New Year's Fun

After Christmas, Andrea and Adam plus Jessica (Jessica's husband, Scooter stayed in Chicago to help his family move) showed up for New Year's. It was so good to have them home at last. Our girls are looking so beautiful. While they were here, we watched some old home videos and it was quite sentimental to see them when they were young children. Now look at what they have become!

We caught Adam and Andrea kissing under the mistletoe.


After a lengthy kiss, then they went downstairs to entertain us with their annual concert!

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Hello, all you bloggers! I have to tell you all my bowling story. My mother took us boys bowling when we were young. My highest score in my life up until about 8 years ago was 169. At that time, I hadn't bowled in years and I had taken my Teachers Quorum bowling for a Mutual activity. I wasn't really paying attention to things as one one my Teachers had a broken arm (his good arm, the right one) was in a cast and he was throwing the ball left handed and was doing amazing well- so I was more amused by him than anything and I wasn't thinking about my score- but I was doing well. About the tenth frame, someone asked me if I had ever broken 200 before. I looked up and to my amazement, the score was within range. Then I got nervous about it and started to sweat and think too much. Of course, I choked and missed 200, finishing with 196! During this Christmas break, my family wanted to go bowling for the second time in a week. We hadn't been very often before this Christmas break. (The first time, I rolled a disappointing 127). Anyway, I went to the lanes before my family got there as I was close by when they called and said that they would be there in 30 minutes. I sat and waited at the bowling alley for them to show up. Then I decided to roll a game by myself, which I have never done before in my life. I was doing really well opening with a strike, missing the spare in the second, but then rolling a turkey, then a spare, then another strike. I started to think about my 196 and how I missed 200. I decided not to look at the automatic scoring on the screen. I just kept throwing the ball and when I did eventually look up, I was into the second frame of the next game! I never even saw the final score of the first game! I went up to the guy at the counter and asked if he knew the score on my first game. He said that he could retrieve it from his system as they kept the scores in their computer for 2 weeks. I waited while he looked it up. He said 205! I couldn't believe it, so he restored it on my screen. Only one open frame! Of course, I immediately called my father-in-law who was on his way. He couldn't believe it. Then I called my wife and she wouldn't believe it either. Next thing I knew, the two guys behind the counter were over on my lane looking at my ball. They asked how much it weighed and what kind it was- like I was some pro. I didn't know a thing about the ball. It was very amusing.

I learned how the mind affects performance. I knew I was in "the zone" and I didn't want to think my way out of it. I remember years ago, I was golfing at Willow Creek Country Club. My father-in-law asked if I realized that I had had 7 pars in a row. I said no and promptly double bogeyed the next hole and bogeyed the one after that.

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy my story. Imagine, me a sometime bowler-- age 55, rolling a 205. It's ridiculous.