Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Goodbye 2013

Just back from a party with the kids and settling in for the last hour of 2013. It was a very good year in my estimation. 2014 looks good from where I'm sitting at the moment. Let's hope it stays that way.

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Saturday, December 28, 2013

Tournament Champs

The boys made it back to DC in time to play two of the four games of the BRYC Holiday Tournament and ended up winning the whole thing. The team went 1-1 yesterday with a 1 point loss to the team we beat for the championship today. We won our first game this morning and played McLean for the championship at noon. It was a close game until the end when the Patriots pulled away and overpowered the Spartans 40-34.

The McLean team was good but had some horrible coaches. The team was full of itself in general and believed that Sam and Dylan were added to the team after the loss on Friday. I'm not sure where they thought they came from but it just added to their overall poor sportsmanship. Their coach was nearly booted from the game for bad behavior and the kids mimicked their leadership with one kid refusing Sam's hand as he offered it to help him up after he went to the floor. It's 5th grade basketball people, get a grip.

The boys were a little rusty from the field with Sam scoring 12 and Dylan 4 in the two games. They did rebound well with Sam pulling in more than 25 and Dylan napping a dozen. We are in division 1 and will have a lot of tough games this year so it's nice to get a tournament win under our belt before going head to head with the toughest 5th grade teams in northern Virginia.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Old Log Theater

We saw Toad and Frog today at the Old Log in Shorewood today. It was a cute little show and everyone's favorite character was Snail. We had a nice dinner at Spazzo and are getting ready to head home tomorrow. It's been a great trip to Minnesota. We got snow every day and the four inches on Christmas Eve was a treat.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas Day

Not much going on beyond a little sledding in the new snow and the boys listening to their new beats. I took a nice little nap and now we are getting ready for dinner. A perfect Christmas Day.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas Cousins

The annual Christmas picture in front of the fire. The kids are getting old.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Kids Table

Dinner at Mainstreets with the kids in their own booth. It made for a much nicer adult conversation at the table a short distance away. It's been cold here today so we went bowling. It will get down to -15 tonight then warming up to the teens tomorrow so sledding will back on the table, maybe snowshoeing on Long Lake. It's a winter wonderland around here.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Sliding Time

It basically snowed the entire day which made it perfect for a couple hours at the Orono golf course sledding hill. Snow is in the forecast for the next few days, so a white Christmas is definitely in store this year. It's only going to be around 4 degrees for a high tomorrow so indoor activities are going to be on tab but we will have to get back on the hill before we leave later this week.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

White Christmas

It looks like their is plenty of snow in Minnesota. Bring on the sledding.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Lazy Sunday

A little shopping and some work around the yard with a workout for all of us is about all we had going on today. After the exciting game yesterday we needed to chill a bit today. Sam actually got on the bike today because he has been a little winded in the last couple games. He needs to keep is stamina up. Dylan never seems to get winded, he just goes and goes. He's also carrying 40 less pounds but still. I like when they cuddle up even when they have the whole couch to spread out on.

Great Game

We started out well but fell behind 32-18 early in the second half. That's when the boys turned it on and went on a tear to beat Annandale 43-40. Dylan had a fantastic game with 9 points, 9 rebounds and a couple steals. Sam had 14 points and 6 rebounds. The team really rallied after falling flat and Dylan hit a 3 pointer from the corner to give the the Patriots a one point lead with about a minute left. He was totally stoked and they got the ball back and he fed Sam a perfect pass inside for another two points and ultimately the win. Both boys played well but Dylan really turned it on and was full of energy the entire game. It must be the shoes.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Looking Out

This is the view of the Washington monument from inside the Whitehouse. Not a view I typically get. I drive by it everyday but this is how presidents see it. The scaffolding is halfway down from the earthquake repair that has been going on for the last 18 months. I think I will make it a quest to actually go into that monument when it re-opens. I've been in DC for 22 years and have never set foot in the Capitol or that monument. It might be time for both although the Capitol building is one of the most dis-functional places on the planet, maybe I'll wait on that visit.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Whitehouse Holiday Party

Good time at the Barack and Michelle Obama's holiday party tonight. We spent about a half hour going through security but it was well worth the time. The decorations are pretty spectacular and we had free reign over the entire east wing. The president spoke for a short time and the food and drink was very nice. I'm glad we did it.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Snow

School was cancelled again because of a winter storm that brought some snow but not a crippling amount. We are all home again, making this a very long weekend. It looks like we will get a break from storms for a while and get back to work tomorrow.

