Happy Camper

Over the weekend Lily participated in the LSSU Lakers winter softball camp. Unlike the hitting clinics before Thanksgiving, she was able to work on her catching and throwing as well. The coaches wanted her to attend the pitching camp also, but she hasn't shown interest in that yet. I still hope she sticks with softball and gives it a shot this spring. Also this weekend, the kids attended a 'lock in' at the college, where they were able to participate in games, sports, and activities hosted by the college kids. They had a great time over the weekend. Always good when they keep busy.

Lucky For Lakers

The last two weekends, and even opening night, we've been pretty lucky for the Lakers. Last weekend we watched them skate to a 1-0 win over Ferris State, and the weekend before a 3-1 victory over the hated Northern Michigan Wildcats. Brian has been having a pretty good time, but has been prone to running away and hiding in the gift shop. The fun of having a two-year-old. At least he finally built up the courage to 'high five' the mascots last game. Lily and Trevor are having fun, too, but we haven't run into many of their school friends so far this year. Next games are the first weekend in December, and hopefully Santa will be there. So far, the Lakers are undefeated when we're in attendance so we need to keep it going.

Lily Keeps Swinging Away

Lily has been keeping up on her Laker softball hitting clinics the last few weeks. She is a big hit, and very well liked by the girls on the team. She seems to be having a lot of fun and is showing a lot of improvement. The girls do a good job of encouraging her, and I hope that she decides to play this next summer. The high school coach as also talked to me about her, and wants her to play maybe on a travelling team along with Little League. The decision is up to Lily, but she has so much fun and is doing so well I'd like to see her continue and see how far she can go. Trevor and Brian come, too, and like to play around in the gym while waiting for Lily. They like to play on the mats and Brian likes to play some ball as well. I keep taking the pics with my new camera phone, which is why they're so bad. I'll be getting a new camera soon, hopefully so they'll get better.

Le Carnival'

Lily and Trevor had a carnival at their school last weekend, so they talked me into taking them. It didn't take much, as we always are looking for more fun things to do together. Lincoln School had all kinds of fun activities for the kids to take part in, like a bouncing castle, bowling, hockey, basketball, and bingo. Teachers and high school kids all helped out to make this happen. Brian pretty much stayed with the duck pond again, getting himself nice and soaked in the process. Lily and Trevor seemed to like playing bingo, too. They tried the cake walk a few times, but came up empty. We had a dinner of hot dogs and chips in the cafeteria to cap off a great night of fun.

Saturday Night Lights

Trevor got his first taste of big time football on Saturday in the Sault Flag Football League. His team, the Wolfpack, played to a 24-24 tie in his debut. Too bad they on play one game...it would be nice for them to at least play each of the other five teams once. The weather could be a factor in that, though, as it's getting pretty cold and nasty up here. Luckily he played in the first game of the night so we didn't get rained on. Trevor was the starting guard on offence and defence, making some good blocks for his team. He had a lot of fun with this and stated he wants to play again next season.

TNA Wrestling Hits Cadillac

Twenty plus years after I was watching the likes of the Ultimate Warrior, Andre the Giant, Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, and Demolition, I returned to the Wexford Civic Arena in Cadillac with the kids in tow to check out TNA Wrestling for the first time. The show certainly didn't disappoint, as we saw some great matches and got to meet some of the wrestlers as well. Before the show even started, the kids got autographs from the TNA Knockouts champ Madison Rayne and TNA X-Division champ Jay Lethal. Once the wrestling started...the kids were hooked. They loved all of the excitement and drama that comes with a good show. At the intermission we got to meet and get autographs from the Beautiful People Velvet Skye and Angelina Love also. Afterward, we were also able to get into the ring and get a picture taken with Rob Van Dam. I left that one in Cadillac, so I'll get that scanned and posted as soon as I can. For the second half of the show, the kids and I moved over by the rail so they could 'high-five' the wrestlers on their way to the ring. In all we saw: Rhino def. Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal def. Eric Young, Madison Rayne def. Velvet Skye, Motor City Machine Guns def. Generation Me, Abyss def. Sabu in a monster's ball match, and Rob Van Dam def. A.J. Styles. It was a really fun night for us, and we'll definitely go next time they are in town.

Lily Learns From Lakers

Lily started her softball clinics at Lake Superior State this week. The clinics are on Thursdays for only an hour, but Lily is having fun and learning a lot. The new head coach actually called the house and asked if she wanted to attend the clinics. Nice to see she's already getting collegiate attention. We'll be doing this until the week before Thanksgiving. I'm hoping to get some better picks in the coming weeks, too. Go Lily!!

Gettin' Game Ready

Trevor's football team the Wolfpack had another good practice Saturday afternoon. Trevor will be the staring guard when his team takes the field on Oct. 23 under the lights. The teams were able to do some scrimaging with each other today to get a feel for how the games will be played. Trevor did a good job of protecting his quarterback. The just have one practice left next weekend before its 'go time'.

Lakers vs. UMD Bulldogs

Finally the Lakers start their season, and they did so taking on Minn.-Duluth in the Superior Cup showdown. The game was exciting and tied 6-6. The kids and I had a great time, and Brian was very good and will probably come to most of the games with us. I really like it when we're all together anyway. Lily hogged the camera and can credit for the good pics of Brian. She's such a good big sister. She even took Trevor to the bathroom once during the game, too, so I could keep and eye on Brian. The kids kept busy with the coloring books, crayons, and toys, but took interest in the game as well. Brian didn't like how noisy it got in the arena when the Lakers scored, but he never cried. More games for the Amigos for sure.

More Football For T-Rex

More football practice on Saturday for Trevor. He wasn't a big fan of all the running, but they ran through some drills and actually split up into teams. Trevor is on the royal blue team and they ran through some plays together. It looks like he'll be playing guard and protecting his quarterback. The teams quarterback is really good, and Trevor said he's nice an helping him out some, too, which is good for the team. He said he's having fun and making friends which is the most important thing. Can't wait to see him play the game in the 23rd. Lily is my buddy, and she hangs out with me during the practices. We even play with some of the equipment, which we're probably not supposed to do, but nobody has gotten on us yet.

Lakers Open Thier House

Last weekend was the first annual Laker Open House put on by the Blue Liners. The kids got to skate and interact with the hockey team. They played some games and some of the players were in the dunk tank. Brian got mad in the locker room because he really wanted to put the skates on like Lily and Trevor and the Lakers. Head Coach Jim Roque gave him a puck to calm him down, he was so upset. He also got really wet in the duck pond. We had a fun night and are ready for the hockey season to start.