our little W I L D C A T

Caden and Justin both have their games on Saturdays. Caden missed his first game since we had to hit the road for Conway to watch Justin play. He was ok with it, but super excited to be able to play his first game this last weekend.

They had the announcer, real refs, music and cheerleaders.

They lost, but he is in his element. I look at him and think he's waited his whole life for his own games. He's such a little leader. LOVES this game.

Y E A H... first day of school

6:00 came early. However, this day did not come too soon! With an extended summer {getting out of school in Germany the end of April} this mom and dad are enjoying the silence this morning!

We are experiencing not only a lot of change at this transition in our lives, but also many firsts.
The first full summer Jim has been home to see the craziness behind what makes a summer.
Today, he is experiencing for the first time the excitement of sending kids to school.

That sigh of relief knowing that for the next nine hours, messes will not be made!

As every parent does- we love our boys. They just need to be in school. We think they are in for a fantastic year.

While registering them their new principal gave a tour of the one-level grade school.
She also placed them with what seem to be wonderful teachers- ready to take them on.

What a contrast from Germany. There are six classrooms in each level rather than eighteen or more.
They will have PE three times a week.

Caden gets two recesses a day.
There is no Spanish or German.

Rather than having 55 school busses, rural route 3 picked them up in our driveway.

No more smoking or cell-phone talking German bus drivers. I think Caden is most happy to be done with them.

It is pretty special to have our first-day-of-school pictures back on our front porch.

Caden thought it would be his first picture since he started school in Germany. Actually, he used to hang with the big guys when they had their first days...

eight is G R E A T for C A D E N

Caden turned eight last week.
I went to have lunch with him on his birthday and overheard this conversation {out of the blue} between Caden and his buddy.

Caden: "What's your favorite college football team, Dominic?"
Dominic: "I don't know..."
Caden: "No, really- just pick one."
Dominic: "OK, Florida."
Caden: "Do you know any players on Florida's team?"
Dominic: "No."
Caden: "You don't know any and it's your favorite team?"

He was being a little pushy... I felt the need to insert myself into the conversation.

So, I asked Caden to tell me his favorite team and name some players. I should have known his answer, but instead it caught me off guard.

Caden: "Highland Scotties is definitely my favorite team and I know Justin Dickey, {and a few other players he rattled off}..."

The boy loves his brother. His friend stood no chance. Imagine the surprise on his face when he received his birthday package from Justin. Justin bought a football and took it on the bus on his last road trip so his team could sign it for Caden.

A football signed by his very favorite football team. Wow. I think he slept with it for the first few days. The rest of his birthday was low-key but nice as well. Bowling with the family, cheesecake, Hawaiian haystacks. He also loves his new Chargers hoody from his Aunt Starr and Uncle Mac and the cards/money from Granny, G'pa & G'ma and Grandma and Grandma Dickey. So much love.

Our baby is growing up.

saw a G U M expert

I started substitute teaching again last week.
I really enjoy teaching- the kids are great, our school is the best and the flexibility is perfect.

As a sub, sometimes you know in advance when you are needed to fill in for a teacher.

From February until the end of school last year, I didn't have to wait for that call since I was a permanent sub in the same classroom.

Most of the time, that phone rings somewhere between 5:30 and 7:00am asking if I'm are available.

This morning, I did not get a call to teach.
After working the last four days, I was excited for a catch-up day.

I immediately started planning my tasks and figuring out all of the {million} things I was going to accomplish.

Blogging was where I planned to begin, just to help me wake up and get going.

Then, ten minutes after sending Coleman to the train station {with friends} for a field trip and Caden to the bus the phone rang.
It was the dental clinic and I had completely blown off an appointment that took two months to get Caden in with the pediatric dentist.

YIKES! {Not the first word that came to my mind on the phone to the tech who called...}

I told them I would be there in thirty minutes- could I please, please, please get him in. He agreed. I dressed in five minutes and raced out the door to fight the 58 school busses and 1000 kids to get to Caden before school started.

The appointment today was to fix his broken tooth and to x-ray/examine the tooth he pushed up from the slide back in July.

Instead, it was a variety of doctors pushing, tapping and poking on our sweet, brave boy.

The pediatric dentist pulled in a gum specialist {who knew there was such thing as a gum specialist?}, orthodontist and consulted with a root/endo specialist who we will see tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it is not moving down as the dentist/oral surgeon initially thought.
He might be writing a new text book for the pediatric dental profession.

