Arrived in OK

I arrived in Oklahoma. The wind blew like crazy! Can't say I enjoyed the trek through Kansas, just a bunch of brown rolling hills.... boring!! And nothing like having to search for a good radio station over and over and over. But I made good time and arrived at my initial destination at my target time. I then went to the branch office and got acquainted briefly with some co-workers whom I had never met then made it to one other shop. It's a good thing though I had the GPS along for the trip (which is compliments of my inlaws who let me borrow it).

I can't say that eating alone at the resturant was any fun but the food was good. Applebees. I guess I should have tried some place I don't normally have access to but given it was close to the motel and kept me from having to hit the turnpike again or go in circles because the outer roads around here are only 1 way, I decided to eat where it was close to the hotel.

Ok, is it hotel or motel? What is the difference? Is it motel if there is only the 1 level? Does multiple floors make it a hotel? Somebody let me know on that one.

Tomorrow I will arise as early as I can and then head of for shop visits. I found out it will be me solo making visits. Then tomorrow after I visit the last one I'll head to Tulsa to spend the night for the auto meeting on Thursday.

Trip to Oklahoma

I will be leaving Tuesday morning for a business trip to OKC and Tulsa. I will be making shop visits at the body shops I work with on late Tuesday and all day Wednesday and then attending an auto meeting in Tulsa on Thursday. I'm glad the bad weather has come and gone already.

Visit from brother

My brother Jason and his wife Gina were home this weekend from MN. It was good to see them. Gina is doing great with the pregnancy and we're all anxious to know what the new little one will be. We all gathered at my folks house Friday night for supper and my brother Justin and wife Megan were there with little ones Rhett and Allison. Next weekend we will celebrate Rhett's first birthday.

Chase's Traveling Basketball

Chase played in the last tournament Saturday and they won all 3 games. They finished the season 13 - 3, only losing to one team, Kirksville. It was a great experience all the way around.

M-I-Z......Z-O-U

I'm not that in to college basketball, but my office is filled with alot of Mizzou fans so when you are continually hearing about something it can sway you to take an interest. Last night, I watched the game, Mizzouri vs. Memphis and saw a really good game and an amazing shot at the half-time buzzer from about 65 ft. It was nothing but net.

With my talk about music earlier this week and now some Mizzou basketball, it brought me to my original experience of Mizzou basketball and Van Halen. Ok, here I go, about to assign the age to the person.....it was either 1983 or 1984 and my friend Tonya asked me to go with her to a game. Her neighbor had a couple of extra tickets and they asked her to go and to bring along a friend. I got to be the lucky chosen one.

So what I can remember is there were 2 approx 13 year old girls sporting white long sleeve panama jack t-shirts with Lee jeans on who thought they were something special. I remember 2 players, Jon Sundvold and Steve Stipanovich and hearing "Jump" for the first time by Van Halen played at the game. I really doubt that anybody noticed us, especially since our seats were in the "nose bleed" section.

Ah, those were the years!!!

Music

After I posted the thing on Chicago I got to thinking about how my liking for music has changed and then changed back over the years. Seems like when I was in high school there was a lot of heavy metal groups, geez, I can't even remember the group names. Maybe I remember the fact that heavy metal was so popular because the guys always played it on the band trips. Music would be blarring out of the windows. I also remember when Cyndi Lauper was the new craze.

I reached a point in my early twenties that I kind of made the switch to country but none of that twangy crap. And I guess I do still like the newer country. I have gone to my share of country concerts. In fact, I remember waiting in line all day at the MO State Fair in the early 90's to see Vince Gill. And if anybody has ever been to the state fair in August, it is one hot puppy!!! But I would still wait in line to see him again. But I guess my true liking would be pop and soft rock, or whatever they call Doughery's music.

