Blessed...

As we approach Thanksgiving, I wonder how many people TRULY are taking note of the blessings in their lives. Are they worried about how to pay for Christmas, how they can get around the holiday traffic, how to cope with the stress of the holidays, or when they are going to get their shopping done?

Unfortunately, I think that with the "commercialization" of Christmas, I think Thanksgiving is often overlooked. Christmas lights are up before Thanksgiving hits, right after Haloween ends, Christmas displays go up, and the advertising begins.

So, just for those of you who didn't know, I've included some facts about this "forgotten holiday".

Take some time to relect on what you have in front of you right now.

I have been blessed with a wonderful family, and an outstanding family life. I am thankful to have a roof over our heads, clothing on our backs, and food on the table. I am thankful for all of the laughter we have shared, and for the fact the we do everything as a family. These among lots of other things I am thankful for...as this is just the start of my list of things I am thankful for.

Here are some facts about Thanksgving...

The First American Holiday

1621: The first American holiday, Thanksgiving, was celebrated in Plymouth. Plymouth, America’s first colony, is now Plymouth Massachusetts. The Thanksgiving consisted of 50 Pilgrim settlers and 90 Wampanoag Indians, including their Chief, Massasoit. They shared a feast of fowl (could have been turkeys as they are native to America), deer and crops from their fields. They gave thanks to their Creator because after landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620, they had survived a very harsh winter. Sadly, half of them had succumbed to disease and cold.

1777: The first time Thanksgiving was celebrated by all 13 states (colonies) was when the Continental Congress declared a day of thanksgiving because the British were defeated at Saratoga.

1817: The Governors of New York and Pennsylvania made Thanksgiving an official state holiday. A few years later, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa did the same.

1846: A very determined lady, Sarah Hale, began a crusade for a nationwide Thanksgiving holiday.

1863: Abraham Lincoln heeded Sarah Hale's request to create a federal holiday, and made the last Thursday in November, a day of Thanksgiving.

2008: America will have celebrated 387 years of Thanksgivings. We are currently experiencing a temporary 'bump in our economic road', but we are still the most blessed nation in the world. And we have much to be thankful for …

Joshua's Career High

Last weekend before Joshua's basketball game, he set a goal for himself. He verbally stated that he would get 18 points and 5 assists.

Setting goals, visualizing and truly believing in one's self is something I was taught at a very young age and something I continue to do today. Now, that I'm a Mommy, I've told both boys to always set goals and work hard and they'd be able to accomplish anything they set their minds to.

That night, Joshua had exactly 18 points and 5 assists! In this league, most kids will average 5 or less points per game. Can you believe it? Joshua is an awesome shooter for sure and although he usually takes the outside shots, 9 out of 10 shots made were inside shots. He drove in on all 9 shots and made them! Amazing...simply, amazing. So, that night he shot 90%. He's the smallest player on the team and everything, but obviously, size doesn't matter. It was such an exciting game to watch. Joshua's team ended up squashing their opponents 47 to 7!

This weekend is the play-off game and Joshua's team, the Celtics are still undefeated. Wish us luck!

Super Students...A+!!!

I just attended Joshua and Jayden's 1st trimester Parent-Teacher conferences and as usual, both boys had great grades and remarks from their teachers. They are each at the top of their classes. The teachers had nothing but positive things to say and told me that the boys had nothing to improve on. Wow!

We're so proud of you both, Joshie and Jayden! Keep up the tremendous work ethic that you have and you'll always be successful!

Jango Fett says...Happy Halloween!

Although Jayden would've preferred to shave his head bald and go as Michael Jordan, he settled for Jango Fett instead. For those of you who don't know, Jango Fett is Boba Fett's Father in Attack of the Clones (Star Wars).

Joshua didn't want to dress up or go trick or treating this year. Now that he has braces,he knew he wouldn't be able to eat all of his favorite candies: caramels, skittles, and starbursts, so he decided not to go at all.

Hope you all had a fun Halloween!

Here's Joshua and his new braces just put in last Tuesday. He has an expander in his mouth that rapidly expands his palette. It's a metal contraption in the roof of his mouth where I have to insert a tiny key and turn everyday for 4 weeks. He has 3 brackets (braces) on his top 3 adult teeth (the orthodontist will add one more bracket once his 4 top adult tooth comes in). At the end of the month, he'll begin another treatment where he'll have to wear a face mask at bedtime only. It has a pad at his jaw and forehead with a metal bar running vertically down his face. This is to push his lower jaw back since he has a class III underbite. I don't think I'll be able to post a photo of the face mask...Joshua will probably not allow it!

He's doing well considering all these new changes. He has a hard time speaking clearly, chewing and swallowing, but he is adjusting and getting better each day. The estimated time for the braces is 9 months. So far so good. No pain, he just complains of the awkwardness.

