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!

HALLOWEEN

Halloween has come and gone, probably my least favorite holiday. Dressing up has never been a big thing for me, walking around asking people for candy, I don't know, it's been a long time since that was exciting for me.

However, the kids do love it, and it's fun watching them run around and enjoy it so much.

The CEO and I were invited to a grown up costume party, and after about a month of debating, we settled on Princess Leia and Han Solo. A shopping trip to about ten different locations was all it took to complete my ensemble. The CEO got her hair done, she looked great. As my friend Frank told me at the party "as long as you are near Leia, everyone will know who you are, otherwise you just look like a weird dude." We had fun at the party, and I did get to meet one of the Eagles players who is from the area, so that was pretty cool.

After GMA, GPA and Oma came over for dinner, I walked around the neighborhood with the kids. It was a nice night, and we had a great little walk. The kids got lots of stuff so they were happy, and I got to enjoy what felt like a little simpler old fashioned Halloween. From the Fall Harvest Party, the the costume party, to trick or treating, it was a great weekend.

FALL HARVEST "PARTY"

The Tornado had his first Fall Harvest party at school a couple days back. We played a couple games, ate some fall type snacks like apples with caramel, did some crafts, and went on a hayride. This is the Tornado with one of his friends. He had a great morning, had a lot of fun and it was neat seeing him with his buddies.

It wasn't supposed to be a party, the teacher didn't want a big fuss. The assistant said at the end of the day "it was the perfect amount of fun". The CEO and I had to laugh at that one. She's a little passive aggressive, and maybe we were too, but gosh darnit we wanted the little guy to have some fun! In the end it all worked out just fine.

ANYTOWN USA

We woke up early on Wednesday and hit the road to Minneapolis. It was supposedly an 8 hour drive, so we had a full day of driving ahead of us. Little did we know of the wonderful treat that was waiting for us at about the halfway point.

After about 3 hours of driving, the CEO spurts out "Hey, the Bridges of Madison County are at the next exit!" Of course we decided to stop and see what it was all about.

This picture is the oldest of the bridges, and is right off the exit. We all got out and walked around, reading about the bridges, and just enjoying the quiet in this tiny spot. A sign indicating where the visitors center was pointed us to our next stop. The tiny church which now acts as the visitors center held a bunch of little trinkets and info on the bridges. The CEO talked to the man who was running the center and he told us about Winterset, which was about "5 miles" dwon the road. He told us about several bridges that were there, a hedge maze and a tower in a park that he though we would like to visit.

The gang hopped back in the car and pointed towards Winterset. About 15 miles later we started to pull into Winterset. The first thing we saw was John Wayne's birthplace. A tiny little house on the corner of a little street off the main drive with a statue outside. We took a couple pictures for Opa and continued into town. After a little driving around we found the park. The kids really enjoyed the hedge maze as they did it over and over. Next we got back in the car and drove down the dirt and gravel road to find the tower. It was an old stone tower, and was pretty cool. The kids went to the top, you could see for miles, and they pretended they were knights and royal figures. We hung out for an hour and headed back to "downtown" for lunch.

Winterset might as well be called Anytown USA, because it is exactly what you think of when you imagine a small, middle America town. Or at least it is for me. Basically the town consists of the courthouse in the center of a square, with stores and offices, all two stories at the most, surrounding the courthouse. The restaurant that was in the movie The Bridges of Madison county is on the square, although we didn't eat there. There was no traffic, no trouble parking, and the few people that were walking around had nice smiles on their faces. I went into the drug store, I couldn't believe it when I saw a little counter where they were serving dessert. Did I get lost and end up in Mayberry?? The lady at the counter was teasing a customer she knew about the black eye he had, how great is that!!

Everyone piled back into the car and off we went having had enjoyed a great slice of Americana. As we have moved west on the trip, things have gotten more tranquil, more relaxing, and I've felt more and more together with the family. When you take away all the other stuff in life that distracts from being together, you really can enjoy the people you love. And I'm really enjoying the trip.

A SATURDAY AFTERNOON

The CEO is out of town, leaving me at home with the three little rascals. I had a CPR class to go to in the AM, so they spent the morning at a friends house. We got home and had some lunch, and with my back really bothering me, I laid down on the couch and the kids watched a movie.

I had told them that after a little rest we would be planting a bunch of flowers as a surprise for Mommy. They were a little grumpy about the idea, but said OK, they would help when it was time.

We went outside at about 4:30, and began digging. The weather was great, and they were enthusiastic about helping. Sometimes they start that way, but finish a little less enthusiastic. Not today though. They were digging, they were planting, they were carrying, you name it they were doing it. We were joking with each other, telling stories (mostly them and me listening), the Tornado was drumming on the empty flower pots on the porch. It was delightful.

About 3 hours later, as the sun was setting on the river, the Tornado and I got the hose out and sprayed some water on the flowers. The girls were cleaning up, putting the shovels and gloves away. We all kind of stood there, admiring the work, and I told them for the next 7 months as they are playing outside they can watch the flowers grown and admire all the hard work they put into planting them and helping them grow.

Kind of like me watching them...