Thunder

Pete played on a lot of basketball teams during his career in FSBL. But by far the best and most entertaining was when he played for the Thunder during the 2012-13 season. Talent-wise, they were certainly one of the top two teams in the league. Coach Zurbach's squad included Pete, Daniel, Easton, Safillah and Esmatullah, Tom Himler, Corey, Chris Rochon, Alexander, and one other player. They were greatly hindered by the fact that they had 10 players (all of the other teams had 9 - a huge advantage because you can play your best player for 3 quarters), they played 5 of the top 6 teams during the season, and they were in the same playoff division as the other top team (Lakers) and the Championship team who had the player who was the league MVP should have already been playing in the NBA.

If nothing else, it was a joy to watch their games.

Pictured below (l-r) are Easton, Tom, Safillah, Pete, Alexander, Corey, and Coach Zurbach:

Massanutten Vacation - Day 3

Day 3 was the last of the brief Massanutten vacation.  Everyone got packed up early and got to the water park by 9:45am.  They were about 10th in line for when the park opened.  Pete went right to the Flow Rider and got several successful rides in before any line started to form.



Then everyone got in a bunch of tube slides, and some laps around the lazy river, before the crowds started to show up.  At 1:30, it was time to pack up and play a few games in the game room before heading home.

Massanutten Vacation - Day 2

On day 2, Dad did a quick geocache along the icy trails by the Arboretum, and then everyone headed over to the water park for a day of play (and lunch).



Sam started out with the Country Cooler slide, then worked up to doing the Melting Moguls and Peak Splash.  He also did the non-tube slides, Skyline Falls and Avalanche.  Pete did all of the slides as well.  He did a triple-tube with Dad and Pickle on Peak Splash, even though Dad kept asking Pete to go get another tube to replace the one they had  that was over-inflated, smelly, haunted, racist, and full of three holes.

Back at the condo, dinner was hot dogs, mac and cheese, and fruit, followed by ice cream dessert from the Village Market.

Then everyone played some Famous Name Us, watched Hop, and went to bed.

Once again, there was an empty bedroom with two perfectly good beds in it.

Massanutten Vacation - Day 1

The family headed down for their first-ever trip to Massanutten, VA on Monday of Spring Break.  The boys brought their friend Pickle with them too.

The first day brought a lovely and rare March 25 snowfall, which fortunately did not dampen anyone's spirits or affect the 2-hour drive to the resort.

Sam was pleased with the spacious 3-room suite that greeted everyone upon check-in.  After some relaxation time, they headed over to the recreation center.

The rec center was a mass of humanity, so they played a few games of pool and a few minutes of basketball.    The ping pong was not going to happen.

On the way home, they stopped at the "scenic overlook".  Dad told the boys to see what was at the top of the steps.  He did not realize that at the top of the steps was a snowy trail heading off into the snowy woods. The boys took off down the path, never to be heard from again. and it took Dad quite a while to track them down and get them corraled back down the slick steps and into the car.  After a brief lecture on death by frostbite, they headed back to the condo.

Dinner was pork chops, corn, rice, and rolls, followed by some Klondike bars and popcorn.  After some time in the jacuzzi and a game of Apples To Apples, it was time for bed.

Balls Bluff Spring Hike

It was a pleasant day in early March that Dad led the Pack on a hike in Balls Bluff Park. Sam is pictured in the front row. He headed back to the car once they made it about a half mile to the cemetary. Dad continued with the Pack on another 2 miles, and then went back to the car to see if Sam might still be there.

Sam missed out on finding these mystery bones:

Chess with Uncle Victor

Sam enjoyed the rare opportunity to get in a game of chess with Uncle Victor, who was visiting to see Pete in his musical at school.

Based on how Sam describes most of his games at school, this game most likely ended in Sam delivering the "Scholar's Mate".

Little Mermaid Jr.

Pete participated in the Farmwell Station Middle School Spring Musical again this year.  Last year he was Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol.  This year he auditioned for a leading role - Sebastian in Little Mermaid Jr.  He won the part, so after many long days of rehearsal it was time for the show.

There were a lot of visitors that weekend.  Pete had family and friends watching each of the three weekend performances.  Nana and Poppy went to the Friday show.  Mom, Dad, Sam, Victor, Grandma, Grandpa, Steve, Stacey, Sarah, Ashleigh, and Erin went to the Saturday show.  Megan, Scott, Robbie, Katie, and Michael went to the Sunday show.

Here is a video of Pete stealing the show in "Under The Sea":



After the cast party at Fuddruckers, another year's play was a wrap.

Funeral Crunch

Sam had a fun time on Sunday at Nick's 10th birthday party.  It was at the Sportsplex.  They played Dodgeball and basketball.  Sam gave Nick a Wizards lunch tin and a Nerf basketball set that Dad ordered on ebay.  Of course, most of the other gifts were gift cards and it didn't matter since Sam's parties are the only ones where the gifts are opened anyhow.

During breakfast on Tuesday morning, Dad and Pete were looking at the candy left over from Sam's goody bag.  There was Laffy Taffy, Fun Dip, maybe some Starburst.  This led to a conversation:

"Did you ever notice how candy always has fun names like Laffy Taffy and Fun Dip?"
"Yeah, we should invent some candy that has depressing names"
"I think a good name would be "Sad Times" "
"Yeah, or "Funeral Crunch" "

Wizards Game

Dad got 3 tickets from his co-worker Colin and took the boys to the Wizards-Suns game on Saturday 3/16/13.  They got a ticket for Mom too.  The section with their seats was pretty open, so they all got to sit together.

They arrived around 6pm, leaving an hour for dinner and some Kids Night festivities.  Sam and Pete each won the cool foam light wand on the spinning wheel.  Sam also got sunglasses, stickers, and Pete picked up a free poster with the 6 visiting mascots.  Plus the free lunchboxes (plus one for Nick's birthday party the next day) and mini-cupcakes.

G-Man did a nice front-flip dunk during the trampoline dunking exhibition.

The Wizards won big, with a career best 34 points from Martell Webster, 12 assists from John Wall, and some good play from Nene and rookie Bradley Beal.

Oh yeah, and then there was the Mascot competition at halftime.  There were 6 mascots there to celebrate G-Wiz's birthday.  At halftime, they did a skills competition with dribbling around cones, layup, tricycle ride, backwards half-court shot, and then "human" bowling catapult.  Screech made the night memorable with this little swish action:



Not a cheap night ($155, including dinner), but a good time was had by all.