(Not the best picture, but gives you some idea. Ray is #9.)
Dashiell and Ray’s soccer season ended today. It was fun but I’m glad it’s over. I look forward to having Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings free! Team India’s final record was a dismal 1-6-2. Of course there were no goalies and we weren’t officially supposed to keep score, but that would have been our record if someone felt the need to keep track of such things. Anyway, the kids enjoyed themselves and that’s what counts.
The last team we played was really good and they gave us a solid thrashing. Dashiell scored a goal though so that was cool. He was playing defense and kicked the ball all the way across the field into the other team’s goal. Kind of a fluke but we were excited about it.
We had our little team banquet afterward. This one kid’s mom had been pushing to grill hot dogs but the weather didn’t cooperate. It sprinkled some during the game and looked a whole lot more threatening. She brought a cake and another mom bought pizzas. The cake was at the YMCA building so we went there to eat following the game. It was pretty awkward because we were crammed into a little corner of the exercise room. There we were stuffing our faces to the backdrop of people working out on treadmills and other such equipment. I said a little something special about each kid before giving them their trophies. It was a short, low key affair which suited me just fine.
The boys say they want to play soccer again in the fall but I don’t think I’ll coach. It’s a big commitment and I really don’t feel comfortable moving up to the next level. They would play in the U10 league, which has goalies, positions, and the score counts. I think I’ll volunteer to be an assistant, see what the league is like, and then maybe coach the following spring.
Until recently the thrifting opportunities around here were pretty limited. Garage sales and semi-annual consignment sales were about it, so it was a big deal when a new Goodwill opened in Covington on Thursday. I heard that it was packed elbow to elbow on opening day, and when we went Sat. there was a pretty steady stream of people going in and out.
I scored some funky fabric and yards and yards of xmas fabric, which I (or, erm, Santa) uses instead of wrapping paper.
Awwww-
Baby chicks are so cute.
Hazel was sitting there telling all me about how the chicks are doing yoga and showing me the poses.
As cool as it is that Snaggletooth sold for $81.50, it also really disturbs me that people have that kind of $$ to spend on crap. And there were 12 watchers, so presumably 11 other people were thinking about it, too.
Kind of funny - Snaggletooth is going back to MI and will only be about 15-20 minutes from where he spent most of his life.
Scott set this guy aside when he got all his Star Wars toys a few years ago (for the boys . . . ) It was part of a set that was only sold at Sears, so we knew it was kind of rare. We always talked about putting it up on ebay, and yesterday I finally did. I had a bid within 5 minutes of the listing, and now, 24hours after listing it there are 3 bids and 5 people watching the auction. I started it at $1 and it is up to $20.50. This guy is pretty roughed up, and others like him usually sell for around $100. In perfect condtion he’d go for about $225! Crazy.
She is soccer obsessed. She keeps asking me if I will buy her cleats (”Mamma, you buy me some keets?”) and shin guards and last week I found this old uniform from the boys and she was thrilled. She was planning on wearing it to the boys’ game and running out onto the field and playing with them, but she got sick so we didn’t go. When the boys have practice I have practice on the side with her - she has to dribble around and kick it through my legs. She’ll be able to play on a 3 and 4 year olds team (if we are still here) in the next soccer season, and I’m thinking about coaching . . .
While out at recess today with my class I saw this drunken flying bird cut across the corner of the field behind the school to this little patch of woods. My initial thought was that it was a small wounded hawk but then I saw the flash of red and followed its course to the tree it landed on. I quickly realized it was a pileated woodpecker! I was so excited. I had only seen one of these striking, crow sized woodpeckers once before while driving home from work about ten years ago. And really, striking is the word. That crazy red crest and it’s large size definitely cause you take notice. Seeing this one made my day.
Pokemon Colosseum (Gamecube)
The Easter Bunny brought the boys this one yesterday. They were so excited. It was actually kind of a Pokemon themed Easter as we also got them each a starter decks of cards and a couple of books, How to Draw Pokemon and Pokemon Top Ten Handbook.
Colosseum looks pretty good. One thing I like is how you can see the size of the different creatures in relation to the trainers. You can do this on the handheld versions of the game by looking at a little graphic in your Pokedex but it’s a whole lot more effective to see them battling it out three dimensionally in the middle of an arena.
