Ballers End-of-Season Party

Tor wasn't able to play in the final tournament of the season at Seaside (due to the stomach flu), but he was able to join his teammates a few days later at Pie@trio's for one final get-together.

Mom's Chill Birthday

It was a simple 51st birthday for Mom tonight, since Jillian and Tor were still recovering from a nasty stomach flu. We ordered Papa Pete's pizza and had a small dessert. Then, the kids watched a movie (Sherlock Holmes) with Mom.

Undefeated Debut

Bridget's LC Elite 13-1 Black team played in their first tournament this season, a Power League Qualifier at Ridgefield, and came away 4-0 for the day. Bridget was a 6-2 setter, and did well all-around.

Basketball with Girls

Jillian and Bridget went to the King's Way vs Castle Rock basketball game to see Ty as the coach ... and hang out with Kenny and Rory! Kenny wasn't feeling good, but Rory was wide-eyed. We all got lots of time holding them:

Sledding with Kenny

Kennedy made an appearance on the snowy hill, all bundled up in her snowsuit.

Apparently, little Kenny doesn't care too much for the snow. Jillian tried to take her for a ride, but Kenny was not happy about it:

Neighbor Sledding

The Sharps came up to Castle Rock to go sledding with the kids. Their attempt at a 4-person sled didn't go anywhere:

They made many trips (and crashes) when sledding in pairs:

The kids explored the property, looking for other hills. Eventually, a snowball fight broke out, which pretty much ended the fun:

Before the chaos, at least one relaxed pic was taken:

Sibling Sledding

A snow day would not be complete without a trip to Castle Rock to go sledding on Grannie and Papa's hill (well, technically Aunt Julie and Kevin's hill). Though only about 8 inches deep, it was powdery and slick, so the kids were zooming down the hill. Jillian got out the skate ramp so they could jump, and Jillian figured out the steering, so she hit the ramp nearly every time:

Bridget had a hard time going straight, so she got some help by riding with Jillian:

Tor made it over the jump several times, but he definitely had the most wipeouts, leading to an early retirement to a warm house:

Hot Cocoa Warm-up

After the chilly snow walk, the kids went over to Hazel and Ila's to drink hot cocoa, play games and watch Mama Mia 2:

Snow Walk

We joined with the Sharp's to go for a walk in the snow, now that it was really coming down thick. Nobody was driving, so we could just walk down the street:

It was so cold (22 F), and we couldn't hardly see. We walked a part of the lake ...

... Tor and Dad brought the rainbow football to toss around. The kids played a bit on the slides and swings at the playground, but ended up getting chilled to the point of needing to get back. But not too chilled to throw some snow (too icy for snowballs, though):

Jillian stopped for a quick shot in front of a snowy RA Long:

16 Black Debut

Jillian travelled with her Cowlitz 16-1 Black team to Salem to play in the Power League Qualifier. Their team had both ups and downs as they got to know each other. They ended up placing 2nd in pool play, but dropped their opening crossover match. They ended with one more match win after that. Jillian did a nice job of setting in the 6-2 offense.

Tiger Tourney Champs!

Tor's Ballers Basketball team returned to Clatskanie and came away with some hardware after winning all their games, including a thriller against Toledo on the finals. The Ballers were down by 12, but then came storming back behind their lockdown defense, forcing tons of steals and breakaway layups. Mom said "Tor is playing out of his mind. So many great defensive plays, probably 15 assists, 10 points."

Dad is 55!

Dad is now a Senior Citizen, and looking forward to all those discounts. To celebrate, we went out to Sweet Spot to use our $100 gift card we won in their anniversary raffle basket over summer.

Beach Driving

Another nice day at the beach, so we had Jillian drive on the sand all the way to the lighthouse.

She didn't really like driving on the beach; the sand and ruts tended to pull on the steering wheel too much.

But, at least she got quite a bit of driving minutes; she's working on getting her 50 hours of driving time before her birthday.

Happy 2024!

Happy New Year 2024 from Ocean Park -- probably the nicest weather we've ever had at midnight on the beach!

Surpisingly not many people on the beach at that time, but those few were shooting fireworks.

Bridget joined Mom with a toast to the new year -- no worries ... it was just water :).