State Championship Article

In a previous post, I mentioned my submittal of an article concerning Kellie's State Cheer Championship last month. The article was published in the Gainesville Times. For your convenience, I have included a link to the online version below.

Link.

Kidney Stones

Tracy went in for another kidney stone procedure this morning and everything went well. She had three stones that required attention. The plan was to go in and pull them out, but the stones had shifted into a position that made this too dangerous. Instead, a Lithotripsy was performed to break the two smaller stones up. The doctor reported that the two stones were fragmented and she should be able to pass the 'sand' that remains. The largest stone had unfortunately migrated out of the target area and was not treated. This means that the larger stone will have to be dealt with at a later date. This is not as bad as it sounds because the two smaller stones were the cause of all the recent pain anyway. The large one, about 1cm wide, tends to move much less than the smaller ones and is not of immediate concern.

Her normal doctor transferred responsibility for the procedure to the senior partner in his practice in order to attend a Thanksgiving function for his son. I bring this up because the Urologist that performed the procedure today was Dr. James Stehn. He is nationally known as the doctor that reattached John Wayne Bobbit's penis when it was severed by his wife Lorena in 1993.

Because there was no invasive procedure to remove the stones, Tracy is fine. The remains of the two stones pulverized today will be passed and the blood in her urine attests to this already. She just tired and in a lot of pain from the 'sand' that she will have to flush over the next few days.

BDHS Competition Cheer Article

After Kellie's competition cheer team won the Virginia Class AA title, the Coach issued a call for someone to write an article about the team's season. I submitted the article that follows. I found out today that she intends to submit the article to one of the local papers. That may or may not happen, but the full text of the article follows.

Brentsville District High School Cheer

2007 Class AA VHSL Cheer Champions

A Season In Review

A hush settled around the BDHS hopeful as the announcement came that the final results for the 12^th Annual Virginia High School League Class AA State Cheerleading Championships were about to be made. The Tigers had risen to the challenge of the final round with a resounding flourish, showing all in attendance that their string of unbeaten tournament finishes was no fluke. The first announcement came; third place was awarded to Tabb High School from Yorktown. Heartbeats began to rise and mutterings from the orange and black army began to be heard over the crowd assembled in the VCU Siegel Center. The second announcement came; second place was awarded to Broad Run High School from Ashburn. The mutterings rose to a dull roar. The questions began to fly among the supporters. Was this three in a row for the defending champion William Byrd Terriers? Was the last performance as strong as we thought it was? The most telling moment came when Willie's mother Becky began bouncing up and down in the stands in unbridled joy. She knew the Tigers had won. Moments later, her prescience was born out when the Tigers were crowned the state champions and the most remarkable season of competitive cheer in Brentsville's history came to a fitting end.

Coaches Taryn Witt and Gillian Flewellyn should be proud of the way in which they directed this year's team. The team was mentally and physically prepared for every event, showed exemplary sportsmanship, and believed in themselves every step of the way. The team itself was led by Seniors Alix John, Melanie Poehler, Melissa Rosson, Lindsay Sable, Jay Sayre, Jessica Shasteen, and Katelin Townsend, who provided the experience, inspiration, and leadership for this year's team. An outsider could easily take a look at the team's results this year and quickly come to the conclusion that 2007 was a cakewalk for the Tigers. The truth is that the team had to overcome their fair share of injuries and other hurdles throughout the competition season. Both Alix John and Alexandra Sullivan suffered injuries during this season that forced replacements and adjustments. The fact that both of these injuries occurred in practice speaks volumes about the dedication to preparation and the intensity of their collective effort. The Tigers not only dealt with these unexpected problems, they overcame them and the results speak for themselves.

The season kicked off on Wednesday night, October 3, when the Tigers boarded the bus for Sherando High School in Stephens City, the host of this year's Northwestern District Mini Tournament #1. Just the week before, Alix John injured her knee during practice and had to be replaced by the alternate. Despite this late adjustment, the team felt confident as they walked into the gym. The tone was set when the Sherando Warrior mascot bounded into the arena, inciting the hometown fans into a frenzy as he ran up and down the mat. The Warrior fans responded enthusiastically to let everybody know who the local favorite was. The Tigers took the floor early in the event and quickly set a standard that no team could match. They cruised to a first place victory over Sherando and Skyline, who finished second and third respectively.

