Third Place!

Basketball season ended yesterday with Spenser's team playing for third place.  A win would secure third and a trophy, a loss would mean a medal.  It was a tight game, not very high scoring, and came down to a buzzer beater.

Spenser had a good game, passing the ball, taking some shots, and landing one too!

Here he is landing a basket!

The opposing team actually made a basket that would have tied the game and send it into overtime,  but time had run out, the buzzer had sounded, and the game was over.  Way to go Scorpions!

Until next season.......

Picks and Passes

I'm not too versed in basketball terminology but I know passes are necessary to keep the ball moving and in open hands.  Picks, on the other hand, you want to take but not allow.  I think that's the gist of it but if you need further information you'll have to talk to Spenser, not the blog author.  Spenser is pretty adept at making passes and avoiding picks, which was evidenced in Saturday's game. 

Here he is passing the ball to a teammate....

and here he is showing skill under the basket,

and finally some dribbling and offensive moves ending in a three pointer!

Although they lost the game, Spenser was awarded player of the game for his picks, passes, and rebounds.

Atta boy, Buddy!

Bounce, Dribble, Pass, Score!

Another Saturday has passed with the same hustle and bustle that normally accompanies it.  This time it was a public meeting on the reservation (for Rob), drum lessons, basketball practice, and a basketball game for Spenser.  In addition to those activities, Rob also had racing team duty at Canyon Raceway Friday and Sunday!  But don't worry, it all worked out just fine. 

Spenser had a great game, and led in scoring and assists.  Here are a couple videos he wanted me to share with you.

Here he is dribbling, and then driving toward the basket to take and make a shot.

Here are two more videos of much of the same.

They won this game thanks to Spenser's efforts!  Now they are 2-1.

Son's Skills Abound

As you know Spenser can play some drums and he continues to awe us with his musical talent.  Yes he has typical tendencies of an 11 year old, like playing video games for hours on end, but he can also pause the game at any time and sit in on a song with a seasoned guitarist and play a tune, even if he's never heard it.  While Rob and I might take weeks or months to learn a song, Spenser can master it in days.  Oh that youthful little bugger!

As tickled as we are with his musical inclinations, we also are proud of his academic accomplishments.  He continues to earn straight A's in the 6th grade, and recently was one of three winners in his class for his science fair project.  Here he is with his project called "Sub-Zero Substances."  

I'm not really sure about the science of it, you'll have to ask him.  But here is his ribbon!

He's also pretty good at basketball!  League started this week so here's a video highlight of his skills on the hardwood. 

 

Although they didn't win, Spenser had a great defensive game, leading the team with 6 rebounds. That's our Buddy!

Christmas Chuckles

Christmas Day brought glee and laughter but along with it some tears.  You see, even Santa Claus is not perfect and sometimes makes mistakes.  I guess we should have known that something was awry when we came downstairs and noticed that the stockings weren't filled.  Darn Santa, how can you forget that?!  Clue number two came from Spenser when he discovered that Santa did not respond to the letter he left next to the cookies.  Strike two Santa!  Strike three occurred when Rob went to set up Santa's gifts (32" flat screen tv's for both Sienna and Spenser).  After putting it all together he discovered the screen was broken  (Santa - YOU'RE FIRED)! Spenser's smile was turned upside down and then the tears commenced.  This of course upset Rob too and mommy had to calm the waters and say everything would be o.k.  I then suggested to set up the other t.v. and we would try to return the damaged goods to a local store that accepts returns from Santa.  Once t.v. number two was set up successfully in Spenser's room, the smile was back and Christmas was saved.  YEAH! 

Despite the difficulty with Santa's gifts, many other presents were opened, enjoyed, and appreciated.  Here is the evidence!

Sienna and Spenser, enjoying Grandma and Grandpa's gifts!

Sienna loved her I-pod touch from her parents

and Spenser loved his kindle fire!

You can't forget HESS trucks from Grandpa!

And mommy loves her some Harry Potter!  All 8 movies on Blu-ray!  YEAH!

Oh, and I can't forget the best love story of all time!  Bella and Edward!!

So yes our christmas had everything, merriment and mishaps, but isn't that just a microcosm of life?

Thanks to God, our family, and our friends for the love and lessons we've shared this year. 

Cheers to a happy and healthy 2012!

