Thursday November 18, 2010 - The View From Section EE

For the last month our computer was on life support. I thought I was going to be on life support as well since it was our hard drive that was going bad. Thankfully, it was not bad enough that we were able to save all of our pictures for the year 2010. I guess that would result in serious injuries for myself, since I did not take the time to back up any pictures. I love how we have transitioned from cameras with film that we had to print out pictures to digital cameras where we download them to a computer. The funny thing is, computers and hard drives do not last very long. So my advice for the day, back up as much as possible all pictures and files you wish to keep.

Now that the computer is back, here are some pictures from the past few weeks.

These five are from when my sister Teresa and her husband Juan Luis came to Omaha to visit. When people come to visit Omaha, what is the main attraction? The zoo. So of course, we spent a day at the zoo with them. Brianna loves the Skyfari, the new ski lift that takes us across the zoo and back. I cant believe she loves it. She is terrified of sharks in the aquarium that have no possible way of getting her but she loves being up on a lift with no secure seat belt. The last picture is of what should be another Omaha staple. Riviera's Mexican Restaurant. It was fantastic, as usual. The margarita's definitely made the night go well. Including when Kristy realized her license had expired, five months prior.

These four are from Halloween, obviously. Brianna went as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Emily went as the Cowardly Lion. Brianna made out like a bandit for trick or treating. One in Baxter and another in Omaha.

Now to the last week of football. Its hard to believe its been 12 weeks of college football. At the beginning of the year a lot of people counted off Iowa State. They had some ugly losses and some good wins. Now it all boils down to this weekend against a Top 15 ranked Missouri game. If ISU wins, they finish with 6 wins and 6 losses. Not too good for a lot of other schools, but with a program that has not had a lot of success in its history and playing the toughest schedule in the country this year, 6-6 is a good way to end the regular season and get to a bowl game.

Things got worse when ISU's quarterback had his knee destroyed at Colorado. An ugly game by the way. A kid that had three football coaches stuck around and played the game the way its suppose to be. Its too bad his record didn't show a lot of success.

The prediction:

I want to say ISU wins this game, obviously. I am not sure they will have the strength to pull off the upset. So far this year, I picked 5 games right, and missed on 6 games. That is the same record as ISU right now. Therefore, I have to say they will pull it off. It will be a close one, and most likely an ugly one, but they pull off the win and 45,000 people try to tear the goal posts down once again.

24

17

Saturday November 13, 2012 - The View From Section EE

This will be short.

1. I'm still not over the Nebraska game. It was so close, and they made the right call. The only problem was the pass was awful. Franklin was wide open and if the pass was thrown anywhere but 5 yards short, he would have caught it. Franklin will make a lot of money playing on Sundays.

2. Our computer has been saved! Thankfully it was just a hard drive and I was able to save all our pictures. The lesson learned: back your crap up!

3. Since the computer is back I was going to post some pictures. I get home and our neighborhood is out of power. Long story short, I realized I had a key to the house on my key ring that I completely forgot about. This lesson learned: Reagan is a good watch dog. If I broke in he may have killed me. Therefore, this is done on the last minute on my phone, again.

This weeks ISU game looks like it should be a guarantee win. There is no such thing for ISU football on the road. I honestly thought they could be Nebraska and the same goes for a road game at Colorado.

My prediction:
Iowa State: 31
Colorado: 17

Friday November 5, 2010 - The View From Section EE

Still computer issues, so no pictures. But I do have a four year old for sale. All I ask is a good cup of coffee. The dark roast is preferred, but I will take a decaf that tastes like water. She is to the point it takes us 30 times to tell her to stop doing things. Then when she gets sent to time out, she laughs at us. Even if we take things away, she still acts like everything is fine and she will get what she wants anyway. Its definitely a whole new level of frustration.

As for Emily, she is finally sleeping longer, even for me. Too bad I am not home until midnight and when she wakes up at 5:00 AM I am still tired, but something we will deal with. She is not rolling over from her back to her stomach. She will do this immediately if she is placed on her back. I can see it now, she will have a fun tumble off her changing table one of these days, and I am sure it will be under my watch.

