Yeah, I know. It's been three weeks since the last post. No excuses.
So, what's been going on? February has been up and down, at least weather wise. It's been in the 70's, but we've also had wind chills near zero. In fact, I think both of those things happened in the space of 24 hours.
We've had our normal (but abnormal) routine during the week. Soccer practice and games (with one at 6:05 AM, and another at 6:50 AM), ballet, Girl Scouts, Mad Science, Spanish Club, Kid's Creed, and on and on.
Sara's Scout Troop had a service activity at Harvesters, which is the local food pantry. They spent a couple of hours sorting and boxing food. It's a great organization, and it was good to get the girls exposed to something like that.
I mentioned above the 70 degree weather. When I think 70 degrees, I think "Snowboarding Contest in the Power & Light District!"
Yes. It was 70 degrees.
On Valentine's Day, the girls went to the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, MO. When they got home, there were clues around the house that led them to their Valentine's surprise...
FYI, Libby has beaten me in golf and baseball, and Sara has a serve in tennis that is un-hittable. (Oh, by the way, Lori wanted the Wii Fit)
Lori and I are both doing fine. Work is steady for both of us. We're both busy, which is a good thing. I'm able to get out on the bike every now and then when the weather allows. Got 32 miles in yesterday. I needed to get out to clear my head after thinking too much about the so called "Stimulus" package and the incredibly stupid Mortgage Bailout. I guess we shouldn't have been conscientious and paid off our mortgage. Stupid me.
I almost forgot the best news. Igor had successful surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He got home the next day, and is probably creating havoc as we speak. I'm sure he'll be watching Purdue beat up on IU tomorrow. Boiler Up!
Well, another week has come and gone in this strange Winter in Kansas City. It starts off with temperatures near zero, and ends with a record high temperature of 70 degrees today on Saturday. At least the record high was on a weekend when we could enjoy it.
So, what happened this week? Work was crazy busy. Meetings at the Stadium, budget cutbacks by the State of Missouri, sending proposals and invoices for the same work simultaneously to clients... pretty bizarre. The home life has been just as busy. Girl Scouts, Mad Science, Spanish Club, Girl Scout Cookie Distribution, Ballet, Kid's Creed, a Baby Shower for an Elementary School Teacher, Soccer Practice, a Soccer Game, Homework, and there's probably about 15 other things that I forgot. Plus, I finally am getting started on Sara's dollhouse, and I built a new computer for Grandma Jan (delivery is tomorrow).
As I said earlier, at least today was nice. Started off in the low 30's but climbed up to 70 by mid afternoon. But, if it's that warm this time of the year, it's also going to be windy. Windy as in 20 to 30 mph wind windy. The winds didn't stop me and the McCorkle's from putting in a couple hours on the bike this morning. Took it fairly easy, but at this time of the year, it's just all about getting on the bike, getting the miles in, and just being sociable.
This evening, Libby had her first indoor soccer game in four weeks. The girls played well, but lost 5 - 3 to the Dominators. Afterwards, we went to Tanners (mmmm Chicken Lips!) with the Johnsons and the Paccapaniccias. The girls (Libby, Courtney, and Lauren, were nice enough to take time out of eating to pose for a quick picture. 
Tomorrow, it's Super Bowl Sunday. My prediction... Steelers 24-14. I'll be waving my Terrible Towel.
Another busy week has gone by. Besides all of the normal things to do every week, there were a few other "events" to fit in. Tuesday was the quarterly Roller Skating Party for the girl's school. I stayed out of the chaos, but had a good time watching. I was happy that we got there late and missed the "Limbo".
Then, we got some snow on Friday Night / Saturday morning, so the girls HAD to go out and build a snowman. I think Sara rolled the entire bottom ball all by herself. It warmed up later in the day, and our snowman suffered that fate that Frosty should have had happen to him when he went in the hothouse (Die Frosty Die!).
Today, I thought I was going to relax. No such luck. Some friends conned me into riding in an unofficial, underground cyclocross race at a local middle school. Seeing that I'm a roadie and have never ridden cross, this had all the makings of not turning out well. I had to borrow a cross bike (that was one size too small), swap pedals, and figure out how to ride through the grass, up muddy hills, around trees, down mulch paths, etc. I'm just happy that I didn't finish last and that I stayed upright the whole time. Now, I'm exhausted and sore from the bar that was too small in diameter and from being in an awkward position due to the smaller frame. I had a great time anyway. It was a lot of fun. The Belgian beer and frites that we had afterward wasn't too bad either. Now, if I can only talk Lori into giving me a massage...
Thanks to Karen for (finally!) sending me the picture that I wanted posted for my profile. It's about a quarter to 9 and I'm getting ready to take Libby to soccer practice. Had something happen to me for the first time in my life. Was on the way to work this morning and a 10+ car accident occurred about 1/2 mile in front of me which completely shut down the interstate. I was between exits, so I was parked for a good 40 minutes while one of the three lanes was cleared. Good times! At least I got to read the paper.
After some deliberation, Sara decided to finally join the "Pierced Ear Squadron." The big event happened this past Saturday morning.
In the first game of the second winter indoor session at All American Indoor Sports, the KC Hurricanes completely dominated every aspect of the game and wound up with a well deserved 6 - 3 victory this morning at the Overland Park Soccer Dome. Five players scored for the Hurricanes in a well balanced attack. The defense, anchored by Libby and Courtney (shown celebrating after the game), allowed their fewest goals this year. The indoor season will continue through late February / early March, with the outdoor season beginning in mid March.
Anyone who lives around Kansas City or has visited the area around the holidays knows that one of the traditional things to do around here is to go ice skating at the Crown Center Ice Terrace. Since this was one of the items on the girls "To Do" list while school is on break and since the day after Christmas was unseasonably warm (in fact I wore shorts) we decided that it was the perfect time to hit the ice and cross this one off the list. Of course, we weren't the only ones who came up with this brilliant plan, but we were able to rent some skates and get some quality time on the ice.
As a side note, I was happy that the folks at Crown Center don't run this place like a roller rink. No 'Limbo' contest, no 'Hokey Pokey', no 'Cha-Cha Slide'.
Yes. It was 70 degrees.
FYI, Libby has beaten me in golf and baseball, and Sara has a serve in tennis that is un-hittable. 
