Next to Last Game

I compared Will’s game Monday night to the GT/FSU game…high scoring. Main pitcher Tanner broke his thumb Saturday, so with 4 games in 8 days, little 9th grader Michael got the start, and was rocked by the Shaw Park Rec Team. Crown led 6-5 going into the top of the 3rd, then Will cleared the loaded bases with a double down the LF line. He scored on a WP…on the slide he switched legs in midair, to avoid the tag.

Will pitched a shaky, scoreless inning, throwing 10 balls and 3 strikes. He hit the first batter, but was helped by 1B Charlie V’s unassisted double play. After catching a bloop and tagging the runner for two outs, he threw to second, just missing tripling off that runner. Will’s former teammate Andrew “Howie” Howard’s dad Ernie was the veteran base umpire who made the correct call.

Will reached base all three innings. He also drove in a run in the second, with a bases-loaded infield hit. Playing shortstop, he threw out three batters at first.

Classmates Alyssa, Elizabeth, Lucy, and Jordan were at the game, still buzzing about the retreat. I chatted with Lucy’s dad Lee, who grew up in College Park. Soon Alyssa had enough of the girl talk and moved down to talk us. A college tennis prospect (who once hit with Melanie Oudin’s sister), Alyssa and I talked about how Will’s performance was suffering from his trying too hard, resulting in his tightness.

For Halloween, it looks like Matthew is going to be an Indian, and Anna a can-can girl. Don’t know where they’ll trick or treat. There was leftover retreat candy I get to hand out.

Been posting recaps and photos of the retreat on Facebook. Will saw some great photos of the drive looking at wildlife, but I can’t find that album. One family seems to be popping up regularly in the recaps.

Someone is trying to sell the first 5 issues of Sports Illustrated to Lang’s dad, for $100.00 each.

Chap Skit Cliffhanger

Back in the conference room Wednesday evening Mrs. D and mother Allison put Marshall on the spot, to tell the story of the wild turkey-vulture struck by a car. Allison stopped to care for the felled foul. Afraid, the bird used its unique creation feature: when in danger, the turkey vulture provides alternative food for the enemy…by throwing up its most recent meal (in this case a possum). To help, the rest of the flock did likewise. Stinky!

Marshall had to hold the bird on the way to the Nature Center. He wisely left out a detail: Allison’s finger was bloodily pecked by the bird’s beak. In the next few years Marshall will be a great teaching resource at Living Science.

More Who What Where…
…Group One: Einstein searching for buried treasure at QuickTrip.
…Group Two: Mrs. Landrum’s class, on a roller coaster.

Christy beat JT in the Retreat Rock-Paper-Scissors Championship.
Part Two of an interesting Creation vs. Evolution video, pointing out Evolution’s pitiful attempts to fool the public, without real evidence as backup.

During dinner Mrs. Hanson provided the insider info…her buddy DJ told her the chaperones were doing Who What Where. We “decided” to pick our own…
WHO: The Living Science CaravanWHAT: Searching for wildlife.WHERE: Bio Lab Road.

I hastily jotted notes and recruited the cast. With only minutes of prep time, I thought we did an admirable job. Mr. Mason played Mr. D, since he was least likely to get into trouble. Mrs. Hanson NEEDED to get into trouble, so she played Mrs. D. She wore one of her Mrs. Delenick-style hats she’d brought to color coordinate with the T-shirt of the day (thought I didn’t notice, Denise? HA!).

The “D’s” called out increasingly wilder wildlife, culminating with lions, tigers, and bears. Those in the back of the “caravan” called “Where? Where?” Mona V stole the show in this role. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. McPherson donned hilarious wigs and played students hanging from cars. Mrs. McPherson squeaked the toy gator, setting up Mr. Pherson (Gerald)’s line “That’s a B flat!.” Mr. Howell shot wildlife with a gun. Mr. D ran into a huge spider.

Mrs. Taylor: “Look, a Bald Eagle!”
Mrs. D: “No, it’s a Belted Kingfisher.”

Mr. D: “Where’s Mr. McKenzie’s car?”
Mr. McKenzie (from the back of the room) “Back here! I ran out of gas! Help!”

Mrs. Howell played herself, snapping photos left and right. Mr. Taylor played a great alligator, tucking his hands up into his short sleeves. He looked like Patrick the Starfish. To the delight of the students, he then crawled across the floor and crabbed Mrs. Howell. Who would save her?