When I returned from lunch I heard Doughtery on the radio. I like his style of music. He's got some great songs out. Then I heard Rasberry Beret by Prince and that is a great song too. Now the artist might be a little quirkey, but the music is good. There will always be some classics like Journey. I get my share of listening to music commutting to and from work!!

The 4 Year Plan

Tonight we go to the high school with Chase to figure out his 4 year plan. Freshman can't be enrolled until this is completed. Not really sure what he wants to be when he grows up, then again, neither do I.

By the way, grade cards came out last week and Chelsey got all A's but Chase did very well too with 3 A's and 1 A minus, 4 B+'s and 1 B. Sure can't complain about that.

Hunter Safety Course

Chelsey is making her uncle Jason proud by attending the Hunter Safety Course this week. Now she will be all ready for hunting when he comes home.

Prada Award for the Day

As London Tipton would say, "yeah me". Ok, I know, a little silly. When you watch kids shows with your own kids, like Zach and Cody, you pick up sayings like "yeah me". But, I have been bestowed the Prada Award for the Day from by good friend and co-worker Kathleen for mixing patterns in my outfit. I guess it would be easier for this to be confirmed by all those who are wondering "what is she wearing?" if I would post a picture. Let's don't and say I did anyway!! I just have on a cream skirt with a black floral pattern with a wide black band all the way around the bottom and and sweater set that is cream but the band around the bottom of it has 9 pinstripes of black as does the cuffs on the arms. The edge of the jacket has 2 black pinstripes and the V around the shell has 2 black pinstripes. ( I know, it's hard to picture.)

Chelsey's New Adventure...... Braces

Chelsey and I went to Hannibal a couple of weeks ago and confirmed what we already knew in a consultation that braces were in her near future. Her dad took her yesterday to get the impressions taken as well as the full mouth x-ray. She was not impressed by the "flavored" impressions, she said it didn't even come close to bubble gum. We go back on April 4 to get the results, go over her course of treatment, fork over all the money I have an don't have (ha) and get spacers. Not something I wish she had to go through but she wants to get it over with. So at least she's on board with the inevitible.

Chicago

No, not the city, the musical group. I was on my way home last night from work and on the radio came a Chicago song - You're The Inspiration. I had not heard this song in a long time. Just made me remember how much I liked this band when I was in high school. This song was from their Chicago 17 album which I had memorized from one end to the other. This was a great song.

5th Grade Girls End Searson with Win

The 5th grade girls ended their season with a win against N. Shelby with a score of 11-8 in the Shelbina Lions Club Tournament. It's been a learning season for all and the girls have really made great strides. We had some real strategy at the end with the score being so close and the girls stepped up and handled things really well. I look forward to next year.

Chase played this weekend in the Madison Tournment and played 4 games. They won their first three games qualifying for the championship game but lost to Kirksville. All in all, they have much to be proud about. They will finish they traveling team season next weekend at Schulyer County.

As of 3-18-09 Wednesday

Wasn't yesterday just a wonderful beautiful tease of a day??? During lunch I walked across the street to what they call the gardens here and sat and at my lunch wishing I didn't have to return to work. I guess today might be the same but I haven't found my way out of my cubicle. Doesn't office work just suck!!!!!!!!!!

Chelsey had a game last night in the Shelbina Tournament and the girls lost. They play again tonight againt Philadelphia and hear they are pretty good. I wish I knew why she didn't like my outfit last night - shorts, a t-shirt and tennis shoes....I was dressed just like she was and she says to me, "are you wearing that to the game???". Geez, they cut me no slack. Yes, I wore the shorts, t-shirt and tennis shoes!!

Chase had practice in Paris with the traveling basketball team SWAT and tells me he has another 8 am game Saturday in Paris. Oh the joys of weekend committments when all I want to do is sleep in.

I laughed at my brothers comment on my facebook page about Chase's hair - he said for Chase just to use that money he sent for his birthday for a hair cut!! If anybody out there has a quik fix for convincing the now 14 yr old that he needs a hair cut, please, fill me in. I know, exercise my parental authority.....easier said than done when it comes to some things, like the hair. I shouldn't complain, his grades are good, he has lots of friends and he doesn't get into trouble. My plate could be way worse than him just needing a hair cut.

