little # 8 2

Saturday re-cap:

It was a great game for Ty. Ramstein beat Patch 27-0 improving their record to 3-0.

Ty had a nice reception which made him very happy. It's frustrating for receivers who rarely get the ball thrown to them.

Justin had a rough game which resulted in another loss for the Scotties. At the end of the game, two of the Hutch coaches were thrown out of the game.

Not long afterwards, a Highland player was thrown out as well.

The commentators said moments before being evicted he was complaining about being punched in the neck.

On a side note, the commentators drove me CRAZY. I think the one guy was the worst on-air radio voice I've ever listened to.

We tallied no fewer than eighty four {84} times that he cleared his voice. It was horrible.

Justin said they were the most disrespectful team. I'm glad these last two games are behind them.

As soon as we got home from Ty's game, Caden decided it was time for his game.

Saving all of his birthday and Christmas money last year, he bought his own {$65} helmet. It was silver. He wanted it to be navy like Justin's.

Of course he wanted it navy. Justin's is navy.
So, he decided to use a Sharpie and colored the entire thing. Ugh. I wasn't happy.

What do you do?

He even colored a yellow Highland H on the sides. I think he used a highlighter for that. Creative, we'll give him that.

We put vinyl on it to help a little. Not sure it helped much.

He also insisted on putting his number {82} and DICKEY on his mesh jersey. He is our little Justin.

Silly boy loves his big brother more than anything.
I forgot to ask if he won his game or not.

HCC v. Hutch

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL? Yeah, we are!

Ty plays at 1:00 here in Germany against Patch. Justin plays at 1:00 Kansas time against Hutch. We'll be watching both live- how cool is that?

Justin hurt his shoulder in practice last week and played with it hurt {sprained} against Butler. He says he's feeling better this week- hopefully, he's not just telling his mama that to make me feel better.

The Scottie's link for Justin's game gave me grief last week. We ended up switching over and listening to Butler's broadcast. Here is the Scottie's link and the Hutch link- just in case.

Kick-off is at 1:00 CST.

http://highlandcc.edu/pages/sports-live-stream

Here's the Hutch link:
http://www.bluedragonsports.com/

According to the Hutch Web site:
This is the 31st meeting all-time between Hutchinson and Highland in a series that dates back to 1970. The Blue Dragons lead the series 28-2.

Not too promising.

F O O T B A L L weekend

We're well in to football season. I love it.

Last weekend, Ty played in Vilseck, Germany- about a three-hour drive from our house.

We decided to make the most of it and went a little early to hit a historical site.

I'll post more on that this week.
It was well worth the extra driving.

The sun was out, but the temperatures definitely dropped.

Of couse, I had to wear flip flops and froze my little toes. I think I'll be wearing shoes this weekend. Maybe.

Ramstein walked away with the win. They're now 3-0, a nice start to the season.

This weekend, Ty is at home against Patch- a team that beat Ramstein last year.

A school that I really don't like. I didn't like them in football or basketball or soccer or track. I just don't like their lack of sportsmanship.

Secretly, I hope they can pull out a huge, decisive, dominating win.

Actually, I kinda hope they kill them. Is that bad?

Justin is in for another rough game against another nationally-ranked junior college, Hutchinson.

Before making his decision on where to play, Justin had contacted Hutch. Keeping all options open, he was checking out every school.

As soon as the head coach at Hutch found out that Justin really was a Kansas kid instead of an international kid, he emailed and wanted Justin to call him right away in an attempt to sway him to go to Hutch.


Justin, Payton and their friend Zac who played at Mulvane

By then, Justin had met the coaching staff and saw a little bit of Hutch. Needless to say, he wasn't too impressed. I'm sure they're good and it won't be an easy game.

Last weekend, the Highland broadcast wasn't working too well for us. I ended up switching over to the Butler site to listen to their commentating and watch their broadcast.

The picture was much more clear and level of broadcasting was a tad higher.

Alesia took these great pictures- thank you, my friend!

I'll post the site to watch online for Justin's game tomorrow.

Kick-off for the Scotties is at 1:00 CST Saturday.

girona S P A I N

First things first. 

Before sharing our adventures in Germany this week, I am going to finish highlighting the best of the Southern France trip we took two months ago. 

I can't believe it's been two months.

The beaches were the best. Next to the beaches, we did see some pretty amazing things.

 

Shortly after moving to Germany, we asked each of the big boys which country they wanted most to visit while living here.

Justin's response was Spain.

Ty chose Switzerland.

With Justin's time cut short, we purposefully chose to include Spain in this trip to at least get his feet in the Spanish-speaking country.

Looking on the map for a city that was close, I first found Barcelona. It was a three-hour drive from our house which would leave no time to see all that was there.

Closer to France is Girona, Spain or otherwise known as little Barcelona.

