Sunday, September 17, 2006
Hayley & Volleyball
We are not a sports family. However, Hayley is the most physical of the kids and it seems like the sports outlet will be good for her. At a recent Girl Scout event, Hayley had a chance to learn and play volleyball. She liked it so the coach that taught her gave us links to the US Youth Volleyball League.
We signed Hayley up for a fall volleyball league. It started last week Tuesday. Yesterday was the first practice that I got to go to (I am an Asst. Coach and First Aider for our group). Hayley had a lot of fun and seems to be doing well. It is a 4 person co-ed team. One boy didn't show up due to a conflict, so we had one boy and two girls. I think I had the best workout since I was chasing balls while the other coach was helping them with drills. This is not a complaint -- I need the workout time! Maybe this will be better for me than for Hayley.
The last game is right around Halloween, so this isn't a big committment on our part yet. If it goes well, then it might lead to other sports for our family.
We signed Hayley up for a fall volleyball league. It started last week Tuesday. Yesterday was the first practice that I got to go to (I am an Asst. Coach and First Aider for our group). Hayley had a lot of fun and seems to be doing well. It is a 4 person co-ed team. One boy didn't show up due to a conflict, so we had one boy and two girls. I think I had the best workout since I was chasing balls while the other coach was helping them with drills. This is not a complaint -- I need the workout time! Maybe this will be better for me than for Hayley.
The last game is right around Halloween, so this isn't a big committment on our part yet. If it goes well, then it might lead to other sports for our family.
Labels: Hayley, Volleyball
Monday, September 11, 2006
Customer in Valencia
I have a customer in Valencia, California -- close to Magic Mountain. This is approximately 90 miles north of me. It is far enough (especially with traffic) to spend the night to reduce driving time. However, I really prefer to be home. Last night I drove up and back every work day (Tue - Thu due to the holiday). With CDs, satellite radio, and my portable GPS to entertain me it isn't so bad. The average drive is 2 hours each way. Lots of time to think and listen to the radio -- not such as bad thing. However, all of the time spent there makes posting to this Blog difficult. That's why my posts have been less frequent lately.
I am heading there again tomorrow. I have still not decided if I am getting a hotel or driving. I'll figure it out in the morning.
I am heading there again tomorrow. I have still not decided if I am getting a hotel or driving. I'll figure it out in the morning.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Eagle Court of Honor
Last Sunday, September 2nd, was Andrew's Eagle Court of Honor. We and 4 other scout families from the troop held the event at the local church where we meet. There were around 250 people there. While some parts of the day took longer than expected, overall we were done within the expected timeframe (2pm to 6pm). Our troop is great about volunteering to help out and this event was no different. The decor was fun and the dinner of Italian food from Peppinos (a local restaurant chain) was tasty.
The 5 boys made the decisions about this event -- often to the chagrin of their moms. The main theme was Hawaiian/Luau. However, the food was Italian. To top off the cultural melting pot, they were escorted into the room by one of the Eagle fathers playing bagpipes. Personally, I thought that it was very cool both in general and that they went with what they liked rather than what their moms wanted.
We were happy to finally present Drew with the gifts we had assembled. This included a flag flown over the US Capitol in a case with engraved glass, a box of Heroclix sent by WizKids games, various gift certificates from various companies, a book of letters from various dignitaries ranging from President George W to Jack (as in "in-the-box"), organizations ranging from the FBI to Jester'z Comedy Troupe in Arizona, etc. I was particularly happy with a few of the personalized letters which included friends (thanks Uncle Shoo!), local radio personalities Mark & Brian, and Microsoft VP Doug Burgum. Through a connection with some friends, Andrew also received an invitation for a personal tour of the Dreamworks Studio. All-in-all a nice haul to celebrate his achievement.
The mailing for the book of letters was my main job. Putting a scrapbook together with the letters and photos was a family event, but mainly the work of my creative wife. We have almost 200 pages of letters, certificates, photos, etc.
The ultimate item in my mind was a quilt that made by Celeste & one of the other Eagle moms (they each made one similar, but slightly different). The quilt depicts an Eagle in flight with a fish in the talons and a river, trees, hills, and rocks in the background. This was a 2 year effort and it came out AWESOME! When I have some time, I'll post pictures.