A mere week later, on October 10, the Skyline Hawks hosted the second Mini Tournament of the year. Alix sat this round out again as she nursed her knee to get ready for Districts later in the month. The Skyline Hawk was much more subdued than the Warrior. Perhaps they knew what was coming. Skyline got the chance to show off their sparkling new school, but Brentsville took the opportunity to show the rest of the District that they were the class of the field. They cruised to an even larger margin of victory than the previous week, finishing ahead of Sherando and Handley, who finished second and third respectively. The first step on the road to States had been taken. The Brentsville Tigers were the 2007 Northwestern District regular season champions.

Just over two weeks later, on October 27, the heavily favored Tigers hosted the Northwestern District Championships. Having secured a bye as regular season champions, Brentsville could have taken the opportunity to take the night off and coast into Regionals, but instead the Tigers went for the jugular to remind everyone present why they had swept the Minis. Sherando had already exhibited two strong performances in the Minis, having two second place finishes to their credit, and they had another strong performance at this event, but it wasn't enough. Alix's knee was ready and she rebounded with a strong tumbling performance in her season debut. The rest of the squad nailed the routine and when the dust had settled, the Tigers were the unquestioned District champions. Second place went again to the Sherando Warriors and third place was secured by the James Wood Colonels. Brentsville was awarded a plaque for both the regular season championship as well as the District championship.

Less than a week later, on November 3, the Tigers found themselves in Monticello High School in Charlottesville attempting to secure a Final Four finish and advance to States. Several questions remained to be answered. Could this team unseat last year's Regional champion, the Potomac Falls Panthers? How would they perform outside the comfort zone of the Northwestern District? If nothing else, this would be an opportunity to see how good this team really was against the other Regional Champions. All these questions were duly answered. Potomac Falls failed in their repeat attempt and the Tigers won again. They became the 2007 Regional Champions, placing just ahead of Broad Run and Potomac Falls. By finishing second, the Broad Run Spartans emerged as a new season rival as both teams advanced to the State Title event in Richmond.

A few days before States, Alexandra severely sprained her ankle. She gamely pushed ahead and decided to compete at States regardless of the pain.

November 10 found the Tigers on the big stage; The Stuart C. Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. This was it, the last link in the chain, the last rung on the ladder. One win away from a state title. There was, however, no small obstacle in their way. They had to beat the 2005 and 2006 State Champion William Byrd Terriers from Vinton. William Byrd seemed to occupy the thoughts of the entire team. During the days before the State Finals, videos downloaded from YouTube were watched, analyzed, and critiqued. Willie Knight wrote an inspirational letter to the entire team, explaining that William Byrd won because they expected to win. He implored that if Brentsville wanted to win, all they had to do is run their routine and believe in themselves.

Sherando performed early in the event and in support of their District rivals and friends, the Tigers sported red bandanas, a display of District camaraderie. William Byrd also performed before the Tigers and let everyone know that they were to be a force to be reckoned with yet again. When the Tigers hit the floor in their distinctive long sleeve uniforms, expectations in the stands were high. When they performed, the first cracks in the Tiger juggernaut began to show. The performance was not their finest effort of the year. A few mistakes were made and the Tigers were in real danger of not scoring among the top five; a necessity to advance to the final round. Although clearly shaken, the team regrouped, put the matter behind them and awaited the announcement of the final five. Coach Witt paced the sidelines, anxiously awaiting the release of the team score sheets. Once she got them, she began to read them so intensely that she passed a group of Brentsville parents without a glance. She made a beeline to the team in the stands and related the news. The Tiger families, friends, and supporters waited nervously in the stands for the news. This was clearly not their best performance this year,and the question remained; Was it good enough? An hour later, on the strength of their tumbling, the Tigers were announced as one the top five teams along with Potomac Falls, Broad Run, William Byrd and Tabb. The preliminary scores showed that the Tigers entered the finals in 4^th place, with Broad Run holding a commanding lead.

The good news was that scores from round one were zeroed and the teams began a fresh score sheet. William Byrd began round one and Brentsville had the advantage of watching them perform first. The Tigers were the second group to hit the floor. Sherando, returning the gesture, began chanting 'Brentsville – Tigers' and held up signs cheering the Tigers on in a touching display of District support. and when it was over, one thing was clear. William Byrd was not going to win again this year. Seemingly saving their best for last, the Brentsville Tigers put on their most impressive performance of the year. Willie, Melissa, and Katelin Townsend nailed their tumbling, the entire team hit their stunts, Alexandra's ankle held up, and they walked off the floor with no regrets, knowing that they could not have done a better job as a team. When the five finalists were done, all teams were assembled on the mat for the final scores.

