Sport Shorts

The last 48 hours have pretty much been all sports. Yes, it was SUPER Sunday yesterday. What that meant was that is was "Souper Sunday" at church with a fundraiser for the food pantry/soup kitchen.

Then, I got home in time to watch legit LIVE Olympics coverage of team figure skating.

The Quad God for the win! I mean, WOW. How fun to watch!

After that, I did pop over to what I believe is like the 44th annual SuperBowl party in our friend Chet's basement! Said hello to all and participated in some "investment opportunities" (which yielded nothing!), then came home to actually watch the game and/or flip with Olympics coverage.

Boring game if you ask me. I like the ones that are super close and down to the last second! But that's just me.

Today was a work from home day that ALMOST had me wishing for a lunch hour with Mr. Deck Chair.

Oooh this high temperature was amazing. Obviously not sit outside for endless hours, but still so refreshing!

After work, I continued on my sports quest with Lady Royals middle school hoops. Turned out we were hosting Stratford – home of all the Austin clan that I'm related to (through marriage). Didn't take me long to recognize their coach as Jim's cousin's daughter. Then, when I talked to her at halftime, she said one of the players belonged to another cousin's daughter... so granddaughter. How fun. I then had players from both teams to shoot pictures of. 

Just got done editing and uploading pictures. And since I know what happened with co-ed curling and ice dancing today, I don't need to watch the delayed Olympic coverage. Or do I?

All the time delays... I just don't know. Go USA! And Royals! And, yes, Stratford!

Back in My Element

It feels good to feel good and finally be released from the house! And there was no shortage of catching up to do when it comes to spring sports. As it happened, just about all of them were happening yesterday. And I ended up covering one I haven't done yet in my photography years: Track and field.

And now I know why. There's so much going on at the same time. Yes, track AND field. So you almost have to clone yourself to get pictures of everything. Which I didn't since I couldn't pull off that feat. Still, I got a ton of pictures. Thank goodness, since it was all the way up in Stratford and the remaining meets are even further away.

I forgot that track meets are endless. Hours and hours. Which means I got a bonus sunset anyway! Got home at 9 p.m. I decided yesterday to take today off so I could get those pictures done AND do a little supply shopping plus bake Little Monster Cookies for the kiddos before their trip. 

Done and done and they headed to "independence" late this afternoon. I decided to shoot some softball and baseball today so I wouldn't have to think about my slightly breaking heart. 

That proved to be a great distraction. The softball game was going well (and they later won) but then I heard baseball was only down 4-3 in the 4th. With one victory under our belt, I knew I had to get over to that in case they made a comeback.

And what a rally that was.

Going into the last inning we were down 8-4. Thankfully, Athens sort of ran out of pitching. So we got some key walks to load bases and score a run or 2. The last batter was faces with loaded bases and an 8-7 score. We needed not 1, but 2 runs. No pressure.

Somehow Jack K's hit got past the third baseman and two of our guys scored. Game over. Royal victory!

There was much rejoicing from the players and the fans. And that extended to Ida's for fish fries and fun. Oh normalcy feels so good.

I won't take that for granted again! Be careful out there.

And, go Royals!

Gotta Start Somewhere

The sun was out. The field was ready. The temp was close to 60 degrees. A perfect day to start the baseball season. 

Until it wasn't.

The Royals had their home opener today against the always powerful Stratford Tigers. (I have to say that since my father-in-law and his brothers played their years and years and years ago.) The scoreboard wasn't working at Witter Field so it was hard to keep track of how things were going – other than orange uniforms were crossing home plate and Royal blue ones were not.

In the end, we lost 12-0 in 5 innings. Lots of work to be done. But they hopefully shook off the cobwebs and will be ready to go go go! Because tomorrow they head back up to Stratford, then jump into a busy schedule after Easter.

Didn't get much for action shots, but I always love me some baseball pitchers!

