Thanksgiving and Winter Sports!

We have been busy with activities, sports, school concerts, etc. in the last month.

First, we gathered at Nanny and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving.

Trevor brought his turkey hat and turkey necklace he made at preschool!

Sarah woke up that morning throwing up and spent the morning on the couch like this...

But by that afternoon, she was totally fine and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner without any problem.  We still have no idea why she threw up. Maybe something she ate?  Very quick stomach bug?  We were glad she was back to normal so quickly!

 The kids took over the big table so that the big dinner table became the kids' table!

Mom made a delicious dinner that we all enjoyed immensely.  I brought our favorite apple crisp and had fun making it with the kids (Austin learned how to peel apples).

That weekend, the kids were pretty excited when we spotted a bald eagle in our neighbor's back yard.

After Thanksgiving, we were back in to the thick of winter activities.  

I have been busy at work and, on my days off work, I have been using the time Trevor is at preschool to attend neurology and physical therapy appointments due to my ongoing difficulties with my nerve pain and arm weakness.  I now have a diagnosis - Parsonage-Turner Syndrome. However, we still do not know what caused it and when it may (or may not) resolve.  It can last 2-3 years in some (and forever in a small percentage, but we're not going to dwell on that).  I continue taking a nerve medication to help with the pain. It keeps the pain manageable, but makes me very tired!

Austin is doing great in basketball!  He is on a 3rd and 4th grade in-house team (the traveling team has 12 weekend tournaments and we just were not up for that!).  He is on a team with one of his good friends and is having a blast!  He is the leading scorer on his team and, at one point, had more points in a game than the entire opposing team!  After his first game, he got a letter from the head coach of the entire basketball association congratulating him on a good game and saying that he enjoyed watching him play!  Austin was pretty excited about that!  It is fun watching him play - he is all over the court, stealing the ball, making rebounds, shooting baskets, and encouraging his teammates when he is on the bench. We are proud of him for his hard work, enthusiasm, sportsmanship, and developing his skills. 

Here are some photos from his games.  He is #25. He is wearing red in some and black in others.  The quality of the photos is variable due to different gyms/lighting.   

Getting ready for a tip off.  He was excited that his teacher was attending this game (because #12 he is tipping off with is her son).

Taking some free throws.

 Driving to the basket.

 Taking a shot.

The ref gave him five as he he ran by after his basket.

The refs in this league do a good job. The first few games, they teach the kids the rules by stopping play and explaining any fouls, then giving the ball back to the same team to give them another try (for example, a traveling foul wouldn't lose your team the ball).  After those few games, they then started enforcing the fouls as turnovers, etc. but were still great about teaching the kids as they refereed.

In this shot, Austin had just gotten an inbound pass from his friend Alex.  It has been really fun to see them get to play together!

The in-house basketball tournament will be coming up in January and we are excited to see how his team fares in tournament play! Austin has also still been keeping up with his soccer training with winter training and futsal.

Sarah has been busy with her ongoing dance team training. She is in 3 hrs of dance per week, with tap and jazz on Monday nights and ballet and technique class on Wednesdays.  They are almost finished learning their jazz and tap dances for their competitions and competitions start in the spring.

Sarah also had a 4 week "Little Spikers" volleyball season at school.  She and some of her school friends learned some volleyball skills and had some scrimmage games.  They had lots of fun and Sarah made some great serves and shots.

Practicing her serves.

 A good set.

 Her turn to serve in their scrimmage game. 

Trevor has been taking swimming lessons and has again advanced another level to be at level "Little 4" at Foss Swim School.  He is a good swimmer and has advanced levels quickly since he started swim lessons, but sometimes lacks confidence in the pool or has a crabby day in which he throws a fit and doesn't want to go in the pool.  I don't have any photos of his swimming this time because he has swim lessons on Friday mornings when I'm at work.  

Trevor is also a good little sports fan - being dragged along to Austin and Sarah's activities all the time!  We tell Austin and Sarah that they will be expected to go to his games and activities when he gets there.

Next up...Christmas prep!