2nd grade basketball

(Rachel is in the blue shirt/gray pants and the pink shirt/brown shorts... in case you can't tell.)

I know the quality of these photos from my phone are super awesome, but I just had to share them. Rachel asked to play basketball so I signed her up for 2nd Grade Basketball. She was excited about it until Nate took her to her first practice and she was the only girl on her team. She wouldn't participate at all. Nate still took her to her first game hoping she would try AND to teach her that she can't just give up when she has committed to do something. Still no luck. She wouldn't budge, but there were some girls on the other team so it got her a little more relaxed about it all. Then I took her to her next practice and she walked right in and didn't bat an eye. She participated the whole time and had so much fun. When her 2nd game came around this past Saturday she climbed back into her shell and refused to play. There were no girls on the other team either this time and she was intimidated by all those boys! By the time the 4th quarter was about to start someone asked her if she'd play if her dad could run along side her. None of our bribing or pep talks worked so why not give that a try? She said yes, so we got permission from the refs (who were so nice and more than happy to let Nate help her) and she went out on the court and played so well. You could tell she was nervous, but as the more time passed she got more comfortable and Nate was able to sit down. The other team was good.... like 2nd-graders-shouldn't-have-that-kind-of-talent good, but they were all so nice to her and even the parents from the other team were cheering her on. Even one of the refs helped her out and took her under his wing. She was so proud of herself after and admitted that she had "a little" fun. So we'll see what the next games bring.....