more than basketball - branson post #2

lots of hugs and kisses

swimming

swimming

more swimming

sweet friends

Noah's Ark, the musical

more sweet friends

lots of pictures

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bluedevil basketball - branson post #1

Better grab your favorite drink and a comfy chair, this post could get lengthy!  Have tons to tell you....

I had every intention of keeping you informed of our week of basketball at the AAU National Tournament in Branson last week, but technology was not on my side.  I guess, due to the many hills and trees, phone service was a little shaky.  I couldn’t check my facebook or post to my blog from my phone.  Talk about drive me crazy....a week without Facebook is a good way to do it.  I felt out of touch with everyone except the our Bluedevil family.  But never fear, the hotel has wi-fi.  Ya, whatever!!  Very undependable wi-fi, if you could even call it that.  I could never get a blog post to post, much less any pictures to upload.

Sooo... your stuck with an incredibly lengthy post covering a weeks worth of basketball.

The trip to Branson was relatively uneventful.  We split the trip in half to make it a bit easier on the kids.  I didn’t have Cydney (he flew with Robby’s mom), so I was able to spend some time with the two older ones.  We sang REALLY LOUD and even danced in the car.  I know what your thinking...I was being safe!!!  It was fun!!!

The tournament began with an opening ceremony that is fashioned after the Olympics.  It was really cool and the girls loved it.  It is customary for each team to bring items from their hometown/home state to trade with the other girls at the tournament.  Last year  we tookTexas license plates and they were a huge hit, so we took them again this year along with Bluedevil pins.  Most teams bring pins with their team logo to put on their lanyard.  Each girl then wears her lanyard through the week and has a keepsake from the tournament.

Basketball didn’t start as we had hoped the first day.  Bluedevil girls were a little shell shocked from being at the National Tournament.  We lost the first game in pool play, but made a good comeback on day 2 and finished second in our pool.  This seeded/placed us for the championship bracket of the tournament.

Calleigh is #15

Day 3 of the tournament began the championship bracket.  We got lucky and got a bye the first round.  This moved us to the Sweet Sixteen.  That afternoon, the girls won their game which moved them to the Elite Eight.  It was pretty exciting knowing that we had made it to the top eight teams of the tournament.

Day 4 was a heartbreaking day for Bluedevil basketball....for this mom, anyway.  We lost our game that morning by 5 to another Texas team which would eventually win the National Tournament.  Although we had lost, we held our opponents to the lowest scoring so far of the tournament.  No one they played had lost by less than 20 points.  The girls had nothing to hang their heads about, but losing is never easy.  We lost again that afternoon to an Indiana team by 2 points.  We just couldn’t get our game going again.

Friday morning we played our last game against an Oklahoma team for 7th place.  We won the game!!  Although we hoped for a higher placing than 7th place, we are super proud of our Bluedevil girls.  They played hard all week, and never quit fighting until the last buzzer rang.

Out of 27 teams that qualified for the AAU National Tournament, Bluedevils finished 7th.

Proud to be a Bluedevil mom!!!

basketball, basketball, and more basketball

We have been super busy since summer began with, you guessed it....BASKETBALL!!!  We have done basketball camp, basketball practice, a basketball sleepover, and basketball tournaments.  It has been non-stop!!  It is something we have become accustomed to, and I have to admit...I do kinda enjoy it.

This past weekend, the Kirkland Krew went to Lubbock for a basketball tournament (and a wedding!)  The Bluedevils usually play in 5th grade leagues to give them good competition (all the Bluedevils are 4th graders!)  In the Lubbock tourney, the 5th grade league did not have enough participants so they bumped us up to the 6th/7th grade league.  I was not really all that thrilled about it.  I worry about someone getting hurt because those girls are so much bigger than our girls.  And they were...they made our little girls look just that....little girls.  

The first game was not so good for the Bluedevils.  They played their hearts out, but came up 3 points short when the buzzer sounded.  It again made me question why we were playing these big girls.  They are just a different league than we are.

