Rylee decided to join Lacrosse this year and when she first told me that she wanted to I was immediately supportive of the idea. I think being a part of a team is so good for kids, it teaches them teamwork, how to get along with others, how to work together for a common goal, how to deal with disappointment, just to name a few. Also it gives them daily exercise which is so good and healthy and it keeps them out of trouble because they are so busy with practice, school and homework there is not any time for anything else.
Rylee's friend Avery did lacrosse last year and has been talking to Rylee about it and was very encouraging of Rylee to sign up. I am pretty sure the big draw for Rylee was they did not have enough girls for a JV and Varsity team so they did not have tryouts, Rylee did not have to worry about being cut and she automatically got to be on Varsity. Win!
Rylee has practice every day after school and it is cold. Every time I pick her up from practice she is pretty chilled most especially her hands because they do not wear gloves. I keep thinking that she is going to start complaining and not want to go to practice anymore but she is always positive and says how much fun she is having, I love it! Rylee has been searching for an after school activity for a while and I am so glad she finally found something that she is really enjoying.
Saturday the girls had jamboree at Owyhee which is a beginning of the season kind of pick up game. they were supposed to play two half games against two different teams but ended up playing only one. I think because an other school was supposed to also host but cancelled so they had to move all games to Owyhee and rearrange the schedule. I was happy that Owyhee only did one game because it was so cold and windy and as much as I loved watching Rylee I did not like sitting out in that weather.
Rylee is number 7 and there is a. story behind her having that number. When it came time to choose numbers the coaches brought out all the Lacrosse team backpacks and each one had a number on it with a corresponding numbered uniform in two sizes inside. The higher the numbers the bigger the uniform I believe. So a number 22 would have two sizes L and XL whereas a number 1 would have XS and S, and the girl can wear the one that fits her best. They went in order of seniority with who got to pick and when it came to Rylee she ws super happy to be able to pick number 5 which gave her the choice between a S and a M with her wanting and needing the S. One of her teammates who is a lot smaller then Rylee got the number 7 backpack which had a M and a L and Rylee knew that would not work for her and told her she would trade numbers so the girl could have the smaller size. When Rylee told me this story it warmed my heart so much that she would think about the needs of someone else over her own. The Medium does not fit Rylee perfectly a small would have been the best but Rylee was so sweet and was willing to trade to help someone else and that is exactly how I would want her to be, she made my mama heart so proud, I just love her.
I loved watching Rylee play, she is a defender and did a really great job holding her position. I did not understand most of what was going on but I was so happy to be able to cheer Rylee on. I am looking forward to watching her play and improve this season!
Later that night Kefford and I went with Kyle Lyons to the State Basketball game, spoiler alert...Meridian did not win. I feel like the anticipation with reading it and hoping for the win only to find out at the very end they lost is just too much for my blog.
We picked up Kyle on our way to the game and Jeni had some seats saved that were good enough. They were not close to the court and we were not going to get better then that so we were happy with what they had. The 4A game was playing as we got there and I wanted to try to save some seats for Amy and Diana and their families so as the game ended we moved down a couple of rows where there were more seats for my friends.
Meridian played Lake City who we beat in the championship game two years ago, this time they outplayed us and were just better and deserved their win. Meridian fought hard but just couldn't get it together and that's ok, probably not to our players and that's ok also. I thought it was so cool that they made it to this point in the first place. I just kept thinking how a week ago they had to travel to Grangeville just to earn a spot in the playoffs bracket and here we were in the State Championship game, it was just crazy to me.
I was trying to get a picture of Kefford and I and you can see Kyle's head is blurry because he real quick got in the shot, the second picture is Kefford and Kyle laughing about what he did.
This was the last time Avynlea will cheer for High School. I am so grateful that she got to have these last games to cheer at and that they were so exciting and fun. I have loved watching her cheer and supporting her and am a little sad it is ending.
