Halloween Party 2011

DSC_3614
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The pictures are up and on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/homerclees/sets/72157627854089533/

Uncle Adam

Uncle Adam
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

My niece, Mae has taken up drawing as a new hobby and sketched out this lovely drawing of Uncle Adam. I see this a new album cover someday.

Someone Beat the Pack Anyway

The little Colts won a big game on Saturday morning to get one step closer to the playoffs.  The previously unbeaten little Packers played a tough defensive game but couldn't stop the passing attack from the Colts.  Sam was on the receiving end of a big 30 yard reception that set up the go ahead touchdown and he caught the 1 point conversion after the touchdown in a 14-12 win.  The two conversions were the difference in the game (you can choose a 1 or 2 point conversion in flag rules)  Dylan had a couple of nice runs and was solid on defense again as was Sam.

The Packers had the ball at the Colts 30 yard line with 30 seconds left and got shut down by Colts defense on three straight plays.  Good way to start a Saturday.  We are now number 1 in our division but need to win next week to guarantee a playoff spot.

Halloween Party

Lots of kids and a few adult kids.  The weather was perfect and everyone seemed to have a good time in the house by the graveyard.  

Candy Corn Pops

Candy Corn Pops
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Getting ready for the Halloween Party once again. The food I always interesting.

The Wizard

The Wizard
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The Gartner big event was at Disney's Hollywood Studios last night so we had the place to ourselves for a few hours. They have some fun rides but not a ton of them. All the restaurants were open and free and their was beer and wine on every corner. Not a typical day in a Disney park. The conference has been good and I have a new understanding of the future of technology but I'm looking forward to getting home.

It's Going to be wet in Orlando

Land of Make Believe

Roasting Bones

Roasting Bones
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

I know I post too many pictures of fires but I just love them. The high was 70 degrees today but the dewpoint is really low and the temp is falling fast. I just wanted that fire feel before going to Orlando for a couple days. I don't like Orlando much, not without the boys with me anyway.

Touchdown Kid

Touchdown Kid
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The little Colts bounced back this week and beat the previously undefeated Dolphins. Dylan got his first touchdown of the year and added a 2 point conversion as well. Sam added an interception to his total making him the league leader at 4 picks for the season. The whole team played well and are set up for a big game against the Packers next week.

Scary Skeletons

Scary Skeletons
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Got home late last night and have been working from home today. The bug guy came for his quarterly visit to rid the house of real spiders as we place fake ones all over as decorations. Real graves are enough of a bonus of this house for Halloween, we don't need real bugs.

Up With the Sun

Up With the Sun
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Great sunrise over the bay.

Gold Coast

Sunny and Warm in SF

Moon over the Bay Bridge

West Again

I'm on my way west again today after 72 hours at home. It was an early flight again and while its good to heading to San Francisco for the Councils meeting I wanted to be landing back at Dulles the minute we took off.

This one is a pretty quick trip but I need to be in florida at the beginning of next week as well. At least I'm getting quality weekend time in with the boys and business travel should be over for the year in about 8 days.

The boys are growing up fast, I don't want to miss too much.

Lacrosse

LaCrosse
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The boys are trying a new sport with a lacrosse camp for the next 4 weeks. They played it a bit at Camp Blue this summer in Berkeley. If they like it, it may replace baseball this spring.

Scary Decorating

Little Colts

 

The little Colts lost a heart breaker today.  It was a high scoring affair at 31-25 but the boys didn't come out on top this time.  That makes the record 1-1-1 but we are still in the hunt for first place with three games to play.  I think the season will end on a 3 game winning streak.  Sam caught a 2 point conversion pass and Dylan had his first interception of the year.  Both had a few nice runs and a lot of tackles.  We're going to get all the cylinders going next week, I can feel it.

Back from Paris, kinda

Fire Dancers

Fire Dancers
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The Jive party was fun with good music and folks playing with fire. It was chilly by Las Vegas standards but not raining. I'm looking forward to getting home tomorrow and coaching the little Colts to a victory on Saturday. I wonder if they have a line on that game at the sports book? My Cal bet is not looking so good right now.

