Sports and everything else

Gabby once again reminded me that Baseball is just a game. It doesn't matter who wins, but it does matter how well they played. Hmm... pretty stout advice from a little pipsqueak. Yes, Houston lost and life goes on. Gabby goes back to watching cartoons (actually she never stopped), and I go back to washing my lucky jersey again. Maaaaaybe next year. Ugh. My beloved team who I couldn't watch through the playoffs went down in the final game of the final series. I'm proud of them. I'm proud of them like I am proud of Gabby when she skates. She doesn't always win, but she goes on the ice and comes off the ice like a champion. She cheers on all the other girls and she loves it when they cheer for her. It's a good thing to see that in kids. We should see more of it in other things.

We had a planning meeting this morning with the Nutcracker Committee. We went down the list of everything that needs to be done and Kim was there to point out what has been done in the past. She's amazing. So organized. Dorothy was there as well. I got to show her Gabby's newly edited videos from Tulsa. She loved them. She pilfered my DVD as a matter of fact. I knew she would. Heh,heh. I hope she shows it to Ms. Margaret and to John.

Oh! Tomorrow we have brunch with Aunt Norma. We are going to the iHop for some flapjacks. Yum! I'll also be taking the dog for a drag. That's my friend Brian's favorite line. Yep, dang dog Misty. I think we'll keep her. Even though she hoped on the table and ate Sally's egg sandwich. By the time Sally turned around, Misty was licking her chops. You don't see the cat doing that. On the other hand, you don't see the cat do much of anything either. EXCEPT, when he gets a wild hair. His eyes dilate and they get BIG...then he gets creepy. I usually knock him upside the head to snap him out of it, or he'll spend the rest of the night stalking and niping at everybody. Cats. Spastic cats. Gotta love them.

Practicing a Double-Toe

Gabby has been working on her skating and she let me know that her double-toe loop is looking good. I've not seen it on the ice yet but hopefully I will in the next week or so. This past Friday, instead of going to club ice as usual, we sneaked off to Fright Fest at Astroworld.
Fright Fest was a lot of fun. They had some live bands that were really good! Okay, except for that Disco band that was just baaaad. However, the Creed-cover band was just jammin'!!!
We also took in the haunted houses were great. The first one we went too, Joel and Sally chickened out and so it was up to Gabby and I to go in. I thought it was excellent and scary. Gabby lasted through the first 3-4 rooms and then that was enough. We exited early and took the side exit.
The "psycho clown" 3D haunted house was really, really "freaky". Clowns are just plain scary and then you add 3D effects and ugh - just creepy.
The best show we saw was the Rock Hypnotist. heh,heh... FUNNY show. He had about 12 people up on the stage at one time and had them playing air guitar and air drums. It was really funny! Gabby and Joel had a great time and we closed the park - as usual. :)

I worked on Gabby's skating videos and had them ready and THEN... crash. I'm working on recovering the video files. Hopefully, I will be able to do that. Ugh.

Joe.

Fun in the Sun

This weekend found Sally travelling to the country with her good friend, Kristine Penny. This means that GABBY and I were left on our own with nothing but cash and credit cards. Heh,heh.

The first day we went to club ice and met the Blooms, and the Guptons there. Some of the girls are going on to compete in Regionals in a few weeks so they put on a show of their programs that will do in competition. They were SPECTACULAR! Dorothy says that Gabby and the rest of the gang are still a couple of years away. Great! The average cost of a skater is about 12-14k a year at that level. Hmm... I can buy a lot of cool stuff with that, but well, it's worth it. I keep threatening to put a bumper sticker that says, "My Daughter and my money to to the Aerodrome"...or something like that. I'll have to ponder on that one. Ria - Brian's wife - has knack for these kinds of things.

The second day, Saturday, found us taking off to Astroworld and trying to squeeze as many rides in as possible. We got soaked on the "Log Flume" and on the colorful float thingy...yes, just drenched. It didn't dappen our spirits as we rode the "Runaway Rickshaw", "Gunslinger", "Mayan Mindbender", and "Warp2000" (the scrambler). Luckily, I didn't get queasy.

Today, our third and final day of just "hanging out" and just having fun, took us to Celebration Station. We paid a round of putt-putt and just had a blast making each other laugh. Joel was supposed to join us but he went to the movies with his friends. Something about playing putt-putt is just, um, "not too cool" with his dad. Ha,ha. I understand. :)

Gabby and I also worked on the video's of her skating a little while ago. They are FANTASTIC. I think you'll like them. I'l put them up on the web as soon as I finish the editing. They are very catchy and there are some fast editing cuts so be ready.

I have clips of Alison Ondrusek, Katlyn Gupton, Sarah Bloom, and Ally Ensor. I think Dorothy and the parents will be pleased. Of course, I'll have to make them a copy. :)

Best to all and stay safe,

Joe.