Happy Easter!!!

 Bridger's first April (2004)  Darin used to talk to everyone with a headset on attached to the cordless phone so he could be mobile.

 Tulip farm in Washington, north of Seattle

 First Easter.  Oh My he was adorable at this age.  Can he really have been so little....

I was so excited to see the tulips at this farm.  But, by end of April they were almost all gone and we got to see a couple of fields that were left.

As Darin said yesterday, dreary day here early.  The sun did come out and the guys went shooting with Shawn and Sammy.  I got to go get my Expedition tires rotated.  We decided to use a bday  coupon and went to Fire Rock for dinner.  We stopped at "Ken and Betty's" for a container of pistachio ice cream.  Bridger opted for huckleberry ice cream cone.

Bridger said on the way home last night he was so excited for today.  We are happy for him.

"C'mon in boys!!  The water is fine!!

I had to beat Darin to blog for movie quote.  We heard this one the other day and seemed appropriate for today.

Home Alone

 This was the first picture I received.

And this was the second.

 

I had a hockey meeting I had to go to yesterday so I left Bridger home.  I was sitting in the meeting and he sent me these pictures.  He obviously found my athletic tape.

 

It has been a dreary day here.  It is overcast and back and forth between rain and snow.  It kind of put the yard work on hold.  Happy Easter tomorrow.  Go Sioux.

 

"This is my house, I have to defend it."

 

 

Thursday Service

 Bridger reading Mark 15 to the congregation. He was a little nervous.

Bridger confirming.

 

Bridger did a great job of reading last night.  We sat up front since he had to speak.  At the beginning of service he turned around and saw how many people were there and got a little nervous.  Ginni told him to look over their heads.  He got up and did just fine.  We had soup with everyone after the service.

Bridger and I have today off but Ginni is working.  We probably will not do a whole lot since I am not feeling very well.  I hope everyone is enjoying Friday.

"I'm a guest healer.  Be healed!"

hockey feeds the hungry

 Tonight was a fundraiser that involved the firemen and the youngest hockey players.  The theme was "Hockey feeds the Hungry".  The salvation army was to benefit.  The firemen played the U-8s.  The U-8s skated circles around the firemen.  Some of the firemen obviously hadn't skated much, but they all sure had fun.  The scorekeepers "helped" the U-8's win.  The firemen seemed to have every goal recalled.  The Easter Bunny came out in the 2nd period.  The nice little bunny definitely impeded any forward progress the firemen had.  The admission price was one canned food item.

 Bridger got to join the firemen on the bench and ended up running the firemen's penalty box. 

These pics were posted on facebook.  The woman who took football and other fireman pics came to watch and take pictures tonight.  Her oldest son is a fireman at Evansville Dept.  Not sure where the puck is in the above picture, but I remember this "play".  Darin had the puck go between his skates and Bryce, the goalie, was not impressed with Darin hindering him blocking the goal. 

After we left the high school players divided between NC and KW to play against each other.  Haven't heard who won.

Fun Night!

New Cast

 Watching stitches getting removed.

 What his hand looked like.

Another view. 

He wanted a pink and black cast but it was not a choice so he went with camo.

 

We had Bridger's follow up appointment today.  He got his soft cast off and a hard cast put on.  His thumb is healing good on the outside.  We have another appointment in a couple weeks for an xray to see how it is healing inside.  He was a little nervous about getting his stitches out and said it hurt a little.  He likes his new cast since it is lighter and he can move his fingers more.

 

We have a busy week.  We are busy every night.  On Thursday Bridger has to read a passage for Maundy Thursday services.

 

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of spring and thank you for the Birthday stories.

"Pain don't hurt."

happy birthday dippeee!!

 

 

Dear Darin, (AKA-DP, Dippy, Dorothy, DAPP, Daddy)

What a wonderful time it has been spending the last 23 birthdays with you.  The birthdays spent together are now more than the age you were when we met. 

I started thinking back over the memorable birthdays I have spent with you.  I think my favorite was the surprise McDonald's birthday party in Spearfish.  I also liked getting to golf on our birthdays-can't remember if that was the same year or not.   There was your second surprise party-it was a bit more work, but quite fun and enjoyable.

