Da Tree and Tunes

Well we still managed to keep the weekend busy and entertaining.  We meet up with Ella in EC to catch a show and a cool little venue for a 'super group' comprised of the lead singers from 3 other bands we like.  The opener was a great find as well.  We had a nice dinner and a room with a great view of the city.  Sunday we meet up with her and her boyfriend for a wholesome breakfast and then headed home.   Back home with the smell of chicken soup cooking, the trees finally blossomed into a Christmas tree with Sophia, Grace and Amy adding the adornments.  Ornament breakage was minimal and the process was efficient...older kids make it easier and harder and it took a week to just align two of their schedules to pull this year's decorating together.

T-Day a New Way

 

All the thankfulness of each previous year, but we did it differently this year.  Amy, Ella, and Grace all headed east to visit extended family; leaving on Tuesday night to make early flights and ultimately getting delayed by a winter storm for an extra night in Baltimore.  They made the best of the extended stay and found a Christmas market to tour, shop, and laugh.  Merrick, Sophia, and I all had a large thanksgiving day breakfast...we also all decided that is sort of the best way to do it.  Breakfast food is always great, and we had pork served three different ways, you aren't full from previous houses you had to visit and the dishes clean up is quick.  Sophia even left me a pie, but to be fair she needed most everything I had on hand to make it.  It was ultimately delicious even though she arrived with frozen apples. We just left them in the oven longer and it might be my new preferred way to back them.  400 for about an hour and then shut the oven down and leave the pies to continue to back, caramelize, and get a nice crispy crust.  The rest of the week was pretty quite although Sophia and her boyfriend did stop back Friday to play cards and laugh well past midnight.  Again so much to be thankful for including rested and ready to return to work.

Fall Ball is Done

Oh of course there will be more games coming and more seasons, but this weekend marked the last traveling team tournament.  Amy said we weren't doing "lasts" on this trip; and she may have had some dust in her eye as she braided Grace's hair in the hotel room.  Maybe it was the last braiding on tournament weekends or that Grace was unhappy with the quality of the braid and wouldn't let her do it again anyways...but either way it seemed that there were some emotions.  We drove to the Chicago area in the dark, given the time of year there are few other options and stopped for some soup/sandwiches on our way.  Interesting that our hour long dinner stop actually saved us 20 minutes of road time as it allowed the traffic congestion to pass.  The Saturday morning games were cold, but Grace played strong score easily through out the day.  There were plenty of recruiters around, but that isn't really out concern anymore as she is locked in for the '26 cohort. Amy and I cheered out of pride and as a means of staying warm in the rain and 38 degree temperatures.  Grace slumped her shoulders and hung her head after the game when she noticed my rain suit was full camouflaged (I was actually a little surprised she could see me at all).  Amy had the best chicken sandwich of her life from a tournament kiosk and then we headed off to do a little shopping to pass the afternoon away.  Dinner found us at an more upscale Italian place than we were dressed for but they kindly ushered us in and out very quickly.  Sunday morning had an added adventure as the hotel had lost power some time during the night, likely from the winter storm that blew in.  The room was cold and dark.  With no hot water for a shower we packed up by the light of our phones and headed to the fields.  They only lost a single game during the pool play, but the point differentials apparently weren't enough to lock in a 2nd place seed for them in the tournament brackets.  We had waited at a coffee shop with pastries and hot drinks for the news but seemingly nobody was too upset that we could head home before noon rather than play in the cold and snow again.  As it turned out the area would get 4-5 inches of snow as we drove north on dry roads.  She will practice and prep over the winter months but as for actual games we will have to wait now until March.

some road time...

To a small extent we have found ourselves on the road and chasing kids a little bit.  Amy and Grace have spent the past couple of weekends in resort towns (Dells and Shakopee) for Lacrosse tournaments.  Grace has been playing well for both teams, but both teams are also so very very short benched without subs.  So that takes a toll on the teams overall performance in during the weekend.  In MN the ref even found the team some subs from another team, just to help get their legs under them in the surprisingly warm October sun. She is off the next two weekends and then we head to the third state, IL, of the fall season for a tournament in the Chicago area.  Likely have to dress warm by then.  She has committed to UWL for next fall and will play for the Eagles, so that is exciting and takes some of the pressure off her application processes.  

