Billings!

Last weekend I took my kids to Billings, Montana for a little vacation and so Kylee could play in a soccer tournament there. What a great trip we had and on the way there I got to replace more old memories with many new ones. To get to Billings on the Interstate, you drive through many small towns, one of them being Buffalo, WY. I had been there once before to see a Chris LeDoux concert, but now I will remember it more as one of the places my kids and I stopped on the way to Billings. Great memories! About an hour before Billings is the Custer Battlefield/Little Big Horn Memorial, the first picture is of my kids standing at the memorial for the soldiers who died there. It was very interesting to see all of the things in the museum, and to read the different points of view from people who were there. The kids enjoyed it too, Boo was a little tired but really did great all weekend; he is such a little trooper and makes the best of any situation. He helps me remember not to sweat the small stuff. Ky at this point just wanted to get to Billings. C really became interested and the more he learned, the more questions he asked. He had to go see ALL of the grave markers just to make sure they were all the same, there were many for the soldiers, some for the native Americans, and even a couple for the horses. I try to get my kids each something special from the places we go and C decided that he wanted a medallion from the gift shop as his souvenir from the trip. It's fun to share these things with my kids and to see them take such an interest in learning about history. On to Billings. We got checked in to our hotel, went and had supper and then it was off to the pool! The kids played in the water for a couple hours and it was time for bed. The next morning, we had our first game at 10, the girls played poorly and ended up losing by 2. Maybe we were in the pool too late the night before, maybe the game was too early, who knows, but not a great game. We went and had lunch, went back to the hotel and rested then went back to the fields for our second game at 2. An entirely different team showed up for our second game and the score showed it, we won big. Back to the hotel for more time in the pool, then some shopping, playing, pizza, more time in the pool, and finally to bed. I did get some grown-up time Saturday, one of the other dads and I went out to the Harley dealership and got some shopping done there. Our next game was Sunday at 10, we again took our "A" game and won that one too which put us in the championship against the team we had lost to Saturday morning. Kick off was at 2 and what an incredible game the girls played! The other team got a penalty kick and scored early in the first half, and stayed ahead 1-0 for a while. We ended up scoring to tie the game 1-1 where it stayed through the end of regulation play. We went into a double overtime, and got to the point that the head coach and I were talking about who would be taking the kicks and who would play keeper for the shoot-out that was sure to come. With three seconds left on the clock, Ky centered the ball to Christina, who shot and scored! I was so proud and excited for the girls that I had tears in my eyes as we went to shake hands with the other team. I love that I got to be there and share that experience with my daughter, she was absolutely glowing! Very special times! The second picture above was taken at the same time as the one for the RC Journal from Friday's paper. They are the champions! A trip to Billings with my kids was fun anyway but to bring home the gold medals from a 5 state tournament was really the icing on the cake! I'm so glad I'm their Daddy and my kids tell me they are too!

Weekend Over

So another weekend comes to an end. I didn't have my kids this weekend so I did some grown-up stuff. Friday I got off work and came home, my Gram was here to watch my kids while Boo's daycare was closed Wednesday and Thursday. She was in the mood for a steak, so we called UA and met him at Outback. We got there during happy hour 2 for 1 drinks, so we had margarita's several times over. The service was great and the food was spectacular as usual. We shared a steak, a tradition of mine at Outback, and one I'm glad I now share with someone else. We went home, Gram was tired and went to bed and UA took me out. On the way a couple very good friends of mine called and were going out, so we met them at Paddy's. We had drinks, visited, and listened to the band (actually it was a guy and his guitar and he was very good.) A bachelorette party came in towards the end of the night, I had fun with them but as sometimes happens, one of the girls got too close to one of my married friends. His wife doesn't share well and made it very clear to these girls. She was polite and it could have just ended there but the girl had a big friend at the bar who came back to our table in an attempt to start shit. My friend in question had no problem explaining the same things to this big girl that she had to her friend. It got a little loud, and I thought the big girl was gonna get a smack but security intervened and asked the B party to leave. We had another drink and left shortly after. We made a couple more stops, ran into some more old friends and called it a night. The next morning I got up, spent some time with Gram, had lunch and she went home. I ran over to Thrash's, a couple friends were getting new tattoos, and I wanted to check progress on some new stuff they are working on for me. Nice ink B, but maybe let Mikey hold the gun next time! I spent the rest of the day cleaning my garage and cars all of which were in dire need of it. I was once again reminded that although a three stall garage is nice, much like the driveway when it snows, there is a lot of it to clean. Saturday night I went out to eat with the rest of my family, my brother-in-law was there with my niece, she is such a doll!!!! We had a great meal, my brother and I sat and had an after dinner drink (thanks for the company ladies) and I came home. Today has been laundry and housework some phone calls, emails, and then my babies will be home. C called today to tell me he lost his first tooth!!! I am so excited to see him, look for pictures to follow. Now just get through this week and next weekend it's off to Billings, MT for Ky's soccer tournament up there. I am very excited to again get to take my kids on a little vacation weekend and am looking forward to watching Ky play. We had the state tournament here last weekend and she got drafted onto a U12 team(she's 10) and in the championship game they went through double over-time and then to a shoot out. They lost by one point, a great performance and good experience! Take care all!!!

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