Week 2 of Big Ten Conference

Not too shabby! First time since 2001 that they beat a Top 25 team, first time they have opened the conference with two wins since 1991, and the first time in the first 116 years of Illinois football that the team has went into October with four wins! I know Penn St. isn't as good as their ranking, but it was still a good win. This year's team is exciting to watch. Looking forward to going to next week's game vs. Wisconsin.

Tee Ball - Game 6

Another fine game this past week. Brandon fielded the ball several more times and hit the ball well in his couple at-bats. There was a little mishap with the hitting line up the last time his team was batting and they skipped Brandon in the batting lineup. He was really disappointed that he didn't get another turn. The season is about to wrap up for the year. He has two more games left. He has really enjoyed playing tee ball this year and is wanting to play again in the Spring! To see some more photos and video clips from the game, click here: View Album

Weekend Visitors

Brandon and Brittany got to spend the weekend with Grandma Abbie and Mema Larrie. On Saturday, Brittany got to go shopping "with the girls" and Brandon stayed home with Dad watching sports on the new DirecTV. Later that day Brandon and Brittany took them to see their school. On Sunday we all went to the Apple Barn in Chatham before they had to head back South. It was a nice weekend, although it seemed to go by too fast.

Battle of the Bottoms

Sorry Paul.......we ain't Akron!

Insight Out; DirecTV Is In

The Turner Tribe are now worshiping around satellite television rather than digital cable. We finally got fed up with Insight and switched to DirecTV. Insight refused to broadcast several St. Louis Cardinals games that Fox Sports Midwest picked up after the start of the season because they did not want to pay the additional money. I was blacked out of 3 Cardinals games this week that were part of that package of games (even though I have officially given up on the Cards and am spending my time cheering on the Brewers!). They have also refused to add the Big Ten Network (BTN) to their programming. With football season getting started and basketball just around the corner, I wasn't going to miss out on a lot of Big Ten games so something had to give. This weekend's Illinois football game at Indiana would have been the first game I wouldn't have been able to watch because it was on the BTN (the WIU game was on the BTN too, but I was at that game so that doesn't count). I would be very disappointed if I wasn't able to watch the Illini victory over the Hoosiers!

Brandon's Big Home Run!

Tonight was Brandon's fifth Tee Ball game of the year. He has shown steady improvement each game and really enjoys it. Tonight I experimented with the video option on my digital camera and captured his first home run! (Actually, the way the tee ball games work is that each team bats completely through its line up. The batting order is determined by the order they were sitting in the dugout when they come in from the field. Each hit is basically a single, whether you hit it to the outfield or they get you out. When the last batter bats, they get to run around all the bases. This inning Brandon had his teams' last at bat....so he got to hit the home run.) You can see more photos and video highlights from Game 5 here: View Album

First Month of School!

We have nearly completed the first month of school! Hard to believe. It seems like only yesterday that we made that long, lonely walk back from the bus stop after putting them on the bus. Luckily Brandon was so excited about it, it helped ease Mom and Dad's apprehension. Mom and Dad (especially MOM!!!) had been worrying about that first day the whole summer. Brandon woke up early that first morning and was ready to go (after one month - getting up is getting a little harder than that first time!). All four of us walked to the bus stop and were the first waiting on the bus (as usual). After he got on the bus, the bus driver pulled him aside so he could get a picture of his first bus ride to school. On the way back, Mom and Dad hid their tears from Brittany since she was going on the same trip two days later. You can see pictures of Brandon's first day (and others) here: View Album


Two days later Brittany was going on her first day of Pre-K at Farmingdale. She was excited, but a little more apprehensive than Brandon was. Luckily, she had her big brother to ride on the bus with her and had told her how much fun he had been having. We had been worrying about how she was going to be. She was a little nervous, but Brandon took her hand and she walk right on the bus. She got to stand and get her first day picture and then had to sit in the front, separate of Brandon. The walk back home was just as hard for Mom and Dad and this time even lonelier. Brittany was all smiles when she got off the bus and went right in to tell Mom all about her day (probably two sentences) and to make cookies. Although she didn't want to get on the bus on Day 2, she has enjoyed going to school ever since. You can see pictures of Brittany's first day (and others) here: View Album

Home Alone With Dad!

