Seventeen Years

Bode continues to like his new soccer team--the Sabertooths.  The boys aren't really winning their games, but they are actually passing the ball and playing like a real team.  Bode is getting better each week in the goal, but more importantly, he's accepted the fact he will get scored on, and when he does, he doesn't pout.  I think that's what I'm most proudest of--he's maturing very fast.  They had a double-header Saturday morning--it was a beautiful few hours at the soccer fields, and the boys loved it.  While they lost both games (something like 4-2 and 6-4), it was loads of fun.  Here's a picture of Bode in the goal.

I took some other pictures, but I didn't really get any decent shots.  Plus, I was too busy cheering on the team to take many photos (and Ashley has reminded me this is a developmental league, so cheering is fine, but no berating or complaining about anything) :-)

Today marks Ashley and my 17th anniversary--traditional gift is furniture, which we both ignored.  We did go out to brunch with Bode at the Broadmoor.  We fasted all morning, and headed down for our reservation at 12.  We also took some premeal pictures.  First, Bode and Mommy.

And then me and my bride.

We also took some pictures from the balcony.  Bode is getting too tall--I think the pants he is wearing are size 10's, and they are almost too short.

There was also a nice chess table in one of the waiting areas.  I can no longer just sit down and defeat Bode.  He's very good at defending his pieces.  Sure, I'll nudge him occasionally against making certain moves, but for the most part, he's on his own.

His next step in his chess development is become more offensive and creating a strategy with tactics to win games (of course, that's also what I need to do :-)

We had a lovely meal, and spent the rest of our day digesting.

The best anniversary present had to come last night during the Auburn-LSU game.  It was a very tight game with Auburn up by five points with about two minutes to go.  I thought Auburn would win, so I surreptitiously filmed the McGuirk viewing area.  As you watch, realize Bode and I have to live with this every week.

Obviously from the video, it looks like Auburn lost...and we thought the same thing.  Hence the quick turning off of the camera.  However, I should have left the camera rolling until...

A happy coda:  Upon further review, LSU did not get their final play off before the play clock expired.  Thus, the TD didn't count.  And, I might add, the refs also missed two penalties on the final play--the LSU wide-receiver never set before the snap, and the QB was likely across the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball.  Thus, Auburn wins!  Seventeen years ago, Auburn lost in overtime on our wedding day--they missed a field goal at the end of regulation (and it was an easy field goal).  Thankfully they won last night :-)  Happy week to all!

A Clean Sheet

With the start of the school year, we are now much busier than we used to be.  Bode is doing swimming twice a week, and is still taking his piano lessons.  I also signed him up for a soccer team.  I didn't realize this team would practice twice a week with games on Saturdays.  And then Bode wanted to do cross country.  Thus, our evenings are jam-packed.  We'll be happy (or at least better rested) come the end of October.

The first cross country meet was Tuesday.  We have realized Bode is anything but a runner.  He enjoys the team, but I think it's just to hang out with some friends, which is perfectly fine.  Here's a group of the boys before the first race.

Next, we have the start of the race.  The first race was an 800-meter run.

Finally, here's a shot of Bode towards the end.  He ran the whole way and finished with a surge (a small surge).

I was impressed with the winner--the kid looked like a real runner, and I don't know if I could have beaten him.  I'll have to start timing the races and use my GPS to get the exact distance.   I'd hate to think I've reached the point where kids Bode's age are faster than me :-)

The first soccer game was this past Saturday.  Earlier in the week, Bode told me he wanted to be the goalie.  As luck would have it, the soccer club does free goalie training on Friday nights.  Thus, we decided to attend to see if Bode really liked it.  He did great, although he has to work on some of the fundamentals, but it's really the first time I've seen him excited about something (other than video games).  The team's first game was Saturday (their name is the Sabertooths).  Bode started the game as the center forward.

He did fine--got winded pretty quickly, and he (along with all the other boys) need to learn their positions better.  But I'm very impressed with the coach, and know Bode will learn a lot this season.  The team was down 1-0 at the end of the first half.  At the start of the second half, we saw Bode putting on the goalie shirt and the gloves.  Oh boy.

He did surprisingly well.  No one scored on him, and he had some great saves.  But he also had some help from 1) a shot off the post and 2) some misses by the other team.