And my favorite shot. We didn't get the guy out but junior Ryan Shaw hopped up to make the catch. Nice!

Let's have a good season, Royals!!

Preparing for Final Battles

Feels like we just got into a groove with some winter sports actually being played after covid this and covid that. 

Now the girls have wrapped up their regular hoops season. They lost to Stratford tonight so the Lady Royals share the conference title in the Marawood South. Congrats! Considering there was basically a 3-week gap with quarantines, I'd say our ladies are getting strong at just the right time.

Regional playoffs start tomorrow. Assumption got the No. 1 seed in their bracket so the Lady Royals get a bye and will host regional round 2 on Friday night.

Our boys are still looking for their second win of the season. Stratford also stomped on them tonight. We still have a few more chances for a "W" as the Royals host games at home this Tuesday and Thursday. Not sure if they'll have other games to make up yet, but the boys regionals start next Tuesday, Feb. 16.

We'll see what happens from here. Feel blessed I got to see some action in person this season and capture what I could on my trusty Nikon. Hopefully there's a few more good stories to show AND tell before they officially wrap up winter sports. 

Let's go Royals!!

Family Time in Tiger Town

It's possible I was having withdrawals from graduation cake after 5 whole days without it. Good thing hubby's cousin came to the rescue.

His cousin's son Hunter graduated from Stratford last weekend and they had the party today. Thankfully the morning rain shoved off to the east in time for the party.

It was a nice gathering of the Austin side of the family, who all grew up by Stratford. Some of us married into it, including cousin Dave's wife Diane – who created that cake masterpiece! She does such a great job! And it not only looked good but it tasted pretty good for Stratford Tigers cake!

Of course, we had to get a picture of the remaining Austin brothers (Uncle Frank died last year). From left are "Jug," my father-in-law John, Dick, and Joe. For those who've fallen victim to the Austin charm, you know this is like the Fantastic Four – 4 times the charm AND sass! Love these guys!

Didn't do much else today after we got home from the party in late afternoon. Pulled some weeds, got a few flowers from Home Depot, then somehow got sucked into watching the Brewers game. It was extra innings. And then some. They won in 13 and will be my excuse for not getting 10,000 steps today.

Certainly couldn't be because I was too busy shoveling cake in my face. Nah.

So That Explains It

I didn't realize we were on the cusp of a full moon. Technically, Saturday is the day. But since we're supposed to get rain through Sunday, I suspect it will be cloudy. So I got out the tripod and gave it a go.

Still working with different settings but, then again, I don't profess to be a professional photographer – especially with nature. No matter how slow-moving.

The near-full moon might explain a few things, though. Some crazy stuff at work, at home, and the fact our Royals baseball team couldn't seem to hit the ball tonight. According to coach (I wasn't there), Stratford scored 18 runs in the first inning and managed to "hang on," as he put it, beating us 18-0. Ouch.

That's crazy full moon madness, isn't it? For our team anyway.

We'll see what other lunacy the weekend has in store for us. Hopefully nothing that prompts us to start howling.

Be careful out there!

From Water Works to Wicked Windchill

It's no surprise Wisconsin is known for its ability to experience all four seasons in a week. On Saturday, it was mild enough that no jackets were required. On Monday, it rained so much the ground couldn't absorb it fast enough so there was mild flooding in the area – like every ditch and yard I saw – and the occasional "High Water" signs erected.

When I drove by our friends' house last night, I actually put the car in reverse so I could take a quick picture out the window. Their old truck with Christmas lights was reflected in the new lake in their front yard. That's what happens when it rains and rains on the 13th day of Christmas!

Believe when I say every wet surface I encountered on my commute yesterday is solid ice today.

Starting out the day around 40, temps have plummeted all day – while the wind picked up.

On our way home from Stratford tonight after a tough Lady Royals loss, we could feel the wind moving the vehicle a bit. When I checked, the mercury had dropped down to 18 with a windchill-induced "Real Feel" temperature of 5 below zero. No the warm fuzzy we needed after that game!

