A little learning and a little R & R

What a beautiful spot to have an education conference! This is a short walk down the beach from Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. Pacific Grove is nestled on the ocean 75 miles south of San Fransisco and next to Monterey, California as well as Pebble Beach California (which is well known for the world class golf course that hosts PGA and several other popular events).

I flew out around 6:30 am Thursday and flew back into Gillette at 10:30 pm Saturday evening. The other District APE teacher also went to the Conference. We had a great time and even learned a few things while we were there!

Although it was a National Conference there was only about 110 teachers there, well less than the 500 that apparently attend on a yearly basis. The conference center itself was first established around 1900 and has grown to numerous large rustic style buildings. The setting was quaint, however the accommodations were ok at best. Considering the price the district paid to send us on the trip, I believe it was a good deal for us to learn and share knowledge back and forth with colleagues.

Thursday evening included a key note and socializing. Friday morning and afternoon were filled with sessions and provided me with some excellent ideas to implement in the future. Around 5:30 or so I called a cab and Becki and I headed into Monterey for a little sea food at Bubba Gump's on Cannery Row. This was probably my fourth or fifth trip to Gump's as Mall of America has one that we frequented on occasion. After the meal we did a little shopping for our families and enjoyed the night life for a few hours.


Cannery Row made the trip worth it for me! There were a lot of neat shop's and the temp was in the mid 50's. I really enjoyed the experience!

Just a short walk down the board walk and plenty visible from my room was the beach. I was disappointed as the water was even colder than Lake superior! There were constant waves ranging from 4-8 feet... I'm not sure swimming would have been a great idea!


Well this trip wasn't on my dime, however Samantha and I depart for Las Vegas in a week from Friday. It will be Samantha's first time in Sin City and my third. We're looking forward to taking in the sites!

Yes, there are things to do in Vegas besides gamble!

We're booked to watch Brooks and Dunn at a small venue. We're meeting up with Eric and Estalita Slivoskey. Slivo and I made it out to Vegas about two years ago and had said at that point that we wanted to bring our wives out for the concert should we ever get the chance. Now with B & D retiring we decided we couldn't wait to long! We hope to do another show while in Vegas, and although we'll be there for 3 1/2 days I'm not sure that we will fit in everything we would like to do!

We're both very excited as it will be our Christmas gift! Aundrea and Tristan will spend the time with Grandma, I think she's kind of happy about that as she leaves a week later for El Salvador.

That moment of embarrasment...

Ok, so for every father in the world there has be that moment where you realize your kid/s can do something you can't do. Something that forever had been in your realm of accomplishment, and it's now in there's. Something that you ALWAYS knew you'd be able to do better than your kids.

I'm fortunate. Aundrea and Tristan are still pretty young, I'll wait till T-ball (and probably not much further) to see the almost sure likelihood that one of them "outshines" pops on the diamond. Or simply enroll Aundrea in piano to realize that she'll have more musical ability in her fingers than in my entire body.

For my dad, life has always had many unforgiving moments. However in those moments there have typically been shades of grace. For instance, dad was not a baseball player. So at my age of 11, his age of 37 there wasn't to much pride damaged when his glove was a little low on a high heater that caught him in the face. Nor was there much pride damage at his age of 40 and my brother's age of 17 when on water ski's my brother seemed to be able to absolutely master ski's on one foot or two. Dad eventually was able to relive his child hood and get himself out of the water! Ok, so he did a great deal of boating growing up and we did very little in comparison, but when you hit forty and find there's more surface area around your middle nobody expects a whole lot in the water! Except that perhaps you can float for hours in a pool without the assistance of a life preserver.

I think this last week finally brought dad to his knees about his strengths potentially becoming his kids strengths and that maybe they can do one or two things better than he.

As I said before, dad wasn't a baseball player so there weren't many expectations there. Dad wasn't a basketball player so he needs to just stick with his patented "granny shot". Dad did briefly attempt football but again realized that it wasn't for him. Although I wouldn't say that my athletic prowess wasn't overly inspiring (and Christopher's certainly wasn't), we still knew that there was an easy win in it for us when we took on dad.

There were a few things that dad could absolutely call his own. Tear apart a motor and put it back together- dad. Look at an empty room and see it fully finished off and the steps it takes to get there- dad. Ride a motorcycle- dad.... or is it?


