Lacrosse, Lacrosse and More Lacrosse

Duke beating ND in Overtime 

for their first NCAA Championship.

I have had the pleasure? this weekend of being a lacrosse widow while Honey went to the NCAA championship games in Baltimore. Three days and five games. Christopher went all three days as well.  My only word for this is Obsession.   But I am glad they had fun.

They had a nice kids zone outside that Christopher got to practice shooting at the goal.  Good thing there weren't any scouts, one shot went over the top into the parking lot. Ooops!  

Elizabeth went to the finals on Monday, she likes the game, but 3 days is a little much for her too.  Rolo went the first day, but I had forgotten to send the camera along so I don't have pictures from that day.

Father H came along on Monday too.   

I'm glad everyone had a good time, but now life can get back to "normal".  Whatever that is supposed to mean?!

Proof of a REAL Lacrosse Player

Honey will come home with these horrible bruises after lacrosse games.  I have gotten used to them but at first they were shocking.  They apparently come with the territory.  You can actually tell where the lacrosse pads  stop based on how severe the bruising is.  It is one tough sport!  So Christopher started getting his own share of bruises this year.  Here is one from this week.My poor "baby", I think it hurts me more than him.

I told you so

This one's for you Honey.  "I told you so!"  I told you to take your lacrosse sticks with you, but nooooooo, you didn't think you would be able to use them.  Instead I got the pleasure of sending this REALLY long, skinny,  and heavy box to you with the sticks.  It was more difficult to find boxes to use than anything else.   I ended up creating one out of two other boxes.  Trying to cut and tape boxes into shape was not an easy task.   I think there is more tape on that Box than there is cardboard.  I used a whole roll of packing tape!  It probably didn't help that I added Gatoraid, snack mix, lacrosse balls, stuff from the kids, a camera and Easter eggs to the box.  It was VERY Heavy and awkward in the end.  Yes, I did say Easter eggs.  We dyed raw eggs and blew out the yolks.  The kids thought it was interesting to blow out the yolks, but very hard.   I hoped that none would break, so Honey could have fun smashing them.  We made them for Honey to break, not for safekeeping. They all arrived safely. (Unfortunately, because now Honey says I'm in charge of packing everything breakable!) Honey says he thinks he'll use them for target practice.  I told him he had to take a video or picture for us to see.  Sounds like a fun target.  I guess it puts a whole new spin on hunting an egg when you take a gun...   

Happy Mother's Day!-

These are the flowers that Honey sent me for Mother's Day.    The yellow rose is from Elizabeth.  Her team handed them out to the girls to give to their mothers.  Thanks Honey!  Thanks Elizabeth!

            Elizabeth was planning on making me breakfast on Mother's Day, but being her Mother's child, she slept late and didn't get to do it because we had to get to Mass.  That's okay, I am glad that she was at least thinking about making me something.  She gathered an assortment of homemade presents to give me.  Little cards and hearts cut out, very sweet.  She also got me a pin that says #1 Mom.    After Mass we ran off to her second Lacrosse game of the weekend.  My neighbor let the boys stay with her, so I only had Keener to chase.  She was quite the little lunatic running away at this field.

   Luckily for me she was running toward the fence which was somewhat of a barrier...  She climbs remember!!!

I love her adventurous spirit, but it sure is hard to be patient with her while she explores.

          Here is a picture of my chair that wonders why it never gets any use... I wonder why?....

  Poor chair, it must feel like it did something to hurt my feelings.

      I did actually get to sit a little bit, since Keener was getting sick and fell asleep in my arms.  Yes, that's right.  I did say sick!  It wouldn't be Mother's Day without being reminded of how to take care of sick children.    I had assumed Keener was just tired and had gotten sunstroke until Christopher came down with a fever last night and got the stomach bug by midday today.  Oh, Happy Day!  So now Rolo is sick too!  Happy Mother's Day to me.  The best news for me is that this week marks the supposed halfway point for Honey.  It has gone by quickly because of all the activities.  I am glad that we have been busy because it is certainly a distraction from moping.  The nice part of the Day came when Honey called while I was at the Lacrosse game.  It was nice to chat with him for a few minutes. 