Here's to a rapid and successful treatment!

Talented Artist

A few weeks ago, Joshua won an art contest in his grade. His piece is titled, "The Titanic Sets Sail". His artwork is being displayed at a local bank and he's officially a candidate in the children's artwork contest.

Great job Joshie!

High Achievers

I'm happy to say that both Joshua and Jayden have been assessed as "high achievers" in their classes. Joshua has always been a "H.A." and now Jayden officially has that title as well.

Both of our boys are grouped together in the H.A. groups in their classes and are given advanced work to supplement their daily activites. Joshua is now in 4th grade, but is doing 7th grade math!

Not only are both boys high achievers, they are getting straight A's as well!We're so very proud of Joshie and Jayden! Keep up the great work boys!

Joshua's 9th Birthday Celebration

Last weekend, Joshua celebrated his 9th birthday with 3 great friends, Bryson, Jackson, and Alex.

First we took the boys to Skyzone. It's a really fun place that has wall to wall trampolines...trampolines on the walls, literally! For an hour, they bounced up and down, on and off the trampoline walls, played dodgeball, attempted flips, fell a few times, and then bounced around some more. Back at the house,they opened presents, played basketball, golf/putting games, traded basketball cards, ran around, watched a movie, acted goofy, danced around, and even sang karaoke! They ate pizza for dinner and then instead of a birthday cake, Joshua requested to go to Top This. All four boys had a terrific time, stayed up late, made a lot of noise, and filled the house with hysterical laughter! Another great celebration!

RTOC/Allstar Weekend

On Saturday, Joshua's championship team, the Celtics participated in the Regional Tournament of Champions in Elk Grove. They ended up losing to a CYBL team by 1 point in overtime. All I can say, is that they were robbed, due to unfair calls by the ref! With 4 seconds left and the score tied up, our guy went up for a last second 3-pointer and was fouled! He should've been given the opportunity to shoot 3 freethrows to win the game, but the ref did not honor that! Boooooo!!! Pretty unfair, but what can you do? Apparently, absolutely nothing. Well, the main thing is that the Celtics played hard and had fun.

On Sunday, Joshua and Bryson competed in the Allstar Sunday game. Each team in the division were allowed to send 2 players to represent their team and form the Allstar team. The Celtics got to send two players and a coach's pick. The parents voted to send both Joshua and Bryson, and the coach's pick was Kovey.

I'm happy to announce that the Hotshots Allstars defeated the CYBL Allstars! Woohoo!!! It was a great game and a great experience.

Congratulations to the Celtics and the Hotshots Allstars!!

Happy 9th Birthday Joshua!

Today is Joshua's 9th birthday. We can hardly believe it.

We'll be having a small celebration this weekend, due to the RTOC (recreational tournament of champions). Next weekend, he'll be celebrating his day with his good friends, Bryson, Jackson, and Alex. This year, we'll be taking them to Skyzone and then the boys will be spending the night...fun, fun, fun!

Happy birthday to our "little Joshie" who isn't little anymore! May your 9th year be filled with happiness, fun, laughter and good times! We love you!!

We're Officially In Business!

We are the proud owners of our own youth basketball training business. Our business name is, Next Level Basketball Trainng. All of you who know Lance and have kept up with the blog know what an awesome basketball coach he is. He's got it all: passion for the game and coaching, heart, knowledge, patience, experience, and a positive attitude. I've encouraged him all along and put the vision in his head of one day being a full-time coach. Within the last year, he's had so many people give him praise and positive feedback on his coaching ability and style.

After seriously talking about it, drawing up plans, goals and so forth, we took a step forward and followed through with our ideas. In a matter of just a couple of weeks of planning, calling, etc. we came up with the business name, a website, and a schedule. While Lance of course will be doing all the coaching, I will be the "Co-CEO". I'll handle the details of making the calls, coming up with ideas, follow-ups, marketing/advertising, and getting clients.

Last night, was our first training session. Lance trained a 5th grade boy who signed up for 10 sessions. It was a great first session for sure!

We're really excited about this and know that it will be fulfilling and well worth the time and effort that it will take. We'd love for it to become a full-time position where Lance can go to "work" in his basketball gear and help the kids get to their "next level"! In the very near future, we are also planning to start up an afterschool program and have camps and clinics year round.

What's in YOUR drink?

Joshua came home from his best friend, Bryson's house one day a while back and asked if we could make a fresh fruit smoothie. Apparently, Bryson's Mom made one for them, and Joshua loved it! And us, never being ones to deny our children a request to eat fresh fruits – agreed to make a stop at the store to get the ingredients. Frozen strawberries (unsweetened), blueberries, bananas and some apple juice (we add less than a cup of juice to make 4 glasses of the smoothie).

