Today, I cut Andrew's hair again....it's shorter, but the cut is straighter. I also cut a chunk of skin off one of my fingers (at least I don't have a nub, like Frodo).
11/30/08
Andrew's hair cut (part 1)
I cut Andrew's hair yesterday....but it turned out really crooked......Last night, when I told the boys to get ready to go out to dinner Andrew ran in the bathroom and slicked his hair back....I'll get a picture of the "fixed" haircut soon. It looks better!
Halloween 2008
As you know if you are a faithful "Life is a Pitch" blog follower, I was not home on Halloween, so Scott was left with the task of taking a picture of Bradley and Andrew on Halloween..........this is the best he could do (and he was using the NICE camera). Bradley was the Cat in the Hat and Andrew was a dragon.
11/29/08
Rock Band
We were in Best Buy tonight for a fire wire type thing to hook my camcorder to my computer.....and this is what the boys were doing.........
William's puzzle
William has been working on a puzzle. Bradley and Andrew try to help him.....they are NOT much help. It's cute, though......
went out to dinner
We went to a local place called "King's Catch". We haven't been there in a while, but it used to be a fish and chips place, it's decour was English in looks. Now, it is still called "Kings Catch", but it is a mexican food restaurant. (Do they have kings in Mexico?)
Skate Board Park
It was over 70 degrees here today...too nice of a day to stay in the house, so we went to the skate board park. I think the kids had fun, they did pretty good at the tricks they tried, but they both crashed a few times, Bradley ripped his shorts, and NO ONE there was obeying the rules! Baking Day
I baked cinnamon rolls today. I doubled the dough recipe, but when I was putting them in the pan, I decided that there were going to be too many cinnamon rolls, so I used some of the dough for a loaf of bread.......well, we ate almost all of the cinn. rolls ALREADY...I should have made all the dough into cinn. rolls!
11/28/08
Handsome Uncle Pete
This picture was also in my camera, Bradley took it! I love it. And notice, Uncle Pete and Aunt Patty are holding hands and are wearing MATCHING sweaters....how cute.
No Thanksgiving Pictures
I didn't take any pictures of Thanksgiving yesterday....I was sick...had a stomach flu of some sort. I DID NOT feel good all day. We still had a Thanksgiving Feast, just it was made by Scott, William and Bradley (Andrew set the table.) I didn't eat. No one was dressed up, our plates didn't match, there was no table cloth, or anything, so I didn't think it was a good photo opportunity, but now that I think back on it, I should take pictures of EVERYTHING, it was our Thanksgiving, and we'll remember it the way it was, so may as well have pictures of it the way it was!!! Oh well.
I didn't plan on going Black Friday shopping today, but I had to go to the bank, which is right next to Mervyns, so I stopped there. It is going out of business and so I thought I might find some good deals, but the discounts weren't enough YET, maybe I'll go back in a few weeks. Bradley wants some pants "like William wears" (the legs are tight, not baggy, like all the pants that Bradley has). Those are hard to find, but Mervyns has them, a whole rack, so I'll wait till they go cheaper. (Maybe next time I have to go to the bank.)
I didn't plan on going Black Friday shopping today, but I had to go to the bank, which is right next to Mervyns, so I stopped there. It is going out of business and so I thought I might find some good deals, but the discounts weren't enough YET, maybe I'll go back in a few weeks. Bradley wants some pants "like William wears" (the legs are tight, not baggy, like all the pants that Bradley has). Those are hard to find, but Mervyns has them, a whole rack, so I'll wait till they go cheaper. (Maybe next time I have to go to the bank.)
11/26/08
Oops! William's permit
After driving around town yesterday and even getting a lesson on the stick shift (William did GREAT) I read the second page of the computer printout permit they give you at the DMV and it says....this permit is not valid until driver has taken his/her first class of behind the wheel training with a certified teacher. LOL. Oh well, we didn't get caught! We went home and called the drivers school and he doesn't get his first lesson until Dec 2nd, a week away! So the roads are safe for a few more days!!!
11/25/08
William Has His Drivers Permit....
so if you are driving around Chico, watch out for a BIG green Suburban.
He drove home from the DMV, and he is really going to need to work on braking going into a turn!!!! We almost ended up in the Lindo Channel! Scary. Don't tell Melanee, but I think I'm going to go give him a lesson in the Honda, it's a manual transmission, but once you master that, it's much easier to drive than the Suburban.
He drove home from the DMV, and he is really going to need to work on braking going into a turn!!!! We almost ended up in the Lindo Channel! Scary. Don't tell Melanee, but I think I'm going to go give him a lesson in the Honda, it's a manual transmission, but once you master that, it's much easier to drive than the Suburban.
11/22/08
William's Scout Campout & Family Feast
William's scout troop had a campout this weekend. At the end of it all the families came for a feast. The scouts cooked all the food in dutch ovens and outdoor stoves.
When we got there all the siblings jumped off of a picnic table into a huge pile of leaves.
William's pants had a hole in them from standing too close to the fire.
We went camping
Scott, Bradley, Andrew, and I went camping last night. We stayed at the Sacramento Refuge. Scott and Bradley woke up at 3:30 and went duck hunting.
Andrew and I stayed in the camper. We did a little scrapbooking, card game playing, I worked on my talk, and Andrew played with matches and candles.
Here's a picture of our camper.
11/20/08
My Uncle Pete and Aunt Patty
My uncle and aunt were up visiting my dad today, so we got to go visit with them. It was AWESOME to see them again (we don't get to see them very often) and it was so fun to hear them talk about my dad when he was a kid and just hear their stories. The kids liked them, too. Uncle Pete beat William at pool. LOL.
Sam, the dog, at school
It is Bradley's VIP week. He got to bring our dog Sam to share today. Yesterday he brought his guitar, Tuesday he brought the "Bradley and the bad pb" book, and on Monday he brought one of the family scrapbooks. Tomorow we provide treats for the class! He wants to bring HUGE cookies.