 He got to talk with Elizabeth as well, so that made her day extra special.  Here's a photo of her talking with Daddy after her team won the game.  So far they are undefeated.  Yeah Inferno!

  

Another busy Saturday

               Some days I wonder why I just don't drive a real bus for a living.  Drop off here and there and try to watch five minutes of a game before running off to the next one.  Today was like that, a busy Saturday, but enjoyable.  I love seeing the kids having fun and spending time with their friends.  I love watching them succeed in sports.    It makes them happy and brings them joy.

             Today, Rolo played catcher in T-ball and by the end of the inning he was really getting the hang of it.  He had learned to go to home plate and wait for a throw.  Of course when he was trying to get up with all the gear on, he didn't see  the pitcher throw "him" the ball.  So, he got to home plate and waited for a throw while the ball sat in the grass about 5 feet behind him.  It got quite a good-natured chuckle from the parents, myself included.

      

Keener had her own adventures while Rolo played.  She was constantly trying to escape (as Usual).  As I have captured here ===>>>  Doesn't she look all sweet and innocent?

  That's just an act to lure you into thinking that she won't climb the fence, run in the street, run onto the ball field, etc.  Sneaky little devil.....

She also enjoyed the caterpillar that I found.  No, she did not kill it, but once we put "her" caterpillar back in the woods, she was insistent that all other caterpillars were hers and that the other boys and girls needed to give them to her.   Can we say "Diva!!"

            Christopher finally got to play goalie today in Lacrosse.  He was so excited.  He played goalie in 3 of the quarters.  He made a save and didn't allow any points.  Pretty good for a first time at goalie.  I didn't get to see him play because the game was at the far side of the next county (Stafford, VA).  He instead got to ride with his coach.  The coach's son J and Christopher get along great.  They are like two peas in a pod.  So it was a real treat for him to get to spend so much time with J.  

   Christopher also had a baseball game this afternoon.  He managed to get three singles.  They were good solid hits.  It is good to see him doing well in baseball too, but I don't think he will be playing both much longer.  His love is lacrosse. The two sports this spring would be a lot easier to manage if Honey was here, but I had decided last spring to let Christopher play both sports. I thought we'd give it a try, but I think that we have just gotten lucky that the sports have not conflicted more, I don't think we would be that lucky again.

    Elizabeth also had a lacrosse game.  I did not get to see that much of hers since I was with Rolo at his game.  Her team won again.  They are undefeated.  I am amazed at the talent of not only the players but the coaches as well.  This Annandale Lacrosse program is so well run.  I am really lucky that we got referred to this program by Honey's "Bad Backs" lacrosse team friend.

   The only downside of the day was that the last baseball field had ticks. YUCK!!!!

 I found three on Keener.  I have to tell myself that God made them to feed other creatures.  I am enough of a country girl to know how to get rid of them quickly and not scream, but I still don't like them.

    In between all this running around, I had a 40 minute lull with nothing to do, so I went to the camera shop and replaced the camera lens that I broke the other day when I dropped the camera.  It annoys me that it is cheaper to buy a new one than to have the old one repaired.  I would much rather be less wasteful and have it repaired, but it wasn't an option that I had.  So here's a picture of the new lens.  I hope you like it Honey.  I can not wait to have my small camera again.  Obviously I am a little klutzy with the big camera.

Love hate relationship with rain

          Yesterday was a little scary.  I took the kids to their Lacrosse practice before CCD (like usual).  Then I went to fill up the car with gas.   I was on empty and hoping that the car would not stall because it had no gas.  (This is something that Honey does for me since I hate doing this.)  When I finished filling up and was driving back home, I saw lightning and a storm coming.  I knew I needed to hurry and get the kids from their practices. Of course I then had the pleasure of sitting in our horrible traffic (I SOOOOO want to move from here!!) while the downpour with thunder and lightning was going on.  I was very  anxious over the safety of the kids.  Of course they were safe, because their coaches are intelligent people that would not let them remain outside in the storm; but Christopher's practice area has no building to hide out in, so I was very concerned about where they would be.  I love thunderstorms, I just don't love it when my kids are out in them.  

