This post brought to you by the letter W!

Remember how on Sesame Street they end the show with..."This episode brought to you by the letter ___ and the number ____!" Well....

This post is brought to you by the letter W!

First the letter W for - The Wizard of Oz!

I had been meaning to post this for a few weeks now! Gwynie is in the school play, The Wizard of Oz! They were doing tryouts while we were going to be in Florida, but Gwynie talked to the teacher in charge, and they let her audition early! All the 4th graders got to try out to be Munchkins! :) They had to learn a song and perform it. When we came back from our trip, and she went back on track, she found out that she made it in! She's been working really hard for the last month, and has practices every day after school for the next two weeks! Their big parent performances are the 18th and 19th of this month. We are so proud of her, and can't wait to see her cute little munchkin self!

And....the next thing that starts with W...is Wrestling!

Tonight was Brady's first Wrestling Tournament...

I can't tell you how nervous I was before Brady's little wrestling match. Sure, this is just for fun, its not for medals, or anything like that...but STILL! My stomach was in knots, and I kept talking big gulps from my water bottle to try and dislodge the sick lump that had settled in my throat. It would finally go down, down, down...to where it would sit in the pit of my stomach. With the butterflies, and the knots. Those butterflies would then send that lump back up in my throat to lodge there, once more, and I would have to repeat the process. I know Jake was just as nervous as I was. His hands were shaking as he helped Brady put on his wrestling shoes and run through drills.

I know, I know, we had nothing to worry about, no reason to feel this way. As Jake said, "Wow, now I know what my parents went through!" I guess I really can't even begin to describe the emotions that were coursing through me. It was never like that with T-Ball or Basketball, or when Gwynie had her dance recitals or soccer games. This my friends, is a whole new Monster. This feeling...it...it blew me away. Never before have I ran this crazy, crash-course of emotions. Never before have I felt the elation of a proud Momma in one instant, and then was on the verge of tears watching my "baby" get ready to take down his opponent. I'm still not quite sure I understand it all. I honestly can't put it into words.

I was so relieved when Jake's family showed up. His Dad, Mom, and older brother Dustin came to cheer Brady on. I love hearing the stories from when Jake and Dustin wrestled as kids. The stories would get even better as the boys got older. I've heard a few times before that people around Deb (my MIL) would say, "Don't watch the match, watch that Mom, now that's where the show is!" She would get worked up, screaming, yelling, cheering, and cussing the refs. I guess that's what I get to look forward to. :)

I think I finally have it figured out though...thanks to my wise husband. He just said, "Yes, it's a whole new Monster. It's different than T-ball because that was a team sport. This is Brady, all alone out there, standing up and proving himself."

So....onto the match stuff! Now that my crazy emotions are finally going back down!

Brady's first match rocked! They way the do the matches, is the kids wrestle for three, one minute rounds. If they pin the other kid, they just restart the match and keep going. Well, in that first round, Brady pinned the kid! When we got the score sheets we were all like, no way, that's wrong! They had the match as 10-14 with Brady losing. Sure, they still raise both kids' hands at the end, but we were told they wouldn't be keeping score. I knew Jake and his family would still count points anyways though. Well, we got home and Jake watched the video. Sure enough, the score sheets were WRONG! They gave Brady's points to the other kid! >:( I know it doesn't really count, but it irritated us. Well, we watched it and we kept seeing over and over again where they didn't give points, or they gave the other kid points when they shouldn't have. So, after all was said and done, it was 13-9 with Brady winning! If it was high school, or any other tournament, with Brady pinning the kid in the first round that would have been it. Done, finito. But because they kept going, they kept counting points. So, even if Brady hadn't pinned him, and gotten his 3 Near Fall points, he would have won by points alone, at 10-9!

Now the second match...not so much fun. Brady was so distracted by everything else around him and he just didn't pay attention. We reminded him on the way home that the reason you pay attention is to not get hurt. Anyway, I won't say it was all on Brady because it wasn't. The kid he was up against kept choking him, and at one point they stopped the match because you could see that Brady was having problems breathing. Well, I guess I wouldn't want to stay involved in that match either if that was the case. I would probably be distracted, too. Also, when Brady was in bottom position, the kid, instead of cupping his elbow and crouching to the side, was sitting on top of him! Actually straddling him! Why the refs didn't fix that before telling them to start is beyond me. Well, probably because they are high school kids, but still. This is all about teaching the kids the basics, and the right way to do stuff, without hurting other people. So that match was 0-4, but Brady fought hard, and that's all that matters! :)