Whatnot

Seeing as I haven't ben on here in a while I will start with the good stuff. Gabby and Elliot are both growing like weeds and with the exception of a few ear infections and the occasional flu, they are an absolute joy to have running around the house. Sarah has got into the holiday spirit, we have our little Charlie Brown tree up and decorated and there are a few other touches around the house. The next big thing is getting the kids and us ready to go home for the holidays! We can't wait to see everyone, we are doing something different this year, making a stop before hitting WA. We will be visiting Chris and Randi in San Diego for a couple wonderful days. Gabby is so excited, she can't wait to hang out with some girls. On my personal note, my bi-annual physical fitness test was a pleasant surprise. I beat my previous personal best (9:27)in the 450 Meter swim with a time of 9:13. I plan to break 9:00 next March, and try to max out in the push up and sit up categories. Other than that, nothing much to report. Winter striper fishing is about to hit the VA Beach area, I may have to go out and catch me a monster. That's all for now, Happy Holidays to all.

Finally!

Well, the season is nearly upon us. We started softball practice this week, and it has been great sunshine and good fields so far. Not as many are turning out as I hoped, but I am sure once the games start we will have more than enough. Jokes on them though, guess who's the coach? That's right, little ol' me. So some people are going to be a little upset when they are pulling splinters out of their butts from riding the pine. Should have come to practice pal. On an unrelated but good note, I have been able to get my hands dirty around the yard, something I have been missing from apartment living. I've started working on our beat up shed, and pulling some weeds in the yard. After the weeds are up, I will lay down some grass seed just before we take a trip home. Two weeks in hopefully sunny Washington! Family get together happening at the Eckloff cabin on Whidbey Island, hopefully everything and everyone is civil and we get out of there unscathed. Looking forward to fishing with my brother-in-law, any one of the three will do, but I think Thomas will sadly be out of country. Hopefully Grandpa Baba is trained in CPR because I plan on joining him on his daily hikes up to Fragrance lake, and I plan on getting on out to the farm to work with the cows. Gabby is going to be super excited, I hear there are 8 new babies! Our family looks forward to seeing everyone, and i hope we can fit everyone into our busy schedule. See you on March 31!

Baba's Trip

Well, we are about to wrap up another successful visit by Grandpa Norm (aka Baba). All in all it has been a pretty good time, thoroughly enjoyed by all. I spent much of his visit in Manassas, VA testing out an upgrade to our systems at work. So he was an immense help to Sarah and the kids, and they love having him around. Sarah got to have a little "mom" time alone every now and then and even took Gabrielle out to see "The Princess and the Frog" without the little ankle biter. No fishing for me this time, but the weather has been getting colder and it is harder to get out there and have fun. We had some good dinners, some long nights, and Baba got to bond with Elliot even more. Here's to hoping that he can come back soon.

Oh, Unfathomable Sadness

Well, something devastating happened in the world of fishing. During our most recent Nor'Easter, about 200 feet of the Lynnhaven Fishing Pier collapsed into the ocean, closing it for the immediate and probably far reaching future. Now, I have never fished off this pier, but I regret missing the future opportunities that I could have had. Here's hoping that this darn weather doesn't mess up the NOB Pier.

Why I should be coach of the Seahawks

Well, we are halfway into the NFL season and the Seahawk's season is already over. Seriously, we need to pack it in and get a good draft pick, because having Matt Hasselbeck back there isn't doing us any favors. I would throw the ball on every down, to our whiny WR T.J. Whatshisface, and continue to pretend like we aren't tanking to draft Colt McCoy or whatever stud RB is coming out this year. Just make the games look close, and get the 1st overall pick. Then blow up that terrible O-line we have and start from scratch with the rookies and first year guys. But I, alas, am not the coach and Jim Mora will probably find a way to win a few more games and totally screw us over.

Oh Valentine's Day, how I long for thee.

Well, the MLB season has come and gone. Unfortunately the Yankees were able to buy another World Series, but on a positive note the Phillies didn't win. Now begins the longest (not technically but it feels that way for me) offseason in which the Mets look to get better but probably won't. So, I will wait patiently until Valentine's Day, when everyone starts with a clean slate and the Mets look good on paper, but will probably stink up their beautiful stadium all year.

Why the NFL sucks

Now don't take this the wrong way, I absolutely love the NFL. But right now, the Seahawks are quite pitiful and the Denver Broncos, a team whose 1st round draft pick we own, just can't seem to lose. Anyone who is anyone related to the game said that this team was primed for a collapse; rookie head coach, disgruntled star receiver, castoff quarterback, lot of questions on defense. Instead, Kyle Orton looks like Bart Starr, the defense seems to have channeled the 85 Bears and Brandon Marshall continues to make defenses look silly, all the while laughing and hugging with Coach McDaniels, who just so happened to humble one of the best coaches of all time. And to make matters worse, the Seahawks just seem to want to finish middle of the pack. So not only do I get to watch the Seahawks win enough games to not make the playoffs, but I also get to see them screw theirselves out of any chance to draft a franchise QB or RB to replace the shoddy excuses we have in place right now. I hope and pray that Seahawks do the right thing here, but knowing them like I do, we'll get just a good enough draft pick to draft the next Rick Mirer or Dan McGwire.