Lily Earns Another Stripe

Wednesday night Lily earned another yellow stripe on her white belt in Kuk Sool Won. This is just another step in her earning her yellow belt. She is still doing really well in this and is having a lot of fun. Her Master seems to really like her and is impressed with her progress as well. Posted is a pic of her class courtesy of Lisa's phone again. We got a new camera, but our new computer isn't reading the chips now. Seems we can't win. I'll post more pics if we can get it working.

Trevor's Cardboard Sled

Trevor and I built his cardboard sled for this year's Cub Scout race. Trevor designed it himself, and I helped him build it and tape it up. It's all just cardboard and tape, but we learned we could have used wax, too. Something to keep in mind for next year. He raced pretty well, but wasn't one of the top few sled. We had a lot of fun, and he and Lily did some more sledding on it after the competition was over. We'll be back to the hill next month for some 'tubing.

Here are some pics of Trevor and his sled after the race, courtesy of Lisa's phone cam, as all of our cameras seem to be broken.

The GMAC Bowl In Alabama

Last week my dad and I headed down to Mobile, Alabama to support his CMU Chippewa football team in the GMAC Bowl. We had a great time, but the weather was just as cold as it was in Michigan. We battled freezing rain to get to Grand Rapids, but finally made it to Mobile in the 5th.

Still tired from very little sleep and a long flight, we had plenty to do to keep us awake. After leaving the airport, we went right to Mobile's Minor League baseball stadium. Hank Aaron Stadium is home of the BayBears. The gentleman working was great to us, opening the gift shop and the stadium so we could get some pictures.

From there is was to the hotel for a well deserved nap. After that, we walked around Mobile a bit, downing a beer or two and getting ready for the Mardi Gras parade. The parade was great, and we got a lot of free stuff thrown at us that I saved for the kids. We finished the night off with a cold beer at a local sports bar.

Wednsday was gameday, and we took a bus to the stadium and that was a lot easier for us. What a great game, as CMU beat Troy 44-41 in double OT for the victory. I was real happy for my dad that they won. We would have a good time no matter what, but this made it even better. The whole trip was a fun experience for both of us, just getting away from the snow for awhile.

Lily Learns from Lady Lakers

Lily had fun today at the Lake Superior State's Winter Softball Clinic. Lily attended all day on Tuesday, having a pizza party for lunch.

The clinic helped the girls with thier throwing, fielding, and hitting. The older girls were able to touch on pitching and base-running.

I was able to watch Lily in the batting cage where she proved her superiority. I was beaming with pride after watching her pound line drives back over the pitcher's head. The above video doesn't really do her justice as to how well she was stroking the ball. She's used to hitting a baseball, so seeing a softball thrown at her must have seemed huge.

We'll be heading back to the college as usual this winter with Trevor in tow, working on some baseball skills and having some fun. They did get to play around for awhile after it was over.

We're Thankful For Hockey

Papa and Nana came to visit from Cadillac this weekend for an early Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we'll be up to our eyeballs in turkey and stuffing. Tonight, though, we're thankful for hockey and the chance to be together. The game sucked, as the Lakers blew a two goal lead to lose in overtime. The kids and I still had fun, though, and Papa keeps spoiling them rotten.

We'll be heading down to Cadillac next weekend to visit more family down that way. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday. We'll be back at a game soon, I hope.

Trevor Gets Blue Ribbon in Cub Scouts

Trevor got a blue ribbon for his 'Genius Kit' entry last night at the Cub Scouts pack meeting. The kit contains basically garbage, paper, and 'odds & ends' that the kids have to create something out of. Trevor picked the 'space' theme, and we made an alien and his ufo landing in the woods. Everyone in the family pitched in and helped with this (except Brian, who does more 'destruction' than 'construction'). Cub Scouts is new to us, so we're just getting into the type of activities we'll be doing. I can't wait until the car derby race thing when we make our own little car. I might get a tad competitive on that one. That month Trevor won 3rd place for his 'space cake' that Lisa helped him make. He doesn't really care where he places, he just has fun with whatever he's doing and is happy to get something. He's a great kid, and I think Cub Scout will bring out a lot of his positive attributes.

Lily Earns Stripe In Kuk Sool Won

Lily passed her testing in her Kuk Sool Won class to earn a yellow stripe on her belt.

This is just a small step for her, as I anticipate we'll have many more memories like this in the future. It was really a nice ceremony as they honored all in the class that moved up. Afterwards they provided a pizza party which Trevor and I really enjoyed.

Lisa and I are so proud of all of the hard work Lily has put into this. This is good for her self-esteem as she continues to impress. Most importantly, though, is that she is having a lot of fun. Her master is very nice and patient with all of the kids in the class. Expect many more pictures of Lily in the future.