Last week was Trick-or-Treating, and we were able to go back to Baxter so Brianna could go around town there. She was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She looked pretty cute, but once again, pictures are not available. Emily was the Cowardly Lion. She looked cute as well, but no pictures to prove it. Brianna made out well with her candy, and even a second night of Trick-or Treating in Omaha.

Now last weeks game was a good win, but not a blowout I thought could happen. This week is one of the weeks we have been waiting for all year. A year ago, ISU pulled off the miracle courtesy of 8 turnovers, and I have been living that up ever since. Its even better now that ISU beat Texas. Now when all these Husker fans ask how bad ISU will lose I just ask them how many touchdowns have they scored against Texas the past two years? The answer is 0, and two losses.

My gut feeing is they can win. I have said that since last year. I think the defense will force a few turnovers, but the offense will keep the ball long enough and put a few scores on the board. But, realistically I don't think ISU can win. So far they have played 3 top 10 teams in the country, and they have been destroyed by them all.

My prediction:

I have to stay with my guy feeling. It will be a close one, and yes, turnovers will be what wins the game for ISU.

Iowa State 17

Nebraska 10

Friday October 29, 2010 - The View From Section EE

Ok, I lied. No pictures yet. We are having major issues with our computer. We are waiting on word to see if our last back up of January 2010 will be necessary. That would be a lot of information/pictures we could lose. Just hoping one of my old co-workers can work some magic!

Last week was a blast with my sister and her husband. Once we get our computer back I will post some pictures. Its not very easy doing this from a cell phone.

Now to football, thankfully my sisters husband loves sports and football. It was a football day all last week and to top it off, we were able to watch Iowa State shock Texas in Texas. I never imagined I would see that happen this season! I thought for sure we would be witnessing true Iowa State heartbreak, but the football gods were on their side for once. Or I need to start predicting huge blowouts, see Texas Tech and Texas predictions.

This week, I could pick a prediction and be right. Kansas looks awful, and they are playing the third string quarterback. Then again, anyone to predict an ISU team to win by more that 14 could be a fool, but I'm going to do it!

My prediction:

Iowa State - 42
Kansas - 10

Friday October 21, 2010 - The View From Section EE

When we looked at the ISU football schedule, this three week stretch had the makings of some ugly games. The weekend in Norman proved to be that.

This week has been a fun week to forget about blow out football games. My sister Teresa and her husband Juan Luis came to Omaha for a little vacation, if you can call Omaha a vacation destination. Kristy decided to start the vacation by not feeling well, so after a day of recovering, we took them out for a fun time in Omaha. After a trip to the Old Market, we went to the casino. This is where it gets good. Kristy is the last person in line at Security. They refused her entry, not because she had a few beverages before hand, but her license was 5 months expired! We, or I, was hoping she would have to retest and even take the driving test at the DMV! It was her lucky day and after a 45 minute wait, no test and she can finally drive again. Thankfully, Council Bluffs has three casinos and another one allowed us entry without checking her ID.

Its been a fun week so far and Brianna got a new pair of pink cowboy boots from her aunt and uncle. She absolutely loves them. Its going to be a difficult time to get thos off her!

Now its prohection time:

This weekend ISU gets the opportunity to visit Austin, TX. Texas won a big game at Nebraska (It was an awesome win to quiet those damn Husker fans down). The spread is close to 30 and after last week, I can see it reaching that or worse.

Texas: 42

Iowa State: 7

Note: Pictures will be added next week. I have no idea how to add pictures while writing this on my phone.

Wednesday October 13, 2010 - The View From Section EE

This part will be short, last weeks ISU game against Utah was only good for the first quarter. It turned really hairy in a hurry. Most people left at halftime and I had enough at the start of the fourth quarter. The quote of the night would be Kristy's Uncle Randy. With one minute and thirty seconds left in the first half, ISU had the ball. He said "In this short amount of time, ISU will punt the ball and Utah will score." Sure enough, ISU punted in three plays and Utah ran it all the way to the goal line with one second left. The field goal was a piece of cake.

This Utah team is good, probably better than any other team I have seen in person, thats not a ton of games either. My hope is they run the table and make a BCS Bowl Game and if God is against me, Nebraska will also make a BCS Bowl. Then the Husker fans will be all delusional about being in a BCS game and Utah rips right through them. They looked that good to me.

