Well, I guess this was actually game 5, but game 4 was canceled last week because of the snow. The Lady Vols did it again. This was the toughest game they have had so far. It was actually pretty close for the first half of the game but in the second half the Lady Vols opened it up. Final score was 48-28. Good job Lady Vols! Only 3 more games left 
. High resolution pictures can be found at my photo gallery. http://johnkscott.com/gallery/index.php?album=Lady+Vols+2010+Game+4
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Ok. This is a rare treat. My lovely bride does not like to have her picture taken. She avoids cameras like the plague. And if we do, indeed capture her on “film” she’s very picky about the pictures that she wants anyone to see. I think she looks fantastic in any picture. So there. Anyway we have a Nancy approved picture of our wonderful little family that actually includes her! This was taken at Christmas at her Mom & Dad’s house in Ferryville, WI. So look and enjoy a rarely captured image of the beautiful wife I get to see every day!
The celebrations started one week earlier when Grandma and Grandpa were here. We made a big old double layer chocolate cake with butterscotch frosting. It was delicious. So then we celebrated Leah’s birthday with Grandma and Grandpa while they were in town. Then, as fate would have it weather set in and Leah’s birthday weekend started a day early (and it turns out extended a day longer as well) as school was closed on Friday and now today (some pics of the snow included in this photo album). On Saturday night Leah picked her favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot, to celebrate her birthday and her straight A report card (once again). The fondue was fabulous as usual! We always have a great time there. Sunday was her actual Birthday and we had her party scheduled at the Franklin Family Fun Center for a bowling party. She had invited 6 other kids but only 3 showed. That turned out just fine. We got the 4 kids set up and then Nancy and I took the other lane and bowled 3 lines as well! Fun for everyone. Pizza and a giant cookie cake from Great American Cookie Company was the party fare. Yum! A good time was had by all. Franklin Family Fun Center treated us very well and we definitely would go back there for a party. One special part of Leah’s Birthday had to do with one present we gave her. She had expressed an interest in learning how to play guitar. She has a little guitar we got her when she was really young. It was good for beating around on when she was little but I don’t think it would be a great guitar to learn how to play on. Several years ago I was gifted a very nice Martin HD-35 that replaced an Ovation Celebrity that I had been playing. The ovation was very special as it was my first decent acoustic guitar that got me started songwriting and performing again. I actually had to sell my trumpet to get this guitar. My trumpet was big part of my life for many years. I was even a music major on the trumpet in college and played in the college jazz ensemble. While that only lasted about a year before I headed in another direction, I had accomplished quite a lot on that trumpet in my High School and early college years. So with all of that history wrapped up in this guitar it was very special to me to pass it along to my daughter where I hope she will learn how to play it. If her piano lessons are any indicator, she will be better than me on the guitar in no time. I hope that is the case! Happy Birthday Leah! Mom & Dad are very proud of you! P.S. You should be able to click on the picture above to go to the photo album of the Birthday Girl.
I chose Stoney River in Cool Springs for dinner. I LOVE their prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes (with creamy horseradish added) and their rolls that almost taste like doughnut holes. I ate BIG and enjoyed every bite. Then they brought me out a desert for my birthday. We split it 5 ways. No way I could have choked that whole thing down as good as it was. I’m pretty sure I put back every one of those 1,700 calories and probably then some in that sitting. But worth it! Then on my actual birthday on Sunday my daughter, Leah, came into the bedroom to wake me up and I was treated to a wonderful “Happy Birthday Daddy!” Then when I got to rehearsal for the Chapel Praise Choir at The Peoples’ Church my friends in the choir regaled Andy Justice (he must be a genius as all born on 1/24 are) and me with a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday. Plus the whole family was present at the Chapel Praise service. Parents, Wife, Daughter. The whole crew. That made it very special. Eggs Benedict for brunch and then on home to watch some football! I had high hopes that my beloved Vikings would make it to the Superbowl. They really should have except for 5 turnovers, several of which were stupid and in very bad spots. And then we had my favorite cake. Chocolate cake with butterscotch frosting. It was a combo birthday cake for Leah and me (her birthday is 1/31). At least that used to be my favorite cake. As I was watching football and going over pictures from her basketball game on Saturday Leah decided she wanted to do something special for me. So she made her own homemade cake for me and decorated it. See the picture at the beginning of this post. Mind you, it wasn’t for consumption. But the thought and labor were all hers and it was so special. She is so sweet and an absolute joy to her Dad. This is now my favorite birthday cake ever. Leah’s Upward Basketball team, The Lady Vols, had their 3rd game yesterday. Again, they towered over the opposing team. However the opposing team gave the Lady Vols fits for the first half. However, the second half was a different story. The Lady Vols exploded and their defense was tough. Final score was about 32-2. I say about because once a team is up by 20 in this league they stop the