To my delight, I soon realized it was on Frommer's list of top 10 cities to visit in the world for 2012.

We had to see what it was all about.

The Girona Cathedral is absolutely breathtaking. Massive. Detailed. Astounding.

We've seen a few cathedrals in the last couple of years. I love them. The boys are not quite as impressed.

As long as Caden was able to go around listening to the little blips at each station around the grounds- he was fine.
 From the Cathedral, we walked down the surrounding streets known as The Call.

One of the best-preserved Jewish districts, the streets are narrow. Cobblestone is amazing.

It was a large Jewish settlement that was eventually expelled from Spain.

I couldn't help but wonder how it felt to be back in the times and the persecution they endured.

The boys {big and little} were restless, so we didn't stay long.   

 On our way home from Spain, we had to hit another beach. It helped motivate little people to cooperate through the morning if they knew they were getting to swim in the afternoon. 

Torreilles Plage, also rated excellent was not our favorite but definitely a spot where memories were made.

The water and view were beautiful.

The sand was listed as gritty and it was more natural and wild. With a rocky shore, it dropped off deep within a couple feet. Crazy deep which made me a little more nervous.

There were virtually no waves and the water was super clear.

It was rocky, not sandy- an attribute we would soon come to appreciate.

While swimming and goofing around wrestling with Coleman, Jim's wedding ring flicked off his finger into the water. 

At least five feet in depth, he couldn't immediately find his ring. He swam around looking and had Coleman and Caden on the search for it.

Before long, I got in {not much help} and our friend Ricky grabbed a set of goggles and started the hunt.

About that time, the big guys were back to shore, took the goggles from the little guys and started looking.

It was a full-on search for at least twenty minutes until Ricky came up with the ring.

We still have no idea how he found it. Partially covered with rocks, he only saw a little glimmer of shine and was able to pick it up. 

Had we been on any of other three beaches, there is no way it would have been found- they were far too sandy on the shoreline.

We both took our rings off for the remainder of the week.

I know I'm the mom but aren't they such good looking boys? I love them so much.

back to L I F E

The visiting aunt and uncle are gone- on their way back to sunny San Diego. I dropped them off at the Frankfurt airport this morning.

They fell in love with Germany. We enjoyed their visit.

We covered hundreds of miles this week, seeing a lot of beautiful Germany. I should have set the trip odometer and kept track of how far we drove.

It was a great, busy week. Time to get back to a routine.

I have so many pictures to post of the new places we visited this week.
I still need to finish documenting our Southern France trip this summer.
Then there are all of the every-day things that seem to pop up.

I should get busy. Don't you agree, Grandpaw? I know I'm behind. I'll try to do better this week!

HCC v BUTLER football

It's an early game today with the kick off at 1pm CST. Big game for Highland playing the number two juco team in the nation.

Here's the link to watch it live:

http://highlandcc.edu/pages/sports-live-stream

Just click on football- live stream.

day T R I P P I N G

My aunt and uncle are visiting us from San Diego this week.

They think it's their vacation.
I like to think it's my vacation as well.

I'm so happy for fun day trips this week.

I'm so happy to have my husband home.

I'm so happy having family here.

Today, we're going to go up the Rhine River.

We invited the boys. They all said they'd much rather go to school than see castles.

Caden couldn't believe that Jim was taking off just to see castles. Spoiled.

The weather is beautiful.

I can't wait.

I'll be taking pictures.
Lots of pictures.

father and his S O N

Here are a couple of great pictures that Alesia took last weekend in Dodge City. I think it helps that the boys won.

They are pretty happy.
Big smiles.

I love them.

The pictures and the boys in them.

Payton, Jim and Justin

C A D E N the six-year old

We're think we might just be those parents.

Maybe.


he might be a little big for his age...

You know, the ones who think sports and competition are kind of a big deal? I wish I wasn't, but I'm pretty sure I'd be lying if I said we weren't.

I'm not the mom who's screaming on the sidelines {however Jim has been known to turn some heads during t-ball a few years back}, but we like them to not only do good but stand out. Winning is good, too.

We started the boys in sports when they were little. Justin always wanted to play hockey. I thought it was too expensive and didn't do it. Instead, they tried out t-ball, soccer and ended up playing football kind of against my wishes. I always wanted a baseball or basketball player.

Now, you'd never know it by the way I can't stop talking about football.
I know it's bad.

When we moved to Ramstein, we really thought the sports would be at a much higher level. It's not and I think a lot of other parents thought I was the crazy one placing too much emphasis on sports.

I couldn't believe they didn't have a weight-training class. Only six regular-season games? Seriously?
School should be for academics, right?

At Ramstein, academics are definitely the focus which is good. Really good. I just think sports are huge too especially when you have kids who need that outlet and have a passion for sports.