Ok, enough football. We took Emily in for her four month check up. Brianna was so excited, just so she could watch her get all her shots. This child will be something else. She already lives to see her little sister in pain. When Bri is 15 and Emily is 11, things will be very interested in our household.

Emily did good with her shots. She became crabby, but nothing new. Kind of kidding, she tends to be crabby around me. That could just be me. I am seriously looking into getting her a crab costume for Halloween. Or I could dress her as a Deadliest Catch crab boat.

Now back to Emily's check up day. It was also the day the Doctor said we could go ahead and try some cereal. She absolutely loves the stuff. After the first few bites falling out of her mouth, she has learned to eat that stuff up in a hurry. Below are a couple pictures. One is Brianna actually being a good sister and not laughing at her pain.

As for the monster known as Bri, she's still driving me crazy. She is pretty funny at school. We picked her up today and as she got up and walked to the door, she is waving and telling a bunch of the kids good bye, and they are waving at her. I have no idea where she gets her personality. She wont tell us much about what goes on at school, but we found a way for her to tell us. We play school with her and make her be the teacher. Now we know a little bit of what she is doing three days a week.

Now back to some football, Iowa State goes to Oklahoma. Vegas has ISU pegged as 24 point underdogs. Oklahoma has lost against the spread in every game this year when they were the big favorite. There is no way I can predict an ISU win, but I think they can cover the spread. I just wish Oklahoma would actually put the 24 points on the ISU scoreboard as they kick off.

The Prediction:
35

24

Thursday October 7, 2010 - The View From Section EE

So last week's game was nothing like most of the fans inside the stadium expected. The Iowa State offense finally decided to show up five weeks after the season started. I have no complaints being off on last weeks prediction. Since its so hard to believe an Iowa State team can score 52 points in one game, not just a season, here is the scoreboard.

This week we decided to tailgate a little different, we brought the kids along. Once again the weather decides to be a pain in our butts. It was dry and sunny, but windy and cold, but a million times better than last week. We are having the worst of luck at games so far this year. Anyway, one of the game day experiences ISU has set up is a play area next to the stadium. It is made up of bounce houses, face painting, and mini golf. Bri loved this area, as she always does at any bounce house. The following picture may paint a bad picture for the future. She is inside one of the bounce houses but it looks like she is in jail. Her attitude lately, this could be sing of things to come.

We were able to get a decent family picture while tailgating. Too bad Brianna decides to have a mean scowl on her face. Once again, it is a fitting picture for her, so it makes sense.

We signed Brianna up for the Lil Cyclone Club this year we had an opportunity to go down on the field before the game as the team enters the field. The rules simply state the Lil Cyclone Club member and ONE parent. Not too many parents followed those rules. While waiting in line to get to the field, parents were complaining to an Officer working the gate to the field because they wanted to go stand on the field. The parents could not understand that there was a certain time when we were all allowed to go on the field. Once again, when these kids become delinquents in their teens, all can all blame their parents. Surprisingly, Brianna did really well on the field (except for seeing Cy) and during the game. Here is a picture of us standing on the field.

As for this weeks game, a top 10 ranked Utah game. A week ago, I thought ISU would be slaughtered by Texas Tech and even Utah this week. Utah has not played any schools yet this year that are any good, so I think they may be a chance. If the offense shows up like it did last week, I can see them pulling off the win. Therefore, I am going to go out on the limb and predict the upset. ISU is due to beat a Top 10 team.

My prediction:

38







28

Wednesday September 29, 2010 - The View From Section EE

The weather decided to be as bad as they predicted. Friday was a great day with very good temperatures. Sunday, the same thing, but we get stuck with a crappy Saturday. It has to be the last time I try to put together an event at a football game.

To start things off, we left Harlan around 8:00 AM. A couple miles outside of town, our new windshield wipers became disconnected and almost fell off. We stopped and tried to reattach them, but something broke. The drive between Harlan and DeSoto was awful. I could see the wiper moving and looked like it will fall off at any moment. As I exited to DeSoto the wiper fell off, but it got stuck and I did not lose it. Thank God for duct tape at the local Kum & Go.

The second reason for the stop in DeSoto was we left our beer in Harlan. That would have been devastating, considering the rainy and cold conditions in Ames.