11/19/08
Last New Year's Eve
So I know most of you DON'T care about basketball (there's a Kings game on tonight, how can I get out of scouts?!?)....I thought I'd post a picture of my family, for all my viewers enjoyment. This was taken last New Year's Eve.
11/16/08
ravioli funny
so Bradley has been asking to go to Italian Cottage. Everytime we drive by there he asks about it and wants to go there. It's an expensive restaurant, so we haven't been there since before Bradley was born. The other night was a fund raiser for the school at Burger Hut. We went there for dinner. We waited in line. When we FINALLY got to the front of the line we were told that it would be a 45 minute wait for our food. We were hungry, we decided not to stay. In driving away, we had the discussion of where to go now. We picked Italian Cottage because Bradley has been asking for it for so long. We got there and the little boys got a kids menu. They prices were $4.75 for anything on the menu. Andrew picked---a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!!!!!!!! Can you believe it!!!!! Bradley picked raviolis. He didn't eat much of them. On the way home he said they weren't very good, he wished they tasted like "that chef kind, in the can"! (Chef Boy-are-dee) (you know, the .79 cent KIND!!!!) We should have went home after Burger Hut...a p-b and j and a can of raviolis---could have saved SO MUCH MONEY!
11/13/08
Football Awards Banquet
Tonight was William's football end of the season awards banquet. It was a tri tip, b-b-que chicken dinner with potluck everything else. YUM!!!! Here are some pictures of William when he got called up for his award with the Special Teams, and a picture of some cool cupcakes. It was a fun evening. It was weird seeing the players in regular clothes, not football gear. They all seemed like nice, normal high school kids. William says he doesn't want to play next year. He does want to run track in the spring, though, so that should be fun.
11/11/08
Finally, here's a picture without "PROOF" written across it
I e mail the photographer and he said he's sell me a CD of all the pictures for $350.00. He said it would be a good deal if I could contact all the parents and coaches and have everyone give about $20.00. HA! So I guess we'll have to just enjoy the pictures he took with "proof" written on them all. (I got this picture from Facebook, he didn't even take it. I think it's as good as any he took....and I think my action shots are just as good as his too, and they only cost me .17 cents to get a print, not $1.50 plus taxes, handling, and postage. For $350.00 I could have stayed another day and taken my OWN pictures.
11/9/08
Redding Dance
Last night there was a dance in Redding. William was all dressed up, but he wouldn't let me get a picture "for the blog" so I got this one while he was brushing his teeth, walking out the door. Then the rest of the kids all got out of their cars so I lined them up for a picture- they thought I was crazy, but I wanted one "for the blog". Here they are- what a nice bunch of kids, oh, I mean- teenagers.
11/8/08
Scorpions Soccer Party
Here are the only two pictures I got at our end of the season pizza party on Thursday. Don't you just love the cake??? Thanks you Costco cake decorators!!! And thank you Round Table for your garlic bread twists, although they are much better when you don't burn them!!!! And thanks Michelle for my TROPHY....love it!
usual scene at home games
Here are Scott, Bradley, and Andrew where we sit at William's football games. Scott is usually there taking video and talking to all the other fans around him. Bradley actually watches the game (and the cheerleaders) ...and Andrew moves around continuously, asking questions, singing "l-e-g-s-g-o....let's go" (No, he doesn't spell l-e-t-s-g-o, he really sings it "l-e-g-s-g-o"), bumping the camera, saying he is cold, and begging for food.
Go William!!!
Trip Details
For those of you who have talked to me, I've probably told you ALL of this, so don't read it, I'm sure you will be bored. But for my friend Ann, I told her I'd write her an e mail about my trip, I may as well post it here, my "online journal" right?
Well, on about Sunday October 26th I started to really decide to go to Vermont. I don't think I made DEFINITE plans until Monday or Tuesday. I really wanted to go, but I needed to make sure I would be able to get flights, a room, a rental car, time off of work, people to watch my kids, take over my soccer practice, etc..........I REALLY wanted to go, but I knew that I could just wait here by the phone or the computer, just like I had done all season long. I also knew that- it was JUST A GAME. But I LOVE to watch Melanee play soccer, and I've watched just about EVERY one of her soccer games before this season. I had followed her season all along on the her school's web site, the opponents school's web sites, the USCAA web site, the NAIA web site, the google searches for Melanee Guymon, the Roanoke newspaper, and I had talked to Melanee before and after every game and just about every day in between, but it wasn't the same as being there.
I had a short, but important little talk with a friend Teri Ogden before I decided to go. I knew that a few years ago her daughter Kristen ran in the college cross country national championships and Teri wasn't there, but Kristen WON! In talking to Teri, I couldn't actually get her to say that she REGRETTED not going, but I could tell that she missed out on something big, that she wont be able to ever see again. She described the answering machine message from Kristen that said, "I won". And then not being able to talk to Kristen until she got back. She encouraged me to go watch Melanee and spend time with her.
I also had a lot of other friends, family, and SCOTT telling me to JUST GO! I knew it would be a luxury and even a little selfish for me to go....but like I said earlier------I REALLY WANTED to go.