For both basketball and t-ball this last year, we played Caden up a level. It was more out of convenience than to make him better. We were coaching basketball, so it worked to have him on our team of 7-8 year olds. He had just turned six, but managed to hold his own.

With his broken jaw, he missed his t-ball season, but was able to jump in for the last few games on Coleman's coach-pitch team due to the fact that our friend was the coach and didn't mind. Again, he held his own and worked really hard being the youngest one on the team.

For soccer this season, we debated putting him on a 7-8 year old team again, but I opted to let him play with the 5-6 year olds. That is his age group. We thought it would be good for his esteem to stand out a little.

This weekend was Caden's first game. He's not too excited they're purple {his coach has a girl, think that has anything to do with the color choice?} and was upset that they lost.

On the plus side, he did score all four of his team's goals. I'm wondering how long it takes for someone to ask to see a birth certificate. I think he might be a little big for his age, too.

He's so intense. He's so competitive. Even if he has to wear purple.
He's kinda like his brother.

more F O O T B A L L stuff

I know it was a long weekend of driving {after flying into Oklahoma and driving up to KS} for Jim.

I also know he wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Justin's coach was gracious enough to email me their weekend itinerary, so I knew when they'd be where.

We booked Jim a hotel room next to the team, so he was able to meet Justin at the hotel and spend a little time Friday night and Saturday with him before the game.

They leave pretty quickly after the games, so we knew if he wanted to spend time with him, he'd have to catch up to them before.

He received a really warm welcome from each of the coaches and got a great vibe about where Justin is and who he's with. They are taking care of him which brings me a great deal of comfort. 

I've stumbled across an online site for the Jayhawk conference- Justin's conference. It's a nice site that has updates for scores around the league, stats, links to watch or listen and a message board.

Being a new mom to this whole college football thing, I was enjoying reading the posts on this message board in an attempt to educate myself  as to the tone and level of play in the league.

It's been especially insightful since I don't know who's who in his league. It's nice to have a little bit of an idea of who Highland plays next. I would guess most of the posts are from the dads, alumni or the old men in town who know all that there is to know about small-town football.
I do know three of the teams are nationally-ranked football programs making it one of the toughest conferences- a good thing for Justin. The next two games they play are against two of those top teams- Butler and Hutch. Neither will be an easy game for the Scotties.

Highland is definitely rebuilding coming off a 1-8 season last year. Even with their new coaching staff, we knew it was going to be a tough season with a few losses.

This weekend, they notched their first WIN against Dodge City with a score of 32-10.

It was so exciting and made staying up from 2-5am with the laptop in bed with me worth every minute. I can't say enough times how grateful I am for technology and being able to watch or listen to these games as they're going on.

Jim said Justin did great coming up with some big blocks.
I was so happy he was able to sit in the stands and watch.
I can't wait to get the whole scoop on how it was.

On the message board, they have picks each week. This weekend, Dodge City was picked to win by 12 out of the 13 who cast their opinion. Knowing they'll get stomped {after their BYE next week} the next two games they play, I'm sure they won't be winning anyone else over.

After that, I'm excited to see how the opinion of Highland changes.

Hopefully, for the better. Hopefully, soon.

We're pretty proud.

S U P E R saturday

It was a marathon super sports Saturday for us yesterday.

We couldn't have asked for more perfect {80 degrees} German weather to shine down on us. Knowing the grey and gloom {known as German winter} is just around the corner, I'm trying to soak up as much of the warmth as I can.

We started the day off with opening ceremonies for the soccer season and Caden's first soccer game.

We then headed to watch Ty's first game for the Ramstein High football team. Finally, Justin had his football game last night. They notched their first win, I'll post a re-cap this week.

I'm a little tired today, but love that my boys love sports.

Starting his senior year, Ty was named a senior captain on the football team. It's a big role to fill with great responsibilities. We're excited to see him step up and lead.

The fun {and not so fun} part of being a military school is that you never know who you're going to get in from year to year.

On the flip side, the team is constantly changing with moves in and out. This season, they have a wealth of new talent and some new big kids. It should make for exciting football.

Yesterday was their first time out on the field against a smaller German team- the Hanau Ravens.

As most of us know- there is no football in Germany or Europe for that matter. They play soccer.
They're really good at soccer over here. In both football and basketball, there are a few random German teams that we often play.

I always feel so bad for these kids because our kids usually stomp them. I think all they want to do is play and learn.

One basketball coach I was talking to last year at a tournament said his kids felt so privileged to be able to play Americans. Then, they lost by 50 or something like that.

Yesterday, I was cheering a little for the German team but it didn't seem to help much.

At half time, they took the score off the board which was a nice gesture. I think it ended up being 50 or 60 - 0.

In a nice show of sportsmanship while shaking hands at the end of the game, our boys handed each of the German boys a Dallas Cowboys jersey-donated to Coach A to do something with.

