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Ok, my niece Riley is REALLY cute. But on the same day my sister commented on my previous post regarding Riley's pink wardrobe,
THIS is what Riley wore to my house. And my sister, in her own defense, claimed that Riley's dad, Drew, was the one who picked out the outfit! Does that make it better or WORSE??!!?
The coaches debated about even going to this tournament. After the thrashings we got in the last 2 tournaments, should we even go up against the competition at the SEAA Fall State Tournament? The girls had played 80 games since March, should we go to a tournament at all? In the end, because of logistics and because you have to play better teams to get better, we decided to go.
Good decision.
Knoxville Thunder Select 12U finished 3rd in a field of 8 teams. That statement by itself is commendable enough. But when you consider our girls are actually young enough to play 10U AND when you consider that many of the 8 teams (including 3 that we beat) are second year 12U teams, it becomes even more impressive. And then, if you were there, you know that they came within a hair's breadth of making it to the championship game, and the esteem you hold for these 11 year old girls has no bounds.
We are very lucky to have a great group of girls who are not only stellar ball players, but good sports and just genuinely nice kids. Additionally, the parents are dedicated and supportive of not only their own daughter, but of every girl on the team. I have commented many times on the fact that in nearly every case, BOTH parents are there to support the team. Even when the tournaments are out of town. In fact, except when a parent has to work, or if another child has another activity, we nearly always have the full contingent of parents and even grandparents there to cheer the girls on. And I cannot say often enough how glad I am that so many of Megan's teammates have little brothers in the 4-9 year old range. Nicholas enjoys going as much as the rest of us, because he's got his home boys to hang with! Spending all of this time on softball looks like a hardship to some people, but when you experience it, you see what a family affair it really is.
And I can't express my gratitude enough for the coaching staff that helps to steer the girls to the accomplishments that they have achieved. I may be a little biased, since David is one of the coaches, but I really think we have 4 of the best guys anyone could want. Each of them brings a little something different to the table, and they seem to work together very well to get the girls to work hard and take it to the next level. We were fortunate enough to be assigned to a team called the Fury back in tee ball, which is when we first met Mike, Rick and Brian. Megan has played for them since that time. I know that if we ever end up on another team, those coaches will suffer in comparison. I could go on and on, because it really does mean that much to me to have such great coaches piloting my daughter's team, but then I would be gushing, and really, what if they read this? It will go directly to their heads, and we won't be able to live with them any more. :) But seriously, thanks guys, for caring so much.
A special thanks to head coach Rick, and particularly his wife Libby who are so organized and keep us informed and on track. It really does help, when you have other obligations to know ahead of time when and where you need to be for softball. I know this is not always the case for competitive ball, so I want them to know we appreciate all they do to keep us in the loop.
Some highlights from the tournament:
Who says Coach Rick isn't any fun?
The parents taking up their usual positions.
Strategizing.
Girls just want to have fun.
Down to business.
The little brothers' club. I thought Nicholas was going to play Nintendo until his eyes bled. Sarah's mom Debbie assured me it took more than one day for the bleeding to commence!
"Who are we?" "THUNDER!!"
2009 was a great year. Congratulations to Ostrich, Meatloaf, Flamingo, Cheetah, Penguin, Monkey, Hammer, Elmo, Squirrel and Clutch on all your hard work and excellent performance. Good luck in 2010!
So my sister and I agree about a lot of parenting topics. But one topic on which we disagree is pink clothes for little girls. I don't have anything against pink per se, I just don't think it should be overrepresented just because a child has 2 X chromosomes. When Megan was a little girl, I tried to make sure she had a variety of colors (including some pink, that was unavoidable) in her closet.
Consequently, my goddaughter Riley wears way more pink than I would prefer. I think my sister deliberately avoids other colors on the days that I watch Riley. Either that or she really only does own pink clothes (also a possibility.)