Let's hope both the temperatures and the team turn around for the better by Thursday. Go Royals! (Go Heat Mizer!)

A Trifle Lucky

Oh, what a beautiful morning... said the woman who had the day off and didn't have to drive a half hour through the layer of snow and ice on the roads. Yes, that's me!

Grateful I had a day off and that Mr. Deck Chair is not human or you know he'd be flipping me off right about now. Instead, he's brushed off and tucked away now. A little late. Whoops. I thought we going to get a dusting. Didn't think I'd have to shovel.

I probably didn't. It mostly melted off the driveway but I did the deck. And it has snowed twice since then anyway – once while I was getting my hour massage (yes!) and tonight after dinner. Too soon for this stuff. It's still football season!

For some teams anyway.

In honor of my father-in-law's 81st birthday today, I made a Chocolate Caramel Stratford Tigers Trifle. He went to Stratford and they played tonight – and won – and are heading to state football next week!

It really was a lucky trifle. Iola-Scandinavia also sports orange and black and they are going to state, too, after beating Grantsburg tonight. Small world. I was born in the Grantsburg hospital!

The trifle was also a good omen because it brought the family together. We were missing Casey and Carter tonight, but grandsons Clay and Colin represented. Also out for dinner were Jim's sister and her hubby, and Colin's wife Amy. So nine of enjoying a good meal at the Wildhorse Saloon and a tasty trifle dessert afterward.

In case you wanted some, the bowl is empty. I may have to make it again next week for state, though. Keep the good mojo going! Hopefully the snow will go back to where it came from by then, too.

Students of Life

There's nothing wrong with high standards. As long as you pair them with humility. That's how we learn.

And today I learned a lesson.

As a photographer, I know that the worst time and place to shoot your subjects is in the bright sunlight, where they have to squint whether they're looking directly at it or not. That's why I was hoping for the forecasted cloudy conditions for my senior photo session today.

Forecast was wrong.

When hubby and I traveled up to Stratford to his cousin's house, it was bright and sunny. So when I took their son out and about around town and the football field, the poor kid's eyes couldn't catch a break. I had a devil of a time getting any images of him with really open eyes. Not his fault at all. Just didn't know of a lot of alternative settings because it wasn't my stomping grounds.

Naturally, as soon as we wrapped up, it became perfectly overcast. Figures. But we had to head back to Rapids since Jim was golfing with son #2 this afternoon.

Looking over the photos when I got home, I was disappointed. Too many squinty eyes and not enough of the types of portraits I know how to take. Granted, the bright sunshine was out of my control. But I'm taking ownership that I could have done something different. Better.

I turned it into a learning moment. I got some advice from an old photographer friend. Some tips for the next time the weatherman is wrong. I also reached out to the boy's family, told them I was dissatisfied with some of my work today – it didn't meet my standards, and we set up a second session.

So I need to move forward. Shake off the mentality that I screwed up. Appreciate the photos that did turn out. And apply lessons learned the next time.

Here's a few I am OK with....

Being a student of life for life is never easy, is it? Good thing I strive for progress, not perfection. And that there's almost always second chances.

Norse Gods Keep Smiling

If bad things happen in threes, I hope that means good things happen in at least tens or twenties... or maybe hundreds.

The Norse Gods are smiling on this Vikings fan this week and it would be awesome if it could keep going a few more weeks at least.

Sunday the Vikings won.

Monday I got to and from work safely despite the crap-tastic commute.

Today our Royals beat Stratford to move a game ahead of them in the conference. And this Viking fan won the 50-50 raffle at the game.

Usually hubby and I each kick in 5 bucks so we get like 35 tickets. Tonight he said he didn't have any money so I just bought $5 worth. That's 6 tickets and the winning number was on the 5th one. A $122 jackpot. Whoo-hoo! Or do I say, SKOL!? First time I've won. And believe me, we've invested in a lot of them.