Once we all got to Baxter, we began to load up the RV. This is when the rain began to rain really hard. It decided not to stop until maybe 3:30 PM. No one kept accurate minutes of the tailgate, so that time could go either way a good hour or two. Needless to say, the rain and cold made for a rough day. Thankfully, a couple tents, an RV, and an awning on the RV help protect us from the crappy conditions.

Due to the unfavorable conditions, below is what the game looked like from Section EE. Kind of blurry, but that was my point. Ask Kristy about the walk out of the stadium at halftime as we sought out more beers. A few trees and a few hundred looks we received tells an amazing story.

From what I recall about the game, the ISU and UNI offense looked like teams that could win three or four games all year. Hopefully this weekend, we get a better look at the game and hopefully see some improvement on the offensive side of the ball. In order to beat Texas Tech, a lot of points will need to be scored. This is one of the games ISU needs to win, especially at home. There is a part of me that thinks they will be able to pull out the win, but after seeing the offense look pretty poor against UNI, its hard to tell.

My prediction:





42



24

Thursday September 23, 2010 - The View From Section EE

As painful as it was, we made a trip to Cedar Falls last weekend. It was quite a coincidence that UNI had a home game. This is where part one of the painful trip began. Part two was Sunday morning. We had a wedding for an old college friend to attend, so as people were out freezing in the cold and rain tailgating, we stayed inside to go to the wedding. On a side note, if we did not have a wedding, we would have most likely planned a group outing to go to the game at UNI. The last 4 years I have planned a trip to UNI for a game. The first two years were in November. It was ridiculously cold, so last year we planned on the first weekend in October. Once again, cold and rainy. So the last four trips to UNI have been eventful, but awful weather.

Back to the trip, we were thankful that Kristy's aunt and uncle now live in Cedar Falls. They let us drop the kids off to play with their four boys and Shawn and Alyssa watched the girls for us. Bri had a great time. Sounds like she played all day and even the next morning very well with her cousins. Below is a picture of her and her new friend Gabe. All Sunday morning he was trying to talk me into going to another wedding that night. Then when we were outside getting ready to leave, he was crying and was sad. It was pretty cute. We will have to get up there more often just so they can play for hours and out of our hair.

So last Saturday did not turn out anyway that I predicted. The Iowa State offense if looking pretty sick, therefore making it tough to pick them to win may games. This weeks game brings a dilema for us. We grew up Iowa State fans, but am still in debt to UNI, and probably will be for years! So, I am sure I will have on some colors for both teams this Saturday.

My gut feeling after the ISU loss to Kansas State was that UNI will win this game, somewhere around 24-21. Then UNI goes out and loses at home and turned the ball over close to the end zone a couple of times. That has changed my prediction. I think it will be close early, but I think ISU's offense will show some life, hopefully with the second string in at quarteback, and they will pull away late in the game.

My prediction:





31



13

Thursday Spetmeber 16, 2010 - The View From Section EE

The only thing I took from last Saturday's game against Iowa was I predicted Iowa's points! Wow, that was ugly and pathetic. The only saving grace is there is 10 more games to go.

As for the past week, the four year old is back to her monster self and the baby does not want to sleep more than two hours at a time for me since Kristy has gone back to work. Its been a little rough lately.

Here is a picture of what Ian has been dealing with:

Our sleeping routine has been awesome. Get home at 11:30 PM. She wakes up around 1:00 AM. Eats, sleeps until 3:00 PM. Eats, then sleeps until 5:00 AM. East, then sleeps to 8:00 AM or so. Except for the morning she woke up at 5:30 AM and stayed up until 7:30 AM. Good times, good times. This has to end soon.

And here is a little picture of the older monster climbing a rock wall. I was not there, and I don't believe she made it.

And one last picture, one of Emily in her UNI shirt. Kind of a bugged eyed smile, but we will take it. At least she wasn't mad at me for a while!

And since there is a football game Saturday, I will try to throw out another prediction. This is a must win game for ISU down in Kansas City against Kansas State. Last years game resulted in a loss because of a missed extra point. This year, I do not see the game coming down to an extra point. Both team have good running games, but I think Iowa State pulls it out.

