Another one bites the dust...

Well... this week marked the end of basketball camps. I just have 1 more week of Summer League and then a few days off... then off to ORU to take 11 young ladies to team camp. Then hopefully July will go a lot slower and we (the family) can go on a well-deserved vacation. It's been a fun couple of weeks, but VERY busy. I've been working my fanny off to make things go smoothly and make it so that the teams coming to the Summer League want to come back. [guess that's the business major in me coming back out] This last week brought several 'issues' (had 4 teams not show for whatever reason) but they're over and done with and I just want this last week to go over with no glitches and end smoothly.

I'm really looking forward to this week though... don't have to go to the gym at 7:30 am or 11:00 am for camp session. I get to spend most of the day at home and go up around 3. That's going to be a very-welcomed change!

Jeanise's birthday is on Sunday and we're going to all go do the Father's day/Jeanise... oops... Jeanise's Birthday/Father's day celebration and enjoy the day. Not very often that people can have a whole bunch of things to celebrate in one day. :-)

It's 1:00 am (the time on this thing LIES!) ... going to bed. Nite!

Up All Night...

Aren't they just cute?

Well... the first official week of Deer Creek Summer League is done... 1 down... 2 to go. It was a nice week. We had a few issues on Monday (as to be expected) but as the week progressed, there were fewer problems... which was nice. We don't have AC in any of our gyms (not that it wasn't turned on... WE JUST DON'T HAVE AC!), so it's been a bit warm and sticky. I just don't think that it would be DC Summer Leauge if it wasn't just too unbearably hot.

We also had the little kids basketball camp this week. It was a lot of fun and I think that the kids enjoyed it. We had aboutt 75-80... maybe more. Tomorrow's it, though... THANK GOODNESS!

It's really good to be home or see the kids & Jeanise when they come out to the gym. It's a nice surprise and it's always needed.

This is it (Hewey Lewis and the News)

Today was the last 'official' day of school. Doesn't really seem possible that this year is over. Summer break will start tomorrow and the days of camps, summer league, team camp, vacations, play dates with kids will commence. I'm pretty excited about it, but kinda' miss school. But not THAT much...

Getting final plans made for summer league and summer camps. It'll be my first as a head coach and I'm really excited about it. I'm looking forward to the fun.

Gotta go get the kids ready for bed.
Nite

I just can't think of a title...

Today was a very relaxing Saturday. On many accounts. I only have 2 more days of school... and then summer basketball stuff starts up. I'm alittle anxious and nervous, because this is the first time that I've had to direct the summer league and be a 'leader' in our basketball camp. I'm really looking forward to it.

This morning was the first morning in a while that I got to spend with the kids. Joel is talking SOOOOO much more now... and Lindsay is talking and discovering her personality. I guess that I'm discovering her personality, but that's just funny. Jeanise warned me weeks ago that Lindsay likes to take her diaper off and run around naked. Well... I guess I had dozed off on the couch and awoke to a giggling 18 month old streaking around the living room! After choraling her... I put her diaper back on. About 45 minutes later, I went to check on her and Joel in their bedroom. Only to find Lindsay, diaperless, assuming the 'poopy' position. AH! Now my lesson is learned. Well... after getting it all cleaned up, I went to help my brother with his computer. While I was gone Joel came in to Jeanise saying, "mommy help please? Brown yuck." While she thought that a going to the potty break thru was in progress... evidentally Joel found one of Lindsay's "presents" from earlier that got missed. "Lindsay's brown yuck?" That was pretty funny.

Night all and have a wonderful Memorial Day!

On the road again... (Willie Nelson)

Just got back (Sunday really) from the Nike Championship Basketball Coaches clinic in Robinsonville, MS (~30 miles south of Memphis). It was INCREDIBLE! 3 days of listening to college coaches teach drills, talk about basketball 'stuff', and the list goes on. It was SOOOOOO what I needed for this summer and next year. I'm really pumped! I got to listen to Roy Williams from UNC, Coach Romero (sp?) from Univ. of Washington, the Alabama Head Coach, Coach Maretti from St. Joe's... and more! There even was a trainer who specifically deals with off-season drills and workouts... it was perfect! I'm really glad that I went. Didn't take any pictures, though...

Anyway... it's been quiet around the house with Jeanise and the kids in NM visiting her brother, his wife, and Jeanise's new niece! Joel and Lindsay have gotten to play with Trinity for a few days and they're enjoying their time there.

Well... time to get to school. It's the last full week... and we begin finals on Friday. CYA L8R!

Speechless... (Steven Curtis Chapman)

I knew it! I'd come up with some kind of title... I was a little worried there for a moment.

Well... sorry for those who are keeping up with me and my goings on. It's been a tough couple of weeks. Long story (and you know how those can go) short... I've got a parent who has gone to everyone but me about an issue with me being the head coach of our girl's program. It's just a rough situation and the bottom line here is that... NO ONE CAME TO ME ABOUT IT! You really have to know what our district is like to truely appreciate what's going on. I had thoughts of giving it all up and just, well, quiting... was it worth it? Well... ABSOLUTLY! I'm not quiting and I'm not letting 1 parent spoil it all! I've got too many others who are supportive of me and what I did last year. This is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I'm not going to take it for granted.

So that's what has been occupying my time for the last 3 weeks. Now on to happier notes...

Joel is just growing so much and getting so much more vocal. He is a sweet little boy who loves to play with his sister (although, he's still learning about what's Lindsay's and what's his... everything is Joel's). I got to play with the 2 of them in the back yard tonight for about an hour. I'll admit... when I first came home the last thing that I wanted to do was to go outside. But after a while, it was the best thing that I could have done. I played ball with Joel and chased him around for awhile. Lindsay and I worked on her t-ball skills (she's gonna be good) and then we just ran around for a while. It was a lot of fun.

Tonight, Lindsay started fussing a little abit to Jeanise. Jeanise asked her if she was hungry... do you want a snack?... do you want some goldfish? She then quieted down and left the room. About a minute later... Lindsay had in her hands... the tupperware container from the pantry where we keep the goldfish and handed it to Jeanise with a 'uh!' Which translated to me: "You guys were way to slow with this, so I did it myself!" Jeanise and I just broke out in laughter and it was just the funniest thing.

Well... off to bed. Night!

Just Can't Wait.... (don't know if it's a real title or not)

Well... it should be a title! Jeanise and the kids should be coming back from Alb., NM tomorrow. They left last Thursday night with Steve & Lisa (Jeanise's parents) to visit her brother and family. They had a good visit... short and sweet, I guess. But enough about them... I'm ready for them to be back! :-) I stayed behind because I had a baseball tournament this weekend. It was a bummer, but I got some things done with the alone time. It was annoyingly quiet, though. I kept waiting for Joel to come running thru the kitchen with a toy or a book or something and run into my leg. Or waiting to hear Lindsay's little feet patting the kitchen floor and see that sweet smile come around the island. It's also been tough sleeping in bed by myself. I get to hog the bed... but subconsciencely wait for Jeanise to kick me over to my side.

Interesting how you miss those little things... HURRY HOME! :-)

I want a new drug... (not really, but it's the first thing that came to mind)

I borrowed, stole, took... etc. from another person's blog and thought it was funny:

The Three-Word Answer Meme:
01. Where is your cell phone? On the charger.
02. Boyfriend/girlfriend? Sleep with her... (for the last 12+ years)
03. Hair? Summer Hair do
04. Your mother? Loves her children
05. Your father? Very, very tall
06. Your favorite item(s)? Jeanise, Joel, Lindsay
07. Your dream last night? School and basketball
08. Your favorite drink? XL Mountain Dew
09. Your dream girl? Always been Jeanise
10. The room you are in? My hot study.
11. Your fear? Living by myself
12. What do you want to be in 10 years? Coaching and Teaching
13. Who did you hang out with last night? Same as 06
14. What are you not? Artistic, instrumental, creative
15. Are you in love? Absolutely, Yes, Si
16. One of your wish list items? An undefeated season
17. What time is it? 11:01 in Oklahoma.
18. The last thing you did? Watch the Apprentice
19. What are you wearing? Shorts and t-shirt
20. Your favorite book? Larry Bird's--Drive
21. The last thing you ate? I don't remember
22. Your life? Busy, busy, wonderful
23. Your mood? tired, sleepy, questionable
24. Your friends? Supportive, loyal, humorous
25. What are you thinking about right now? Bed and tomorrow
26. Your car? My black Avalanche
27. What are you doing at this moment? You haveta' ask (I stretched that one...)
28. Your summer? Basketball, mowing, hot
29. Your relationship status? Married 12 years.
30. What is on your TV screen? Nothing, black, light
31. When is the last time you laughed? At dinner time.
32. Last time you cried? Not real sure.
33. School? Really wanna' know?

It's been a long, long time comin' (I've got you...)

Ok... it's not a song title, but the first line in (I think) a BABYFACE song. It was just the first line I thought of. Has it really been almost a month?!?!?! WOW! Sorry to all of those who have been checking this blog, wondering if I was going to post something TODAY! Let me catch everyone up...

Basketball is again and now officially over. The state tournament was last weekend and it was fun. I took my team to the finals of the 6A Girls tournament because (dah dah DAH DAH!) we are the 5A Academic State Champions! Which means we may not have won the big game at the end, but we're smarter than any other team in Class 5A! It was pretty cool to accept that award. These girls work very hard on their grades and this was a great way to acknowledge that effort. It was over a 3.8! Pretty smart kids, if I do say so myself... The team that beat us in the first round, went on the final 4 of the tournament before getting beat. That made me feel pretty good, but know that we've got to really do some things different for next year.