So I left for the Sacramento airport at 2:00 in the morning on Wednesday. I got there quickly and with no troubles. I got my ticket and went towards the gate, but got randomly selected for the in depth search by the security people. They felt me down, went through all of my belongings, and made me step aside while they checked for explosive, I guess. Then I had about a 2 hour wait at the gate because I arrived so EARLY. I was going to read, but ended up talking to a guy sitting next to me. I also did a lot of people watching. There was a Starbucks in the terminal that had a LONG line the whole time I was there. A lot people showed up, but I did get on the flight. The flight was nice. I don't think I've been on a plane in about 25 years. I was a little nervous, but I got a window seat and I loved the take off. I tried to figure out what we were flying over, even though it was dark. I watched the sun come up. I loved flying over the mountains. I looked for Lake Tahoe, but we didn't fly over that part of Nevada, we went up towards Idaho. As we went, it was neat to see all the farm land. Some of the crops were circles, instead of squares, that was interesting. We flew over some rivers, some cities, but mostly farmland. The movie was "Swing Vote". It was ok. When we got near Chicago, I noticed TONS of golf courses. The backyards didn't have fences. The high school football fields didn't have yard lines, or maybe they were just worn out, since it is the end of the season. The soccer fields goal boxes were bigger than any I have ever seen. There were hardly any swimming pools. And did I mention I saw at least 8 golf courses near the Chicago airport, which is a long way away from the skyscrapers in actual Chicago. Also the Target store, had an actual target on the roof. We landed and taxied all the way around the airport. I got off and my knee hurt for the first time in AGES. I'm not sure if that was from the air pressure changes from flying or from sitting for 3 or so hours. I went to my next gate. I spent some of my free time sewing one of the little soccer balls on Melanee's varsity jacket, so that turned out to be a conversation starter for a lot of people. It was fun to talk about going to see my soccer playing daughter and bring the jacket to her. I got on the flight to Vermont, got another window seat, and didn't have anyone next to me. We took off and flew over one of the Great Lakes. It was awesome to look at down town Chicago from the plane. I liked looking at the lake below also, but soon all I could see was clouds. So I stopped looking out the window. They didn't show a movie on that flight. I don't remember what I did, maybe I wrote in my journal, read the magazine they offered, I probably slept a little to because I really don't remember what I did for those 2 hours. I do remember that after we got through the clouds I looked out and saw tons of snow covering the ground. It was actually very beautiful, but I worried about the girls playing soccer on snow covered fields. When started getting lower, I LOVED all of the fall colors. It was so beautiful to see rust, golden, burgundy, green, brown, red, all different colored beautiful trees covering the coutryside and hills. I was so excited to get there. The airport was small and I think it is very similar to the Reno Airport. I easily found the car rental place. I saw an orange colored soccer team claiming their baggage. My car was a Toyota Camry, I think. It was brand new. It smelled brand new and was spotless. It even came with a snow scraper sitting on the dashboard waiting for me. I drove out of the airport. But since I didn't know where I was going I pulled into a parking lot and used my GPS, the one I brought even though my dad told me I wouldn't need!!!! I easily found the LaQuinta. It was cool to stay at LaQuinta because that is the motel franchise we stay at whenever we went to the St Marys tournament with Melanee's high school team. The lady at the counter was nice, but she said that no soccer team was coming to stay there. I called Melanee and she guaranteed me they were on their way and they were staying there. I went to my room and it was OCCUPIED. I didn't actually see anyone, but stuff was everywhere and the bed was unmade. I went back to the desk and got a new room. The first room would have been on the 3rd floor far from the team, I'm glad it was OCCUPIED. I got to my room, and took a shower. I got settled, but they still hadn't arrived. I saw that there was a computer in the lobby, so I went to check my e mail (and blog). While at the computer I saw 3 vans pull up out in front. I knew it was them!!! SO EXCITING. The coach came in alone. I said hi and talked to him, but he didn't really say anything to me. (Melanee later told me that he didn't recognize me. which is odd because he came to Chico last summer and I sat and talked with him for about an HOUR!) The team came in, got their rooms, changed into practice gear, and loaded back into the vans. They went to a city park for PRACTICE. The sun was going down, and it was COLD! I forgot to tell all about the weather----it was COLD, windy and COLD, freezing COLD. Did I mention the WIND. I will never again think that Chico is cold, because it really isn't! Melanee invited me to go watch the practice. I'm so glad she did. I kinda felt like an outsider, but that's ok, it was way better than sitting in a motel room. (But after my shower I put back on my skirt and blouse, because I didn't want to run out of clothes, so when I went to the practice AT NIGHT in the COLD, I was wearing a skirt, stockings, and just a jacket....no sweatshirts, thermals, socks, or anything warm.....but I really was ok, cuz I was having FUN watching the practice in the dark and talking a little to the assistant coach who told me that everyone was happy that Melanee chose to come to SVU. We went back to the motel. The girls had showers and then a team meeting & devotional. Then they had delivered pizza in the breakfast eating area. Melanee invited me to come to that, too, so I did, and it was cool to talk to the girls and see them, instead of just reading about them on their bios. They seem like really nice girls. I liked all of them. Then after dinner, Melanee came to my room, but she worked on Math homework more than visit with me, that was ok though, I saw that she had 6 assignments due before the next Monday. We decided to go to Wal mart for a few item, but all the stores in the whole town closed at 10:00, I guess that's an east coast thing. We did find a grocery store on our way back. We bought all that we were looking for, shampoo, razors, asprin, icy hot, snacks, can't remember what else........Then we went to bed. The next morning we all went to breakfast at about 7. We had the continental