To start out the basketball afternoon, our family had volunteered to staff the concessions booth and the admissions table during the sophomore game. Xander and I worked the snacks and Cali and Jessica sold tickets. I was really proud of all three of the kids. Cali and Jesi had to be somewhat assertive if people tried to walk in without paying. They had to take money and make change. New experiences for them, and they did great. Plus, they were so darn charming! Way to go, girls:)
Xander loved helping people, although he was uncharacteristically quiet to begin with. Usually we can't keep Xander's exuberant spirit and constant desire to share his thoughts with everyone around him in check ;). But standing at the concessions window, you could barely hear a word he said to people. By the end of our shift he had gotten his confidence back and he did great. He served up chips and candy and drinks and hot dogs and popcorn. Way to go, Xander!
The undisputed highlight of the night came in the varsity basketball game. Taylor and Parker both started against Waterford, the 4th-ranked team in the state. One of our best players was injured, so we felt nervous as we were already a bit hampered against such a good team. But our team really showed hear! We went up be double digits early in the game and led all through the first half. Just after halftime, another of our starters was injured and had to leave. Waterford started to catch up, and through the 3rd and 4th quarters we traded the lead back and forth. We were up by three with 1.7 seconds left, but one of our players fouled as Waterford was shooting a 3-point shot. The Waterford player made all three free throws to send it to overtime. Taylor hit the first basket of overtime, a 3-pointer! We went on to win 60-55 in a game that was tight the entire way. Yay!!!
Our boys combined for half of our 60 points! Taylor had 9 and Parker had 21. Parker went 4 for 5 from three and 5 for 5 free throws. Taylor had several rebounds and a couple of steals. What a night! To top it off, both boys had several girl from three different high schools there cheering them on, including the two fantastic girls below. Not a bad night to shine :) Way to go, boys!
Basketball seasons are full of hard work and travel, ups and downs. But nights like Monday night are the best. So glad our sons put in the effort to make them possible.
-Jer