          One of my favorite things to do is curl up in a chair with a  book on a rainy day.    It is actually one of the things I did not like about Hawaii.  (And I LOVE Hawaii!!)  Hawaii has very few thunderstorms a year (about 5).  So while we lived in Hawaii I really missed them.  I was really glad when we moved to Norfolk and were able to have a good thunderstorm.  The best part about Norfolk was the covered front porch where I could sit on the swing and read while it rained.  It just goes to prove that simple things in life can make a soul happy.  So in honor of Earth Day, go read a book Hmm, maybe that's not very really earth friendly, but go read a book anyway.  It's good for you!

Busy Busy Day

          From 9:15 this morning to 10:15 tonight, I was not at home for longer than 1 hour.  This was my first weekend with two baseball games and a lacrosse game, not to mention picture day for lacrosse for Christopher, and a birthday party to attend for Elizabeth.  There was also something for CCD that we never made it to.  It was a crazy day and I'm exhausted, but at least the kids had fun with their sports and at least it made the time pass more quickly.  I would much rather have a busy schedule while we wait for Honey to come home.   There is nothing worse than waiting for time to pass.  It is better to be busy.

          Keener loves playing at the ball fields because there is always something to explore and she can climb and get dirty.  She finds happiness in simple things like dandelions, gravel and of course... mud.   Today it was all three.  At Christopher's baseball game she scared the other parents by climbing up and down the bleachers (they are not that high-maybe 6 feet). I guess I am so used to her climbing high, that it hardly phases me anymore.  Seriously, when you recognize the staff at the ER, you know you've been there a lot!  It's also hard to be worried when you start to think: "I know how to sew, I have a needle and some thread, I have neosporin, why should I waste 4 hours and a couple hundred $$$'s?" 

Elizabeth's Lacrosse

       Elizabeth had her turn playing lacrosse this weekend.  The weather was perfect, upper 70's light breeze, sunny.  I sure do love spring. But for some reason, it seems that I barely get to watch her even though I am there for the whole game.  Oh wait! I know why-Keener. 

        Today was better than most games because there was a playground at one end of the field on a hill.  I could watch Elizabeth and let Keener, Rolo, and Christopher play.    I was able to watch while Keener went up the stairs, down the slide, up the stairs, down the slide, up th ... (you get the picture).  Since Elizabeth plays middie, she doesn't have as many scoring opportunities as her brother since he plays attack, so no scores yet this year.  She did score several last year, so I expect her to this year as well.  Before you ask me, no I do not know the difference in the positions.  I only know that the middie stays in the middle of the field and the attackman stays near the ball.   I think?! 

         It is interesting how different Elizabeth and Christopher's are in their style of play.   Elizabeth is more of a mental player and tries to cut off the route of the opposing team players rather that attack.  This tends to be quite effective in driving the opposing team into a corner and forcing them to pass.  Christopher is pure attack.    I am glad they both love the game it is nice for them to have something in common with their Daddy.  

Goal

A constantly changing schedule for Saturday has plagued me all week.  I had to be in Maryland to attend the annual Meeting of GSCNC as one of our Service Unit's delegates.  This meant that I needed someone to watch all the kids.  Arranging the schedule was difficult at best.  In the end, my  twin sister watched 3 of the kids (thank you sis!) while Christopher's Lacrosse coach took him all day (thank you coach).  This made him happy since it meant that he would be able to play in the game.  I am sad to report that I missed seeing my sweet lacrosse fanatic score his first goal.   Yeah for him, boo hoo for me.  Since he was upset about not scoring in the last game, I know that he put his mind to it this time.  I am very proud of him. I am sure he will score again.  He is so competitive, that I can hardly imagine that being the only time he scores.  Maybe next time I'll have my camera ready and snap a photo for Honey!