The ideas of gum or bone graphs, pulling the tooth, braces, root canals and other more technical terms and procedures were mentioned from worst-case scenario to simple possibilities.
They took lots of pictures and impressions {gag} in which Caden sat like an angel not moving a muscle.

Dr. Kersey said as we left, "Caden- you're my hero. I want to be just like you when I grow up."

He is the same doctor who saw Caden straight from the pool the day he hurt it and the same doctor who consulted us when Caden fractured his jaw. He knows our little guy is tough.

For now, we'll wait to see what they want to do.
Root regeneration is a good possibility as well- before or after orthodontics, we will find out.

It's sometimes frustrating being seen on base by military doctors. I feel so grateful for this crew of doctors who have taken care and continue to take care of our little tough guy.

 As I left the clinic today {a bit rattled not knowing what is ahead}, I was more overcome with a gratitude for the competence and compassion we experienced in Dr. Kersey, Dr. Speier, the techs and others in the dental clinic here who have also given great care to our big guys.

All that after showing up late.
It was a good day to skip school, so we did.

Y E A H ... school is in session

Maybe things can calm down now.... maybe...

Ty started college last week.
So grown up.

Well, too grown up except his mama still has to drop him off and pick him up from school every day.
Oh, well.
I think he'll survive.
The downside of living in Europe.

a day in the life of a T O U G H guy

It was just another day in the life of Caden.
Without a doubt, he is our little tough guy. We are constantly reminded of this truth.

Here were some stitches and another crash and a little {major} fracture here. A few more tears and blood are here. Have I made my point?

We knew when he was two and we made our first trip to the ER {when he split open his nose} that there were many more ER trips in his future.

Yesterday was another one of those trips.

We had just arrived at the swimming pool. Mieseau- our favorite outdoor pool. Within fifteen minutes of arriving at the pool, I looked up to see Caden in Ty's arms covered in blood.

He and Ty went down the slide at the same time. Caden said he was on his knee and with a little extra push from Ty, we think he flipped over and hit his mouth on the slide.

Ty said even with the water, crowd and kids everywhere he heard the bang and knew that he was hurt.

There were little pieces of the red fiberglass from the slide on Caden's neck and towel from the crash.

Seriously, he took chunks out of the slide. What seven-year-old does that?

I jumped up off my towel and in an attempt to remain calm started wiping the blood off to see where the source was. I realized it was his mouth, but was not prepared for how gruesome it would look. This photo is with all of the blood wiped up.... much better looking.
He said he hit his tooth on the slide. As soon as he made it down the slide, he looked over at Ty and said, "Ty, my tooth."
He definitely hurt both front teeth. Both front permanent teeth.

At a glance {without looking too closely since I had to hold it together and figure out how to get to the hospital from where we were}, his right tooth looked as though he chipped about half of it at a diagonal angle.

His left tooth looked gone and the hole where the tooth was seemed huge. The amount of blood coming out was huge.

I told the other kids to gather their things and head to the car. Ty was amazing and carried Caden.

I ran to the German lifeguards to ask for some ice. Even speaking in German, they thought I was CRAZY. There is little to no ice in Germany. Not for your drink, not for an injury.

I finally got them to give me a plastic bag and luckily had ice in our cooler to make an ice pack.

After finding the address in the GPS, we were on our way- just 15 minutes to Landstuhl and the ER. En route, I had Ty texting Jim to have him meet us there.

I had our friend texting her mom to meet us there as well {she took the other kids home and Ty to work later}. I knew we would be a while.

Both Jim and Heidi were at there shortly after we arrived. Luckily, Jim was in a class and he had arrived home from work as soon as Ty called.

We are reminded once again {especially being here in Germany} how important our good friends are to us. We are so grateful.

After a while at the ER with the doctor not sure what to do, it was decided we would go to the dental clinic.

They gave him some Tylenol and Motrin and we were on our way.

I am so grateful we happen to know one of the doctors in the dental clinic. She worked on Justin and Ty's teeth. Her husband coached them both in football.

It's not often that I use the phone-a-friend card, but we wanted to make sure there would be someone in the clinic.

The ER doctor told us they couldn't get anyone to answer the phone at the dental clinic which worried us. Little did we know- we was calling the on-call phone at 3:00 in the afternoon instead of calling the clinic DIRECTLY since it was open. Ugh.

