Free Throws and Rebounds

Earlier this evening marked our final basketball game for a few weeks as the kids head into winter break. And boy, it was a fun way to begin their short basketball hiatus.

First, let's begin with Kekoa's 5th grade basketball team.

As we've said before, Kekoa has more endurance than anyone you'll ever meet, but the reality is that he's one of the smaller and skinnier boys in his class (he obviously doesn't get the skinny gene from me!). He moves well and can make his layups as he sprints to the basket, but he's had problems with his free throws in practice.

Because of his size, he has to put his whole body into the free throw - and even then, it's hard for him to get those shots to drop.

But up to now it's hasn't been an issue because he hasn't been fouled. That all changed earlier this evening. Kekoa made a nice rebound and tried to get off a shot, but he was fouled.

So to the free throw line he went. And boy did this young man give it his all. I captured the whole sequene on video, but my phone was acting goofy so I apologize for the jerkiness of the video. Normally my beautiful HTC Evo takes much better videos in full high definition, but I was having problems yesterday installing an Android upgrade on the phone.

Anyway, watch how Kekoa uses his entire body to propel the ball toward the basket...



We were so excited for him!

Then when the 5th graders were done, out came Bret Jr.'s 6th grade team.

Bret hit the very first basket of the game, but scoring isn't his focus. Bret is a rebounding machine.

He's a defensive tackle in football and he uses that body to pound for position. He's also developed a good sense on knowing when to jump for the ball.

And as you'll see on this little clip, he is also becoming a good passer from under the basket.

Watch him dish out a nice pass after the first rebound to set up a shot (which the shooter missed) - but it's the pass after the second rebound which is simply extraordinary. As he's coming down with the ball, he turns and dishes it off in one continuous motion.

You can hear me gasping with enthusiasm after that pass...



The next game is on January 3rd. Darn that Christmas. It's getting in the way of our son's basketball games!

Our Annual Hunt for a Christmas Tree

We're a bit late this year, but we finally set out on our annual hunt for a Christmas Tree...

I tried to bribe the kids by saying we could order pizza if we didn't have to trudge through the snow to find a tree. Alyssa had no interest either way. The boys immediately picked the pizza option. And typically, Nalani wanted to hold out for a better deal. She said she'd skip the tree if should could have pizza every day for a month.

But the Christmas spirit is alive and well in at least one of our children. Malia wasn't going to give in for anything. She wanted a Christmas tree...



As we were walking through the trees, I realized that the boys are now old enough to do things like cook dinner and mow the lawn.

So aren't they old enough to handle a saw?

I thought so. And thus here is what I did when we found the perfect tree...



As Bret Jr. started sawing away...



It's really rather hard to cut down a Christmas Tree because you're cutting it right at the bottom of the trunk - about two or three inches off the ground. It's an awkward way to cut.

But Kekoa took his turn with the saw...



And finally David laid down in the snow and gave it a try...



This is how it was supposed to go in my mind...



Me lying there while my boys were cutting away.

Alas, it was not to be.

After a long while of little actual cutting, Cari pointed out that our boys are apparently girly men (where are Hanz and Franz when you need them), so guess who had to chop the tree down...



I did manage to cut down the tree, but then we had to carry it to the van...



Look at this next picture...



I'm not on my knees - the snow was up to my knees!



Another holiday tradition for our family. We walked through the woods until we found a perfect, beautiful and healthy tree that symbolized the very spirit of Christmas.

Then we chopped it down and killed it.

Actually, it's still alive. It's sitting in our living room, taking small drinks of water, dying a slow and painful death.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Magyar the Hun

If our son David ever becomes a famous actor it will be the result of having never taken a class to learn French.

That's obvious, isn't it?

The good campuses in the University of Wisconsin system typically require students to have completed 3 years of a foreign language before they'll be considered for admission. David started 8th grade this year and he was about to begin work on learning a different language. He had his heart set on French.

Unfortunately, the Sturgeon Bay School District decided to end the French language program to save money. As a protest, David refused to take any second language this year.

But he had to take something in that hour, which meant band or choir - which was just not going to happen. So David took a class called Allied Arts. It is a program that takes different disciplines and combines them into one program.

David was in the Arts class - which is right up his alley. There is a Music and Choir class, which is about music, obviously. There's Family and Consumer Education, which is basically the old home economics. And finally there's the Tech Class, which builds things.

What's the one activity that combines all these disciplines? A musical, of course!

This year the Allied Arts program brought together these four classes to put on a performance of Disney's Mulan.

David figured his Arts class would be involved in the creation of the artwork which decorated the sets. And he was right. David painted a dragon and created a silk drape with different dyes and patterns.

What he didn't expect is that beyond the art design part of the musical, he would also be required to get up on stage!