It did not go unnoticed that the Tigers sat in a team circle in the middle of the mat in the same place that the Class A champions had assembled. Was this a sign? The awrads progressed and third place was awarded to the Tabb High School Tigers and second place to Broad Run. The tension mounted. Surely the judges had seen the same stunning performance as the crowd had. They had. The season of destiny had arrived at its logical conclusion. The Brentsville District High School Competition Cheer Team were the Virginia High School League Class AA State Champions. When the team had recovered from their initial shock, they proceeded to the announcer's stand the receive their medals and the trophy. Afterwards, Lindsay Sable was heard to say “Did this just happen?” and chants of “We're on the Wall!” were heard from the floor; a reference to the State Championship Banner that will one day hang in the gymnasium.

The team is justifiably proud of their accomplishment, especially considering that it has no precedent. They are the first BDHS Cheer Team to win a State title. Hard work does pay off. Each and everyone of these ladies (and Willie) deserve a pat on the back for a job well done. Hold your heads high. You've earned it.

2007 Team Members:

Kimberly Butler	Dao Kulfay	Melissa Rosson	Jay Sayre
Shannon Butler	Gabi Markley	Lindsay Sable	Alexandra Sullivan
Alicia Cali	Amanda Notarantonio	Rachel Sable	Alicia Sullivan
Alix John	Kaitlin Pertl	Jessica Shasteen	Katelin Townsend
Willie Knight	Melanie Poehler	Casey Sayre	Emily Watson

Alternate: Kellie Clark

Mascot: Neesha Karanth

I also included the following picture:

Brentsville Tigers - Class AA State Champions

This evening, Kellie is basking in the glory of Brentsville District High School's finest achievement in competitive cheer. BDHS has been crowned the 2007 Class AA State Champion.

The competition is structured as two rounds. All the teams compete and the five highest scores advance to the final round. To this point in the season, BDHS has mowed down the competition and hasn't really had a team score close to them. Tonight they had to compete outside of a high school gym (VCU - Richmond) as well as compete against two-time defending champion William Byrd High School from Roanoke.

When they performed, the first cracks in the Tiger juggernaut began to show. They dropped a stunt and had a few shaky moments like dropping the 'E' in the TIGERS chant. In other words, a few major mistakes were made and the Tigers were in real danger of not making the top five. Although devastated, the team regrouped, put the matter behind them and awaited the announcement of the final five. An hour later, presumably on the strength of their tumbling, the Tigers were announced as one the top five teams.

The good news was that scores from round one were zeroed and the teams began a fresh scoresheet. The bad news was that William Byrd emerged from the first round as the early leader. William Byrd began round one and Brentsville had the advantage of watching them go first. The tigers were the second group to hit the floor and when the dust had settled, one thing was clear. William Byrd was not going to win again this year. Seemingly saving their best for last, the Brentsville Tigers put on their most impressive performance of the year. They walked off the floor with no regrets, knowing that they could not have done a better job as a team. When the five finalists were done, all teams were assembled on the mat for the final scores.

Third place went to Tabb High School out of Yorktown that had the same mascot as well as the same team colors. Second place went to a team from Northern Virginia and we were all sure that it was down to the William Byrd Terriers and the Brentsville Tigers. In the end, it wasn't even close as the Tigers won and the Terriers finished fifth.

Kellie received a medal for her letter jacket and will also receive a state championship ring later this year. If you want more details, give Kellie a call. She will be glad to give you a blow by blow.

Update - State Finals

This just in. One of the girls on the Brentsville Competition Cheer Squad has a severe ankle sprain and will not be able to compete this weekend in Richmond. Why is this important? As the alternate, Kellie will now compete in the Finals. She's a little overwhelmed right now, but by Saturday she will have her game face on.

BDHS Cheerleading Competition Team

This weekend marks the end of the 2007 Virginia High School Cheerleading competition season. To catch up with the events thus far this year, here is a summary of Brentsville's results to date:

Northwestern District (NWD) Mini Tournament #1 - 1st Place
NWD Tournament #2 - 1st Place

NWD Regular Season Champs
District Championships - 1st Place

NWD Champions - Top four teams advanced to Regional Championship Round

Virginia High School League (VHSL) Group AA Regional Championship - 1st Place

VHSL Group AA Regional Champions

Kellie competed in the first two tournaments and served as an alternate during the final two, but she will accompany the team this weekend, as they compete in the Virginia State Finals in Richmond. Kellie is one of only three Freshmen that made this year's team. She will be glad to show you the letter jacket medal that she received as a member of this year's regional champions.

