A CAREER BEGINS

The Tornado played baseball, well, t-ball, for the first time this spring. As he put it, he doesn't get to play real baseball until he turns 6 in the fall.

Quite simply, this was the most enjoyable thing I've done, in terms of watching my kids. I so wish I would have put O and the Bear in t-ball, looking back on it.

One of my favorite things to do with the Tornado over the years he was at home was to play baseball with him I started pitching to him, overhand, before he was two. And he could hit it! He has some kind of hand eye coordination. Also, he loves to hit. So when the time came for him to be able to play on a team, I signed him up, and he was excited. We went to the field together on a cold day in January to sign him up, and he was soooo anxious to get started.

A couple weeks later he had his first practice. They hit a little, threw a little, ran a little, and laughed a little. His friend Chris was on the team, and he was excited to see him there. The games started two weeks after the first practice, and oh what an experience those were.

The teams each got to hit 3 times, with each kid on the team hitting. The last batter of each inning got to run all the bases, so of course that's where the Tornado wanted to hit. Sometimes he got to, other times not. In the field, the only positions of consequence are 1b and the "pitcher". The rest of the areas on the field see next to zero action. As a result, whenever a ball is hit, all of the kids rush and dive on it like a fumble in football. This stopped to some degree as the season went on, but heck, I liked watching them pile on like that!

The Tornado, when told he couldn't play first or "pitcher", often chose to play 3b. As a Rays fan, and Evan Longoria fan, he figured that was a good spot to be. Oh, I almost forgot - each day on the way to the game we would listen to Here Come the Rays, Feel the Heat, and Longoria's walkup song. I guess it pumped him up?! Anyway, he would stand over at third, and every kid that came to 3b got chatted up by the Tornado. he loved it.

When he was on the bases he would bend in half and put his head on the dirt. When they ran off the field he would throw his hat high in the air. He loved the snacks at the end, he loved cheering "Go Mighty Sand Gnats" and hugging the coach at the end of the game. He loved his gummy bears that he would get before each game and snack on in between innings. He just seemed super HAPPY on the field.

After a tough first couple months in school, it was so relaxing to me to see him enjoying himself so much out there.

As the season wound down he said he was ready to play another sport, like basketball or golf, and after 5 months of playing, sure, that makes sense. I know it will get more intense as he gets older if he continues to play, particularly if he's any good. I'll do my best to just enjoy watching him enjoy playing the game I loved to play so much. And to help remind him it's just a game, I'll always have gummy bears there for him too.

LEARNING FROM OTHERS

The High Hoops season has ended, and it was a totally different experience for all of us this year. Last year, I was one of the coaches, Bear wasn't on the team, and the team was in way over its head in most games. We had to play most of our games against teams that were older, more experienced, and more talented.

This year, I didn't coach, Bear got to play, and for the most part the games were reasonably competitive. We got to play against teams that were more on our level, so that was nice for the girls.

Not being the coach allowed me to observe the team, the player interactions, how the coaches handle things, and got to watch O and Bear just play. That has been an interesting perspective, because I've been so engrossed in the past that I wasn't able to really just enjoy the girls and the way they play.

The coach basically rotated several girls in and out of the guard spots, with both of my girls being part of that 5 player rotation. Bear got the least amount of time probably, with O getting among the most. I think that was good for the Bear. She got to observe from the bench, and see how others played and reacted.

When the season started, Bear was very nervous about playing, and how she would do. By the end of the season, she was the probably the most aggressive of all the guards, both on offense and defense. O's game came along well too, as she was refining things in her game that a lot of kids don't do.

