Life, One Crazy Day at a Time: A Busy Winter

We have entered the stage in life where our lives are directed by our children's schedules. In actuality this has been happening for a while, for several months at least, maybe longer than a year. What we do with our free time, whether it is in the evening or on the weekends, depends entirely on what the girls have going on. I've always tried to limit how many activities they are involved in, because I think it is important for them (and me) to have unstructured time to just hang out or do whatever the spirit guides us to do. This winter I feel like we haven't had enough unstructured time, that we've been stretched a little thin with the addition of girls basketball to our schedule, which already has piano and horseback riding every week, and Girl Scouts twice a month. I love basketball, but it has meant one additional night out of the house at practice or a game for Elise, and sometimes half the day on Saturday with one or both of them practicing or having a game. I'm very glad they are participating, they have learned their bodies can do really cool things, have learned to communicate and play with a team, and have continued to build their self-confidence. I think the key is making sure all the positives of participating are not wiped out by any of the negatives that come with overscheduling, and that means trying to decrease activity in other areas so we make sure we still get sufficient down time at home. Sometimes we have been successful at that, and other times not. Our typical weekend this winter has been basketball on Saturday and horseback riding on Sunday. Both basketball and riding are a ton of fun to watch, but it has been a little tiring at times. This weekend marks the end of our basketball season, and I am looking forward to having a little more free time!

Basketball

Anja has finished up her basketball season.

Elise at her last game.

She is taking a shot!

I think she looks so awesome.

Coming in after the freethrow.

At last week's game (which I couldn't get to), Elise made two baskets. At her latest game, she took a couple of shots, one of which you can see here.

Horseback Riding

Almost every Sunday we spend a good portion of the day at a horse barn where the girls are taking lessons, learning about how to care for a horse and how to ride. For most of the winter we have had good weather and it has been a lovely way to spend Sunday afternoons, outside and surrounded by horses.

The girls started riding in October, and Elise has been riding nearly every week and is really progressing. She is walking and trotting, posting at the trot, and riding in two-point position (she needs to learn this before she can learn to jump). On her next lesson she may canter, which she is super excited about! Since October, Anja has had a couple of lessons, but since then she has been more interested in just petting the horses, helping Kelly, the stable hand, or playing with the owner's children and their dogs. Recently, the riding instructor asked Anja if she just wanted to get on a horse and walk around and she said "sure." At first, Elise walked her around, then Anja was on her own. She did great!