This year, we noticed that they put up Football signs on the telephone poles next to the road leading to the school. Each sign has the name and number of the Varsity Football Team. This week, they footballs came down and Megaphone signs went up to recognize the Cheer Team's trip to the State Finals. As luck would have it, they put up the names in alphabetical order and "Kellie C' is the first one you see as you drive into town.

Chorus Girl

Kara has been selected for her 4th Grade Chorus Group. Way to go Kara!!

Summer's Over

Almost. Keep in mind that all three kids start school on September 4. That is less than 5 days away. Kellie is entering 9th Grade, Austin begins 7th Grade, and Kara is going into 4th Grade. I can remember when I was entering 9th grade like it was yesterday, but it was 1979. What year were you in 9th Grade?

Competition Team

In an earlier post, I related the fact that Kellie tried out for her High School competition team. This is different from her JV team and different from her All-Star competition team. She made the team as an alternate, but all indications are that she has worked her way onto the team as full member. It's funny how hard work always seems to pay off.

My Name is Earl

This month, Ricky and I headed down to Danville, VA to catch the AMA Superbike weekend races. The first highlight of the weekend was during our tour of the vendor booths on Friday. We came upon a booth selling T-Shirts for Second Chance Auto Sales in Owensboro, KY. I commented to Ricky that the used car dealership in question was owned by Nicky Hayden's father Earl. The man tending the booth turned around and there was Squirrel, aka Earl Hayden. I took the opportunity to speak with Earl about his boys. He told me that he had just spoken to Nicky in Brno (Czech Republic) and it had just rained at the upcoming MotoGP race. I thought this was very cool, and the proof is below:


I bought a shirt from Earl and he even autographed it.

The second highlight occurred during the pair of races on Saturday. Suzuki set up a hospitality tent between turns 4 & 5 and as a card-carrying 'Busa owner, Ricky was able to get us a couple of seats in the tent. We watched both the first Superbike Race and the Supersport Race out of the sun with free food. As an extra bonus, Rockstar was giving away cans of their energy drink all day. Let's just say that I drank a few of them and leave it at that.

The stunt show, which in recent years had been held out on the track, was performed in the parking lot with the fans right on top of the action. When you look at the photo album, you can see how close I was. What isn't shown in the pictures is that they were power sliding the bikes after each run right next to the fans. This was odd, but what really caught my attention was that no one seemed to care that a 600cc sportbike was coming to a stop 6 inches from them at each end of the coned area.

Vendor participation was lower than in years past, so we didn't go home with much more than T-shirts this year. I did spring for a new set of Michelin Power Pilots because the track price was almost half of what I was quoted back home. The next problem is how to get them on.

VIR - 2007 - Photo Album

In the News

Kellie is a little excited about a picture that ran in a local newspaper here yesterday. Take a look below:

Basketball Camp

Austin spent the last week in Basketball Camp. This is one of the many organizational activities we have planned for him this summer to help keep him occupied and outside the house.

Kellie Health Update

Since we last spoke in this forum about Kellie's ongoing headache problem, we were awaiting the delivery of her new glasses to determine if eye strain was a contributing factor. She did get the glasses, a red plastic design vice the zebra stripes she had picked out earlier, but as of yet, they have had no impact on the headaches, which continue at full strength.

We are trying to control them with painkillers, but this has had mixed results.

Cheering, Cheering, and possibly more Cheering

Last Saturday, Kellie exited her BDHS practice with news. During the practice, the BDHS cheer coach told her that she should try out for the BDHS competition team in August. This is in addition to the BDHS JV Team she is already on, and also in addition to the Cheer Dynasty squad she also belongs to.

Whether she tries out or not, Kellie was noticeably pleased that she had been noticed.

Lumbee Ring

For my birthday this year, Mom and Dad gave me the Lumbee ring. To date, whenever I have worn this, people have not failed to notice it, but I always field the same question: "What do the years signify?" The answer is that each of the four years on the face of the ring represent a significant event or milestone in the tribe's history.

