The Countdown

Happy New Year

We are back from the party we have been going to on New Year's Eve the past half dozen years and getting warm by the fire. The party is nice because it's a mile away and starts early and ends before midnight. We can watch the ghost of Dick Clark in the comfort of our own home.

Shaq

Sam going hard at the hoop with Jonathan #23 and Dylan right there for the rebound but I think this one went in.

Honey Badger

Here's Dylan putting up a shot and Sam getting boxed out. Jonathan #23 is always going towards the basket after shots. He's small but gets a ton of rebounds. This team has potential, try just haven't put together many complete games. They will gel in 2015.

Hands Up

Here are the boys setting up low with their hands up. They played hard against a very good team from Loudon county and also lost a close game against McLean in the morning. They won both games yesterday and went 2-2 for the tournament. Sam struggled around the basket in the McLean Game this morning and scored 7 points with a dozen rebounds. He bounced back in game two with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He really seemed to gain confidence against a really good team.

Dylan had 2 points in each game he also had a couple steals in the first game and a half dozen rebounds. Dylan doesn't get as many minutes as Sam but runs his ass off when he's out there. He sprints from basket to basket and fights for every loose ball. I was proud of both of them today. They played well yesterday too but we're a little off on shooting due to a week without touching a basketball. Dylan had 2 points and Sam had 3.

Near White Christmas

We awoke to this in Minnesota this morning. The white Christmas missed us by a day but didn't effect our flight home at all. MSP knows how to handle snow.

Front Row

Marshall buys the tickets to these shows way in advance so that we get the front row. He likes it up there.

Old Log

The Charlie Brown Christmas show was pretty good at the Old Log Theater. They've done better productions but we had fun and were able to get a decent picture of the cousins together.

Winter Walk

It snowed a little today, so we had a slight white Christmas feel. The boys were happy with their presents and we had a nice Christmas dinner with Jeff and Karen. On to the Old Log Theater for a Charlie Brown Christmas tomorrow then home for a basketball tournament.

Merry Christmas

The annual fireplace pose worked out pretty well this year. Had to threaten them but got some good shots out of it.

Finn in Goal

Good Times

It was fun to catch up with all the old friends at the Hennessey holiday party last night.

4th Night

117 to 147

I got my knee up to a 117 degree bend today but we also had Nicole's bend measured and she came in at 147. My good knee barely gets to 130 but then again I've accomplished a lot with my minimal bend.

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Choir Boys

This is after they sung at the mall. It looks like a Dave and Busters is coming in soon. I predict many requests to go there in the future.

New Sportswear

Happy Hanukkah

After an extremely busy evening, the boys lit the candles and opened Aunt Elaine's presents. They love the new basketball gear.

Hanging Tree

I'm at a conference a full 3 miles away from home at the Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor. It's a neat space we rarely visit, kinda a fake old town Alexandria.

Great Effort

We played the number 1 or 2 team in the league today while we lost by 13 we played as hard as I've seen them play in a while. Sam had 9 points and 12 rebounds and Dylan ran so hard in the first 6 minutes that he started to hyperventilate. I was proud of both of them and I think the team is starting to come together after a rough start to the season.

Another Tough Loss

The team kept it tight the whole game but came up 4 points short in today's game. They wore their white uniforms for the first time and looked damn good in them but wasn't enough. Both boys played well, Dylan was maniac on defense and caused mayhem while Sam hustled and fought back against double teaming and a kid who played as dirty as I've seen a kid play. He was hanging on Sam like a window washer on a skyscraper. Sam pushed back and the didn't give any ground.

Players

...via PhotoToaster, using these settings.

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Boy Band

Some of Sam and Dylan's buddies after the big Winter Concert. The boys did well.

Not Bad

The scar ain't too bad. Just wish the knee moved a little more than it does but that will come in time.

Not Fair

Hanna didn't measure the range on my knee today because she, and the other PT's think I'm focusing on the number too much. Nicely played ladies but I will get that measurement sometime this week. It was 108 on Friday and I'm sure it would have been 110 today. Going for 112 on Friday if they let me do a measurement.

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Having Fun

The boys lost again today with a pathetic shooting performance being the main cause. They were down 30-7 at half and sunk less than 10% of their shots. They did improve in the second half, losing 41-30. Both boys played pretty well but with everyone on the team, including them missing 75% of their shots, there was no way we were going to win. Pickle should be paying attention to the coach but at least he's smiling.