Hopefully, they were excited.

Ty is playing wide receiver again this season. He's been asking to play defense and finally got his chance to play a little on both sides of the ball.

He worked out so hard {with Justin} this summer and has continued weight training with Jim since school started.

I think his conditioning and strength are paying off. 

Should be a great season for the Royals!

HCC v. Dodge City Video LINK

They are doing live video of Justin's game tonight.
Justin will have his dad in the stands cheering for him.
I can't wait to watch.
Here's the link in case you'd like to watch a little juco football on a Saturday night.

http://www.dc3.edu/athletics



HCC v. Northeast Oklahoma

HCC v. Dodge CITY

Here's the link for Justin's game Saturday, September 8 at 7pm CST:
http://www.conqsports.com/

Seems another weekend is rolling around faster than I can keep up!

This week is exciting! Jim is traveling to Oklahoma for a conference and is making a quick stop in Dodge City, Kansas to watch Justin's football game.
Yeah!

Our good friends and neighbors Steve and Tammy are going to make the three-hour drive to watch the game as well. Such wonderful friends!

I feel like I'm missing out on the party, but so happy they get to see him.

For me, it's single-mom mode with soccer opening ceremonies, Caden's first soccer game, booster club work and Ty's first football game of the season. Should keep me busy!

It's another 7pm (CST) game, so an all-nighter here. They had 1pm listed as the game time, so I had my hopes up for nothing!

Go Scotties- we're hoping for a little more success this weekend!
A win would be nice.

DICKEY cool S O N G S

Not long ago, we found a treasure.

A few years ago, Justin had burned a CD of his favorite songs and it turned up.

The best part of it wasn't the songs he had selected but, his writing on the disc.

Justin's Dickey cool songs.

How funny is that?
How sweet is that?

I'm pretty sure it was middle-school {ish} when he made it. Now, it stays in the CD player in the van most of the time as the littles love it.

A few weeks ago, while going to to pool Caden wanted me to put on Justin's cool songs. As his favorite song came on, he got a little sad and said, "I miss Justin taking us to the pool. He used to crank this song."

To Caden, it's a pump-up football song.
It's also memories of time spent with his big brother.

I can just picture them both now playing it full-blast, bopping up and down in the van while mouthing the words and moving their heads.

I turned it up but it obviously wasn't quite as cool or as cranked as Justin did it and he let me know.

This weekend, the idea of making a CD somehow came up. Caden was determined to make his own CD.

After spending a LONG time going through the music on iTunes {most of it songs Justin has purchased through the years}, he had his perfect playlist with his favorite songs on top.

We burned the disc and he labeled it.

Of course he did.

Caden Dickey cool songs to send to his big brother in college. Payton's getting one too.

a surprise V I S I T from the grandparents

It's been brought to my attention that after a whole week, I have yet to re-cap last week's home-opener football game. Sometimes, I'm just a little slow.


Check out the big guys on the sidelines behind Justin... they're huge! 

Justin has his first college football game under his belt. Not only did he make it out on the field, he got quite a bit of playing time. Not bad for a freshman.

It rained the whole entire game- Highland ended up with a loss in a game full of fumbles and sloppy ball. Much to Jim's dislike, they have Justin playing Tight End on offense. His dad really loves watching him play defense making sacs and the big tackles.

Justin told us he even mentioned to Coach that he plays defense and would kinda like to be back on defense.

He was told in response that they need him on offense. I guess that's where he'll stay. No matter what, we know he's giving it his all.

It was a huge surprise for Justin to have G'pa and G'ma {Dickey} show up for his first game.

Loaded down with rice krispie treats, cookies, Aunt Patty's homemade beef jerky and more he was definitely spoiled.

This in addition to the wonderful care packages he's received from other family members.

After a month away at college, we know he was likely more happy to have family there.

With a packed schedule, Justin had just a few hours off in the afternoon.

They had a nice lunch and made a trip to the next town over to the Walmart for more goodies. They also were able to take him to breakfast the next morning before heading back to Illinois.

We know it meant the world to him to have his grandparents there.
It meant the world to us as well.

 Tonight, the Scotties are playing Northeastern Oklahoma in Miami {pronounced Miam-a}, Oklahoma as my true Okie friend let me know. They made the four-hour drive down last night, stayed in a hotel and are hopefully ready to go.

Justin's last text to me said: "Everything is good. Ready to play."

NEO is broadcasting the game {audio only} live online.
The link is: http://www.neoathletics.com/

It's another 7pm {CST} game, so we'll be up at 2am here in Deutschland to listen.
Last week, of the three boys, Caden is the only one who not only woke up to watch his brother play- he stayed AWAKE the entire game watching.

He loves his brother. We'll see who makes it tonight.

Thanks AGAIN, Alesia for the pictures.