Krypto, of course. Kyle ran up from the back of the room, in full superhero costume. “I am Krypto!” To Mrs. Howell he said “I have come to save you from the alligator!” To the crowd he said “And save you from bad skits!” He attacked Mr. Taylor, using his fish hat. Then the usually reserved Mrs. Howell shocked us all: “My hero!” she loudly ad-libbed, giving Kyle a huge hug. “Let me take YOUR picture!” Kyle blushed, and the crowd roared.

Little did we know, life would soon imitate “art” in a very real, and harrowing way.

Day 2: Homeschool Safari, and the Howell Family

Day Two was spent at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which overlays the Kennedy Space Center. We stopped to photograph the nearby launch pads, which would provide the backdrop for our field research the next three days. The shuttle Atlantis had been rolled out to Pad 39A during the first retreat, to prepare for a November launch. Aries, the shuttle’s eventual replacement, stood on the adjacent pad, readying for her first test flight October 28th.

The four teams set up at Eddy Creek in Mosquito Lagoon. We quickly saw several manatees swimming near the deck. Large birds swooped around our group. Mrs. Howell wandered along the bank, photographing various plants and animals. A fisherman made two quick casts with a net and caught over twenty mullet, to be used as bait in the nearby ocean. Later Mr. Howell and I wandered over to the beach and chatted with another fisherman, casting lines into the roaring ocean. A surging wave soaked our jeans and shoes.

The wind was blowing hard, but away from NASA…allowing for the controlled burn we saw in the distance. Due to wind, lunch was moved from the scenic picnic area closer to the group. Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Arps didn’t wear matching Living Science shirts AGAIN. The chaperones had a good time preparing the meal, though the Sour Cream & Onion Chips were nowhere to be found. As lunch began, I whispered to the first girl through the line to request Sour Cream & Onion chips. Traci heard me and cocked her arm, ready to hit me as soon as the question was asked…and cracking me up.

After lunch the wind died down, giving us another beautiful autumn afternoon. Chap kids Laura and Mallory scampered about, running errands and caring for young Daniel, Cassie, and baby Simeon…reminding me of Shakespeare’s Rosencrantz & Guildenstern.

Mr. Howell rode shotgun in my Retreat Car. It was fun getting to know Brad, who I’d only seen once before, at North Point. A Thomson Georgia boy, he met Allison at a Swine Production class at UGA. Next to all the snuff-dipping good-old-boys in the class, Brad must’ve looked pretty good to the Dunwoody-raised Allison. Son Marshall is quiet, but popular with his classmates. Last year he helped us escape from the locked-in cabin, and Holt shared a great Rube Goldberg story, when Marshall added a powerful rocket to the assembly. Fine family.

All ELEVEN Living Science vehicles left Eddy’s Creek and turned onto Bio Lab Road, a dirt lane running through the heart of the reserve. The Davis and Landrum vehicles led the long, slow, fascinating procession, pointing out wildlife along the way. And wildlife we saw: great blue herons, ducks, osprey, alligators, wild boar. A wildcat stared at us while sitting in the middle of the road. Unfortunately, the vehicles in the back only HEARD about most of the sightings, over the communicators. This led to many students rolling down the windows and opening the doors, standing up and holding onto luggage racks to get a better view.

At most of the many stops, Mrs. Howell would hop out of the SUV in front of us to explore and snap photos. She was often joined by Marshall, who loves to collect and press interesting plants. At times Brad feared for his fold, when they journeyed out near the gators. Once I rounded a curve in time to see a gator slithering across the road, between me and Mrs. McPherson’s astounded SUV.

Another result of the slow ride: several gas tanks were dangerously low, including mine. Mr. McKenzie’s riders were reassigned emptied his SUV and headed back for gas, escorted by Mr. Taylor. I hit the first station I saw, and put 16.7 gallons in my 17 gallon tank. That’s cutting it close!

100,000 Miles

Fun trip to the space center Thursday, and the wilderness area around it Wed & Friday. We were close to the launch pads all three days. Took 320 pictures, mostly of the kids. I’m writing up detailed recaps. Plenty of fun. Manatees, wild boar, wildcats, gators, bald eagles, herons. Got to know a nice NP family better.

