Car Wreck.

Last Thursday I was involved in a minor car accident and ended up rear ending a lady by the airport. It had been raining all day and the roads were pretty wet. I came over a little overpass and when I got to the top I saw the line of cars stopped at the light. I hit the brakes and slid 50 feet right into the back of her. I was probably doing 30 mph so didn't do to much damage to her car (just dented the bumper and broke the tail light). The majority of the damage was to my car. Everybody was fine and she was super nice about the whole thing. I went around and got various estimates to fix my car and it ended up costing $450, which compared to the first estimate of $1600 was very good news. I am not sure why some were super high but I ended up going through the dealership as they were the cheapest (totally would not have expected that). Even though the car doesn't look at that great it is at least legal to drive and will hopefully get me through the next 2 years and then I can look at a new one. Here are some before and after pictures to show the damage and the fix. I am sure that Jennie has told most of you about this and despite all her remarks, I am not an "idiot driver".

BEFORE:

The front fender and headlight took the most of the damage. The front door only opened so much as the fender was pushed back a little bit.


The headlight was destroyed and was really the only thing I wanted to get fixed as I needed that to be legal.


The hood took a little bit of a beating but not to bad.


The bumper was already broken as someone hit me in a Church parking lot last year and took off, so it really isn't as bad as it looks.

AFTER:

They put a new headlight in, pulled the fender back out as best they could, and made it look the best they could for as little money to me. I really don't care how it looks as long as it runs and is ok to drive.


The fender was pushed back about 12 inches and really a mess so they did a pretty good job with that.


Looks a lot better than it did and happy that I didn't have to spend a lot to fix it.

I am really just glad that no one got hurt and will now have to wait and see what it does to my insurance rates. I still have to go to court for the ticket I got for it and hope that it does not cost too much.

Payton is finally walking.

15 months later and Payton is finally starting to walk around on her own. She has been getting around with the help of furniture for a month or so but was not that interested in trying without until a week or so ago. Now she is walking all over the place. It is amazing how quickly she has picked it up. She is still a little wobbly and gets going too fast from time to time but she is cruising around all over the place. You can really see the difference between the two videos and how much she has progressed in just a week. There are goods and bads with her learning how to walk as she has also figured out how to open the closet door. She can now stand up and reach the handle and pull it down. It is now only a matter of time until she is in to everything. It is truly amazing to watch the kids grow up and am glad that we can be a part of it and watch it all unfold before our eyes. We are so lucky to be blessed with 4 wonderful kids who are healthy and full of energy. I can't wait to watch and see them grow up into young men and young women.

Soccer video highlights from Week 5.

I finally got some video of the kids playing soccer a couple of weeks ago and although I haven't found a decent editing program at least you can see the kids in action a little bit.



Maddux and his team continued their domination of the U6 soccer league by winning 12 - 2. Maddux scored 5 goals but none was more impressive than the coast to coast score in which he dribbled the ball up the field, with his left foot, then passed it to his right, while the defender kept going left, and kicked it in the goal. Maddux's coach has been working with Maddux on his left foot and just about jumped out of his shoes with excitement after that goal. He was so proud of Maddux and was very happy. He does a really good job with the boys and really loves to coach. In the video you will notice that Maddux is very aggressive and in almost every play. There are even a couple of times you will see him catch the other player trying to score and take the ball away.



Brooklyn's team struggled as they played the top team in her league. They haven't lost a game yet and have a couple of really good girls. They have 2 girls in particular who are very aggressive and go after the ball with little or no regard to the other girls. They use their body, push around and throw elbows to keep the defenders away. Most girls are not very aggressive at 7 so when the refs let that go there really isn't anything you can do about it. I got mad because on one particular play one of our girls got in there and took the ball away and the ref called a tripping foul. I couldn't believe that after letting all the other stuff go he called that foul. It was unbelievable. Anyway they ended up losing 4 - 0 and are still looking for their first win. As you will see in the video of Brooklyn she is very content on just running around the field and kicking the ball every once in awhile. She did play goalie the first quarter and did not let anything by her. She can be aggressive when playing their but has not developed the offensive desire at all yet. Her coaches are still waiting for that to come around.

