January 2023

January has been full of girls’ activities as they both have been playing basketball and volleyball along with starting some softball workouts.  Combine those things with a back injury keeping me down for about 2 weeks, that put a lot of things on Deb’s plate and she kept things going in our house.

In mid-January, Deb and I went to Orangetheory in the morning. As we were getting ready for our busy Saturday, my back gave out and I was down for the count.

  I laid on the couch for the next 3 days and slowly got better with medication and some exercise. It took about 2 weeks for me to feel well enough to run and I took it easy for that first jog. We had to postpone a ski trip for Deb and I to Colorado until March to give me enough time to heal. Since Randy & Anna were coming to visit to watch the kids while we were going to be gone, they decided to visit anyway. Randy went to see a shoulder specialist at Deb’s clinic and they were able to see a few of the girls games while they were in town. 

Sarah’s Things of the Month  

            Sarah’s basketball has been in full swing and they are a bunch of 4^th graders running a 5-out offense. It is impressive to see how far they have come since early December. We are playing in a league where on any given Saturday, we may play a team that is together year-round or a team just looking to play some wintertime basketball.Sarah was watching some college basketball and noticed the 5-out offense, which was pretty cool.

            She is also gearing up for her first volleyball season, where the most important thing is to get your serve over the net. Her grade split into 2 teams and she is enjoying herself. It always helps having an older sister, because she has watched games for a few years so the learning curve is easier for her. 

            Finally, she did some “AAA” softball workouts in early January and then switched over the “league” workouts. She is hoping to pitch this year and it will also be the first time she will be in a draft (meaning she won’t be able to play with all of her friends). There are 2 CKS parents coaching so hopefully she ends up on one of those teams.

 

Allison’s Thing of the Month  

             Allison’s basketball team consists of a lot of the same players as last year along with the same head coach, so that is a good way to build some consistency and allow for them to get better each year. As she is getting taller, I’ve been talking to her more about rebounding and being more aggressive under the basket.
Her volleyball team is a lot of fun to watch as they moved into the world of “bump, set, spike” instead of just getting the ball over the net. Combine that with overhand serves, they are pretty competitive and fun to watch.

            Allison did a few softball workouts at Chatard high school and enjoyed getting back into the mix with the softball players. 

 

A few more items from this month: 

• Deb and I were given tickets to a pacer game from a friend at church, so we enjoyed seeing them play against the Blazers and an impromptu night out.  
• My birthday was celebrated with us going out to dinner with the Bultincks. We went to Twenty Tap and enjoyed seeing them and having a few drinks. While my back was bothering me, a little bourbon always helps.  
• Beth and I were able to get back to having our monthly hangout where we catch up for a few beers at one of our houses during the week after the kids are in bed. 
• Jeremy and I met up at Ale Emporium for a few beers to watch a Purdue game on a random afternoon where I texted him about 30 minutes before tipoff and he was able to make it. 
• We went to a Chatard Girls Varsity basketball game against Brebeuf where both of the girls had friends there to hang out with.  
• Deb went to a fundraising class party at the school for the 4^th grade. I wasn’t able to make it as I took Allison to her basketball game that evening. Deb had fun dressing up and hanging out with all the parents without the kids around.