Final Wrestling Tourneyment!

Today was our final wrestling tourneyment of the season (can you say WHOOHOOOO!) Even though we went to four meets, Little J did not medal at any... he came in 4th place twice - but no medal.... until today! He won both his matches and got to wrestle in the championship round!!! He was psyched! He has done really well this year! He ended up with the silver and he was REALLY proud of how well he had done.... overall a great season!!!

One cute cookie !

First fishing of the year

The kids are on Spring Break this week - which is kinda dumb because around here it is really still very much WINTER!!! Little J was getting fishing antsy... so we decided to load up and take a trip down to one of the small lakes. We caught nothing, broke two rods and Miss O lost interest pretty quick!

The Poker Run

Everyone loaded up early this morning and headed out to the annual motorcycle Poker Run. All the kids "earned" a trophy just for being there - (well, that and their parents paying a lofty entrance fee!)
The kids all did great!

St Paddy's Day!

A great day for Wrestling, a holiday and a birthday!!! What fun!!!
The boys had a tourneyment here in Eburg, and both did really well.... I spent alot of time in the bracketing room helping (way more time than I had "volunteered"! haha) It was a pretty good day overall! Of course it is also the hubbys birthday as well!!!

Spring motorcycling

The "boys" went down south for a ride today - taking advantage of a mild day! As usual, they had a great time!

Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance

Tonight was a special night! It was Miss O and her Papa's very first Daddy-Daughter Dance!!! Miss O got all dolled up for this special day! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture of her and her Papa!

Welcome to March.... Welcome to Wrestling Season!

Around our house.... March signals wind, cold, the potential start of spring, and of course WRESTLING season!! Today was our first match in Royal City - a really really small town about an hour east of us (aka - the toolies!!).

Both boys won their first matches, which meant that they would be wrestling at least two more times. Little J lost his second match, so he qualified for the consoluation round (3rd and 4th place). In that round, he lost 1-0... he was a little bummed - but thrilled that he ended the first meet with a 4th place finish and one pin!

Big Al won his first, then was working really hard on his second match... while taking the other wrestler to the mat, the other child landed wrong - and broke his arm! It was awful to watch and just as awful to sit there while the kid is in horrendous pain! Ugh - not fun! Big Al then went on the wrestle in the championship round. His heart was not in it (understandably) and he lost by 3 points. He had a tough day and decided it was just time to leave after that match. I was a bit surprised that he didn't even want his medal... but its understandable...
Now... to see if they still want to do this NEXT Saturday (and every ((UGH)) Saturday in March)


Big Al in the Championship match


Little J getting ready to start his match

Happy Leap Day!!!

I can only say this every four years!!!! To all my friends - enjoy this day!!

They fight like cats and kids

Some days, these two (kids) can play really well.. and others... whoa Nellie they drive each other nuts (and me too!).

Today, Fester decided to join them in some Lego fun!!

Her rookie season is behind her!

Miss O had a great time learning basketball! While her team struggled (alot) and had alot of challenges - they had fun and played hard! her coach was nice enough to give all the girls trophies!

She was sooooo excited to get her very first basketball trophy!!!

And they WIN!!!!!!!!

Well, it's official! Little J's team, the Blue Devils won't be completely defeated this season!!! They won their FIRST (and probably only) game this season!! It was an awesome game to watch! Little J scored 8 points and had a great game!!!

More Big Al Wrestling

Just a few photos from the Cle Elum and Ellensburg Matches for Big Al. Big Al is in all black. I don't take too many action shots, due to my crappy camera - and I record the matches for him to watch later!!

Big Al - wrestling

We got to head down to Yakima to watch one of Big Al's middle school wrestling meets. I can honestly say I do not like middle school wrestling!! I find it really unfair that some kids get to wrestle 3 times, and others just one... so as you can tell by that statement, my kids was one of the kids that only wrestled once!! haha! So we watched him for the almost 5 minutes - and then he was done. He did not win the match, but worked really hard! Luckily - their season only lasts another month -then back to club wrestling!! whooo hoooo!