1865	The beginning of Henry Berry Lowrie's rebellion against the death of his father and brother at the hands of the North Carolina Home Guard.
1887	The date of the establishment of the Croatan Normal School in Pembroke, NC. This teaching college has evolved into the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. This school was fundamental in bringing literacy to the tribe and allowing us to ducate both ourselves and our children.
1956	The Lumbee Act is passed by the US Congress. This act recognizes the Lumbee people as "The Lumbee Indians of North Carolina", but does not grant us full federal recognition. Efforts at full recognition continue to this day.
1958	The Lumbee make national news by confronting and dispersing a Ku Klux Klan rally in Maxton, N.C. This marks the end of the Klan's influence in Robeson County, NC.

The interested reader is encouraged to read more at:

Lumbee Tribe
Lumbee Wikipedia Page

Special recognition to Cyna's Jeweler's in Pembroke, NC. They are the designers and sole supplier of both the ring shown above and a wide selection of Lumbee jewelry. Take a look around. While you are there, take a look at this and see if you recognize the name of the designer. They also have their version of the ring history and they are the source of the ring image.

How old is the dishwasher?

Dishwashers may be older than you think, but not as old as Kellie would have you believe. Last week when Austin, Kara, and myself were in Pembroke for Lumbee Homecoming*, Tracy called me to inform me that something was wrong with the dishwasher. It turned out that the unit had washed its last dish and needed to be replaced. A new unit has been ordered and we are waiting its arrival later this week.

In the interim, we are washing the dishes by hand, which greatly amuses the kids since they have never really seen this done on a regular basis. When Kellie was told that until we get the new dishwasher installed all dishes would be washed in the sink, she responded with "You mean like they did in the 1600's?" Where did I go wrong?

*Tracy was unable to attend due to problems with the Sequoia. Something was wrong with the powertrain after she and the kids returned from the Outer Banks last week, and the car was in the shop. We were unable fit everyone, and this included the dogs, in the Passat, so she stayed home.

Kellie - Cheerleading Teams

Lost in the shuffle of the medical issues surrounding young Kellie is the fact that she tried out for her High School cheerleading squad and made the Junior Varsity team. You can view the announcement here.

She also moved up to a Senior Level 3 for her competition team, Cheer Dynasty. She has very busy schedule this summer as multiple practices each week are required for each team. Everything gets kicked up a notch later this summer when her Brentsville team is required to practice every day in August. This will include a sleepover cheer camp at the University of Virginia.

Just last practice, Kellie was removed from the JV squad to fill in for a missing girl on the Varsity team. After moving to Varsity, even if only for one day, Kellie's head would not fit through the door that evening. Her one and only goal this summer is to make the coaches regret her JV assignment and move her up. She has already been told that positions are not set in stone and changes may be made. I think the last practice proved that she is on the bubble and a good summer will see her move up.

I can't say that I would be thrilled for her to be on a team with Juniors and Seniors. Girls that old might not be the best influence for her, but let's just say that she disagrees. Tracy is quick to remind me that she already has Juniors on her JV squad. Seniors are not eligible for JV.

Her first days at school will be doubly easier now that she has older teammates and neighborhood friends to make the transition easier. You can tell that Kellie was very nervous about her first day in High School. She was strangely intimidated by the rising Seniors at the tryouts. I can tell that I am getting old because, to me, they are all babies.

Kellie - MRI Results

We received word today that Kellie's MRI came back clean as a whistle. There is no neurological cause for her persistent headaches. All signs are pointing to eye strain and we will have an answer for that within the week.

Jimmie Boone turns 70

On June 18, 1937, the man, the legend, Jimmie Boone passed into the light and thus began a trail of DNA that is held today by the Clark Clan kids. If we fast forward this extraordinary life forward until June 18, 2007 we arrive at the celebration of the hour, Mr Boone's birthday. On the Saturday before, the Clark Clan made the trek down to Calabash, NC for the big birthday celebration.

On hand were Jim and Jane Boone, Rodney and Jodi Dwyer, and a host of friends. Well over hundred souls were on hand for the party and to all appearances a good time was had by all. I'll try and update this short entry with more details later, but for now, please take a look at the pictures I took over the weekend.


Birthday Weekend Photo Album

Dawa gets married

On Saturday, June 9, 2007 Dawa married David Hitch in Asheville, NC. I hope to put more details of the event here especially since a whole gaggle of Clarks attended the auspicious event. For new, make sure you take a look at the photo album I made after collecting pictures from Dad and Ray.