Still, he did great.  He does have to learn when to come off the line and when not to.  He'd end up in no-man's land a number of times, but otherwise, he's out little Hope Solo...oh, wait, that's not a very good comparison :-)

Back to the grind tomorrow.  Pleasant week to all.

Labor Day in Breck

We spent Labor Day weekend up in Breckenridge.  We didn't do too much, because it's usually crowded, but it is nice to get away.  We did go to town for the annual rubber ducky race in the Blue River.  You can buy a rubber duck, and it gets thrown in a big bin.  The ducks are dumped into the river, and the first 57 ducks downstream got prizes (there were 800+ entries).  Sadly, we didn't win, but it was a beautiful day.

The picture on the left is Bode and me at the "finish line" which was just a temporary bridge built across the river.  The people wading in the water had to have been cold, because that wasn't is anything but warm.  Also, I don't like the above picture of me, because it looks like I have a gut.  I've started running (a lot) again to correct this problem :-)

On Saturday night, we watched the Auburn-Clemson game.  Auburn lost.  I have no more words on this matter.

On Sunday, we recovered our spirits and headed to the rec-center.  We had an awesome time.  Ashley and Bode tried their hands at the climbing wall.  We were impressed that Bode went as high as he did, because he usually gets a little scared when he gets too high.  Ashley also impressed us but completing a 5.9 rated climb (if you don't know rock-climbing, just google it).

We also swam, but didn't get any pictures.  The coolest part was the pool has this rope you can swing from and drop into the water.  Bode didn't want to do it at first; once he did it, he didn't do anything else the rest of the day.

We also did the usual things while in Breck--chopped and stacked wood, did some home-maintenance, and we also sat in the hot-tub.  We came home on Monday, and started back to work and school on Tuesday.  Sadly, no holidays until Thanksgiving for me (UCCS does have class on Columbus Day and Veteran's Day--what's up with that???)

Pleasant week to all.

Some Missed Posts

It's almost mid-September, and I haven't posted anything since early August.  I wish I could say it's because I've been busy doing all sorts of things...but I think I've just been lazy.  This first post, I'm going to post some pictures of some things that happened back in August.

There's a new indoor go-kart racetrack in Colorado Springs.  We decided to check it out.  Bottom line first is that it was pretty cool, and Bode liked the driving experience.  However, neither Ashley nor I did any driving because 1) there are separate races for kids under 16 and 2) it's a bit pricey (and Ashley gets enough drag-racing done when she's in her little rocket sled).  But Bode had a good time, even though he wasn't super risky.  He was probably the youngest person in the race, and I don't think he liked it when he got bumped.  But all in all, an enjoyable experience.  Now for some pictures.  First is Bode getting fit for a helmet.

Next we have Bode coming out of pit-row as the race is about to start.

And finally, an action shot.  Note how blurry the picture is, likely due to the tremendous speed Bode was carrying into the turn.

School started up towards the end of August.  The weekend before, Ashley and Bode spent a weekend up in Breckenridge.  They had a lovely time--went for a bike ride, saw some street art, and even went ice-skating.  First, Bode doing some goofy stuff by some neat animal art.

Next, a nice one of Bode and Mommy just chilling in the shade.

Bode and Ashley went for both a bike ride and ice-skating.  Safety first in this family :-)

Ashley and Bode had a wonderful time in Breckenridge, although I think Bode had a hard fall right at the end of their little ice-skating adventure.  

Sadly, summer had to come to an end, and Bode headed back to school.  He's now in 3rd grade, which is amazing.  He's not a fan of school--says it's boring, but I guess I sad the same thing when I was a kid.  Here's Bode before his first day of school with both Mommy and me.

Little man is getting so grown up :-)  Note my attire.  I have started my new job at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.  It's nice--like most jobs, I wouldn't do it if I wasn't paid, but it gives me something to do during the day :-)  Ashley is still doing her job at Harris, although I know she'd like to be a snow-bum.  We'll see if we can make that happen.  Pleasant week to all.

Horse Camp

Bode spent the week going to horse camp.  He learned some knowledge about horses, how to brush them, how to lead them, and how to sit on them and ride them.  He seemed very talkative after each day of camp, which we took to mean he enjoyed himself.  On the last day, parents could come out and watch their kids ride.  When I first heard this, I thought Bode would be "riding" the horse, which in my mind meant sprinting around on the steed.  I should have realized my error, as I know it takes a long time to learn to ride a horse, to be able to gallop and run on a horse.  Plus, he's only eight :-)  But it was neat to see him a top a horse and (sort of) controlling her with the reins.