I've been coaching JV baseball for about 3 weeks, I guess. We're doing alright, but now have a break while the Varsity travels to Gulf Shores, AL on a baseball trip. It's a good deal for them and I'm sure will be fun.

The kids are doing great... Lindsay is walking EVERYWHERE and stumbles every now and then. Joel loves this new Tickle Me Elmo doll that Jeanise found at Kohls. It's the funniest thing that I've ever seen... but rather annoying when it goes off for HOURS! The kids love to play together and go outside. It's a lot of fun to watch them grow up together and to play the way they do.

Well... I'm going to go into the living room now and start my SPRING BREAK! Sometimes, I love being a teacher! :-)

One and done...

No, there's not a song title like that (I was doing really well with that for a while)...

Well, my girls lost in the first round of regionals on Thursday. We played a very good Coweta team (ranked 7 in class 5A) and just couldn't get anything going. We played hard, but shots just didn't fall... calls didn't go our way... and it was a tough night on a team of girls who's only returning starter was on the bench in a cast. The girls fought and fought, and were quite disappointed in the way their season finished out.

I know that they're sad, but I'm kinda' depressed because the season is over. I put a lot of time energy and myself into this team since August... and now it's over. I'm going over to baseball next, but am going to take some time off so that I can take a bit of a break and get things wrapped up on the basketball end.

Just wanted to share...

Getting to know you... getting to know you... dah dah dah dah

Ok... here's another getting to know you thing (which I sto... borrowed from someone else's blog)


1. The phone rings. Who are you hoping it is? Publisher's Clearing House... (I'm a teacher, can't I hope?)... Naw... really, Jeanise. I love hearing her voice in the afternoon of my day... it's a refreshing break.
2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? Yep.
3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? Sadly, I admit, I talk people's heads off. I really can't shut up. Is there an AA for people who can't shut up?
4. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? No... I die of not having people to talk to.
5. Do you like to ride horses? Nay... I mean... Naw... But I do do a really good Mr. Ed impression. That's about as close as I get.
6. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? I did in Webelos (aka Boy Scouts) a couple of times. Never went to church camp because it always conflicted with baseball season (little league).
7. What was your favorite board game as a kid? Had a bunch... really liked Candyland, Stratego, but I really liked playing SORRY with my mom. She really got into it...
8. If a sexy person was pursuing you, but you knew he/she was taken what would you do? RUN AND HIDE!
9. Are you judgmental? What are you trying to say, huh? I think everyone is a little bit. I'd say that I am some. I think being a teacher and a father has helped me to be less judgemental, in that regard.
10. Would you date someone with different religious beliefs? Did a couple of times...
11. Are you continuing your education? In a manner of speaking... I tell my students, I love giving tests... not taking them. I did spend about 5 weeks a couple of summers ago cramming in Algebra I, II, & Geometry for a Math certification test. It was a little fun. Made me realized what REAL studying in college was like.
12. Do you know how to shoot a gun? Yes, but not real well. Got to shoot my uncle Mike's colonial riffle a couple of times in college. Those are really big balls and they make really big holes in coffee cans.
13. If your house was on fire, what’s the first thing you’d grab? My family... cat will just have to roll the dice.
14. How often do you read books? about every day... for about 5-10 minutes... all I will say... (TMI)
15. Do you think more about the past, present or future? Past... but working on the other two more.
16. What is your favorite children’s book? Green Eggs and Ham, and the Beverly Cleary books
17. How tall are you? 6'6" (basketball height)... 6'5 1/2" (reality, probably)
18. Where is your ideal house located? Myrtle Beach, SC on the golf course
19. Last person you talked to? Jeanise... watching tv and discussion which people should go from GREASE
20. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? On a date with Jeanise and the kids, about 4-5 weeks ago... Why? (so random)
21. What are your keys on your key chain for? Opening all sorts of doors at my school... mostly athletic facility doors (it's all about the # of keys, ya know?)
22. What did you do last night? Statted the last 2 games of the season and went to bed after Jeanise was asleep
23. Where is your current pain? in bed... JUST KIDDING! Hurt my shoulder playing basketball Saturday, and it's still sore.
24. Do you like mustard? sure... would you like some Grey Poupon?... GRAY POOP ON WHAT?!?!
25. Do you like your mom or dad? Absolutely!
26. How long does it take you in the shower? 10 minutes on a regular day... 3 minutes when I wake up late for school
27. What movie do you want to see right now? Bruce Almighty... Jim Carrey always makes me laugh
28. Do you put lotion on your dog or cats? My cat is the cleanest cat on the planet... he doesn't need anything
29. What did you do for New Year’s? Played dominoes with Shane and Alice Coffman and listened to Shane's OSU ringtone into the night... to the point that I now dream it! AH!!H!H!!!
30. Do you think The Grudge was scary? don't know... are they going to hold that against me? :-)
31. Do you own a camera phone? yep
32. What’s the last letter of your middle name? 'n' (again, really random)
33. Who did you vote for on American Idol? the girl... :-)

What is Love... (Night at the Roxburry)

Tuesday on our way over to play Weatherford, one of my basketball player's cell phone rang with this ring tone and I just had to start the SNL head bob. Then... I just had to get that ring tone. So now, when most of you call me, I'll be head-bobbin'. :-)

Yesterday, as everyone knows, was V-day (as many of the DC kids called it). It was funny to see all of the youth of today just lighting up (because of flowers or candy)... and then seeing some in tears because of... well... not getting the flowers or candy.

So, what is love? I heard someone say that you don't fall in love with a person... you fall in love with who that person is and what they are. I think that is true to some extent. I love my kids and my wife deeply... why? Because I feel head over heels for who she is and what she's all about... and she just happens to make my eyes bug out (like those cartoon characters on 80's tv did) every time I see her. I love my kids because of who they are and that they were a gift from God.

Hope everyone had a wonderful... V-day! (intro... the song and the head---bob... you'll have to do that one on your own...)

GOODNESS GRACEOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!

The streak is O-V-E-R... OVER! Senior night 2007... in front of ~400 in the audience... and in front of thousands sitting at home... my girls (5-13) beat the #13 ranked Heritage Hall Chargers (think that they were 11-3) 39-36. It was AWESOME! We played so hard and got the tough shots to fall. We didn't get some calls, but we just kept on playing hard and rebounding... AH! It was just crazy, fun, nerve-racking, and ... exciting!

Gonna go watch the KSBI re-play now... NITE!

3-2-1... Double OT

Took on our neighbors at Piedmont for the 3rd time in 3 weeks, last night. We walked in 0-2 versus them and we knew that we were going to have our hands full. We played hard last night ... came back from about 16 points down, to tie it in regulation. After losing Lauren, a lot of girls stepped up to cover her missing performance. Long-story short we lost by 8 after 2 over-times... we just didn't hit some free-throws early on that we needed to make... actually... we just needed 1 more to fall. :-) I was/am very proud of my girls and we're really making some headway going into the post-season. Next Tuesday is Homecoming, and next Friday we'll be on TV on KSBI! That's a busy week, but very exciting...

On another note... I was in the Daily Oklahoman today (see quote--have to scroll down). The reporter called me and asked the question, "Would I want my child/child's (ha ha childern just kidding) playing for Bobby Knight." It was an interesting question, but I told him exactly how I felt. You can read it. I caught myself, at first, thinking, "what would everyone want me to say or hear?" But I stopped and thought, "no, what do I really and honestly feel?" What was "right?" I thought that I brought it home pretty well.

Anyway... gotta go and take a shower now. Had a church-league basketball game today. I was suckin' wind for the first 1/2, but came out really strong in the 2nd half. I think that I had 6 blocks! It was really cool. When I wasn't scoring, I was working for rebounds. It's amazing... I didn't used to think like that, but this coaching thing has really changed my playing perspective.

Well that'll be the day...

My dad emailed this to me... just couldn't help but share with the world!

OKLAHOMA! Oklahoma revised... (you have to sing along)

SNO-klahoma,
where the cold fronts sweepin' down the plain;
And the piles of sleet beneath your feet
Follow right behind the freezing rain.
SNO-klahoma, Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I
Travel home from work and hope some jerk
Doesn't wreck our car in passing by.
We know we belong to the land
But it could use more salt and sand!
And when we sayYeeow! Ayipioeeay!
We're only sayin' You're slick as snot,
SNO-klahoma!
SNO-klahoma,
Oy Vey!

You don't what you've got... 'til it's gone. (Cinderella--Long Cold Winter)

It's here AGAIN! Ice! We had our make-up Consolation Finals of a tournament from 3 weeks ago that was post-poned due to our last ice storm! Mother nature just doesn't want this tournament to finish... BUT... she DOES want us to play all of our 3 games as scheduled! Go figure that one...

... Anyway if a 5 game losing streak wasn't enough (6, after today's loss)... we lost our only returning senior-starter in today's game. She was going up for a shot on the baseline and a defender tied up her shot and WACKED her really hard on her other (left) hand. Call: JUMP BALL... Bad call... because she was in tears and trying to hold her hand up (this girl DOESN'T complain about being hurt at all--so this was a big deal). Diagnosis: She had an MRI or an X-ray done... broken hand in 3 places! OUCH! I felt so badly for her... she's a great young lady and plays so hard... not to mention that she's done so well this season, I hated for her to go this way. We won't know for sure about her future until probably tomorrow, but it's not looking good. I told the other girls that someone (or someones) was going to have to step up! We'll see what happens...

