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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