I also took a movie of Bode riding the horse...as you can see, it's a little different than I had envisioned, but it's still pretty cool.

As part of the camp, they painted the horses (I'm sure the paint will wash off).  They were learning about the skeletal structure of the horse, and why it's important to understand this in order to be a better rider.

Bode also learned how to lead the horse from place to place.

The camp also had some goats and a donkey.  Bode really loves animals, and we are trying to convince him to be a vet.  Unfortunately, he doesn't like blood :-)

Next week is the last camp of the summer.  Bode will do a half-day competitive swim camp.  Following this, we will spend a last weekend in the mountains as we all prepare to go back to school.

I harvested some vegetables from the garden.  I'm quite pleased with the production.

Lettuce has been going all summer.  I figured out that even if you aren't going to eat lettuce, you need to tear the leaves off every few days.  Otherwise, it will grow to the point where it won't be edible.  The carrots and onions are doing great--still have around 30 carrots growing and 10 onions.  The potatoes are the best producing crop.  Three potatoes will feed us at dinner (in addition to the meal), and there are probably 30 more potatoes growing underground.  The green beans came in nicely, and we ate them with some pork chops.  We even had a large cucumber, which we ate with a salad along with some snap peas.  I'm hoping to get some corn in the next couple weeks, and I have five more cucumbers growing.  The big surprise is I actually have two watermelon growing...but they are still quite small.  One is the size of a grape, while the other is the size of small kiwi fruit.  There's 25 days until September, so here's hoping it stays nice and hot.  We might get some melon before the summer is done.  Pleasant week to all.

Unemployed

After twenty one years and four months (effective 1 October), I am now unemployed.  But this is the best type of unemployed because even though I no longer have any responsibilities or duties, I am still getting paid :-)  I don't start at UCCS until 15 Aug, so I have some free time on my hands.  Not sure what I'll do...maybe write that novel :-)

We had a small luncheon for my going away.  It's hard to have big events USAFA over the summer, as there aren't many people around.  Plus, I'm not one to really love the spotlight, so a nice casual event was perfect.  The highlight had to have been the greatest gift anyone has ever gotten Ashley.  My boss really puts some thought into these presents.  He's a closet Raider's fan, so he tried to figure a tie between the Oakland Raiders and the Auburn Tigers.  He immediately came up with Bo Jackson (as did Ashley when he was giving his little speech).  Thus, Col Butler got Ashley an Auburn football signed by Bo Jackson with a certificate of authenticity and everything.  I'm glad I didn't get her anything, as nothing could top this present.

Bode was able to come to the lunch.  Afterwards, he joined me for a "victory lap" around the Terrazzo--my last time on the USAFA campus without needing an escort.  Hard to believe over 25 years have passed since my first time officially on campus.  Scary.  Here are some pictures.  First up is Bode man--perhaps he'll be in the Class of 2028.

Next is Bode in front of one of the airplanes.

Finally, a picture of the Class of 1995 crest.  Good times.

Not sure what I will do tomorrow.  I have a final outprocessing appointment at 0900.  Afterwards, no responsibilities what-so-ever. :-)  Pleasant day to all.

Harley Recovering

It's been almost two weeks since Harley had her leg amputated.  I'm thrilled to say she's doing extremely well.  There were some initial bumps--learning to walk on three legs when you are used to four is probably pretty challenging.  We had to help her a bunch, but now, she's really moving around quite well.  First, some nice pictures of our girl.  The first one is of Harley eating, which she thoroughly loves now that we are giving her some wet dog food with her meals.

Next is a picture (a bit blurry I know) of Harley hanging out in front of our house.

And finally, Harley with her boy.

Bode is so happy that Harley is doing well.  And honestly, we don't know what's going to happen, but we do know we will love on her every day, appreciate this extra time with her, and hope for the best.

Some of you have expressed some skepticism regarding a dog's ability to get around on three legs. Here's Harley moving around and checking some things out.

And I think she gets around better than even the video shows--you should see her almost sprint when it's dinner time :-)

I only have two more days in the Air Force, and then I will be unemployed.  Anybody want to hang out or do something?  Pleasant day to all.