In other news... Lindsay and Joel are starting to act like their normal selves after having the "junk" for the last few days. Last night, I don't think that Joel even went to sleep! I checked in on him at 10:15 before I went to bed... he was in bed, in the sleeping position, but not sleeping. Then later in the evening, I heard him coughing and playing with one of his toys. THEN!!!!! From 2:00 am (yes AM!) until about 5:00 he came into our bedroom and was ready for the morning. Had to put him in bed a couple of times, then I just decided... "HEY! Why don't you watch Disney at 4!" When my alarm went off at about 5:45 this morning, Jeanise and I went to check on him... AND THAT TURKEY WAS SLEEPING! ah!!!!!!!! Lindsay woke up a few times too. Hopefully they'll both stay asleeep tonight.

On a funner note: Lindsay was walking from Jeanise to me for about 10 minutes tonight! It was pretty cool! She was so funny and thought it was some game. Then Joel wanted to get involved and then it was just halarious. She's been getting around the house with this little plastic chair that she pushes in front of her everywhere... we knew that it was only a matter of time before she started the walking thing.

Gonna get back to TV with the wife... L8r.

Long Cold Winter (Cinderella)

January has been really cold around here... people (including me) getting sick. Weather on top of all of the cheering I do from the sidelines/practices... I really haven't had a voice in 2 weeks. Things (vocally) are starting to come back to normal... JUST IN TIME for tomorrow night's game and 3 tournament games this weekend! HO!

Today's practice was fun for me. What started out as a "let's get pumped and back to the grindstone" kind of practice turned into an offensive filled gusher! While trying to take a nap yesterday, I was dozing to the SMU vs. Tulsa women's basketball game. I saw a play I liked... wrote it down (before I forgot it) and then fell asleep. So I put it in today... drew it up for the girls... and they ran it well (eventually). Then I thought... "hm... let's do this with that" and then it went "now how about an option with 2 cutters"... and then POOF! I had 3 set plays! I was so excited and the girls enjoyed watching me develop all of these on the board. It was cool. I'm not real good at coming up with offenses, but in the last 4 months, I've really started to put some things together that are really working for us.

In the famous words of Hanibal from the A-team... "I just love it when a plan comes together!"

Night!

Back in the saddle again... NOT!

Still the ice and the horrible roads remain. Thursday school is cancelled AGAIN, which means that we're probably not having practices or games like are scheduled. It's been kinda' nice to have this break... but we just had one and I'm ready to get back into a groove with school again. Why couldn't this wait until after Spring Break when we don't have a holiday or vacation until school ends! Now, it's looking like we'll miss some of our extra snow make-up days.

I had a really nice article in the Edmond Sun about my team... wanted to share.

Well.. back to family. Lindsay surprised me tonight with 4 steps on her own! Missed the photo op.... sorry...

Let it ICE... Let it ICE... Let it ICE

Monday... Tuesday... and now TOMORROW! We've been closed for school. It's not a bad thing, though. It's been nice staying home with the family ... sleeping in a bit... getting to take an afternoon nap on occassion. But we all know that we'll have to make it all up in the end; whether it's during "other days off" or tacked on to the end of school (UGH!). Either way, it's been nice staying home and trying to fight off this allergy/cold thing that I've come up with. It kinda' started a few weeks ago, when I didn't have a voice left after our Home game on the 5th. And my voice just never seemed to recover... which means, getting sick is creeping up next. Needless to say, still don't have much of a voice and I'm still a little congested. But hopefully by Thursday it'll all be gone... or at least leaving!

Now on to the more... regretful news... I took out a pilar at the mall! Sad part... I was parked and going into reverse. Let me explain: I had just dropped the kids and Jeanise off at the pull-thru at the mall (so it's not like I was even driving when I did this!). A car had pulled in front of me by the time I got back into the van. They were parked smack-dab in the middle so I could pull around them... and I waited about 5 seconds... no movement or any sign of getting out by anybody in the car... so I decided to back out of the pull-thru. As I'm pulling out, I don't see anything in my passenger mirror until the back-up sensor goes off. I'm thinking, "that's weird why is it?... BAM" Oops... didn't see the 3 foot high, cement pilar sticking out of the ground. Thought I was clear and that all was left was street... NOPE. Needless to say, the passenger side rear doesn't look as new as it did. I felt bad... not to mention seeing the look on Jeanise's face when... Oh ... that's right, she was pulling into the doors of the mall when she heard the thud. So I did see the look on her face! It was probably worse than the look on mine. Well... now we have to go get that fixed. And it wasn't even a snow/ice accident! That'll be coming out of my lawn mowing money in the summer! :-)

Be safe! (or safer than me)

Speechless (Steven Curtis Chapman)

OK... I had written a really long posting about everything that I had done (or lack thereof) over the holiday and about transitioning back to school... my team, etc. and then blogspot erased it! WHile I was trying to post a picture, I hit the logo and lost it all.

So, here's the short version of it... you just read it! :-)

and here's the logo...

More later...

Mike

Christmas, Christmas Time is here!

Do you all remember Alvin and the Chipmunks? I used to love listening to their christmas songs and then singing them in my own "chipmunk voice." That was a really funny album (I heard it on a record)...

Well... school is out for a few weeks. We had a Christmas party every night for about 4 nights! It was amazing... I'll post a picture of our teacher's party downtown at the Trattoria (sp?). Great food and I even ran into a parent of a young lady that I coached in softball in my first year at Western Oaks Middle School (~10 years ago)! BTW... is that a Mountain Dew you're drinking?!!?!?!

It's also been fun hanging around the house and playing with the kids. Jeanise and her mom have played harp and flute for several people the last few days. They played at Penn Square Mall one time and they played at Tealridge Mannor (retirement home by OC) yesterday. They also went out on Friday and had a girl's day with some of their friends and had a great time. I had the whole day with the little ones and it was great. Although Lindsay got her flu shot on Wed. and had a mild reaction to it... thus being sick and not sleeping well on Thursday. But, we got to spend a little daddy/daughter time and that was fun for me. Joel has been having fun in his new bed-fort. He loves it (pictures) and is getting better at sleeping in it. It's a big change from his toddler bed, but it's "real cool" he says.

We all went over to Grandma and Grandpa Morton's for lunch yesterday and had a great time. Joel and Lindsay love playing over there and getting all of the toys out. Joel is pretty much at "home" over there... Lindsay is still trying to figure everything out and explore. It's really funny to watch. Jeanise's brother and sister-in-law are in town and we're doing a bunch of family "stuff" this weekend. Good to see them.



Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

You know I'm Bad... Who's Bad?... (Michael Jackson--remake)

It's been way too long since I've blogged. Lindsay woke up about 5:15 this morning and since I've got to get up a little earlier than normal (Trash Day!) I told Jeanise that I'd take care of her. Lindsay is getting so much older and her personality is really starting to come out. She is a TALKER... wonder who she gets that one from, hm? She loves to sit in the back seat of the truck/van and just talk to her video or talk to her brother (who by the way is wondering, "dad, what' she sayin'?). She loves to play with her brother and Joel loves having her around.

Basketball is about to do the "hurry up, then wait" thing. We played on Tuesday... had to travel 1 1/2 hours South-west to Anadarko, OK. We battled back and forth with a team that was very athletic, but smaller than we were. They settled for the 3 point shot (and made quite a few of them, I might add), but with about 45 seconds left, we cut a 4 point lead down and ended up winning by 2. It was a great game, but I have no voice left. We are now 3 - 1 and the running joke (sorta) around the coaches at my school is "Hey a win is a win... but your 3 wins are by fewer points than your one and only loss." TRUE! But you know... when people look at the 3-1 and the rankings... they don't see the score... just the "W". And you know what?!!??! I'll take a W over a L any day. I'm really proud of my girls... it's great to have a team that fights so hard to win and succeed. There is a lot of tradition here sometimes that gets you thru the W of a ball game. We play in a festival today and tomorrow... 2 games and we're done for the holiday. We're a bit banged up, but hope to make a good showing this weekend.

So did anyone notice...

That the title of my last entry kinda' fits with the words in the real song?

Let it snow...
Let it snow...
Blah blah blah (let it snow)

I know that the joke really isn't THAT funny if someone has to explain it, but I just wanted everyone to know how clever I was... AM!

Let it snow... Let it snow... blah blah blah...

Who'd a thunk that we'd have a 4 day weekend?!?!!? On one hand... it's been rather nice. Got the opportunity to stay at home with the wife... play with the kids. It has been nice. Although... I've been rather antsy too. Basketball season... you have the 1-2 days of practice then a game and then the routine starts all over again. Our game Friday was cancelled due to the snow, so now all of the weeks worth of practicing for one team has to wait for the re-scheduled game. Now Monday's practice highlights the next team that we'll play on Tuesday. I'm sure, though, that the girls are ready to play too.

Joel and I went out into the snow yesterday. I shoveled the driveway (2/3 of it) enough for our cars to get in and out and Joel was jumping around and throwing snowballs onto my clean driveway. He's hilarious. While I was taking a break (that's really hard work, by the way) I thought that I would introduce Joel to throwing snowballs at daddy. He loved it! and kept on doing it while I was shoveling... it was really funny. When I finished... I was exhausted and just fell down in the snow to rest. I then thought, Joel can make snow angels! "Hey Joel... watch this!" As I fell backwards into the snow (had trouble getting up, though; back hurt), I saw Joel taking the "Neste plunge" and doing the exact same thing. He was kinda' cautious at first, but then he kept doing it and it was just too funny.

Well... better get back to the OU/Nebraska game! GO SOONERS!

Yeah!