As we left the emergency room, I received a comforting call on my cell that our friend had called the dental clinic doctor and let them know we were on our way.

She also gave the general dentist a head's up that he needed to keep the oral surgeon and pediatric dentist there so they could check him out as well.

Just knowing she and her husband both took the time out to make the calls for us meant a lot and calmed my nerves.

As soon as we arrived {a 15-minute drive from the ER}, they were ready for him. The pediatric dentist was the first to open his mouth and knew immediately that his tooth was still there. Jammed and twisted, it wasn't knocked out.

The body is amazing.

The doctors agreed that this was a good injury. Caden would be alright. In time, they expect his tooth to come down and straighten itself out. His gums should close up as well. At the worst, they think he might need a little orthodontic help on that one tooth to straighten it out.

They spent a while covering up the cracked tooth to seal the nerve and reduce his pain. We will have to get that tooth fixed as well.

As if we were not amazed enough- the most amazing part of the whole experience was Caden.

He did not shed a single tear. No crying what-so-ever.

When they asked his pain level on a 1-10 scale, he said about a 3. Of course, he was clinching his fists and grimacing as the van hit each bump on the way to the hospital.

Then, he told them when he fractured his jaw the pain was about a 4. We decided his pain scale is a 1-5 instead of a 1-10.

The doctors {all 4 that he saw} were beyond AMAZED at our little tough guy.
We heard no fewer than a dozen times how shocked they were with him holding himself together.

We are excited to see how long this little tooth takes to drop back down.

T H U N D E R S N O W ?

We think Kansas weather is C R A Z Y!
German weather is proving to be just as W A C K Y!

Last year, we had NO snow. Maybe a flake but not enough to have to pick up the shovel.

A couple weeks ago, we had pouring rain, pouring snow {if you can imagine what that looks like}, then thunder and lightening on top of it. C R A Z Y.

Snow usually falls softly. Light and slow. Not this snow. Pouring out of the sky at the speed of a thunderstorm, the whole sky was white with snow. In the background, you could see the flashes of lightening.

Taken Friday morning as we were digging our way out

There is actually a name for it: Thundersnow.  It is also known as a winter thunderstorm or a thunder snowstorm. It is an extremely rare kind of thunderstorm with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain.

It happened not once but twice in one day. During school, we received two or three inches of snow in approximately 30 minutes. It was something I have NEVER seen before. Listening to the thunder in the background made it even more exciting.

I was teaching first grade that day, so we stopped what we were doing, turned off the lights and watched Mother Nature's show out the window.
Friday night it picked up snowing again. Waking up to maybe four or five inches of fresh snow on the ground, we received the notice that there was a two-hour delay to start school. They just push everything back two hours.

It is the next best thing to a real snow day where school is cancelled!

By the afternoon, it was raining. Within twenty four hours, there was hardly a patch of snow left on the ground.

Taken 24 hous later on Saturday morning

It is fun, but I am SO ready for Spring. Ready for my tulips to show their faces.
Anyone else with me?

W O R L D cup ski jumping

I'm SO happy for the fun we had during our winter break.

If you are going to live in Europe, you have to travel.

That’s all there is to it. It’s a trade-off being so far from family in the states and makes it worth being over here.

We are absolutely amazed each time we visit a new place.

This time with Justin home and the boys out of school, we planned another trip to one of our favorite spots: Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian region of southern Germany. 
 

Staying at the military resort, it is the most central, most convenient spot. With a small base, we can shop at the commissary and get our rationed gas {saving a ton of money}. 

As a bonus, we always seem to meet up with friends staying there at the same time. It makes it so much fun for the kids to hang with their friends.

 About the only thing we do the same each time we visit Edelweiss is the hot tub and pool. There are so many things to do that our day trips and sightseeing is different every single time. 

 

For this three-night, four-day trip the survey of favorites ended up as follows:

Jim: Italy/Ötzi
Sheila: World Cup Ski Jumping
Justin: Italy
Ty: Olympic Arena Ice Skating {duplicate from a trip last year}
Coleman: Ötzi
Caden: Olympic Arena Ice Skating

I think it is super important when trip planning {especially with kids} to balance the busy with the relaxed. It is tempting to plan an agenda getting up at the crack of dawn every day to get as much in as possible.

