Stef Advances to the State Track Meet

Well...she did it....Stef advances to the Wisconsin State Track & Field Meet! Yeah, we're all so proud of her...She didn't advance in the 100 m hurdles...she just missed that by 3 1/100ths of a second. She was disappointed. No, I wouldn't say disappointed. She was really mad at herself. At the end of the race she looked to see her competitor and took her eye off the goal and hence, lost by a nose....But it made her that good kind of mad that comes from deep down within your gut and she wasn't going to let it happen again. So, she put her head back on for the 300 m hurdles and finished a great race advancing herself to State. Now she can say she is one of the top 300m hurdlers in the state of Wisconsin. That's a pretty big honor.

Here's a picture of her taken at the Whitewater Regional meet held on Monday:



We all went to the meet...Scott, Jake and me! And, we had the privilege of having Stefanie's Uncle Paul (my brother) join us. He's here from California to shoot a wedding and mixed in family visits. It just so happened that the Sectional meet fell on his visit and he said he wouldn't miss it. So he braved the yucky weather and took lots of pictures of his niece and the rest of the Lakeside team (who, by the way, won the girl's team Sectional Title!!) It was great having him join us.

And, Stef had another set of spectators at the meet. Her boyfriend and his mom and dad and younger sister came as well. That meant a lot to Stefanie and then after the meet we joined them for a meal at Culver's. It was a great finish to a great day!!

A Weekend Get Away!

Well, the weekend came and went quickly. Probably because we looked forward to it with great anticipation. It was much needed and definitely not long enough. At Christmas time I gave Scott a weekend away to Door County at a quaint bed and breakfast in Ephraim, WI. It's called the French Country Inn and it is certainly a great way to relax and rejuvenate yourself. The Innkeeper is Walt ( and his wife Joan is rarely seen....she tends the gorgeous gardens surrounding the home) and he makes a scrumptious continental plus breakfast. Plus the conversations with him are so enlightening.

Our room this time had a private bath (12 years ago we went and shared a bath) and used to be a porch so it was graced with windows on both sides. Our bed was not the King size we're accustomed to so we got to snuggle.....didn't mind that at all. Scott just remarked that he felt like he was in his parent's home....lol

On Saturday we went to Bailey's Harbor and watched the Scottie dog rally.....rather eccentric people but aren't most dog people eccentric? (That one was for you, Peggy...lol) They had a parade with LOTS of Scottie dogs and there was a Arts & Crafts Fair on the Town Hall lawn.....found some unique buys (beach glass earrings wrapped in sterling silver wire and also a beautiful wreath for our front door) and thoroughly enjoyed people watching.

It got a littly rainy during the day so we were going to take in "The Glass Menagerie" play at the community theatre in Ephraim. Everyone else had the same idea so it was already sold out when we got there......so we hopped in the car and went to the "tip of the thumb" of Wisconsin and watched the shoreline for quite some time. Then back to the b& b for a wicked game of scrabble. Scott was boasting about how he was kicking my butt. Then on the last word I scored like 48 points and beat him....I tried to be humble, but it was difficult since he was being such a poor winner throughout the game.....

Anyhow, here's a picture of the French Country Inn at Christmastime.....if you're ever in Door County, Wisconsin and need a relaxed place to stay...this is it:




Today is the new season in track for Stefanie. Post season. She has her regional competition this afternoon. Please keep her in your thoughts....she's nervous, yet ready...

Have a great day!

Capitol Conference Champions!

Well, the Lady Warriors did it again. Another Capitol Conference Track Championship!! It was an exciting day and the weather was miserable. I think that I should be a meteorologist.....it's just a guessing game...and they guessed wrong. They said the storms would be done by the afternoon....NOT!! It rained, it rained and it rained. And the kids ran, and ran and ran some more. Stefanie fared well. She won both the 100m and 300m hurdlers and her relay team 4 x 200m took 2nd. Unfortunately at the meet last Friday one of the relay team members went down on the track holding her knee... She had an MRI on Monday...waiting to hear the results...hope it's not a torn ACL.....Then at the meet yesterday ANOTHER member of the relay team injured her back long jumping and she had to scratch from every running event she was in.....So, it was disappointing for the sprint relay teams and yet the Warriors still pulled off the team win.....it was great.

Here are some photos of Stefanie at a past meet......(notice the sun!!!)





This is Stefanie handing off to the #2 runner in the relay. She was the one that injured her back yesterday......



And, here Stef's running the 100m hurdles on a nice day, with a dry track.

Have a great day! Thanks for tuning in!

Blog, Blog I'm Off the Log

My sister, Peggy and I have this ongoing joke. Everytime we want the other to post something we leave a comment......"Blog, blog...get off the log." She started it....she must have thought she was some sort of poet that day.....but it's been ongoing and it makes me chuckle everytime I get the comment. So, here's to sister Peggy, sister Peggy, sister Peggy......

She wanted me to make an entry about our daughter's Prom this past Saturday. At her school they call it May Banquet instead....All the festivities are done right at the school....social hour, grand march, dinner, entertainment and then the dance. I think it's a great way to do it and keeps the kids contained which minimizes opportunity for trouble, etc. Also at her school everyone can attend, not just juniors and seniors. I like that too because it's not such a big deal. Stef says, "Mom, it's just a dance that we get dressed up for." True.....wise beyond her years.

Peggy also wanted me to post some photos......Here goes:




These are all of Stef's girlfriends. Stef's in the lavender dress. Such a nice group of friends.




Stef and her date Phil.....They had a great time. He got a little sick of all the photos but was a good sport anyway.....lol



We hosted the "after party" at our house. About 14 kids came and they had a great time. When they got here they went out back and made a fire. Then at 02:03.04 on 05/06/07 we took this picture. History in the making....this exact time won't occur again for 1000 years. I thought it was neat....the kids were like...okay....back to their party....



Kids started leaving at about 9 in the morning.....after little to no sleep. I caught this one on the front steps after Stef and Phil gave each other a good bye hug.....they still looked pretty refreshed....amazingly.

I then crashed.......because of course I stayed up all night long. It was my 45th birthday on Sunday and I spent most of the day catching up on sleep.....

There, Peggy....I'm off the log.....now it's YOUR turn....

Happy Birthday, Dad!! Happy Half-Birthday, Stef!!

Well, today would be my Dad's 78th birthday here on earth. Instead he's having birthday cake with the King! Dad, remember to blow out ALL your candles, okay?

It's also my daughter's HALF birthday. She's 16 and a HALF. (That's a BIG thing to a teenager....it was even bigger when she was 12 and a HALF and she constantly reminded me that she was ALMOST a teenager). I went into her room this morning and wished her a Happy Half Birthday and she said, "It's Grandpa Bob's birthday today, too!" Then, a pause as she collected her thoughts and realized he isn't here anymore. And she said, "I bet he's having a great time up in heaven." I bet he is.

Dad's birthday always went with Stefanie's half birthday. And, somehow I believe it ALWAYS will. May 4th will always remind me of two people I love.....my dad and my daughter.