Great Lacrosse Tricks

Boy's got mad lacrosse stick skills! Check him out!

The Quest for Cherry Pie.

We loaded up last week and took to the skies headed for Traverse City, Michigan to let our Little Men play in the Cherry Bomb Lacrosse Tournament.

Jackson plays on a newly formed team called, Sentry Lacrosse and the coach wanted the boys to experience a traveling tournament and to expand their view of lacrosse outside of our bubble.

Although we had more than a bit of trouble getting there (that was a whole blog post in and of itself), once we arrived it was worth it.

THURSDAY:

Having never been to Michigan, we arrived a day early to explore the area.  Since Delta Airlines screwed up our flights, we abandoned our original idea to make a day trip to Mackinaw Island and instead, drove over to the Sleeping Bear Dunes.

It lived up to it's cool name. We went to the official Dune Climb which is basically the world's biggest sand box. The dunes are several hundred feet high and the boys had a great time seeing how fast they could run all the way up to the top and then who could roll or run down the fastest.

Look how high this thing is! I made it half way up and about hyperventilated.  My BFF, Venus (code name) was smarter and stayed at the bottom of the dune to take pictures.

After several runs up and down, the Jackson and E.T. were hot, tired and sandy and ready for some relief. We loaded up and drove about 15 minutes to a lovely beach called Glen Lake Beach, where the little guys high-tailed it for the cool water.

I've never been to a lake like the ones in Michigan. At Glen Lake Beach, you can see that it was lined with polished rocks of all sizes. And there were tides and waves - in a lake - bizarre.

The boys (and grown-ups) had a great time looking for cool rocks with interesting colors and holes and shapes.

I brought back a bagful and gave my fish, Harold, a new look for his tank. Now, every time I look at him swimming around those rocks, it will remind me of our trip.

The boys did what little boys do... 

They dug in the sand and made sand forts, then threw rocks at them and destroyed them. Then they buried each other in the sand.  

Then they swam around to get all the sand off of them and had contests to see who could dive to the bottom of the lake and hold their breath the longest...

All the usual fun lake stuff.

We stayed on the beach for a few hours and then headed back to Traverse City. 

Of course, we had to stop for a snack. 

FRIDAY:

First day of the tournament and it was beautiful and sunny. The fields were located at the bottom of a ridge so we were surrounded by hills and trees, it was very pretty.

We played 2 games. Lost the first one but won the second one. Spirits were high.

Jackson defends the goal.

SATURDAY:

We woke up to rain but were informed by our Coach that real lacrosse players only quit when there's lightening. The tournament must go on!

So, we found a Walgreen's, bought some umbrellas and stood in the rain all day while they played their hearts out.  The things we parents do - I tell ya.

Sentry played three games: lost, won, lost.  So, we ended up winning two games and losing three. But the boys didn't seem to mind too much.  

That night, we had a team dinner at this fun restaurant called the Blue Tractor. The boys played pool and fuse ball.

So, you're probably wondering how the title of this blog post has anything at all to do with this trip...

Michigan is supposed to be known for its cherries - right?! So the whole trip, Venus and I were on the prowl for a slice of delicious cherry pie.  Preferably with ice cream on top.  But at every restaurant we went to NO ONE had it on the menu. After 5 days and no pie, we have come to the conclusion that Michigan has created a myth and they don't really grow cherries there. Because if they did, there would have been pie.

Overall, everyone had a fabulous time, the boys got to buy the official Cherry Bomb T-shirt and shorts to prove they were there and they got to eat a lot of hamburgers and ice-cream.  

All is good in their little worlds.  And in ours.

Sentry Lacrosse Team

Players include (not pictured in this order): Ben Borus, Cole Duffy, Gordon Guest, Finn Jent, John Lancaster, Sean Maguire, Elliot Nelson, Griffin Perotti, Jake Pool, Sam Ratchford, Alex Rose, Wilson Sands, Jay Smith and Jackson Smoot.

The Amazing Lacrosse Talents of Jackson!

Ladies and Gentlemen....

Get ready to be amazed by the lacrosse talents of this young man!

He twirls! He throws!  He scoops!  And with such style.
Note how the ball never leaves the net!

You've never seen such skill and cunning with a lacrosse ball and stick.

La-La-La-Lacrosse

It was so BITTERLY cold this morning. Oh, I know, these pictures look deceiving. The sun is out and it looks like a beautiful day. But it was about 10 degrees with the wind whipping. (At least that's what it felt like.) and it took every Motherly fiber in my being to make myself stand out there and watch this game. Actually, truth be told, I spent the last 20 minutes watching from inside the car.

Lacrosse season is officially under way and we started out with a victory of 8 to 1.

Little Man is number 16.

The good news is that in spite of me hating every frigid second I was out there, Little Man had a great time playing and was happy with his performance and the team's win. Now, I'm off to let Daniel work his magic on my tresses. More on that later.

Lacrosse Victory for the Blue Jays!

I was so proud of Little Man this past Sunday. He has worked so hard to learn this new game of Lacrosse. He had a couple of really good moments in the game this week. In the video clips and photo below, Little Man is in the white jersey (#19). White helmet with the red bill.

In this clip, you'll see Little Man on the left of the screen (#19). A team member throws him the ball and he catches it and tries to score a goal. He over-shoots - but it was a valiant effort!

This clip was his beast team effort of the day. He really gets in there and tries to make something happen. I'm so proud of his efforts!

About this blog: What is Oh So Cynthia? It’s a Mom Blog about life in Dallas. You can call me a Mommy Blogger, but I prefer Social Media Mommy.  Posts on this blog reflect the experiences of my life in Dallas and Park Cities, product reviews and my thoughts on parenting boy in this hi-tech, fast-paced world. 

Lacrosse Lament

Little Man won his first Lacrosse game Sunday 5-0.

So, here's the deal. We went to a "leveling session" before the season started where they were supposed to asses your skills and put A-B-C players onto all the teams to make them equal. That's not exactly how it turned out. The team we ended up on has (out of 17 players) thirteen 4th graders. 8 or 9 of whom have played together for three seasons. This is his first time to ever play the game.



Little Man got out there and it was like a JV Football player going out on a team with T.O. and Romo. To say he was out of his league was an understatement. BUT, I am hopeful that his being on a team with talented players will make him learn the game quicker and he will rise to the occasion. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't get frustrated because he can't perform at most of the others players level. Say a prayer.

He did get frustrated several times on the field today. But at the end of the game, he said he had "a lot of fun". (Sigh of relief)

Little Man is #19 in the white jersey

About this blog: What is Oh So Cynthia? It’s a Mom Blog about life in Dallas. You can call me a Mommy Blogger, but I prefer Social Media Mommy.  Posts on this blog reflect the experiences of my life in Dallas and Park Cities, product reviews and my thoughts on parenting boy in this hi-tech, fast-paced world. 

Check 'em!

I think that's Lacrosse smack talk. We're new to this game, so it's gonna take me a while to get it figured out. There's lots of new terminology and rules to learn. Little Man had his first practice tonight. He's on a team with 3d and 4th graders from different elementary schools, so I think this will be fun. Meet some new people.

Our first game is this Sunday. Gads! One practice and away we go!!!


 

About this blog: What is Oh So Cynthia? It’s a Mom Blog about life in Dallas. You can call me a Mommy Blogger, but I prefer Social Media Mommy. Posts on this blog reflect the experiences of my life in Dallas and Park Cities, product reviews and my thoughts on parenting boy in this hi-tech, fast-paced world.