Now David is quite a talented entertainer in many ways (like juggling or magic), but he's not exactly comfortable having to talk in front of an audience on stage. In fact, there are few things I can think of that he would be LESS likely to do than that.

But David did it. And he loved it!

These weren't huge roles, but they put him right out there and he had a grand old time.

Here's the opening sequence of the musical. David is one of the villagers on the left side of the screen (he's marked so you'll see him easily when he comes into the picture)...



We sat on the left side of the very front row, so David could see us very well. I loved how in the video he couldn't help but smile when he first saw us!

In addition to being a part of the chorus of villagers, David also was one of the three really bad guys in the story.

David played the role of Magyar the Hun...



Here's more of those evil Huns...



And finally, here's the finale...



Frankly, the entire thing was amazing. Remember, these are 8th grade students who made every costume, built the sets, and did all the art design. And then they were also the actors and singers in the musical.

When you consider that, you have to be absolutely amazed with the Allied Arts program. Bravo!

And congratulations to David for stepping outside his comfort zone and discovered talents he never knew he had! But he still needs a haircut.

Kekoa's First Basket!

Our youngest son Kekoa is a great kid. His teacher told us that he's among the brightest children he's ever taught. His counselor says that he is far more insightful into people's feelings than most kids. He's just a great kid.

But he's small and very skinny. There's nothing wrong with that (I wish I was as skinny as him!), but when it comes to basketball, being by far the shortest kid on your 5th grade team is a challenge.

Yet you have to feel good about this young man. He may be small, but he wants to play basketball and he's going to give it his all. Kekoa is trying to live up to his middle name which he gets from his Uncle, my brother James, who was quite the basketball player!

Kekoa's season just started this week, but tonight Kekoa made his first basket.

And everyone went nuts!



(note, it's easier to see if you expand the video to full screen - press the expand button at the bottom right corner of the video box above)

I just love how his friend Jared #34 (and the tallest kid on the team) jumps off the bench and lifts Kekoa up - and how everyone is patting him on the head and shoulders.

Bret Jr.'s sixth grade team would play after Kekoa's game. Bret was the starting center for his team tonight - so you know he's a lot taller than his brother. Bret's team was sitting below us in the stands waiting for their game so in the background you can hear some of the 6th graders celebrating with Bret over his little brother's first basket.

Bret had a good game as well - he had multiple rebounds and a couple of points - and we're happy for Bret Jr. But tonight was really special for Kekoa!

Go Clippers!

Malia and Michael Jackson

Our youngest loves Michael Jackson.

So here is Malia, dancing along with her favorite songs...



And another short clip...



The Filipino genes are alive and well in this little girl!

From Basketball & Birthdays to Hurling Leaves & Halloween

While Bret Jr. and Kekoa were spending their afternoons at football practice, Nalani was learning the fundamentals of a sport of her own.

Here is Nalani the basketball player...



What she lacks in shooting ability she makes up with in sheer intimidation.

Look at this girl try to psych out her opponent...



Of course, it's hard to seem menacing if during the game you keep chewing on your hair...



We also recently celebrated the birthdays of two of our kids.

First up was Bret Jr., who had a birthday party the same time as his cousin Tyler...



Tyler's little sister Analeigh was also there, hanging out with Alyssa...



While the presents were being opened, David occupied himself with other things...



Bret Jr.'s big birthday gift was a new bike. But rather than pick out the wrong one for him, we took him to Target and let him select a bike of his own...



Naturally, he's pointing to one of the bikes on the top shelf of the rack!

This time of year also brings work for our children. Specifically, it's time to rake leaves.

Malia has her own unique way of moving leaves from the front yard to the back...



Most of the leaf raking was done by our three youngest children this year for a very specific reason. They were building a pile in which to play!



Jumping in the pile is fun at first, but after a while it gets a little boring.

So I guess it's inevitable that a leaf war has to begin...



It didn't take very long before the leaf pile wasn't a pile anymore...



We also recently celebrated Malia's 7th birthday...



It's hard to believe that our little baby is now 7 years old.

She wants a puppy, but we have a 14 year-old dog that's near blind and deaf - and two old cats. So we opted for the best kind of new pet for Malia...



It's a digital pet she can raise in conjunction with Wii video game system. That's the kind of pet I'd recommend for everyone. Much, much cleaner.

And finally, there was Halloween. Here's our posse before heading out...



It's amazing how busy life can be with 6 kids!

Bret Jr. & Kekoa's Football Seasons!

Both Bret Jr.'s and Kekoa's football seasons have come to an end, so this seemed like a good time to revisit all the fun they had.

Let's start with Kekoa's football team - the 5th Grade Bobcats.