breakfast at the motel. It was pretty good. (just like the one in Stockton). Then the girls all got ready for the game. The coach set out all their uniforms in a line in the hall. I should have taken a picture!!!!!! I followed the team to the game, but kept getting cut off or stopped at lights that the vans went through. LUCKILY I had brought the GPS!!!! I found the school. The drive to the school was beautiful. The road took us right through University of Vermont and downtown Burlington. The university had a lot of colonial buildings, SO BEAUTIFUL. The downtown area was also very cool and quaint looking. The end of the road was Lake Champlain....a pretty lake. The high school and soccer field was right on the lake with a grove of fall colored leaves between the lake and the field.....just picturesque! But it was COOOOOOOOLD! I got there over an hour before the game began, so I had to sit in the cold and wait....but I liked watching the warm ups. The tournament director arrived and opened up the booth where they do the announcing. He invited me up there to get out of the wind. He later brought up a heater and let me blow it directly on ME. He was really nice. He told me that Penn College was the team to beat, and that they were ranked #1 all season, he couldn't see why SVU was seeded #1 in the tournament and thought that it would be Penn College to win the championship. (He was WRONG! They didn't even make it to the finals!) Anyway, the game started and I took viedo for about a half of the game. As soon as I put the video camera away, Melanee scored a GOAL. Oh well, I got one of her goals on tape. I almost accidentally taped over it. We wanted to see who scored so the guy could announce it, and I tried to rewind it.......but all turned out ok, GOOD! I got some good action shots with my still camera. Melanee's team won 8-0 and EVERYONE got to play in the game. They were all very happy girls. We watched about half of the next game. Then we went to the food court at the mall for lunch. Half of the team ate at Taco Bell the other had chinese food. After the lunch the team went back to take showers and get ready for their tour of the Ben and Jerry's factory. We had about an hour, so Melanee and I stayed at the mall to look for a winter coat for Melanee. We found a sporting good store with snowboarding type WARM coats. They also had the spandex shorts Melanee has been needing, but I never wanted to pay postage for. It was a very cool store, that I'm glad they don't have in Chico, or I'd be shopping there a lot and spending a lot of money!!!!!!! We went back and Melanee took a quick shower and went with her team to the tour. She said it was boring, but her friend Tamara loved it!!!! After they got back we walked across the street from the motel to a restaurant where all the teams were invited to a dinner hosted by the tournament director. It was an all you can eat pizza/pasta/salad buffett. VERY yummy. There was a little drama there.....the team we had just played that morning were sitting next to us and one of the girls from that team had made a lot of enemies on our team with her constant swearing, was acting very loud and annoying. The other drama was that 4 of Mel's teammates missed the dinner because they said they didn't know what time it was at. They were mad that no one came to get them, the coach was mad that they didn't come. That night Melanee tried to do more homework, but had a hard time on the math, and didn't finish the paper she was working on. I told her I would take her shopping (the mall was only a few blocks from the motel) if she finished her math. We went to the mall to look for blue jeans. We walked into Pennys and asked for the American Eagle store. We went there, and they were having a buy one, get one half off sale. She picked out a bunch and headed for the dressing room. She found 2 pair, but also wanted a hat. I wanted to pick out a 4th thing to get a half price deal.....then her phone rang...it was one of the teammates saying, Where are you? It's time for our team meeting". Melanee didn't mind missing it, but I hurried and paid for the pants and rushed her back. She wasn't late. I am so glad someone called because it was during that meeting that the coach announced that Melanee, Courtney, and Tamara made All American. I also didn't want her to miss after those girls made the coach so mad for missing dinner. (Melanee thought the meeting was at 10:00, it was at 9:00) After the meeting she was tired and went to bed. (She actually knew about the All American status, because I had told Scott and he told his friend Richard, and Richard called to congratulate Melanee.) So that's how she found out. Richard told her!!!! She asked me if I knew and I told her. I also told her about Courtney and Tamara. Melanee asked them if they knew and they didn't, so she's the one that ruined their surprise. I don't think ruined is the right word, but all 3 of them knew about it before the team meeting! (Thanks, Richard!!!!) (Hey, I think that's just about the first time I've EVER kept a secret. I wasn't going to tell her!!!!!) (I actually thought that they were going to announce it at the dinner with all of the team's there, but they didn't.)
The game the next day was an hour later than the first day, but I woke up at the same time. I went to eat and the assistant coach who was also one of the men's coaches was there and we ate together and talked. He was very nice, smart, and interesting. I gave him the idea to work on PK's (penalty kicks) in case the game went into overtime, and later that day in warm ups, they DID practice PK's- that made me happy. The girls started showing up. CNN was on the tv, but I brought out the video I had taken from the game the day before, and we watched that during breakfast. One girl woke up, came out, looked at the tv, and asked who was playing. When everyone said that was them, she ran back to her room to get her glasses. LOL. After breakfast the coach set out the uniforms again (should have taken a picture!!!) and they got ready. This game was at a closer, different field. We got there early and I helped the tournament director carry things to the field. The girls saw my red sweatshirt and told me to change it....the OPPONENTS team colors were RED! I put the red sweatshirt on under the blue one. (I was wearing green shirts UNDER all the sweatshirts.) I talked to some of the parents who were there with our team. I asked who one couple was, they said Lauren's parents, so I said, she's really good....and the mom said, are you Melanee's mom? I said yes, and she said, "She's right up there with Lauren_...(HAHA).... Tamara's dad said he wouldn't make me a copy of the video. (He had the oldfashioned kind of camera, didn't know how to make copies).