My prediction is:

41
31

Tuesday 09/07/2010 - The View From Section EE

Last weeks anniversary went well. I made it to Ames a good four hours before kick off and right across the street front he stadium. We were able to break in the new RV nicely with a cold bottle of champagne and a good Cyclone win. I was pretty close on my prediction last week, 27-17 ISU. ISU beat Northern Illinois 27-10, but it happened a lot different that I anticipated. I thought the game would be close early, but ISU would pull it off late. Almost the exact opposite happened. ISU started out really well, but made a few bad mistakes. At least all of us in the South End Zone thought they should have scored close to 35 points.

I did not bring our camera to the game, so I did not get very good pictures of the game. The one of the score and the picture below were the only ones that looked decent. I will try to get some pictures from Kristy's uncle that look a lot better. I believe this is one of the final plays of the game, right before we needed to make the much needed run back to the RV.

This weeks game may be ugly. After watching the ISU play a good first half, that gave a little bit of hope for the game in Iowa City. I have this feeling that they could stun the country and pull off the win on the road. Its a similar feeling to the NCAA Basketball Tournament when UNI beat Kansas. I thought they could win, but there was no way I could either bet on it or predict it. This goes with the game Saturday. If does not turn the ball over, but forces Iowa to a couple turnovers, then they have a shot. If they win, it could be in the score of 17-14 type of ball game. But that is the cardinal and gold colored classes, so my true prediction is:

35

17

Lets hope my first, non-official, prediction comes true. Go Cyclones!!!

Tuesday August 31, 2010

August is coming to a close, and that means a couple things. School has started and football season is almost here. Brianna stared her second year of pre-school last week. She walked into the room just like it was a regular day last year. She has a couple friends from last year, so I think that helps her get adjusted. So far those are the only names she knows, but it wont be long before she can name everyone in the class.

Bri also started gymnastics today. This may be interesting. So far, she loves it more than soccer and tee-ball. While observing her today, I have determined what kind of student Brianna is and will be in school:
The type who will raise their hand and answer everything, whether it is right or wrong. Today, she got lucky. The question at hand was, "Does anyone know how to do the bear walk?". Bri was the only one to raise her hand, as high as she could, while saying "I do!". The gymnastics teacher picks Bri to answer and she responds "I know the bear walk because I have seen bears before." I kind of laugh, thinking she still has no clue what this teacher is talking about. The teachers then asks her to demonstrate it. Without hesitation, she drops down and walks with her hand and her feet, imitating the bear walk. She was correct. I have no idea when she would have heard the bear walk before, but she got this one right. This may be interesting to see how this trait progresses.

Bri is also getting fairly good at drawing. A couple weeks ago, all the girls came out to eat supper while I was at work. Bri brought me a drawing that I had to put in my office. I will post it below. She didn't even get any help from Kristy when she drew the yellow sun, green grass, and the blue sky. This artistic stuff may also make for interesting stories in the future. Its a picture of us walking and holding hands on a sunny day. She drew Kristy a picture of her on a cloudy rainy day. We will let the psychologist make the judgment on that one.

As for Emily, she still does the same thing. Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, make dirty diapers, etc. She is getting better though, she went through a spell where she did not like me one bit. I get her for a few minutes and it would be instant crying. I give her back to Kristy, she is happy. Its early, so I don't worry too much about it. It wont be long before she is drawing pictures of Kristy on a cloudy and rainy day, even though I bet this kid will be just like Reagan, a mommy's girl.

This Thursday we will be celebrating our five year wedding anniversary. By celebrating, I mean I will be going to Ames for some Cyclone football!! The Thursday night game did not do us any favors. Bri has school Friday mornings so someone had to stay to take her to school. I don't think we fairly drew straws, but Kristy took the bullet and will stay home on our anniversary. Five years ago we embarked on this life long journey. A month into it we decided to get a dog, to help ease the pain of living in a new place and home. Then a few short months later we gained a kid, with monster like tendencies. Its been such a good ride, we added another monster. I am full aware that I am doomed and out numbered in any battle/vote for a good 19 years, but if its anything like the first five years, they will all be worth it.

Now on to the final note, we, or I this week, will begin our journey to Ames for the View From Section EE. After each game, I will try to update this thing with pictures and stories from the game.