I invite anybody reading the blog today to send a message and share their favorite (not frustrating) Darin moment-memory.  Doesn't have to be a birthday memory.

Love you!!  Hope you have an awesome day, Darin!!!!

Workout

 Getting a workout in.

Using a different technique on the treadmill.

 

 

Bridger can not lift with me due to his injury but he has been working out on the treadmill while I lift.  He usually gets at least a mile in.  He has been wanting to go bike riding and even rode around the back yard without my knowledge.  I told him he had to wait until he got his hard cast.  Of course our weather turned to cold and snow again so that helped eliminate bike riding.

 

We have a Dr. appointment on Tuesday.  He is suppose to get his stitches out.  He has been a little concerned with it hurting.  Ginni and I will both be able to make the appointment.

 

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend and March Madness.

 

"All the way up with a red hot poker. I can play anywhere now."

It Is Friday!

Bridger is doing good with his hand.  He has complained about it hurting but not enough that he needs his pills.  It sounds like he has been sneaking out on recess even though we sent a note for him to stay in,  the little turkey.

Ginni talked him into letting her give him a trim.  As you can see she accidentally got it a little shorter than intended.  I thought he was going to have a fit but he just said, "now I don't have to worry about bed-head."

I hope everyone is having a great Friday.

Bridger found this movie on netflix the other day.

"Warriors, come out to play-i-ay."

Happy St. Patrick's day

 Ginni found a cast cover so Bridger can shower (and hot tub).  It has a cuff like a scuba suit.

 Bridger building a snow cave at the Boat.

An older picture of Bridger having fun in the snow.

 

 

We got up and made it to church this morning.  Everyone was happy to see us and Bridger got a lot of attention with his hand.  The first three people I ran into told me I need to go upstairs and sign up for the softball team.  They ended up having a kids service downstairs so Bridger did not spend the whole service with us.

 

I am not sure what we have planned for the afternoon.  It is chilly and windy.  Bridger is doing well.  He is really good about letting us know if the pain is bad enough he needs a pain pill or not.  He has not needed many.  Friday morning about 3 am he need one but last night he made it through the night.  He was happy last night to get the arm cover and enjoyed the hot tub.

 

I hope everyone enjoys the green day.

 

" Hi, Julian! How ya doin'? I'm Scuba Sam, Scuba Steve's father."

Surgery

 

When he found out he needed surgery.

 

 Waiting to go back to the prep room.

 He got to keep his underwear on.  He was nervous but I did get him to smile.

Mommy helping out in the recovery room

 

Everything went well.  The doctor found more damage once he got in so it was a good thing he had surgery.  Bridger did great.  He took a while to wake up and was a bit groggy when we got back to him.  We were back home by mid morning.

 

We have spent the day at home watching movies and resting.  He is in a bit of pain.  Ginni went back to work in the afternoon.  We will see how the night goes.

 

We will keep everyone up to date on how he is doing.

 

"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology."

Rock On

Enjoying a winter soak.

 Bridger playing with his guitar and looking cool.

We got to award Bridger with a hat trick and play maker patch.  He was one of only three that got both patches.

Bridger had an MRI this morning and another appointment tomorrow to find out if he needs surgery.  I sure hope he just needs a cast.  The best part of the injury is that he skied the extreme slopes with no problems and then hurt himself on the green run.

He had a great hockey season this year and we are proud of him.

I hope everyone enjoys Pi day tomorrow.

"Would you mind telling me whose brain I DID put in?
 Abby someone.
Abby someone. Abby who?
Abby... Normal."

Spring Break is Over

 Making tracks in the powder.

 The last day ended with two injuries.

Bridger is getting some nice coloring.  It may be broke.

Our spring break has come to an end.  It was a great week of skiing and spending time at the BoatHouse.  The driving was not fun.  I had to drive back to Casper for two days for fire department and Ginni is still in Denver.  It has been snowing all day today.  I hope the roads are clear for her.