The game started and Melanee's team did pretty good, but had a hard time scoring. Late in the first half, Melanee scored on a long shot, that the goalie totally miss timed her dive on and it went in! That was thrilling! No one else scored the rest of the game. SVU had a lot of chances, and Andrews even had one that came SO CLOSE to going in, but it ended 1-0. Melanee's team went to Quiznos for lunch. I went there too, just to spend time with Mel, because it was ALMOST time for me to leave for the airport. We all went back to the field to watch the game to see who they would play in the Championship game. The girls were all nice in the stands, and I had fun commentating on the game. There was a fan for Penn College who was a guy with a loud voice who said things that were rude and mostly wrong. At one point I said to the girls I was sitting by, "Why are you guys rooting for Penn College, if Christendom wins this guy will go home." Those weren't my exact words, but something like that, and I guess I said it TOO loud because I didn't hear him say another word the whole rest of the match. When that game was over, it was time for me to leave, but I had to change my clothes, so I went back to the motel with the team one last time. I changed, said goodbye (almost cried) and left for the airport. I got gas in the car, returned the keys, and went to the gate. A weird guy met me in line for security, met me again at the gate, and just kept talking to me. I realized that I don't wear a wedding ring, so I started talking about my husband and kids. I thought that would get rid of him, but I saw him again at the Chicago airport, and again at the Sacramento airport!!!!! I was secretly hoping that they flight would be full, I wouldn't be able to go back home, and I'd have to stay in beautiful Vermont another day...but I got on the plane. The family in front of me was going to St Louis to watch the Rams play football. The girl next to me was pregnant and almost missed the plane. I got lasagna to eat and it was FILLING. Looking out the window was even more AWESOME this time because we flew over the ACTUAL soccer field that Melanee had just played at. Even though the stewardess asked everyone to stow away all electronics, I had my camcorder and took a movie of the take off for Bradley and Andrew (who really wanted to come with me). I had the camcorder going when I saw the field. It was so cool to see from above like that!!!!!!!! Flying over Lake Champlain was cool, too. Then we went back over snowy New York. I wrote in my journal again and watched the soccer video I had made. It was a good flight. I watched the flight back into Chicago and saw even MORE golf courses. We had to wait in the "penalty" box because we arrived 15 minutes early to Chicago and the plane before us was still at OUR gate. Something weird happened next....we got off at gate 2B and my next flight left from gate 3B....O"Hare airport has like 500 gates, no one ever gets as lucky as not having to walk a mile to catch their next flight. I walked around a little anyway. I took a picture of the dinosaur and the cool underground moving walkway with the neon lights and space age music. I went back to 3B and saw that there was a flight going to Burlington Vermont leaving from 2B.....I WANTED to get on that flight...but was warned by my dad that that would be a very EXPENSIVE mistake!!!! When my name was called to the counter I got my ticket and saw DRAKE BROWN, my husbands GOOD friend (and long lost relative) and our brand new STAKE PRESIDENT. We were on the SAME flight! Oh man, what a SMALL world. (And I thought about having Scott drop me off at the airport Wed morning...I should have, Drake, his co workers and I, could have car pooled to Chico!) Drake and I (or should I call him President Brown) talked until he had to get on.....I talked non stop about Melanee, I'm SURE). Then I waited, then got in line to board. The guy next to me in line says, "Are you Scott's wife????" "Yeah" and then he asked, "Are you one your way back from watching your daughter play soccer?" "uh, yeah....who are you?" he was a guy (Tyler Caveness) who works next door to Scott. SMALLLLLLL WORLD!!!! And how did he even know me...I don't think I've ever seen or met the guy in my life! The guy in front of us in line told us that he spent last Halloween in Chico! (It was Halloween.) SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL world!!!!! he was there for the parties that he had heard Chico has at Halloween. Tyler and I told him he should come for Rancho Chico Days, St Patricks Day, or the Tubing Holidays! LOL.
The flight back was fine. It was night time, so all I could see out the windows were lights from cities. I saw a lot of high school football games going on. The movies were LAME. One was "American Girls" and the other was something about a crazy guy and his crazy uncle....didn't watch it. I think I wrote in my journal some more. I think I slept some, too. I was cold, but I had given my blanket away. The flight attendents let some army guys come sit up front, that was nice....they got to eat, watch American Girls and got lots more leg room.
It was raining in Sacramento. I drove around the airport once or twice trying to get out.....I followed Drake Brown, not knowing he was going back for his co workers......then I called Scott and was talking on the cell phone, driving when I entered the freeway, without turning on my turn signall, then, right then, a Highway patrolman, passed me. He didn't stop me though. I think HE MUST HAVE SAW ME! But maybe I was blessed and oh so lucky. I didn't talk on the phone, didn't speed, didn't forget to use my turn signal, obeyed EVERY law the rest of the way home. SCARRY. I got home with everyone in bed, but the house was nice and clean.
It was the best trip EVER. EVER! So much fun. Unforgettable. Memorable. I loved every part of it.
I only wish I could have stayed longer. Saturday was the Title game. The Championship. The USCAA national championship game. And I missed it. I sat on my couch in Chico while SVU played Christendom in Burlington Vermont. I sat there waiting for a phone call. I waited thinking about what was going on each minute. When the call didn't come after two hours, I thought they might have gone into overtime, or there was a ceremony at the end of the game. I thought they might be doing a long cool down. I stressed and waited for a phone call. It didn't come and it didn't come. I started to think that maybe they lost and Melanee was too sad to call right away with the bad news. I also thought that maybe they won and they were having a huge celebration. I wondered if her battery was dead, if she lost her phone, or if she left it at the motel. Then my phone rang. The very first thing Melanee said was, "Mom, hold on a second" that made me MAD until I heard her say to her teammates in the background, "Everyone tell my mom..." and they all yelled "We WON". I was SO happy. SOOOOO HAPPPPY. And she told me a few more details. She said that Emmalani scored the first goal. She told me she scored after a corner kick, she also said that jessica scored and that it was 3-0. Then she told me she was on the All Tournament team and then she told me she was the TOURNAMENT MVP. WOW! She said they got medals, and she had 3 plaques. (One she got before the game for being an All American, then the one for All Tournament team, and the one for MVP). She was very happy. I tried to get her off the phone so I could call Scott and my dad!!!! I told her I'd call her later. She said they were on their way to Olive Garden for dinner.
What a THRILL!!!
I think I could write more, but it's a new Hannah Montana...I'm going to go watch it!
Well, on about Sunday October 26th I started to really decide to go to Vermont. I don't think I made DEFINITE plans until Monday or Tuesday. I really wanted to go, but I needed to make sure I would be able to get flights, a room, a rental car, time off of work, people to watch my kids, take over my soccer practice, etc..........I REALLY wanted to go, but I knew that I could just wait here by the phone or the computer, just like I had done all season long. I also knew that- it was JUST A GAME. But I LOVE to watch Melanee play soccer, and I've watched just about EVERY one of her soccer games before this season. I had followed her season all along on the her school's web site, the opponents school's web sites, the USCAA web site, the NAIA web site, the google searches for Melanee Guymon, the Roanoke newspaper, and I had talked to Melanee before and after every game and just about every day in between, but it wasn't the same as being there.
I had a short, but important little talk with a friend Teri Ogden before I decided to go. I knew that a few years ago her daughter Kristen ran in the college cross country national championships and Teri wasn't there, but Kristen WON! In talking to Teri, I couldn't actually get her to say that she REGRETTED not going, but I could tell that she missed out on something big, that she wont be able to ever see again. She described the answering machine message from Kristen that said, "I won". And then not being able to talk to Kristen until she got back. She encouraged me to go watch Melanee and spend time with her.
