Thursday, March 31, 2011

Our Own Kind of March Madness

I can't believe I haven't posted here in a whole month! I didn't plan to be absent so long. I've just been chained to my Kitchen Aid, baking cupcakes all month!!!!

hahaha

No, really.

Truth be told, the Cupcakes on a Mission fundraiser is going quite well! We have baked well over 1000 cupcakes so far, with 2 weeks to go. My trusty Kitchen Aid mixer and my stove have gotten a good workout. I have found some great recipes, learned some tricks and tips to being a better baker, and thrown a few trays of cupcakes in the trash. Between cupcake money and other donations, Amanda has about 3/4 of the money she needs for her trip to Uganda in August. EXCITING! Thank you so much to everyone who has eaten too much sugar these past few weeks. It is for a good cause!
If you are interested, she is going to Uganda with our friends, the Wrights, and Ten Eighteen.

 Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cupcakes


So what else has been going on during the month of March? ( okay, Feb. too) Let's see.

Lighthouse Family Square Dance

We rented a school gym on a Sunday afternoon and had a great turnout at this event, and a wonderful caller made it fun for everyone, young and old alike! 







NCHEAC Regional & State Basketball Tournaments

In addition to coaching the Lighthouse Middle School Boys team, Mark is Tournament Director for the NCHEAC ( North Carolina Home Educators Athletic Conference) East Regional Basketball Tournament, held at SEBTS in Wake Forest. Things are busy in our household in the week or two leading up to that. Amanda's team advanced to the state tournament, which was the following weekend, but Jason's team finished early.  Amanda was chosen for the Varsity Girls All Conference Team and will play in the All Star Game in Winston-Salem during the Homeschool Conference weekend in May.  Jason was chosen to the All-Tournament team.

Oh, and the Lighthouse Eagles Varsity Girls Basketball Team went undefeated in pre-season, season, and tournament play, winning the NCHEAC championship trophy! 




Lighthouse Basketball Awards Night 

At the end of every sports season, the Lighthouse teams gather for a pot luck meal and awards presentations. Volunteers are recognized. All players receive a certificate and seniors receive special Senior Plaques. Coaches call up each player and give words of praise and encouragement.  And sometimes the players get in a word or two as well. ;-)







HSPN East Coast Homeschool Basketball Tournament at Liberty U.

Our favorite basketball week of the year!  The Liberty Tournament has become a much-anticipated week of fun and competition at the end of each basketball season for our varsity teams, and this year, our 2 JV teams entered for the first time, as well. The tournament features 80 homeschool basketball teams from all over the East - NC, SC, VA, GA, TN, OH, MD, NY.   All the Lighthouse teams did well, but our Varsity Girls really shined, earning top seed in the Championship game out of 20 girls teams, and losing to Charleston's Low Country Wildcats by 6 points in the final game. It was a heartbreaker, but the tears flowed freely afterwards mainly due to the fact that Amanda's entire team was made up of seniors - and now it was over.  Sadness.









Jason made it to the finals in the 13 & under 3-point contest, and competed against his friend, Chris.  They had to shoot 10 balls in 30 seconds, from points around the arc. They tied 3 times before Chris beat him by 1 basket. 

Lighthouse Geography Bee

I helped plan a Geography Bee for our homeschool group, and of course made my son participate.  He had fun, despite himself. :-)  We divided the kids by age group, and did Geography Games in addition to the Bee. Younger kids ( K-5th) competed first, while older kids ( 6th-12th) played games. Then they switched.  The whole thing took a LOT longer than we planned, but everyone had fun, and we moms learned a few things that we'll change for next time.



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