Merrick had his first Parents' weekend, so I hit the road afterwork on Friday and picked him up in time for a late burger joint dinner.  He was feeling less than par and asked me to check out the big lump on his neck; clearly an enlarged gland.  Dinner didn't sit to well and Saturday morning found us in the the walk in clinic getting some tests.  Everything came back negative but he tired pretty quickly and has back in his dorm around noon to sleep until we met up for a Sunday morning breakfast before I headed out of town.  We did make the drive up to the bluff to take in the leave colors.  We kept in contact with him during the week and he seems to be healed up and is coming home this weekend.  It will be his first time back since college started so I suspect that will be interesting for him.

 

HoCo

 

Saturday night was a culminating dance for Grace after a full week of Homecoming activities.  We headed to the title town district for pictures with her and her friends.  They had spent the week making pants, dressing alike, carrying their school work in 'anything but a backpack....and TPing around town and school.  It was a little funny to see them head into the house after the dance to take off their formal attire and dress in black clothes and face masks to head out on the town like a G-rated Clockwork Orange.  By Sunday afternoon it was back to normal and she was off to work her last shift at the pool for the season.

Little dimples..little drama

 Last weekend we spent a little time scouting out an area for Grace's senior pictures, it had been suggested by the photographer.  But ultimately we thought better of the location and suggested a few of our own and the results will be beautiful.  There was a little hic-up, Grace has a pretty packed schedule, and the original photo shoot was conflicting with a different event.  We had the shoot moved, but it didn't make it to the photographers calendar and she double booked.  It all worked out fine and especially the lighting.  Grace had a fun time, multiple wardrobe changes and still made it home in time to not eat, but meet friends on a shopping spree for pajama day and midnight toilet papering of the school in prep of homecoming weekend. One of these pictures is not from her photo shoot; alas dear reader can you spot it?  Also a fun note as a parent, sometimes you find boxes of graham crackers with only a single stale cracker left in the box; because somebody was way to full to eat another one...or way to lazy to open the trash drawer.

The Eagle has Landed!

Thirteen years of hard work and perseverance for Merrick lead to his arrival in Lacrosse on Friday as an official UWL Eagle.  We managed an almost full family dinner the night before making the drive (Ella was in Spain).  We gathered around the indoor grill at the restaurant slathering steaks with garlic butter and spices....well not Sophia; she was battling a waitress for a burger that was cooked thoroughly and preferably with a bun.  Then back home to sit around the table and talk about school, classes, and just laugh a bit before an early night.  Merrick and I hit the road early and drove the meandering route across the state to his dorm.  His roommate had moved in the day before so it was easy to build some dorm furniture and trick out his new pad.  He is more of a minimalist than either of the older girls where, and he has a real comfortable space to call home for the next school year. We made run for groceries...all comfort food and nothing remotely healthy was dropped into the cart.  He had some additional items on his 'mental list' but those were forgotten.  We hit MKE burger to fill up on some smashburgers before sending him off on his own; and I made the lonely drive back home.  Amy and I were able to call him and have a quick chat and everything seems to be going well for him and has a good size group of people to run around with until the wee hours each morning; and has only hit his head on the ceiling a few times as he adjusts to his lofted bed.  His first class this Morning will be a Chem Lab...seems like a good intro to college course work.

 

A Summer Summary

 

Well that is and unofficial wrap to the summer.  Amy and I have headed back to work and the air has a chill in it.  We stayed busy this summer, but not frantic this summer.  Merrick and I sneaked out to play a round of golf, he was polite at my horrible shots including a drive that went 90 degrees off the tee box and directly into a water hole.  We played best ball, so my shots never really counted, but I did get to feel like I was playing.  Sophia and Ella joined us for a great concert at the winery and a campfire the night before.  It was just great to sit around and chat with them.  Ella landed in Spain yesterday for a quick Euro trip before she goes back to school and Grace has been to Greece and back this summer.  Sophia is working on grad school essays and said she feels a little envious of everyone heading back to school, as this is her first fall without that experience.  Grace and Ella spent some time together roaming around Eau Claire.  Merrick is packing up his room and reading himself to move into the dorms later this week.  We toured LaX and RiverFalls with Grace as she starts to consider where she wants to go to school, and she too is working on her entrance essays and starting the application process for her undergrad studies.