Little J's bday present

Little J's uncle was nice enough to take him on his very first small airplane ride! It was a short 20 minute flight around the Valley - but Little J totally loved it!!! He said it was one of his best birthday presents ever!!

My little guy is TWELVE!!

I am having a hard time with how fast time has flown!!! My little guy is TWELVE today... Holy Cow! 12!! Where did the time go???? And man oh man has he grown!!

Happy Birthday Little J (or should I start calling him medium J?)

He's got the knack for it!

This season in Basketball, Little J has really come out of his shell! While his team has yet to win a game (yep- I had to mention it!) they have tried really hard! Of course I am a biased Mom, but Little J has ALOT more hustle than 90% of the kids on his team. Not saying that to be mean, just factual... a few kids on his team can hardly run for more than 10 seconds without having to stop... pretty sad! Must be the fact that we constantly have him outside and not in front of a computer or the tv...

He has really come to love Basketball! Which is great, because it is a sport that "just" he is into (meaning no brother involved - lol!) and he loves that fact! Hopefully, next weekend they will have a winning game... keeping my fingers crossed!!

The big "A" word...... ADOPTION

A few days ago, a friend asked me if I thought that Miss O was "just like everyone else her age". My first thought was "WHY??? Does she act different??" Before I got my hackles raised too much - I asked her to clarify... she was asking more about the developmental part of things - you know, the big "A" word! Some people don't like to say it, because they are worried about offending you some how... Quite honestly, I am rarely offended.... annoyed yes, but not offended -haha!

The Big "A" word... Adoption

Some days, my kids "forget" that they were adopted - and actually ask... it's almost funny when one says... "Was I adopted?". Whenever my kids ask that, I always add a few comments like their "egg was hatched in Ukraine" as well as the "you were CHOSEN". We talk about how we actually got to CHOSE them... they were not assigned, they did not pop out, they were not delivered... THEY WERE CHOSEN, and that makes them extremely special. It is so important for them to realize that there is NOTHING wrong with being CHOSEN.. that is the way their lives here started. Making a bunch of nonsense up and trying to add to any fantasy that they may have about their previous life is just asking for disaster!

We don't like to dwell on the reasons that they were made available for adoption... I will never lie to my kids and tell them something that is not true about their past. The boys and Miss O have seperate tales... their reasons for being here today are completely different. What they have in common though, is that the past that they were able to leave behind carries much tragedy. When they are MUCH older, they will have access to everything that we know - if they want it... that choice will be theirs.

To try and compare an internationally adopted child to an American homegrown kid is virtually IMPOSSIBLE!!! No matter how much love and attention you give - there is a part that will be missing - even though it may appear very small, it is there in one form or another. Just an example - Miss O is very well rounded and well adjusted. She has no memories of life in the orphanage. The orphanage/hospital is the only place she lived until she came home with us. In the orphanage, children were deposited into their cribs at night - no tuck ins, no hugs good night, no cuddling. Many of these kids learn ways to self - soothe themselves to sleep. Miss O had a method of rocking on her head and sucking her thumb. While she still does a little of it today, she has slowed on the thumb sucking - but can still spend 20 to 30 minutes of hard rocking on her head - making a real hairbrushing nightmare for the next day!!

My kids are about as "on track" as they are going to be... I don't compare them to others - or compares others to them... that would be unfair! :)

She is getting better!

Well... she is not quite the "natural" athlete, yet!!! Miss O has been having fun playing basketball! She is finally getting some of the basic concepts down... oh yes, we still run down the court (the whole way) galloping with our arms up... but she is finally getting the "basics!".

They sure are cute to watch at this age!!

Our "big" snow storm!

Usually - we get 5 or 6 decent "snows" in a winter... This year - we had nothing but a dash here and there... all winter long... until last week!

We probably got around a foot over two days.. perfect amount to be able to finally use the sledding hill!!