Soccer, Texas Style

From Wyona and Greg in Texas

... extreme grandparenting happens here ...

... a toast with our chocolate shot glasses ...

Saturday started with our soccer games.

Greg dropped four of us off and carried on to Ezra's game.

Senya knew to take the chairs and more.

What she did not know was that most of the stuff she took, she was going to have to carry because I cannot carry very much very far.

Anneliese had to carry her chair (only because I do it myself, not because we were not willing to help) which slowed us down.

Ivan ran ahead.

He was the 4th player on the team there and the coach was not there so a Dad pitched in.

By the end of the game there were 7 players there.

Anyone of the boys on the other team hustled more than anyone on Ivan's team. The other coach was amazing, telling his boys where to be and how to hustle with encouragement. The score was probably 25 to 2, not for us. One of the kids on the other team was short, black, fast and a great ball handler. He was everywhere all the time. Must have scored 15 of the goals.

Ivan had his water which he took. Then a banana, a bar, a grape juice box(which he said was not good but he still drank it) and some apples I think supplied by an appointed parent no doubt). Half way through the game, while it was on, he decided he was going to sit with us so ran across the field sat down on the blanket.

I said,"Ivan you cannot stay here, you must stay with your team". He told me he wanted to sit with us but I convinced him quickly to get off the blanket and go support his team. I saw Ivan kick the ball and it hit another player so Ivan stopped to say I'm sorry while the ball moved on without him. Funny! Ivan was quick on  but has not figured out that "Go for the ball all the time and push the other guy out of the way!! Fight, do not apologize!!!

 ... a rainbow in our Shuswap backyard ...
... a rainbow of fun in Texas ...

Greg took Ezra to his game. There were 5 players on the team. One kid was crying the whole time on the bench. The others were all complaining that they were too tired to play. Ezra and another kid took turns going in and out. The coach spent most of his time convincing the boys to play. Ezra was sad after the game because he did not kick a goal. He wanted someone to give him the ball and wait for him to line up the ball so he could kick a goal. He too needs to learn, "Go for the ball all the time and push the other guy out of the way!

I do not know where the parents are that they do not teach those two boys to plough through and get the ball at all costs.

Wyona

Graduation - David's orange belt

From Bonnie Wyora:

... David at his Orange Belt Graduation ...

David stayed for the adult class.

He was allowed to hold the target for others.

He was instructed to give students push-ups if they forgot to "keep up" or they didn't have enough control to stop their leg in front of the target.

... 'we are allowed to be crazy' photo ...

See the tallest men in the photo.

David kept giving them push-ups to do.

He did so with respect for them and for the rules set out by instructor Kari.

Bonnie

Karate with Kari Ralph

Photo Credit: Andrea Blair at Paer Horse Photography

Here is David Camps-Johnson doing Phakeso Ahnero (inside to outside kick) during Karate testing on April 12th, 2015. His mother is holding the target for him to kick over. They are both deep in concentration.

David's test results will be sent off to the Tang Soo Do head office and the results will be sent to his Instructor Kari Ralph with  Northern Spirit Marshall Arts.

He can't wait for the results ... but must. His instructor Kari says that is part of the test - learning to be patient.

Arta

Badminton

Catherine sent me pictures of Thomas playing badminton.

I learned to play badminton from my dad so it was quite a thrill to see Thomas has learned the game.

I think Eric is also a badminton player.

Either that or tennis.

One would think that all of these racquet sports would use the same technique, but that is not so.

In the case of badminton, there is nothing like seeing that cock float through the air.

... the beauty of catching the player in motion ...

Here is the trick to badminton.

You have to run the other guy all over the court while you conserve your energy by staying in one place.

I own my own badminton racquet.

I think part of the game is in the snap of the wrist.

Go, Thomas, go!

When I was in my teen's I was a champion in the Church Regional Badminton Tournament that was held in Lethbridge.

I have a picture published in the Calgary Herald to prove it.