CrissCross LaCrosse

 Merrick is heading off to Lacrosse and we spent the day there getting an his courses registered and being given the finer points of admission.  Both him and Grace had their AP scores come in from the spring exams and ..wow, just wow we could not be more proud of their hard work.  It will certainly pay off from them both in college.  From UW-LaX to Summer LaX it has been a full summer.  Grace has her final summer weekend tourney in Chicago this coming weekend, and has a solid list of scouts their to watch her and chat her up about their respective schools.  We spent a weekend in Racine, complete with Italian dinner tradition, and another in Cincinnati.  The drive to Cincy started at 3 am, and ended at Mark's place about noon.  It was nice to have the extra space and creature comforts of a house rather than a hotel.  The whole Cincy family came to the early game on Saturday and Mark was able to make the whole tournament....and it was a crazy drama filled series between an Ohio team...complete with play stoppage for roster checks on the other team for two ineligible players that were playing on 2 teams in the tourney....extra player in 95ish heat makes a difference.  Then the most psychotic LaX mom hollering at the refs to check the rule book...reciting highlighted portions of the rulebook across the field.  Grace won the game but as Mark and I walked over towards the team and were discussing the game we unknowingly past the psycho...she overheard our comments and then it she unleased an profanity laced tirade for all to hear.  Grace's team advanced through the tournament to the championship game, she scored in each game, but ultimately lost in OT...I told Mark all in all we can not provide a tournament with more drama than this.  Sun scorched and sweated out we hoped into the car about 2:30 pm and drove back home....making as good of time as can be made on a nineish hour drive.

Grad Party

The weather was perfect for Merrick's Grad party and the families made their drives from far and wide.  We had smoked pork overnight and set up tables borrowed from work.  Merrick and his buddy were started to shoot some hoops while the adults chatted and ate....Merrick brought down the hoop, rim and post right on his own head.  Him and I left the party for the ER and he would ultimately need 7 staples in his scalp, but no concussion and were back to the party in about an hour.  His friend had waited for him and several other friends arrived while he was away.  This worked out well for Grace's friend how hid upstairs and watch the boys through the bedroom window.  Merrick was a little shaken but rebounded quickly.  His friends started kicking at the remaining post when Grandprize nudged me and said 'hand them a shovel"...the recent grads started digging and rocking the post from the cement, and with the help of a maul, expertly introduced by Grandprize as their enthusiasm was curbing they soon had the remaining basketball hoop free from the ground.  Kory offered to take the post and the remaining backboard, now sans glass, to his shop for disposal and with some borrowed dirt and grass seed from neighbors the whole clean up project was a smooth and fast as possible.  Merrick felt good enough to head off with his buddies to shoot a round a golf and another 2 rounds the next day.

 

Long week-Short Week

 

It was only Wednesday night, but it seems like it has been a long week.  Merrick walked the stage and finalized his first academic chapter.  Grandprize and Grandma made the trip over and we had plenty of last minute rearranging as the weather wasn't cooperating for an outdoor ceremony.  The original plan was everybody watching from the stadium bleachers, but in the end Amy sat with the faculty--she had amazing seats and was able to high five Merrick on his walk back from graduating--Grandma and I were in the back breaking bleachers, and Grandprize with in the plush seats of the auditorium watching a live stream of the ceremony.  We got there over an hour before the start and the place was already packed.  It was and is always great to see so many people supporting the students. After the normal pomp and circumstance the five of us headed over to Greystone to some light appetizers and chatter to wrap up the evening.  Merrick was a little nonplused about the whole graduation, stating that he didn't see the reason to celebrate what he was expected to accomplish.  Grandma thought she had heard this before somewhere.....about 32 years ago.  Be that as it may, Merrick was clearly pleased with the completion and everyone's support.  We headed home earlyish...as the new graduate had a full day of life guarding in the morning....although if the weather cooperated for him he was planning on spending most of it in the breakroom practicing his putting.

