Really need to get back to these updates. Give me another week or so I have tons of Pics. We have all been very busy....

End of a short ERA

Well, the time finally came. Push came to shove...
Dilemma. My 99 Dodge Ram 1500 with a weak ass 5.2 liter motor will not pull our boat over the mountain, (WHERE ALL THE BEST BOATING CAMP SITES ARE). I put the Chevelle up for sale 2 months ago, and it finally sold. So the final deal was cash plus the trade in of the 99 Dodge POS. I walked away smelling Roses. Final result is a 2004 Dodge 2500 quad cab 4wd 5.9 liter Diesel with a power chip/programmer. This is the Silver Bullet, it flat out gets it (HAULS ASS). Now I have Viagra with a steering wheel, and I can tow a good sized boat.

Too long

Sorry, it has been quite some time since my last post. Since then I have turned 41, and our baseball season is in full swing.
The downer of the season is that Travis's team, and my team (Tylers) games are on the same nights. So I will be missing all of Travis's final regular season. We are adapting as transportation is the big issue now.
Speaking of transportation. Travis is now studying for his drivers learners permit. All neighbors who think it is cool to park behind my driveway might want to rethink that logic.
The chevelle is now up for sale. It is consigned at Affordable Classics in Gladstone Oregon. I really don't have time for the tire kickers and phone calls. I reached a point where the car just wasn't that important anymore, and we need a stronger truck to pull the boat. My goal is to clear $18k from the car and get at least $3k for my truck on a trade in. It has been a slow process, but it has to be done.

Back to baseball, which frankly is running our lives right now. My team found themselves in a 13-4 ass kicking in the fourth inning. I told them they would have to swing the bat, something they hadn't done all game, if they wanted to win. They did it. We scored 14 runs in the top of the 5th, then held Lakeridge to two runs to secure an 18-15 win. Beautiful it was not, but a win is just that.
Great for the season opener, now we need to keep it together and get a few more pitchers if we want to make county and state this year.

Take me out to the ball game

And Away we go!!!!!!!!
We concluded our drafts for the 2010 Baseball season. Once again I am an assistant coach on Travis's team. This will be a special year as it may likely be his last year of competitive baseball. While I don't want to see it go away for him, it may just be the reality. He is a very skilled player with good instincts and a ton of heart. Size wise he just doesn't match up. There are 8th graders at 6 ft and 165 lbs, and they are still growing. They have been working hard and it shows. Unless Travis hits a huge growth spurt in the next 10 months he will be aced out of playing freshman baseball.

I have once again taken the reigns of Tyler's baseball team. I was disappointed when I lost my star player from last year. He was Drafted into the Federal level or "varsity" if you will of the 4th grade teams. As I am a coach Tyler was more or less black listed from making that team. In reality Tyler will get more reps playing down a skill level so it all works out. It was looking pretty dismal as far as replacing the player I lost, but as I went into the draft process I located 4 players I HAD to have. With a bit of planning I dropped some weaker players from my roster and kept only four. This afforded me the first 3 picks and alternating picks after that. I immediately grabbed the top 3 prospects, then pulled in my 4th choice in the next round. When all was said and done, I was able to pick up the players I had dropped from the roster at teh end of the draft. So I increased my talent level, and maintained the good kids I had previously. Looking forward to another successful season.

Here we go. Today is the last 2010 basketball game Tyler will play. Frankly, it was a poor season. Tyler is a good player, but not a "GREAT" player.....until NOW. His team has won 2 and tied 1,while losing 5. Tyler is the second leading scorer, which is not right. He is also one of the shortest kids. Oh well he is one of two players that led them to their few victories.
Now here comes Baseball, with a goal to win over half our games and make county, then state.....
Totally different mindset as I am their coach....

Freshman Orientation

Well here we are. Travis will be a freshman next year at Clackamas High School. While we knew this, the orientation tonight made it much more clear. We found out that Clackamas is one of the biggest high schools in Oregon with a student body of 2356.
His class has 550 freshman, which is down from his original class of 2013 which had 650 freshman. I say his original class because we held him back in the 6th grade. A move that really turned out for the best in the long run.
The Journey continues.