I also had a lot of other friends, family, and SCOTT telling me to JUST GO! I knew it would be a luxury and even a little selfish for me to go....but like I said earlier------I REALLY WANTED to go.
So I left for the Sacramento airport at 2:00 in the morning on Wednesday. I got there quickly and with no troubles. I got my ticket and went towards the gate, but got randomly selected for the in depth search by the security people. They felt me down, went through all of my belongings, and made me step aside while they checked for explosive, I guess. Then I had about a 2 hour wait at the gate because I arrived so EARLY. I was going to read, but ended up talking to a guy sitting next to me. I also did a lot of people watching. There was a Starbucks in the terminal that had a LONG line the whole time I was there. A lot people showed up, but I did get on the flight. The flight was nice. I don't think I've been on a plane in about 25 years. I was a little nervous, but I got a window seat and I loved the take off. I tried to figure out what we were flying over, even though it was dark. I watched the sun come up. I loved flying over the mountains. I looked for Lake Tahoe, but we didn't fly over that part of Nevada, we went up towards Idaho. As we went, it was neat to see all the farm land. Some of the crops were circles, instead of squares, that was interesting. We flew over some rivers, some cities, but mostly farmland. The movie was "Swing Vote". It was ok. When we got near Chicago, I noticed TONS of golf courses. The backyards didn't have fences. The high school football fields didn't have yard lines, or maybe they were just worn out, since it is the end of the season. The soccer fields goal boxes were bigger than any I have ever seen. There were hardly any swimming pools. And did I mention I saw at least 8 golf courses near the Chicago airport, which is a long way away from the skyscrapers in actual Chicago. Also the Target store, had an actual target on the roof. We landed and taxied all the way around the airport. I got off and my knee hurt for the first time in AGES. I'm not sure if that was from the air pressure changes from flying or from sitting for 3 or so hours. I went to my next gate. I spent some of my free time sewing one of the little soccer balls on Melanee's varsity jacket, so that turned out to be a conversation starter for a lot of people. It was fun to talk about going to see my soccer playing daughter and bring the jacket to her. I got on the flight to Vermont, got another window seat, and didn't have anyone next to me. We took off and flew over one of the Great Lakes. It was awesome to look at down town Chicago from the plane. I liked looking at the lake below also, but soon all I could see was clouds. So I stopped looking out the window. They didn't show a movie on that flight. I don't remember what I did, maybe I wrote in my journal, read the magazine they offered, I probably slept a little to because I really don't remember what I did for those 2 hours. I do remember that after we got through the clouds I looked out and saw tons of snow covering the ground. It was actually very beautiful, but I worried about the girls playing soccer on snow covered fields. When started getting lower, I LOVED all of the fall colors. It was so beautiful to see rust, golden, burgundy, green, brown, red, all different colored beautiful trees covering the coutryside and hills. I was so excited to get there. The airport was small and I think it is very similar to the Reno Airport. I easily found the car rental place. I saw an orange colored soccer team claiming their baggage. My car was a Toyota Camry, I think. It was brand new. It smelled brand new and was spotless. It even came with a snow scraper sitting on the dashboard waiting for me. I drove out of the airport. But since I didn't know where I was going I pulled into a parking lot and used my GPS, the one I brought even though my dad told me I wouldn't need!!!! I easily found the LaQuinta. It was cool to stay at LaQuinta because that is the motel franchise we stay at whenever we went to the St Marys tournament with Melanee's high school team. The lady at the counter was nice, but she said that no soccer team was coming to stay there. I called Melanee and she guaranteed me they were on their way and they were staying there. I went to my room and it was OCCUPIED. I didn't actually see anyone, but stuff was everywhere and the bed was unmade. I went back to the desk and got a new room. The first room would have been on the 3rd floor far from the team, I'm glad it was OCCUPIED. I got to my room, and took a shower. I got settled, but they still hadn't arrived. I saw that there was a computer in the lobby, so I went to check my e mail (and blog). While at the computer I saw 3 vans pull up out in front. I knew it was them!!! SO EXCITING. The coach came in alone. I said hi and talked to him, but he didn't really say anything to me. (Melanee later told me that he didn't recognize me. which is odd because he came to Chico last summer and I sat and talked with him for about an HOUR!) The team came in, got their rooms, changed into practice gear, and loaded back into the vans. They went to a city park for PRACTICE. The sun was going down, and it was COLD! I forgot to tell all about the weather----it was COLD, windy and COLD, freezing COLD. Did I mention the WIND. I will never again think that Chico is cold, because it really isn't! Melanee invited me to go watch the practice. I'm so glad she did. I kinda felt like an outsider, but that's ok, it was way better than sitting in a motel room. (But after my shower I put back on my skirt and blouse, because I didn't want to run out of clothes, so when I went to the practice AT NIGHT in the COLD, I was wearing a skirt, stockings, and just a jacket....no sweatshirts, thermals, socks, or anything warm.....but I really was ok, cuz I was having FUN watching the practice in the dark and talking a little to the assistant coach who told me that everyone was happy that Melanee chose to come to SVU. We went back to the motel. The girls had showers and then a team meeting & devotional. Then they had delivered pizza in the breakfast eating area. Melanee invited me to come to that, too, so I did, and it was cool to talk to the girls and see them, instead of just reading about them on their bios. They seem like really nice girls. I liked all of them. Then after dinner, Melanee came to my room, but she worked on Math homework more than visit with me, that was ok though, I saw that she had 6 assignments due before the next Monday. We decided to go to Wal mart for a few item, but all the stores in the whole town closed at 10:00, I guess that's an east coast thing. We did find a grocery store on our way back. We bought all that we were looking for, shampoo, razors, asprin, icy hot, snacks, can't remember what