HONORARY ASSISTANT COACH TESS.

My sister is coaching Makayla's basketball team this year so Thursday I showed up to help her with practice.  With 20 third and fourth grade girls (and being EIGHT months pregnant) she certainly has her hands full!  I was more than willing to help with practice but in all honesty, I HAD A BLAST!  I was so excited to put on my basketball shoes and shoot some hoops!  I loved how, as Laura ran practice, the game of basketball came flooding back to me (as, amazingly, did my self-proclaimed fabulous jump shot)!  Working with the girls was hilarious (as they are still in that delightful phase where their dribbles reach as high as their ears) but at the same time it was truly rewarding to be witness to the very beginnings of grace.  Maybe, just maybe, at least one of those girls will become passionate about and skilled at the game of basketball.  Perhaps there she will find that which is ever so elusive for girls these days--true confidence.  One of my favorite moments of the evening was the time I spent working with Makayla on HER soon-to-be fabulous jump shot!  I can only HOPE that one girl who develops my love for the game is my beautiful niece!  So far it is looking pretty promising!  I'll be attending practice again next week but not in the capacity of honorary assistant coach (isn't that a cool title?).  Next week I will be acting as the OFFICIAL TEAM PHOTOGRAPHER (which will likely be one of my most challenging shoots yet).  But by now you know, I am always up for an adventure!

THE TINY LADY RAMBLERS

COACH--COMPLETE WITH BASKETBALL-SIZED BELLY!

COACHING BASKETBALL IS TRULY A FAMILY AFFAIR FOR THE PIERCES!

DANNY IS THE OFFICIAL ASSISTANT COACH AND . . .

GARRETT IS THE BALL BOY!

HE IS IN CHARGE OF BLOWING THE WHISTLE AT PRACTICE TOO!

SATURDAY MORNING I GOT TO SEE MAKAYLA'S FIRST HOME GAME TOO!

GO #8!

CLAIRE AND I IN MAKAYLA'S CHEERING SECTION!

MY FAMILY IS FULL OF SUPER SUPPORTIVE SPORTS FANS.

ALL OF MAKAYLAS PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, A GREAT GRANDPA, AN AUNT, AN UNCLE AND A GREAT-AUNT WERE ALL IN ATTENDANCE FOR MAKAYLA'S GAME!

PRETTY AMAZING TURN-OUT FOR SUCH A LITTLE GIRL'S GAME!

CLAIRE AND HER BOYFRIEND GRANT

THESE TWO, SHARING A BAG OF POPCORN, WERE JUST TOO IRRESISTIBLE!

MISS MOLLY!

Earlier this week I welcomed my brand new COUSIN into the family!  Molly, a cocker spaniel pup, was just recently adopted by my Aunt Lin and Uncle Ben.  She was born on November 13 so she is still teeny tiny and absolutely adorable!  I L-O-V-E dogs (and who DOESN'T love a puppy) and had been super anxious to meet her!  Miss Molly is certainly a welcome addition to the family and I can't wait to hear about all the adventures she embarks with my ever adventuring aunt and uncle!  Adventure on, MOLLY DOG!

I am taking Miss Molly's portraits next week!

Just imagine how SWEET those are going to be!

BEING CRAFTY WITH SERIANA.

Saturday Seriana and I headed to Fire and Ice to paint some pottery!  With the holidays and my bout with shingles, we hadn't seen much of each other.  We were much overdue for some girl talk time!  Going to a ceramics studio is one of my favorite ways to connect with my Littles.  Their hands are busy, they are confined to a single location for several hours and their little mouths tend to move non-stop!  It is a great way to get to know each other and to get a Little to open up.  Seriana, of course, is absolutely WONDERFUL!  I am so blessed to have been matched with her!  She has so much enthusiasm for life and is simply THE most polite child I have ever encountered.  I'm not exaggerating either!  She makes me feel GUILTY about my own slack manners!  Hey, who says she can't teach ME a thing or two, right?  For our next adventure we are headed to the bowling alley!  Now THAT should be an adventure!  (If you had ever seen me bowl, you'd know why)!  

  

SERIANA

  

I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT I AM SUCH A PERFECTIONIST, I CAN'T DO LARGE PIECES YET!  I PICKED OUT SEVERAL PIECES TO PAINT BUT, DURING THE HOURS WE WERE AT THE STUDIO, I ONLY GOT THIS TINY LADYBUG DONE!  MAYBE SOMEDAY I'LL WORK UP TO A MUG OR SOMETHING THAT'S ACTUALLY USEFUL!

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A SOUTH FORK WINDSHIELD ADVENTURE.

When Dad heard that I would be coming to Cascade for a few days, he immediately had an adventure in mind!  He wanted to drive out to the South Fork of the Salmon for the day.  This is an excellent winter excursion because the road deep into the backcountry is maintained year round for the residents of Yellow Pine.  Although there were beautiful blue skies and the sun was unobstructed by a single cloud, it was, as could be expected, a mighty frigid day!  After so many deeply cold nights, the frost accumulation on the trees and bushes was quite spectacular!  Although I had routinely driven to the top of Big Creek during the winter, I had never been BEYOND the summit.  It was an absolutely beautiful drive--although I must say, the roads were EXTREMELY icy and we weren't able to make it as far down the South Fork as we had anticipated.  However, it was, as Dad says, a great "Windshield Adventure."  You spend all day behind the windshield but, in the dead of winter, it still feels like a terrific adventure!

  

I was so thrilled with the sky when we stopped for these photos!

 It was such an amazing BRILLIANT BLUE!

WARM LAKE HIGHWAY.

My dad is such a wealth of knowledge and I spent the entire trip trying to glean as much information from him as I possibly could!  As we neared the turn-out for Trail Creek Hotsprings, I began asking him questions about the popular springs.  Rather spontaneously we decided to hike down to them and have a look around!  

THIS is why I LOVE adventuring!

TRAIL CREEK HOTSPRINGS

  

    

Dad and Jackson exploring the springs right before . . .

  

Dad fell in the creek!

Oops!  Good thing we were mostly on a Windshield Adventure!

  

Jackson and I ready to hike back up the trail/toboggan run!

THE SOUTH FORK ROAD

My mom calls this the Golf Cart Road.  It is a very popular road during salmon season yet it is a VERY NARROW one lane road!  Meeting cars on this road makes for slow and difficult passings with, at times, sheer cliff drop-offs on one side!  

Sure is pretty in the winter though!  

  

SOUTH FORK OF THE SALMON

  

  

MAGNIFICENT FROST

  

FROZEN WATERFALLS

  

ICY RIVER

THE DEVASTATION OF THE FOREST FIRES WAS ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE!

We turned around at the historic Reed Ranch (which Dad and I both read everything ever written on when we returned home from our trip.)  We had to drive SO slowly on the icy roads, we weren't able to make nearly as far as I had hoped.  However, we did spot a few animals on the trip!  

  

  

My dad was very fond of this particular elk.  The sunshine lit up the fuzz on the top of her head so it looked like she was a "red-head."  Dad said it was a Makayla Elk!

IT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL DAY!

My dad is SO much fun to adventure with!  (Unfortunately my mom had to work and wasn't able to go with us.  Next time Mommy!).  He knows so much about this area and told me great stories along the way!  As I mentioned, we came home and dug out the books and maps and refreshed our memories about the very colorful history of this area.  Although I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure itself, I enjoyed spending the day talking and laughing with my dad even more!  We have SO many adventures planned for this spring!  I can't wait!!!

ADVENTURE ON!