Multi-Sport Karson

I wouldn't necessarily say that I am a firm believer in multi-sport athletes, but as someone that played two Varsity sports in high school (Go Purples!), I totally support and encourage it.  For me, it's primarily about what your child's "goals" are and what they hope to achieve. The truth is people are busier than ever, and the demand of playing multiple sports throughout the school year is taxing on families (especially if the teen athlete isn't driving). Karson has played basketball since 1st grade and volleyball since 4th grade, and I remember multiple conversations with friends/parents/family asking me through the years which she liked better and what she would ultimately choose to do as she got older.  Those comments were unsettling to me.  Why would she have to specialize in only one sport?  Karson had equal passion for both.  It never crossed my mind that she would have to pick one over the other.  The time to make that decision never happened.  Both sets of coaches at the middle and high school levels were more than supportive and worked around her schedule to make sure she could participate.  Trust me, it's not easy juggling multiple open gyms, practices, and schedules particularly during the summer months.  At the end of the day, the only things that matter to us is (a) school is the top priority (b) she's receiving no additional performance pressure from us (c) she's having fun and (d) she's allowed to be kid and have a life.  This year, she's become even more sports-driven and added a third sport - track to the mix.  She's continuing to excel at it despite having to keep ice wrapped around her Quadriceps constantly. Both of her relay teams (4x100 and 4x200) placed 1st last night in the Madison Duncan All Comers meet at Greenwood High. Love watching our girl perform!  I'm even more proud that she continues to maintain Cumulative GPA: 4.06557 - sets the bar pretty high.

One door closes, another one....

....RACES!  After much consideration, Karson decided to join the High School track team.  She'd thought about trying out it last spring, but after basketball ended, she wanted a break before volleyball started back up.  This year, she was ready to give it a shot.  She and her b-ball BFF Brooke both talked to Coach Barnett since the official season started back in January, and they were both coming in as newbies.  They started practicing with the team about a week after basketball ended.

 Track is new for all of us, but Karson (new track shoes and all) competed in her first meet last week at Greenwood High School.  Her current events are the 100 Meter, 200 Meter, and Team Relay.  She did pretty good too for her first try coming in 4th in the 100 dash with a time of 14.25 and placed 2nd in the 200 dash with a 28.59 (losing only by four one hundredths of a second - winning time 28.55).

That girl sure is a running fool!  

Put a stamp on it, basketball is finished.  We hosted the end of the season banquet on Sunday evening, March 17.  I love, love, love that my girl decided to rock out her green jumpsuit again (worn at winter formal).  She looked lovely, and it was Saint Patrick's Day on Sunday, green = good! No new outfit = even better!  We both loathe shopping and know we're weird =).

Proud of K both on and off the court - she received the KHSAA Academic All State certificate.   I love what Coach Embry said about Karson - that's she's consistent in her attitude towards basketball.  She's care-free and tries not to let things bother her as much as she can.  Trust me that is a learned behavior that we've encouraged her to work on.  I don't think Karson is naturally competitive and that can translate into "not caring" which isn't true in her case.  She does care.  However, you ALWAYS have a choice about your attitude both on and off the court - if Karson can be that beacon of positive attitude, that's all we really want out of her.  Leave it all behind in the locker room and move on and improve what you can.  I've always told my kids, you probably won't remember how many wins and losses you had in a season or how many points you've scored in every game, but how you handle yourself and react to others  is what makes you a "champion."  The skies the limit for our girl - looking forward to more track meets and volleyball!!!

Bitter but...Sunny Gives Me HOPE

Yep we're heading straight forward on the ol' clock this Sunday - not sure if it's technically SPRING with this crazy, bitter cold, yet SUNNY week.  I had a spell of mild panic attacks on Sunday afternoon because of the snow that was coming down.  My concern was due to the fact I had around 900 students expected at SKyPAC the following morning for a School Day Matinee.  I try my best not to schedule matinees in January (a major no-no) or even mid-February because the weather is so unpredictable.  Safety for me lands towards the end of February and March is generally super safe.  When booking matinees, I also have to work with routing and available dates.  This spring was especially daunting because there were two matinees almost back-to-back that I wanted meaning I had two in a row which is a lot to manage.  Last Tuesday, I had around 1400 students at SKyPAC to see Laura Ingalls Wilder and this week, Call of the Wild, was scheduled for Monday.  Fortunately, the weather held off, and the show was a great success minus the bitter cold temps.  I'll be honest, it's hard for me to be fully present and focus on much of anything, either at work or at home, when a matinee is on the horizon.  There are so many moving parts with a lot to manage.  Sleep doesn't happen, and I realize my stress management isn't the best in these situations.  However, it it totally worth it when those students walk into our beautiful facility and have a wonderful experience at the theater.  It makes it all worth it.

Basketball is officially over for the SWHS Lady Spartans with a 17-13 record.  Our team came in 2nd in the district losing to BGHS and lost in the opening round of the regional tournament (at WKU) to Barren County in a heartbreaking 2-point loss.  Barren County went on the win the regional tournament last night.

We're proud of Karson.  She worked hard all season long, and y'all it's a LONG season!  She manages to juggle some of the hardest classes at South and pushes herself constantly (maintaining a solid #4 ranking in the class with a 4.05 GPA).  We'll start on the rigorous GSP application late summer/early fall. 

