Last month, I got to chaperone Jaylin and Austin at the Broadway play, The Lion King. It was amazing. I was in as much awe as the elementary school kids. Definitely the coolest musical that I have ever been to. It was so fun to ride the bus with Jaylin and see this incredible performance.
Good to get another rivalry going with the brothers in SLC. I was at the game with Austin on Saturday night when I got a text from Brian saying he was watching the game on TV. I told him that we were there and RSL was going DOWN. Then I got a text from Brad, and then Austin wanted to send some text smack to him. Right after Austin sent his message, the Sounders scored their first goal. Brad soon replied back that “Looks like Austin may be right”
We had some great seats 7 rows up right behind the southwest corner flag. Austin was right next to the wall of the Tunnel. It was cool to be right there where the players came out. The crowd was pretty intense- sold out at around 29,000. (They block off the upper bowl of Qwest field for soccer matches) Everyone was standing up the whole time, so I had to stand up the whole game to be able to see it too. Austin didnt have anyone directly in front of him, so he had a good view and could sit down. It is very cool to have MLS soccer in Seattle. It makes up a bit for the sting of losing the Sonics.
At half time, we got Austin a Sounders FC pennant to hang in his room. I was so glad it didnt rain the whole game. It was pouring for most of the day, so we took ponchos and extra clothes, but never had to use them. It was sweet to get a win and be 2-0 already in the Sounders inaugural season!
We have an excellent team. Although it was pouring rain, freezing cold and the field was a muddy, puddly mess, the boys got off to a great start. Austin scored about 45 seconds into the game. He went on to get another a few minutes later, and we were soon up 5-0 at halftime. The poor kids were freezing cold, but stayed tough. I think we do need to work on their conditioning a bit as they were huffing and puffing after about 10 minutes. By the end of the game, Austin had at least 4 goals, and I had moved him back on defense to give the other team a breather. We ended up winning 13-1. The team was passing well and we have some great players. Should be a fun season!
[1998]
I was golfing with my Father in law and brother in laws in Whistler, Canada a number of years back. It was a beautiful day, but the mosquitoes were killing us. You could look down at your arm and see the bloodsuckers getting drunk on us and having a great time. You could literally kill a dozen with one swat to your arm. We had lathered on the repellent, but these Canadian mosquitoes seemed to love the stuff-- it did not deter them at all. We were basically running between shots to try to evade the nasty suckers. We debated just bailing out, but figured we would tough it out since we had paid good money and who knew when we would get back there again. After about 7 holes, we were up at a the tee, which was on a little bluff above a pond. It shouldn’t have been too hard to clear the pond with the first shot. I think the funniest thing about battling the mosquitoes was seeing how everyone else dealt with them. Line up next to the ball, swat. Take a practice swing, swat. (Im getting itchy just remembering it) Between being itchy from the previous bites, and shooing the current swarm away, it was tough focusing. My father in law was up. With all of the swatting, the slick repellent lathered on his hands, and a (now) greasy iron to deal with, he took a quick and ferocious swing at the ball. The iron went flying out of his hands, went up 20 feet in the air, and made a perfect swan dive into the pond. My father in law, looking disgusted, grabbed his bag and said: "We are done!" and we took off running like maniacs to escape.
We were sitting down watching the Jazz/Nuggets game last week. I was excited that LeAnn was even there. She usually can only stand it for a few minutes. She was commenting on how she dislikes all of the tattoos the players have. Then she saw this guy…
It was Chris Andersen. She said:
“That guy needs a haircut………. and an eraser!”
It was a classic. My wife is funny! Another one of the zillions of reasons that I love her so much. :)
[Cross post from our family newsletter. Penned by LeAnn]
The big event in our house this past month was Autumn’s 12th Birthday (her golden as well, turned 12 on the 12th). She and I had been planning a party for the week after her big day… but Todd and I decided to change it up and give her a surprise party the week before (Austin and Jaylin didn’t even know). All of her friends were very good secret keepers and it went off without a hitch! She was totally shocked when after coming home from shopping with Todd, Austin and Jaylin there where her six friends waiting in the dark. None of them had ever been to a surprise party so instead of jumping out and saying “Surprise” they just walked out and giggled. But after the initial daze wore off she had a great time!
