Basketball Camp

I usually ignore those small signs staked into the ground on the side of the road near an intersection (especially ones that are handwritten on a piece of cardboard that tells me that I can "fire my boss").  One day, Jaime and I saw one advertising a summer basketball camp and we wrote down the number.  The kids both seemed interested when I brought it up to them so I called the number and made an appointment to meet the camp director.

The camp is run by a guy named Marvin Johnson, apparently Marvin was a big basketball star for UNM in the 70's and had a brief career with the Chicago Bulls.  Meeting him was a funny experience.  Harris and I drove down to the local school that would be hosting the camp to sign paperwork etc. and to meet Marvin.  Marvin asked Harris how he felt about basketball and who his favorite players were; Harris replied, "I like Lebron James and Dwayne Wade...Ray Allen is pretty good too...and Carmelo Anthony"  The look on Marvin's face was priceless (I think he was surprised at such a detailed answer) :)

As the time drew closer for the camp to begin, the kids got more and more excited.  Liv has always been a fan of basketball, she and I used to love to go to Jazz games.  Harris loves to both watch and play basketball.  He has had a junior hoop in the basement since we moved to New Mexico (and had more room in the basement for such things)  and literally spends hours shooting hoops on the thing.

Anyway, the kids loved camp and had a great time.  I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

 I love to watch Harris' face when he dribbles, pure joy!

 Nice technique!

 Again with the face, so cute!

Liv on the "big kids" side.

 Big air!

Showing off his skills!  Seriously though, it was cool to see the kids get better at dribbling as the week went on.

 The campers listening to Coach Marvin...

See how well he pays attention!

Dribbling drills!

 Liv being cool, waiting for her turn...

 More skills!

 We had to buy Harris new basketball clothes and shoes for the camp...

 "Don't take my picture, Dad!"

Brother and sister dynamic duo!

It was great to have the kids do the camp together.

Liv showing off her skills this time!

Back to the boy...

 Zooming down the court!

I like the hair flying behind her as she jets down the court!

Concentration!

Under Coach Marvin's watchful eye...

Again with the joyful expression!

Cool kids!

Liv paying attention to the Coach...

So, funny story.  Every day the staff put on a free throw contest...and every day Harris won that contest...even against the Big Kids.  It was awesome.  On the last day there was a final contest and it came down to Liv (representing the Big Kids) vs. Harris (representing the Littles).  How did it go you ask?  Let's find out...

 Harris watching his sister go.

 Nice form!

Marvelous!

They went back and forth like this for a while...

Harris finally took advantage of a miss by Liv and took home the championship (and the t-shirt).

Wrapping up the week.

Another funny story.  Every day the Coach made the kids run and do push ups and sit ups.  First off, Liv was the fastest person in the camp.  Every time they would run the Coach would yell at the kids to "try to keep up with Liv!".  Also, every time they would do push ups the Coach would tell the kids to "watch Liv and do it like she does!".  It made Liv feel pretty cool (as it should have).

 Some last minute group instruction.

This kid bugged Harris all week, can you tell from the look on his face?

Good bye Coach, thanks for a great week!

A Wish for Fish

Harris' birthday was the Friday after we got back from our 18 day road trip. We didn't get his presents before we left but we knew exactly what we were going to get him. A fish tank. He used to have a little 5 gallon one when we lived in Utah but when his fish died we just never got around to getting him a new one. When we moved here he started watching "River Monsters" and gained a new love of fish. We decided that it was time for another tank. A bigger one that could hold bigger fish. We picked out one that was 20 gallons with LED lights. It is awesome! I as so excited to give it to him!

The morning of his birthday he got up early and immediately wanted to open presents. We convinced him to have breakfast first. :) After breakfast he finally got his presents.

He got an automatic Nerf gun and a water Nerf gun from his sister

A Jimmer shirt from the Wakefields

And a fish tank from Mom and Dad.