 She took a whoppin' three days off last week before beginning her first season of track, which began back in January, but she couldn't begin until basketball concluded.  She also wanted to meet with the coach and chat with him before showing up for practice.  This is new territory for us, but we're excited about a new adventure for our eldest, over-achieving daughter =).

 Meanwhile, in other interesting news, Isaac is destined to be a dental hygienist according to the SWMS Reality Fair, and I'm assuming his "career path assessment."  The FRYSC conducts the 4-H Reality store each year and asks me to participate running the Entertainment Booth (aka SKyPAC).  It's always a fun experience working with teens on their budget and helping them make decisions with spending.  If the DH path doesn't work, he's got GUITAR rock star to fall back on.  He's the proud owner of an electric guitar and amp and getting pretty good.  We've considered lessons for him, but he's learning so much and quickly on his own.

 

Valentine's Day was spent at a basketball game, like usual, but I did manage to bring home a Papa John's Pepperoni pizza shaped like a HEART.  What fun!  One amazing day, when we were at Wal-Mart grabbing a couple of things, Miles spotted a giant stuffed animal bin.  He immediately fell in love with a huge blue dog which has been a hit.  They sleep together, wrestle together, and enjoy trampoline time (usually while wrestling).

Karson texted me that Miles and the Blue Dog were wrestling on the trampoline.  I asked her who was winning??

He's a mess and the happiest kid ever!  Matt and I are lucky to have three uniquely different and incredible kids.  We're looking forward to a WILD WEST family vacation coming up!  

The Nets Fall One Point Short...

...but are all still winners in our books!

Basketball Season is the GRIND - I don't care what anyone says!  The season is long. It's winter and very cold.  It gets dark early.  It's HARD!  If you're weak, you won't survive, especially at the middle/high school levels.  It's just as taxing on us parents who are taking kids to practice, picking them up, arranging for transportation when kids have games on the same nights, eating concession food for dinner, leaving the house at 6:45 AM and not getting home until 9:00 PM, making sure homework is done, jerseys/socks/sports bras are clean and laundered, and the list goes on and on.  You love it and hate it!  I felt the exact same way as my kids do when I played, but both Miles and Karson continue to press on and work hard.

Miles D2 season came to an end last night losing in the Championship game by one point to the Rockets.  We made it passed three teams, one of the teams being the #1 Seed in the tournament  and undefeated- which was a BIG win for us with a last second three-pointer.  Miles is quite the ball player scoring 23 in the semi-final game and 15 in last night's game. Both teams started face guarding him or he probably would've scored more.  He's small but mighty.

Small but not mighty enough to win the tip over this young man =/!

It was a great season, and I have to admit, I'm sad seeing it come to an end.  Karson has another week of games before the district tournament begins.  I was telling Matt last night that I think it's really cool that all three of our kids made it to the Championship game(s).  Karson and the Spartans won the Gold Bracket Championship game in 2015.  Isaac and the Thunder fell short and came in 2nd in 2017.  Miles followed suit with The Nets.  Very, very cool that they all made it to the final game though =).

We have a pretty great army of Miles supporters and fans!  Up next...Middle School ball??  Stay tuned.

BOYMOM#14 - It's an Experience

My son is 14 today.  It's hard to believe he'll be a freshman at South in the fall. Last weekend, he had a friend over who looked like a grown man and made up three of him - like Schwarzeneggar and Devito from the movie Twins.  When I walked in the house, Isaac came right up to me, wrapped his arms around me, and gave me a giant hug.  He does this most days when I get home from work.  Affection is his thang - he gets that from Matt.  He's not shy about his feelings, even with his friends around.



You'll usually find him in his room strumming on his guitar, combing his hair =), playing his Xbox, or rearranging his closet.  If he's not in there, he's at the movies with Seth, at pap's with Mae Kathryn and Cocoa, or at Meme's riding the golf cart around wrangling up boys from the Jody Richards area to play basketball.

Getting better and better each day at playing his guitar.

He's eaten more Schwan's chicken fries than anyone I know and can drink an entire gallon of chocolate milk.  Zaxby's and AZZIP are at the top of his list for favorite dining options.

What can I say:: teenagers are weird!  Karson and Isaac love the tradition of being in their swimsuits on Snow Days.  They've done this two years in a row.

Isaac didn't spend much time in the snow on Monday, but while he was out there, he reminded me of an EarthRoamer plowing through the snow and covering himself in it.  He had puddles of water inside his rubber boots.  I made the mistake of slipping them on to run outside.

He's a kid that's simply fun to be around.  I don't know many teens that have his sort of confidence and non-conformist attitude.  If you're in a bad mood, he'll make you smile.  If you're in a good mood, he might annoy you with his energetic go, go, go personality.  He's pretty cool and has kept us entertained since the moment he entered this world on TUESDAY, January 25.  The second child in our mix and our second Tuesday tot!  This, I'm going to change my blog name to Three Tuesday Teens as Miles will turn 13 and all my tots will be teens.

465 Day Snapchat streak with my boy!

 

He wanted to have a birthday party, and I told him he could but would have to plan it on his own (which he did).  Since his birthday landed on a Friday this year, it was perfect.  He sent invites, collected RSVP's for pizza and told me he'd like a cookie cake.

 Best behaved teens ever!  It was a successful evening, and a few buddies stayed the night.  Happy 14th Isaac Matthew - you've kept us laughing since day 1!!!