This weeks prediction:


27







17

Monday August 2, 2010

I guess a lot has happened since the last entry on June 11th. Its been so long I am having a hard time coming up with something for today. The first thing is Brianna has started to get a little better with this whole things about her not being an only child anymore. The first few weeks were brutal. I swear she all of a sudden was 2 years old again and needed diapers. Her whining has subsided a little, and it has become better. It was rough for a while. Her big brother Reagan wasn't any better. That jerk decides to start getting into garbage. There wasn't a safe garbage can in the house. Not to mention the stress he put on his digestive system and our floors. But after a few weeks, things have calmed down. We have now put lids on all trash cans and Bri has decided not to pee her pants every time she has to go to the bathroom.

Since the 11th of June, we have made a few trips. One annual trip up to Okoboji (where Bri was labeled the naughtiest child to ever visit the lakes) and a few back to Baxter. The picture below may be the reason Reagan is mostly acting out. Two car seats now leaves Mr. 85 Pound Boxer a very small area to sit. That has to be one of the most uncomfortable two and a half hour rides he will ever have. Its sad when he is the inspiration to get a larger vehicle, and it will not be in any form of a van. Sorry van drivers, its not happening.

This year for the 4th of July we decided to go to Katie's for her neighborhood Kiddie Parade. Bri was extremely excited for this little five minute parade. On a last minute stop to a Walgreen's, we picked up some supplies to decorate her scooter. Thanks for a few ribbons I was able to get her scooter all ready. Unfortunately, it rained on the morning of the 4th. So instead of going to the Kiddie Parade, her and Evan had a parade in Katie's House. She was suppose to throw us the Tootsie Roll's, but instead we found a bunch in her pockets. Here is Bri and her Scooter and Bri and Evan in Evan's decorated wagon.

During this trip to Baxter, where Reagan sat in a small corner of the car, we once again experienced Fun Days. This year was planned a little differently and we did not get to experience the "Shitation". That's probably a good thing because Katie said something literally died in there and it smelled awful. I am not sure how much difference that made from last year. On this trip we had the parade. Ever since the 4th of July Bri has wanted to go to a parade. Thankfully Kristy's parents live along the Baxter parade route. Bri was sitting in her chair along the curb a good 45 minutes before the parade started. On a little Patriotic note, I told Bri that when the parade begins and they are marching with the flag, she is suppose to stand up and put her hand on her heart. This was probably 20 minutes or so before the parade started. I am proud to report, she remembered and was stood as the parade started.

As usual, it seems to always be 100 degrees or hotter on the trip to Fun Days. This year we let Bri go play a few games before we conned her into leaving and to go swimming. The not so good part about swimming is I have to go with her. Anyway, I was in the pool and caught her a couple times. Then all of a sudden I hear a big splash and there is Brianna, floating to the top after a decent sized cannon ball with no warning to others. She probably did this a thousand times, all with no help. Fast forward to this past weekend when we weren't with her at the pool. She had taken her life jacket off for one of her many bathroom breaks and when she came back she just jumped in, with no warning. As she was mid air, her Uncle Bruce noticed and she happened to jump right next to her Grandpa Marty. She could care less, she loved it. This will be very interesting when she gets older.

I should hopefully find the time to post a little more frequently in the near future. In exactly one month, we begin our journey to Ames for 7 weekends this fall for some Cyclone football. I will try to keep this thing more updated with my "View From Section EE". As fuzzy as a majority of that view will be, I will try to keep it as current as possible.

Friday June 11, 2010

For today's installment I will discuss Brianna and her tee ball adventures. This is the second class she has taken, the first being soccer. The classes are set up with about 10 kids and one teacher/coach. They meet twice a week for a month. The classes consist of the teacher/coach giving the kids instruction and they have to follow the rules. Simple enough, right?

Well this tee ball is basically mass chaos. Some of the kids are younger than Bri and they have no concept of listening and following the rules. We are proud to report, that surprisingly, Brianna listens very well and follows the rules. Now if we can get her to do this at home. The kid who is teaching/coaching the kids does a great job, but I can sense the frustration. There is not enough money in the world for this guy. I am sure his minimum wage barely makes it to the bar after these classes.