First off, in 1998, the FDA confirmed that frozen fruits and vegetables provide the same essential nutrients and health benefits as fresh…just in case you were wondering (Man, how does he know this stuff???). Moving on…

“Get to the point will ya’!?!?!” Ok, Ok…for the past couple of months, we’ve been having the smoothies regularly (not every night, but at least three times a week) and we add a tablespoon of milled flaxseed to each cup. The point is, our kids (and adults included) are having a healthy “snack/dessert”. Most know of all the nutritional benefits of the ingredients (the vitamins, the fiber, the antioxidants, omega 3’s, etc.), but in case you didn’t here’s some references.

Strawberries
Blueberries
Bananas
Flaxseed

So, if your kids won’t eat fruits and/or veggies but will eat the fruit popsicles, this might be an alternative.

Just FYI – we buy frozen strawberries (about $6-$7 for a big bag, and frozen blueberries). Easy to store, easy to make. Enjoy!!!

CHAMPIONS!!

Last weekend, Joshua's team, the Celtics played in their final game of the season. The Celtics beat their opponents once before this season, but we all knew that it was for championship and that this would be a very exciting game. I'm happy and proud to say that the Celtics won!

It was a very close game in the first 4 periods (they play 5). The other team was playing very good defense, especially on Joshua! Because they remembered that Joshua was our sharp shooter,their coach was prepared. Although Joshua is the smallest kid on the team, the opponents had him on lock-down! He was double-teamed and at times, triple teamed for the whole entire game! Basically, Lance said Joshua was the "decoy" for that game. Since the other team was focused so much on shutting Joshua down, they left 2 or 3 players wide open.

The Celtics ended up winning the game by 15 points! It was a great game! Congratulations to Coach Lance and his 3rd/4th grade Celtics, summer champions!

Next up, the Recreational Tournament of Champions!

Bumpa the Builder...

For the past (almost) 6 years, we've had a hole in our wall. No, we didn't bust our wall out or anything like that. Most newer homes have these niches in the wall in the family room area where the t.v.s would go. A lot of people hire someone to custom build a entertainment center for that niche. Well, we finally have a beautiful custom, hand made entertainment center. It's a solid piece of furniture with cabinets and pull out drawers for me to keep everything nice, neat, and organized!

This great handcrafted piece of artwork was built from scratch by Lance's Dad, aka Bumpa! Yes, Bumpa is definitely creative and crafty with his precision and fancy tools. If you have forgotten, he also built Joshie a great train table when he was one (now passed on to cousin, Marley in L.A.). Bumpa also built Joshie and Jayden's famous 2 story castle/loft complete with a full sized slide which is in the playroom. And, he also built a smaller entertainment center for Joshie and Jayden's entertainment area upstairs.

We're so lucky that Bumpa built us all of these wonderful things that are original, of high quality, and custom made with "TLC"! He can build pretty much anything...I bet he can even build a house! I don't think there are any limits to what he can build.

Thank you Bumpa for your latest creation. We love it! Everyone who comes over and sees the entertainment center are amazed at the overall craftmenship and quality. They all assume that we paid thousands for it...it definitely looks like it!

Now, all we need is to go out and buy a new BIG t.v.!

No More Floaties!

Right before Jayden's 6th birthday, he was using floaties to help him swim. At that point, he refused to put his face in the water.

Then, the day before he turned 6, for some reason, he started to hold his breath and stuck his head under water. He did that several times until he was able to hold it longer and eventually swam with his head under water! The funny thing was the fact that he did this while his floaties were still on. He worked so hard by forcefully pushing his head under while his floaties were trying to keep the rest of him afloat. It was very entertaining to watch.

I believe it was the following weekend, when he decided to try it without his floaties. To all of our amazement, he did it! He was actually swimming on his own, under water, with no floaties! Jayden literally taught himself how to swim. Pretty amazing.

No more floaties for Jayden! Great job to our little self-taught swimmer!

Where Did The Summer Go?

Summer came and went and today was the first day of school! Joshua and Jayden both got the teachers that they wanted.

Jayden is now in 1st grade which meant that he was in school for a full day. No more half days for him. It's a big transition going from the kindergarten zone to the campus shared with the 1st through 5th graders. He got to play on the "big kids" playground, eat lunch in the cafeteria, and stay in school as long as his big brother.

Both boys had a great first day of school and we're all looking forward to another successful and fulfilling academic school year!

What Dreams May Come...

Couldn't resist blogging this...This is what a child looks like when one of their dreams is to play in the NBA, and they have the opportunity to be (all alone) on an NBA court. Just imagine what's going through his head...

Don't ever tell them they can't do it, because they just might believe you.

Happy Birthday To You!!!