Got home around 9:30 Saturday. On the way back I called my dad for Tech updates (we were still in Florida). Called Ceil’s dad for Clemson updates later in the afternoon. Didn’t see it, but it sounded like Dabo mismanaged the clock late again Miami…could’ve taken another shot or two at the end zone in regulation. Five miles from home, the van hit 100,000 miles.

Will has games this afternoon and tomorrow night. With four players missing, they lost at least one of the two Will missed.

Work not too piled up while I was gone. Already caught up on email, gone through 160 today.

Got Reid’s updates in the mail. Interesting that he used an old Apollo stamp. Last month I used a bunch of stamps from the Rome Olympics (the recent ones, not 1960!).

Retreat Day One: The Drive, a Freaky Man, & Football

My B1 start car: Charles, Nathan, Caleb, Michael Taylor, and Will (shotgun).
…Caleb recounts the time two retreats ago, drinking a huge energy drink before the six hour return trip. Dunno if he remembered that he was in my car at the time (Caleb, you've come a long way since then!).
…Michael uses the word “Epic” five times in the first hour. I don’t hear it again the rest of the week, though I didn’t get to hang with him much the rest of the time.
…Charles reads the downtown Woodstock church marquee out loud: “Dealing With Evil, Part 2.” My reply: That’s where we’re going!
…Listening in on EP conversations, I hear the word Myrrh, not knowing the context. Later Mona says her girls pronounced it correctly…MIR. They still thought it had something to do with what the three kings brought baby Jesus.

Metter Big Switch: Will, Holt, Wesley Pherson, Phillip, and Joel (shotgun).
…Phillip rocks black Chucks.
…With the EP dealing with outer space, some finally figure out our destination.
…After hours of driving through the country, driving through downtown Jacksonville means a return to civilization. Joel breaks out his camera. With all the palm trees growing in the wild, he snaps pictures of five landscaped palms planted by the interstate, in a row. “I like palm trees!” he says. Makes for a great photo.
…The boys focus on the EP Sudoku page, with varied success. Holt: “Joel, you’re so good at it because you’re a Norman.”
…Later Holt notes the time. “Noon! We’ve been gone for six hours. That means we have six hours to go. I know this, because it’s a ten hour trip.” My reply: Holt, no wonder you’re having trouble with Sudoku!

Final switch: JT, Michael Brewton, Micah, Wesley Newton, and Charlie V (shotgun).
...Mrs. Hanson’s girls tell of a “freaky man” looking at them in a passing van.
DH: What did the freaky man look like?
Girls: “Long hair and a beard…kinda like Jesus!”
...B3’s Mrs. Taylor continued to be the REAL group leader, deciding when to change to a “smoother” lane, peeking around B2, wondering when B1 would speed up or slow down. I love it.

Despite the five whether stops, we made great time…arriving at 3:30. Thanks to Titusville traffic lights, the B Group arrives with Group A. At the park the “Dr. Pepper” shirts are revealed. Some toss a Frisbee, others play with Cassie and Daniel. Mr. Mason kicks a soccer ball with Russ and Matt Ellis, the young pirate.

Most join in the football game. Holt loses his shoe kicking the ball. Mallory collides with DJ. Kyle is a football demon, breaking up plays, scoring touchdowns, and making interceptions. Connor McKenzie QB’s, and later accidentally breaks a large tree limb. It’s a pleasure getting to know his dad John, who’s chaperoning. They worship with the Millers. I make my first attempt at photography, standing behind the QB…so I mostly snap pictures of the player’s backs.

PaPa John’s pizza in the park as the sun sets, closing out a gloriously sunny day. Back in the conference room we are treated to the first of Mr. Landrum’s videos, recapping the day. Who What Where is back! Kara and DJ do a great job hosting fun time, based on the reaction and participation of the students.

Will, Charles, Holt and I return to our room 142, exhausted after the long day. Holt had woke up 19-1/2 hours earlier. Getting to sleep before 11 pm was no problem.

Snatching Victory From the Jaws of Defeat

Underdressed, I froze at Will’s 11:15 game last Saturday. Long-time classmates Lucy and Alyssa came to watch. Since Abby no longer goes to Living Science, Alyssa is the most fun girl in his class. As usual, I thought they’d lose. Will walked twice and struck out, and was caught stealing twice. I impressed Alyssa when a batter worked the count full. Sensing his hesitancy to swing, I hollered “walked last time!” The batter meekly swung at the payoff pitch, whiffing to end the inning.