Elizabeth's Lacrosse

Even though it was Keener's 2nd Birthday, We still had sports to get to.  Elizabeth had her first official game of the lacrosse season, she had a scrimmage last week and eventually, I will get those pictures on here if I can ever figure out how to get flicker on the blog!.  She loves playing middie and she seems to really enjoy the sport.  I am so glad that we signed her up last year.  It is nice to see her enjoy a sport. Here is a picture of my fantastic lacrosse player with Uncle B.  Sorry for the photo quality, it's definitely user error,  too many moving parts for me.

Lacrosse Begins for #2

      Christopher drug me out in the rain to watch Navy play Georgetown today. (They won-yeah!).  After that he went to his first Lacrosse game today.  He looked great out there.  I think his practice is paying off.  He does a good job of catching and throwing, especially for his first year playing.  He looked like he had a lot of fun, but he was disappointed that he did not score a goal. He did have an assist though.  I told him he can work on his skills and try again in the next game.  I have no doubt that he'll do it, he just needs to not forget that he's on a team!  My sports nut is at it again. (He's #2 Red in the photos, with the green pants.  Did I ever say he was color coordinated?)

 

Late lunch

My first day with both Lacrosse practice and CCD (Catholic Catechism Class) was craziness indeed.  We now have to eat dinner at 4:30! in order to be at lacrosse practice at 5:15.  I never understood why other families would eat that early, but now I know.  It feels so odd to eat that early.  It feels like a late lunch.  

We of course were still rushing out the door, but what else is new? When I am early it shocks me more than being late or squeezing in right on time.  Going down our usual route, there was an accident that blocked the road and we had to detour.  My sweet Christopher suggested saying a prayer for the people in the accident.  At least something I am doing is getting results.  I am proud of my baby for his thoughtfulness.

Navy Lacrosse Hero

Luckily for the kids their lacrosse practices were canceled Saturday and we were able to go to a USNA Lacrosse "Meet the Mids" event.  We had been last summer to the "Meet the Mids" event with the football players and the kids enjoyed it very much.  Due to the late notice of the canceled practices, we did not make it to see the game, but arrived while the parking lot was emptying out.  Great for me since I got a parking spot 3 places from the entrance!!  Since we were late & the line was long, I let the kids get some USNA lacrosse T-shirts and browse the shop while we waited for the line to shorten.   This of course meant that we were literally at the end of the line.  This lasted about 15 minutes until two more families showed up.  

While in line ,  I let the kids play within eyesight while I waited  and chatted with the person in front of me.  His daughter ran and played with my brood and we talked about Hawaii, USNA, and submarines.  He was stationed in Pearl Harbor the same time we were.  I was grateful to have someone to talk to.  It made the 45 minute wait go by a lot faster.  

Once we got to meet the midshipmen, I was very glad that I had gone.  Christopher is a huge fan of #14 Tim Paul's and was anxious to meet him.   The event is set up into a receiving line with tables for the mids to sit and sign their autographs.  Since we got to meet all the mids, Christopher had to wait until almost the end to meet Tim.  In the meantime he was carrying his goalie stick and all the goalies were so nice to him and chatted about being a goalie, what team he played on and other lacrosse topics.  The Plebe goalie RJ Wickham was very friendly and spoke with Christopher for several minutes.  I was personally very impressed with the team; they had lost the game, we were 3rd from last in line, and it was cold, yet the players were friendly and courteous to all the kids.  Elizabeth enjoyed talking with the players since she plays lacrosse and has something to chat about.  When Christopher finally reached Tim Paul, he was very excited and I must say that Tim was very kind and generous with his time.  It made the event so worthwhile to let my child meet his lacrosse hero and have his hero be a real gentleman to him.  The simple acts of kindness from all of the players meant a lot to my children.  I am grateful to have had a great day filled with memories for my kids.