Chelsey's Simple Machine Invention

Chelsey has had a project for science class to make a simple machine invention. She chose to make an automatic dog feeder where the dog would step on the board and it would cause the holding tank to dump the feed in the bowl. She and her dad have been busy the last couple days and it was finished tonight. I especially liked the foot paddle where she put two dog paws on it. If you look real close in the top picture on the right you can see part of one paw in blue and the other in green.

By the looks of the size of the bone Sadie is working on, she's not getting very far on the bone, so she just might use this new invention alot. I think the bone is just a wee bit big for this little weiner dog!

Ballgames, Birthday, ER visit & new addition to the McWilliams Family

Let's just say I'm beat!!!! The weekend started off with me having a headache all of Friday but I worked and then Chase's ball tournament started in Paris with a 7:30 pm game against Hannibal. They won by like 10 points. Their game Saturday was at 8 am so Chase and his dad left early and I waited to get Chelsey up and got her to my dad's by 7:30 am and then I headed to the game. Her aunt Megan was coming to pick her up a little later so Chelsey would watch Rhett and Allison while Megan helped her brother get situated in his new apt. in Shelbina.

The game Saturday morning was against Cairo. Let me start out by saying that Chase had two incredible games on his birthday. It was a close game and right at the end, Chase scored 2 free throws that tied up the game at the end of regulation throwing the game into OT. During the 2 min. OT, nobody scored so it went into sudden death. We won the jump ball and after a few times of passing the ball around, Chase made the winning shot.

Chase and I headed to Hannibal to get his new phone, part of his birthday. It didn't turn out to be the most pleasant of experiences. He wanted a phone which required an addtional 24.95 per month for the data pkg which I refused to pay. He wasn't going to get one at all but I put my foot down. Seems like the one he settled on his working out just fine though.

We got back to Shelbina, I took Chase home and then went to check out Chelsey watching Rhett and Allison. By this time my headache was really showing its true colors. I took a nap after taking some medicine and that seemed to help a little. Later that night Chelsey said to me about watching an 11 month old " you can't turn your back for a second, the minute I did he was headed to the toliet". I remember those days!!!

We arrived back at Paris about 4:30 pm waiting for the 6 pm game. This time we played Lancaster. We had already joked with the boys telling them their team name needing to be changed to the Cardiac Kids with all the close games they had played 2 weeks ago and so far this weekend. As they game turned out, Chase scored a 3 pointed which tied the game, we got the ball back and with 1.2 seconds on the clock, Zane went to the line to shoot 2 free throws and made them both. Win number 3 was in the books so this assured us of playing the next day.

The game was over by 6:45 pm so we hurried back to Shelbina to get Chelsey to the movies, ordered pizza and one of Chase's friends game over for his birthday. At some point, I fell asleep on the couch and woke up to the phone ringing somewhere around 11:40 pm. My dad was having a breathing attack so we took him to the ER in Hannibal. It turned out he had pneumonia. All the other tests turned out good so they started a round of I-IV antibiotics and did another breathing treatment and said he would be able to be released for treatment at home. Justin and I got back to Shelbina somewhere around 4:30 am.
Chase started out Sunday by playing at 4 pm against Mexico. It was a very low scoring game but we won, something like 24-19. This put us in the championshiop game against Mid-Mo Suns. Once again it came down to the wire and we won by 1 point. It was a great tournament and I couldn't have been prouder of the way Chase handled himself on the court. And......the Matt and Tara McWilliams Family have added a new addition to their family (Matt is my cousin)......a BOY - Jace Matthew McWilliams, born 3-15-09, weighed 7 lb. 11 oz. and was 20" long. He joins a sister, Callie Nicole.