Dawa's Wedding

Kellie - Medical Update

Since I last posted anything regarding Kellie's medical status, nothing much has changed. She feels no better and no worse than she has in the past three weeks. This past Sunday, we took her to an Optometrist to determine if eye strain was the cause of her constant headaches, but there was no clear answer there. We did discover that she is far sighted and that she is exhibiting a tightness around her iris that night contribute to the problem, but the eye doctor recommended that we proceed with our scheduled MRI to make sure nothing else is wrong. She was prescribed with corrective lenses and is scheduled to get those sometime this week. We would have liked to use Dr. Clark for all of this, but distance and urgency were an impediment. We are sending all of the optometric information to Charles for both a review and inclusion in his copy of her records. Fashion Update: Exhibiting her finely tuned sense of style, Kellie has decided upon a classic black frame with Zebra stripes on the inside.

Yesterday, we took her to the hospital and she had the MRI procedure done. I can't say I am surprised, but the results were not immediately available and we will not hear anything from our doctor for several days. I'll let everyone know the results when we get them.

Pleurodynia - Updated

Yesterday, I mentioned Kellie's trip to the ER and the diagnosis the doctors made regarding her viral infection. She called home today for Tracy to come get her because her headache was so severe. Again, Tracy took her to the ER for another examination. Based on my history, they gave her a CT Scan just to make sure that the problem was not severe. The good news is that there was nothing serious, but they did see something. We were told that she has a cluster headache. If you don't know what that is, please click the link and look it over. It was a new term to me. She was prescribed Cafergot, which appears to be a migraine medication. I am a little worried about the whole thing, but just a little. She appears to be functioning OK and if she has a headache as bad as she is describing it, you wouldn't know it by looking at her. I'll let everyone know more about this as the situation develops.

Kellie - 8th Grade Graduation

Lost in earlier posts about Kellie's ER visits was the fact that Kellie is about to Graduate 8th Grade. If you didn't know, her school is K-8 and she will begin High School next year. I was asked to be the official photographer of the 8th Grade Blowout. I saved a few pictures of Kellie getting her groove on.

The New Phase

Every once in a while, we are treated to the rare sight of a literal change in one's life. I was able to capture, on camera, an event that will change Austin's life forever.

Alyce has moved!

At the end of May, Alyce moved into her sparkling new retirement house in Delaware. Tracy, Austin, and myself moved the last load into her house before the furniture arrived. I don't have any pictures of the final furnished home, but this is what it looked like the day we were there (May 12, 2007).

This is the view from the living room. The front door is behind you, the patio with screened-in porch is to your right, and the guest and master bedrooms are down the hall. The door to the left behind Alyce leads to the laundry room and the garage. The hardwood floors are featured throughout the house.

The fireplace in the living room.

This is Pierre, the French Chef. Pierre has been a mainstay in Alyce's kitchen for some time now.

These last two pictures don't show you much of the house, but they do illustrate my stunning photography skills.

Austin's 2007 Spring Chorus Concert

This happened last month, but I am a busy guy. Here are several shots taken before, during and after the Chorus Concert. See if you can pick him out of the group photo.

The Old Girl

Pepper has been having a few problems lately, but before everything gets too bad, I thought I would put one shot out there for everyone to see. She will be turning 17 this fall, so she is older than most.

The Beach

In April, we went to the beach with our friends, Ron and Amanda. The first picture offers a clue as to where we went. It was only for 2-3 days, but at least I wasn't at work!

Taken on the Boardwalk.

We took a drive over to Assateague National Park to see the wild horses. While not as accessible when the weather is warmer,we did manage to see a few. Here Tracy and Kara are seen on the Western end of the Island.

Kara and the Old Man

Here is a picture of a wild horse that was feeding right next to the road as we were leaving.

We saw this deer next to the exit to the Federal portion of the Island.

Back at the house, Millie and I are in deep discussion about John Gribbin's "Science-A History". Millie thinks that Gribbin is somewhat effusive in his description of British Scientists. I would tend to agree.

Tracy running her toes through the sand.

Here is Tracy - about to get her ass kicked in Air Hockey.

This picture was not digitally altered in any way. No, I'm serious.

Here is Austin, mere seconds before we narrowly escaped a Velociraptor attack.

Pleurodynia

This is a new word for me, but we all learn something new each day. Last night, Tracy took Kellie to the ER because of continuing chest pains over the last 4-5 days accompanied by severe headaches. In the end, we learned that she had contracted Pleurodynia. This is being treated with Antibiotics.