This past week dad thought that motorcycles were still undeniably HIS thing. He chuckled when I told him that on the written test I had missed the most allowable but still managed to squeak by. He belly laughed when I complained about the difficulty of the skills test and my passing even though I missed nine points.

So on Tuesday Dad put his "legacy" on two wheels to the test. First was the written test. Remember, this is the guy that passed all "138" CDL written tests with the efficiency of a Yale Law student taking the bar and asking for a few extra questions "just for fun". The motorcycle test proved to be slightly different for the old guy. Basically it took two rounds! In round one he missed so many the computer laughed at him! On round two he squeaked by so close that the computer recommended that he get a better life insurance policy!

So with testing complete, dad moved outside. Much more confident in his skills. Besides that, two women were administering the test... how hard could it be? On the first of six skill measurements dad did well, so well in fact that you could feel him getting cockier by the second! However all forms of arrogance deflated quickly on round two when he was asked to weave around several cones (I missed 8 points here... BUT I STILL PASSED) Dad on the other hand made it through three of the cones and decided that the last two were to menacing! So he rounded the bike and came back to the start as if to say "I need to give it another shot". Both ladies had the look of being somewhere between bewildered to having just heard the best punch line of the night at a comedy club. The one arrogantly walked over and informed the old man that in his haste to restart the skill he missed 13 points and had subsequently failed the test!

Wow! If you could have seen the poor old guy. He looked like he'd just got hit by a Mack truck! For the next two hours I heard about how the test was rigged and impossible! I've had a joyous time reminding him that I passed it! It's bothered him so much that he has even lost sleep at night trying to strategize how he might be able to pass next time. He's even sought out someone who may have a smaller bike (or a moped) for him to test on. I have responded with a few belly laughs of my own. However, I have also learned (maybe) another important thing... it's best not to poke an angry bear that just lost his pride over a motorcycle skills test!

What dad would look like on a Moped.

In other news, Samantha, the kids and I where in Rapid City yesterday to watch TBC take on South Dakota Mines for a 1:00 game. Overall the game was reminiscent of the four years I was an assistant on the sideline. There were however a few positives in my observations of the game. First, it was great to see some of the players that I helped bring to Ellendale finish out there careers with a great deal of pride and strength. It takes a lot to play there four years and remain confident that you can get better every year. It also takes a great deal to remain injury free during those years. Second, there's a wealth of young potential on the team. They have several outstanding offensive players that if they stick around, the program is heading in a very positive direction. On several occasions they put together some impressive plays/drives that picked on the few weaknesses in their opponents. Lastly, from watching the game I have no doubt that the program's future is bright. Trinity currently has a great deal of financial weight and burden around it's neck, however I and others, have always felt that the football program (and the athletics program in general) could help to be the answer, not part of the problem. There were two coaches remaining with the program from when the Slivoskey era ended, they along with a new head coach and his additions, seem to be very motivated in improving the program. I am very hopeful at where they will be in five years.

People often ask me why the football program at Trinity is indeed so poor. They often believe that it's management, lack of dedication by the players or even a combination of both. I can say that the issues present at Trinity are actually somewhat complex. Money has a great deal to do with it. It's also amazing at how a program can loose so much ground over a few years of poor coaching. Shawn Fury penned a 2005 book "Keeping the Faith: In the Trenches with College Football's Worst Team." Yes I have always believed the title to be harsh, but in reality he's on par with the truth! Throughout the book Fury's synopsis of the program and college is exactly the truth! In many ways he was much kinder than he could have been. He could have told "the rest of the story" on occasion but refrained, fortunately! I still occasionally keep in touch with the author, I am still awaiting his next book. I think he'll always remember the six weeks he spent with us in Ellendale!

In other news, I have accepted my first coaching position since leaving Trinity. It is with Gillette's Legion Post. In Michigan, Legion baseball is small potatoes, out here Legion ball is big news being that there is no high school baseball. They've hired me to be the head coach of the "Rustlers" which is equivalent to a JV program (14-18 year olds). We'll play 50-60 games next year between the middle of April and the beginning of August. Check out the website. Overall I am very excited and maybe a little nervous! We'll begin in December for about 1-2 nights per week. I am excited about the travel schedule in the summer as we'll get to see a few new places. They have also given me permission to bring Samantha and the kids on road trips, which was an important part of me accepting the position. I'll keep you posted on this throughout the upcoming year!