Happy Birthday Chase - 14 on March 14th

Tomorrow my baby - well not my baby - but Chase was my first baby - will be 14. He stands about 5'10" now and weighs in at 130 lbs. Chase Owen Gaines - March 14, 1995 - weighed 6 lbs 12 oz.

Chase and one of his turkey's during a youth hunt.

This was taken in August 2001. He would have been almost 6 1/2 yrs.
Christmas 2007.
Summer 2008, age 13.

A Cute Perspective of Young Children

1. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?

-You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like,
if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and
she should keep the chips and dip coming. -- Alan, age 10

-No person really decides before they grow up who they're
going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to
find out later who you're stuck with. -- Kristen, age 10

2. WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

-Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person
FOREVER by then.-- Camille, age 10

3. HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

-You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at
the same kids.-- Derrick, age 8

4. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
-Both don't want any more kids.-- Lori, age 8

5. WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
-Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to
know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long
enough. -- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

-On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them
interested enough to go for a second date. -- Martin, age 10

6. WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
-When they're rich. -- Pam, age 7

-The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess
with that. -- Curt, age 7

-The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry
them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do. -- Howard, age 8

7. IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

-It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to
clean up after them. -- Anita, age 9(bless you child )

8. HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T
GET MARRIED?

-There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?-- Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is........

9. HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
-Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump
truck . -- Ricky, age 10

A Random Email I Received I Thought Was Funny

1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time.... I know
where my watch is pal, do you see me point at my butt when I ask where the
bathroom is?

2. People who are willing to get off their butt to search the entire room
for the T.V. remote because they refuse to walk to the T.V. and change the
channel manually.

3. When people say 'Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too'. You
got that right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?

4. When people say 'it's always the last place you look'. Of course it is.
Why the heck would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this?

5. When people say while watching a film 'did you see that?'. No Loser, I
paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the stupid floor..

6. People who ask 'Can I ask you a question?'..... Didn't really give me a
choice there, did ya sunshine?

7. When something is 'new and improved!' Which is it? If it's new, then
there has never been anything before it.. If it's an improvement, then there
must have been something before it, couldn't be new.

8. When people say 'life is short'. What the heck?? Life is the longest
thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?

9. When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks 'Has the bus come
yet?'. If the bus came, would I still be standing here ?

Happy 29th Birthday Justin

I am scrambling trying to find a picture of Justin. Here is one with him and Chelsey at Jason's wedding almost 2 yrs ago.

I was 11 when Justin was born 3-4-1980. Sort of funny how the numbers work out. I was 11 when Justin was born and 15 when Jason was born. When Chase was born in 1995, Justin was 15 and Jason was 11. When Lola was expecting Justin, I think it was always a given that he was a boy. We didn't know, they didn't do ultrasounds much then. Dad called him J.W. which stood for Justin Wayne, which as we all know, was what he was named. Funny thing though, he was never called that. Dad ended up calling him Juddy Wayne, or his little Juddy Buddy, and then, as he got older, it just got shortened to Jud. Funny thing how nicknames start and stick. Family and friends alike all call Justin by his nickname, Jud. I was never prouder than the day I learned I had a brother, and then 4 years later was blessed with another, Jason. Granted, I was out of the house when the boys were only 8 and 4, but staying close allowed me to be around them alot and I hardly missed a ballgame or a cattle show. I hope they know how much a love them and how proud I am for all they have accomplished.

Can you feel the love here???? They were supposed to be dancing together as they were both Jr. Bridesmaid and Jr. Groomsman.....they both were out there under protest!!!!!!!!!!!

Me

Much of the same - completely and hopelessly devoted to the Bachelor, which ended this week and American Idol. Television is my downfall, without it, I just couldn't go on. (well, I'd sure get alot more done at home without it anyway!!)