 

This time around, it was nice to sleep in a little. It was nice to watch movies at night. Other than our four-hour drive down to Garmisch, it was nice to stay within a two-and-a-half hour drive radius of our hotel. Needless to say, we still saw a lot.  

Day One was my favorite hands down.

 

We drove straight to the hotel, parked and called a taxi to take us to the venue. With 30,000 people attending, we decided not to try to find a parking space.

The Germans were so excited. I loved the energy in the air. They were especially excited when their German competitors were up to jump. They started singing and waving their flags. It was great. The jumpers were amazing- even from a distance to see them take off and go so far was incredible.

It was cold.

It was even a little crowded.

The boys were a little bored, but did alright. They were much better with a hot cider in their hands and German kuchen in their mouths. It was fun to have our friends Randy, Michelle and Ryan to hang out with too.

The taxi let us know where he would pick us up in an attempt to avoid some traffic.

We called him and what was supposed to be a 15-minute wait turned into an hour. The boys might have liked my plan a little better had we not froze waiting for the taxi.

Oh, well.
 

It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing that we can check off our list. No regrets, right? 

Check out this brotherly love- melts my heart.

he's H O M E

And three weeks starts N O W.

He made it home without a hitch.

To have him text me from DC that he was eating chicken nuggets, french fries and a baconator was music to my ears.

A flight running early from Kansas City to DC, then to get out on time from DC to Frankfurt is how you're supposed to fly!

No mechanicals. No delays. No getting sick.

We are so excited to have him home.
So excited to relax and to play.

Caden woke up at 5:30 to go to the airport with us. Of course, they were both wearing shorts.

As soon as we got home, Justin took a shower. Caden quickly changed clothes to match his brother.  Notice the sandals. Notice the orange. Notice the white shorts. We just turn around and notice they match. He's always done this. It's all Caden.

Twins. Caden can't get his hands off him.

They're getting ready to play basketball now. We should all sleep well tonight.

S C H N E E {snow}

Happy December!

I was just commenting that for me, it doesn't seem like Christmas without snow.

December seems to sneak up on me when the ground is still brown and the grass remains green. Pansies having recently been planted in our village really throws me off.

I'm not sure what I'll do if we ever get moved to San Diego or Texas where the sun is still shining.

That doesn't necessarily mean I miss the snow.

I just think that after living most of my life in a state that snow is a definite, I am programmed to associate snow and the holidays. It is pretty. I just prefer not to drive in it, or shovel it or scrape windows.

I'm happy for two little guys who are eager and excited to get out and shovel the {less than one inch} trace of snow we received last night.

I'm sure it would be a different story if we were in Alaska and shoveling was a chore.
A really different story.

It's never a question of if it is going to snow in Alaska, but how much snow are we going to get.

In Kansas and here in Germany, there are winters where there is snow and others {last year for us} that not a flake falls. It's a dark yet mild winter in Deutschland.

Rain just doesn't trigger the thought that I better get out and start shopping or baking.
Maybe now, I'll get into the holiday spirit.

This is the view we woke up to this morning.

These scenic pictures were not changed to black and white. At 9:00am, my camera on auto needed the flash to get enough light. If you look closely, you can see the brown or the green on the fir.

It is the grey of Germany.

The grey of winter.

Happy December!

a little R A C Q U E T B A L L ?

Jim has been studying like crazy.
He tests for his job next week.
We are also at the end of two very difficult classes.

Throw a little work in there and it hasn't been too much fun around our house.

We can't wait until it is over.

We're ready to play.
We're ready to travel.

We're really ready for Justin to come home so we can hit some Christmas markets.

Last weekend, we took Coleman and Caden to the gym for a little racquetball. They loved it and woke up begging to play every morning of their long weekend. Three days in a row and they still didn't get enough.

So much fun. We even wore the goggles. Aren't we cute? It's all about the memories.

T R I C K on our 7-year old Caden

It was the best birthday, ever.

For me, at least.

We skipped the party and Caden didn't even seem to mind. Seriously, I'm about the worst birthday-party mom. They're just not enjoyable in the least for me.

I love making their favorite dinner. I love setting the table. I love seeing them a year older. I even love taking cupcakes to their classes. I don't love throwing parties with tons of screaming kids.

Maybe I'm just a bad party-planner and can't justify spending hundreds of dollars to take them somewhere cool.

Dinner for our little seven-year old was Hawaiian Haystacks (rice with chicken/gravy and toppings including cheese, mandarin oranges, chow mein noodles, celery, tomato) and artichokes. Fresh artichokes, not the kind out of a jar or in a dip.