Sandy Plains scored four in the top of the last inning, making the score 7-2. Crown scored two, and loaded the bases with two out, tying run at the plate, Will on deck. I joked to Alyssa that if Chris reached, Will would win the game with a walk off grand slam. Chris hit a two-strike high fly to right, where the chubby RF (with glasses and a huge mop of curly red hair) lost the ball in the wind. Bases still loaded.

Will took two strikes. I hollered to Will, saying he’d better be ready to hit the curveball. He never hears me, but perhaps the other coach, pitcher, or catcher did. Will was thinking curveball, and said he swung late at the average fastball that was thrown. He hit a line drive that sailed over the centerfielder’s head, that hit the fence on the bounce. Double, 2 RBIs. He didn’t kill the ball, but since he hit it on the meat of the bat, it flew. Crown was still down a run, with runners at second and third.

Tanner fouled off two pitches, then pulled a high fly deep to left. Didn’t appear to be home run distance, but deep enough to win the game if the left-fielder didn’t catch it. Ball dropped 10-15 feet short of the fence. Will scored easily and Crown won again, despite being down to their last strike on three different batters.

Cheating the Tire Guy

Busy weekend…Friday night we went to IKEA, then the OK Café, which Ceil loves. Spent $70.00 at IKEA, as Ceil found some fabric she loves that’s rarely in stock…for shades for the living room.

Got new tires Saturday AM…took less than 15 minutes. Got a 13% discount for paying cash. Told the manager he had quoted me the price on the phone, then decided to get a slightly more expensive tire. Handed him the original amount just as the techie opened the office door, asking about the “tire key.” I panicked, thinking I couldn’t get the tires. The manager was counting the money, which was $20.00 short, saying “how much is here?” All I could think about was the tire key, but he wanted to settle the money thing first. Then I realized I’d given him the original amount, and pulled the extra twenty from my wallet. Hopefully he understood the misunderstanding, and didn’t think I was trying to cheat him. Found the tire key in the glove box…remembered seeing it when I bought the car. I had kept it, not knowing what it was.

Underdressed, I froze at Will’s 11:15 game.

Big win for Tech. I bundled up, six layers. Same thermals and cap from last year’s Miami win. Once Will was cheering and he threw up his hands…and knocked the glass from my frames. Gotta get it fixed tonight before the trip. Bozos behind us kept screaming that Bey Bey had single coverage, wondering why they didn’t pass more. They shut up after the 3^rd quarter interception.

Ceil enjoyed Julius Caesar yesterday, as did I.

Leave tomorrow AM for Florida…lots to do here at work, and then I haven’t started packing. Return late Saturday.

Friday

Will had really been wanting to go to a Tech game. The supplier who took me and Ceil is usually only good for one game a year, and he pretty much lines up the entire season in August. But he called a few days ago saying he had two for this big game, so I had to say yes. Will was thrilled, David Norman wanted me to take him. Sunday afternoon Ceil and I are going with the same guy to see Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar at Oglethorpe.

Busy weekend. Taking Ceil out to eat tonight. Tomorrow AM I need to get tires for the van, then Will has a game at 11:15. Anna has a birthday party. Ceil didn’t want to take A and M off to a state park stayover near Rome (Sloppy Floyd?) with two families from our old small group. Also have to get out clothes from the attic, get a watch battery, and start packing for next weeks Florida trip.

Last year our kids each trick or treated in a different location…almost 3 different counties. Found some candy on sale at Kroger, and started buying it to give out.

first-pitch strike statistics

Will threw first-pitch balls last night to four batters.

The result of those at-bats: Walk, Hit, Hit, F4.

Batting Average: .667

On Base Percentage: .750

The 21 first-strike at-bats:

14 strikeouts, E8, 3 Singles, 4-3, two 3U’s.

Batting Average (& OBP): .142

Thought: Batters aren’t going to swing at a curveball, so you want to throw curves for a strike!

14 Strikeouts in 6 Innings!

Will struck out 14 batters in six shutout innings last night. He threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of 25 batters, including the first ten he faced. He only walked one batter, and twice struck out four in a row. 71% of his 95 pitches were strikes. Luckily the coach realized the opposition couldn’t hit his fastball, so he called few curves. The allowed Will to get in a groove, throw more strikes, lower his pitches per batter, and work deeper into the game. Other than the walk, he only reached a ball three count two other times.