Last week the games were rained out and I am still not sure why. Sure it did rain most of Friday but the fields were not that bad and Saturday was beautiful. It is funny because two weeks prior they let the kids play in the pouring rain but then canceled last weeks. I don't know when they think they are going to make these games up but they are quickly running out of time and we are now up to 2 games that have now been canceled. The weather is getting colder and winter is just around the corner. Soccer in the snow could be fun. Well hopefully we will get the games in this weekend and I will have some more pictures and video. We are hoping to get Brooklyn's team a couple of wins before the season ends.

Bounce City.

Saturday the kids got to go to Bounce City for one of their friend's birthday. Tristan, one of Nolan's best friends, turned 3 and invited all of us to his party. Jennie use to watch him and his little sister everyday and him and Nolan are very close. They are also only a couple of years apart although you would never know it by looking at them. Nolan is probably close to twice the size of Tristan. Anyways the kids had a lot of fun and it was a good way to wear the kids down before bedtime.


Nolan riding a motorcycle with Maddux playing Teken in the background. I am not sure if this is a sign of things to come but Nolan loves riding that motorcycle.


I finally figured out how people win the big prizes on this game.


Maddux, Nolan and Tristan on the giant bouncer.


The blur is Maddux in mid flip.


Look at that tall skinny girl. This is her jumping with the same kinked neck that kept her from playing soccer that morning.


Nolan having a blast jumping in the bouncer.


Payton going down the slide backwards. This was the first time she was able to go in the bouncers and she loved it.


Payton going head over heels into the big boat.


Maddux heading down the giant slide. This was the most popular ride there and the kids went down it over and over and over and over.


Nolan flying down the slide. I love the look on this face. You can tell he is having the time of his life.


That neck doesn't appear to be bothering her at all. Funny how those things work.


Brooklyn coming out of the obstacle course. The changed the height requirements to 48" so she is the only one who can go do right now. Maddux and Nolan use to love it. I heard that their competitor came in one day to check the place out and notified someone that there were smaller kids on it so they had to change the policy. Maddux should be good in a couple more months.

We just wanted to thank Tristan for inviting us to his party and thanks for having a super cool birthday. The kids love bounce city and always have a ton of fun when there.

Soccer Week 4.

Week 4 turned into a mess as we were hit with a lot of rain. The day started with Maddux having his team pictures in the pouring rain. I am not sure why his weren't the same weekend as Brooklyn's but they weren't.


Here are the Red Rhinos.

There was some confusion as the whether or not the games would even be played. The decision was that you were suppose to head to the fields and it would be a ref decision. We showed up at Maddux's game and there was no one there. We waited about 5 minutes and finally we had enough to play 5 on 5. We did have a ref show up and eventually got up to 7 on 7. It was a lot of fun to watch them play in the rain and I think they had a fun time as well. Maddux's team ended up beating the team 9 - 1 with Maddux playing very well. He had two goals and some very nice assists.


Maddux and a couple of his teammates waiting for the game to start.


Maddux starting to break away on one of his two goals.


Waiting for the throw in so he can steal it away.


Breaking out of the pack and taking the ball with him.

As far as Brooklyn's game went her team was the only one that showed up. They did not have one single player from the other team nor the refs show up. I don't know where all the disconnect came from but something they definitely need to work on. It was kind of a good thing that they didn't play because Brooklyn had a kinked neck from jumping on the trampoline that same morning. She couldn't move her neck and was really milking it. I hope they make up the game but not sure if the weather will cooperate for that. The funny thing about the whole situation is that she couldn't move enough to play soccer but that night she had no problem running and jumping around at bounce city. Funny how those things work.