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful husband and father in the world! We love you Daddy!

Joshua Ballin' at Arco Arena

Joshua was personally invited to participate in the the first ever Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Discover Card Homecourt Skills Challenge at ARCO Arena. The Hotshots organization teamed up with Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA. There were over 100 kids participating from the ages of 7-14. It was a free event for all particiapants.

Rebekkah Brunson and Laura Harper from the Sacramento Monarchs were there running a small clinic and helping out with the challenge.

The participants were required to complete a series of challenges in the fastest time. They were given 3 chances to make the free throw shot. They were given penalties (2 seconds added onto their time) for each mistake made, i.e. traveling, double dribbling, not going around the cones correctly, etc.

At the end, the judges tallied up the points/times and announced the winners in each division. Guess who received the fastest time in the boys 7-11 division? JOSHUA did!!! Woohoo!!(there were 3 winners in each category). Joshua won a brand new basketball and also came home with a ton of gifts including a jersey, t-shirts, snacks, a water bottle, a certificate, a mini basketball, and a Monarchs bag.

It was so exciting! Joshua's goal was to win it, and he did! He kept his cool and stayed focused. It was pure enjoyment for the kids and parents as well. This was an experience that we'll never forget. We're so very proud of Joshua!!

Please view Joshua's video below...we've also added it to our "video bar" directly on the blog, and the actual link to the youtube video is:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shSJ2OYC7kg

Overnight Camping Trip

On August 3rd, we went on our first family camping trip. At the time of planning, the fires and smoke were overtaking the central valley, so I booked a campsite at Gerstle Cove, located in Salt Point State Park along the Sonoma Coast. For those of you unfamiliar with it (as I was), it is about 30 minutes North on Highway 1 from Bodega Bay.

Although it was "just an overnight trip", there seems to be so much to tell.

First question...how big of a car does it take to go on an overnight camping trip with a family of four? Hmmm...

We left our hometown at 10:00am (right on schedule). We stopped at Shell Beach along the coast (around 12:30 or so), just past Bodega Bay to have lunch.

The air was crisp, temperature - around 60 degrees. About a half hour more up the coast, and we arrived at Gerstle Cove - our destination (around 2:00pm). The campground was clean, and small (30 sites) - we chose site #9, close to the (flush) restrooms, on the ocean side (no view - but could hear the waves), the tent area was guarded by trees (good -since we were on the coast and it was a little windy - 15 mph).

Upon arrival, Jayden and Joshua were amped up! Both running around the site, getting dirty, exploring things...all while dad got the tent set up and mom carefully watching the boys (being a mom) saying "Don't touch that","Be careful", "you're gonna get all dirty"...Once Jayden's white sweatshirt was dirty, and fingernails full of dirt - I think it hit Cyn - that it was crazy to think they'd stay clean.

We took a short walk (less than .5 mi) to Gerstle Cove - known for tide pooling and snorkeling - and the boys had a blast exploring the small pools, marveling at the anemones, the small crabs and starfish and the huge pieces of nori - err - seaweed.

The good thing, it was out of the wind - so the temperature was pleasant. After a couple of hours there, we went back to the site and started the fire (it started to cool down, and the wind picked up a little), The boys roasted roasted hot dogs and apple sausages over the fire, then of course...smores.

Night came, and we retreated into the tent - where we stayed up for a bit then, it was lights out. Cyn and the boys claimed they were cold, but dad was hot. The family attributed my warmth to my natural "coat of fur" as they call it (I personally, don't get the joke).

We woke up to a marine layer of fog, but not too cold, started another fire with the LOG we had left and proceeded to clean up and get ready to travel home. On the way home we stopped at Portuguese Beach - had lunch, flew a kite and spent a short time on the beach. We were home by 4:00pm Monday afternoon.

My final thoughts:
-Great family fun. Because of no TV's or other "distractions", the focus is on the family.
-Kids loved it. They got to get dirty, be outdoors, not take a bath (they did brush their teeth) and basically just be kids and not have to worry about breaking anything.

-You only need to bring five large marshmallows, as the kids will roast and eat two(each), then only want the chocolate bar. Oh, and forget the graham crackers.
-It was great to see their fascination with the small tide pools and creatures near the ocean. The wonder and smile on their faces were priceless.
-I'd do it again. It was definitely work for one night, but for what it meant to the kids - I'd do it all over again.
-Because it was the coast, there were no flying bugs (good for Cyn's sake) - I think I saw 1 fly.
-Cheetos get stale quickly because of the humidity - so, it's better to seal them up REAL good.
-I think Bear Gryllis of Man vs. Wild should carry those "quick lite" log thingys, they work great, are small, cost less than a dollar, and just a small piece can start a fire.
-It is something the kids will look back on and remember. We're here to create memories for them...remember.