Last week, when Riley arrived at my house for our weekly playdate, I exclaimed, "Pinky!" which I call her a lot for obvious reasons. My sister immediately told me that she bet herself a million dollars that I would call Riley that. Well, that was a sure bet. The girl was pink from head to toe (literally). She had a (large) pink bow, pink shirt, pink jacket, pink pants, and, although you can't tell from the picture, pink socks and pink and white shoes. She couldn't have been more pink if she had been born in a Bazooka factory.
Ann does this just to provoke me.
So my youngest brother, Brendan, finally got his own house. And after helping all of us (2 brothers and 2 sisters, plus my parents) move in and out of houses (some of us several times-- I'm talking to you Brad!) we are trying to give him at least a little hand in getting moved in himself. To that end, my parents and I spent a few hours carrying and cleaning in preparation for the big move-in.
The house is really cute and has a great backyard.
The layout is nice, and while there are several things he and his fiancee, Krisden, want to update and personalize, it's pretty nice inside too.
In fact the only think I don't like about it is that it is south Knoxville, and the rest of us are up here in the Fountain City area. But, the Henley street bridge was built for just this reason, so we hope to continue to see a lot of Brendan and Krisden, even if they are a few minutes further away.
And so far, Max the dog is not impressed. He is not a fan of hardwood floors, and doesn't yet get to spend the day outside in the yard, so he is reserving judgment for the time being!
So as many of you may know we are a greyhound family. We have three right now, and have had three more in the past. You can't get too far into the greyhound world without at least hearing about lure coursing. However, I had never actually seen it in person. So when I saw a blurb about a local lure coursing event in Powell, I knew I wanted to have a look.
It was just as cool as I had imagined, and I definitely recommend that you attend if you ever get the chance. This event was limited to sight hounds (cousins of the greyhound, like salukis, afghan hounds, whippets, and Rhodesian ridgebacks). There was a varying degree of expertise among the dogs. Some were driven, fast, and focused. Others liked to try a short cut or got off course altogether.
We learned that they are judged on 5 criteria: speed, follow, agility, endurance, and enthusiasm. It was very clear that both dogs and people were having a wonderful time. 
Ok, my niece Riley is REALLY cute. But on the same day my sister commented on my previous post regarding Riley's pink wardrobe,
THIS is what Riley wore to my house. And my sister, in her own defense, claimed that Riley's dad, Drew, was the one who picked out the outfit! Does that make it better or WORSE??!!?
So my sister and I agree about a lot of parenting topics. But one topic on which we disagree is pink clothes for little girls. I don't have anything against pink per se, I just don't think it should be overrepresented just because a child has 2 X chromosomes. When Megan was a little girl, I tried to make sure she had a variety of colors (including some pink, that was unavoidable) in her closet.
Last week, when Riley arrived at my house for our weekly playdate, I exclaimed, "Pinky!" which I call her a lot for obvious reasons. My sister immediately told me that she bet herself a million dollars that I would call Riley that. Well, that was a sure bet. The girl was pink from head to toe (literally). She had a (large) pink bow, pink shirt, pink jacket, pink pants, and, although you can't tell from the picture, pink socks and pink and white shoes. She couldn't have been more pink if she had been born in a Bazooka factory.
The house is really cute and has a great backyard.
The layout is nice, and while there are several things he and his fiancee, Krisden, want to update and personalize, it's pretty nice inside too.
And so far, Max the dog is not impressed. He is not a fan of hardwood floors, and doesn't yet get to spend the day outside in the yard, so he is reserving judgment for the time being!
It was cold. (48º)
Did I mention it was cold? 
and playing,
the cat hid,
and Grandma cooked and cooked.
So as many of you may know we are a greyhound family. We have three right now, and have had three more in the past. You can't get too far into the greyhound world without at least hearing about lure coursing. However, I had never actually seen it in person. So when I saw a blurb about a local lure coursing event in Powell, I knew I wanted to have a look.
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