The Sandy Plains team he faced was made up mostly of teens that looked like good players, though they had lost 9-0 to another Sandy Plains rec team earlier this fall. Will’s Crown team needed the strikeouts, as the defense wasn’t particularly strong. All six Sandy Plains batters who reached first base stole second, mostly due to inaccurate throws to second by the catcher.

Crown only won 2-0, and only managed one infield hit through the first five innings / 20 batters. Will flew out in his first two at-bats. As he led off the sixth, I told him to hit a ground ball. He promptly drilled a grounder through the hole into left for a single, stole second, continued to third on the errant throw, and scored on Tanner’s similar single.

Three Crown baserunners were picked off third…twice with no outs.

Interesting Hudson chatter today. Nice that he wants to stay, but it’ll be easier to let him walk than to trade Lowe or Kowakami…to free up money to sign a hitter.

Selah

I read the last Bisher column because the title suggested he was retiring, and sure enough, that’s that he wrote about. Only there, at the time, did the AJC say he was retiring. Later they made it a bigger deal. I had wondered when he was going to retire. I remember the ‘Beat Bisher’ contests, though I never entered. Those T-shirts and bumper stickers would be collectors items now.

Stayed up to the end of GT/FSU, as you know, since the game was still up in the air. Figured I’d keep my streak going…I’ve watched or listened to most all the snaps all season. Did miss most of the game before the lightning delay, as Ceil was watching the President’s Cup (most of our weekend viewing). Next Saturday’s game against VT will be interesting, but obviously GT needs to get a defense.

Friday Will really wanted to hit, after his 0-3 / 2 strikeout game Tuesday. He hit 3 buckets before dark. Saturday he batted third, up at the old minor league field in Acworth. A black girl was pitching, with decent stuff. She struck out the oldest Maiocco boy, who had played for the Crown varsity last year before graduating. Will had a line drive single to left, then slammed one deep, that twisted foul, over the scoreboard 300 feet away. He pitched one inning and struck out two.

Matthew spent his birthday and saved up money on an I-Touch.

Our Warehouse Manager recently quit, a long-time employee around 35 or 40. He had built a nice house and filled it with toys, and when his salary was cut it made making ends meet impossible (he was just above me, in the 10% group). Faced with losing his house and truck, he took a job in Florida, and moved his young family back to a house his father owned.

Matthew's Birthday

Matthew had some moments Wednesday night at O’Charleys and Target (they forgot his Sprite and weren’t bringing his honey mustard quick enough). I reminded him of the America’s Funniest Home Video of the 3 year old birthday boy, sitting in front of his cake and completely worn out, screaming “NO!” as they try to sing Happy Birthday.

Will lost his phone a few weeks ago, but with the in-laws in town, is getting another one soon…nothing special.

Anna got an I-Touch(?) a while ago, one of those super I-Pods that’s just short of an I-Phone. That what she updates her status with from NP. My old-school sister thought it blasphemy that Anna was doing such in church, and I disagreed with her. Will & Kevin get to the West Auditorium quite early, and Anna and the Hurt girls join them soon after. I’ve notice they often update their statuses before and after the service. Now Matthew has about enough saved up to get an I-Touch of his own.

Jon Williams is the funny one in glasses. His dark-haired, heavy-set wife sometimes plays his secretary in his inspector Sam Shovel skits. I think Jon works in the NP accounting department during the week. He and co-host Mike are the lone holdovers from Bryan Coley’s KidStuf days, along with Gordo’s “grandfather”. Back in the early days, KidStuf had a life band. Now they’ve eliminated most of the crowd singing and kid-dancers, which is OK with me. Either Gordo or Vinnie is Lang’s sister’s husband’s brother.

Think Norton will be back, or will they replace him with Conrad? Brooks would have to make the team in spring training. Now the fun begins, constructing the team for next year. Think Lowe would accept a move to closer?

0-3 With 3 Errors

Tuesday night Will’s team played a team made up of five former teammates. Don’t know if Will realized the manager of his new East Cobb team was watching. Michael struck Will out on three pitches to lead off the game, and later weakly grounded out to first. Ryan T also struck Will out, also on a curve. Granted, Will’s been busy and hasn’t had much practice lately.

Tanner pitched well…it was scoreless going to the bottom of the fourth. Tyler got two hits many centerfielders could’ve caught, but with Will catching and Tanner pitching, the other fielders weren’t deployed optimally, in my opinion. Little lefty Michael couldn’t cover the needed ground. Young Nathan is impressing, both at catcher and 2B. Charlie W made several good plays.

