March Madness

Every year, in March, Alaskans are driven to madness - hahaha!!!!!  Iditarod, high school state basketball championships, and something else...I can't remember are all happening in the same week.  Alaska Airlines boost their fares into Anchorage for the mayhem and then leave them up for the summer season (big shock there) the days start getting noticeably longer and the snow in Anchorage and points south starts to melt and bears consider leaving their dens to look for food.

This past March (2011), both the boys' and the girls' basketball teams from Golovin went to the state Championship tournament in Anchorage.  THIS is the reason why you don't see any Iditarod pictures on my blog.... yet!  I went as a chaperone, money manager, van driver, gopher, and pack horse.  I also was listed as "statistician" on the team roster in case I wanted to sit down on the court - but I was terrified the ball would hit me - HAHA, and sat in the bleachers!!!!  I enjoyed every minute of it!!  Well, maybe not every minute of it - I got tired of spending so much time in malls; you have to let the kids have some free time (and time to shop for clothes and supplies).

Back in Golovin, Nick was taking care of four dogs!  He had Edelweiss (his dachshund), Merlynne (because Amanda was the girl's coach and the Activities Director), Strider (because I went as stated above), and Zena (because I was caring for her while Jill was dealing with medical issues and now I was going to be gone).  Luckily, he only had 2 1/2 days of school that week!!

Another bit of craziness (but good craziness) was all the support from the village we had.  With every single high schooler, 1/2 the middle schoolers (8th graders), 3 coaches, plus me in Anchorage, we already had about 1/5 of the villagers gone.  Then we had many siblings between the two teams, so it is no surprise that we had parents come also.  All in total, we had more than 1/2 of Golovin staying in Anchorage that week and watching the games!!

Both teams played well in situations where they were usually outnumbered, younger, and less experienced.  Their behavior off the court was also quite good.  I was pleased to be part of that experience!!

 Mighty Boys!

 Mighty Girls!

 Boys playing in white.

 Teamwork

 Girls playing in purple

 Traveling from school to airport sitting on luggage

 Riding shotgun on the way into Anchorage

 Strider and Zena

 Merlynne and Edel

 I flew in with the boys on the district plane.  Pilot Doug had to fly two back to back flights to get both teams to Anchorage.  Good thing the weather was good!!!

 Practicing at a high school in Anchorage - WOW... 3 full courts side by side!

 Girls release their craziness before boarding "Air Doug"

 Send off and blessings upon the kids and coaches.  Almost the entire town showed up for the pep rally and send off!!!!  As it should be - the store closed, city offices took a late lunch, and only one person remained at the clinic as a precautionary measure.

Girls demonstrate teamwork!