Bridger and I got home Saturday afternoon.  We have been having guy time.  Watching guy movies and shooting the bb gun in the back yard.  Ginni should be home late this evening.

I hope everyone is doing well.

"Oh, I do it to blend in. You know. Zombies don't mess with other zombies. Buddy of mine, makeup guy, he showed me how to do this."

ice castle

We stayed home today.  I bought Treyson a 4 of 5 day pass that finishes Friday.  I thought it would be better to ski with Darin again tomorrow.  I can ski with Treyson if they want to take off  and do more difficult runs. 

We did a variety of things today.  I whacked at ice and shoveled snow.  I attempted to whack at an ice jam I could sort of reach.  Darin will be shaking his head, but I actually crawled out onto the roof from one of the windows in the loft.  My idea came from a comment he made.  I decided until I was secured with something I wasn't going further.  I so wanted to work on the ice while it was warm and melting.  It was a very warm day somewhere in the 40's.  It would have been miserable to ski with it so warm.  I barely got the boys to wear their coats and snow pants playign outside.  They took off into the trees and were gone for a couple of hours.  I called out Bridger's name a few times to make sure nothing happened.  He nicely answered back. 

I painted a wall and 2nd coated one of the bathrooms.  we were waiting around for the gas man to come and light the pilot in the freestanding gas stove.  They turned on the gas this am, but didn't have the right parts to check the stove.  They never came and I finally called back.  He ran out of time and will "try" again tomorrow.  Frustrating waiting and then not panning out.

the boys and I ran into Steamboat for a Walmart run, Mexican dinner and then the Ice Castle.  I had planned it for evening anyway to be able to see the lights.  I guess there are only a few of these and they are special in that they are made from individual icicles.  It was pretty neat.  the workers told us it was just as amazing during daylight in that you could see the detail better.  One of the workers was someone we recognized from tubing.  She told us she works three jobs to live in Steamboat.  We forgot cameras this trip and all three of us forgot our phones tonight.  So I bought a postcard.

After the ice castle a "pit stop" was needed.  This turned out to be one of those chance things that work out.  We walked out onto a deserted plaza and had a most amazing star viewing opportunity.  They did not let nature call outside.  I heard some comments about it though.  As we walked back to the vehicle we passed by an open candy store.  I indulged them.  Treyson is always so mannered and constantly thanks for whatever he is given.  It was a very nice evening to share with them. 

Darin has arrived safe and sound.

Day 2

 Bridger coming out of half pipe.  I don't know if picture can give you appreciation of the depth of the half pipe.  Treyson is somewhere in the back ground.  At the start at the top a trail runs back around to the left that takes you to a terrain park where jumps have been made.  This would have been good information to have had Tuesday.  Hard to get to if you don't know about the trail just mentioned. 

Tuesday afternoon Bridger, Treyson and I skiied together.  Treyson has vastly improved from Monday when Darin skiied with the boys.  His goal at this point is to not fall down.  He willingly does anything Bridger throws at him and never complains.  He compliments Bridger all the time about his skiing level. 

 After skiing Tuesday we went to tubing hill at the intown ski hill.  It is a crazy place(alot of kids after school, team practices) that I am guessing the locals use over the"big" hill.   They could tube for an hour and the whole thing only goes 2 hours 4:30-6:30.  I wonder if they go late in the day so the sun doesn't effect the snow?  It wasn't too cold standing around.  As you can see Bridger gets real rosy cheeks.  He wasn't cold---He never gets cold--according to him.

Day 3 was more skiing.  Treyson has gotten even better.  He fell twice yesterday.  Bridger took us on some runs we had not been on.  We skiied into the back side that Darin likes.  Treyson found the "Frying Pan" run and picked it to ski a few times.  I gritted my teeth and skiied along with them.  Bridger offered to "ski me through the trees" to get to an easier run.  I could just see me falling down in the trees running over deadfall or something.  I was having some trouble with my skis sticking due to the warm temp.  I shared this with the boys and Bridger's commnet was, "no offense Mom, but if you skiied faster, maybe your skis wouldn't stick".  Any sentence that Bridger starts out with "no offense Mom" is always going to be good.