  

Here's a photo with his new shirt signed by all the players.  Here's Rolo ready to play as well.

Crazy days are here again.

Congratulations to Christopher on receiving the Sacrament of 1st Reconciliation!  Our friend Father H. was able to be the priest for him, which made it an extra special day.  We then went out to lunch with Father and boy was Keener a lunatic.  She climbed all up and down everything. Luckily Father H. is from a big family and enjoys all the children.    Sometimes though I wonder if he thinks we are all crazy!   

Rolo is at Auntie's house because we were having such a busy, busy day for Christopher and I was hoping to let him have more fun with his cousins than drug all over tarnation with me. He is right in between my identical twin sister's two younger kids and it makes it easy for him to find someone to play with.

On to more adventures,  After lunch, we raced off to the basketball game where Christopher managed to steal the ball from the other team about 20 times in the first half and shut them out from scoring.  Luckily for the other team, they had a good defensive too and Christopher was not able to score, but his teammate got one basket.  At halftime we raced off to the 1/2 of  lacrosse practice that we were able to attend. Christopher had a wonderful time.   All his practicing in the back yard must have paid off because at the end of practice his coach said that he had done really well and looked like he'd already played the game before!  I am very proud to know that his practice paid off.  He is in the U9 league and that means that some of the boys are 9 and some are 7 like him (okay, okay, he'll be 7 in 2 weeks... picky, picky.  He's 6 & 353/365ths).  He probably won't be one of the best players on the team this year (despite his desire to be), but it is good for him to have older boys to model proper lax skills.    Keener had a grand time at the practice.  The team practiced in a huge field house and only used half the field, so she ran all over the other half.  She sure wore me out!!  

Home again, home again jiggity jig, will I ever be out of the car? I do care a fig!  So is my day over, No.  I have a baby that needs her nap and a boy that needs to get cleaned and dressed for his Boy Scout Blue and Gold Ceremony.   Now that he's off having a grand time with all his friends and I can finally sit down and write a little for Honey before I must make dinner.   I'm tired.  It was much easier having a little baby to take care of than having even one kid to drive around town all day!  Despite all the time and energy, I do love it.  I love to see the smiles on their faces when they score a point, sing in a recital, catch the fly ball,  create a masterpiece, like this barbie interior design that Elizabeth built today.  

I love watching an imagination grow.   This truly is the best job in the world!

Sports

Christopher is a mad man on the basketball court. He scored 8 points in the last game and looks forward to practice. If it were up to him he would go everyday. He is one of the best defenseman on the team. Surprisingly, if I give him a bit of advice about how to play better, he really listens and applies what I suggested. I like seeing the natural competitive spirit in him. He is such a sports lover already. I don't have the heart to tell him that with his height genes, their ain't no way he's gonna make it to pro. Oh, well, why squash his dreams? He could always be the next Spud Webb!

His real love is lacrosse and his first season starts this weekend. He is so excited. Elizabeth has already started her 2nd season of playing lacrosse (lax). She is not quite as obsessed, but she loves that she has something in common with Daddy. He coached her team last year. Of course boy's lax is not the same as girls lax. You knew that right? Well, plant me on Mars and call me a tulip, because I did not know! For a few years while the kids were small Honey would say, "I will coach lacrosse when the boys are old enough." When Elizabeth wanted to play last year, I signed him up to be coach despite the fact that he told me that girl's and boy's lax were completely different. I thought, "Come on! How different can it be? a ball, a stick, a goal, a field. What's to know?! So to help Honey out I went to the library and got two books on coaching girl's lax for him to read. I decided to read the first chapter just for fun. After the introduction, I knew I had gotten him into a completely different game. So what did his great supportive wife do?

I tossed him the book and said "good luck!"

A Special Thanks

We owe a debt of gratitude to the men of the Bad Backs Lacrosse Team. They paid for the kids to play lacrosse this season as a thank you to Honey for serving our country. I am so grateful that there are people who care so much about our family.