Football Game 4 2009 Season

Summertime......

As usual, we've had a busy summer. There is always something happening with someone.....







Baseball is of course in full swing. Kevin is in the Mustang division this year and David is in the Bronco division. Both teams have played really hard, but we've had quite a few misses this year. The playoffs have started with one team moving on and the other teams season over. We of course are proud regardless of the end result. Go STORM and GO ROCKIES!

Then in the middle of June, we took a family camping trip. This was our first attempt at a full fledged adventure to somewhere we had never been. The kids were totally excited and we escaped with almost no rain. The last night we did get some, but it was at bedtime, so it didn't bother anyone too much. In the morning we packed up all our wet gear and drove home from a great vacation. Not quite Texas, but the drive was more manageable.

This is David at a place called MOOSEJAW! Their thick crust pizza is yummo!

Where are your antlers David?

Can you say SMORES Olivia?

At times our camp had more smoke than fire.

Kevin is standing knee deep in Devil's Lake.

Where have all the fish gone?

Amanda may look like she is havin and good time,

but after this 3 mile hike, she doesn't like it anymore.

Me man, start fire, cook food. Hot Dogs on a stick, can you hunt those?

It was a really fun time. We're still finsihing up our baseball season and soon it will be time to think about school supply shopping, but before we get to far ahead of ourselves we do have some more family fun planned.

Updates to follow.

Back in the Saddle.

So, I obvious took a long break from my blog. I assumed that no one was reading it so why bother.

But I missed it. And to be quite honest, I do check other people's blogs and love to see their updates. I'm sure that the same applies to those who read mine (or I hope). So, while this blog is a little lacking. I will make more effort to make better and bigger blogs in the near future.

Especially since my family will be further apart than ever before in just a few short weeks.

TTFN

PS: here's a picture of princess penny to add a bit of interest to this otherwise dull blog.

H8

The recent events of the last few days concern me to the core. The election, which was highly emotional was a momentous occasion for the world. While I am still adjusting to it and am disappointed that the canidate I preferred did not win, I have remained calm. Apparently so have 42% of the country who voted for the losing party.

Then you have a group of people in California who had something similair happen to them. They voted one way and the results were not what they hoped they would be. Instead of accepting defeat and remaining determined to stand up and let their voices be heard in a civilized manner; this group of people have resorted to violence and hatred as a means of protesting the defeat.

I do not live in CA, nor was I able to vote on the Proposition 8 measure. Had I been able to; my vote would have supported it. Not out of hatred or bigotry, but in defense of my own personal belief system. I believe that the homosexual lifestyle is wrong as is allowing marriage between two people of the same-sex. That does not mean I am a homophobe or a religious zealot. I simply have a different opinion of this social issue than those who support it. I do believe that every human should have free will to decide what they will be and how they will live their lives. However, I also believe they should allow those who do not agree to stand up for their point of view.

The fact that these people have marched into what I consider a very sacred are near the LA Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints absolutely sickens me. I did not go into their homes and yell and scream at them that they were immoral or disgusting for their choice and yet, in the video I saw, a group of very angry and hateful people shouting awful things at those who came to worship God at a very holy spot for their religion.

Hatred should not be tolerated by anyone towards anyone.

Still Spinning

I knew before I cast my vote yesterday that it didn't mean anything for the election results. For weeks now they were showing Obama as the projected winner. In fact, my decision to vote came only after some encouragement from family and friends to let my voice be heard. I'm not sure that it really was. It is truly the first time since I turned 18, I wish I had never voted.

It struck me this morning as I briefly watched the news, that no one was pointing out the popular vote at all. If you look at the actual number of people who voted for each canidate, the numbers are really not that far apart. 52% to 47%.

So, when all is said and done I guess it was the right thing to do. I showed my support for the canidate I believe stands up for the values that keep America strong and free. Unfortunately, it also shows how truly divided this country still is even with all the come together, we can make a difference jargon. Talk is cheap.

I was also struck by those who payed no attention to the winning canidates credentials. They have elected a man to the highest office of the nation despite the fact that he has never led anything. He is a rookie being asked to play in the biggest game when the home team is down. If this was a job interview and the two handed in their resumes, would an employer honestly give the job to the less qualified applicant.

To me this election was about payback for the Republicans, well actually just one, Bush. I believe that the Democratic canidate would have been elected no matter who they were. It is about hatred for man who has given 8 years of his life to service in this country, who as president deserves some respect. Yes, I will agree his decisions have not always been popular or even the best, but why should that become a personal attack on his character and intelligence.

I struggle to make sense of the decision that has now been made for me. The band wagon was very full last night.

Are you smarter than a 5th Grader?

Okay, so maybe that is pushing it just a bit when it comes to my algebra problems, but I honestly can say, I've never seen math like this before.

Since it has been so long since my last math class I have had to jump into the middle of the book basicly. Chapter 6 to be exact.

First, we simplified and found undefined. No problem.

Next, multiply and divide. Got it.

Then, add and subtract with like denominators. I so have it.

On to add and subtract with different denominators. Not too tough yet, but wait. What in the world is Sum of Cubes. This can't be a real math problem, can it!

Alright, moving on to Solving rational equations. NO WAY, this is not right, and definitely not rational.

Since I can't get the math to look right I'll type out what I'm doing and you can get exhausted just reading about it.

(P minus 5 over three minus p times 3 plus p) plus (p plus 6 time p plus 3 over p minus 3) - (p squared plus 10p plus 13 over p minus 3 times p plus 3)

I'm not sure who it was that invented this particular form of math, but they deserve to be punished severely. I wish I could say that is the worst I've seen, but there are worse.

A couple more months and then it's on to geometry, then actual College Level algebra. Yep, this isn't even considered college level. Now, I know why I don't ever remember doing this. The memory of it all must be blocked; it's painful.

A suggestion for anyone taking a class like this; get lots of pencils, a good sharpener, and lots of erasers.

Mud Bowl 2008

Okay, a little update for Family and Friends regarding our football Season.

Saturday we had our 5th game. Our current record is 0-5. We've had some tough loses, but this weeks game was still fun to play. See pics below.

I agreee buddy, what's with this weather. The amount of water was just incredible.

Notice the water on the field. During one play the kids who was tackled landed in such a puddle of water he could have used goggles and a snorkel.

This picture especially shows how bad the rain was coming down at times. Who knew IL had a monsoon season.

While we've played youth tackle football for 3 years now, but this is our first year having a cheerleader. I just love having a little girl involved in fun activities.

Notice my little girl standig barefoot, cheering in the rain, with mud up to her knees. Looking darn cute inspite of it all. Because of the weather, the halftime routine didn't quite go as planned, but hopefully next week will be dry and I'll get some good shots of their routine.

The poor girls got surprised by a down pour on their way back from a potty break. Unfortunately, after this shower, the girls were excused from cheering. Notice the stream behind them on the sidelines.

On a side note, during the game we had a few univited guests along the sidelines. In the middle of this picture you'll see the head of a SNAKE popping out of the makeshift "river" the rains have created. The kids had a blast trying to scare this one away, but he never moved despite their splashing. Later in the day, Kevin found another snake in a seperate flooded area. Then, he tried to show me. I was fine til he put it face to face with me, the thought just sent shivers down my spine. The irony, we've had snakes at our practice field as well. Luckily I haven't seen any myself.

So, 3 weeks left in the regular season. If we manage to win a few games we may make it too the playoffs, but all indications are that this season will be a short one. That's good and bad.

GO ORANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!