Back in Melbourne

Well, the trip ended on a spiral downwards, with Caleb requiring a couple of visits to hospital, and Gary catching the bug, which required that we spend a couple of nights in Coober Pedy on the way back. The trip was fantastic - I hope to post some stories and photos in the days to come. The big news is that Sam has made his basketballing debut with Bulleen Boomers in the EDJBA last Saturday. His team kicked off the grading phase of the new season with a win. His second game this week saw Sam score his first basket! Unfortunately it followed right on from him getting a defensive rebound and instinctively shooting it... The only consolation is that the other team was also a Bulleen team, so he managed to score for the right club, if not the right team!
This now means that we are involved in four different games on a Saturday... which gives us a wonderful view of many suburban basketball stadiums throughout the summer. However, having already enjoyed a couple of 30+C weeks in the Red Centre, I suppose we are acclimatised!

Basketball

It's been a day of triumphs on the sporting field for the Heard boys - Sam leading the way in swimming, and Caleb storming home with a strong second half in his qualifying pool match for basketball championships. Producing his best-ever performance, Caleb finished a strong game with a remarkable shot from under the basket behind the board, as he was falling out of court, taking him to 20 points on top of a strong game on the boards, together with some steals and assists. More importantly, his team finished this part of the grading undefeated, and now faces a cross-over match before proceeding to the next level of qualifying.

Mind you, Caleb had walked 14 km this afternoon in a school walkathon, and is now currently absolutely wiped out. He is required to back up with a second game tomorrow afternoon...

Swimming Success!!

Samuel took to the water today in the Vision Australia swimming carnival, participating in three events. And he WOWED them! Streaking away in the first event to win the 25 metres, Sam put into practice all that his swimming teacher had been trying to teach him, and romped to his first blue ribbon! He backed it up with a second blue ribbon in the relay, swimming a strong anchor leg, and then a second place in his last event (obviously tired!)

On his return to school he was given a hero's welcome, with rousing cheers from his classmates, and quite a few tears from teachers who have shared his journey. Email and SMS have been running hot with congratulations all afternoon. We have our own thorpedo in the making.

Caleb's Championship Debut

Caleb made his championship debut for Bulleen Boomers last Friday night, playing in the Spring phase of practice games. He rose to the challenge, playing some strong defence, taking some good rebounds, dishing off a couple of assists, and scoring some baskets of his own. The team managed to turn around a 4-17 start to win by 14.

Here's looking at you...

It's not a good look for a Baptist Minister, but having worn it for a week now, I still get a bit of a surprise when someone looks twice and ask what happened. Now, there are a range of possible answers, including:
1. Hit by a saucepan
2. Looking through keyholes
3. You should see the other guy
4. A sporting injury...

The mystery is simple. It was caused by a basketball (what else!?) Either I was too quick (getting into the path of a pass) or too slow (couldn't get out of the way). The 'ayes' have it!