Dessert: homemade cheesecake. He likes what he likes. I think that's been the same menu for him three years in a row.

He was happy. I was happy.

The only things he asked for were white football pants for away games, of course. He is a Highland Scottie, you know? And, he wanted a hill bike. Not a mountain bike, a hill bike.

We get these little Caden-isms every day. He's so funny, I just hope we don't forget them.

We had a couple friends over including Ty's girlfriend {aka Caden's girlfriend} for dinner, cake and gifts. After opening his birthday presents and cards and receiving money from grandparents and his aunt/uncle we joked with him that maybe now he would have enough for his hill bike.

Of course, we had already bought it and had it hidden in the laundry room. We told Caden to go feed Lady so he'd walk right into it.

He was surprised. Makes life fun.

It's huge, but he loves it. Crazy kid.

Justin's final football game of the season is Sunday this weekend, not Saturday, not Monday. They play Independence at Independence. I'll get the link up tomorrow.

Ty's Ramstein Royals start semi-final play today at home.
Super Six finals are next weekend for him. After they win today, of course.

little # 8 2

Saturday re-cap:

It was a great game for Ty. Ramstein beat Patch 27-0 improving their record to 3-0.

Ty had a nice reception which made him very happy. It's frustrating for receivers who rarely get the ball thrown to them.

Justin had a rough game which resulted in another loss for the Scotties. At the end of the game, two of the Hutch coaches were thrown out of the game.

Not long afterwards, a Highland player was thrown out as well.

The commentators said moments before being evicted he was complaining about being punched in the neck.

On a side note, the commentators drove me CRAZY. I think the one guy was the worst on-air radio voice I've ever listened to.

We tallied no fewer than eighty four {84} times that he cleared his voice. It was horrible.

Justin said they were the most disrespectful team. I'm glad these last two games are behind them.

As soon as we got home from Ty's game, Caden decided it was time for his game.

Saving all of his birthday and Christmas money last year, he bought his own {$65} helmet. It was silver. He wanted it to be navy like Justin's.

Of course he wanted it navy. Justin's is navy.
So, he decided to use a Sharpie and colored the entire thing. Ugh. I wasn't happy.

What do you do?

He even colored a yellow Highland H on the sides. I think he used a highlighter for that. Creative, we'll give him that.

We put vinyl on it to help a little. Not sure it helped much.

He also insisted on putting his number {82} and DICKEY on his mesh jersey. He is our little Justin.

Silly boy loves his big brother more than anything.
I forgot to ask if he won his game or not.

C A D E N the six-year old

We're think we might just be those parents.

Maybe.


he might be a little big for his age...

You know, the ones who think sports and competition are kind of a big deal? I wish I wasn't, but I'm pretty sure I'd be lying if I said we weren't.

I'm not the mom who's screaming on the sidelines {however Jim has been known to turn some heads during t-ball a few years back}, but we like them to not only do good but stand out. Winning is good, too.

We started the boys in sports when they were little. Justin always wanted to play hockey. I thought it was too expensive and didn't do it. Instead, they tried out t-ball, soccer and ended up playing football kind of against my wishes. I always wanted a baseball or basketball player.

Now, you'd never know it by the way I can't stop talking about football.
I know it's bad.

When we moved to Ramstein, we really thought the sports would be at a much higher level. It's not and I think a lot of other parents thought I was the crazy one placing too much emphasis on sports.

I couldn't believe they didn't have a weight-training class. Only six regular-season games? Seriously?
School should be for academics, right?

At Ramstein, academics are definitely the focus which is good. Really good. I just think sports are huge too especially when you have kids who need that outlet and have a passion for sports.

For both basketball and t-ball this last year, we played Caden up a level. It was more out of convenience than to make him better. We were coaching basketball, so it worked to have him on our team of 7-8 year olds. He had just turned six, but managed to hold his own.

With his broken jaw, he missed his t-ball season, but was able to jump in for the last few games on Coleman's coach-pitch team due to the fact that our friend was the coach and didn't mind. Again, he held his own and worked really hard being the youngest one on the team.

For soccer this season, we debated putting him on a 7-8 year old team again, but I opted to let him play with the 5-6 year olds. That is his age group. We thought it would be good for his esteem to stand out a little.