The first game is out of the way... and we won! It was a real defensive battle at the beginning... to either team 4 minutes to score. It was kinda' tough, but once we scored we were fine. Final score... 42-40 and it came down to free-throws with 9 seconds left. We had several offensive runs where we were up by 5, 6, or even 8 points, but got a little soft somewhere and allowed the other team to come back. El Reno tied it up with 2 three-pointers in a row... on the same play... and really gave us fits. But I'll have to hand it to my girls, they came into the time-out huddle un-rattled and not fazed at all. They BELIEVED that they were going to score on the next possession and take back the lead. I knew that this game was going to be a nail-biter because both JV games before us were decided by 2 and 1 points.

Glad that one is over... and it was good to finally play a game. It was really nice to see smiles in the locker room after the game. Need to keep that feeling going and continue to work hard in practices. We have a week and a half off before we play again (which is good) so we can get a good scouting report and be ready to fine-tune some things.

Have a wonderful THANKSGIVING...

We're Playing Ba - sket - balllllllll... (rap song from the 80's)

Tonight's the big night! 6:30 pm tip-off and the season is under-way. Did pretty good about going to sleep... just woke up at 4:15 hoping that it was time to wake up. Nope... but after about 45 minutes of tossing and turning... decided to get up and do some computer stuff. Just trying to relax.

Went and saw my freshman team play last night, versus the school who we'll play tonight and they did awesome! They won by 10, but 1/2 way thru the 2nd quarter we were up 16 points. It was fun to watch. My girls, are really ready to play! Practice wasn't as efficient as I had hoped and as it usually is, but we got things done. I think that all teams are experiencing this... at the the first game time.

Hope that I can concentrate enough on things today in my regular classes... ;-P

We are Family...

Woke up this morning... at 6 rather than at 5:45... It's amazing what a difference 15 minutes makes in my outlook today. (don't know if that's the real reason, but I'm going to use it anyway)

I just want to say that I'm so blessed to have a wonderful family. My wife is so loving and caring toward her 2 wonderful kiddos and is always encouraging me. I have a 3 year old son, who even-though sick... loves to play with his sister--gives her toys to play with, and also loves to jump and play with his mom and dad. Then there's my 1 year old (who will actually be 1 year old TOMORROW!) who still wakes up about 1 or 2 times a night... but "crawl-charges" at me with this funny face and it is just the funniest thing you have ever seen in the world. I love coming home to this.

Yesterday, seemed like the longest day... didn't get home until almost 7:00 pm. During game season, I've gotta find a way to get home... recharge... and then head out to the gym.

Well... almost time for me to leave for school. Hope everyone can have a blessed day! 1 week until the first game!!!!!!!

In The Still of the Night... (Whitesnake)

Again... another Whitesnake song title. I used to love to listen to those hard rock ballads right before a game to get pumped up. Don't think that I ever "really" listened to the words (as my wife would probably attest to at times) but the beat/music was always just kickin'. Good news this morning... My team is "ranked"! No... not RANK.... ranked!

DAILY OKLAHOMAN NEWSPAPER 1/13/2006
Class 5A
1. T. East Central…24-4
2. Claremore…21-7
3. Harrah…22-5
4. Tulsa Kelley...14-12
5. Tulsa Edison…24-4
6. Bixby…15-12
7. Carl Albert …24-3
8. McAlester…21-4
Sweet Sixteen: 9. El Reno, 12-13; 10. Ada, 20-6; 11. Deer Creek, 27-2; 12. Duncan, 19-7; 13. John Marshall, 18-5; 14. Tulsa Hale, 7-16; 15. Coweta, 15-11; 16. Tulsa Rogers, 3-19

That's right... we're 11th, which really isn't bad considering... we have moved up a class and lost 4 starters from last year's 4A state champions run. We face off against El Reno (#9) next Tuesday for our first game. Thank goodness it is at home. It's going to be a tough road this year, but fun. Great group of girls to coach and they've been working hard. Gotta run and get the kids in bed... just thought that I'd post so that people would know that I'm still surviving!

Later

It's the New Zoo Review (Some Saturday Cartoon song)

I forgot to mention our little 3 year old's birthday party... part 2. On Friday night, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Morton's house and had dinner and cake (more CAKE for Joel). Joel got some cars from his Uncle Bob and an old-school Radio Flyer tricycle. It was cool. We also went to the zoo that afternoon... here are some pictures.

Thursday (?), we cooked outside and while I was cooking, I decided to put up Joel's t-ball set and his table and chairs that he got for his birthday. He loves them! And he's even getting the hang of swinging the bat. I love it!

It's the Final Countdown (Europe)

I'm really starting to get good at these titles...

Well... it's here. This Thursday is our first basketball scrimmage. Gettin' a little nervous, but am somewhat anxious to get here. It's kinda' like the what the first game is going to be like to for me... once you get going and it's over, I'll feel a whole lot better about things. The girls are working hard and it should be a good year.

On the HOME front... had a wonderful break with the family. Friday, we all went to the zoo and spent about 3 hours there. Lindsay fell asleep in her back-pack carrier and it was really cute. (I'll see if I can get the pictures we took). Joel enjoyed it too. Ok... so did Daddy. Hadn't been there in a while and it was good to see some of the animals. Not just for kids under 10 anymore!

Well... have to get baths for the kids. Night!

Sweet Dreams are Made of These... (Eurthymics)

Sunday naps are just priceless... I would have slept longer if someone hadn't been snoring so loud! Guess she gets that from her daddy. That's one trait that I KNOW I gave her... :-)

It's been 2 weeks since I've posted... ah... it goes by quickly...

The Morton family has just spent the last week getting over that stomach thing that's been going around. Joel started it off last weekend... daddy (me) got it next... then Jeanise felt a little "queezy" Saturday night... and Lindsay has just... you know? I don't think that she's really had it yet. She's had a bit of a thing, but I think that it's just teeth stuff.

Joel had his 3 year old party on Saturday! Hard to believe that he's 3. So much has happened since he was born and it seems like a really long time ago. Pretty soon, he'll be asking me to take him to practice or something. The party went very well. We went to McDonalds (of course, I was all for that) and had a small party with Allyson & Drew Wise, Zane Hankins, and Camden Hensley (and parents of all kids), and grandma and pa Wynn. My parents were out of town, so we'll be celebrating next weekend. The kids had fun and did great... all seemed to melt down at the same time... toward the end... but it was a great party. Jeanise did a great job of getting that set up.

Practice has been going well. We've been going hard for 2 weeks and we have less than 2 weeks before our first scrimmage! It's coming down to that time of year... and I'm getting anxious. We've put in a bunch of offenses and defenses and set plays and now we just have to put them all together in a game plan. Coming down to the crunch time. We have Fall Break this week, so the girls will get a nice break before the November Madness starts. Still, there's a lot that needs to be done... I hope that I can get it all in. These girls are really smart, though, and have been learning fast. I must also commend them for the transition that they've made between me and last year's coach. It's tough on a team to have to face that, but they're adjusting to it very well.

Well... have to get my week started.

You Might Think I'm Crazy... (All I want is You--The Cars)

We had our first official day of practice yesterday... and it went off like clock-work. Almost as if I had been doing it for a really long time. The girls were all excited about starting their first day of 2 hour practices. And they handled it great! I had a phone call from a guy yesterday, who said that I aught to take a picture of my first day of becoming the new "legend" at Deer Creek. I'll take one today and share... thought it might be a good idea. Although I was very nervous about starting the practice season... I think that I'll be more nervous for my first game! :-) When I got home, I was greeted by a car of faithful, supportive fans (Jeanise, and 2 kids) who were taking me out to dinner to celebrate my first day. Don't I have a great fan section?

It's off to work I go!

Imagine me and you...

It's been a long time for me to post... You know... as much as people do this "blog-thing" you always wonder who's readin'. It starts out as just a little thing to share information with people--to wondering how many people are viewing--to wondering IF people are viewing--to... don't really care if people are viewing, because it's nice to write this stuff down. Anyone else feel like that?

Today is the BIG DAY... actually tomorrow (2nd) is the big day! Tomorrow starts the first OFFICIAL day of basketball practice. Although it may look like I'm holding it all in together pretty good... I'm actually pretty scared to death! This is an opportunity that I've been waiting for for so long... it's here... and I wish I knew how things were going to turn out.

I think it's interesting, though, that in my small group at church that it was my turn to lead the study and discussion for a book we're doing, If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat, (I know that there should be capital letters and such but I'm too lazy to do it). In this week's lesson we look at the opportunity of the rich man who gives the 5 tallents, 2 tallents, and 1 tallents (tallent may be with 1 'l" but I'm on a roll here) and the opportunity these 3 guys had. This man GIVES them this money... this gift... and wants to see what they will do with it. Will they take advantage of this "gift" and make something happen? 2 of them do... this is an incredible opportunity for these men and I'm sure that they're excited and thrilled and they DOUBLE this gift. And the rich man praises them for it... I see this guy with a huge smile on his face and just really proud of these 2. The 3rd guy... is a little scared... he's not sure about the realities that are around him... he's afraid of taking this gift and losing it all. So what does he do? He burries it. And when the rich man finds out... he can only shake his head and say, "I GAVE this to you... no strings attached... a GIFT... and you let FEAR of the unknown result get in the way of your happiness with this FREE GIFT!

I share all that to say... I'm feel that I've been the 3rd man for the last few weeks. Yes, I've enjoyed what I've done and I've worked hard with the girls and we've had some good off-season workouts. BUT... God has given me this GIFT of coaching and interacting with young people... WHAT AM I DOING WITH IT?!??!?!?!? Am I making more out of that... and doubling the amount? Or am I going to let my FEAR of FAILURE get in the way and just bury this gift that he's giving me?