I think the best thing about this season though, was that we all got to learn something. As the picture above shows, sometimes you learn from people and places you might not expect. I learned what it's like to be a parent on the sidelines, watching and thinking how I would do things different. I learned that there is a totally different vibe on the sidelines then on the bench, and that it's probably best to ignore that when you are on the bench. O learned that you aren't always going to love the people you have to work with, but that you can still be successful with those people. I also think O gained a measure of respect for Bear, seeing how hard she plays despite being so much smaller then almost all of the competition. I think Bear learned a little about patience. She's used to being the star, and she wasn't on this team. She learned about gaining confidence, and that believing in yourself can carry you a long way. And lastly, I think she learned about hard work. She wasn't satisfied sitting the bench, so she started practicing harder at home. I think by the end of the season she knew that she could compete with anyone on our team, and most other teams. Success leads to wanting to work harder to achieve more success, and Bear has been working harder than ever.

So another year is in the books, and I think it was a good one for both girls. I enjoyed watching them play, without the stress of having to coach them. I'm looking forward to that opportunity again should it arise in a couple years. Until then, I'll just keep watching, learning, and enjoy watching them learn, both about basketball and life.

Not Just the Tornado Anymore

I've been waiting for a while to write this post, I've thought about it many times. I made a list of things that the Tornado and I did over the 4 and a half years we spent at home together. I'm sure there are many other things we did that I can't remember, but this is a pretty good list. It makes me sad thinking about all the things we did together, many of which I now do by myself throughout the day.

I often feel like I didn't do enough, take you enough places in our time at home together. I am sorry for that. My time at home with you gave me so many smiles, so many laughs, so many good feelings of being loved that I can't really explain it. I am also glad to see you having fun with your friends at school, learning so many new things. You are a smart, funny, and loving boy, so much more than just a Tornado anymore. I am blessed to have you as my son!

First, some of the places we went over the years.

The beach, Sanibel, Captiva, Bowditch Point, and Times Square. We ALWAYS have fun at the beach! Playing ball, punching waves, building castles, playing water football. Remember the river we built one day that went from half way up the beach all the way to the gulf??!! This was always our favorite place to go together.

Lakes Park - we climbed on the playgrounds, and played in the water fountains.

The pool - gosh, we spent many days at the pool. You always loved throwing the toy tornadoes underwater, and shooting baskets on the poolside rim.

The Imaginarium - always a good time. You like just exploring, playing with the toys, seeing the exhibits.

The grocery store - this might sound weird, but we always had fun here. When you were little, all the older ladies would come up and look at how cute you were. As you got older, you would ask questions, like what this was for, or how I was going to make dinner that night. I liked this because it never seemed like there were a lot of distractions, it was just you and me.

Costco - of course you liked going here, particularly at lunch time, because they always have lots of food to sample :)

Home Depot - another place we went almost every week. Sometimes you liked going, sometimes not, depending on what we were buying.

Ace Hardware, dry cleaning, the bank, best buy - other places we would run errands to. I always liked riding in the car with you. You are such an easy passenger. You like looking at the window at the world, and pointing out things you notice, which is a lot. You are so observant! You also liked to rock out to music in the car, our two man band had many jam sessions in there!!

Toys R US - who doesn't like going to this place?

The book stores - we went to the book stores quite a bit, you love to read and be read to. And I love reading to you - I love when you get a subtle joke in a book, how you look up at me and the wry smile you get, like, that was pretty funny.

The outlets - we didn't go down there a lot, but it was always nice to go walk around and let you run around the fountains. I hope all the wishes you made come true!

The Edison Mall - again, we only did this once in a while - but with so many people and so many stores, it was fun watching you watch everyone else. We were here a couple of weeks ago as we let the girls go explore on their own. We got some candy and sat on the bench and waited for them. We waited about 45 minutes, and just talked, and watched people go by. Very peaceful believe it or not.

The Bagel Factory - sometimes we would have errands to run in the morning, so we would stop off for a chocolate milk and a bagel. We would sit and eat, talk about what we were going to do that day, maybe read the newspaper together.

Chick Fil A - pretty much every run to Costco was accompanied by a trip here. You liked playing on the little playground, and I liked watching you. Again, sitting and sharing lunch with my buddy was always a good time.