However, the loss lit a spark in the Bluedevils and they came back fighting!!!  The girls played 4 games on Saturday to work their way back to the championship game on Sunday.  We also got a little sweet revenge on the team that beat us the night before.  We don't get mad, we get even!!!

We didn't win the championship, but played hard 'til the buzzer rang.  Our girls may be little, but they are full of fight and lots of effort.  Hard work and effort definitely paid off for them.

On Friday, the Bluedevils head to Branson, MO for the AAU National Tourney.  We are so pumped.  I honestly have very high hopes for the outcome of the tourney.  I am excited for a week full of basketball!!! I will keep you all posted on the ins and outs of Bluedevil basketball.

But, for now...it is off to laundry, packing, and golf camp for Carson.  It never ends...

Not Me Monday!!!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week.

These are things in my week that I am most not so proud of as a mother...
1. As many of you know Calleigh plays on a club basketball team. This weekend we had a tournament. I did NOT scream and yell like a lunatic at her 3RD GRADE basketball game.

2. I did NOT threaten to leave my kids at home this morning because they were lolly-gagging around and making me us late for school.

3. I did NOT stay up until 11:30 writing yesterdays post for my blog. Every time I got in bed, I thought of something new to write and I did NOT get out of bed to fix it. And...I wonder why I am tired!!!

4. I did NOT go the grocery yesterday, tell my children that we were eating healthy after school snacks, buy my family healthy food for the week, and then go out and eat fried shrimp and french fries (with ranch dressing). I would NEVER tell my children one thing and do another...NOT ME!!!

5. I did NOT think I lost my iPhone AND wedding ring this weekend. Both were exactly where I thought they were AND right where I had looked NOT once, NOT twice, but maybe even three times. I am NOT losing my mind!!!

6. I did NOT bathe Cydney in the kitchen sink tonight because all the bathtubs were being used by my other MGC (Many Grubby Children). YEAH...I really did, and I have cute pictures to prove it!!



and...I DID NOT neglect all my laundry tonight to get this post finished!!

I am sure this is only the tip of the iceberg, but enough confession for the week.
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As I mentioned in yesterdays post...this was a busy, intense, exciting, and fun-filled weekend for the Kirkland Klan. Here's the latest...


These days it doesn't seem to have many perks to working in the beef industry, but the pride of being part of the agriculture industry and helping to support the needs of many Americans. I know the swine flu is a serious deal, but for once I am glad it's about something other than the beef industry. EAT MORE BEEF!!! Seriously...this weekend the family had an opporunity to attend a customer appreciation function in Amarillo. (It is one of the perks of being in the beef industry.) We got to stay in a hotel and eat out...WITH THE KIDS!!! Usually Robby and I attend these kind of functions alone as a "marriage retreat" because we stay so busy with work and the kids. However, this weekend we decided to include the kids because Calleigh had basketball all weekend and we wanted to be involved in that as well...and, I am having a very hard time leaving Cydney. Anyway...we knew the kids would enjoy staying in a hotel and swimming, and swimming, and swimming!!! My kids are fish!! Thankfully summer is just around the bend.

Between leisurely activities at the hotel, lots of eating, and zipping back to Vega for church, Calleigh played three basketball games. Through several intense, nail-biting games, the Bluedevils came out on top...CHAMPIONS!!! Unfortunately, I screamed and yelled like a crazy mom and today I am NOT so proud of it...really, I am NOT!!! But I am a proud mom. Calleigh played her heart out this weekend...she even scored 6 points. (This is really good in 3rd grade basketball.)

We wrapped up the weekend pooped and NOT ready to start the week. I DID get my kids in bed at 8:00 reading their books, and all snuggled up at 8:30. What a great day!!! Time for me to have a little ME time...Robby is gone to a church meeting. What I do with me time??? I have a date with my computer uploading photos and updating blog post. It's a crazy life, but I love it.



be blessed and be a blessing ~