Xander's Winter Activities

Winter was filled with lots and lots of basketball games. Xander had one of his football coaches as his coach and had several of his football buddies on the team so it made for a fun season.

A great block out!

He had a tough time making some of his layups but thank goodness he got fouled a bunch in the process. Unfortunately he needs to work a bit more on his free throws too.

Preparing for the jump ball.

Fighting for that ball!

Although his team struggled throughout the season, he had a ton of fun and that's really the main point.

Xander has been working hard in scouts and earned his First Class rank.

He has also had a lot of success in school, once again earning Honor Roll. He was extremely bummed because he missed having straight A's by a very narrow margin but we are still so proud of all the effort he puts in to doing well in his classes. He was also recognized with a special behavior award.

A handshake from Ms. Brown, the principal.

Way to go, Xander!

Youth activities are always fun and he invited his best friend Devin to the game night in January.

He also got together with friends to play sports at the church...

and to watch our friend Rayshod in one of his high school basketball games. Xander and his friend Andrew loved getting out on the court after the game (until they were chased away).

And of course we still try to get out on dates despite our busy schedule. Xander picked a trip to Barnes and Noble and a frappacino from Starbucks for our date in February.

Sav's Winter Activities

New Beginnings kicked off our Young Womens new year and it was purely magical! Emma and Molly delivered owl invites to our incoming young women to let them know they had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Truth and Righteousness.

Upon arrival the girls were directed to Diagon Alley to pick up a cape and hat, if they so desired, as well as a wand at Olivanders.

A quick run through Platform 9 3/4...

and they were in the Great Hall, complete with floating candles...

and the banners of each of the houses.

After listening to an original song written and sung by Rebekah Washburn, the new girls were sorted into their houses. That whimsical sorting hat placed both girls in Beehives!

For the next 40 minutes the young women attended classes that included Astronomy (Divine Nature), Divination (Individual Worth), Transfiguration (Knowledge), Defense Against the Dark Arts (Choice and Accountability), Care of Magical Creatures (Good Works), and Potions (Integrity). Savannah taught Herbology (Faith) and did a fabulous job!

And I got to teach Runes!

Me and one of our cute new Beehives.

And what did the parents do while we were attending classes? Well, they were welcome to an invisibility cloak...we had a table full of them.

Or they could write notes to the young women and send them by owl post.

Or there was some table quidditch set up for their entertainment.

Once classes were done everyone enjoyed the refreshments.

My favorite was the mandrake cupcakes Emma Hardy made!

The Butterbeer from The Three Cauldrons was delicious...

and everyone loaded up on sweet treats at Honeydukes!

Our beautiful young women.

And the leaders thrown in!

The young men were awesome. They showed up at the end to help clean everything up plus play with the props.

Me and my partner in crime!

The young women planned the best New Beginnings!! It was such a fun evening, from start to finish.

The youth also had a great time at our January combined activity night - Game Night!

Doesn't Savannah look thrilled?

She was a bit happier that Brother Paul was willing to take her Kaepernick jersey off her hands.

Hanging out with her close friends is always one of her favorite things to do. She had a blast at Mary and Michaela's birthday party in January.

Savanah doesn't ever take a break from sports. For school she ran winter track.

And for soccer she continued playing with Cardiff in their indoor sessions. Although they had two teams, they mixed the girls around several times between the teams so that when all was said and done, they all placed first in the first round of the winter sessions.

They also played in a Valentine's Day tournament in February. They started in the early evening and the games went all the way until close to midnight.

Savannah's gold team ended up in the championship game against a team that added a bunch of guest players at the last minute, which is entirely against the rules. Unfortunately her team was just not able to pull out the win and ended up losing 1-0. I really can't stand the other team and their dishonest play but I kept my sentiments to myself unlike several of the other parents on Cardiff. Oh, well, I was still proud of the girls for playing so tough!