In case I haven't said it clearly before, we were very proud of Andrew and this event was a great way to acknowledge it.
P.S. From those of you who know Andrew and did not get a request from me to write him a letter, consider this that request. We are still updating the book since more letters are trickling in even after around 5 months. The personal letters are something that we have not seen with Eagle Scouts, but seemed to be one of Andrew's favorite parts of the book. Those of you that this applies to should know how to reach me by email, phone, or snail mail already.
The 5 boys made the decisions about this event -- often to the chagrin of their moms. The main theme was Hawaiian/Luau. However, the food was Italian. To top off the cultural melting pot, they were escorted into the room by one of the Eagle fathers playing bagpipes. Personally, I thought that it was very cool both in general and that they went with what they liked rather than what their moms wanted.
We were happy to finally present Drew with the gifts we had assembled. This included a flag flown over the US Capitol in a case with engraved glass, a box of Heroclix sent by WizKids games, various gift certificates from various companies, a book of letters from various dignitaries ranging from President George W to Jack (as in "in-the-box"), organizations ranging from the FBI to Jester'z Comedy Troupe in Arizona, etc. I was particularly happy with a few of the personalized letters which included friends (thanks Uncle Shoo!), local radio personalities Mark & Brian, and Microsoft VP Doug Burgum. Through a connection with some friends, Andrew also received an invitation for a personal tour of the Dreamworks Studio. All-in-all a nice haul to celebrate his achievement.
The mailing for the book of letters was my main job. Putting a scrapbook together with the letters and photos was a family event, but mainly the work of my creative wife. We have almost 200 pages of letters, certificates, photos, etc.
The ultimate item in my mind was a quilt that made by Celeste & one of the other Eagle moms (they each made one similar, but slightly different). The quilt depicts an Eagle in flight with a fish in the talons and a river, trees, hills, and rocks in the background. This was a 2 year effort and it came out AWESOME! When I have some time, I'll post pictures.
In case I haven't said it clearly before, we were very proud of Andrew and this event was a great way to acknowledge it.
P.S. From those of you who know Andrew and did not get a request from me to write him a letter, consider this that request. We are still updating the book since more letters are trickling in even after around 5 months. The personal letters are something that we have not seen with Eagle Scouts, but seemed to be one of Andrew's favorite parts of the book. Those of you that this applies to should know how to reach me by email, phone, or snail mail already.
Labels: Andrew, Family, Scouts
Peanut's Day Off
OK, we have NO IDEA where Peanut the hamster spent her day when she escaped. Mom and the girls nearly tore the house apart looking for her. They moved furniture, cleaned out many dusty areas, and searched everywhere they could think of. Peanut was too clever and didn't give up her hiding spot.
Towards the end of the day, there were concerns that she had either escaped outside or departed to the afterlife. No one would believe me that she had holed up somewhere for a daily nap (being nocturnal after all) and would come out in the evening. The girls went to bed very sad that Peanut had not been found.
That night, she showed up about 10 feet from her cage in the den. She was exploring along the floor. I easily picked her up and returned her to her cage. She was very hungry and thirsty, but left no clue as to where or how she had spent the day.
I guess she just needed a day off.
Towards the end of the day, there were concerns that she had either escaped outside or departed to the afterlife. No one would believe me that she had holed up somewhere for a daily nap (being nocturnal after all) and would come out in the evening. The girls went to bed very sad that Peanut had not been found.
That night, she showed up about 10 feet from her cage in the den. She was exploring along the floor. I easily picked her up and returned her to her cage. She was very hungry and thirsty, but left no clue as to where or how she had spent the day.
I guess she just needed a day off.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Missing Varmint
We got the girls a new hamster a couple of months ago. We have one of those fancy plastic cages with tubes, a running wheel, etc. for our little friend. This morning the girls found the top of the "condo" part of the cage open and the hamster was no where to be found. As of now, Peanut (the hamster) is still missing.
Maybe this isn't an 11:00pm news breaking story, but it is meaningful to my girls! Hopefully we will have a happy ending.
Maybe this isn't an 11:00pm news breaking story, but it is meaningful to my girls! Hopefully we will have a happy ending.