We are suppose to play tomorrow but it is also suppose to rain all morning so hopefully the rain will hold out long enough for us to get the games in.

Tennis Anyone?

Thanks to their Uncle Spencer, who introduced them to it in Florida, the kids have taken an interest in tennis. While Maddux may be a little more interested than Brooklyn and Nolan, they all like to go to the tennis courts and hit the ball around. Jennie and I also bought some new rackets so we could go play with them a little. I just hope we can get out a couple of more times before the weather stops us. Spencer has come up from DC and worked with them a little and has given them some drills that they can do to improve their skills. While I think they just like to hit the ball maybe some of those ideas will stick and they will learn how to play. Anyways, here are some pictures of them working on their skills.


I am sure this is not the correct form and Uncle Spencer would probably be all over her but hopefully we can get that corrected and turn things around.


I wonder where this ball will end up. Looks like she is aiming for the sky.



Maddux returning a shot back. It is funny because the racket is almost as tall as he is.


This is a little better. Nice backhand.


Bring it on. Maddux in his ready position.


This is what you can expect to see after an ace.


Nolan showing how he feels when his brother and sister won't let him play. We now have enough rackets that he has his own.

Soccer Week 3 and Payton Washing Dishes

Well we finally got the computer back and I have all the pictures finally uploaded so I can get back to regular blogging. Lucky for you that means there will be many entries over the next week as I update everyone on what has been going on the last couple weeks. We will start with week 3 of soccer. I don't have a lot of pictures as Brooklyn's game was the same time as Maddux's. I think I got one of Brooklyn's game and then I actually coached Maddux's game so I didn't get any. I think people would have thought I was crazy if I was running around on the field instructing the kids and trying to take pictures at the same time. So in order to make up for it I do have some pictures from Brooklyn's picture day.


Here are the "Red Hawks" coached by Connie Kerr (Brooklyn's grandma) and managed by Jennie.


This is the lone shot I got from Brooklyn's game before I had to leave to go to Maddux's game. Brooklyn played goalie the first quarter and I was able to help her most of the quarter. We have an agreement where she earns $1 for every quarter she doesn't allow a goal. This is the second game in a row I have had to pay up. She has become quite good and stopping the ball and keeping it out of the net. As far as the team goes they ended up tying 2 -2 in a game they probably should have won. From what Jennie tells me the other teams goals really should have been stopped and they should have won the game. The good news is that they didn't lose and are starting to play better. It will be nice for them to finally get a win under their belt and get that first one out of the way. Hopefully this weekend they can pick up their first win.


Individual picture of Brooklyn. They will be coming in trading cards soon.

As I mentioned earlier I was able to coach Maddux's team as one of his coaches went to the OSU football game. It was the second time I have got to do this and is such a blast. I just hope the parents don't think I am nuts as I will usually be running down the field with the kids yelling the whole way. Maddux did play a pretty good team and with him just getting over a nasty cold he wasn't at his best. He still played pretty well but the team tied 2 - 2 on a last second goal from the other team. Maddux's team was up 2 - 0 going into the last quarter and one of his own teammates took the ball and kicked it into his own goal. He obviously forgot which way he was going and was just happy he had the chance to score. Then with time expiring his team couldn't clear the ball from the goal and a kid came in and kicked the ball in right in front of the net. It was tough to lose the game that way, being the coach, but the kids had a lot of fun and I had a blast running around with them. However, I may not be asked to coach again as I followed up a 16 - 2 game with a 2 - 2 game.

On a side note just wanted to throw in some pictures of Payton and her willingness to help with the dishes. Whenever Jennie or I start to loan or unload the dishwasher and Payton is around she loves to come over and climb on the door to help. She obviously gets that urge from my side and only hope that that same enthusiasm stays with her during her teenage years.


Tell me that is not one of the most adorable things you are ever seen.


Helping load the bowls in the dishwasher.

I apologize for the delay in getting these up and hope to have Week 4 and a couple other posts up in the next day or two.