THIS IS A LIFE CHANGING LESSON FOR ME! I'M GOING TO BE THE FIRST GUY FROM HERE ON OUT!!!!!! :-)

Just had to share...

Mike

Take Me Out to the Ball Game... (Harry Carry)

Harry Carry here... Just wanted to say HEY ... and stretch 'em if you got 'em. (ok Harry, get out of here!)

Joel and I went to Bricktown tonight and watch the Pacific Coast League Champions take on the International League Champions. The Tuscon Sidewinders vs. the Toledo Mudhens.

vs.

Interestingly enough, I saw the Mudhens play a long time ago when we lived in Va. Beach and they played the Tidewater (now NORFOLK) Tides. Even the colors are different now (used to be Royal blue and Orange)! Whatever happened to tradition, huh?

Anyway Joel and I had a great time at the game. He learned about the pitcher and the batter and knows about where 1st base is. He clapped and cheered (charge!) and enjoyed the game. I think that he was trying to figure out what was going on though...

The funny part of the evening was when some of the inflatable animals danced out on the field. There was a monkey (NY Yankees) a giraffe, and a roach from Seattle (Ichi-roach funny... get it?). Anyway, this last inflatable sang the Take me out to the ball game song... and it is the famous song sung by legindary Harry Carry from Chicago. Singing in his place tonight, was Harry Canary (picture included) . BTW... I'd be afraid of this guy...

Well during the 7th inning, he caught Joel's attention behind us. We had seats that we about 15 rows up from the dugout and about 20 rows behind us was this big Harry Canary thing. Joel watched him for about 10 minutes when low and behold, he came down the stairs we were sitting close to and did his thing on the 1st base dugout. Cheers, laughs, waves, and so on. Joel did not take his eyes off this "thing." After about 10 minutes on the dugout, this canary decides to go into the stands... taking a step into the 1st row and then steping into the second row. Making its way up the middle of the stands and moving up. Then Joel sees what's going on... he's coming right for us! He started getting a little worried, but not too scared. Once that big ugly thing got right in front of him, I told Joel to give him five... no dice dad... don't let him come any closer! He started to shake a little... but didn't cry. Just clung to me harder and harder. After he passed by us, he sprayed confetti on all of us and it was just hallarious! We kept telling Joel that it was OK... but he knew that thing was around somewhere, and he was going to be ready for it!

All in all it was a good night.

I like it... I love it... I want some more of it...

Was that sung by the Rolling Stones? Can't remember...

Anyway... It has been a while since I've blogged, so I'll just write a quick one and see what happens. I just love coming home. A long day at school... class after class; then practice (which is going well) and then weight training for the girls. It's a long day. But the drive home, even though it is only 10 minutes, seems like forever! I can't wait to be in my living room, to see my wife and my kids! They are just a high for me that can never be fully explained. When I shut the garage door... the familiar, "Joel, whose that." Then you hear the scamper of little feet on the carpet and a loud, "DADDY!" as he tackles my legs. As I carry Joel into the living room, I'm greeted by a little girl who just smiles sooooooooooooo big when she sees me. She knows who's coming to play with her. And to top it all off, I get to kiss the wife, who I haven't seen all day, but in the picture on my desk. Nothing like a real-smile from your "honey" to make the drive worth coming home for. (there could be a serious biblical lesson in there somewhere...)

We've taught Lindsay her first conversation word... not sure if she knows what it really means... but it's "Oh oh..." She's so cute...

Off to school. We have our first newspaper coming out today and I need to be there just a weee bit early.

Another One Rides the Bus... (Weird All Yankovic)

Can you believe it?!?!?! 2 Days in a row! Don't get too lit up over it, though... this time I have PICTURES of my OWN!

Tonight... Joel got to pick dinner. "ungwee... pizzaahhhh?" So mom and dad gave in and we went to the new Mazzios on Penn and 122nd. One word... AWESOME! It's a new buffet. It started out as a buffet... then changed to carryout only (for several years)... then as Jeanise and I were driving by a few weeks ago, saw that it was a dine-in place. So we tried it out tonight and it was the cleanest place we've ever seen. And so much nicer... the people were nicer than the one in Edmond. Not to mention... it wasn't as crowded.

Anyway, Jeanise went to music rehearsal so the kids and I jumped into the wagon (the 2 kids, not me) and we went walking around the neighborhood for an hour. The kids did so great! Here are a couple of pictures.



Some neighborhood kids on scooters got the attention of Lindsay and then as they wizzed by, Joel just had to check it out. After Lindsay got bored of them... she took time out to pose with the "Check me out, I'm cute" look. Mom and Dad love this look...

Takin' Care of Business...

It's been quite some time since I've added to my blog, (which seems to happen quite often) so I thought that I'd share about my weekend.

Jeanise was very loving enough to allow me to take a small football trip to Stillwater on Saturday. Shane, my friend and my OSU dealer, met me up there for opening day of Cowboys football. I just love going to my anual game a year with Shane. We always have a lot of fun shopping at the stores (gotta hit every one of 'em, don't we Shane?) and eating somewhere on campus before the game. It was good to see the new editions of the stadium and where they're gonna put the new seats. It was also really good to see the Cowboys just steam roll over Missouri State.

Today... was Labor Day. Isn't that just funny? A day where everyone takes off a day of work. Jeanise and I took the kids up to OC to see Steve for lunch. Jeanise and I both noticed that everything on the roads seemed like it was the day of Christmas... nobody on the roads and everyone's business (except restaraunts) were closed. Funny... Jeanise took a 1/2 day off and spent it with her mom. It was good for her to get out of the house, since she doesn't get to do that without kids very often. With the exception of Lindsay having this nagging little cough all day, the kids were pretty good. I have good kids and can't complain.

Joel gets to start his new school at Memorial Rd. tomorrow. Mommy and Daddy are very excited for him. I don't think Joel knows what is going to happen tomorrow until Mommy drops him off at his new classroom. He likes to play with the other kids and do stuff. Anxious to hear how he did and if he enjoyed it or not.


Look 'e here... My little girl already has her eye on her friend Camden. Camden is 3 or 4 weeks older than Lindsay and they are just too cute.

Summer Time (Will Smith aka Fresh Prince) ... is over

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. School has officially been going for a week. Not a bad start so far. Classes are good. The office has given me 3 Web Design classes! and a newspaper class (again--guess I did too good of a job last year). Then I have a plan, 2 basketball hours... and then I'm done. Not a bad schedule.

Basketball is looking good. It's a lot more work being the Head Coach versus being the assistant. A lot more managerial kind of stuff than I had thought. But I think that once I get a handle on things, that it'll move a lot smoother.

Well... sorry so short, but gotta run off to school!

Here I go again... (Whitesnake)

I like what Jeanise is doing... I'm going to try to do a music title for everyone of my posts. We'll just see how long that lasts. My sports page kids on my newspaper last year had a music title or band name on every one of their newspaper articles. I was impressed...

Anyway... Tomorrow the teachers report back to school with the kiddos coming back on Thursday. Summer was great! I've had the opportunity to spoil and play with my kids all summer and enjoy time with my wife that I've not had in the past. Jeanise asked me tonight if I had a good summer and I told her that I loved every minute of it. It was just different this year... I hope that future summers will be like that too. We'll see...

WIth the new school year starting, there's going to be a lot more going on this year... but I should have a better handle on it. The classes that I'm teaching... I've already taught. Just have to modify and reprint the lessons. No big deal. The only 'new' thing is that I have to come up with 2 practice plans for basketball. I have a freshman team along with the varsity this year. Busy busy busy... Just pray for me this year that I can keep things in perspective and priorities in order. I know that right now I have good intentions, but know that I can let things blow by me out of control-like. Prayers are good...

Well. Going to go to be early tonight (sure... right) and get a good night's sleep for tomorrow. That's what mom always had my brother and I do before the school year. The only thing that I'm really enjoying right now, is that the kids are thinking, "I'm going back to school. AH!!!!!" I love that...

No really... NEVER say NEVER

About 6 years ago, some couples at church were laughing at some joke that included the subject of a small, blue dog on tv named... well, "Blue". I was intrigued and asked about it. Well, they told me, "O when you have kids, you'll know and you'll be singing all the songs too." Absoultely not! Not me... no way! Well... six years and 2 kids later... I like Blue's Clues and find myself singing those silly songs.

I think that it's funny that Joel is getting into this. It's taken him a while, but now Joel is monologuing with the guy (Steve or Joe--and that's a soap opera for another day) and shouting out to him, "A clue! A Clue! RIGHT THERE!" Just like the little kid does on the tv. I found Joel today shouting out those things today (when there wasn't really a clue--but it looked like one) and Joel just kept shouting like, "HEY YOU DUMMY! IT'S RIGHT THERE!" I found myself laughing and just getting a kick out of it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Now I would normally not be singing this to myself... nor would I be bragging about it, but I've had a wonderful birthday thanks to family and friends.

Last night, I went out with my parents, my brother, and Jeanise and the kids to Johnny Carinos. It was great! Ate until we were full and then went over to mom and dad's for cake and games. While the kids played with their toys in the floor, we played TURBO CRANIUM. Those of you who are Cranium fans... this was a nice upgrade to the game. More options of play and a little different rules. It was fun.

Today... our connections group surprised me with lunch at McDonalds. Remember as a kid always wanting to have your party at McD's? No? Well it was the thing to do where I was and I had my 5 years old party at McD's. It was a lot of fun. The kids played in the play area and the adults ate. Came home and relaxed... and then the family and Jeanise's parents went to Carrabbas. It was nice.

Now we're home and finally have the kids asleep. It was a wonderful day and I owe it all to my families! Thanks.

