Last Teenager

My baby is officially a teenager.  I just can't believe how fast the time has gone. 

We let her open her gifts from us last night in case she wanted to wear anything ;)
She got some very cute shorts and tank top from Hollister for our Spring Break trip, a "Pink" sweatshirt and the sparkly moccasins she has been wanting.  Everything she asked for :) 

Today she will get a special surprise at school from her daddy...some flowers and balloons delivered.  I would love to see her pretty face when she gets them!  Two parties planned this weekend...one with friends tonight and one on Sunday with family.  AND she wants to go out to eat this weekend too for her birthday!  So much for a birthDAY.  With us...birthdays last at least a weekend!!! :)
Happy birthday, sweet girl!

Concord

So the lady Jags won their last regular season game against Concord 29-14.  Gabi had two blocks during this game and she actually surprised herself!!  She said, "I was afraid it would be a foul but I actually tipped the ball and it wasn't!"  We were very proud of her!!! 

Another Loss

The lady Jags lost again last night to Pierre Moran 15-30.  We had been hearing all season that they were pretty good and they were.  Combine that with our team being "off" and it makes for a loss.  Gabi did play good defense and she actually did have a 2 point shot.  Still very proud of my girl.
Good thing for us that Pierre Moran and Discovery are in the other side of the bracket for the tournament draw.  I think it would be better for us if we make it to the Championship, to meet up with Discovery at this point.

Northside Win

Played Northside at home last night winning 25-7.  Gabi didn't get in as much as she would have liked to but she had some good passes when she did.  I can say her big brothers have stayed encouraging to her telling her to always do her best.  I think they know her inner struggles more than what I think sometimes and they always know what to say to her.  Keep plugging along and always do your best.

National History Day - Apartheid

Gabi and her friend, Madison Kreil have been working for the past 5 months or so on a HUGE project that ended up being a first place winner at the National History Day Competition at St. Mary's College today!!  The title:  Apartheid.  We were a bit thrown off by the timing of the competition when we were told on Thursday the date had been moved up by a couple of weeks and it was actually this coming Saturday!  With the girls busy in basketball and sick on top of it, this left them with little time to prepare.  They met up at 8:00 am this morning and actually worked on the whole thing right up until their presentation time of 10:40 am.  Their project was a documentary on the Sharpeville Massacre.  Since Gabi usually went to Madison's house to work on the project together (since most of the equipment they were using were hers), Ben and I were not able to see the project until today at presentation time.  It was good!!  For as nervous as the girls seemed before going in, you sure couldn't tell it.  They answered the questions from the judges smoothly and our impression was the judges really enjoyed the documentary and it coming to light.  Granted, the girls need to work on some of the pictures and placements as the documentary runs (minor)...they did great!  They were ultimately surprised and excited when they were named first place in the group documentary category!  Blue ribbons for the both of them!  And they are able to take their work to state in the next couple of months!  Gabi was extremely happy that all their hard work payed off.  Only two projects got first place from John Young with the girls being one.  So very proud!!! 

 Gabi, Madison and their Honors History teacher, Mr. Gill

 The group from John Young who had presentations

Lindsay, Gabi and Madison

 All three judges gave them great marks!

Tough Loss to Discovery

The girls have been waiting for this day since they lost to Discovery at their very first game (tournament).  We were missing a few key girls on our team when we played, but apparently, so was Discovery.  The day had come yesterday and we have a bunch of sick girls.  Coughs, fevers, cold symptoms.  One starting player actually stayed home so we were down one player.  The remaining tried to tough it out.  We started out well.  The first half a good run and only down by 2 points I think when they broke for half time.  Seemed to go down hill from there though.  Our girls were tired and their poor sick bodies just couldn't do much more.  That along with the fact, I thought, that the refs allowed a little more contact than they should have.  Gabi played well.  She is definitely showing strengths and growth in the defense side of the ball.  She's a tough cookie, but then again, we already knew that ;)  Although she had no points this game, she made some AWESOME passes and ran the plays when told.  Great job.  The loss of 22-32 was hard to swallow, but the girls knew they fought the hardest they could and that's all they could ask for.  We are hoping for a rematch of these teams at the Tournament Championship, God willing.  We'll get 'em then. 
PS  Because this was such a big game (if we would have won, this would have been the only lady Jags team to have ever beaten all three Penn schools)...I was not on my A game when it came to pictures and videos.  Here are the best ones I got...

West Side Victory

48-15 was the final score against West Side last night with Gabi making a two point shot (see video below) and one free throw. 

Two Point Shot:

Pennies From Heaven

Found this today...and for those who follow my blog, you'll know exactly why it had me in tears (previous blog post in September)

Grissom

Had a good win 47-16 against Grissom tonight.  Gabi had 5 points tonight...all free throws.  Unfortunately, these girls seemed a bit scappy and Gabi got shoved quite a few times (as you can see in the pics) for those free throws...

And the shoves...

Northwood Win

I was so glad our Lady Jags got the win over Northwood last night 41-23.  All of the girls got to play a good chunk of time AND they did well.  Started off a little shaky, but they pulled it together.  Gabi had two free throw points and one two pointer for a total of 6 points for the team.  Very proud of her.  I have to say, Northwood students were quite entertaining.  They had a great support for their girls and really got into the game.  Good to see that in a school.

Donkey Basketball

Uncle Dave has taken Gabi a couple of times when she was little to Donkey Basketball at Elkhart Memorial High School.  From what I gather it is pretty comical.  This event took place this past Sunday and Uncle Dave asked Gabi to come along.  Gabi texted me during the game saying a donkey had pooped all over a lady's leg.  The event helps Dollars For Scholars charity and is a blast for them to go to.  I think it's special that they have "uncle/niece time"   :)
Loved the pics they sent...