Arta

Skating in Houndsfield Heights

... the pics at the end of figure skates ...

You could get your skate's sharpened
for a price in the shack.

I asked Santa Claus for ice skates when I was five.

Santa brought me bob skates.

My dad put them on me later Christmas day and I raced around the Houndsfield Heights Community rink, one foot ahead of the other.

Then I asked my dad when I would be getting real skates – not the ones for babies.

I got real skates in January – beautiful white figure skates with new laces through the eyelets and hooks up the calf of my leg . I couldn’t race around the rink on as I could with the bob skates but I practiced faithfully and asked if I could take figuring skating lessons. The lessons were held once a week down at the Hillhurst Community Centre. I would walk over the 14th Street and then down the hill to 5th Avenue where a teacher would give progressively harder lessons -- how to use the inside curve of my skate blade and then the outside curve. I learned how to skate backwards, how to do figure 3’s and figure 8’s. Doing the swan was hard for me since it had to be done on one leg, using both the inside curve on one try and the outside on another. I would practise doing the spin and was so thrilled when the teacher explained the science of drawing my arms in from outstretched to closer to my body, making my spin go faster.

I can remember sitting by the potbelly stove in the shack, warming up my cold toes and fingers before I would go outside onto the rink to practise my figures again. I walked down to the rink every evening to practise. During free skating time music would play over the loudspeaker at the ring: “Oh how we danced on the night we were wed,” and the music from The Blue Danube or the Tennessee Waltz. I can still do the lyrics: I was dancing / with my darling / to the Tennessee waltz / when an old friend I happened to see / ....

Flood lights were positioned at all four corners of the right. When darkness came – which is pretty early in December and January, we would skate around the edges of the rink while couples who were skating together would glide along the ice, holding each other’s hands, arms crossed. And some of them would waltz together in perfect dance position, one going forward, the other going backwards, their legs in perfect unison. I think I can still hear the crackle as their skate blades cut the ice on their way by me.

Arta

Skating

"If they have purple laces, I will skate more often." says David.
We swapped out the new laces for the rental laces and the deal was sealed.

When we moved to the Shuswap from Florida, I purchased David a pair of ice skates, ice guards, a hockey stick, and a hockey helmet. I figured that investment made him Canadian.

We went to the open public skate. Neither of us were confident on our skates. In one hour we made it half-way around the ice rink, clinging to the boards between falls.

The announcement came on that it was time to leave. Neither of us could stay on our feet taking the shortest route to the change rooms. Two volunteers came out and skated us across holding us up.

I haven't been highly motivated to try skating since. But here I am, almost five years later, and I can see another investment is in store. This time, however, besides new skates that will fit David, I realize I must also make the investment of learning to skate and taking time to skate with him.

We have our schedule set. Sundays from 2:15-3:45 is open public skating at the local rink.

Oh, and the most important news. This time, in 40 minutes, David made five laps of the rink and made it across the centre to the locker room without assistance from the volunteers. Bravo David!

Google Search: Doral Pilling

I just spent the last few minutes completing a Google search about Grandpa Pilling.  Try it yourself.  I was surprised that mine yielded several results including a 'Doral Piling' Facebook page with a quick piece of information about him going to the Olympics in 1928!  Did one of you create this?  Funny that a man who died so many years ago has a Facebook page.


Here are the most interesting links I found:

Wikipedia: Doral Piling

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame & Museum

(They don't have a picture posted.)

Newspaper Article 'Deseret News' from September 1928

Add anymore links below in a comment or add a new post.  Very interesting information.  I am passing all of work to a professor at the University of Manitoba who studies sport history and was intrigued that in 1928 when few people went to the Olympics, Doral, my grandfather did.  Great to share a history and pass on information to others.  Good luck with your own search.

Throwing or Putting?

So... at Alex's school today, in phys-ed, the class started learning about shotput. According to wikipedia

the shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action.

The record for the 12 year old boys in Alex's school is 9 metres. On Alex's first throw, he sent the shot flying 12 metres.