Monday, December 09, 2013

Ice

We got a pretty good covering of ice last night. The trees are drooping quite a bit but nothing major has fallen and it's melting off now. Just hanging around the house with some bored boys at the moment.

Sunday, December 08, 2013

Schools are Closed

Not surprising but it's not really that bad out, yet. More freezing rain is headed this way tonight and it might be pretty slick in the AM. I guess I will be doing my meeting on the phone tomorrow. At least I have the lights up to celebrate this winter storm. I have a whole bunch on the driveway side of the house and the back. I think I'll take them down the first week of February this year.

First Snow

Only about 2 inches and now we have freezing rain but I got my outdoor lights up just in time. Nicole and the boys are at a movie and I'm watching a painful Vikings game. If the ice keeps up, we may be talkin a cancelled school day tomorrow and a decision on what to do with the boys.

Saturday, December 07, 2013

Cold Winters Night

We are home waiting on an ice storm heading this way. We may get a couple inches of snow in the morning, then just ice. It's a good excuse to stay home and do nothing tomorrow.

Hoop Dreams

The boys played hard this afternoon but came up short against a energetic Herndon team. Sam played most of the game and scored 19 points with 11 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Dylan played about half the game and came away with 5 rebounds and 2 steals. He was all over the court and really worked his butt off but only took a couple of shots. The key was that he wasn't apprehensive but extremely aggressive and ran hard up and down the court. Sam had a great game but looked pretty winded out there at times.

With the three pool play games done, we will get our division assigned and the regular season schedule that I will post so you people can plan to come out and see them play.

Friday, December 06, 2013

Winter Nights

I was able to get some of the outside lights up this afternoon. I'll get the rest up If it stops raining for a little while tomorrow. The boys are off to basketball practice which kind of sucks because I like them here with me on cold, rainy nights. Our third league basketball game is tomorrow. It's against Herndon and with the outcome we will be placed in one of the three 5th grade divisions and a season schedule will be generated. It will be nice to know when the game will be a little further out than a few days.

Oh well, back to staring at the fire and sipping my Duckhorn Merlot.

Sunday, December 01, 2013

Old and New

Our new Seattle space needle with a battery powered light and a wooden airplane from my childhood are adorning our tree tonight. It's good to get the smell of a Frazier fir in the house again.

Christmas Tree

Went to the Apple House for our tree today and got one that just barely fits into its spot in our family room. We could get a bigger on and put it in the living room but that would mean I'd barely see it. This one is a little taller than me and fits right next to the fireplace, but not too close. On to decorating in a little while.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Long Trip Home

Something closed interstate 95 in both direction near the Delaware/Maryland border this afternoon that sent us scrambling for another route over the Susquehanna and adding almost two hours to our trip. We did cross on route one after a bunch of wrong turns. The Toyota navigation system is not on par with Acura version and did not help much until pulled over re-adjusted the bastard. We are home now with found memories of another thanksgiving in New York. This is a picture of us on the R train on the wY home from the basketball game last night. We got home and warmed up some leftovers and watched Man of Steel in 3D in Adam theater. Didn't get to bed till 1am. I will sleep well tonight.
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Friday, November 29, 2013

Madison Square Garden

We went to the final of the NIT preseason tournament tonight. It was Duke vs. Arizona and a really good game that Arizona pulled out in the last few minutes. Uncle Adam got us some sweet tickets at mid court, about 10 rows up. The boys had a blast and when I say the boys, I mean all five of us.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had 13 for dinner tonight. Aunt Elaine came up from Philly, Dana Connelly was here, her dad and Adam are old friends from Berkeley and she now goes to NYU. Randy from LA happened to be in town and Julie from the bands touring staff was here with a couple crew from her current gig. It was a fun night with great food and lots of wine. Per usual, it was all too much and put me in a food coma.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Young Politicians

My friend John Weill posted this on Facebook. If only Marsh and Carolyn would have continued their political climbing. They could have out Bill and Hillaryed, Bill and Hillary, or would that have been Richard and Pat?

