It's Official...

This afternoon after work, I took Shelby to get her driver's license. She was so very excited (and I was a tad sad as I rather enjoyed our drives to South every morning). There is no school tomorrow, but there is a band practice from 10-2. Shelby will of course make her first official drive by herself (while tempted to follow behind - I will be a big girl and sit at home anxiously waiting for her to let me know she made it). Congrats, Shelby. We are very proud of you!

Ottawa Tortures Tabor

It was all Ottawa on Saturday afternoon in Hillsboro, KS when our own Ottawa Braves played the Tabor Bluejays, winning by a score of 79-6. Brenton and Matt were in the press box, Max, Jake, and CJ all played brilliantly - Clint is still nursing his knee. I drove Brenton, Matt, and Jake back to Ottawa - other than talking about how bad Tabor was but how "smokin hot" the girls at Tabor were - they all managed to take naps on the way home - winning so big must be exhausting. Ottawa has a bye week next week, then plays St. Marys. Go Braves. On another note, Shelby completed her second 2-hour drive with the driver's ed instructor - one more and I lose my chauffeur :(

JV Victorious Over Baker

We got to see Ottawa JV beat Baker tonight - 22-12. Shelby drove me in her new car and did a fabulous job (even getting stuck very bad highway traffic). Brenton's roommate, Jake (19), got to play as did fellow 213 Crew member Clint (37) and of course our very own Brenton (54). We also had a sense of deja vu as one of Baker's QBs was none other than ex-SMS Raider, Dustin King. Brenton played much better tonight and the only downside was Clint spraining his knee (hope it isn't too bad). The JV team has a few weeks off and then gets to play Baker in Ottawa on October 19th. By the way, the Ottawa Braves moved up in the polls - to No. 11 (they are now ranked higher than my alma mater, MNU). Go Braves!

Shelby's New Ride

Tim and I surprised Shelby with a car of her very own. It is a Silver 1997 Oldsmobile 88. Needless to say, she was VERY excited and surprised. A picture (or three) is worth a thousand words. Now to trick it out with Raider stickers and she will be good to go!

Another Nailbiter - If you don't believe me - look at Brenton's gloves

The finger in Brenton's gloves is chewed apart thanks to another come from behind victory by our beloved Ottawa Braves (the parents are thinking of requesting a defibrillator for the stands). Falling behind 21-7 in the 3rd quarter, No. 22 ranked Sterling College had momentum, the officials (goodness, we obviously have pissed off them as the calls were REALLY bad this game - Sterling had 2 penalties all night while you needed a calculator to keep track of ours), the mosquitoes and other flying things (boy, Sterling is in serious need of some bug zappers) and were cruising to victory (with 5 fat guys in kilts standing in the end zone?????). Then, much to our surprise (although now it seems like habit), quarterback Ethan Haller "came out of his coma" (quote by Jake Johnson), our defense came out of theirs, and the fans (and the sideline) got really loud. Speaking of loud, the Sterling football team must also have cheerleader scholarships as they led all of the cheers the ENTIRE game - their fans must have been confused as they were yelling soccer cheers throughout the game. Very odd indeed; however, I would love to see our sideline get that involved (my voice can't stand much more of this - I am starting to sound like a man). When all was said and done, the score was Ottawa 23 Sterling 21 and I had 4 smelly boys in my van headed back to O-Town. I can now tell you about high school/college football, basketball, baseball, and track stories, dodge ball stories, and who is "smokin hot" (another Jake Johnson quote). The boys did decide this team is dominated by the number 5 - last year, their season ended because of 5 points (a one point loss to Friends and a 4 point loss to Sterling) - this year, the last two games have been decided by 5 points (a 3 point victory over McPherson and a 2 point victory last night). Standing at 4-0, Game 5 is next week vs Southwestern - the last time Ottawa was 4-0 they lost Game 5 vs (you guessed it) Southwestern. Here's hoping for a different outcome this time. Go Braves!

Rompin, Stompin, Raider Band in OP Parade

Next up, was taking Shelby to downtown Overland Park to carry the banner for the Rompin, Stompin, Raider Band. They were 40th in the parade and if it was like last year, they were by far the best in the parade. I, of course, had to miss the actual parade (see next blog entry). It was a tad warm in wool/poly blend, but not as bad as previous years. Next up for the band - another home game (Friday) and then the Blue Springs Marching Festival (Saturday).

C&P Environmental Day 2009 - Ernie Miller Park

The 3rd Annual C&P Environmental Day found me once again at Ernie Miller Park with my loppers to help cut back the trails. Of course, we met bright and early (7:30 a.m.) at Casa Eschbacher (having recently returning from Afghanistan, we signed him up for hosting) and had breakfast, Bloody Marys, and Mimosas. The weather was great and we found some interesting things along the path (why would anyone feel compelled to take off their underwear while hiking?) Lunch followed; however, I did not get to go as I had to move on to my next stop of the day - Delivering Shelby to the OP Parade (See next blog entry).