Panthers Basketball ends...

 Beth had her last basketball game on Saturday. She had so much fun, and it was a great learning experience for her. Here, she's pictured with her 3 coaches:

(Coach Charlie, Coach Kevin, and Coach Angie)

We couldn't have asked for a nicer coaching staff!

Unfortunately, Beth started coming down with a respiratory bug on Thursday.  She didn't have a fever and was able to go to practice.  By game time Saturday morning, she was feeling worse, but really wanted to finish strong.  She played hard and gave her best, and we were proud of her!  She made it through the whole game without coughing--which is more than can be said for a couple of the other girls... 

Today, she's had a fever and a croupy cough.  We're very thankful that she was "healthy" enough to make it to every game and practice.  For this little peanut, being healthy for that many months in a row is a great accomplishment in itself.  Today was a lazy day in the house watching videos and reading books.  Hopefully, she'll bounce back in the next few days!

But we're so thankful for an excellent basketball season.  It was so much fun to watch her learn and gain confidence as she played.  We didn't know if she'd have the tenacity to be competitive, but she surprised us! 

Way to go Beth!  Your Mom and Dad are very proud of you!

Basketball Party!

Last Tuesday we had Team Culvers over for a little party to celebrate a great season of basketball. The party began with supper--the smoked pork I had made was happily devoured by the players.  Then, no party at the Amundson's is complete without a little healthy competition.... It's only fitting, after all, to see who really is the best basketball player in the group, don't you think? So, we brought out Beth's old basketball hoop for a little shooting war.  Da Beast is showing us how it's done: 

Here's Will--look at that form!

And Gabe's. . . form?

And, of course, every party at the Amundson's should include a little personal embarrassment...

After all, Beth could make as many shots as the guys, so we had to make the game a little more challenging to see who was really the best...

so we got out the blindfolds:

(Just between me and you, I think Jeremiah kinda liked his blindfold.  I sorta think he woulda liked to keep it, but was maybe too shy to ask...)

We did come up with a winner--way to go Gene!  Here he is proudly displaying his prize:

A little later, we headed downstairs to see who could dominate the disc golf on the move:

Beth Marie had such a good time hauling this sweet baby around:

Kiernan was amazingly content to be Beth's doll for the evening.  Thanks Will and Val!  :-)

And thank you, Team Culvers, for a memorable year of basketball!   Mike plays with a great group of guys...

Panthers Basketball continues...

Well, Team Culvers may be done for the season, but Beth's Panthers are still going strong... As I sit here, there's pounding and rattling upstairs.  It's Beth practicing her dribbling on the wood floor in the kitchen.  (We'll see if the china in the hutch survives her first season of basketball.)    

  She loves to hang out in the living room and practice her "rebounds".  Sometimes, Daddy takes time to teach her how to set picks and execute the plays that her coaches have been working on in practice.  It's crazy how fast she's developing her basketball skills--she's learning so much and loving every minute of her practices and games.  Hard to believe the season is already half over!  

Team Culvers' Season Ends...

 Last Tuesday, Mike finished his basketball season with an unlikely "berth" (not birth, right honey?) in the final four and they came all too close to upsetting the #2 seed and going to the championship.  I say all too close because, well, honestly...we wives were ready to be done.  ;-)  It was a long season!  But, there was one picture that I had to upload--it was just too priceless to pass up.  So, in the playoff game last Tuesday, let's just say that the reffing in that game wasn't favorable to our team...   I'll leave it at that and let this picture speak for itself.  :-) Here's Jeremiah's infamous "jump ball": 

Go Panthers!!

A new team kicked off its season today, and this time Daddy and I were the fans.  Beth Marie's Champion Basketball team had their first game today--GO PANTHERS!! 

She was both nervous and excited.  This was her first basketball game...ever.

She's had 3 practices, and we've been so impressed with the program so far.  We couldn't ask for nicer coaches, and she's learning a lot already.

She was nailing her free throws in warm-up!

 

Here, she is on defense: 

At the beginning of the game, they match you up with your "person", and you defend the same person the entire game--which is nice because you learn one face and you always know who you belong with.  But in Beth's case, the girl she was matched up with was literally running circles the entire first half of the game.  (We suspect that she may have been the coaches daughter maybe?)  She ran under the basket and around to the outside and back under the basket again.  Poor Beth was getting over a cold, and we could tell she was exhausted after about 2 minutes in the game.  The expression on her face said, "You've gotta be kidding--get me outta here before I DIE!"  But, she stuck with it really well.  You could see the relief on her face when the first quarter was up and she got to sit for awhile.  She was a thirsty girl when she finally got a break! :-)   In the second half of the game, Beth was designated as the girl who brought the ball up the court, and she did an excellent job.  She was having a great time, and you could see her confidence building...  (You can just see her braid in the backgroud): 

She really got her second wind after halftime.  Her girl was beginning to tucker-out a little, so Beth was able to defend her much more easily.  She wanted the ball more, and had several opportunities to shoot: 

Yay!  I believe this was the shot that went in.  :-)  We all thought it was pretty special that she scored in her first game.  It was so cute.  When the ball went in, she was so excited that she paused to do a little dance and celebrate.

In the second half of the game, she had several rebounds and got her hands on the ball quite a bit--which pleased her Daddy very much.  He was glad to see his girl getting herself in position to score...

The Panthers ended up winning 30 to 26.

We were amazed at how high-scoring the game was!  It was a lot more competitive than we thought it would be.

This was one happy girl!

It was a great first game!  She won the "defensive champion" award because her coach said she basically ran a marathon to keep up with her girl.  She's catching on quickly, and we're so glad for her to have the opportunity to play in such an excellent program.  We hope she learns a lot about basketball, makes some new friends, and has a safe season.  :-)

Go Team Culvers!

Well, I know a picture is worth a thousand words...but this time I don't have a picture.  :-(  I wish I did!   My husband's city league basketball team--Team Culvers--got their first earned win in 2 years tonight.   That's a BIG deal!
 There have been a lot of close games, and a couple of wins by forfeit, but tonight, they finally pulled out a real WIN.   Hopefully, it will be the first of many.  :-)   Either way, watching Daddy play sports will always be one of my favorite family activities.  Beth Marie and I are his adoring fans.  :-) Nothing quite beats watching him score the winning run of the championship game in church league softball last summer, but this was a memorable evening for sure! 
 

Basketball!!

There's a little person in our house who's pretty excited...  She gets to start basketball in January!  I'm sure there will be lots more pictures to come.  Go Beth Marie!