Non conference basketball

On Tuesday night, the Luck Cardinals played the Cameron Comets.  Cameron is a larger school, in another conference.  The Comets are having a great season, so far undefeated in the conference, ranked 3rd in state in their division and likely will go on to state tournament play.  

The Cardinals were in the game for about the first quarter of play and then the height and ability of the Comets were too much and the game ended with a very lopsided score.

But, I'm still proud of our kids 

and 

I believe that they work hard 

and 

I see them play like champions every time they take the court.

Zak is the team manager, he takes it very seriously.

Noah on the tip off jump ball.

Noah to the hoop

Jack makes the corner on defense

Jack and Noah on defense

Here's a little sequence of Jack's ball handling.

Jack catching the pass

Jack look for open man.

Jack tries to dribble around defender

Jack maintains dribble as defender trips him

Jack goes to floor but maintains ball control.

You can't convince me that these kids don't work hard, try to do their best and play with heart.

I love my Cardinals.

Regardless of the final score.

Pronouncer is better than judge

Well, my first gig as a pronouncer for the spelling bee is in the books.

Fifteen students participated and I think we finished 7 rounds in order to find the champion.

It was fun, I enjoyed doing my part and meeting the judges.

The kids were great and did a good job being brave as the room was full of spectators.

I received a nice gift for my efforts, totally unexpected.

I'm sure the cats are already sizing it up and deciding who will make it theirs.

There was a judging decision that was difficult, 

but as pronouncer I wasn't really part of the final outcome, 

but I still felt sad to see a student exit the bee after the judges made their final decision regarding capitalization.

I went to DQ after the bee to soothe my angst.

S-p-e-l-l

Yesterday I had my training to be the Pronouncer at a regional spelling bee that is scheduled for next Wednesday.  This bee is a feeder for the National Scripps Spelling Bee.   The winners on Wednesday will advance to the State Spelling Bee.  15 students will be depending on me to pronounce the word, say a sentence using the word, and provide a definition if asked.  I'm nervous, but excited, I think it will be fun.  I'll report in after.

--
Wanda from my iPad

Go Broncos!

Waiting for the big game to start, hoping for a great game 

and a good outcome for the 

Denver Broncos!

Spent the last 2 days watching basketball, so I have a mess of photos of look at, edit, delete, etc, 

but here's a preview of 

Luck Cardinals 4th Grade Basketball player, Stella Johansen.  

She plays with joy on her face.

 And she handles the ball well.

I noticed she can dribble with either hand, and has a good lay up shot as well.

Looks like lots more bleacher time is coming my way.

Life is Good,

on or off the court!

Now, let's get the win Denver!

Noah Signs with Division 1, University of North Dakota

2/3/2016 was National Signing day for high school football, but in Luck, WI, school was closed.  So, today, we held a signing celebration for Noah in the Board Room at Luck School.

I was honored to be asked by Noah's mom to come and take video and photos.

I'm delighted that they insisted that I have a photo with Noah as well.

I'll post more photos later, but for me, this was really fun.

Seeing Noah sign with his proud team of coaches along with his parents, cousins and other family was really a moment to remember.

Of course it is not about me, but the Noah and the Mortel family.

Here are the rest of the photos.  

Noah and his parents, Jessica & Gary

Noah and his brothers, Cole and Alec

Noah, Jessica & Gary and the Luck Football Coaching Staff

Noah and his Dad, Gary

Noah and Uncle Kyle

Noah and Head Football Coach Kendzior

Noah and Grandma Janice

The Mortel Family

The Mortels and Grandma Janice Olson

Noah and Coach Giller (Basketball)

Noah and his teammates - All Stars

 Cousins Jack and Gage with Noah

What a fun day!
Click here for the video of the ceremony.

Good Luck Noah!

More about snow

 My plow guy came late last night and by morning there was enough snow that I got to push off the driveway again with my scoop on wheels.  

Then I got the snowblower out and cleared a good path for the mailman & newspaper delivery.  

It was sunny and by the time I was done, the driveway had melted down to dry asphalt, 

just the way I like it.

(Later I had to redo the mailbox deal as someone with a plow had been to the neighbors and filled that all in again, but o-well, it is kind of fun work when you have no schedule.)

Here are a few photos of Mother Nature's Handiwork.

My Colorado Blue Spruce was dripping with snow.

Here comes the sun.

Red berries and pine trees and snow - sigh, very pretty.

I planted these smaller pines my first Spring in Rice Lake.  Taller than me now.

I plowed off the bird feeder as there were quite a few little feathered friends looking for a snack.

A friend who had a real tree for Christmas dropped it off so I could re-purpose it for the birds around the feeders.  It was doing a big business over the last couple of days during the snow storm.

Common Redpoll

Common Redpoll

Next year I'll try to get a couple more left over trees for my feeder area.

Great cover for the little birds and looks pretty in the snow.

Yep, it was a snow day

I was supposed to get my car serviced, then pack up and head for Luck for the night.  We were expecting  snow storm and I wanted to get to Luck while the roads were still good, 

and then planned to spend the night.

About noon I got the news that the ballgames were canceled, 

so I could stand down.  

I love snow days!  

No reason to leave the house, 

fun to get out and shovel a bit and then just watch it snow.

I had not run my snowblower all winter because the plow guy was taking care of the driveway, 

but it wasn't that cold 

and I decided to get out and have some fun in the snow.

I love this Colorado Blue Spruce in my backyard.
It looked like it was dripping with frosting.

I cleared the driveway with the snowblower and by the time I was done, another inch or two had piled up.  I pushed that off with my shovel plow and then left the rest for the plow guy to get later.

 It's still snowing at 8:30pm and if we see the sun tomorrow, 

it's going to be a beautiful world!

The bird feeders are going to need a little work with the shovel too.

Gotta love a snow day!