Back to important things...

Basketball. So Assumption boys were part of a 4-way tie for first in the Marawood South Conference going into tonight. Their opponent, Stratford, also had a 6-2 record. With the Royal victory, Assumption is now just tied with 2 other schools for first, since both Marathon and Auburndale also won. Looks like there's going to be some very good games in the next month!

Fortunately, the boys rely on skill.

But me... I hope my luck holds.

Keep smiling, Norse Gods.

Dramatic Finish

Whoever says girls and drama don't mix has not been to a good softball game lately.

Since the baseball team was on the road at Stratford and the softball team was hosting them, I stopped by Robinson Park to take in some action and take a few photos of the undefeated Lady Royals.

Tonight was quite a test for them. Stratford has a very solid team and quite the pitcher! We were down 3-0 in the first inning. By the third inning we were down 7-2 and I was questioning whether I should stick around. I hate to see girls cry.

But they decided to offer up a different version of drama. As in smacking the ball, rallying to tie and, at the last possible at bat with 2 outs and full count, win the game with a well-struck ball to deep center. NICE!

 

It was quite the dramatic finish and every Royal player and fan was excited! Was glad I stopped by. And I did get lots of photos, too.

Was sorry the baseball team lost by 1 run, but we'll celebrate victories where we can. In fact, Tony treated me to King Cone when I got home.

Now that's the dramatic finish I could handle every day!

Family Day at the Ballpark

OK, a bit of a spoiler alert here. It was a long game and it was a good game (through 5 innings for the Royals, anyway). And it was a nice family day at the ballpark.

Anytime Stratford is in the house, Austins are sure to follow. My father-in-law and his family grew up there and graduated from high school there. Since some of his sibling stayed in the area, there is usually an Austin on one of their teams.

This time, it was a Jim's cousin's son Hunter, who plays JV but was called up to be on hand if they needed him.

So Jim's Uncle Jug and Aunt Pat made the trip down to watch the game, in case their grandson got to play.

Then there was the usual baseball brain trust of Uncle Joe and my father-in-law John. 

Assumption did have a lead through 5 innings. Then the Tigers rallied on some of our mistakes and pulled off a victory. Thus the big smile from Hunter Austin.

OK, that makes 5 Austins. Wait, we almost forgot my favorite: Coach Austin.

He likely smiled more about seeing family there than the final score. There were some great hits and nice plays by our guys, though. When I realized I took hundreds of photos, I figured I better at least acknowledge family first, Royals later.

Now it's bedtime so we can hit the road early and see my side of the family tomorrow. There will be games, too, but nothing requiring sliding into second or wearing extra layers for warmth.

I hope.

It Was a Good Run

It was a super breezy but beautiful day to wrap up the cross country "regular" season and, well, Carter's running career.

We joke about cross country teams running through woods, rivers and corn fields but today the meet really was held on a farm outside of Stratford and Spencer. They had decent paths to run on anyway!

Carter didn't make the cut to run Varsity today so he ran his last race on JV. He still gave it 100%. In fact, he was running in second when I took this picture. I knew he started out of the gate too fast, but he didn't give up.

Royal Blue is a fall color, too, in case you didn't know!

 Carter keeps two opponents at bay while trying to catch a group ahead of him to finish in the top 10.

With an incredibly strong finish, he managed to finish 10th and cut more than a minute off his time from the first race this year. Very proud of his drive and commitment. He will now be an alternate for sectionals and, hopefully, state.  So he'll have to keep practicing and stay in good running shape for a few more weeks.

The boys team did take 2nd today and we had 5 of our varsity runners make all-conference. What a terrific group of guys!

Beautiful exit from the farm this evening...

And beautiful end to the regular season. Now onto Sectionals to kick some butt! Go Royals!