Baseball

Baseball registrations are in as of tonight's deadline. This year is special in two ways.
Travis will be playing his last year of youth baseball, high school tryouts come next year. Taylor will be playing her first year of t-ball. We look forward to both, however we are dreading the scheduling conflicts that are coming our way with three kids playing.
I will be Head Coach of Tyler's team, Assistant Coach on Travis's team, and hope to help wherever I can for Taylor's team. Did I mention there are only 7 days in a week. Practices happen M,T,W,TH,Fri,Sat. Somewhere in there we get to eat. Luckily we achieve the family max after paying for two players, so Taylor is free. We now have to find a "lefty" glove for her, likely pink in color......

Super Bowl Sunday

Need I say More?

Fine, I will. Geaux Saints!!!
Frankenberry Manning has had his chances. Let the Saints defense make him look the fool like they have done to everyone else

Been away 4 awhile

I haven't posted in awhile here as really there isn't much to report.
Tyler is playing basketball, and is the starting point guard and leading scorer. Yaaaa you say... ok sure. Tyler is on a team of total misfits. We have worked for weeks teaching these boys plays. Game time comes and they all freeze. So Tyler dribbles in and lays it up for 2.
The first game the team scored 22 in a loss, Tyler had 11 of those points. In each game since he is scoring 50% of the teams points. He isn't a ball hog and really wants to pass, but no one moves to get open. If I ever decide to get garden gnomes I know where I can find nine, four foot tall gnomes, these boys stand that still...

We have already started baseball practices. None are sanctioned, but we just bring kids in who we have coached in the past. We utilize the High Schools indoor batting cages for hitting and infield practice. It's only for an hour a week but it is better than nothing.

Once baseball starts in the end of Feb, all bets are off as to how many posts get in.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye...

LET IT BE KNOWN......
On this day January 6th in the year two thousand and nine (2009), Rob Whittaker took two fingers, inserted them into a FRESH can of Copenhagen, and did partake, FOR THE LAST TIME!!!!!!!!!
It has become ONE full year since the last transgression, and as such I am looking for a just reward....

Wii.....

Let me start off by saying I am not a gamer. Travis has had a Playstation 1 and 2, X-Box, Game Cube, and who the hell else knows what. I basically stay away from video games unless they involve cars or Golf. I once tried to Play Lara Croft Tomb Raider and got dizzy. (Could have been Angelina's profile).
Recently over the Christmas break I managed to play a little Guitar Hero with the boys. I wasn't anything great, but it was fun to learn what all the rage was.
Here we are now almost 2 weeks after Christmas. Tyler had received a Wii from Santa. I picked it up tonight and started playing. Holy Crap!! Wii sports is a blast! The only thing keeping me from winning the world title in Tennis, ping pong, and sword fighting, is I don't have enough iceyhot for my right shoulder!! Ok, sure you say, "we all knew this". Yeah I'm sure you did, but now it's my turn. These kids are gonna need to go to work to buy themselves a new Wii, This one is MINE!

My 1970 Chevelle

I remember a time when that car was everything to me. I say was, but really it still does mean a lot. I took an old lady's 1970 Malibu, and rebuilt it into a street machine to suit my tastes. The car gets attention wherever it goes. As my kids have gotten older, my time has become more important to them, so the Chevelle just sits in the garage. While I say it sits, I still drive it on sunny days, but I no longer have the time to give it a little something new or extra. I used to tinker here and there, adding new touches to make it better. Now, I rarely lift the hood unless some new person I meet wants to see what makes it go. This car which I have named Jenny(e-mail me and I will share the story)was almost put up for sale. Sadly the only thing that kept an add from going in the Sunday paper was the price of muscle cars have dropped in this economy, and I won't let her go for less than I put into her especially since I am not in a financial crunch. (YET).
Anyway, you have now been introduced to my second wife, even if she rarely comes out to play anymore.
Rob