Kind of a big weekend

 

Early May is not unlike Early April...a blur of important days.  Anniversaries, Mother's day, and Ella's Birthday.  She hit a bit one, and it is now a little harder to pretend she isn't careening into adulthood.  We weren't with her, but she still spent it with family and met Bob/Nancy at the Joint for a beer, she continued with the mythology that it was her first time there although the bar tender kept calling her out on her BS to the delight of all that were there. With her year wrapped up she loaded up her car and head off to summer to work at a Camp that hosts campers with revolving disabilities.  Putting goodness back into the world.  Grace was playing LaX in MKE and Amy went to cheer her one, while I helped Sophia move out of her apartment in preparation for her graduation.  Hauled a trailer load of stuff back to GB.  This fall we will haul another trailer of different stuff back to set Merrick up in his dorm...ah the wheels of time.  Sophia's graduation and walking the stage was an emotional event and struck me more than I had anticipated.  She was home for only a day before she started her job in town.  Following her heart and helping others where she can. It is these milestones and rites of passage all coming so quickly together. The next day it was a different stage, different kid and all the same emotions.  Grace was inducted into the National Honor Society, complete with one of her friends reading Grace's bio with heartfelt warmth and talking about her volunteer service.  It is emotional to sit in the seats and watch others talk highly of your kids. It seems the kids are more accustomed to doing good things.  Both Merrick and Grace turned down invites to a school award ceremony and picked up their letters and accolades a few days ago without the pomp and circumstance. Grace showed us her big letter for academic performance, we asked Merrick about his.  He replied, "Yea, I got one for academics too, it looks the same as the one I got last time for volunteering."  They all are putting good into the world in so many different ways, but each way is inspirational to me.

Keeping the miles in the milestones....

 

April was its normal blur, but we had a few new milestones and rights of passage.  Grace had her junior prom with all its pageantry and pomp and giggling friendship.  She also hosted her LaX team for a team dinner pasta buffet. The house smelled of garlic for two days and they were a great group of girls. They have been playing a couple games a week, the competition is tough this year.  She is also getting daily recruiting 'hits' from coaches across the country. Merrick had his senior ball, a lower key affair than prom but still another rite of passage for him and his gang. With the weather turning nicer his golf team is getting more sun burn than frostbite for a change. Both of them are now deep into AP testing season and trying to rack up some college credits a little early.  Easter came and went, but they still hid a Basket for Grace...it was under the ottoman, but still took her about 20 minutes to find it.  Ella couldn't make it home for the holiday and Sophia spent it in EC with Grandprize and Grandma Nancy.  Ella also ran her first 1/2 marathon with her roommate.  We loaded up the bikes on the car and chased and cheered her all over Eau Claire on a cool rainy morning.  It was a blast, fun to chase her and fun to see her smiling as she ran the 13 plus miles in her personal best time!

Let Them eat Cake!

 

The opening salvo of April is always a little frenetic and to that we added a couple of milestone birthdays as well.  Merrick became an adult and I became a mailing list candidate for AAA and AARP.  Grace was nestled into the sweet spot straddling adulthood and fleeting adolescents. Merrick opted for a home dinner to celebrate and we gathered around for some sous vide, reverse seared flat iron steaks.  Grace opted for the more traditional birthday sushi..making sure we ordered enough for a left over sushi breakfast.  Grace had been lobbying hard for about 6 months for a friend party as well so by Sunday morning and late late into the afternoon she hosted a brunch for her friends and then they all painted portraits of each other.  Her actual birthday coincided with the LaX season opener and she filled the stands with fans.  Jan and Ron drove up, Bob and Nancy drove over with Ella, and Scott and Sonya meandered the DP roads to cheer her on. Grandprize had made a big roll out sign for her birthday and Ella convinced the team to roll it out during the game.  She scored 2 goals and an game MVP in an overall tough loss to a solid team.  The fans headed back to our house for some cake to celebrate even if she was out team bonding.  Saturday we switched gears to my birthday and we headed downtown to join the hands-off protests that were happening across the country before heading out to eat and then back home for some some more cake and laughs with the whole family.  Sunday was an early start for Bob/Nancy as the carpooled Ella back to EC in time for work.  Sophia stopped over to get her car before heading back to LaX, Merrick went golfing, and I tried to catch naps during Grace's party.  Just another great week surrounded by great people.