The Week Behind, and Ahead...

It was a pretty quiet week after Clint and Sarah left. I don't know that anything happened that was way out of the ordinary. Austin and Caitlin went to school Thursday morning, and Austin went to see Ms. Tonya at the "Big School" on Friday. Yesterday morning, Kim and I dropped them off at Lynn's house, and we had a rare day to ourselves. A long time friend of mine always offers us Notre Dame football tickets every year, so yesterday we drove up and saw them play Kim's alma mater, Purdue. We had a great time. We got there a little early and walked around, and then did the same after the game. It was really a perfect day, in the upper 70's and not a cloud in the sky. We stopped for dinner on the way home, finally pulling in the driveway at about 11:30 last night. Kim is picking up the kids now from Lynn's, I just got back from a workout, and it should be a fun day around here. Maybe this afternoon we will go pick out pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. If not, we will do it next weekend.

Kim and the kid's are going up to spend the night at her Mom's tomorrow night. It will be the first time that Austin and Caitlin get to meet their new cousin! I am sure there will be plenty of pictures to post when they get back!

I don't usually put up anything on here about work, but it is exciting around Conseco Fieldhouse. Tomorrow is Media Day for the team, and then we start practice Tuesday. We have scouting meetings for the next week or so. Also, I am excited as I got a promotion about a week ago to Assistant Director of Scouting. I think the team will be better, and I am excited to have more responsibility, so I am glad that this week is finally upon us. I won't be travelling out of town until the middle of next month, so Daddy will still be around.

Well, Kim and the kids should be home any minute, so gotta go!

a side comment from mommy...

i wanted to blog about caitlin's "beauty shop" experience...it was awesome! i don't know where it came from, but in the past couple of weeks she's turned into a TOTAL girly-girl! calling herself a princess, playing dress up, worrying about her accessories (bracelet, barrettes that MATCH her outfit), and choosing her own clothes (which must be dresses or skirts)! so, i thought it would be fun to play beauty shop while the boys were out doing their thing. it started with a luxurious bubble bath. then she got dressed and we put curlers in her hair while i used the blow dryer. next came the greatest moment of her life...i'm not gonna say she's a drama queen, but she'll go dakota fanning on you in a heartbeat! anyway, i began painting her fingernails and as i was doing that, she leaned her head next to my ear and whispered in a bewildered voice, "wow", "beautiful", "gorgeous". it was the sweetest thing in the whole world!!!! we also did her toes and she couldn't stop admiring her new "pink fingers and toes". i love when she and i get to spend some time together to bond over "girl stuff"! sarah joined in the fun and got some GREAT pictures!!!! i can't wait till she forwards them so i can share with everyone! :)

Fun with Clint and Sarah

Clint and Sarah have been here visiting. They flew in on Wednesday afternoon and left early this morning. We had a great time with them. The kids loved them, and I know they are going to be sad when they wake up this morning and realize they are gone. Everytime they come we hear Austin and Caitlin talk about them right up until they visit again.

They got to experience a trip to "Bounce Zone", a place full of those inflatable things kids can jump all over, and Clint and I took Austin to get a haircut and a cookie at the bakery while the girls did a little beauty shop thing. Caitlin has been big on wearing dresses and necklaces and stuff, lately. She got her nails painted for the first time. They also got to play outside with them quite a bit, see Austin mow the yard with me, we all went to church Saturday evening, and we all went to the zoo yesterday. It was a lot of fun. We always look forward to seeing them, and it is so great to see them playing and interacting with the kids.

We can't wait for the next time!

These are a few of the pictures that we have. We will add more when Sarah can get us the one's from her camera. She has ALOT of pictures!

The Last Week

Sorry it has been a little bit since we got a post up here. It was a little hectic. I ended up going to El Paso on Thursday to attend the Memorial Service for Coach Haskins. UTEP and the family did a great job of putting together a really nice evening to remember him. It was pretty awesome in that just about everyone that had anything to do with the basketball program over the past 48 years was there. Former players, coaches, referees, friends...it was really quite a gathering. Nolan Richardson, who played on Coach Haskins original team at UTEP, just about all of the 1966 National Championship team, Antonio Davis, Tim Hardaway, Tim Floyd, Billy Gillispie, Doc Sadler...Amazing to see how many people Coach Haskins really meant a lot to. He had a way of making everyone feel like you were his best friend. After the service, they hosted a really nice reception where everyone just kind of got to mingle and talk to one another. I was really glad that I went, although the occassion was very sad.

