Easter Weekend and a "Merciful" Birdie

Written on 4-20-14.

    We are just outside of Saguache, about 14 miles now, and we are headed home on this Easter Sunday.  B, Danielle, and I went to Lakewood/Denver for multiple reasons.  We got to see my niece Emily play in a soccer match on Friday afternoon at Garry Berry Stadium in Colorado Springs against, of all places, Durango High School.  She did really well as their goalie, giving up only one score in the first half, but that was enough to give their opponents the win.  I saw a former volleyball player/competitor/friend while there; his sophomore daughter is playing for Durango. 
    A big deciding factor for the trip was...

Quick Post About the New Cabin Firsts

Written on 4-13-14.

    Well, we are back at the “cabin home” again.  This time we had some friends come up for lunch yesterday.  I just wrote in the new cabin journal for the first time.  I’ve been writing about our trips up here in this journal, so I didn’t see a need to write in there, but this morning I was inspired, and I didn’t want to be left out either.
    It was a weekend of firsts.  That was my theme.  Eric put everything together (pump, pressure tank, lots of PVC pipe, etc.), so we have running water and hot water to boot.  Eric got the deserved privilege of the first shower last night. 
    It was the first time we had small children up here, too.  One of my former third graders came up with two beautiful girls and their mother.  The 5-year old is his, and the 3-year old is not (although you couldn't tell from her perspective), but they were both adorable, well-mannered, and lively.  He and their mother worked well together, and I was impressed with their patience, preparedness, and parenting.
    Eric beat me in Sequence, and I lied in the new cabin journal that it was the first time he had ever beaten me.  Thus, the competition continues.  I look forward to taking him on again.
    Danielle took the ACT for the last time yesterday.  It didn’t take long before she fell asleep on the couch for a brain-recovering nap.

When It Comes Down to the Last Hole...

Written on 4-5-14.

    The last time I wrote, I was telling the story of how Bruce blew me away in match play.  He won seven holes when we agreed to switch to a different game.  I had only managed to win two holes on the front nine. 
    We switched to the Reverse Handicap game with a twist.  The twist this time was the winner of the previous hole gave a pop to the loser for the next hole.  He was ahead by three points after winning hole #13, the hole we had started this new game.  We tied on #14 even though I had earned a bogey to his par, but that was because of the twist and the pop.  One big point was pushed to hole #15. 
    He won hole #15 with a double to my blow-up score.  I got a...

250th Post-Our Royal Family (wink, wink)

Proud Father and Young Queen

Royal "Sisters"/Cousins

4-6-14

    Well, I’m a bit tired and wired as I write this.  We had a late night last night, staying up well past the time we’re usually asleep to drive to Farmington and see the crowning of Aztec High School’s Homecoming royalty.  The wired part is coming from the coffee I just bought from Durango Joe’s here in Aztec.  The only reason I bought the coffee was because I inadvertently left my phone at my school after just working there for a couple of hours.  I left my phone there because I was tired, so I chose its retrieval as an excuse to go get some coffee, too.
    Well, it’s official.  We are a royal family.  I’ll do my best to stay humble (not that it’s really a big deal, but it is kind of a big deal, and I am being a bit facetious here, too), but we have a son who was Prom king two years ago, and after last night’s announcement, we have a daughter who is now the Prom queen.  Her ”sister”/cousin Becca was also part of the royal crowd last night. 
    They looked gorgeous, and I am biased.  They are also hardworking, involved, and generous and selfless with their time, since they are both working for the after-school program at my school, McCoy.  They are also both headed to college in the fall. 
    Belinda and I were talking about it all, of course, on the way home.  I told her that I thought it was a tad creepy for us to be there at a high school dance, but Belinda insisted that it was not.  She missed out on one crowning with her boy, so she would not miss out on a possible crowning for one of her girls (Becca is like our daughter).  When she said that, I had an epiphany/thought.  I realized that I had survived my brain surgery to be able to be there and witness it.  Okay, not so creepy after all.