Best Buys

I wasn't necessarily looking for the best buys today, just good deals with my best friend!

With a little Gingerbread Latte coaxing, my friend Christine got me out the door at 8 a.m. and on the road to Appleton. She had to get an oil change and maintenance checkup over there so why not make a girls' day out of it??

Seemed logical to us.

That and the need to nab a few final presents on my list.

The car dealership had a shuttle over to the Fox River Mall. How convenient! The shuttle driver joked with us that our hubbies had already called him and told him to put us on a limit. Nice try.

I was looking for bargains – seriously – but when I saw the "one day only" diamond party, I thought, "Wow, it is time to start filling Robyn's stocking!"

Oh c'mon. You know I didn't. A bargain shopper like me had to stay on task.

Between the mall and another store stop on the way home, I think I got everything I need. It was all mainly for Carter. I just have one more thing I will have to try and find time to get in the next 48 hours.

Besides the shopping success, it was just nice to hang out with the bestie. Had fun and, even though we're a mere 2 days from Christmas, were relaxed.

I was actually more on edge tonight at the girls' basketball game. We traveled up to Stratford and they led after one quarter. Then Assumption took it and ran with it, in the end, defeating the tigers 57-30. When we got outside, we had the snowy, drizzly mixed precip going on. It was a slow drive home. So glad Jim was driving. Do not need any stress during my vacation.

Unless you bribe me with good coffee first...

Bowled Over

As usual, I am bowled over (literally, ha) at our community's support of a worthy cause. The 2nd annual South Wood County Empty Bowls was a success today!

We had more than 300 handcrafted bowls to give out to attendees. Such a variety. And I can't quite take credit for taking this picture when my foot (and nice fashion boots) are in it. Have to thank one of my cohorts for posting it since I am too tired and lazy to upload my photos.

It was a 7-hour day for many of the volunteers who were at the church around 8 to do final setup, prep the soup and tackle labor-intensive tasks like slice butter into pats (Carter) and fire up the seldom-used electric knife to slice homemade bread (me). Then, when the line for eating started to form, Carter, my friend Christine and I camped out in the raffle basket room.

We ended up with 33 baskets of all donated items and sold more than $800 in tickets for them. Even sold some to hubby (who bought my lunch, too) and to myself -- and I still didn't win any baskets I wanted. I did win one. It was the one I said, "Oh I might as well put one ticket for this one and I can give it as a gift if I win it." Well, somebody is getting a nice gift basket from me!

After event cleanup and calling the winners, I had a little break at home to catch up on Olympic action, especially the much talked about hockey game. Then we all headed back into town to watch the Assumption boys in a makeup basketball game.

Since they were playing Stratford, my father-in-law's hometown, I got to see "Dad" and Uncle Joe for a nice visit between the JV and Varsity games. Our varsity game started out quite poorly. I believe we were down something like 13-1 at one point. It took a few quarters, but our boys caught up and actually won it! Pretty exciting.

Not enough to keep me wide awake for extra hours, but still exciting. I am just beat from a long, worthwhile day.

But it was pretty darn cool.

Royal Finish

As the high school basketball seasons are winding down, we spent another evening court side. This time to watch the defending state champion lady Royals at work against Stratford.

And listen to the awesome Pep Band, of course.

Going into tonight's matchup, we shared the Conference lead with Marathon, who gave us our first conference loss last week. Their only loss had been to our girls back in December. Tonight, while our girls soundly defeated the Tigers by some 20 points, the Auburndale girls triumphed over Marathon, giving us the sole lead in the Conference.

Now that's a Royal finish!

We only have a few days to ride the high as we head up Friday to play Wausau Newman, normally our big arch rival. So we'll see what happens. It's challenging after winning state last year not to expect our team to get there again since we only lost one senior. But that's unrealistic since the composition of our opponents' teams has changed, too. Even we fans just gotta take it one game at a time!