Rappin Flute

Rappin Flute
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

A talented 15 year old can play flute and beat box at the same time. Getting the morning going.

Evil Machine

Evil Machine
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

I just wanted a drink before dinner and they put a video poker machine in front of me. The audacity. Didn't this casino take enough of my money last night?

Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

This is one technocentric hotel.

Soggy Shoes

It was really wet this morning that we needed a fire to dry things out.  Ok, I was going to build a fire anyway.  It's been about 50 degrees all day.  That's chilly for this parts this time of year.  We're going to start putting out the Halloween decorations tonight.  I'll see if I can post something spooky later.  

All Tied Up

I tough game against the Falcons today but I think the weather was out biggest opponent.  It was cold, windy and rainy the whole game and both teams were fumbling and stumbling out there.  Sam had a sure touchdown at one point and the ball flipped out of his hands and the whole team was having a hard time handing off to one another.  On the bright side, Sam threw the game tying touchdown to Leo (Leo who also had a safety) late in the second half and nabbed an interception on the Falcons final drive to end any chance of them winning.  A tie is better than a loss and the boys still had a good time but were all pretty relieved when it was over and got to get into some warm cars. 

End of September

The best months of the year start tomorrow with a big ol cold front coming thru and chilling things down quite a bit.  The boys have a football game nice and early and we spent this afternoon practicing all the plays they need to run in the morning.  I'm hoping we have a good game and a lot of fun. Coach Cory and I got a nice note from one of the kids parents saying how much fun the boys seems to be having this year and how much better Cory and I, and the parents of the Colts have been behaving over past coaches on teams he was on the last couple years.  It was really a nice compliment and it reinforces what Cory and I talked about before the season began.  We are in it to help the kids learn football and have a good time.  Wins were secondary.  Fortune has it, that we have some really talented kids on the team and wins will probably come but I'm not going to get greedy.  (I swear I will not get greedy)  It may be hard if we start losing a few since I'm a pretty competitive individual but I just have to keep reminding myself, this is about the kids, not me.  My glory days in sports are over.  My new glory needs to be happy kids that are learning how to play football as a team.

Back to Normal

I survived the five days with the boys fairly well and we are back to a two parent household.  The weekend was fun with a little Colts win 24-6.  Sam had a 40 yard touchdown run and an interception while Dylan played some really good defense with at least 4 tackles (pulls) and a 10 yard reception.  He didn't play a lot of offense this game but will get a lot of reps next weekend.  We met my friend Jessica at a Dave and Busters on Saturday afternoon and played some laser tag on Sunday.  It was good to have the kids to myself for a few days  but I needed a little chill time last night when Nicole got back.

It's still hotish and humid around here but a cold front is on it's way for the weekend.  It may be fire weather again but it is definitely time to break out the Halloween decorations.  It's time to spook this place up a bit. 

Sam on the Run

The Dylanator

Triple Bed

I let the boys sleep with me last night, since Nicole is gone this week.  I figured they'd fall a sleep and then I'd get them to move to their room after a short time.  Turns out I woke up at 3am and they were still there so we stayed that way all night and only had one bed to make in the morning.  Very efficient.

Twin Bed

First Fall Fire

Yes, I did it.  A fire in mid September her in the Mid Atlantic.  It's almost a full month earlier than last year but hey, the high was 62 today and it's heading back down to 50 degrees tonight.  I say bring on the flames.  Of course I have some windows open but I will close them as the night goes on.  It just feels good to feel the heat, hear the crackle and smell the burning wood.  

The boys had a good scrimmage in flag football today.  Sam was 3-6 in throwing at QB and Dylan had a rushing TD.  We have a super fast kid on our team this year, Max who will score a bunch so the days of Sam and Dylan scoring all the points like last year are over.  They are however the most driven defensive players on the field.  They go full speed on every play and often end up with the flag whether the play went at them or the other direction.  They ran down a bunch of end arounds on the opposite side of the field and each had a couple sacks.  My coaching is pretty limited but I do provide words of support to the kids and help them learn from what they are doing well and not so well.  

