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),