else........Then we went to bed. The next morning we all went to breakfast at about 7. We had the continental breakfast at the motel. It was pretty good. (just like the one in Stockton). Then the girls all got ready for the game. The coach set out all their uniforms in a line in the hall. I should have taken a picture!!!!!! I followed the team to the game, but kept getting cut off or stopped at lights that the vans went through. LUCKILY I had brought the GPS!!!! I found the school. The drive to the school was beautiful. The road took us right through University of Vermont and downtown Burlington. The university had a lot of colonial buildings, SO BEAUTIFUL. The downtown area was also very cool and quaint looking. The end of the road was Lake Champlain....a pretty lake. The high school and soccer field was right on the lake with a grove of fall colored leaves between the lake and the field.....just picturesque! But it was COOOOOOOOLD! I got there over an hour before the game began, so I had to sit in the cold and wait....but I liked watching the warm ups. The tournament director arrived and opened up the booth where they do the announcing. He invited me up there to get out of the wind. He later brought up a heater and let me blow it directly on ME. He was really nice. He told me that Penn College was the team to beat, and that they were ranked #1 all season, he couldn't see why SVU was seeded #1 in the tournament and thought that it would be Penn College to win the championship. (He was WRONG! They didn't even make it to the finals!) Anyway, the game started and I took viedo for about a half of the game. As soon as I put the video camera away, Melanee scored a GOAL. Oh well, I got one of her goals on tape. I almost accidentally taped over it. We wanted to see who scored so the guy could announce it, and I tried to rewind it.......but all turned out ok, GOOD! I got some good action shots with my still camera. Melanee's team won 8-0 and EVERYONE got to play in the game. They were all very happy girls. We watched about half of the next game. Then we went to the food court at the mall for lunch. Half of the team ate at Taco Bell the other had chinese food. After the lunch the team went back to take showers and get ready for their tour of the Ben and Jerry's factory. We had about an hour, so Melanee and I stayed at the mall to look for a winter coat for Melanee. We found a sporting good store with snowboarding type WARM coats. They also had the spandex shorts Melanee has been needing, but I never wanted to pay postage for. It was a very cool store, that I'm glad they don't have in Chico, or I'd be shopping there a lot and spending a lot of money!!!!!!! We went back and Melanee took a quick shower and went with her team to the tour. She said it was boring, but her friend Tamara loved it!!!! After they got back we walked across the street from the motel to a restaurant where all the teams were invited to a dinner hosted by the tournament director. It was an all you can eat pizza/pasta/salad buffett. VERY yummy. There was a little drama there.....the team we had just played that morning were sitting next to us and one of the girls from that team had made a lot of enemies on our team with her constant swearing, was acting very loud and annoying. The other drama was that 4 of Mel's teammates missed the dinner because they said they didn't know what time it was at. They were mad that no one came to get them, the coach was mad that they didn't come. That night Melanee tried to do more homework, but had a hard time on the math, and didn't finish the paper she was working on. I told her I would take her shopping (the mall was only a few blocks from the motel) if she finished her math. We went to the mall to look for blue jeans. We walked into Pennys and asked for the American Eagle store. We went there, and they were having a buy one, get one half off sale. She picked out a bunch and headed for the dressing room. She found 2 pair, but also wanted a hat. I wanted to pick out a 4th thing to get a half price deal.....then her phone rang...it was one of the teammates saying, Where are you? It's time for our team meeting". Melanee didn't mind missing it, but I hurried and paid for the pants and rushed her back. She wasn't late. I am so glad someone called because it was during that meeting that the coach announced that Melanee, Courtney, and Tamara made All American. I also didn't want her to miss after those girls made the coach so mad for missing dinner. (Melanee thought the meeting was at 10:00, it was at 9:00) After the meeting she was tired and went to bed. (She actually knew about the All American status, because I had told Scott and he told his friend Richard, and Richard called to congratulate Melanee.) So that's how she found out. Richard told her!!!! She asked me if I knew and I told her. I also told her about Courtney and Tamara. Melanee asked them if they knew and they didn't, so she's the one that ruined their surprise. I don't think ruined is the right word, but all 3 of them knew about it before the team meeting! (Thanks, Richard!!!!) (Hey, I think that's just about the first time I've EVER kept a secret. I wasn't going to tell her!!!!!) (I actually thought that they were going to announce it at the dinner with all of the team's there, but they didn't.)
The game the next day was an hour later than the first day, but I woke up at the same time. I went to eat and the assistant coach who was also one of the men's coaches was there and we ate together and talked. He was very nice, smart, and interesting. I gave him the idea to work on PK's (penalty kicks) in case the game went into overtime, and later that day in warm ups, they DID practice PK's- that made me happy. The girls started showing up. CNN was on the tv, but I brought out the video I had taken from the game the day before, and we watched that during breakfast. One girl woke up, came out, looked at the tv, and asked who was playing. When everyone said that was them, she ran back to her room to get her glasses. LOL. After breakfast the coach set out the uniforms again (should have taken a picture!!!) and they got ready. This game was at a closer, different field. We got there early and I helped the tournament director carry things to the field. The girls saw my red sweatshirt and told me to change it....the OPPONENTS team colors were RED! I put the red sweatshirt on under the blue one. (I was wearing green shirts UNDER all the sweatshirts.) I talked to some of the parents who were there with our team. I asked who one couple was, they said Lauren's parents, so I said, she's really good....and the mom said, are you Melanee's mom? I said yes, and she said, "She's right up there with Lauren_...(HAHA).... Tamara's dad said he wouldn't make me a copy of the video. (He had the oldfashioned kind of camera, didn't know how to make copies).