Getting there...

Got back Wednesday night from Tulsa. I went to the Oklahoma Coaches Clinic and went to the mandatory meetings as well as the occassional speaker. It was a nice trip but was glad to get home. It's kinda rough on a person when you're so used to being with your family and then leave them for 2 days. I also got to visit and stay the night with my friends Shane and Alice Coffman who now live up in Tulsa. Shane showed me his new congregation that he now works with as the Worship Minister. He's doing a really good job and he's doing something that he loves to do. Alice is has a job now too... but is looking for something a little more in her field (insurance).

Joel and Lindsay's cousin Trinity is here from NM. They just love playing together and it's funny to watch them play. Yesterday, Joel and Trinity were watering the garden for Grandpa Steve. I wouldn't be surprised if Joel becomes a gardner or a farmer. He loves to help is papa in the garden. And Trinity saw how exciting the water was and wanted to help too. It was really cute. If I can get a picture from Steve... I'll post it.

Well... today is trash day, so I'd better get going! I turn 34 on Sunday! I'm getting up there...

Bring on the heat!

Well... we had 109 degree temps today. The back porch read 120 at 6:00 pm! Go figure... Have to mow my lawns in the early morning just to stay cool. I don't have a problem with that. The neighbors might, but they have to get to work, right? :-)

Well, I got to spend the day with both kids today and had a blast. Lindsay is on this wake up for an hour or so take an hour or 2 nap kick and it's kinda funny. Just when Jeanise and I were about to sit down for lunch, she woke up and stayed awake for about 3 hours before she got a bit cranky. She helped my sort a bit of laundry. She watched me shave. We played in the mirror for about 15 minutes and when I put her down in the floor of the bedroom, she crawled over to Joel's bat!


SHE'S GONNA BE A SOFTBALLER! Look at this grip and this stance! I didn't even teach it to her. SHE'S A NATURAL! I love it! (sorry mom...)

Have another early mowing morning tomorrow! Have to beat the heat!

Getting close to the end of a summer...

Well, we had a pretty good week last week. I'll try to be brief...

Last Monday and Tuesday I was fortunate to listen to a great coach at a basketball coaches clinic at OC. His name is Jerry Kraus and he is from Gonzaga Univ. He is a great teacher of the game and I really enjoyed listening to him.

Thursday night... I had my first girls BB parent meeting. I wasn't sure how many people would come out, since I only got in touch with about 5 people directly and had to leave messages on the other 20 or so girls' numbers. BUT! About 60 people showed! That was cool. About 17 girls and their parents came and we had a great meeting. I think that things are going to go well this year. I've got a great group of players and supportive parents.

Friday and Saturday we went up to Newton, KS and saw my grandma and other family members that I haven't seen in a while. It was a good trip and it was good for the kids to see grandma. It didn't take Joel long to warm up to Grandma and it was just awesome to see Joel exploring grandma's house... kinda' like every grandkid did when they would visit. It was neat.

Yesterday (Sunday) we just hung out at home or Steve and Lisa's because it was so hot! 100+! And that's the way it's going to be for the next 7+ days! AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome to OKLAHOMA!

Have a great week!

Here comes another one...

Ah the summer! This summer hasn't been one of your 'typical' Oklahoma summers as far as the weather goes... been rather mild... upper 80's to the upper 90's usually. But August is just right around the corner and that's when mother nature turns up her oven on us, but we'll see.

About 3 weeks ago I had a drive to complete a project. I was at my parents and went into my dad's office for something and on his wall is a really nice golf-ball display case of all the various courses that he's played at or been to. It is really nice and it holds quite a few golf balls... say around 70-80 or so. I have one too that I got for Xmas or a birthday a long while back ago and it's been full and has about 12 balls sitting on top of it. Needless to say, I needed a new one. Well, long story short (yea right... me and short stories) I decided to build myself one. I took wood shop in junior high and loved to build things... but today's educational system is really eliminating wood shop (sad). So using my 1980's knowledge and my keen sence of what I wanted it to look like, I drew out my plan of the case. I priced the wood that I wanted at Home Depot (have to support my stock) and purchased what I wanted for about $30... which is a lot cheaper than buying a case in a store. It took me about 4 days, but I did it! It holds 80 golf-balls... it's a cherry finish (I even did a finish on it) and put some green felt on the backing to make it look like it was done professionally. Anyway, here's the final product.

I'll cut this off for now... but will return with the 'one that got a way' tomorrow!

We're back...

Well... we made it back safely and are glad to be sleeping in our beds again. They like that familarity (sp?--too lazy to use the spell checker, forgive me) and that their things are close by. They both traveled very well. Joel went the whole 3 1/2 hours without a nap and Lindsay was talking to the tv for the first 45 minutes of the trip. It was funny. We went thru 1 thunderstorm on the way up... and then about 15 minutes later... all hail broke loose. YEP... HAIL! That was interesting. Little pea size hail raining down on the car. Strangely though... almost every motorist pulled over on the side of the road during the storm. I'm thinking, "I wanna get out of here! not just stay and get pelted!" Needless to say, the hail lasted about 5 minutes and we were clear. No damage to the Honda, though... that's good.

Well... it's about time to watch fireworks on TV.

Done it... and got the t-shirt

We arrived in Ft. Worth to visit several of Jeanise's relatives on Sunday after church. We've had a really good visit and it's always sad to leave and go back home. On the otherhand too... it's good to return to 'home.' Ya' know?

The trip has been a good one as far as the kids go. Joel has always been a really good traveller and Lindsay did real well on this trip. She slept, watched a couple of movies... but watched her big brother A LOT! It's so funny seeing how much she watches Joel. She just loves her brother! That's a good thing. Joel is really sweet to her too. How do you teach that? You may ask? Well... I DON'T KNOW! Guess when you show your kids love they'll return it in their lives. That's really neat.

Well... gotta run and visit. Catch you all when we arrive!

God is GRRRRRRRRRRRRREAT!

Ok... I've had a lot of news since Friday of last week. The only way that I can really do this without totally going marathon with this story is to do it day by day:

Friday am... 8:30. I got a call from my AD and he wanted to meet/talk to me about the job that I applied for (read earlier posting). I got up there around 9, sat down in his office, and he told me very nicely that they were going to offer the position to the present asst. coach. I understood his decision and had accepted it (for the most part) and began to make the phone calls to family, friends, and fellow coaches who were interested to hear the verdict.

Saturday afternoon... 2:30 pm. Got a call from a friend of mine who had heard that the guy that was offered the job, had in fact turned it down. Still rumor, but wasn't sure about it. Just waiting again...

Sunday afternoon... more calls about the rumor. News travels fast in the Creek.

Monday morning. Hadn't heard anything from a school official about the rumor. Tried to call my AD but he was smart and turned his school phone off while he's on vacation. 12:00 had to go to Oklahoma Christian Univ. to drive a bus for the church camp kids. They were going to an inflatables building for some recreation. 3:15 took the bus back to the school where I got it from. 3:20... checked my cell phone to call Jeanise and noticed a missed call. Come to find out it was my principal. Called and chatted with her... to make a long story short the rumor was true and they offered ME the girls' head coaching job, if I was still interested. ABSOLUTELY! So now I've got my first high school head coaching job.

Tuesday. Still feeling the 'high' of the news from Monday and woke up at 2:00 am to a 1/2 crying 7 month old. I waited for her to keep going for about 10 minutes... but by 2:30 figured that she had gone back to sleep. And then for the next hour I could not go back to sleep; thinking more of the new job and what I'd have to do. Had a great morning (thanks to Joel starting it at 6:40 am) of playing with the kids and watching tv. I went back and drove the bus for the OC programs. [now here's where it gets fun]

On the way back from OC to the school (no kids--done for the day), several cars were honking at me and telling me something about the bus. I couldn't understand them for one because the engine noise is so loud and I just assumed that they were telling me that I had a flat tire. Well... I knew that I could make it to the school which was only 2-3 miles. As I started to pull into the street that the school is on, a lady in a SUV rolled down her window and I told her that I was going to check out the 'problem'... and she said that you had better get out of there because my tires were on FIRE! That wasn't good. I quickly stopped the engine, put the emergency brake on, put the bus in gear and jumped out to see. It was a little fire on both tires in the rear... it looked like it was on the rim, not the tread. So I ran to get the extinguisher and couldn't pull it out. After calming down, I pulled the release lever and raced over to play fireman. I used 1 whole bus extinguisher and it didn't put it out... it came back. Someone at the school saw me and ran another extinguisher to me. Tried that one... still no dice. I'm thinking by this point that I'm going to witness a bus explosion! Someone from the street then told me that they called 911. The firetrucks were at the scene in about 4 minutes. About 3 of them were in full-gear and crawling under the bus. Long story, short (yea right) there was some brake fluid that was leaking and something (heat maybe) ignited the fluid, causing the fire. That was pretty freaky. I was just glad that the news people didn't come out to do a story on it... that would have been just great after the news I got yesterday. Anyway... I'm just glad that God was protecting me and watching over me and my stupidity.

Tomorrow (Wed.) I'm going back for the last day of bus driving... hope that it's uneventful.

Later.

Just so blessed...

... to have my family. Father's Day was great! My son made me a card in his Sunday school class for me and it was the cutest thing. And my wife spoiled me for Father's Day too... a great card and wonderful omelett cooking pans! (I don't know if omelett is spelled correctly or not... spell checker isn't working)

It's been a nice summer staying home with the kiddos and getting to play. Sunday, I started a little 'project'... a golf-ball display case. I like building things and thought that this would be a nice little project for me to do this summer. It's been fun. I'll post a picture of the finished project. I've also had some summer league games this week and it's been nice getting to see our varsity boys work hard and get things done.

