ESPN's COLLEGE GAMEDAY

Adam is probably the biggest sports fans I know.  Seriously, he is close to being addicted to all things sports.  He loves Duke basketball and BSU football, and I believe that if there were no parental controls placed upon him, he may well have ESPN blaring every waking moment.  So, when he found out that ESPN was going to be broadcasting College GameDay from Boise a few weeks ago, he was beyond excited.  I cannot think of an adjective to accurately and completely describe his joy.  Although he had a big cross country meet (Bob Firman) the very same day, he KNEW he had to find a way to get there.  

Of course, he persuaded Mike to get up early with him on Saturday and make the trek down to the smurf turf, along with 13,000+ other Bronco fans, and they waited in line for a time until they were allowed to enter the stadium.  He wanted go up to the desk and start chatting with Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit, but security was understandably tight.  Mike said they actually couldn't hear a whole lot, but Adam just enjoyed watching how the whole thing was produced.  It's fun when your kids get to do something they never thought they'd have the opportunity to do, but it somehow works out.  (Matt also went with one of his soccer buddies, but he actually slept over at his friend's house the night before and left way early in the morning.)  Fun times!


Knock Knock, Who's There?

Mike went on a nine-day trip to India recently.  He left on a Friday morning, and by evening I was already feeling lonely.  Adam was in Cascade the night before a cross country race, and Matt went out for a few hours with friends.  He came back, and we were just chatting when we heard a little knock on the door.  It was close to 10:00 p.m., so we had no idea who it could be.  Matt went to the door, opened it, and I had the sheer joy of hearing Rachel's voice.  What?!

Rachel had this trip planned for a few weeks.  Even though Mike was going to be out of town, it was about the only time during her semester that she could sneak away for a couple of days.  Surprise, surprise, surprise!  Matt, Adam, and I didn't know about it, but Karen and Mike did.  Karen had texted me earlier, and when I revealed that I was already lonely, I guess she was giggling and looking forward to the surprise that awaited me.

It was fun to go up to Cascade the next morning for Adam's race and surprise him.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of Adam's face when he saw her.  Confusion.  Bewilderment.  Excitement.  Happiness.  Once he figured out that she wasn't a figment of his imagination, he was super stoked to have her there.  I enjoyed seeing the three of them together, goofing around like they always do.  It's always a gift to feel the nest fill up again just a little.  Having Rachel there also gave us one more person to cheer our guts out for Adam.

Adam ran well in his race.  No, he did not finish fourth.  Oh, wait.  He was fourth on his varsity team, so I guess four remains the lucky number.  He finished 11th overall and was thrilled to get a medal.  He called it a "legit medal" because it was won in a varsity race.  I called it "legit" because the race was cross country in its truest form--up and down mountains and in and out of the forest.  It was a TOUGH course.  He may kill me for posting this picture, but I think it shows just how hard he was working.

He has one more regular-season race on Thursday.  Then it's on to the district race the following Friday.  It would be super cool if Centennial could make it to state.

I have a little time tomorrow, so I'll get the grandparents updated on Matt's soccer season then.  Here's the teaser:  They will be going to state in about ten days, but all the parents will need that long to recover from their three district games.  I'm exhausted from the strain.  More tomorrow. . .