scoring until the other team scores. So there is some room for error in the reckoning. The highlight of the game was the one basket the other team made. It was in the final period. One of our girls eased up on one of the smaller girls on the other team and let her shoot and she made it. The parents from both teams erupted with a cheer. So the Lady Vols gave me a great birthday present with a good game. Now, maybe the Vikings can give me another birthday present with a win over the Saints in a few hours! Leah’s Upward Basketball team is “The Lady Vols” this year. I’m not quite sure how they selected the teams but somehow or other Leah is on a team of giants. She is the fourth tallest girl on the team. She is used to being the tallest. Usually by quite a bit. The first two teams they played were a whole lot shorter. It really didn’t seem fair. However, the girls really have started to work together well. The major impact of the height difference is that The Lady Vols can dominate the rebounding just by accident. Leah is also getting more confident and aggressive (in a good way) in her games. We have been urging her to do this for the last two years and she seems to be getting there now. It was a just great to watch. At one point she ended up tossing another girl to the ground when going for a loose ball that they got to at the same time. Leah grabbed the ball and so did this other, more diminutive, girl. Leah tried to rip it away and the other girl wouldn’t let go and something had to give! I was proud of her. Not for giving the other girl a tumble but for going after the loose balls aggressively. All was good in this case. Both girls were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. So “The Lady Vols” are undefeated so far. They one their first game 38-6 and the second game 48-22. I told Leah not to get to confident. They could yet run into a team that has a lot of really fast ball handlers, great shooters and at least a couple of taller girls. They could have their hands full in that case. I hope they come up against a tough challenge. It will be fun to watch them try to come together to overcome a challenge. Go Lady Vols! See slide show to the above. You can click to get to full resolution pics.
Here are the numbers: 430.66 miles, 25:57:28, 17,110 ft ascent, 174 watts avg power, 147 bpm avg hr, 17887 calories.
First it was the Middle School visit on Sunday and now this. It isn’t going to end is it? I have mixed emotions about this. On one hand it’s natural and a sign she is growing up. She took it well and was happy we told her and she is excited to be able to help play Santa with her younger cousins. I knew this was coming. But on the other hand I was hoping for one more year of having Santa come for Christmas. One more year of this symbol of innocence. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Hear that faint cadence in the background? That’s time marching on. Sheesh. We went and toured the middle/high school that Leah will be attending starting next year. How on earth did that happen? 5th grade? She is almost half way through 4th grade now so it is really coming up fast. She was so excited to see the school. She is already looking forward to next year. Part of me is so please to see what a fine young lady she is developing into. She really is. But the other part of me just wished that she could just stay 9 forever. I know it’s not possible. Or IS it? Hmmm. Might need to fire up the secret lab tonight!  Daddy & his stoker at Cheatham Dam Park Yesterday we went for a family ride. Leah and me on the tandem and Nancy on her bike. It was a nice leisurely pace. It was a beautiful day. Beyond beautiful and we hit the Cumberland River Bicentennial trail again. This is quickly becoming our favorite family ride location. The Cumberland River is almost always in view and the scenery is just marvelous. We will probably be hitting this trail a lot in the future. I freaked Leah out a little bit during the ride. Part of the trail is crushed gravel which wasn’t a problem. But there was one section where there was a quick dip and rise on the other side through a gully. It also turned sharply at the bottom. Keep in mind that combined rider and bike weight is probably in the neighborhood of 330 lbs. I’ll preface this with the statement that we should have walked the bike down (and we did on the return trip). So we start down this descent as slowly as gravity will allow 330 lbs of flesh and metal to go. Front break is worthless as it starts making the front wheel slide out. I had to basically use the rear drum break to skid the back end around to make the corner. We made it. But Leah was a bit freaked but impressed with her Dad’s mad bike handling skills This time we took the trail all the way to the end (including a small stretch of flat grass single track). We found a beautiful park and campground right on the Cumberland River. This was a great bonus. The picture above is from that park. We sat and enjoyed the scenery for 10 minutes or so but had to turn around as we were racing daylight to get back to the van. We changed real quick and got in the van and headed out to eat dinner. It was a wonderful end to the weekend. |
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I had a great birthday weekend. My Mom & Step Dad were in town on their way back from Florida. So that was special. I was able to get out for an hour bike ride in the morning which was a nice treat. And then I got to watch Leah play basketball on Saturday afternoon which was another nice treat. Then for a bonus I was able to sneak out for another hour bike ride before we went to dinner. Although it was windy it was still a treat! I burned off 1,700 calories in anticipation of dinner and it turned out I needed every one of those calories!
. Another few minutes down the trail I confided in her. I said, “Guess what sweetie pie? Daddy was a little freaked out back there too!”