I haven't heard about the head girl's job yet. Still waiting on that ever-anxious phone call. I 'should' find something out the end of this week. I'll keep you posted.

OK... gotta get up early tomorrow morning and go over to Casaday HS and play basketball... 6:15 am! AH!!!!!! Am I nuts?!?!?! Well I guess we'll find out tomorrow. I've been trying to play 1 or 2 times a week as well as walk about 1 hour a couple of days a week. Trying to lose a bit of weight and get a bit in shape too. Anyway... I'm off!

Spring/Summer-time Spring-Spring/Summer-Summer-time

It's been about 3 weeks since I've been out of school... first week we traveled to ALB, NM (not going to spell it for fear that it may show my lack of spelling ability) and visited Jeanise's brother and family. It was a lot of fun and a great beginning to the summer break. The last 2 weeks have been full of family time with the wife and kiddos. It's been a real blessing to wake up and spend some time with Joel and Lindsay and get to play with them.

Today is Jeanise's birthday! YEA YOU! She went out with a friend and her mom and just had a 'girls' night.' They had fun. I'm glad that I'm 'dad enough' to watch the kids and allow her to do that. It also helps to have that little thing called 'timing' so that the baby will eat her jarred food and then when mom walks into the door, the wake-up call begins. :-) No... she's a good baby. It's getting a little easier to handle 2 kids than it once was for me. It used to be a whirl wind but it is getting easier. Having a 2 year old that is a good kid helps too.

The last week I've tried to go walking about about 2 -3 times a week, play basketball 2 times and just try and stay active. I had a good week this week, so let's see how it continues. The morning walks are nice. I listen to a local radio station and just get to hear songs from the 70's-90's... it's kinda nice to listen to those 'old school' songs that I grew up with. Kinda' makes the walk a little more enjoyable. I get out about 6:30 am and I've been walking about an hour a day and cover about 5-6 miles. It's more like a power walk and I do get passed by joggers who are also out in the mornings. My knees don't handle the jogging part very well, so the power walking is perfect. Not to mention... I can keep breathing and not have to stop when I get tired. I like that. I've also been nice to go to Oklahoma Christian Univ. and play noon-league basketball with guys I've played with in college or during basketball camps. It's a lot of fun and this year, I'm handling it a bit better... may be due to the walking and the fact that I coached boys basketball this last year and shot a boys ball during practices. No telling...

Still haven't heard about the head girls' basketball job yet. Still waiting on that phone call. I know that God has HIS plan for that and we'll just keep waiting to see what happens. I do know that I'm in the running... and with a program that is continuing to grow and with a school that is moving up in the class size, it's a good job to have. We'll just see!

I just love these....

From Jan Bost... I just love reading her stuff and it gives me more ideas for writing:

5 things in my fridge:
a gallon of milk
a 1/2 bottle of Diet Dr. Thunder (thank you Wal-mart)
hot dogs (the SAMS pack)
Jolepeno and Cheddar cheese dip (yum)
an energy drink that I bought in Alb. NM

5 things in my closet:
basketball shoes (2 different pairs)
bunch of athletic shorts for coaching and playing
three words-- T-SHIRTS, T-SHIRTS, T-SHIRTS!
about 2 dozen baseball caps
Jeanise's clothes

5 things in my briefcase:
pens and pencils for grading and class stuff
deck of cards just in case I get bored
fill-it-ins... again... just in case I get bored somewhere
my travel zip-USB drive
folders for school

5 things in my car:
sunglasses (ok... I have 3 more pair of 'extras' in my glovebox)
cds
carseat for the Joel-meister
Pike-pass
sunshade... you really need those in Oklahoma

5 things I did this week:
coached 2 summer-league games (won 1 and lost the other)
played basketball with Joel at the gym
went to dinner with Jeanise for our anniversary
went to a coaching job interview (hope I get it!)
told my wife and both kids that I loved them

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! Have a great week!

12 Years!

TODAY... 12 years ago, we tied the knot! Yep... 12 years. We were talking about that this morning and talking about how much time and how much we've done in 12 years! Can't believe it. We're almost getting close to that mark in our lives where we've been together almost 1/2 our lives. Interesting huh? Still have a few years to go, but it's pretty close.

We've been so blessed to have all that we have and have had the success that we've had in the last 12 years. We now have 2 wonderful kids who just light up our lives and make every day SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO interesting. We have a great place to live (could turn down the heat a bit though) and wonderful families that live near by. What more could you ask for?

Well... I love my wife more and more and she is just a beautiful today (if not more) than that day I saw her come down the isle. And she looked awesome that day and I about passed out! She is still my best friend to this day and I treasure her so much. Thank the Lord that she's been patient enough with me all of these years and put up with me this long. She has supported me in everything that I've ever done or wanted to do... and that's just amazing love! She's (as they say at school) the 'bomb'!

Getting closer...

The whirwind is slowly coming to a gentle breeze... just 3 more school days until summer! It's really hard to believe that it's already that time of year. So much has happened in the last year and it's all gone by so quickly. Amazing how time really does fly when you have good things to remember and going on in your life. I remember this time a few years ago at my other school... just dragging the days out until relief was close and attainable. I've been fortunate enough to have been working at a place where the administration and the kids will let me do the job I want to do in the classroom. It was great! I think I may have given out 1 or 2 C's this semester! And my students weren't making A's and B's because I was GIVING them out... they were doing the work and earning the better grades. I'm happy where I'm at...

... I think, too, that Jeanise is happier because I'm coming home with smiles on my face. I really appreciate her sharing me with the school and the ball teams that I've been working with. I know that it's tough with 2 kids and trying to get some work done in between naps. I'll be helping with that a bit more this summer. I've got 2 kids to play with and do stuff with this summer and I'm pumped about it! And then Jeanise and I get to go on some vacations this summer... loving it!

Well... all is fun... OOOPS! It's almost 7 and I have to get to school to get my finals ready for today! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Getting closer to closer...

We're gettin' there...

Well... only 3 more weeks of school... ISN'T THAT EXCITING!?!?!?!? Technically... there's 2 weeks of class and 1 week of tests. This school year has really gone by fast. Guess that it goes quickly when you're enjoying your job and where you're teaching. I like that...

I found a few more pictures of Joel and Lindsay that I wanted to share. Have a great week!

Haven't added pics in a while...

Well... I haven't been updating my pictures in my blog... so here's my attempt to share.

Joel has a new obsession... an orphaned Yattzee cup filled with about 14 orphaned dice. We had taken the cup out about 2-3 weeks ago to look for our playing cards. Joel found the cup and now he takes those dice everywhere! He gets up every morning and says, "Dice... Where are you dice?" And goes around the house looking for them until the lost are found. I'M RAISING A GAMBLER! I CAN HEAR IT NOW! This is something that I HOPE he can grow out of.

Lindsay is still just as cute as she can be. People have said that she looks like a little Mike. It's cute... and now I guess that I'll know what I would have looked like if I had been a girl. Hopefully she'll have better looking legs :-) .

Jeanise has been pulling the OT since I've been at baseball this spring. We're almost done. It's the exciting time... playoffs and I've been gone a bit more than once thought. She's been pulling double-duty with the kids and she's just doing an awesome job! She's just AWESOME!

Time to go to bed... night! (Ok... having trouble with the pics tonight... I'll try later)

That was fun...

Ok... that was fun. Got a lot of funny comments (see previous post) and the answers just keep comin!

The kids are getting so much bigger. Joel had his first school program last night. He was really cute with the kids in his class there. The day before he had 'deer in the headlights' at the rehearsal before the entire school. But last night, he shined. He watched all the other kids do the song... then finished it out himself... then did the entire song going up the isle back to his class. It was great. I looked at Jeanise and said, "well... here's the first of many programs that we'll be attending." And I was also thinking... "Now I'm like that parent on TV who goes to all those programs!"

Lindsay has been just smiling and laughing and being a cute little girl. She's also been sleeping well too. She woke up at 6:30 am this morning, which was cool. Probably more for mom than me... but it was nice. I went in to check on her and she was on her side, sleeping. It was cute. When I heard her crying she had rolled on to her stomach and was just looking around like, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Now what!?!?!?! I'M STUCK!" It was cute and funny.

It's such a blessing to have a wonderful family. God has really blessed me!

This is too cool...

I found this on someone else's blog site and just thought I'd try it and see what happens:

1) What were you doing 10 years ago? I was about to finish my student teaching, getting ready to graduate from OC... and panicing about how Jeanise and I were going to come up with $4,000 to go to Japan for a year.

2) 5 years ago? Teaching at PCWest... about this time, I was the head boys soccer coach. Now don't get any ideas... I was filling in for a guy who quit at the beginning of the season and I was the only coach left who wasn't coaching a Spring sport.

3) 1 year ago? I was at Oklahoma Christian Academy and about to accept a job at Deer Creek High School.

4) Five snacks you enjoy:
1. Peanut M&Ms
2. Nacho Cheese Dorittos (probably my #1)
3. Funnoins
4. Peanut butter on a spoon
5. Oreos (or the cheap walmart brand) and milk

5) Five songs I know by heart but wish I didn’t:
1. Head-Shoulders-Knees-and Toes (thank you Joel)
2. Ice-Ice-Baby (Vanilla Ice)
3. Do-wa-diddy (2 Live Crew -- it was a high school thing)
4. Can't think of too many others...