Earlier in the week, it was interesting talking to the kids about it. They are pretty much on top of everything around here, so especially on Monday, they could tell that Daddy was "sad." So, of course they wanted to know why, especially Peanut. Obviously, they don't need the full on explanation, but I did explain that Daddy has a friend that he won't be able to see anymore. It seemed to appease their curiosity. They are both so sweet. Caitlin was good for some cuddles and kisses, and Austin's spontaneous hugs will cure about any ill. Both are great about letting you know that they love you. It is great as a parent to see these guys learn to be empathetic and loving.

The week finished pretty fun for Kim and I. Kim had planned a day at Springhill Camps for our small group and any other friends that could go on Sunday. Unfortunately, not everyone could go, but Carrie and Andy came down from Ft. Wayne, and Angie was able to go. Justin and Bethany were in Florida celebrating Kellen's 1st birthday, Nell and Jared were home, as Nell is within a month or so of having their first baby, and Justin was a little under the weather. We were able to spend a fun Saturday evening with Carrie and Andy, without each of our sets of twins! We had a fun dinner at Red Robin and then came home and watched some football and just got to catch up and hang out. Anyway, this camp is out in the woods and is pretty much a kids camp during the summer, but you can go down with a group and do different activities. We did a zip line that was about 40 feet high and went over a lake, we climbed a rock wall that was about 40 feet high, we did some trap shooting, and some archery. It was a great day. A zipline is way out of my comfort zone, but after the first couple of seconds it was a lot of fun. I even did it a 2nd time!

While we were down there, and especially when we got home, we got some incredible winds from the remnants of Ike. We had 39 mph winds that were gusting to 59 mph. There was stuff flying all over the place. Our grill took a tumble. At first glance, I just need to replace the ignition button, and I hope that is all the damage that it got.

Well, that is about it, I guess. We are all looking forward to Clint and Sarah coming on Wednesday. It is supposed to be a beautiful week and weekend here, sunny and in the upper 70's, so we should be able to be out and have some fun.

The Bear...

Last night I got a text from Travis telling me that Coach Haskins had passed away. He had really been struggling with his health in recent months, and I guess that I knew that it wouldn't be too long before he succumbed to it, but nonetheless, it hit me pretty hard. I have been blessed to have had some really extraordinary people in my life. My Dad, Coach Thomsen, Coach Iverson, Coach Knight, Larry, Dave, Coach Haskins. These people are as close to "heroes" as I have. In different ways, they have shaped me as the person that I am. More than that, none of them could possibly imagine the impact they have on me.

During my time in El Paso, and since, Coach and I became as close as two people who share the same birthday, but 44 years apart, could be. The times having a couple of drinks at the most hole in the wall places (Rosa's Cantina, Sassy's, and a couple of places I never caught the name of), the drives in the truck, the breakfasts and lunches, the phone calls. I will really miss the phone calls. The past 5 years, since I moved back to Indiana, we had a lot of those. I struggled with the fact that in the past year they had gotten less and less frequent. We talked a lot about basketball, but we talked about so much more, too. We talked about everything under the sun. I remember the excitement he shared with me in a conversation we had right after our kids were born. He was more a teddy bear in the years that I knew him than the intimidating person I had thought he was before spending time with him.

It would be impossible for me to write what Coach meant to me, what he meant to the sport of basketball, what he meant to the city of El Paso, or really what he meant to the world. I would recommend that anyone that hasn't seen it rents the movie "Glory Road." They made that movie about him. He told me it is about 80% accurate. You'll learn a lot about life in that movie. I was really, really blessed to learn some of those things from him personally.

Maybe the best college basketball coach to ever walk the sidelines, he did more with less than probably anyone ever has or will. He stood for loyalty, humility, and doing things through hard work and a team concept. He is in the Basketball Hall of Fame, they have named awards after him, and made a movie about him, but he would never talk about it. He stayed in El Paso when he could of went any number of places and made a lot more money and received a lot more notoriety. That wasn't him, though. I was at the gym this morning, and on the local news they ran a short story about him, but at the bottom of the screen it said, "Dennis Haskins dies at 78." I wanted to call the station right then and tell them to get it right, but in a way it was typical. He was a man that never wanted to stand out or be recognized, never wanted the spotlight. He broke barriers and changed lives, but never wanted the credit.

I last saw Coach last summer, August 16th, 2007. We traveled to El Paso for Travis and Kasia's wedding. Kim, the kids, and I went a couple of days early and I was a guest on his weekly radio show. It was a lot of fun, and is a lasting memory of a cherished time. We laughed and had a great time, as we always did.

I know that there will be so many people embrace his wife, Mary. She is such a special lady, and someone who was so kind to Kim and I when we were there. She is as sweet as there are, and my prayers are with her and the rest of the family.