The coolest part though is that Dashiell and Ray can connect their GameBoy Advances with Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen to Colosseum and battle each other using the Pokemon they caught in those respective games. They really had a lot of fun with that and again it was nifty to see their Pokemon in three dimensions.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars / Tetris Worlds (XBox)
My friend Steve from work permanently loaned me his XBox almost two years ago. He was frustrated with it because the drive was having a hard time reading some of his games so he just bought a new one. Money to burn, I guess. I’ve actually only had that problem a couple of times. Anyway I played through some games he lent me- Halo, Splinter Cell, Gotham Racing- but packed it away for the longest time after that. I pulled it out recently and incorporated it into our current TV / video game setup. Lacking kid friendly titles, we bought this two-for-one disc at GameStop. It was only five bucks!
The Clone Wars is a vehicle style shooter set in various locations from the prequels. It’s not great but it’s definitely kinda fun driving and flying the cool ships from the movies while blasting everything in sight. And Tetris is Tetris with some nifty variations.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (XBox)
I just picked this up today. When we got that Star Wars game last week they gave us the wrong disc. It had The Clone Wars on it but not Tetris. I exchanged it after work for the right one and grabbed the Tony Hawk title for a whopping four dollars. Haven’t played it yet but it’s supposed to be excellent. You can really clean up in the $9.99 and under bargain bin.
I couldn’t have hand picked a better match-up for yesterday afternoon’s game. When I bought tickets way in advance I had no idea who would be pitching when the actual game rolled around. I was thrilled just to be seeing the Braves play the Mets since those two teams have had such an intense rivalry in recent years. It was by happy accident that we got to see John Smoltz versus former Brave Tom Glavine. The two were longtime teammates and still remain close friends. They also happen to be the number one starter for their respective teams.
As expected, it was a good game. Smoltz and Glavine pitched pretty well, but threw a lot of pitches and only lasted through the sixth inning. Glavine was actually pulled in the sixth after giving up some hits and a pair of walks. Shawn Green dropping a fly ball didn’t help him out any.
Actually there was a lot of sloppy play throughout the game, especially by the Mets. I think the cold, windy weather was a huge factor. For the Braves Chipper Jones dropped an infield pop up and Ryan Langerhans was burned in an ill-advised stolen base attempt. Besides Green’s costly error, the Mets’ Carlos Delgado also dropped a routine catch at first base and there were two base running gaffes, including a classic rundown (a “pickle” as we called it as kids) and not tagging up on a line-out. Both teams issued a lot of walks too. Still, the mistakes didn’t make it any less exciting.
This was the first time in which Dashiell and Ray truly appreciated what was happening on the field. They didn’t really understand what was going on before. I taught them a few things but where they really picked up on it was Mario Superstar Baseball. As a result they were a lot more interested in the game, especially keeping track of the ball and strike count and, perversely, bunting. For some reason they got excited when players bunted. Who needs home runs, eh?
We had a great time, but it was awfully cold. Our toes were frozen! And leading up to the game was a bit stressful. The electronic signs on the expressway leading to Turner Field indicated that all of the parking lots were closed unless you had a prepaid parking pass. We didn’t. The sign also helpfully directed us to HiFi Buys Ampitheather where we could park and take a shuttle back to the stadium. After a couple of wrong turns we finally found the place and made it into our seats just in time for the first pitch. It was kind of a hassle but I give the Braves organization credit for having a relatively smooth alternative in place. Oh, and it was only five bucks instead of twelve to park so that definitely made me feel better about having to go a little out of our way.
Just like the James Bond, Superman, and TMNT franchises, Groovy Kid Stuff is starting over. Things will be different on GKS from here on out. First of all, it’s not going to be just me writing anymore. My wife Helen will also contribute her efforts. That’s a good thing because she’s a lot more interesting than me. And despite the blog’s name, the emphasis will no longer be on kid stuff. We’re giving in to narcissism and will write about ourselves and the cool things we do. Of course there will be a significant kid angle as our own children, plus the ones I teach, play a huge part in our lives. But basically this will now be a blog documenting our daily existence. We hope you enjoy reading the new and improved Groovy Kid Stuff!
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