6) Five things I would do with a LOT of money:
1. Give to the church
2. Pay off the house
3. Set aside $ for kids' college
4. Buy a sports franchise... and maybe bring it to Oklahoma!
5. Buy/Build a golf course or baseball youth complex

7) Five things I would never wear:
1. Dress
2. Ear rings or any other rings attached to part of my body
3. a pink shirt
4. bra or sports bra
5. someone else's underwear

8) Five things I should never have worn:
1. Plaid shorts under my white, baseball pants in high school
2. Basketball shorts that go below MY calves
3. An Epcot Center ball cap
4. a chain around my neck (it just wasn't me)
5. a psycho girl-friend in high school's class ring

9) Five things I enjoy doing:
1. Time with my wife, watching movies and eating out and going places
2. Playing with my kids... but mainly finding ways to make them laugh
3. Playing sports (golf, basketball, softball, volleyball, fishing) and/or Coaching Sports
4. Doing random, misc. stuff on the computer
5. Driving in a car at night, when everyone else in the vehicle is sleeping. It's just a really
cool thing to experience.

10) Five bad habits of mine:
1. Not 'really' listening to Jeanise when she's talking to me (need to work on that focus thing)
2. Jumping to conclusions too quickly and reacting too quickly
3. Speaking before I think about what I'm going to say
4. Leave dishes out without rinsing them
5. Talking too loud on my cell phone (that's what Jeanise says...)


Well... that was fun! Hope you all can copy that and maybe do the same thing. Let me know if you do.

Waiting game is over...

Well... that didn't last very long, did it? I found out today (story for another time) that I did not get the director's position for our district. I really had high hopes for that position, but I guess that God didn't want me thru that door right now. I took it pretty hard today, but thru some very encouraging words from a lot of supportive people, I've tried to put it behind me and accept it. I still have a good job at a place I like to be... just that it's going to be tough to look certain people in the eye for a while. My wise father told me today that I needed to "mourn" for this... never thought I'd have to "mourn" over a job like this... but he's right. But I also need to move on and do the things that I have been doing and enjoy what I've got.

Thank you all for praying for me on this (since OCT) and I appreciate it. I just have to trust that God will continue to move and place me where HE wants me to be... not necessarily where I want to go.

Night.

'Bout time?

It has been a few weeks since I've posted something. Sorry 'bout that... It has been a few weeks since Spring Break and the 4th nine weeks has shot through the gates (so to speak) and we're off and running toward that last day of school. It has really gone by fast! It's a little scary... I remember my first 3 years of school... this was the time when the school year just dragged and dragged. The end seemed so far down the road. I've really enjoyed this school year and a lot has gone on. Does time go by faster when you enjoy what you're doing? Just wondering... 'cause I'm in a place where I love to teach and that kids want to be taught! Is this a poster school for the nation? I don't know, but I like it.

I had my Director of Technology interview this last Thursday. I think that I wowed the socks off of them, but it's not what I think that makes the decision. I think that I have a good repore with the people who interviewed me and I think that I shared my thoughts and ideas with them the best I could. There is always a couple of things that I wish I could rewind back time and add to my interview (there always is), but I can't. It's all in God's hands now... and I have to rely on that or I'll go nuts worrying about it. And it's tough to do... what with my GREAT patience level and all. :-) It's all the waiting game now.

Family is growing and growing every day. Lindsay is doing a much better job of sleeping during the nights! YEA! She's just a very happy baby... smiling at everyone who holds her and is very attentive at her surroundings. She likes to look around (as evidence with the bald spot on the back of her head) and see what's around her. I really think that she's looking for her brother. Joel is doing a great job of the big-brother role! He likes to play with her and give her attention. I think that it's good for both of them. He is talking more and more everyday and we just praise God for that! He's figuring it out that if he asks for something... he'll get it (or at least he MAY get it). He's such a fun kid... I love both of my kids and it's so much fun playing with them. Hopefully, we'll get to go for a walk (weather-willing) and get to go by the park or something. I think that they'd like that.

Have a blessed week!

Spring...

SPRING BREAK! I love it!

It's been nice being at home with Jeanise and the kids this week. It's only Wed. and... wait a minute... WEDNESDAY! IT'S 1/2 OVER! Oh well... I've been working on mowers for this season, playing around with Joel and Lindsay, gone out with the family to eat at Mazzio's (yum), worked out in the garage and yard some, watched some tv... Just trying to have a break, I guess. There are a few other things that I want/need to do before I get back to school, though. Guess it'll wait until later! :-)

I'll knock on wood now... knock, knock... LINDSAY SLEPT THRU THE NIGHT! WOO HOO! We put her to bed about 9:30 and she slept until 5:15. To us (mainly mommy) that's pretty good. She's such a cute little girl. She's going to be a laugher and a talker, I'm sure. She's always smiling and talking to her mobiles and toys. She also likes to check out what her brother Joel is doing too. Whenever they're in the room together and she hears him playing or doing something, she always wants to know what he's doing and watch. In the car, she's always watching him do... whatever he does back there. It's pretty funny.

Well... time to go get Joel out of "jail" as we call it... sounds like he's up and playing, so I'd better get him breakfast.

Getting Better...

Well... after about 2 weeks of fighting allergies/sinus infections, I'm finally feeling better. What started out as WONDERFUL Oklahoma allergies... ended up turning into a sinus infection. Great. And I think that it really started back when I wasn't doing well in our regional tournament finals for basketball. About 3 weeks ago. AH! Ain't OK great!?!?!? I stayed home from school a couple of Tuesdays ago... took some OTC stuff and thought I felt better. Only last Tuesday I had a 102 degree fever and decided to go in for "professional" help. The doctor gave me some really good drugs that cleared me up and got that battle going in my head for the sinus problem. After 5 days, I'm feeling a lot clearer... I like that. Hope that it stays that way for a while.

SPRING BREAK! I love it! Don't know what I'm going to do... don't know what's going to happen. I get to just let it happen. Nice. I get to spend some time at home with the wife and kids. That's nice. I'm excited about that.

GIRLS WIN STATE! Also... our high school girls team won the Class 4A State Champ gold ball this weekend with a 58-40 stomping over Ft. Gibson. It was so great to see our girls do well, after their disappointing ending last season. They've worked so hard this season on being a team, working together, and getting it done. We're proud of them!

OK... going to start that Spring Break now! Later!

Haven't posted in a while...

Well... let's see... where do I begin.

Last Saturday, was the last day of our basketball season. Our Varsity team finished at 11-15 and we lost in the Regional Finals by 12. The boys played really hard and finished the season by giving it their all and working hard. The 11-15 may not sound so great, but when they haven't won but 6 games MAX the last 3-4 years, that's a big deal. It's over...

... and baseball began Wed. for me. AH! Just a circle of life revolving here. Had a game on Sat. afternoon. My team lost 12-8, but for a first game and me not knowing a whole lot about the kids on my team, that was pretty good. We have another one tomorrow (monday) and we'll see how that goes. We play about 24-28 games total (including tournaments), with some of those getting cancelled for rain or other various reasons. And all of this goes until the end of April/beginning of May. Quick season, which really seems like forever (more for Jeanise than for me, I'm sure) :-)

Me, Joel, and Lindsay have all been sick the last couple of weeks. How Jeanise has been able to avoid it, I have no idea, but I'm not going to jynx her by mentioning it. OOPS! Joel is pretty much over it... I'm on the downhill (these OK allergies are KILLING ME! -- please pray for rain!) ... and Lindsay, poor girl, doesn't even know what hit her. But she's a trooper... she's still smiling and being her happy self. We're so lucky to have good kids.

Speaking of good kids... Joel has been in the tub for the last 20 minutes while I've been on the computer, so I'd better go check on him.

HEY! I made the news!

This is a neat article written in our OKCFriday newspaper. It's pretty neat, if I do say so myself. I thought they did a good job. Here's the link:

OKCFRIDAY

(it was really long, so I had to hyperlink it above)

Anyway, that was it.

Has this ever happened to you?

Ok... this comic was sent in by a supporter of "Hooked on Phonics." :-)

Let me know how many of you can relate to this? I'm really interested to know this one...

Regular season is over! (aka We're there, yet.) Now we start the play-offs... (aka we're getting there, yet) We play our first game against Piedmont (down the street rivals) on Saturday and we hope to make a run. Guess we'll see.

Hope everyone's Valentine's day went well. Due to basketball season, I'm making mine up... not a surprise, since Jeanise has really not had a "good" Valentine's day in several years, due to "basketball season." It that's not "love" I don't know what is. Thank you, Sweetie!

Gotta run!

Loving February...

WOW... it has come to my attention that I have not posted a blog in 2 weeks! AH! I've been busy finishing up with basketball season and trying to get thru this last little bit of school... well... the 3rd nine weeks at least. A good friend of mine took this picture of me at the last basketball game... don't I look "coachy"?

We lost the game by 5 points, but the boys fought really hard. We've got our last regular season game on Tuesday... then the playoffs start! A long season is finally coming closer to an end. It's been fun, but a lot of work. I'm ready to see my beautiful wife and kids again on a "normal" schedule.

Lindsay is just growing and growing. She's so beautiful. She's got a smile that would light up a major city and she's just a happy baby. Joel is growing too, and I can't believe how tall he's getting. He's been sick with brochitus the last couple of days, but is just now getting to the point where he's acting "normal." Hope that he gets better soon. It's tough to see your kids getting sick. Especially when you have to give them medicine and they don't like it. You try to tell them that it's going to make them feel better, but how can you feel better with that "icky" taste in your mouth!?!?!? I mean, who are the pharmasutical companies trying to kid?

Well... better be off. Have a wonderful week!

Aren't they cute?...