The game started and Melanee's team did pretty good, but had a hard time scoring. Late in the first half, Melanee scored on a long shot, that the goalie totally miss timed her dive on and it went in! That was thrilling! No one else scored the rest of the game. SVU had a lot of chances, and Andrews even had one that came SO CLOSE to going in, but it ended 1-0. Melanee's team went to Quiznos for lunch. I went there too, just to spend time with Mel, because it was ALMOST time for me to leave for the airport. We all went back to the field to watch the game to see who they would play in the Championship game. The girls were all nice in the stands, and I had fun commentating on the game. There was a fan for Penn College who was a guy with a loud voice who said things that were rude and mostly wrong. At one point I said to the girls I was sitting by, "Why are you guys rooting for Penn College, if Christendom wins this guy will go home." Those weren't my exact words, but something like that, and I guess I said it TOO loud because I didn't hear him say another word the whole rest of the match. When that game was over, it was time for me to leave, but I had to change my clothes, so I went back to the motel with the team one last time. I changed, said goodbye (almost cried) and left for the airport. I got gas in the car, returned the keys, and went to the gate. A weird guy met me in line for security, met me again at the gate, and just kept talking to me. I realized that I don't wear a wedding ring, so I started talking about my husband and kids. I thought that would get rid of him, but I saw him again at the Chicago airport, and again at the Sacramento airport!!!!! I was secretly hoping that they flight would be full, I wouldn't be able to go back home, and I'd have to stay in beautiful Vermont another day...but I got on the plane. The family in front of me was going to St Louis to watch the Rams play football. The girl next to me was pregnant and almost missed the plane. I got lasagna to eat and it was FILLING. Looking out the window was even more AWESOME this time because we flew over the ACTUAL soccer field that Melanee had just played at. Even though the stewardess asked everyone to stow away all electronics, I had my camcorder and took a movie of the take off for Bradley and Andrew (who really wanted to come with me). I had the camcorder going when I saw the field. It was so cool to see from above like that!!!!!!!! Flying over Lake Champlain was cool, too. Then we went back over snowy New York. I wrote in my journal again and watched the soccer video I had made. It was a good flight. I watched the flight back into Chicago and saw even MORE golf courses. We had to wait in the "penalty" box because we arrived 15 minutes early to Chicago and the plane before us was still at OUR gate. Something weird happened next....we got off at gate 2B and my next flight left from gate 3B....O"Hare airport has like 500 gates, no one ever gets as lucky as not having to walk a mile to catch their next flight. I walked around a little anyway. I took a picture of the dinosaur and the cool underground moving walkway with the neon lights and space age music. I went back to 3B and saw that there was a flight going to Burlington Vermont leaving from 2B.....I WANTED to get on that flight...but was warned by my dad that that would be a very EXPENSIVE mistake!!!! When my name was called to the counter I got my ticket and saw DRAKE BROWN, my husbands GOOD friend (and long lost relative) and our brand new STAKE PRESIDENT. We were on the SAME flight! Oh man, what a SMALL world. (And I thought about having Scott drop me off at the airport Wed morning...I should have, Drake, his co workers and I, could have car pooled to Chico!) Drake and I (or should I call him President Brown) talked until he had to get on.....I talked non stop about Melanee, I'm SURE). Then I waited, then got in line to board. The guy next to me in line says, "Are you Scott's wife????" "Yeah" and then he asked, "Are you one your way back from watching your daughter play soccer?" "uh, yeah....who are you?" he was a guy (Tyler Caveness) who works next door to Scott. SMALLLLLLL WORLD!!!! And how did he even know me...I don't think I've ever seen or met the guy in my life! The guy in front of us in line told us that he spent last Halloween in Chico! (It was Halloween.) SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL world!!!!! he was there for the parties that he had heard Chico has at Halloween. Tyler and I told him he should come for Rancho Chico Days, St Patricks Day, or the Tubing Holidays! LOL.
The flight back was fine. It was night time, so all I could see out the windows were lights from cities. I saw a lot of high school football games going on. The movies were LAME. One was "American Girls" and the other was something about a crazy guy and his crazy uncle....didn't watch it. I think I wrote in my journal some more. I think I slept some, too. I was cold, but I had given my blanket away. The flight attendents let some army guys come sit up front, that was nice....they got to eat, watch American Girls and got lots more leg room.
It was raining in Sacramento. I drove around the airport once or twice trying to get out.....I followed Drake Brown, not knowing he was going back for his co workers......then I called Scott and was talking on the cell phone, driving when I entered the freeway, without turning on my turn signall, then, right then, a Highway patrolman, passed me. He didn't stop me though. I think HE MUST HAVE SAW ME! But maybe I was blessed and oh so lucky. I didn't talk on the phone, didn't speed, didn't forget to use my turn signal, obeyed EVERY law the rest of the way home. SCARRY. I got home with everyone in bed, but the house was nice and clean.
It was the best trip EVER. EVER! So much fun. Unforgettable. Memorable. I loved every part of it.
I only wish I could have stayed longer. Saturday was the Title game. The Championship. The USCAA national championship game. And I missed it. I sat on my couch in Chico while SVU played Christendom in Burlington Vermont. I sat there waiting for a phone call. I waited thinking about what was going on each minute. When the call didn't come after two hours, I thought they might have gone into overtime, or there was a ceremony at the end of the game. I thought they might be doing a long cool down. I stressed and waited for a phone call. It didn't come and it didn't come. I started to think that maybe they lost and Melanee was too sad to call right away with the bad news. I also thought that maybe they won and they were having a huge celebration. I wondered if her battery was dead, if she lost her phone, or if she left it at the motel. Then my phone rang. The very first thing Melanee said was, "Mom, hold on a second" that made me MAD until I heard her say to her teammates in the background, "Everyone tell my mom..." and they all yelled "We WON". I was SO happy. SOOOOO HAPPPPY. And she told me a few more details. She said that Emmalani scored the first goal. She told me she scored after a corner kick, she also said that jessica scored and that it was 3-0. Then she told me she was on the All Tournament team and then she told me she was the TOURNAMENT MVP. WOW! She said they got medals, and she had 3 plaques. (One she got before the game for being an All American, then the one for All Tournament team, and the one for MVP). She was very happy. I tried to get her off the phone so I could call Scott and my dad!!!! I told her I'd call her later. She said they were on their way to Olive Garden for dinner.
What a THRILL!!!
I think I could write more, but it's a new Hannah Montana...I'm going to go watch it!
11/7/08
11/6/08
11/5/08
More Mel Pictures
there are 170 pictures from the first half of the 1st game on a web site from the photographer that was at the tournament.
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