The important thing is that she is all right and there is nothing serious to report. The one difference from the information that I linked to above is that her viral infection is in the heart wall vice the lungs indicated in the description. She is even back in school today.

3rd Quarter Report Cards

Report cards are here, but there is something special about them. For the first time, all three children have made the Honor Roll in a single grading period!

Kara

Course	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Reading	B	B+	B
Writing	B	B	B
Mathematics	B	B	B
Social Studies	A	A	B
Science	B	B	B

Austin

Course	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Social Studies	B	B	B
Math	C	C+	B
Science	C+	B	B
Language Arts	B	B	B
Art/Study Skills	B	B	A
Physical Education	A	A	A
Chorus	B	B+	B+

Kellie

Course	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Pre-Algebra	A	A	B+
Spanish	B	B	B
Science	B	B	B
Language Arts	B	B+	A
World History	B+	C	A
Physical Education	A	B+	B
Advanced Chorus	A	A	B

Honor Roll

I've been sitting on this one for a week or two so that I could scan the certificate, but it has been misplaced. So without further ado, let me state here that during the last grading period, young Austin officially made the Marsteller Middle School Honor roll! Please take a moment and congratulate Austin on all the hard work he has put so far this year. He is waiting for the adulation to start pouring in.

Jamfest 2007

Yesterday, the whole famdamily went to the Washington, D.C. Convention Center for the 2007 Jamfest cheer competition. Recently, Kellie's Cheer organization, Cheer Dynasty, underwent a reorganization and it seems to have worked. Cheer Dynasty took First Place in six of the seven divisions they entered, and remaining finish was second.

Kellie's team, the Cheer Dynasty Kings placed first in their division, and Kellie took home a T-shirt and a first-place medal to add to the bragging wall.

As exciting as the whole day was, the most attention grabbing event was my performance on stage during the "Crazy Dads" dance competition. I did not win, but that was entirely due to judging incompetence rather the lack of talent.

Cheerleading (Atlanta 2007)

Today, Tracy and Kellie returned from a cheerleading competition in Atlanta, Hotlanta, or 'ATL' as it is known in the Hood. Aside from the competition, there were two trip highlights. Tracy met Doug Williams, the former Redskins quarterback now employed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The second big event was that during their stay at the Marriot Marquis, Oprah Winfrey reserved the entire 42nd floor. Kellie & friends took the elevator to that particular floor but were told that "Miss Winfrey is not expecting young uninvited guests".

As far as the competition goes, it was not one for the books. Dynasty Kings placed 11th out of 14 teams. Kellie plans to forget the entire event, but she had a ball running around the hotel every night.

Pictures:

Kellie during the event

Hitting the juice

Posing with a few team members

No Comment

Waiting in Atlanta for the flight home

Snow Tubing (Pictures Added)

This past weekend, the Clark Clan visited Ski Roundtop so that the kids could go snow tubing. This marks our 4th year visiting the PA slopes.I hope to have pictures posted later this week. As usual, we had a big group. This year we went with the McCormick, Gallant, Estes, and Bramble families. Total group size: 19 people.

Before we came back home, we took the kids to Chocolate World in Hershey Park for a brief respite.

Pictures:

2nd Quarter Report Cards

Updated grades appear below. Both Kara and Austin held steady or improved in every class. Kellie had mixed success this term. She bumped her Language Arts grade up a notch. On the other hand she dropped in both History and PE. Her history grade was the result of a particularly bad midterm exam. It's time to buckle down. On the other hand, Kellie's superlative math grades were maintained.

Austin put his head down this term and the results are shown here. For three separate classes, he raised the bar a half letter grade. Congratulations Austin!!!

Kara held her good grades and even bumped up her reading grade. Way to go!!

Kara

Course	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Reading	B	B+
Writing	B	B
Mathematics	B	B
Social Studies	A	A
Science	B	B

Austin

Course	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Social Studies	B	B
Math	C	C+
Science	C+	B
Language Arts	B	B
Art/Study Skills	B	B
Physical Education	A	A
Chorus	B	B+

Kellie

Course	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
Pre-Algebra	A	A
Spanish	B	B
Science	B	B
Language Arts	B	B+
World History	B+	C
Physical Education	A	B+
Advanced Chorus	A	A

Baltimore Cheerleading Results

Kellie and Tracy just arrived home from a 13 hour day in Baltimore for the 2-day cheer event at the Baltimore Convention Center. The protocol for such an event dictates that you stay until the awards are made. In this case, awards were handed out at 10:00PM on a Sunday night. Add the travel time, and Kellie arrived here last night at midnight. If that's not bad enough, there were teams from Pennsylvania and Florida in attendance, so maybe we didn't have it too bad. Kellie even made it to school today.