Smoothie Central - we went here often when they first opened, then I started making my own at home. But the ladies that worked here always got a big smile when they saw you walk in the door.

Rita's - a nice cool treat on hot days, maybe after the beach or the pool. We had one of our first "man to man" talks here too - early on in your school career.

Bennett's - we would ride our bike, you on the back, down here in the mornings. We would get a couple donuts, and ride one by Mommy's work to surprise her. You loved seeing her, and I know she loved seeing you. Then we would ride home, get some milk, and eat our donuts at the counter as a reward for our exercise.

I'm sure there are many others, but those are the one's that stand out. Now, for shows we watched together.

Peep and Chirp - easily my favorite. Every day, right before lunch, this show would come on. We would sing the theme song together. "There's no place I'd rather be" is a line from the song, and that's how I felt everyday. They talked about math and science, and being friends, and it was really a great show.

Pinky Dinky Do - is this why you know so many words?

Yo Gabba Gabba - strange but fun

Hip Hop Harry - they danced a lot on this show and that's why you liked it

Phineas and Ferb - another show about imagination and adventure. It's very funny, and we always laughed a lot watching it together.

Super Why - another show about reading - which you are GREAT at doing!

Sid the Science Kid - they did neat experiments on this show, many of which we would try on our own - like freezing the Disney Princes in ice!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - You sleep with Pluto every night, he's your buddy. On the show when Mickey needed help, he would call for 'Toodles', which was a piece of equipment that would help him out. When you would see he needed help, you would call out "Oh Toodles", just like Mickey. Loved that.

Handy Manny - he liked to build things, and you liked doing that too. Blocks, marbles, you name it.

Blues Clues - you enjoyed helping figure out the clues, your curious nature.

Little Einsteins - they liked to travel, and learn about new places. You absolutely loved seeing the new places and the adventures they would have in each place. They would talk about art a lot too - which you enjoy making. I always thought it was neat, that even when you were two or three, you would recognize a painting that we might have in a book in our house or something.

The Wonder Pets - another adventure show, but this was a lot about helping. It was a pretty funny show too, and I loved hearing you laugh when watching it.

We played lots of games at home, lots of sports, and did lots of work together. One of my favorite things that we stopped doing when you were about 3 and a half was running together. I would push you in the stroller, and we would go 3 miles some days, up to 5 miles other days. Some days it didn't look like we were going to run because of what I was wearing, so you would ask if we were going running. Anytime I put my sneakers on, you would ask "We going running Dad?" You were such a great motivator!! You never liked to wear pants, so you would usually have just a shirt and a diaper own, with a sippy cup of milk, and would kick back and relax. I remember all the smiles on people's faces that were running in the opposite direction. How could they look at you and not smile, you were having so much fun!

We went for bike rides several times a week, we played horseshoes, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, badminton, soccer, boxing and football. We blew bubbles, had picnics, blew up balloons, had water balloon fights, raced each other on foot, or with our race cars.

We cut the grass, we planted flowers, we planted vegetables. It made me so happy about a month ago when you asked if you could help me cut the grass. It's always more fun when my buddy is there to help me.

We played games like Rock Band, tic tac toe, chess, checkers, jenga, gnip gnop, and the Wii. We did puzzles together, tons and tons of puzzles! You love doing puzzles! We read so many books together, I never would have read so many books without you. We built a new train track almost every day in the family room. We built awesome marble towers, and cool things with lego blocks.

You painted, you made drawings, and we loved playing play doh together. When you were almost 4, you wanted to start doing homework, like the girls. So we got a couple workbooks and you would do the work in it. It was crazy, you would sit there and do like 30 pages without stopping! I'd have to get us outside to do something else to take your mind off of it for a while.

We made smoothies together, we made lunch together everyday. I miss not having lunch with you. We'd watch Peep and Chirp while making lunch, sometimes we would do a "movie lunch". Sometimes we went out back and had a picnic on the playground or on the porch.

