Lily Earns Third Stripe

Lily recently finished up her Kuk Sool Won for the season. She will start it up again at the beginning of the next school year. Baseball has started and her and Trevor will be concentrating on that for awhile. In her final class, though, Lily has earned herself a third yellow stripe on her belt. She has one more stripe to go then she will be promoted to full yellow belt. She's worked very hard at this and we're all so very proud of her. Pictured is Lily getting promoted, her with some of her friends, and to the right is Lisa giving Trevor some attention so he doesn't feel left out. He didn't care too much when the pizza party started, though.

Kids Meet Tigers Legend Jim Northrup

Yesterday the kids and I met Papa and Nana in Gaylord for a nice little baseball card show. At the show signing autographs was Detroit Tiger legend and 1968 World Champion Jim Northrup. Mr. Northrup was very nice to the kids as he was to all of the fans that came to meet him. I think it was hard for Lily and Trevor to grasp the fact that this guy had been a big league ball player. I guess that comes from being little. I think the older players really 'get' the whole thing with the fans and what they used to do for a living. They didn't make millions of dollars and are more grounded than some of the bozos who play these days.

Opening Day on the DL?

Yesterday was opening day around Major League Baseball, and it was opening day for official practice for Sault Little League. The kids and I had a good practice and a lot of fun. They were promised Dairy Queen afterwards, for getting good grades in school, not just because of baseball. When we get to Dairy Queen and get out of the car, I hear Lily make this blood-curdling scream! I rush around the car to see her poor little finger stuck in the now shut door. I pulled the door open and got a glance of her finger-not good! I shoved her in the back seat, jumped the curb, and headed for the hospital. I called Lisa on our way there and she arrived just minutes after we did. They put her finger on ice, gave her some Motrin for her pain, and x-rayed her finger. We still don't know if it's broken yet, but at least she's wasn't feeling a lot of pain by the time we left. If it is broken, the poor girl will likely start this season again on the DL (disabled list for you non-sports people). Last year she missed much of the season due to surgery she had on the same hand. I'm praying it's not broken and she can get healed up-she is such a tough little girl, though.

UPDATE: Lily's finger is NOT broken, thank God. She'll only miss one week of practice, if that. Again, she's a tough little girl and I am so proud of her.

The Pine Wood Derby

Trevor and I must have done a pretty good job of getting his Pine Wood Derby car ready for the big races last weekend. We added a little weight to it before the races began, and our cut must have been pretty good. Despite this not being the prettiest car in the race, it was built for speed. His car finished first in five races and second in two. He had a couple of tough races early when a wheel stuck on one of the weights, but after we took that off, there was no stopping him. He was really excited and happy to see his car continuously speed over the finish line first. The top picture is of one of his celebrations. It was a fun day, and really good for Trevor's self esteem to have some wins. Papa and Nana come up from Cadillac to see him race, too.

Feels Like Spring for Spring Training...

This season we got a late start for our Spring Training. We usually try to get things going in January, but this time we started at the end of February. It really feels like spring, though, as the last few weeks most of the snow is gone and we've hit 60 degree temps. Pretty soon we'll be able to forget about the gym and do our practices outside...unless mother nature his us with another storm or something. Despite the looks on the kids faces, they really do enjoy going to the gym and playing. Don't know why they look so morbid in these photos.

We have a Little League meeting on Monday, so those practices should be starting in a few weeks, too. Can't wait for the season to start.

Vikings In The Soo

Kind of weird that my old high school's hockey team, the Cadillac Vikings, got to play a playoff game in the Soo here, but the kids and I were up for a game. Lily and Trevor didn't get into it as much, as it wasn't one of their teams, but I had a pretty sore throat after the game. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they beat Sault High earlier in the week to eliminate them. The officials of this game really took it out on them in their game against Calumet. Cadillac lost 4-1, but it should have been a better hockey game than that. Calumet's third goal came when they basically tackled the Cadillac goalie and slid the puck into the net. Their fourth goal came when Cadillac was short-handed, again. I really felt bad for them and that they deserved a better fate.

Pictured is Lily in my old Cadillac jersey and Trevor in an old jersey that was worn while I was coaching there.

Rock N Roll

Well, this has nothing to do with sports. But since Lisa hate's sports, I try to find ways to include her here on the website. I've got some things in mind, but for now, here's a pic of us at a rock concert last month.