Happy Hanukah

The eight crazy nights begin again. Coinciding with thanksgiving will not happen again until 2070 in some calculations.

Papa Smurf

We went up to the planetarium in the natural history museum this morning then strolled along west 81st and west 77th streets to see the Macy's parade balloons being filled. Not all of them were in fill mode but we saw a bunch. It's rainy and cold out there now. We are in for the night. Likely watching Man of Steel in 3D on Uncle Adams ginormous tv.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Flatiron

We stopped for a photo in front of the Flatiron Building on the way to the museum of math. It was a nice little museum but didn't take long to discover it all. We then headed back to Soho to buy basketball shoes for the boys. They are very fancy now. Off to see Motown in a few minutes.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Night Out

Nicole and I met friends out in Old Town last night and had a good old time. The plan was to have drinks and appetizers but we were a little low on the app side of the equation so my head hurt a tad this morning. Winter finally showed up this morning and I'm not sure we've been above freezing today but I really haven't been outside anyway.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

New Doo Selfie

The three boys are getting out hair cut by Patrick today. Tough basketball game early this morning. Got man handled by a good Arlington team.

Friday, November 22, 2013

On This Day

A shot from this summer when Nicole was at a white house briefing. It seems an appropriate post today.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

End of the Season

The boys handled their playoff loss yesterday pretty well. They justed shifted into basketball mode. Reset.

Keeping up with the games

I like Sunday afternoons during football season. Lots to keep track of with all the fantasy leagues and games to watch.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Split Day

First off, our playoff game in flag didn't turn out so well. We lost to the cyclones who beat us in the regular season as well. The Tigers started off a little sluggish and never really recovered. Sam did score two touchdowns and a 2 point conversion but the team went down 30-14. We just can't seem to get a good game going when it really counts in that sport.

On the flip side, basketball went really well. Dylan returned to his honey badger self with some intense play. He seemed lost in last weekends tournament but he was all over the court today. He only finished with 1 point, 5 rebounds and a steal but man he was a man possessed on defense. Sam scored 14 points, had 6 rebounds and a steal. He looked really good on both sides of the ball. The kid has some fantastic moves underneath the basket and was able to get open a lot, using his size to dominate in the paint. His touch has also improved a lot from last year. We have a good team with exceptional guard play and some really good forwards. Dylan is mostly trading time with Sam at center but was also in as a forward a couple times.  The LMVSC Patriots won 40-20. Go Patriots!!!

We are now down to one sport with football and soccer over. It looks like it will be an exciting season.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Home and Away

The team jerseys, shorts and shooting shirts were handed out at practice tonight. Go Patriots!!

Planning

It's the eve before the flag playoffs and a divisional seeding game in in basketball. Sam's ankle is getting better and he is riding the stationary bike to loosen it up and strengthen it a bit. Dylan is on his way to basketball practice where they will likely get their uniforms. Pictures of them in them later if that happens. I hope they do well in both sports tomorrow but mostly that they have fun. They've worked hard since August to get to this point in football and it's really the start of a new team journey with basketball.

Monday, November 11, 2013

School Pictures

Dylan 2013

Sam 2013

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Dylan's Weekend

Sam as laid up with his ankle issue, which left Dylan to fill some holes in the football and basketball teams. After his fantastic performance on the grid iron yesterday, he hit the court with his team for 3 games. Their basketball team is really good but down three players today. They had a lot of fight in them but fell short in all three games. With just 7 players, they were exhausted at the end and they had to play a 6th grade team with a 6 foot center that Dylan had to guard. It took him a little while to get acclimated but he finally started playing like the honey badger we are used to. He ended up with 4 points on two great jump shots, a dozen rebounds and 3 steals. It was a slow start to the season but this travel team is going to be great for his progression and it is way more fun to watch then the rec league.

Sam tried his best to not look disappointed and encourage his brother but is still salty that he missed out on all the fun. The team could have used his services as well. They lacked a big man under the hoop. We are trying to get him back for next weeks games. Finger crossed.