Chase - The last few weeks

Saturday was a very long day. What we do for our kids!! The traveling basketball team Chase plays for had a tournment in Moberly. They played games at 9 am, 2 pm, 5 pm and 8 pm. They won the first game 50-49; won the second 38-37; lost the third 47-37 and lost the last 54-50. It was 4 very good games of basketball and I was very proud of Chase. One of my reasons for letting him play on this team was hoping he would gain additional playing time increasing his ability to play the game. I thought it would be good to play with boys he did not know. And was I ever right. I would say in the first game alone he handled the ball more than I saw him handle it season during middle school ball. He played with such confidence. Of course there were turnovers, most of us don't play the game without doing that, but he played the game like I had never seen him play and he was scoring from the 3 point range. It was really awesome. It was also cool to see the friendships developing with the other players that are on the team. I look forward to the next few weeks of play. (Not that I look forward to multiple hours setting on hard bleachers.) They have a tournament March 14 in Paris, the next weekend in Sturgeon and the next weekend either in Columbia or an alternate location depending on the team vote - I haven't heard the outcome yet.

Other than Saturday morning baseball practice along with basketball, not sure what else to report on Chase. I guess he did go to a birthday party 2 weekends ago at the father buhman center in Shelbina for a couple girls turning 15. He frequently tells me he has no homework, which, the online grade review says he's doing fine in school, so I guess I should quit worrying about that. Other than the typical arguements, I would guess that he is normal for being 13. Or shall I say soon to be 14 as he will celebrate his 14th birthday March 14.

Chelsey - The last few weeks.

I think it will be easier to start from now and go backwards.

Chelsey, with the 5th grade girls basketball team, started the Monroe Tournament this week and we lost our first game. We had one girl out sick and Chelsey herself has been fighting a terrible cold. They play again Thursday and if they win would play again Friday and if they win there would play Saturday at 11 a.m. On Saturday, we also start the Leonard Tournament - we have a game scheduled there at 10 a.m. so there could be a conflict but I don't want to get the cart before the horse - we'll see how tomorrow plays out in Monroe. If we lose, we are done at Monroe.

On a growing note.....Chelsey informed me that she needed new jeans. We bought jeans in August, this is how many months later....going on 7......yep, an inspection of the jeans while she had them on revealed she could use a couple more pair. If this hasn't been an ordeal. I ordered a pair from Aeropostale online couple weeks ago, a 1/2 short, and although a little big, they fit without looking sloppy so we kept them. I went to Old Navy this past Friday and found 2 pair of size 14, one on clearance and the other on sale, since her jeans in August were size 12, I thought the next size would be good. I was proved wrong. The length was ok but extremely tight around the waist, well, not exactly the waist, since they are so low, but let's just say around the middle way they land and she tries to fasten. I would say after, oh, 15 mintues, breathing would be impaired!!! lol. Yesterday, I found myself back at Old Navy returning the ones that did not fit and looking in the Jr. section. I pulled out a size 0, 1 and 2 and tried to pick the ones that had a "short" length. After all, she is only eleven. I found 3 pair, all a little different, that were comparable in length to the 14's that fit in length, just too tight, and that gave her a little more room around the middle.

I took them home and they basically all 3 fit but we decided on one pair that worked the best. So now I'll be back to Old Navy to return the other 2. What else is there to do on my lunch break?!?!

She spent Friday night with the Baker girls since Chase had a ball tournament in Moberly all day Saturday. She was fine with that as it is like her second home away from home and got to go a birthday party with them.

On Thursday of last week, the 5th grade girls played North Shelby, there, a rematch of the Clarence Tournament and once again won the game. Of course I have no stats on the game as I coach, which also means I have no pictures of her playing. We're going to have to do something about that.

They played in the Clarence Tournament the week of Feb. 16 and they won their first game against North Shelby, 20 to 16. I do, however, remember the score to that game since that is the most points they have scored all season. Since there were only 5 teams that shot them straight to Saturday's game for 1st where they met up with Paris and were handed a defeat.