The Cheer Dynasty Kings earned 2nd place in their division. That is a worthy position, but not what they expected. Nonetheless, Kellie and here teammates can hold their heads high. They made a good run at the title, but just came up a little short. It's clear from the reactions of the coaches and other teammates that they take these events very seriously.

Kellie put in two grueling days and managed to come out with a smile. The biggest event of the year (Atlanta, GA) is in two weeks.

Upset

Today the whole Clark clan went to Baltimore for Kellie's first big cheer competition of the year. The event was held at the Baltimore Convention Center. For more details, please see the later post above.

Yesterday, Chuck called me to tell me that he and Dad had tickets to the UNC/NCSU game at the plush RBC Center in Raleigh. Today, as I was filling up for the trip to Baltimore, Dad called me with the same news. At the time, they were on the road to Raleigh.

At 5:00PM tonight, a group of us left the arena to look for a place to have dinner. As luck would have it, the restaurant right across the street was a sports bar. When we arrived, the game was on TV. I was able to quickly determine that the Wolfpack was up by 9 points with 10 minutes left in the game. I watched the the remainder of the game and witnessed State's first victory across the Tarheels in nearly 4 years.

The crowd stormed the court and the Sendek curse was broken. NCSU's new coach, Sidney Lowe took his first big step in returning the Wolfpack to glory. What Herb could not seem to do, Sidney did immediately, that being handing our cross-state rivals a loss. Sidney, welcome back to the ACC.

UNC was ranked #3 in the nation prior to the game, although that doesn't mean much in interconference games these days. We will find out if this was a fluke when the teams meet again later in the month on UNC's campus.

Final Score:

Carolina Tarheels at NC State Wolfpack
79		83

He shoots, he scores!!

Good News - Bad News.

Bad News: Austin's basketball team suffered a devastating defeat last night as they were blown out 47-19.

Good News: Austin scored his first points of the season as he scored the first points for the team. 12 foot bank shot from the right side of the key. Well done.

Best Commercial of the Year

I just saw the year's best commercial during Pardon The Interruption on ESPN. The ad opens with a man cutting clippings out of newspapers that describe several UNC victories over Duke's basketball team. He is using the clippings to make something out of paper mache. The commercial ends when we discover that he has made a Piñata in the form of a Carolina mascot (Ram) that kids are beating with a stick at a birthday party as he cheers them on. Freaking hilarious.

Roadrunners - Game 2

On Saturday, Austin and his 2006-2007 GDBA team (The RoadRunners) dropped their second game of the year. The team got out of the gate slowly and the 12 point hole they dug for themselves in the opening 5 minutes was enough to keep them from coming back for the win. Team defense was good despite the opening run, but once again the offense sputtered.

Austin, known as James to his teammates, continues to play point guard very well and is rapidly becoming accustomed to the responsibilities of handling the ball.

First Cheerleading Competition This Year

On Saturday, Kellie competed for the first time this cheer season. This was a tuneup for their first big competition next weekend. Kellie's team took first place in their division, and Cheer Dynasty took seven first place finishes from among the seven teams they entered. They had a good day.

Cycle World International Motorcycle Show

Yesterday, Austin and I went to the 2006 Cycle World International Motorcycle Show at the Washington D.C. Convention Center. We rode downtown with Ron McCormick and his two boys. All the kids had a ball, but the stunt show was clearly thier favorite event of the day. I was able to pick up an Arai helmet bag, and Austin grabbed every flyer and poster that he could find.

This is the same event that I attended with Ricky last year. With the exception of Triumph, all the manufacturers were there. I was able to get my first close look at the 2007 Yamaha R1. Another bike of note was the Ducati Desmocedici RR, the production version of their MotoGP bike. A new one will set you back a cool $65,000. No sitting on that one. The Yamaha TTR-230 was there and I was able to get a feel for the seat height. Verdict - I can ride this machine. If I was to get a dirt bike this year, this would be it.

Just before we left, I ran into Raphael Jones. Raphael is a friend of Dad's that went on the James Bay trip last August. I shold not have been surprised to see Raphael in motorcycle heaven, but it was still a pleasant surprise.