Sean's Belleville Wrestling Tournament

 This past weekend Sean competed in his second wrestling tournament.  We had a bit of a scare with this one as we weren't sure if he would end up competing or not.  Scott tested positive for COVID19 Thursday after work and we had to make a decision about whether Sean would weigh-in or not.  I decided to take him to weight-in, double-masked, just to make sure he had a spot in the tournament if he ended up staying healthy.  I'm glad we decided to do that.  A negative PCR test for me and the boys on Saturday and two negative at-home tests later and we were off to Belleville with Scott isolating in the basement "COVID cave".

Sean had 5 other boys in his bracket this time and started with a bye.  His first bout was up against a boy from Brighton.  This boy was really good.  This boy's first bout was intense.  He won in overtime and we knew Sean was going to go up against a really good kid.  Turns out Sean went all 3 periods against him eventually losing 8-4.  But, I was super proud of how hard Sean fought back!  There was a moment Sean had him on his back, but the boy quickly slipped back onto his stomach.  

Sean's second bout was against a boy that was in the Downriver tournemtn.  Sean was so excited to come out and win, pinning the boy during the first period!  He ran off the mat and gave me a hug before the ref called him back to raise his hand.  It was very exciting!

His third bout was for the 3rd place medal and he went up against a boy from Grosse Isle that also looked very good from watching his previous matches.  Unfortunately Sean lost in the first period by pin.  The boy was incredibly strong, even lifting Sean up and throwing him down.  Sean took it well, all considering.  

In the end, Sean took 4th place and got his first medal.  This tournament his goals were to be emotionally stronger, regardless of the outcome.  They were also to win a match and earn points, which he did in each bout.  I'm so proud of how much he improved from one tournament to the next and I have no doubt that with more practice, he will continue to get better.

Sean's Downriver Wrestling Tournament

 This past Sunday Sean competed in his first wrestling tournament in Lincoln Park for the Downriver Novice and Open Tournament.  He weighed-in on Thursday evening at 80.6, but the 80lb and 85lb kids were put together in the bracket.  His bracket had 6 kids (2 girls and my friend Adrienne's son, Logan).  

The night before we had Corey and Kellan spend the night since Corey was competing in the tournament too (different bracket because he's in the 2011 group).  The boys had Taco Bell for dinner, played videogames, played with Hot Wheels, and had popcorn while watching Dora The Explorer Movie in their fort they made to sleep in.  They were asleep by 10pm.  We woke up the next morning to snow-covered roads (surprise!).  It luckily only added 10 minutes on to our drive and we arrived by 9:30am.  

Sean was in full-blown melt-down mode.  It was very crowded, not many people were wearing masks, it was loud, and we weren't sure where his wrestling club was warming up.  We finally got our bearings and he was able to warm up for a few minutes with Corey while getting a pep-talk from his coach.  He was matched up first with a girl from New Boston.  She looked cool, calm, and collected.  He fought hard, but she pinned him at the end of the first period.  He was pretty devastated.  

His next round he had a bye.  He enjoyed some gatorade and pringles from his club's snack table.  Then it was his turn to go up against another girl.  This time I noticed a difference in his skills and he was able to earn 13 points!  He went almost all 3 rounds with this girl, winning at one point, and then down by a point at the end when she finally pinned him.  I was so proud of how hard he fought!  He had her down for a good 4 second, but her back wasn't flat on the mat to consider it a pin.  It was definitely a learning experience for him and I'm confident that he'll do better his next tournament.  

He was eliminated at this point and was exhausted.  A boy from Sean's wrestling club who wrestles during the Elite classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays took 1st place.  The first girl he wrestling took 2nd place and the second girl he wrestled took 3rd.  My friend's son took 4th.  We hit the road and he was already in better spirits by the time we were halfway home.  He picked Los Tres Amigos to have a carry-out lunch back at our house with Grandma and Grandpa and enjoyed his afternoon playing Fortnite and watching movies.  

Sean's coach moved Sean and Corey up to the Elite classes, so he started those this week.  He'll be competing in this weekend's tournament in Belleville.  We're hoping the 80lb. class is it's own weight class and we're hoping for a win for Sean!  Fingers crossed. 

Sean's Scout meetings and he met the mayor of Plymouth!

 One of the requirements for this final year of Cub Scouts is for the boys to talk to a government official about a local issue and how they can resolve it.  Sarah planned a meeting with the mayor of Plymouth right before one of their city counsel meetings in downtown.  The boys got an hour to fire questions to the mayor and learn more about him and his projects he's working on.  It was a cool experience!

The Pack also had an ATF Agent come back in December one evening to talk to the boys about his role in helping find bombs/explosives/firearms in metro-Detroit.  He brought his explosive-sniffing dog with him and let the boys pet him and see all of his equipment.  He even hid gun powder somewhere in the room and let the dog go to work finding it so we could see how the dog does his job.  This was a popular Pack meeting, for sure!

At a recent den meeting, the 5th grade boys all had to present a 10 minute activity to the others and run the whole activity.  Sean did keep away (a simple game that kept the boys on their feet and active).  Other boys had some great activities that involved paper airplanes, bag toss, team-building activities, and even origami ornaments.  I was impressed with their ability to run the show for 10 minutes!

Next up is the Pinewood Derby - our last!  Sean as a few short months left with Pack and Den activities before the Blue and Gold Banquet in May when he's officially done with Cub Scouts.  It's been a great thing for him to be involved in and I hope he looks back and has enjoyed all the cool experiences he's had because he's been a scout!

Skiing with Evan at Alpine

 Last Thursday Evan and I went to Alpine Valley to ski for the first time this season.  We've normally skied by now (usually over Christmas break in December), so it felt like a late start for us, but we picked a good night for it.  The weather was in the 30's, minimal wind, and the hills weren't icy.  I picked him up from school a little on the early side and we changed at home and grabbed our gear.  Scott had gone out on his lunch break (perk of teaching virtually at the time) to get us Jimmy Johns for dinner and to get gas in his truck.  We were on the road to Alpine by 3:30pm!

We quickly got our lift tickets, carried our gear into the lodge (it gets easier every year the boys get older), and got ready.  The hills were practically empty with next-in-line service on the two lifts we like.  We skied until about 5:30pm and then went into the lodge for dinner as it was starting to get dark out.

We had our sandwiches by the fire with chips, pop, and fruit.  It was starting to get crowded.  Both high school ski teams and high school boarder cross had events starting around 6pm and an after-school ski school program was starting at 6:30pm.  The lines for the lifts had definitely formed, so we skied some more taking one more break for hot chocolate before heading home just before 8pm.

We had a great evening and Evan loved skiing at night!  We'll be planning another outing in the next week or so with Sean and his friends Charlie and Lexi from school.  I'll let Evan tag along and he can ski with me.  And I'm sure one of these times we'll drag Scott out with us too.