Time well spent...

Of all the things that I have done in life, perhaps the best has been the time spent with Samantha! We met while at Trinity Bible College. All together we began dating over 5 years ago and were married around a year into our relationship! We moved quick! I guess when you know what you want, you go for it and don't look back!

I guess growing up I always thought the perfect age to get married was 21 and having kids in my 30's would be great! Well, we were married at 22 and managed our first child at 23 and I'm not complaining! Aundrea has indeed softened my heart and has been a blessing to our lives! I guess many thought we were nuts at the time we were pregnant with Aundie... and that was only compounded when a mere 8 months later we were expecting Tristan. Both have proven to us that life wasn't meant to be easy but it was meant to be fun, as long as that's your expectation in life!

Now that we've been married for four+ years and our children are both basically in the toddler stage neither of us believe that we "have it all figured out" but I think we're both pretty proud of what we've accomplished!

For starters, Samantha has been a full time mom every day of Aundrea's life, something we've committed to from day one, but have gotten close to straying from on various occasions... but ultimately our decision has been reaffirmed on various occasions in various ways!


I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am often surprised at the changes life has provided. At 20, when I left Michigan, I never expected my next move to encompass a wife and children... things of that nature are difficult to imagine! Yet nothing on this earth has given more of a sense of pride and joy than my wife and children!

I'm not sure what it is about society today that has allowed us (as men) not to have the desire to express certain things in life... except where we're expected to. Dad and I were have this conversation a few months ago... I believe he finds humor in my ability to talk about such things that most "men" find uncomfortable. I actually credit him for that indirectly, he's always been encouraging of my brother and I to try new things and experience life outside of his own experience. He encouraged me to leave Michigan for college and has always shown great pride in my choice in a wife. That's pretty cool when things of that nature happen!

Even more so, my parent's have always attempted to support my ambitions. Not to say they are ever initially supportive... I guess that's to a degree a part of their personality (and every parent's personality... some express it more than others)... yet both warm up to ideas and both have attempted to allow us to sink or swim. To some degree my parent's approach is somewhat unique for them. Neither of them are overly open minded in areas such as politics, religion or personal convictions. A fact that I don't always agree with, yet try to respect!

I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't understand the perspective of other guys unwillingness to talk openly. I hope I never do!


I'll give you another example. Yesterday a coworker and I were discussing scrap booking. I know, I know... SCRAPING! Wow, I guess I should feel less man-ly for even discussing it! But guess what, Samantha loves it! To her cutting pictures and designing pages is the most fun a mom can have by herself so I guess I've been trying to understand it and find enjoyment in her work as well. I have actually done more research in to scrappin' tool's than "the average bear" and I'd feel pretty comfortable walking into ANY store to look at what they carry in their scrap booking department. I also believe that I could look through the selection and pick out items that Samantha would enjoy to use and would benefit her work. A few days ago Samantha and I actually got into a heated debate about the how a certain type of book goes together and could be added to! Honestly, I won the debate (although I think she feels that she won as well!).

For my coworker, I think she was just dismayed at the time I've spent researching a few items... and also some of the knowledge I have on my wife's needs/wants for the hobby. She asked me to speak with her husband regarding Christmas! Sure, why not! For Samantha I have some pretty cool things on the horizon... some that she won't expect... that I am still bursting with enthusiasm over!

I think this desire of mine to appreciate what Samantha enjoys actually started with Samantha. When we got married, Samantha knew I had an unshaken loyalty to the Tigers. Within a year her loyalty for the Tigers was growing rapidly! So much so that to be honest she was the driving force of us getting the baseball package on our TV this past year. She followed intently throughout the season. So much so that when dad and I left to pick up his bike in Chicago that Samantha would call with updates on the games... she would even watch the Chi Sox and Twins games to report on their progress! This floored dad! Samantha was educated enough to discuss players, their performance at a position and their approach at the plate. A husbands DREAM! Sadly, when the Tigers dropped game 163 to the Twins our combined attitude for the next 24 hours was somewhere between really angry and really annoyed!

Samantha has also been extremely supportive in my other ventures, including the motorcycle and my passion to coach! In each she has actively taken an interest in my interest! So I find it only appropriate that I return the favor! It's only natural!

I'm out... time to go eat nacho's with jalapeno's and watch a Rocky movie in my underwear!