Hoop Dreams (or white man can't jump)

Basketball - it is the the latest sport Tyler has decided to try. One of Melissa's friends recommended a great program for kids called "Upward Bound". The program focuses on fundamentals, sportsmanship, and competitiveness. The whole thing is done really well, including nice jersey's and shorts, intros with music and smoke machine, and even cheerleaders (which distracts Tyler at times).

Each week, Ty has one practice and one game. Melissa and I have been spending some time at the gym with him working on the basics as well. Ty does well in practices, and does very good job of listening to coaches. But come game time, he gets so excited he something forgets what he has learned. His enthusiasm has been fun to watch. It reminds me of what we forget too often - that sports, especially kids' sports, are about learning and having fun.

Ty loves to practice, and Melissa has been working with him at our gym whenever she can. Dave even made it one day this week. Melissa, Ellie and Tyler all ganged up on Dave for a scrimage. Anyone that has seen Dave play basketball knows how unfair that is....for him.

This week was probably the first week we have seen Ty put it all together. He played good defense (making a couple of steals), dribbled and passed well, and even took a couple of shots. Of course, Melissa is taking credit for all the extra practice time she has put in with Ty.

Ellie's Dance Class

Okay, I am finally getting around to posting about Ellie's Dance class. Sorry this has taken me so long. My only excuse is that it took a while to learn how to edit movies files from Melissa's camera. The camera saves movies in Apple's *.mov format, and our home computer prefers Windows *wmv or *.avi format. Mr. Jobs and Mr. Gates don't play very nice together. Anyway, you aren't here for my complaining.

Before you look at the videos & pictures, I should explain why they look the way they do. The parents have to sit outside the classroom, watching through a large window that has open blinds on it. Those hozizontal lines you see aren't my fingers, it' s the blinds. You can pick out Ellie is by her black leotard.

To see the first video, click here or on the picture. As Ellie dances across the floor, she looks out the window and sees Mommy and Tyler. So what does she do? Click to see.

To view the second video, click here or on the picture of Ellie in her ballerina pose . It is great fun to watch her in class. She listens so attentively to what the teaching is saying. I wish she would listen to us half as well! Every Friday, she is so excited for dance class that she gets dress in her leotard as soon as she is done with breakfast. Of course, her dance class doesn't start until noon !!

The last video shows how enthusiastic she is. The girls are asked to spin around. To see what happens to Ellie when she spins too much, click here or on the last picture below.