First of seven

Here's Pat's first book report. Short and sweet:

The book "A Fourth Grade Nothing" is about a boy going
into fourth grade but he has problems such as a
stupid brother at home who steals his turtle.
He also has a very annoying neighbor Shiela Tubman.

I think he did a good job but it was not hard to see in the unedited version (I am a copy editor so I cleaned it up) that Pat struggles with spelling, much like his Aunt Heather.

Next review: "How To Train Your Dragon"

Book reports

My nephew Patrick, Erin and I signed an agreement in May stating that if he read eight books, and sent us a paragraph about each through email by the end of the summer, he could have PSP game. Over the weekend we discussed the terms of the agreement again.

When I get the first report, I will post it. Pat read one of all-time favorites, "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume. My favorite part is when Fudge dumps peas over his head saying, "Eat it or wear it." This phrase held on at my family dinner table -- without the actual dumping of peas -- for years.

Summer is for playing, but it is also for reading.

Football already?

The college football mags are already out. If don't have a calendar: It is June.

The bad news for the Hawkeyes? They are picked to finish fourth or fifth in the Big Ten. I wonder what the shelf life on Kirk Ferentz is if he keeps taking Iowa to the Alamo Bowl. I mean I love the guy. When did Hayden Fry ever take us to a BCS bowl? But, the way big time college sports are these days, mediocrity does not last long.

Real good job

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander was dominant in his no-hitter against the Brewers on Tuesday.

He was throwing 102 miles and hour -- in the NINTH inning.

Impressive.

and here we are

Just finished the first of three six-day work weeks. I should not complain in this crappy Michigan economy, at least I have a job and one I mostly enjoy.

Thoughts on the early days of summer and sports:

*How about that LeBron James? I think we are all witnesses -- to him getting his butt handed to him by a far superior Spurs team.

*As we look forward to the U.S. Open, I say go Zach Johnson, from one regular girl from Waterloo, Iowa, to one regular guy from Ceder Rapids, Iowa.



*The Tigers won two out of three from Mets but have lost nine of 16. A little bullpen help, please?

*I need to get out and golf. I have only played nine holes all season. Maybe I will get out and hit some tomorrow afternoon.

An aside to Patrick: Where's my first book report?

and here we are

Just finished the first of three six-day work weeks. I should not complain in this crappy Michigan economy, at least I have a job and one I mostly enjoy.

Thoughts on the early days of summer and sports:

*How about that LeBron James? I think we are all witnesses -- to him getting his butt handed to him by a far superior Spurs team.

*As we look forward to the U.S. Open, I say go Zach Johnson, from one regular girl from Waterloo, Iowa to one regular guy from Ceder Rapids, Iowa.



*The Tigers won two out of three from Mets but have lost nine of 16. A little bullpen help, please?

*I need to get out and golf. I have only played nine holes all season. Maybe I will get out and hit some tomorrow afternoon.

An aside to Patrick: Where's my first book report?

full disclosure

For my brother...I am going to start putting more photos up on this web album. Click on Mary Grace and see 68 photos from Memorial Day. Enjoy.

memorial day with the Maxwells

As an aside, we finally got our passports today for our trip to Poland. If you are going anywhere in the near future that involves traveling outside of the USA, get your passport sooner rather than later. Because of the new restrictions which kick in in January (needing a passport to go to Canada and Mexico), it takes longer for the passport to be processed. The lady at the post office said it has taken up to 15 weeks. We expidited ours to make sure they would make it here well before September. A little more money but worth it for peace of mind.

If I were a dog...

My sister sent an email today about a documentary about dogs. On the link you can take a test to see what kind of dog you are. I love that my dog, the Basenji, cleans itself like a cat and yodels instead of barking.

It is also pretty cool looking. Press the play button for preview:

Life in Little Rock

When I first got back from visiting my sister, Meg, and her family in Arkansas I spent a lot of time crying. I know, I am a little weepy as a rule, but this is different. After seeing Bella, I worried. She seems like a normal kid, walking and talking, but she has some major hurdles ahead of her.

I know that I can't be there all the time, but it is really tough to leave. She has so much light, I just want to help make it shine brighter.

And then, there's her brother Zach. He is a little crabby at this stage and growing like a weed. If you haven't seen any photos of him lately, he now weighs 22 pounds, only 3 less than Miss Bella.




Mr. Zach




Miss Bella



Pig Soohey



Zach at play



Bella "smiling"

NASCAR now

So I promised my brother I would expand on my earlier post about my time in Dallas. I was down there for the Association for Women in Sports Media's conference. It was a very cool experience, which began with a reception at Texas Motor Speedway. After a little food and drink, it was down to the track for a spin.

We were lucky enough to be able to take a ride -- at 160 mph -- in a stock car. (Just like the ones they drive in the Daytona 500.) It seemed pretty cool on the straight away. But when you hit the turns, wow. It was like a rollar-coaster with no drop. Talk about G-forces.

In one sports department I worked in, we joked that the NASCAR handbook reads "Drive fast, turn left." After five laps around the track, I can't say I get it but I do respect it.



The Jack Daniels car, which I, shockingly, chose to ride in.



Suited up. They made us wear the fireproof coveralls, just in case.



Even hotter in the helmet.