it’s terrible and I don’t need you to tell me about it! I was just so happy it ended the way it did, with smiles not broken limbs, stitches or tears.
This one wasn’t as big or as bad as ones in the past, but still quite irksome.
While the kids and I were walking home from sledding a tree branch similar to this broke right in front of us. We were one house away from it so not super close, but if Claire had been walking a little faster… Quite a loud crack and slightly scary experience, but luckily we weren’t hurt.
but she’s not!
Day 17! I don’t know how many people look at my blog and I don’t know how many go from my blog to my 365project but Claire wanted me to “send this to EVERYONE!”
(Geof is wearing the green number 4 shirt with the maroon shorts on the right side of the picture. Eli is number one. I’m not sure if that’s a rebound or a shot. I can’t tell.)
So originally just Geof was going to play Basketball but after a week of practice Eli wanted in. We managed to get him on a team and he is doing great!
Geof seems to think it’s a social event and is too silly during practice and the same thing happened at the game. It breaks his concentration and he’s also too timid. This was just the first game though and I’m hoping to see a lot of growth between now and the end of the season. One thing I did love was seeing how compassionate he is. Every time a kid would hit the ground whether it was his teammate or not, he was right there helping them up.
Eli is doing amazing1 I thought that he wouldn’t do well because he doesn’t run very fast or terribly well, but he’s doing quite well. He is very aggressive and got quite a few steals and a number of rebounds. I think he was the star rebounder for his team! His size might also help…
Geof’s team won their game, but as a team didn’t play very well. There are two major show-off-think-they-are-all-that boys on his team and they are just stupid. The other kids on the team always pass the ball to them and don’t try themselves. I really hope that changes.
Eli’s team did very well as a team, but they still lost. I could tell at about half time they started getting discouraged and tired and gave up. They too will grow and I heard that they played one of the hardest teams they’d face this season. We’ll see if that holds true.
Neal got a new camera. I got his old one.
Neal kept his lens and gave me the new one.
We were sitting on the couch going through all the controls together and I thought, wow, we are quite a pair. I took a picture of Neal and his camera then told him to take one similar of me and mine.
He’s been helping me with my project a little. Teaching me about apertures, ISO’s and a lot of other things I haven’t quite picked up on yet. I’ll get there.
I think this purchase was a marriage saver or at the very least a battle avoider. He hadn’t gotten too annoyed with me for touching his things yet but I knew it was brewing. He is quite particular about how things with his camera should be and I’m too relaxed in that area.
Now I’m on a quest to find the perfect camera bag. I don’t want it to look like a camera bag but still want it to protect the camera and not be hundreds of dollars. I think I’ll just end up getting a big purse/bag and cut out a foam block, cover it in fabric and make my own. Of course I probably still won’t be happy with that… I need help!
Geoffory needs braces. (Yipee!) We’ve been waiting nearly six months for a tooth to come in so we could put them on. It’s still not in but we’re moving ahead anyway. He got spacers this morning to make room for an expander. We’re going to start by widening his upper teeth. Then hopefully after the expansion of his upper jaw is done that tooth will have come in and he’ll be ready for the braces.
Following his appointment he said this-
Geoffory: I’m really going to be the 4th grade nerd now. (said with a smirk)
Me: What? Why?
Geoffory: I’m good at computers, I have glasses and then I’ll have braces…
Poor kid.
I was telling my friend Rachel about Geof’s comments and she said, “Awe, he’s so right! He is the quintessential nerd! Don’t forget doing science experiments at home!”
Riiiight. I forgot about the science experiments. Dang it!
Let me say this though, he isn’t disappointed. I think being a nerd in his eyes is nothing to be ashamed of.
