What A Weekend!

On Friday night I loaded up the car and headed to LaPorte, IN with 5 of my girlfriends for a weekend of scrapping.

Now, this is also the weekend the boys would be competing in Anderson, IN for the State High School Bowling Title. I wasn't about to miss this once in a lifetime event!

So, after scrapping until 11:00pm in LaPorte I headed to bed for a couple of hours sleep, got up at 4:00am and drove down to Anderson in time for the 9:00 start. And, it was worth it! Before competition began they announced the members of All-State Academic Team and Ben was selected! That is a huge honor as it is based not just on average, points won, and matches played but also on grade point average and SAT scores.

Then the competition began. The tournament started with 8 of the top boys teams in the state competing for the top 4 spots to make it to the stepladder competition. The Clay boys team hung in there in the 2nd spot until the 6th out of 7 games when they fell to number 4. But that was good enough to move on the the stepladder.

In the first stepladder game they competed against the number 3 team and won! This sent them to the next round against number 2. That is when their dream season reached its conclusion.

This team started and ended their season in the middle of the conference. It wasn't until the post-season play began that they found their groove. And rode it all the way to the state finals.
Where they finished #3 in the state of Indiana. #3 out of 195 boys team competing. And #1 in our hearts. They played this season as a team. And they played it with class. No bickering, no finger pointing and in the end with their heads held high. They accomplished so much more than anyone expected. But they believed they could do it. And darned it they didn't.

After that excitement I drove back to LaPorte and finished out my scrapbook weekend. I managed to complete 11 pages, eat more junk food then I should have, laughed until my stomach ached and had the time of my life.

What a weekend! I'm going to bed now..........

We're Going to State!!!!

Yesterday, the Clay Varisty Boys Bowling Team created school history. They are the first team to win semi-state and the only team ever to compete for the State Title.

I can't decide which is the best part. Having this happen during Ben's senior, and last, season. Or having both the boys part of the starting five. They are experiencing this together and the emotions Mark and I are feeling are indescribable.

So next weekend we will be in Anderson, Indiana cheering on the boys and displaying that colonial pride.!

Here's the winning team and winning trophy from semi-state. Left to right are Trevor, sub #1, Travis who starts in the #1 spot, Aaron, sub #2, Steve who starts in the #2 spot, Ben, team anchor or #4 spot, Andy who starts in the #3 spot, Daniel, #4 spot and anchor. The two on the right are our coaches. On the end is Head Coach Brad who is 22 and next to him is our assistant Coach Mark who is just 19. I wonder if they set a record for the youngest coaches to take a team to state?

Roll on boys.................

Semi-State Bound!!!

This morning in Peru, Indiana the Clay Bowling Team qualified for Semi-State. At the beginning of last weekend there were 250 teams competing for State. As of this morning we are down to 16 teams remaining. And our boys are one of the 16!

Next Saturday they will compete in semi-state right here in South Bend. And it is being hosted by Chippewa, our home lanes! Nothing like home court advantage to make you smile


Here are some scenes from today:

We're Going To Regionals!

This past weekend the Clay High School Bowling Team finished as Sectional Runner-up qualifying them to advance to Regionals!

Andy actually finished just 6 pins shy of advancing in singles!

We will be in Peru, Indiana on Saturday, February 7th looking to qualify for semi-state.

Roll on Colonials!................................

Two Teenagers + A Camera

The weekend of January 17 & 18th was a special one for Ben and Kelli.

On Saturday, the 17th, they got all dressed up and went to dinner and the midwinter dance. On the 18th Ben got tickets to see Wicked in Chicago for Kelli's early birthday gift. Even though Kelli's B-Day is not until February, Wicked ended it's 3 year run at the Oriental Theatre on January 25th.

So, on the morning on the 18th I fed them waffles and eggs and they caught the 9:30 train into the city. They planned on lunch at Ed Debevic's, then on to see Wicked, popcorn at Garrett's and back on the train. In honor of such a special day I sent a camera with them to take photos.

And here's what I got:

What a couple of goofballs........

Midwinter 2009

Saturday night Ben and Kelli and Andy and Mollie attended the Midwinter Dance. It was Ben's 3rd and Andy's 1st. And they looked great! The girls were so beautiful in their dresses!

Ben and Kelli went to eat at Granite City with their friends and Andy and Mollie went to Carrabba's with their group. Most importantly, despite the wintery weather, they all made it home safe and sound.

Next up.....prom......

Happy New Year

We celebrated the start of 2009 with our friends Bill and Jackie just like last year. And we had a blast!

We got the kids together and went bowling at Chippewa. Well, the kids call it bowling. We adults call it picking up a heavy ball, throwing it down the lane and praying that it stays out of the gutter!

This year we had a couple of additions to the group. Hannah, Cody's girlfriend and Kelli, Ben's girlfriend came along and added a little bit of beauty to the group!

Afterwards we came back to the house to consume way too much food and act as chaperone's for the kiddos. We stayed in the kitchen playing cribbage, a game I'm not very good at. Poor Bill drew me as a partner! We became determined to keep playing until we won a game against Mark and Jackie. I'm embarrassed to say that it took until 2:30 am for that to happen! Thank God Bill is a patient man!

It was a great way to start the New Year. The end of 2008 brought a few challenges and changes for me (hence my absence from the blogging world) and I'm looking forward to a new year. I've got my feet back under me and am looking forward, not back

Love and Happiness to you all.

Peace,

Lisa