When all the presents were open he wanted to test out his water Nerf gun so we headed out to the pool for a swim and water fight. After much swimming it was time to get ready to go to dinner and a movie. Harris had chosen Olive Garden for dinner and Cars 2 for the movie.

He was sooo excited to see Cars 2! He had been counting down the days to see it since the day he learned it was coming out on his birthday. He loved it! And sat through the whole thing!

Sooo excited!

When we were done with the movie and dinner we went to Petsmart so that Harris could pick out the decorations for his fish tank. After much deliberation he decided on a pirate/volcano theme.

Lights on

Lights off

The LED lights make the tank glow. There are even Glo-fish! We love to sit in the dark and watch them.

It was a wonderful day. I am sooo grateful for Harris. He is my sunshine! Happy Birthday Handsome!

Watching the Wakefields

When we were finished with our land cruise up the PCH we made our way to Utah. Jann and Don were headed to Boston and we were going to watch their kiddos while they were gone. I was a little nervous about having 6 kids for a week but we had a blast!

Chet Sr. and Wendy were kind enough to let us hang out at their house everyday so that we could see them too. There was swimming, b-balling, jumping, partying, eating and even boating!

The kids having some fun, except Aubz. She thought it was too cold.

I'm glad she thought the pool was too cold. ;)

Liv loves to "dance" with her Papa!

I'm not sure where I was when this was taking place but if I would have been there I would have stopped it!!



When we weren't swimming they were playing basketball. They have so much fun playing PIG. They get pretty creative with their shots.

While the boys were playing PIG I was chilling with Aubz, who was patiently waiting for the boys to be done so that she could drive her new car that we bought her. We got it for her after Jann told me that Aubz would sneak out the dog door to go play with the neighbors car across the street!! She loves it and calls it her "bye-bye".



I don't think that she could be any cuter!!!

Occasionally she had to take a break from diving and have a drink. :)

One of the days we were there Chet and Wendy wanted to have a little birthday party for Harris since we were leaving just before his actual birthday. Wendy asked Harris if he wanted yellow cake or brownies for the party but he couldn't decide so she made him both! What an awesome grandma. :)

Waiting for the candles to be lit

They got him a football and a basketball. This is how he posed for a picture with his basketball. Silly boy.

After the party Chet and Wendy's neighbor, Rob, came over and wanted to know if we wanted to go out on his boat with him that Friday. Um, yes please!!

On Friday Chet and the kids got ready and met the others at Utah Lake. Rob has a really nice boat and lots of fun things to do with it like a tube and surfboard. The kids were so excited!

Headed out on the boat.

The Chet's are lookin' fine!!

Cam and Liv got the first ride on the tube.

 I LOVE Livs face! She looks like she is having the time of her life.

After the girls it was Chet and Trevs turn.

Trev informed me that in this pic he had just swallowed a bug!

Next was Harris' turn and he wanted to go with Papa.

Having a blast!!

Then Papa with both grandkids.

I'm pretty sure my kids have the coolest Papa in the WORLD!!

And of course father and son took a ride.

Hanging on for dear life!

And then all the cousins wanted a turn.

The Three Musketeers.

After lots of turns it was time to try out the surfboard. Trev was up first and it proved to be much harder than it looked.

Those are Trev's feet on the board not Robs. :)

Since it was so hard for Trev to get on the board Rob thought it would be better for the girls if he rode with them.

Surfer girls!

After an exciting day on the lake it was time to head back. On the way back Rob let all the kids have a turn driving the boat!

The Robinson's

The Wakefield's

Love these kiddos!

It was a great day!

The next day was sadly our last day. We spent the morning picking up and packing up.

Packing up the important stuff! ;)

The kids have this silly tradition of throwing baby powder in the air, Lebron style, to say goodbye. I'm not sure how or why it started but they must do it anytime we are saying goodbye.

The cousin goodbye

We had an amazing week! It is always hard to say goodbye but it makes coming back that much more fun!