When you were real little, I would feed you lunch on the sofa or the chair, with your bottle. As you finished the bottle you would give me a smile, a hug and a kiss, then fall off to sleep. As you got a little older, after lunch, you would go over to the couch. You would either say "hold you me", or "cuddle you", and we would lay down together until you fell asleep. Needless to say, I miss those days and moments tremendously.

We've had many great times already and we have so many great times ahead! I'll always be there to "hold you me" or "cuddle you" if you need it :)

The Wizards of Braman Avenue

The next stop on our great adventure was Minneapolis, Minnesota. I had never been to Minnesota, so I was looking forward to seeing the place. Minnesota is also home to the Mall of America, and thus, this was the part of the trip the Bear was most looking forward to. Bear loves to shop, to look around, to try things on, all that stuff. And with something like 400 stores in the MOA, she was bound to enjoy it.

We arrived at the hotel right around dinner time, so we checked in and got something to eat at the hotel. This was probably the oldest hotel we stayed in, it was ok, just not the best of the trip. Our hotel was right across the street from the MOA, so after dinner we walked over. The Tornado found the Lego store, and began playing with all they had, while the girls looked at the roller coasters that lie in the middle of the mall. I told the CEO I wanted to take a quick walk as I had seen something online that I wanted to check out.

There was a place called MagiQuest, and since the girls are so into Harry Potter, I thought it might be interesting. I walked up to the store front and could barely take myself into the building. The employees were in full "magic" outfits, and speaking in Old English. I mean really, they were barely understandable. I couldn't imagine working in a place where I had to be in costume and character like that every day, particularly if I had to dress up like a magic wizard or something. But hey, the girls love it, so it looked like it would be cool for them. I got all the info, and met up with the gang again.

We walked the mall a little, went into some stores, then got dessert in the Rainforest Cafe'. It's been a while since we went to the one at Disney, the Tornado was much younger, so I was wondering how he would react to all the noise. When the thunder started, he looked a little startled, but bounced back quickly and realized it was pretty fun to hear the animal sounds as if we were in the jungle. We went back to the room and to bed, and planned on hitting MagiQuest in the morning before the Twins game at night.

When we told the kids in the morning about MagiQuest, they were sooooo excited!! O couldn't wait to get there. Once we did, we found out we could go in for a couple extra bucks and "help" the kids do the scavenger hunt. Basically, you are a wizard, trying to kill a dragon. You need to go through several quests to obtain the necessary powers to kill the dragon. There are big screens that show clips when you activate them that gives clues on what to do or where to go. You have a wand to activate the clips and do other magic things. Honestly, it seemed a little silly, at best, before we got going.

The CEO and I decided we would let the girls do their own thing, go at their own pace, and we would guide the Tornado through the hunt. Well, it didn't take long before I was doing a little more than "helping" him. I was running from clip to clip, saying "over here buddy, c'mon, hurry up!" I got really caught up in the hunt/maze aspect of the game, it was pretty cool. The CEO kept telling me to let him do it, yet every time I turned around, she was on another side of the room guiding one of the girls to their next clue!! We all had magically gotten wrapped up in the game!

The time was winding down, you have 90 minutes in the room, whether you finish the hunt or not, and only one kid looked like she wasn't going to reach the finish line. With us helping him, the Tornado was right on track, and although a little pushed, O was going to make it too. That left the Bear, O M G!! I looked at the CEO and said we HAVE to get her to the finish, or the next several days of the trip would be unbearable (so to speak). So there was the three of us, sprinting from clue to clue, from clip to clip, waving the wand frantically. It was about as much pressure as you can feel doing a fun activity on vacation. I looked at my watch and saw we were down to 30 seconds and still had two things to find. I don't know what fairy intervened, but I thank her for guiding us to the right places quickly. The Bear was about to explode she was so nervous. But we made it, and the Bear got to slay the dragon! God Bless us all.

