Spring has Sprung...

Well it's been a very busy couple of weeks. Last weekend my very good friends from Annapolis came up to Frederick and we continued our semi-annual tradition of going to LaPaz for dinner. We've done this for over 15 years now and have had a hard time getting together the last couple of years.

This year Heather, of course, went with us and we all crammed into my MDX and went in one car! It was a hoot. Dinner was great, company was great, and Brenda scored a bunch of napkins!!!!

Lacrosse has started full swing for everyone. This week Heather and I drove up to Lycoming to watch Alex's team play Susquehanna They lost but we had a great drive up and back and took Alex and Cory out to dinner to the Bullfrog Brewery. Two days later Michael and I drove up to watch them play Widener. An exciting game but unfortunately they lost. We stayed after for awhile and had a bite to eat at the team tailgate, then went over to Alex's dorm and hung out there for a little while before making the trek home.

Michael's name was in the newspaper the other day for the highschool team. They had their first game and the coach allowed him and 9 other underclassmen to travel with the team. They did not play but it was a very good learning experience for him. He has been practicing very, very hard and is looking forward to his first JV game this coming Saturday. He's put a lot of work into it and hopefully he'll see some reward for it. He's also been working fairly hard to get his grades where I expect them. I may be a little hard but... I also pay the tuition.

Tyler does have his license and has taken over the very tedious chore of picking up Michael from his various practices and the like. He starts work this week at a couple of venues so hopefully he'll be making some cash to put gas in the car he drives. I've allowed him to drive my Nissan Maxima. It's a 2000 and had very low miles on it. Hopefully, he can keep it in good condition for a lot longer. He's working at the golf course and for the Frederick Keys this summer. He'll also be doing son lacrosse officiating as well. Hopefully, he'll save some money as well!

I'm doing okay. Still playing basketball and maintaining the weight loss. I'm feeling very good compared to this time last year when I was at an all-time low. Spring is coming and I'm looking forward to getting outside and working in the yard and all that. Heather and I have been dating for over 6 months now. It's very hard to believe for sure but everything has been going splendidly. We see each other regularly and that helps a lot. Work? That's another story.... TBD. I'll keep you posted.

St. Mary's Pink Out Game

This came to me this morning from the coach at St. Mary's College of Maryland

THIS SUNDAY!:

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The women’s lacrosse team at St. Mary’s College of Maryland will be holding its 2nd Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Lacrosse Game vs. Salisbury University at 2 pm at Seahawk Stadium in beautiful St. Mary’s City.

This game will be played in remembrance of Christine A. DeWitt, the mother of a player I once coached, who lost her life to this disease last year as well as all individuals affected by breast cancer. The lacrosse team will be selling T-shirts in order to raise funds for Climb for Hope, a division of breast cancer research that Christine believed in very strongly.

Climb for Hope was organized to raise and channel funds towards targeted and promising research in the fight against breast cancer. Its mission is to find a viable treatment for breast cancer within the next three years. In the past two years, the organization has raised over $550,000 for a vaccine being developed at Johns Hopkins University by Dr. Leisha Emens. This research will one day allow patients to successfully battle the disease using a specialized vaccine in conjunction with lower doses of chemotherapy. Not only does the vaccine address some of the most aggressive and lethal forms of breast cancer, but the research is expected to promote treatment advances for many forms of cancer as well. (www.climbforhope.com).

To purchase a pink lacrosse T-shirt, please contact Kara Reber at klreber@smcm.edu or by phone at 240-895-3304. Shirts are $10 and come in adult S, M, L, XL, XXL. Cash donations are also welcome. Pre-sale orders are due by tomorrow 3/23, otherwise you may get one at the game.

We would like for you to wear your pink T-shirt to our game on the Sunday as we would like to have a “pink-out” of the stadium. Our goal is to raise over $3,000.00.

Please join us for this event and help support a cause that affects many of our lives.

See you at the game!

Lax Season Begins

Well last Saturday marked the beginning of Alex's final season as a lacrosse player! They had a game at McDaniel College which is not too far from our house.

Heather, Michael, and I made the journey up there and met up with Alex's grandparents and Uncle. Although the outcome was not good, it was a good chance to see her and her teammates.

After the game the team went to Harrisburg to the airport and flew out to Dallas, TX for spring break! They played 2 games down there and are coming back today. Their conference opener is next Saturday up by NYC.

At the same time, Michael continues to practice with the St. Johns Catholic Prep lacrosse team. He is a midget amongst giants as the JV and Varsity practice together. He is doing very well and hopefully the snow will go away and they can begin practice on the real grass soon!!!

Last Sunday Michael was confirmed to the Catholic Church and is now part of the St. Johns parish in Frederick. Tyler was his sponsor and both did a great job. After the mass we went to his favorite spot for dinner. A local Japanese Steak house!

Tyler? OH MY! He finally got around to taking his driver's test yesterday and passed on the first try! So of course my life and wallet are now changed forever! He'll be driving the Maxima and picking up Mike as much as possible. No more needs for rides to church and all of that! Life is a little easier on me now. I hope! He also got a job at Holly Hills Country Club as a cart attendant or something like that. He has a friend that works there who put in a good word for him and in fact, Heather's son also works there too! I hope that this occupies a great deal of his time this summer! He also put an application into the Frederick Keys and will be working there some during the summer as well.



Me? Hmmm.... I'm busy running ragged. But I'm doing very well. I still play basketball 3 days a week. I've lost a total of 22 pounds (give or take) and feel great. I've had to buy new clothes as my old ones were too big AND I'm actually wearing suits and slacks from 6 years ago that now fit perfectly again!!!! I see Heather on a very regular basis and Life is very, very good.