Our youngest son is shorter and skinnier than most boys his age, so he played mostly in the defensive secondary and a bit at wide receiver, as we can see below...



That's Kekoa above, lined up at the far right side of the picture.

He didn't play a lot, but when he did, Kekoa had a grand ol' time.

Here is Kekoa playing safety, with the number 22...



Getting ready to throw a shoulder on a guy...



And chasing after a running back...



The 5th grade teams play first thing Saturday mornings - before the 6th grade teams - so sometimes it gets a bit nippy outside.

But at this level, they don't have handwarmers tied around their waists.

So Kekoa found another way to keep his hands warm during the game...



But of all the pictures from the season, here's my favorite of Kekoa...



Just look at the intensity of that boy!

While Kekoa's team is still learning the fundamentals of football, Bret Jr.'s 6th grade team truly learned how to kick some butt this season.

Bret Jr. is considerably larger than his brother Kekoa. Bret is a starter on both the offensive and defensive lines.

He's the starting center, and he's so consistent that he almost never comes off the field. Here's our boy just before he snaps the football...



While Bret Jr. is a very good center, what he really loves is playing on the defensive line. He starts at defensive tackle and he always seems to be in the offensive backfield, harassing the quarterback...



It's good to know that he wreaks as much havoc on the football field as he does at home...



This is one of his favorite pictures of himself just as he hammers the quarterback...



That poor quarterback got slammed to the ground several times by Bret Jr. that day...



The 6th grade Bobcats had a tremendous season. They finished up with a record of 6 wins and only 1 loss. Their one loss was by the score of 22 to 12. In the 6 wins, however, they were absolutely dominant.

Colectively in those 6 wins, the offensive scored 178 points and gave up only 18. The defensive was so overwhelming that they had 3 shut outs.

During the last game of the season, Bret Jr. had another great game...



He was consistently in the quarterback's face and harassing the running backs...



If there ever was a picture that tells you how good a game a defensive lineman is having, it's this one below...



Look closely at that picture above. Those are two offensive lineman and a fullback that are trying to block our son!

But the most exciting play of the year for Bret Jr. came later in that final game.

Bret is so quick off the ball that he consistently is in the backfield disrupting the play. He has claimed all season that sooner or later he would steal the handoff from the quarterback before the running back could get the ball.

Amazingly, in the last game of the season, that's exactly what he did.

Bret lined up at his regular position of defensive tackle and sliced through the offensive line. He got there so quickly that he disrupted the handoff and stole the ball away from the quarterback.

It all happened so fast that I didn't have time to get in position and take a picture of it with the camera. But I did capture Bret Jr. as he rumbled down the field with the ball...



He looks almost like a running back...



Unfortunately, like most lineman, he's not the fastest guy on the field, so they tackled him before he could score. But everyone went absolutely crazy on the sidelines!

Well, mostly crazy.

Here's how David, Alyssa and Nalani enthusiastically watched the football game...



And I'm not exactly sure what Malia's doing here...



But ya gotta love a football season!

Congratulations to both the boys. They worked hard and had a lot of fun.

Memories of Local Food in California

Okay, these pictures are a bit dated - they're from May when we gathered in California around my brother shortly before his passing.

But I've been thinking of that lately, and came across a few interesting pics.

Here's a picture my sister Renee took of my brother James and me as we were entering the "best" Hawaiian BBQ in Mission Viejo...



And here's my picture of Renee at the same moment...



We were sampling food as we tried to decide if we were going to cater local food at a celebration of our brother's life...



As I did try out pretty much every local Hawaiian restaurant in the area (even a couple before and after my siblings were there from Hawaii), I can definitively say one thing...



This most certainly was NOT the best Hawaiian BBQ in town.

Oh, and if you ever need to find a good florist nearby, switch on your turn-by-turn GPS and get ready for a really wild ride.

When You're on the Moon

A video of our children by Alyssa. Her singing is also the soundtrack!



She's good, isn't she!

Fall in Door County

Nothing really to say other than I thought this was a great picture of the explosion of colors behind the sign at the entrance to Door County...



Click on the picture to get a larger view.

Welcome to Fall in Door County!

Chasing Leaves Along Lake Michigan

The leaves are turning in Door County, so today we decided to take a walk along Cave Point. Alyssa and Nalani enjoyed the colors...



Everyone likes this area, but none more than our two oldest boys...



Because for David and Bret Jr., it's a place to climb and be dare devils...



The boys climbed the rock...



But Malia was just crushed she had to stay behind with her sister...



Bret Jr. found some purple flowers along the shore of Lake Michigan which he handed up to his sisters...



Here are Nalani and Alyssa from above...



And finally the whole family gathered in front of the explosion of color that is fall in Door County...



Fall has most definitely arrived!