We did the terrain park several times later in the afternoon.  It is shieled from the sun by it's location.  Bridger had a really good run and made a nice jump.  He sat back down on his skiis when he landed, but didn't stop.  He got "nice jump",  " good drag time" from the crowd at the top.  I skiied down to join him (no jump for me) and told him the comments.  He had been feeling bad about how it turned out and then was all smiles.  He immediately asked if we could do it again. 

When the snow started getting really slushy I was able to talk them into leaving.   Treyson wanted to shop for a souvenier.  I had some more "errands" to look into and we hadn't had any lunch.  We also had a date with the hot springs water park at 4pm.  Water park wasn't as much fun as they were hoping.  They thought the slides were "lame".  They loved the hot water and I explained the "hot springs" part.  They immediately wanted to see where it was coming out of the ground,though.  There was a natural sandstone climbing wall(8-10 feet) that entertained them.  You fell into water when you fell off the face.  Not many could make it to the top to ring the bell.  There was a young, tall girl that obviously had climbed many times before that repeatedly showed everyone how it was done.

We got back to townhouse had some dinner and called it a day.  The boys never argued about going to bed either.  That is how tired they were!!

Double Black Baby!!

 Bridger getting ready to head into the trees.

 Skiing like a pro.

 Looking back at the face we just came down.

 We skied Deso's Descent.

 

Bridger skied great today.  I was going to head back to Casper early but Bridger asked if I would take him up in the trees today.  I stayed and skied until about 1:00.  Bridger and I headed to the top of the mountain and Ginni and Treyson played on the east side.

Ginni texted me after I left and said they were now sledding I think on Howelson Hill.  I guess Bridger was not as worn out as me.  I could barely get out of the truck after skiing and then driving for 4.5 hours.  When I left Ginni's knee was holding up.

I hope everyone is enjoying winter.

“If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your thing.”

Spring Break at the Boat House

 Father and Son ready to hit the slopes.

 Bridger brought one of his hockey buddies.  Snow awesome, visibility terrible.

Some still had enough energy after skiing to play back at the house. (He jumped)

 

We got hammered with snow.  It was an awesome powder day.  I got to take off and do a big run by myself and was cutting new tracks in thigh deep powder.  The rest of the day was spent skiing with Bridger and Treyson.  Bridger took off and played in the trees while I skied with his friend.  Ginni did not ski today.  Rested the knee and ran some errands around town.

 

I have to head back to Casper tomorrow for federal mandated fire department training, so Ginni will ski with the boys.  I will make it back down Friday.

 

I hope everyone is doing well.

 

" It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi..."



Spring Break

 The Moustaches

 The 1st place Champs!!!

The 1st place dads (coaches)


The team was really struggling on Saturday after losing their first game.  You could see they were kind of tired and not believing in themselves.  The rowdy Casper moms got together in the stands and started things going.  I was one of the rowdy moms.  I leaned down to another mom and said--"we gotta get a wave going!!"  She ran over to the end of our aisle and when the 3rd period started we successfully did a series of waves.  The boys just stared.  Darin said they were all talking about it on the bench.  It did get them going and they played much tougher and more driven. 

On Sunday, Darin even got into the action.  There was music playing during warm-up and we spied Darin standing on the bench dancing only as Darin could dance.  He tried to get Brent, asst coach,  to join him on top of the bench, but he wouldn't go for it.  We rowdy moms did some cat calling to keep him going.  It didn't take much.  We hooted, cheered, hollered all we were worth to try and keep the boys going.  Sometimes they just stared and sometimes they loved it.

We will be going to Steamboat sometime on Sunday.  A friend from hockey is going to go with us for the week.  We will have to take two vehicles down.  Darin has some stuff in Casper Wed and Thurs.  I get to hang out with the boys while he is gone.  Darin plans to come back on Friday.  I will head to Denver Friday afternoon to attend a 3 day conference.  I am sure the time will fly by.  Seems like not many people are staying in Casper.  Melines's are heading out to Hawaii!!!!  Some warmth and sunshine would be nice.  Oh well, Steamboat will surely have the sunshine!