I wanted to share this article with you. It was written this morning by Dan Wetzel, a columnist for Yahoo.com, who shared a similar relationship with Coach. He is a good friend, and I thought he did a great job of painting a picture of what Coach was all about.

Coach would end every conversation you had with him by saying, "Adios." Unfortunately, I guess it is my turn to say, "Adios, Coach, Adios. I will miss you tremendously."

Appearing as a guest on Coach's radio show on August 16th, 2007. A treasured memory.

The Greatest Show on Earth!

The circus was a lot of fun. Hard to get the kids to sit still for a couple of hours, but they did really enjoy seeing the circus! Their "lights" were a big hit, and they loved the clowns, the elephants, the trapeze, the tigers, the performing dogs, and well, just about everything. Honestly, I think Kim and I enjoyed it as much as they did. Check out the pictures below.



Looking forward to today. We'll go to church, then mow the backyard (we weren't able to get to it yesterday, and no way I was going to do it without Austin), play all afternoon, and then I am going to the Colts game with John. It is their first regular season game in their new stadium, so that should be cool. I always enjoy going to new arenas/stadiums, so looking forward to it. Hopefully, it will be nice and they can open the roof.

Siesta Key Pictures!!

I think that I finally figured out how to post a slideshow on here...amazing what you can do while waiting for the kids to wake up from a nap!!!

Child labor laws?

Thought I would share a funny story from last night. We were talking about how we were going to go to the circus the next day and everything that we needed to do before we got to go. Austin and Caitlin like to know all the things that we are going to do for the day. Well, we are standing in the kitchen and had gotten done and Caitlin says, "When I get up I need to go to work at the circus, the store, and the gym. I have three jobs." Kim and I just looked at each other about ready to crack up. We have no clue where she comes up with stuff, but she is always pretty serious. She also told us that she needs to be there at 20:11...she is into knowing what time it is theses days and is such a genius that she operates on military time! :) Meanwhile, Austin was running around exercising, which requires him to pretend to put his earphones in his ears, clip his imaginary ipod to his waistband, and then he runs with very exagerrated arm movements around the house. He is now taking lawn mowing and fitness very seriously!

Well, gotta get ready to take off to the circus. We'll post about that later. Have a great Saturday!!! It is beautiful here. Mid to upper 70's and sunny as can be.

New Layout

I have been toying around with a few things and changed the look of the blog. I hope you enjoy it. If you have any suggestions, post a comment and let me know. Also, if you aren't subscribed to getting the e mail updates, click on the link on the right hand column. It will automatically let you know when a new post is added. Enjoy!

some news....

baby ethan!!!

well, i'm an aunt! yay! ethan edward was born last wednesday via c-section after my poor sister was induced and had serious contractions all night!!! he was 7lbs5oz and 21 inches and he is just sooooo cute! he had the longest fingernails and is one of the hairiest little guys i've ever seen! i only heard him semi-cry once...maybe he'll be a non-crier?!

the kids are just getting over the "niffles" (as austin says)...all that time in the chic-fil-a play area finally caught up with us! the night before last caitlin was up every hour and then up for good at about 4:30am b/c she tries to breathe thru her nose and panics when she can't...ryan tried teaching her to breathe through her mouth, but no luck. fortunately she slept soundly last night and so did austin (and daddy and mommy!)!

last sunday we went to a party and they had "silly safaris" perform a show....with LIVE animals! austin and caitlin got to pet a skunk, a baby alligator, a bunny, a millipede, and a porcupine! then they were the special helpers for another animal...the man ("alligator aaron") called austin up to help him and immediately caitlin walked up too (and why not?!). austin was hysterical...he was sooooooooo excited that he kept hopping around. anyway, the animal they got to hold was a CORN SNAKE! they loved it...i thought they would freak but they were very good with it. they also got to see a vulture and a baby tortoise but they weren't allowed to touch those. then later in the night, a musician came to entertain the party goers...he just played the guitar and sang some mellow christian tunes, but to austin he was a ROCK STAR! austin was playing air guitar like a champ!!!! we ended up staying well past their bed time but it was a lot of fun for all of us!

this morning sophia (our neighbor's 4 yr old) came over. i will be watching her on wednesday mornings....the kids were soooooo excited! they all played nicely and it's so good for them to have a regular playmate too (well, besides each other!).

that's about it for now....saturday we are going to the circus and we are looking forward to uncle clint and sarah's visit in a couple of weeks! the kids are all pumped up b/c we said we'd go to the zoo with them.