The plate area was quite muddy…Will fouled one straight down. It didn’t bounce, but plugged into the mud. With a slim Crown crowd, I spent the entire game over on the Sandy Plains side, with the parents I’d hung out with all summer.

With Tyler on second and two out, one of the few balls got away from Will. Tyler was almost to third as Will picked up the ball…he was about to throw, then tried to hold up. The ball slid out of his hand and hit halfway to third, and scooted past the third-baseman, allowing Tyler to score the first run of the game. That batter made the third out.

Same thing happened in the next inning. Michael stole third. Will made a strong throw that would’ve had him, but the throw tailed away from the third-baseman, and went into LF, where the fielder fell down trying to pick up the ball. Another run, then the batter made the third out. The SS came in to pitch the last inning, so Will moved to short…where he made another throwing error. At East Cobb all three balls would’ve been caught.

Last night I stayed up helping Anna with homework. Kinda under the weather today, but I’ve gotten a lot done.

What should the Braves do with Kelly Johnson? Cox can give a nice answer, since it’s Wren who’ll explore options and make the call. They could see how he does in the spring, open with him at 2B and Prado in RF, and bring up Heyward in June. Guess they’ll move a starter, with hopes of bringing in a slugging corner OF or 1B. Will they stand pat with Diaz, McClouth, and Schafer?

What are the chances Lowe moves to the bullpen to replace Gonzo/Soriano? I kinda wanted the Tigers to win.

Took off Tuesday afternoon to help clean up for the in-laws, who arrive today. They’ll probably arrive before everyone gets home from school. No big deal that Will misses youth tonight, but tomorrow Anna, Ceil, and Will are off to classes…Will has a meeting until 7 pm or so. We start our new small group tomorrow night as well.

Asked M where he wanted to eat (O’Charleys?) and he didn’t know. He loves Moes and dislikes Willies, but with Ceil and Anna it’s the other way around. I don’t like the spices at Chipotle.

Weekend Game, Etc.

Pitching the last three innings Saturday, Will struck out 5 of the 12 batters he faced. A tougher team than they had been playing, but still nothing like his summer competition. He walked three, and allowed a two-out seeing-eye RBI single…his only run allowed. Only threw 55% strikes, about average for him…but 62 pitches is too many for three 4-batter innings.

They won 6-2. Batting third, Will had two singles and a long double (said that was off the end of the bat). He scored twice, and had an RBI.

Saturday AM I was in a long meeting at Living Science, so I missed most of the game. As I drove up I saw freshman Charlie V approaching the plate. He’s played baseball for years, but probably rarely against older guys on such a huge field. Kinda chunky, he plays first. Got out of the car to see the CF racing back, then the ball hit the top of the fence and bounced high…and over for a home run.

After the game Will and I went back to Living Science, to help clean up after the yard sale. Charlie was there, still in uniform, clutching his home-run ball. They made just under $5000.00. Ceil bought a framed print for Anna’s room, and I came home with two yard tools, a TCU sweatshirt, Terrell Davis Broncos jersey, a window for the playhouse, and some golf clubs and balls. That afternoon one customer carted off two huge loads, and the rest we loaded into vehicles to take to Goodwill and other charities. Barely had room in my Civic to pick up Anna.

Saturday night I was exhausted from two full days of standing, so I watched most of the Tech game. Wasn’t in too much of a Braves-watching mood, but did catch Hanson and parts of both the extra-innings parts.

Sunday AM: interesting bridge presentation. In KidStuf, Matthew was sure he was the fun-loving orange, but late took the test and it came out another color. Matthew had rode to NP with me, and was thrilled to pass by Steve Fee, who was out texting in the parking lot. I reminded Ceil there was lots of cleanup needed before her parents arrive Wednesday, so I stayed home while she took the kids to the Fee concert that night. Matthew sat up front with all the teenagers, and loved it. Lots of Will & Anna’s friends went, including the cool Kyle, and Joel. My friend David took his daughter Margaret.

Took C and M to Chipotle Friday night, after they returned from Costco. Stayed up Friday night and watched “For the Love of the Game”, the Cosner baseball movie. I’d never seen it before. Anna and Will were off at sleepovers. Sunday I watched Click, another movie I hadn’t seen.