Monday, June 16, 2008

Highlight Video from Camp


Here's Matthew's highlights from camp. It's about a 5 min video and for some reason it's little loud.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Basketball Camp 2008



Matthew and I had so much fun at Bill Self's Basketball Camp! It was a parent/child camp over the weekend and was chalked full of KU spirit and tradition. On Saturday we spent time in Allen Field House, Horejsi Center, and touring the facilites. It was hard not being star struck and not acting like paparazzi be we managed as best we could. The kids did drills and worked on fundamentals on the courts with the current KU players and coaches and then we got a chance to see the locker room, offices and film room. The player coaches we mostly interacted with were Brady Morningstar and Conner Teehan.








After we were done practicing we walked over to Naismith Hall where we were staying and had pizza and had our pictures taken with Coach Self and THE trophy.


On Sunday we had breakfast in Naismith's cafeteria and then went back to the Horejsi Center for more fun. The kids stayed there while the parents went over to Allen Field House to hear Coach Self and Coach Reed (Tyrel's dad) speak about being good parent coaches. After the kids were done running some relays they joined us in Allen Field House for some 5 X 5. It was quite a show. They all had a blast.



After their scrimmages we went back to the Horejsi Center and had some things autographed by the National Champs! Only the campers were allowed to go through the autograph line. Matthew had the players sign different things. Some players signed is ball, others his camp shirt and a couple signed his headband he had gotten there. I got some cute pics of Matthew and Coach Self signing the ball. As he signing it he says to Matthew, "Isn't your mom the one who totally messed up the autograph line last night?" (That's a whole other story!) I'm sure I went bright red and he said again,"You know I'm just kidding you!". I think I heard him say that a dozen times over the weekend to different people. He just so personable and to remember something like that for even for just one night I think is so cool. I can see why he is so popular. He is just so friendly and makes each person feel like they have a connection with him.


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Saturday, June 07, 2008

Dino Experience

We went to see Walking with the Dinosaurs tonight at the Sprint center. It was really cool and our kids are the perfect age for it. It was entertaining and educational. Matthew and Katie couldn't take their eyes off the dinosuars and we had to keep telling Matthew they weren't real. Watching it with Paul was like watching it with most 8 year old boys or Paleontologists. I asked him if he learned anything new and he said no, that he knew it already. But he liked it as much as Matthew and Katie. Since we were still on Hawaii time we went out to dinner after the show. Keeping with the night's theme we went to the TRex Cafe in the Legends.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Day 10 - Thursday - Our Last Day





We spent most of the day at the Hale Koa pool. Our flight wasn't until 7:25pm so we were able to get in some good last minute fun and sun. The kids enjoyed diving for pennies and making more new friends. They got the kids meal that comes in a car and icecream for dessert so they were extra happy. Troy mentioned that it seemed like lots of the pictures we sent home were pics of us eating icecream. I hadn't noticed but I guess we did eat a lot of it.

The plane ride home was pretty uneventful. I had some trouble going through security in Honolulu before we boarded though. There was an issue with my backpack. It kept triggering an alarm for having a explosive chemical on it. Needless to say that didn't go over well with TSA. Luckily we were plenty early for our flight and just had to be patient while they scanned, swiped, checked, unpacked it, rechecked, rescanned it, reswiped, asked me tons of questions, etc. Still no idea what caused that but glad it wasn't confiscated like my suntan lotion. On the plane Katie and Matthew sat together for a bit which let Mary T and I sit next to each other and visit. That was a surprising change. Later the kids slept most of the rest of the way. We arrived in KC Friday morning and were home by noon.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Day Nine - Wednesday






video
Today Paul and I went to Hanauma Bay to do some snorkeling and enjoy the beach. We had a pretty good time but his face mask kept leaking on him and so his snorkeling was cut short. We both were able to see a lot of colorful fish and enjoy the bay. We also made this cool sand fort. The little kids went to the gem museum with JD and Mary T and made pretty bracelets. Paul and I did a bit of shopping after the beach and we all met up later for an early dinner at my favorite restaurant, Duke's. We ate on the patio overlooking the ocean while the kids played in the sand. It truly felt like vacation in paradise.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Day Eight - Tuesday


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We spent the day at the beach today. We walked to the Ala Moana Beach and Park. The surf breaks quite a ways out on a reef and wall so waves are very small. The kids had a ball making sand castles, chasing fish and splashing around.

Day Seven - Monday






Today Paul and I went to Pearl Harbor and visited the Arizona Memorial. It's been several years since we've been there and he didn't really remember it. The little kids stayed with JD and Mary T and went swimming and had their own fun. Paul and I were lucky enough to meet some Pearl Harbor survivors and get their autographs. We saw and learned quite a bit.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Day Six - Sunday






We started the day with Mass at the Hawaiian Village and then went to wonderful breakfast at the Hale Koa. Afterwards we spent the rest of the day at the Hale Koa pool. The kids made friends there and has a blast. They LOVE getting an icecream or snowcone treat there. We came home and grilled downstairs and swam in the pool for a bit before Paul fell and hit his head. He was ok after a bit but we came upstairs and watched a movie - Open Season - before going to bed.