We left MagiQuest, all with huge smiles on our faces. It was a ton of fun for everyone, they all got to bring their wands with them, and for that they were extremely happy. We grabbed some lunch, shopped around a little more, and headed back to the room to relax before the game. The three master wizards and two wizard apprentices were ready for more excitement later that evening!

The 2010-2011 Lady Vikings Basketball Season

We started in August, running sprints and stairs outside in upper 90's heat, lifting weights and everyone getting to know each other a little bit.

It ended on February 15th, at home, in triple overtime of the state Sweet 16.

In between there was a lot of hard work, by the kids and the coaches, emotional ups and downs, and a lot of adjustment at home.

6 days a week, at least 2 hours a day, took a lot out of everyone. The kids missed me, the CEO missed me, and I missed them. But I really enjoyed the coaching too. I love being in the gym, and I love strategizing to try to get a win. It's a great challenge to be a motivator and positive influence on a group of people everyday, trying to keep things exciting and interesting.

We had a receptive audience this year and only minimal parental interference. Mark and I worked well together, and he let me participate in every aspect of practice and the games. We played a brutal schedule, that at times late in the season felt like had crushed the team's spirit. But after a pair of tough losses, we sprinted to the finish line in great fashion. We upset the regular season champion in the conference tournament final, without our best player, to become conference champions!

We won the first round game of the state tournament 68-30, before falling in the next round by 2. I was proud to be their coach, their attitude and effort all season was fantastic. It was a great experience for me too, and I look forward to having my own girls there and sharing it with them in a few years!

I Like When We Are Together Too

The Tornado has had a bumpy first year in school, and while it's been better, we keep getting notes about ticky-tack things. It seems as though one of his teachers doesn't like him, for whatever reason.

But I'm here to tell you, this is a special person, with a heart of pure gold. On Valentines Day he asked me to fold a piece of paper for him so he could write a card. About an hour later he gave me the card, all with his own handwriting. It said "I love you Dad, from Luke. I like when we are together." Is that the best thing in life or what??

A week later the kids had off from school for President's Day. I took them to the beach in the morning, then they played some video games in the afternoon, and we played basketball together in the evening. At breakfast the next morning, he takes a break from eating and says,"I had fun yesterday Dad, thanks." Then went on to recollect the things we did.

The CEO had a meeting that same night so she was gone longer than usual, and as he was brushing his teeth, getting ready for bed he looks up at me and says,"It's been a long day of work for Mommy, I miss her." I picked him up and carried him to bed, and gave him the biggest hug ever.

He's pure gold, and I couldn't love him any more than I do.

Magic in Minnesota

The rest back in the room did us all well, then we grabbed some food in the lobby and headed back in the car for the game. It was tough getting tickets to the game as all of the Twins this year have been sold out. This was the inaugural season for Target Field, the Twins are a good team, and the fans were very excited. We got standing room only tickets, which I was a little concerned about, before we got there.

We parked the car about 5 blocks from the stadium and walked through downtown Minneapolis on a beautiful night. The stadium was packed, and we were wearing our Rays gear to support our team. The stadium was really nice, and many fans were talking to us about how nice it is to have an outdoor stadium after years of playing indoors. We started on the 3rd base line watching the game, and meandered around as the game progressed. It was a great game, with the Rays tying it with two outs in the 9th, then winning the game in the 10th innings. The Twins fans were shocked, but instead of cursing at us, many were telling us good game, as if we had played! Ahh the difference between northeasterners and mid westerners.

After the game we went down by the field to take some pictures and had a nice conversation about our trip with some of the ushers. Everyone was just so nice to us the whole time we were there. O bought a tshirt the reads "Chicks Dig the Outdoors", a play on the old commercial with a twist on the Twins new stadium.

We walked back to the car, the city still bustling on a Thursday night. Another full day complete on this wonderful excursion. Tomorrow we leave for South Dakota, a long day on the road before a 3 day stop in Mt. Rushmore land!