Twas' the Night Before Christmas....

and all through the house, not a soul wanted to attend Mass, except for a spouse.  You can probably figure out which spouse I'm referring to (not me).  But you'll be happy to know the family did attend mass, even though we had to sit in the Social Hall and endure Spenser's bored body language.  But we survived and offered our thanks, and then headed home to finish preparing Christmas Eve dinner.  There were some difficulties with the dinner (Rob will fill you in later) but to make a long story short, it was delicious!  Here are some Christmas Eve highlights!

Here we are after church.

The girls in front of the tree.

Dinner is served.

After dinner we all opened one gift.  Everyone was happy with the results!

And tomorrow morning with Santa's help and generosity , there should be more gifts to open and pics to post!

Until then,  HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!

Back to the Vacation

I know much of this blog space has been devoted to the Wizarding World as the story of our fall break vacation has been told, but props must still be given to the 'rest' of the park, as well as our venture to the Atlantic seaboard.  So little by little, post by post, let me tell the tale.

Here is The Hard Rock Hotel, which was our resting place for the first and most exhausting days of the vacation.  It was quite nice and comfortable-(and music-themed, how apropos)-with some great conveniences that I'll share later.  As this picture shows, the hotel was located on a waterway, used to transport people to Universal. 

 Although the Samours are 'people' we often bypassed the boat as we couldn't wait to get to our destination.  Not to mention we love opportunities for exercise!  So whether walking or 'on a boat' the scenery was enjoyable as you moved toward your destination.  Here is Spenser ready to lead us on the path to fantastic fun.

Look, even Sienna can't contain her excitement over her surroundings!  She doesn't even mind having to walk!

After the brisk walk we arrive at the park entrance and the well-known symbol of Universal, the spinning globe.  Behind the globe is Universal City Walk, a fun shopping and entertainment area outside of the two parks (you know - just in case the amusements weren't stimulating enough). 

At the globe one must either walk into Universal Studios, or walk further down to access Islands of Adventure.  I've covered much of the Islands, so now it's time to document our fun in Universal Studios.  This park is set up like mini towns and movie sets.  They still have the Jaws attraction, a classic, but have added newer/hipper rides. One such ride happened to be one of Spenser's favorites - The Mummy.  The Mummy is an indoor and dark roller-coaster ride, and yes a thrill-a-minute.  If you can believe it - MOMMY even rode THE MUMMY (2x)!

How convenient that outside of the mummy ride was the stage for a Blues Brothers tribute band.  Well Rob couldn't contain his excitement as the Blues Brothers is one of his favorite movies and a reminder of his and Pat Burke's friendship.  Another cool thing for Rob?  Dancing with his daughter to the Blues Brothers in Universal Studios on a dream vacation!  Here they are!  (You can see the blues brothers and the singing waitress just over Sienna's head)

Not far from this location was a daring challenge for the boys - the Rip Rock it!  The boys seemed to become braver with each day and I can't believe some of the rides they were riding.  Here they are on their way to ride the scariest coaster in the park.

Here they are posing for one more picture before boarding.  See that red rail dropping from the sky?  That soon will be their sled!

And here they are flying down it, leaving their stomachs at the top!  You can see Spenser and Rob at the top of the picture.

Here they are on the corkscrew after they come back up from the drop (Rob's head is the one you can see in the second car, first row).

It was quite a chore trying to snap these photos as they whizzed by, but hey I did it.  Sienna was up for riding most rides, just not this one or the Hulk in Islands of Adventure.  She's smart like mommy.  Or shall I say a scaredy cat like mommy.  Other rides that all or some of us rode were:  Twister, Jaws, the Simpsons, Shrek, and E.T.

While on the subject of scary roller-coasters, here is Rob and Spenser on the Hulk, located in Islands of Adventure.  They rode it early in the morning and were the only ones on it.  Rob is the one in the yellow shirt.

Here is another picture that shows the twists and turns the coaster takes.  Is that crazy or what?

This is the view I like - can you see why?

Okay, that ends the Hulk segway.  Now back to Universal Studios.

While the rest of the family was getting their kicks on rides, I was nursing a headache but still managed to have some fun.  Here I am with some celebrities in the park.

The minions from 'Despicable Me', and

Lisa, Homer, and Bart Simpson.



We were so tired one night leaving the parks that we did actually ride the boat.

To end this post I think it fitting to share some of the reasons why we loved our hotel.

Sunny pool by day,

awesome dive-in movie at night,

yummy ice cream shop in the lobby,

and guitars.........we love guitars!

Our vacation rocked at the Hard Rock!