Xmas Shopping

Well, for myself really. I'm using my birthday gift card to buy some winter wear at Tommy Bahama. I visit the store at Tysons twice a year. Spring and Fall. In and out, that's how I like it.

108 Degrees

That's not the temp, it's my knee motion. I was aiming for 110 this week but I got close. Besides my PT appointment, I also put up the outside lights today. These twinklers will be up until February some time. I leave them up a long time but I enjoy them so.

Fishy Tomato Car

I was treated to this tomato car on the way to work yesterday. Just thought I would share.

Six Weeks

To been a little over six weeks since surgery and things are slowly improving. The doctor visit yesterday went pretty well with him being happy to measure a 100 degree bend in the leg. He would like to see it at 120 but the 21 degree improvement over the last time he saw me made him fairly happy. I had a PT appointment later yesterday and while I was hoping for a 110 bend, it only went to 105, the same as the Friday before thanksgiving vacation. I'm going to get it to 110 be Friday one way or the other.

All and all, I'm not knocking recovery out of the ballpark, some people have gotten better faster but I'm making progress. In all honesty, it hurts a lot sometimes. Not sure why but it can really go to a bad place still and drugs are required. I know I will be happy I did this eventually but I still have some work to do.

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Next Holiday

Well, Hanukkah is next but we don't decorate so much for that. The tree is up and decorated and the house smells great. This thing should be in this spot until the second week in January. Fun time of year.

Big Screen

I think the camera was going for the wacky women behind me but I caught a picture of myself on the Madison Square Garden Jumbotron last night. We had a great time with Adam and Gil watching the Gophers beat Georgia and St. John's give #10 Gonzaga a scare. The Zags eventually won but the johnnies made it exciting.

Made it home in about 4 and a half hours today which is pretty good for a Saturday on the 95 corridor. We had a great time in New York but it's nice to be home in front of the fire again.

Gopher Win

Happy boys with a gopher win. Now watching St. John's giving Gonzaga a run for the money. Could be an upset.

Thanksgiving

Dylan wanted some more Rays Pizza for lunch so we strolled over to st marks and 3rd to grab a slice. This picture is the north side of Adam's building. Is's an old music sheet publishing company that was established in the East Village in the 1870's. Now it's a couple dozen condos and our thanksgiving home.

Matilda

Saw a great matinee production of Matilda at the Schubert then had dinner at Tavern on the Green. It was one cold and rainy day here in New York but things are supposed to prove tomorrow.

Freedom Tower

It seems you can see Freedom Tower from every street in the Village and SoHo. It's a new landmark and a directional beacon for those having a hard time determining north and south in the city.

Boys and Their Shoes

We stopped at a few stores around Union Square and the boys and I all got some new kicks. The is rare, but I out shoed them with me selection at Flight Club.

Pizza Boy

We made it to New York in 4 hours and 30 minutes which is a record for us I believe. We only stopped once for some food and a bathroom break and didn't run into any traffic jams. Dylan loves the pizza at the joint across the street from Adams place.

First Game

The Patriots lost 40-36 to Herndon but showed signs of gelling as a team. I think we need to be a little more aggressive around the hoop but a good effort all around.

Growing Boys

Dylan and shot up since this was taken July but Sam still have a an inch or two on him.  That probably won't last for long.

Sixth Grader #2

Sixth Grader #1

Scrimmage

No games this week but a scrimmage on a Friday night. It will be good to be game free for a weekend.

My Hero

I'm coming up on four weeks since my knee replacement and things are slowly improving and getting back to normal. I still have a rough road ahead to get my leg to a 130 degree bend but I know what I have to do.

I'm not sure I could have made it this far without the undying support of my incredible partner and love of my life. I appreciate the support from from my mom, Linda, Sam, Dylan and the daily supportive texts from my dad as well but Nicole showed me how much she cares about me in to many ways to count.

Sleeping in my hospital room in a chair for two nights, advocating for me with the medical staff, pushing the pain med drip button when I dozed off, making sure I had all my meds and medical equipment, bringing me breakfast in bed, filling my ice machine, messaging my knee, completely rearranging her schedule and providing moral support and water during some tough PT sessions.

All this on top of doing all the kid stuff we used to split on any given week. I truly got lucky when she agreed to marry me 13 years ago and I just want to say thank you for everything. I love you.

Victory Cake

Nicole went all out for the season ending party last night. The boys had a great time celebrating their championship season.

