The Fireballs - Game 3

Yesterday was our 3rd soccer game, and it was also "Team Picture" day. All the kids got their soccer pictures taken, and then we got our team pictures done. After that we played our game, and we were the green team this time. The kids all had their best game yet. They all played great, and everyone gave a great effort. If we were keeping score we would have won...which leads me to my next point. After the game one of the parents on our team came up to me and said he heard a mom on the OTHER team say that was their team's first loss in 4 seasons. Unfortunately, this mom also looked very upset about it and she seemed to be taking it way too hard. I fully expected to come in contact with parents like these, but I didn't expect to see it at this age level. Like I've said before, we don't keep standings and we don't keep score at this age level. Unfortunately though there are parents that still have a competitive interest in these games, and they follow all that stuff on their own.
As for us though our team played great, and everyone had fun. We've had three practices and three games so far, and Sean (the other coach) and I have both noticed steady improvement from week to week. The kids are slowly understanding the game and they're learning the "team" concept. Best of all the kids are making friends with one another. We're all having a lot of fun...coaches included.

From The Shelf

(I'm introducing a new segment to the blog...the book review. The reason I've never bothered to do this until now is often times I re-read books that are personal favorites of mine. But I recently read the book listed below and I thought this would be a good time to start.)


THE ROAD - By Cormac McCarthy
This is the story of a father and his son on a long journey together...a journey with no destination. There has been a cataclysmic event and the world is burned and scarred. Everything is grey, cold, and ash covered. Something has happened to the earth but we never really learn what exactly. The duo decide to travel south on a road, which hopefully leads to some sort of salvation. But the pair are not the only ones on the road. With civilization on the brink chaos and anarchy reign, and the father must defend his son from strangers and outsiders who are bent on survival or worse.
McCarthy is a literary genius with this perrfectly crafted book. There are elements of drama, horror, and suspense here, but the focus of the story is on the father and son's relationship and how they struggle to survive and keep some sense of family. The story is incredibly moving, and the father's commitment to his son almost pushed me to tears at times.
Every father who has a son should read this book. Every father out there can only hope to aspire to the father character here.
After I finished the book I read some commentary about it online, and I discovered that this was also an Oprah Book of the Month selection. I'm kind of embarrassed to say that, but it is a great read. The movie comes out in November I believe, and it stars Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings, Eastern Promises). So if you don't read the book make sure you check out the film.

"Mr. Amazing Reader"

Ben's reading skills are really taking off. He's already tackling books now that are beyond his age. His teacher sends him home with "early reader" books from school, and he just flies through them. They're getting easier and easier for him to read it seems like. He likes to read my old Disney books, which I would say are around a first grade level. In fact, one night after we tucked him in bed we could hear him on the monitor reading to himself. When Jenny went up to his room she found him in bed with a book in total darkness. She asked him "Can you even see the words?" He said, "Not really." So he's probably going to be that kid who takes a book and a flashlight to bed and reads under the sheets.
Another time we were out and about somewhere and he saw one of those yellow caution tapes wrapped around something. He said, "That says...CAUTION - DO NOT CROSS." I wondered to myself how he could even read a word like "caution."
His teachers at school are all very impressed with his reading level right now. This past week when I was picking him up from school his teacher said to me, "I'm going to start calling him Mr. Amazing Reader." Ben thought that was pretty cool.

The Fireballs - Game 2

Ben's soccer team had their second game on Saturday. It was raining, so the kids got to play in the rain. Because of the rain the other team didn't show up, so we divided our team and just ran a long scrimmage so the kids could play. We also decided on our team name...THE FIREBALLS.
After the game a few of us went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner.

Hurricanes...smurricanes!

It's been 3 years now since we went through the stressful hurricane season of 2005. Yet as the years roll by Jenny and I still get concerned when we see hurricanes on the news headed toward Louisiana and Texas...even living all the way up here in Michigan.
Here's a picture of the Galveston beach when we were there earlier this year.
I was telling Jenny last night that when I see on the news a hurricane headed toward a place we've lived at, visited, or frequented I still get nervous...especially when we have family, friends, and coworkers in those areas. When Gustav rolled through Louisiana we were listening all day to the online stream of WWL 870 AM out of New Orleans for continuous coverage and reports. Then all day yesterday we were listening online to KTRH 740 AM out of Houston for reports and updates. Even last night when Ike was headed toward Houston Jenny and I spent all night watching the news. It was crazy seeing reporters in downtown Houston, at Surfside, Clute, and Freeport...all areas that we've spent a lot of time at because of family, and the Dow facilities around there. I think I stayed up till about 2 a.m. last night waiting to see what was going to happen at landfall.
I swear, once you go through a hurricane you still get that nervous feeling about all the others that follow. Especially in areas you used to call home.

Guitar Hero

I like to get the guitar out and play songs for the kids. We sing mostly campfire songs, but we mix in our fair share of "Wheels On The Bus" and songs like that. Megan likes to bang on the guitar and hear the noises that come out. Ben has started to strum it while I change the chords. He likes being able to play a song now.

Photography from Ben

Here's some of Ben's latest photography. Why a picture of me emptying the dishwasher is interesting is beyond me, but it seemed to interest him. I like the picture of his feet.

What is Megan Up To?

Megan has two new tricks. First, she's learned how to pull herself up into the little rocking chair we have for the kids. She climbs into it and starts to rock back and forth. Getting out of it is a little tricky for her, but she just kind of flops down and catches herself. Her other trick is she's learned how to climb the stairs. She'll see Ben walk upstairs to get something and she'll crawl up the stairs after him.

Ben's Soccer - Game 1

This morning was Ben's first soccer game. It was an experience, and a lot of fun for all of us. All this week he had been talking about playing soccer with Parker on Saturday, so he was really looking forward to it. At this age the game is played with 5 players each on a team, there are no goalies, and no one keeps score or standings. It's all about the basics at this age, and several of our kids have never played organized soccer before (including Ben.) Ben did pretty good today. I think he kicked the ball a few times, and overall gave a good effort. I just want him to try and have fun. The team we played was a lot more organized and experienced. It looked like they had some kids on their team that knew how to play the game. They even had a team name...the Minnows. We haven't picked a name for our team yet. As for us, our kids looked a little confused at the start of the game...but by the end of the game they were all doing much better. Like I said, several kids on the team have never played soccer before so it will just take time I'm sure. At the end of the game we all shook hands, and the parents made a "tunnel" for all the kids to walk through. That might have been Ben's favorite part. So anyway, all the kids had fun, and for a lot of us parents on the team this was our first step into the world of youth soccer. It was an experience and I think it will be a lot of fun. Practice is on Tuesday, and the first order of business will be to pick a team name.

Don't You Just Love The Media

This makes me laugh whenever I see it. Enjoy...

Mount Rainier National Park - REVISITED

Mike sent me some of his pictures from our trip last week, so I thought I'd post some of his.

Ben's New Soccer Team

Today was Ben's first soccer practice. The team's first game is this Saturday, so this afternoon we had our first organized practice. The team consists of about 9 kids, and some of the players are friends of Ben, so he already has some friends on the team. Also, I volunteered to be the Assistant Coach on the team, so we're both involved. I always thought I would be "that kind of Dad" that got involved in the kid's sports, so I gladly volunteered to be a coach. It's fun, and I know Ben really likes that we're doing this together. Man, if you ever want to see your child quickly look older right before your eyes simply put a team uniform on them. Yes indeed, this will be a fun experience for all of us.