Saturday, November 09, 2013

Birthday Boys

The boys had their birthday party today with about a dozen kids. We rented a video game truck that parked in front of the house and had 4 big screen TV's with Xbox's and Wii's attached. The kids spent two hours playing video games and screening all they wanted while we stayed in the house and had a few cocktails with some of the parents. It was a brilliant idea, not having to drive anywhere but not really having the kids on the house either. We had pizza and cake in the screened porch which is much better than all those monsters messing up the dining room. All together a success.

Playoff Bound

Sam was on injured reserve today with a bad ankle but Dylan made up for his brothers absence by scoring two touchdowns and intercepting two balls. Corbin added two nice TD's for a 24-12 win against the Hawkeyes. Sam is on his way to getting better and should be able to return next weekend but not for tomorrow's basketball tournament. He's a little salty about that but it would be worse to rush home back before he's ready.

Friday, November 08, 2013

Bad Ankle

On the eve before an action packed sports weekend, Sam rolled his ankle and will be on injured reserve for a week. The weekend was supposed to start with the free throwathon then on to a football game at 9am tomorrow and then three basketball games on Sunday. Dylan is going to pick up the slack and play twice as hard but Sam is pretty disappointed.

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Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Happy Birthday Boys

The boys turned 11 today. They are one of my best ideas ever. I love you both madly.

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Lazy Sunday

The extra hour of sleep was much needed today. I needed to catch up on sleep after a busy week. We spent a little time outside throwing a football and working on some soccer moves on this glorious fall day. The Vikings lost and Redskins won which sucks both my adopted teams, Patriots and Seahawks won so it wasn't a total loss.

The boys turn 11 on Wednesday. Hard to believe.

Saturday, November 02, 2013

Peak Season

Busy day of sports for the boys. They each scored a goal in a 2-2 draw in their 9am soccer game. That's it for soccer this year. Sam finished the year with 6 goals, Dylan only had one in 5 games. They missed a few because of football. They had another great day on the grid iron. Sam ran for two TD's and threw a long pass to Corbin in the end zone for another TD. He also caught a 2 point conversion pass from Corbin. Dylan had another nice long running TD and caught a beautiful bomb in stride from Sam but his flags came came off after a couple more steps and was called down after 30 yard catch. If your flag belt comes off you are down but he had clear sailing to the end zone.

The trees are in full color this weekend and the temp is dropping again. A fire is burning and we are in for the night.

Friday, November 01, 2013

Changing Seasons

We had our last soccer practice today and will soon be hanging up the cleats for the year and breaking out the basketball shoes full time. The trees are really showing color. It's just sad that the color only lasts a week so. I love the peak color time and always want to take it all in and save it for those grey winter days and hot and green months. We have a soccer game at 9am and a football game at noon. I will also need to find time to take some pictures of the trees too.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Big Candy Haul

We went across telegraph road to trick or treat with the Wards this year. Tons of kids out and the houses seemed closer together so we could cover more ground. I was still tired after all the walking, as were the boys. On to November.

Happy Halloween


























Tin Tin and Abe Lincoln (Vampire Slayer) heading to school.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Jerseys

The boys got measured for their jerseys and warm ups today at basketball practice. Sam is a men's large jersey, medium shorts. Dylan is an adult small for both. Good size kids.

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Saturday, October 26, 2013

Busy Saturday

The boys won their football game this morning 34-12 with Dylan scoring once and getting an interception while Sam didn't score in a game for the first time in a year. He did get a nice interception. They lost their soccer game by a score of 4-0. Dylan had three really nice shots on goal and Sam had a couple. We are just back from a Halloween party and watching baseball and football in front of the fire. Tomorrow needs to be a low key day.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Back from Vegas

I just noticed the text I sent with the Pain Vegas post didn't make it. It described how I tweaked my back a couple hours before my flight to Las Vegas on Tuesday and the walking around the conference like the hunchback of Notre Dame. That on top of the sciatica I've been dealing with the last few weeks made the flight and the last few days less than fun. I did get a massage on Thursday and was able to go to the conference closing party at the MGM Grand. The conference was good and as long as I was sitting all was good. Moving from session to session was an adventure. I need to find a chiropractor soon.

I was able to upgrade on this mornings flight and I'm back home in virginia sitting in front of a blazing fire.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Day After

Fun party last night. Lots of great costumes. Nicole was over served and spent most of today on the couch.  I added a bunch of pictures to flickr, enjoy..



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