It sure is fun, though. Gotta love the February Frenzy and March Madness that brings our little school community together as a family.

A Royal family, at that!

Give Me an Inch... I'll Take a Mile

Call me a cheat and a liar, but if I ran a race and finished in my best time ever, I don't think I'd point out to anyone that it was a wee bit shorter than it was supposed to be.

Not so with Carter. Who apparently has more scruples than me.

Today's cross country meet was in Stratford. Despite the fact that I left work early, hubby and I still arrived just as a the starting gun was going off. So we got out of the car and saw Carter run right past us. I just acted like we were standing there all along. (Of course, he didn't even notice anyway, so I am wasting my fib.)

Our team looked good. We had two guys finish in the top 15 and the other 3 were not that far behind. Today Carter finished 5th among his teammates but he had a personal-best time, so that meant everyone ahead of him had a really good time.

He didn't look particularly fast because his breathing was so labored due to a wicked cold (stuffed nose and sore throat) he's been fighting since Saturday. When I saw the finishing time, though, I saw the unexpectedly good result and told him, "Great job!"

Carter replies, "Well I can't really count it as a PR. The course was short by 100 meters."

Seriously? I say give me an inch and I'll take a mile! I know as a mother I should be happy he's being honest but I still think there's no harm in saying he ran the 5K in X amount of time. He insists, though, it was just a 4.9K.

No sense arguing since his coach is on the same page. It doesn't change the official timed results -- just what he uses as PR's to give the kids incentive to improve. On the plus side, even if time is added (in theory), Carter still beat his Stratford time from last year by at least 5 minutes.

That's amazing in my mind, but Carter's not happy with it. I guess that's a good thing. To quote my baseball crush Joe Mauer, "If you are content with anything, maybe it's time to get out of the game."

No risk of too much contentment around here.

Runner's High (and Low)

I'm juggling a few projects right now so I am going to be lazy and just post photos from yesterday's cross country meet. You'll have to live with it.

Like I mentioned last night, it was a tough outing for Carter and team. Hot weather again (85 and sunny) and a wind that seemed more challenging than in their favor.

They had some hills, too. Little but tough. Here you can see the wind whipping their hair and jerseys.

We had a detour of sorts so we literally got to Stratford when the starting gun went off. We missed the big start but saw people lining up to cheer runners on. So we stood there and waited for #974. The first time by us, we could already tell he was hot.

The second time by, he looked like he was on a mission...

A mission to stay ahead of the "big guy." Carter has beat this guy in a previous meet already -- proving size does not matter, but speed and endurance do!

Crappy photograph but you can maybe see here where the wind was at his back for a change. That wasn't a very long stretch.

He still had to survive one more long, gradual hill against the wind to finish. You can see he's struggling.

But he's sprinting his heart out to finish strong. This was the first time he said afterwards that he really, really felt like puking.

But he didn't. It took him awhile last night to feel back to normal.

Speaking of feeling back to normal, my body -- legs really -- took a few days to recover from the massive hill run Sunday. I figured out what I can compare that trail running to -- it's like when my nephews raced dirt bikes and 4-wheelers on those up and down tracks. It felt like that... only longer and spread out over miles and miles.

And miles.

Today I got back at it and went for a run at lunch. Since it was pretty warm, I did walk a bit but managed to get 4 miles in. I decided to be brave (or stupid) and run on a new road that had some hills so I could start getting used to them. The hills didn't kill me but a dog -- probably named Satan -- almost did.

He comes roaring after me and I quick turn around and head back the way I came. I just kept a nice steady FAST pace, listening to him bark behind me and praying he wasn't going to take a bite out of me. I didn't want to look at him or talk to him or engage him in anyway. I just pretended I didn't see him and I was out for my normal run. My normal FAST run.

Nothing like Satan on your heels to give you your fastest running pace. Ever.

He didn't follow me far, so I live another day to run.

Both Carter and I do. Whew. What a hobby.