This weekend was Caden's first game. He's not too excited they're purple {his coach has a girl, think that has anything to do with the color choice?} and was upset that they lost.

On the plus side, he did score all four of his team's goals. I'm wondering how long it takes for someone to ask to see a birth certificate. I think he might be a little big for his age, too.

He's so intense. He's so competitive. Even if he has to wear purple.
He's kinda like his brother.

DICKEY cool S O N G S

Not long ago, we found a treasure.

A few years ago, Justin had burned a CD of his favorite songs and it turned up.

The best part of it wasn't the songs he had selected but, his writing on the disc.

Justin's Dickey cool songs.

How funny is that?
How sweet is that?

I'm pretty sure it was middle-school {ish} when he made it. Now, it stays in the CD player in the van most of the time as the littles love it.

A few weeks ago, while going to to pool Caden wanted me to put on Justin's cool songs. As his favorite song came on, he got a little sad and said, "I miss Justin taking us to the pool. He used to crank this song."

To Caden, it's a pump-up football song.
It's also memories of time spent with his big brother.

I can just picture them both now playing it full-blast, bopping up and down in the van while mouthing the words and moving their heads.

I turned it up but it obviously wasn't quite as cool or as cranked as Justin did it and he let me know.

This weekend, the idea of making a CD somehow came up. Caden was determined to make his own CD.

After spending a LONG time going through the music on iTunes {most of it songs Justin has purchased through the years}, he had his perfect playlist with his favorite songs on top.

We burned the disc and he labeled it.

Of course he did.

Caden Dickey cool songs to send to his big brother in college. Payton's getting one too.

H O T cookies after school

I've got warm cookies straight out of the oven ready for these little guys to get home from their first day of school!

Chocolate chip chunk.
Chocolate chip, oatmeal.
White chocolate, cranberries & macadamia nut.

Yum.

Oh happy day!

I might possibly been the one who enjoyed back to school the most.

Can't wait to hear what they thought.

Justin took a picture of himself (for me) last week on his first day of school.
As soon as I get it, I'm sure I'll have to share.

E U R O P E A N S re-cap

We slept in yesterday as the first Saturday in the last six week without a track meet to go to.
Track season is over.

For Justin, his track career is complete. That is, unless he decides to go out for the track team next year at college. We'll wait and see what happens!

For Ty, it's one more year to compete and enjoy. European Championships were last Friday and Saturday.

We are proud of both boys.

They both walked away a bit disappointed. As a mom, I've thought a lot about the pressures and competitive spirit these strong kids possess.

In order to even make it to the post-season, the athletes have to attain a set time {or distance in their throws} in each event at any meet in the season in order to even be able to compete at the Championships.

It's only the elite of the athletes in Europe that made it to last weekend's meet. All other athletes had already turned in their uniforms.

Qualifying for Europeans in both hurdles events after not even practicing {shin splints} for three weeks was a major accomplishment in itself for Ty.
Last year, he didn't even qualify.

He did great in both events, but not fast enough to make it to the finals on day two.

His head hung low when he should have held it high. We haven't seen the end of him yet- he has another season to compete.

I'm learning as a mom at these low times for my boys to just hug them and let them work though it without talking too much or asking any questions.

Caden was equally disappointed and just went to sit near Justin as he finished. Normally, full of questions and rather chatty, Caden didn't say a word to him- they both just sat quietly. It was very sweet.

They have a special bond and even with Caden being so young- they just understand each other.

For Justin, day one was shot put. Last year, he didn't even make it to the second round.

This year, he took third place and a bronze metal which he was proud of. It's not his event, yet he's still worked to improved this last year.

Day two, he ended up with good throws {not a personal best} in disc landing him in second place with a silver metal on the podium. He was expected to win and still has the farthest throw in Europe this season.

The boy who took the gold threw six feet further than he had all season- something I know Justin {and others} are still trying to figure out. That's a huge improvement to make overnight.

Regardless, they did well. Not as well as they wanted to do, but they made us proud as they carried themselves with style and class.

Taking silver was especially difficult for Justin as he received his metal, then promptly took it off.

It made me sad he couldn't accept how much he's accomplished being happy with second place, but at the same time know in his heart he knows he fell short of his goal.

He is such a competitive kid- always has been and likely always will be. It's a large part of who he is and we're confident it will take him far. 

High school is quickly coming to an end for Justin. We're down to four days and a crazy busy week ahead.

It should be amazing.