Snap, crackle, pop

It's been a little over three weeks and I'm falling behind in the bend department. I don't have the range of motion that I probably should have at this point and it means some really painful PT sessions for the next few weeks. The routine is basically to pull/stretch the knee beyond is current limits to break up the scar tissue which you can hear pop in the knee. It's hard to describe how uncomfortable that is. I don't have much of a choice but I'm a little dismayed at this point. One day at a time but I have some tough days ahead of me.

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Champions

The little Ducks won a huge game today by getting a 110% from all the kids. I'm pretty sure every kid scored points in a 44-22 drubbing of the iNiners. Dylan scored two beautiful rushing touchdowns and Sam had one rushing TD. The team scored 3 safeties and had the iNiners on their heels the whole game. This was a much needed win after falling in the playoffs the last four years. They worked their butts off and came up with a game they will remember forever.

Championship Moms

These ladies have a lot of flair going on.

Cake Boss

They both consumed a quarter of each cake. I didn't think they could but they did. It was Mom's idea to let them try.

Birthday Boys

A couple of 12 year olds today. Love these guys.

The Bend

The Physical Therapist really started to work the knee to do stuff it doesn't really want to do. I need to get it to bend about 130 degrees and at the moment, it's at about 85 degrees. A person needs about 110 to walk up steps, one foot after the other and to ride a bike. It seems I have some work to do and it ain't all that pleasant.

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Just Another Day

The knee continues to improve, slowly. I ran out of the longer acting narcotic yesterday and while I believe that's the plan to get me back to no narcotics, it did mean some extra pain the last 36 hours. I still have short term pain meds but I realize now that the long term stuff is better. All in all I'm doing well but the days are adding up and improvement is slowing down. I have another pt session in the morning then a day of more exercise and the continuous motion machine. It's hard to tell which day of the week it is at times. I'm getting there.

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Two weeks Home

My in home PT has run out and it's out to PT early tomorrow. I'm fearing they may kick my ass a little but I've been keeping up with the exercises at home so hopefully I'll be ready for them. The knee does continue to improve and sleeping is a little easier. I think getting out of the house tomorrow will be good for me. I need to see some different turning leaves than the ones I can see from my window.

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All Hallows' Eve

The kids are out trick or treating with friends and I have these spooky dudes looking at me. The house smells like pumpkin guts and burning wood. This what fall is all about.

Halloween

The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Fantasy Football on the way to school this morning. On another gruesome note, I just got the staples on my knee out. It was annoyingly painful but it went pretty fast for having 38 of them.

Fiddling Fox

Sam played at Edison High in the greater Springfield area orchestra this evening. I think the football and basketball coaches would have rather seen at practice but Sam wanted to be part of this multiple grade school orchestra concert. He had been practicing for it all month. It's good that he likes things beyond sports, keeps him well rounded. His ears are part of his Halloween costume, TheFantastic Mr. Fox. A Roald Dahl book.

Two Weeks

With two weeks almost behind me, I'm starting see some faster improvement in my leg. I've graduated from a walker to a cane and the swelling is going down quite a bit. The whole thing is still a little painful but that's to be expected. My Pt session on Wednesday was pretty brutal. She had me doing some things on my feet that was causing some severe discomfort but I went back at trying them again today. I know this is a long process but I'm getting through it step by step.

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House Arrest

The knee is improving a little everyday and I'm getting more and more energy. It's amazing how a little surgery can knock you out for a while. Everything seems to be going how it's supposed to be going while I did expect to have more movement in the leg by now, I'm not terribly disappointed. My big activity this week will be getting the 30 plus staples out on Friday. That and a couple more PT sessions.

The biggest problem with doing this surgery this time a year is that I'm missing all the good leif turning action. Their are a few spots on the way to work and school that are pretty spectacular and I'm going to miss those spots at peak. Maybe I'll get out and see something this weekend.

One week home

It's been a week since leaving the hospital and while I've had some better days than others I'm still experiencing some good pain. I did more moving from upstairs to downstairs and spent more time on the motion machine than past days but that sucka is still really stiff. I know everyone's knee is different and healing times may vary but it's clear I won't be in the early healers club on this one. More PT and exercise tomorrow.

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Bed - Chair

And back again. Same old routine around here the last week and while I don't really feel like running around in the leaves, the same thing, day after day is kinda a drag. The knee is still really swollen and the pain is still high but I have good parts of the day. Hanging with the kids in bed before their football game as fun.

The boys lost their game today but combined for 6 touchdowns. Sam threw two TD passes to Dylan, ran a TD and had a pick 6. Dylan also had a pick 2, he intercepted an extra point conversion attempt by the other team. This is the team they will see in the championship game in two weeks. I hope their defense improves a little by then.