The teacher/coach does a great job, but its too bad the parents lack in that category. When you see your kid playing Ring around in the Rosey in the outfield, its probably in your kids best interest if you tell them to stop and pay attention to the teacher/coach. When you show up to a baseball/softball class, its probably in your kids best interest to have a glove. When you see your kid take off to the other side of the gym, its in your kids best interest to stop and listen to what is going on. The list could go on, but I will stop for now because of this next intriguing story.

Just last week the teacher/coach was showing them how to throw a ball into a net with wiffle balls. Simple task. One of the mothers, who I am going to judge by calling her a "West O, Over Protective, Over Reactive, Mom". Her kid walks toward her and she put her finger in one of the holes of the wiffle ball. At this point, I thought this mom was going to call in the National Guard to deal with the catastrophe. The mom cant get the ball off her finger. Another mom is saying "you will have to get the hand soaked in ice cold water". Then the mom takes hand sanitizer and chap stick to use as lubricant to get the finger out. Meanwhile, the kid now freaks out and is crying hysterically. My dad happened to be with me since he was watching Bri that day, and I said to him, "just pull the wiffle ball off the finger!" I could not believe the drama of a wiffle ball stuck to a finger.

And now for a few pictures, Brianna and her tee ball class.

Tuesday June 7, 2010

A couple months ago Omaha became a stop for Iowa State's Cyclone Tailgate Tour. We had been talking about going to this since that first day. We told Bri that Cy would be there and she was very excited. She is terrified of mascots, but every event we go to a sporting event, she looks for them and waves at them, albeit 20 rows away. Just last week we met Tim and Brooke at a Royals game. The only entrance at the stadium was filled with mascots. It was the Royals' mascot Casey's birthday, so every mascot in the area was there. She freaked out, but once we sat in the last row, all she did was look for them and wave at them.

Now fast forward to tonight, Bri still had planned on giving Cy a high five and take a picture with him. She wanted to get the picture framed so it can go next to her bed. Well, once Cy made his appearance, she freaked out and wanted nothing to do with him. We rotated from one end of the function to the other, always away from Cy. When it was over I told her this was the last chance to see Cy. She agreed and decided to go get a picture. Well, she was too late, he was gone and probably headed toward the nearest bar. She said that was "OK because I can see him at a football game". Only time will tell on that one.

Here is a picture of Bri and the closest she was to Cy. Notice how Cy is in the far top right corner of the picture. The next two pictures are the only pictures Bri got with any of the coaches, Coaches Hoiberg and Rhoads. Every time we got close to another coach, Cy would be near and she would freak out.

Sunday June, 6, 2010

Since it has been a while, I figured now would be as good a time as any to get this started back up again. Just so you know, I am off for the next two weeks, so I should have plenty of time on my hands.......... Not really that much time, since we have been busy the past four days. On Thursday June 3, 2010 at 7:22 PM, our new addition finally arrived. Little, not really little, Emily Ann joins us. She was 9 pounds 13 ounces. Needless to say, shes a beast.

Here is a little run down on the events of last Thursday.

Kristy was finished working the second of three straight nights in a row. She had been talking for the past month that every night she worked was her last for twelve weeks. The only prediction that was correct was the due date the doctors came up with. Kristy thought for sure she would go early, but that did not happen.

So I was sitting at Bri's tee-ball, I will post about that later, when I got a text that said today was the day. I kind of shrugged it off, because when Bri was born, it was a 27 hour ordeal. Kristy said not to hurry, so we ate lunch and came home. Kristy said her water kind of broke, so we went in. Once she was admitted, I thought for sure families would show up in four hours and I would meet up with them at Paulie's for a few drinks before anything happened. To make a long story short, once the nurses' shift change was happening, little Emily was born. A grand total of eight hours plus of labor.

Here is one of our first pics of Emily with Bri and Kristy.

The whole time we never found out what we were having. We thought for sure it was a boy. Emily was the only girl name we came up with. It was definitely a shock to us. Bri was a little disappointed when we didn't name her Taylor Swift, but she will get over it. When I walked out into the waiting area I said we have a baby, but I did not tell any of our family what we had. I took Bri back first so she could make the announcement. I could hear the grumblings as I walked away. Here is the short video we took of Bri telling our family. She could not wait to get back out there to tell them.

Since then, Emily and Kristy are doing really well, minus getting good sleep, but the adjustment period begins. Even Reagan seems to be liking things, even though he knows he is now out numbered.