The teacher says that Alex MUST sign up for the Shotput team on thursday. No surprise there!

Growing Food ideas

Heidi Stein, the first SLP that worked with our family, would have tasting parties where we ate growing foods. She didn't discourage consumption of funk food -- but reminded us to balance it with things that help our brains, bones, and muscles grow. She taught us to have the food on a turn table, with each person at the party getting to choose one thing to go on the tray. Everyone had to try each item. You didn't have to swallow it, but you had to get it up to your lips, smell it, and try to touch it with your tongue. If you liked it, you could tell why. If you didn't, you could say, "No thank you" and put it on your plate to throw away later.

At the Bowling Party, I got some new ideas for growing food tasting parties -- fruit or vegetable art.

Healthy snacks were laid out on the tables when children arrived at the party at the J Lanes Bowling Alley in Salmon Arm. There were fruit ka-bobs sticking out of a pineapple, frozen yogurt tubes, and a vegetable tray that looked like a row of flowers in a garden. The tray was like a mosaic. Round cucumber slices were the petals of the flowers, with a cherry tomato at the center of each. The flower stalks were celery sticks, with basil leaves for the flower leaves. The grass was carrot sticks lining the bottom of the tray with the five vegetable flowers sticking out of the carrot grass. The fruit and yogurt did go much faster than the vegetables, but each child studied the vegetable tray carefully.

The party was a great success. The children bowled in two teams of six players. David knocked down the centre three pins on his first ball. The fathers were cheering him on, giving him high fives, and saying “Good job, Dave”. Some team members were highly competitive. David has not yet picked up the competitive streaks that are found in both of his parents. He celebrated each attempt at “bonking the pins” equally whether he had three gutter balls or took all five pins down.

Half way through the game the children stopped for pizza, juice, and a cake make in the shape of a light saber. Each cupcake was wrapped in a fruit roll up to help us imagine the laser end of the sword. Leaving behind empty pizza boxes, the pizza sauce and icing covered faces of the sugar-filled children returned to finish the other five rounds of the game. You would think all the energy produced by the junk food would have increased scores, but all the children were a little too wired and balls that had been rolled before along the floor were now flying a good three meters before hitting the lane and rolling into the gutters. The owners of the lane did not seem to flinch at the bouncing of the balls on the lanes. Their only rule was no food down by the lanes and wear bowling shoes.

It was a great location for a birthday party. As we left, David asked if he could take bowling lessons. I said, "definitely". Why not? I am guessing it will be cheaper than hockey in the long run which is another sport played by many of his peers. As a party favour, the children received a free pass to go to the local swimming pool. It was impressive party planning. Glad to have some great new ideas for David’s party next year for healthy treats and prizes.

Nathan and his Football Award

Received from Teague and Cheri
December 23, 2009

Are you sitting down? Don't say I didn't warn you.

Nathan won the award for top grade seven on his football team. Here's a picture. I know, unrecognizable.

I have been approved for Professional Development in Austin July 25-28. Hope you haven't changed your mind, Trent. In my application, I am flying. I am thinking of modifying that to driving so the whole family can come. We'd stop at Yellowstone and Boulder Colorado on the way, make a couple weeks of it. Can you set us up in your sweet guest suite, Trent?

Andrew is potty trained.

We have 3 paper routes. So we're spending CEve and Cday in Cardston, but that's it. Nathan is saving for a laptop. Alicia doesn't know what she's saving for. Chelsea is buying stuff. She doesn't get up very often, so it's not that much stuff. I did a unit on child labour in my social studies class. It truly is the future of our economy.

Mom and dad were ahead of their time.

We did a spy party for Chelsea's birthday. None of her friends screamed when they found plastic bugs on the treasure in the dark basement. They just tossed them into the hall.

We made a gingerbread castle.

Will post the pictures soon.

Glad to hear the plans for Alicia's London trip are proceeding.

Nathan is becoming interested, which is to be expected.

2 more days.

Teague and Cheri