Time to sit and watch the flames.  

The Bird

The Bird
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

One more pic from the O's game.

O's

O's
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The boys are inhaling hamburgers, pizza and ice cream. Good thing the tickets were gratis. Thanks uncle Brandt.

Weeping Willow

 

This willow tree used to be hanging over that sign, hiding it completely and not able to warn drivers of the dangerous corner on Wilton Road.  Nicole wrote our elected officials and they had it taken care of in about 10 days.  Not bad...

Coaching is Hard

So I've started my first coaching gig with the boys flag football team and I'm finding that keeping the kids on task, engaged, and having a good time requires a ton of energy. I've been focusing on defense while the head coach is working on offense and getting 6 kids to understand the positions in a pretty fluid game is wearing me out.

Now a couple of them really understand the game and you can use shorthand to explain what I want them to do while others need every scenario described to them. I put one sweet kid at cornerback for the first time and I said, cover the tight end if he goes to the flank for a pass and don't let anyone (running back) around you. He, then asked "I should pull their flag, right?".

We have a pretty good team and our first scrimmage is this Saturday. Wish us luck pulling flags.

My Birthday

That time of year again and while I'm officially a year older, I don't really feel that much older.  It's been a low key day with a lunch date with the boys to Lucky's, their favorite restaurant\video game venue.  Besides that, it's a lot of nothing today but hanging out with Nicole and the boys.  Need to open presents soon.

Rain

Rain
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Its been raining for four days and its starting to wear on me. I think we've gotten 10 plus and it won't stop. I need some sun for gods sake.

3rd Grade

3rd Grade
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

First day of school 2011. Bring on the homework fun.

Signs of Fall

Signs of Fall
Originally uploaded by homerclees.
We visited the pool for the last time in 2011. It will close after tomorrow and it's suppose to rain all day. Besides, when the leaves start falling in the water, it's time to start looking forward to cool weather, fires and football.

Here's the photos from the pool on flickr.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/homerclees/sets/72157627210277754/

Last Pool Weekend

Last Pool Weekend
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The pool shuts down on Tuesday so we are trying to get a little swimming in between thunderstorms. We picked up new football shoes and mouth guards for the boys and their first official practice as the pee wee Colts is on Tuesday. Out to dinner tonight in Old Town. It's good to stay close to home on holidays.

My Favorite Third of the Year

Not my photo but pretty all the same

September to December is my favorite third of the year with a bunch of stuff happening that I really enjoy.  Let's list them in no particular order.  Cooler temps, colorful leaves, football,
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, snow, long nights, fires, the smell of fires, the crackle of fires, the World Series (I don't like baseball until the finals),

WSO

WSO
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

The newer version of wso in Denver. I wish I could combine the AARP wso with the ACS wso. That would be an unstoppable force.

Latimer Street

Latimer Street
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Denver is kind of a cow town but dinner at Rioja was fantastic.

Big Bear

Big Bear
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

Monster bear trying to get into the convention center.

Morning After

It was a sleepless night with lots of little power hiccups but nothing long enough to get the generator cranked up. Many people did lose power around us and are still in the dark but we got lucky this time. The yard was full of downed limbs and leaves but no major branches or limbs fell. We did a little clean up this morning and I'm now on my way to Denver, two days late.

Sent from my iPhone

The Destruction

Power

We have been hunkered down in the basement since we lost power for about 30 seconds at 6pm. It just seems safer down here and I don't particularly like watching the trees sway around out the windows. We have had a couple more flickers of power outage but not the big one, yet. It's still raining and the wind is pretty bad. I think we are at about 3 inches and have a couple more coming. The winds are supposed to stay pretty strong until the morning.

We are well and watching Titanic, the only other disaster left after our earthquake and hurricane.

Hunkered in the Basement

First Branch

Mother Nature clearing out the dead wood. It made a nice thump but the limb has obviously been hanging up there for a while.

Storm Update

Not much happening yet. Some rain and wind but I'm sue the best if yet to come. Wind predictions of around 40mph which is similar to the big winter storms of a year and a half ago which isn't that bad but when you have the number of trees we have in our yard, it's hard to predict what will happen. Trees are good unless then are falling down. We've all been inside all day and are finding things to do. We might sleep in the basement if things get really windy.

Got the Power

I've never actually needed this thing but it is set up in the screened porch and ready to go if needed. I have the power cord running out on the deck, down under it then in the bathroom window under the deck. It will power the sump pumps if we have a lot of rain and the freezer and fridge in the basement plus I guess a couple other things. I'm hoping I don't need it but you never know.

The storm looks to be staying east of us by a 150 miles but we will still probably get some tropical storm winds of about 40mph with some gusts that could go to 60mph. Rain only looks to be 3-5 but the sump pumps will probably start working after 3. I postponed my trip to Denver until Sunday at this point. If we weather the storm well, I should be able to get out of town pretty easy. If not, I guess I'll stay here and clean up.

Ready for Some Football

Ready for Some Football
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

First practice with the new team and yes, I'm a coach this year. Assistant coach that is. Gotta get my feet wet before I move on to the Vikings.

Earthquake, Really?

So as I was peacefully eating lunch and checking out a hurricane that seems to be bearing down on us, when my entire 9th floor office with extremely large windows starts to shake while things start falling off my desk. In DC, your first thought goes to a bomb, and this would have been a big one. I was not expecting an earthquake and I must admit, it freaked me out a bit. I got downstairs in about 3 minutes with everything I needed to head home and jumped in the car to beat the traffic. It's my turn to pick the kids up at camp so I wanted to get a jump on what I'm sure is gridlock at the moment. I'm home now and we just have some things that fell off shelves but otherwise the house seems fine.

This is really the first earthquake I've ever really felt and I'm not a big fan.

Haircuts

Haircuts
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

New do's for the boys. Me too but I don't look as good.

Hip Hop Boys

Oh Michelle

Now I cut the women some slack when she got Elvis Presley's birthday mixed up with when he died but hey, like Jim Morrison, Elvis may still be in the building.

But, the latest gaff is really remarkable. I like history and understand that the Soviet Union ended many years ago with all the former republics going their separate ways. She was recently quoted saying the following.

"What people recognize is that there's a fear that the United States is in a an unstoppable decline. They see the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the Soviet Union and our loss militarily going forward"

We have bigger problems if the Soviet Union is marching forward again. We are going to get crushed in the next Olympics by genetically altered athletes with unabrows.

Gentlemen

We went to a show at Imagination Stage in Bethesda on Saturday and then met Steve and Patty for dinner. The boys were actually pretty good the whole time and engaged in some conversation between video games but all in all, not bad little dinner companions. Yesterday's golf game was called off due to rain so I spent the whole day at home while the boys had a birthday party to attend. Staying home is a good thing to do on weekend every once in a while.

Wild Ride

Wild Ride
Originally uploaded by homerclees.

An early show at Imagination Stage.

Favorite Quotes

I didn't watch the Republican Presidential Debate yesterday but I can't help reading about it. I think I'm going to start posting my favorite Bachmann quotes until she drops out of the race and hopefully out of the news.

“The Congress gave Barack Obama a blank check for $2.4 trillion"

How does a blank check have an amount on it? Not to mention that the authority to issue new debt is for things we've already purchased.

Oh well, I read an article on CNN yesterday that made a strong case for why at the end of the day it will be Perry\Palin vs. Obama\Biden. Another religious Texan and whatever Palin is, scary.

A's

The boys went to Baseball Camp this morning wearing their A's jersey's from the Twins, A's game in Oakland. It was jersey day. They looked good.

California Pictures



It's been a busy two days back at work but it's good to get back in the game. I've posted a bunch of pictures to flickr of the week in NoCal.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/homerclees/sets/72157627396166498/

Spa Day