The kids are getting over their initial reaction of being left alone with Dad this weekend. We have been having a good time while Mom has been away at her scrapbook weekend. So far no major fires or water damage has occurred and the weekend is half over. The weekend activities have included watching the Cardinals (boy to they suck right now), coloring, reading books, playing games, watching the Illini (2-1 after beating Syracuse today 41-20!), and making a big mess of the house! I think we are best at making the mess! We are about to shovel our way to the bathroom to take baths and get ready for bed. Can't wait for Mom to get home tomorrow!

Play Ball!

Tee Ball Time! Brandon started playing T-ball for the first time this Fall. His friends Mason (pictured above) and Avery play on the same team (the Diamondbacks). They are all having a great time. Brandon really likes playing. He really hustles after the ball and was the first to record an out on the team (It occurred in the third game!). He fielded the ball around the shortstop position and ran to tag out the person running to third. Since you can tell there aren't many outs, each team bats through their line up each inning and the game lasts one hour (which is enough time for 2 or 3 innings). He is looking forward to playing again in the spring and wants to play basketball again this winter. Follow this link to see more photos from Tee Ball. View Album

Kindergarten is Kool! Pre-K is Pre-tty Kool 2!!

After 4 weeks of school, Brandon is giving Kindergarten rave reviews. According to Brandon, "Kindergarten is the coolest place in the world. If you are 5 or 6, you go there. It's the funnest place you're going to see!" I don't know if you can get a bigger endorsement than that. He really loves going to school and is learning a lot. His favorite things have been "learning about colors" (making little books that are songs to learn how to spell the colors) and "computer lab". He also says he enjoys homework (we'll see how long that lasts!).

Although not nearly as enthusiastic as Brandon is about school, Brittany likes Pre-K too! When asked about her thoughts on Pre-K, Brittany says "Good". Her favorite things at school are "playing on the playground and seeing my boyfriend". Since this is the first time I have heard of it, I asked her who it was. She says "I don't know his name". I think I might have to explore this one a little more! Maybe home schooling is not a bad option for her. Other than the infamous "bus incident", school as been going pretty smoothly for all involved!

Tribe Visits Chief's Old Stomping Grounds

On September 8th, the Turner Tribe made a pilgrimage to the ancient stomping grounds of their beloved Chief Illiniwek. Although the game outcome was favorable (Illini 21, WIU 0), it was very disappointing not to be able to watch the Chief perform at halftime. Paul and I had went to the Illinois-Missouri football game at the Edward D. Jones Dome in St. Louis the previous weekend and the Illinois band performed its famous 3 in 1 at halftime without the Chief. It was the first major performance without him and it was not the same. Although the Sept. 1st game was missing the Chief, the true emptiness was felt at the first home game. The crowd still roared at the appropriate points of Chief's dance to the point if you closed your eyes, you could still see him perform. However, the shouts of "CHIEF" let you know that he was not to come out of the band. Brittany was among the crowd yelling for Chief. The lady in front of us turned around and patted Brittany on her leg and smiled at her. It is such a shame that an honored symbol had to fall to political correctness.

The new seating in the North endzone looks great. As you can see, there is still a lot of work to be done on the West balcony. The stadium will be great when it's finished. The big drawback with our season tickets is that they are in the horseshoe and that the scoreboard is now on the South end. Hopefully they will add some temporary scoreboards so I don't get a sore neck looking back behind.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Orange Fish

Brandon (and Brittany and Mommy) got a fish tank and fish for his birthday. After an initial struggle with getting the tank water balanced and a couple of casualties (R.I.P. Sunshine and Goldie), we now have an aquarium full of 8 fish (Pony, Illini, Thinny, Unicorn, Inkie, Pearl, Bubbly and baby Rocky). Yes, our fish population of 7 grew to 8 with Brandon's discovery of Rocky hiding in the rocks one morning (hence the name). Brittany said before bed that night that Pony was going to have a baby. The next morning Brandon called for Mom to see the baby fish in the rocks. After about 20 minutes, Dad was able to catch the little guy and put him in a separate holding area for his safety. He is growing well (although he is still very small - see below) and is a happy addition to our family.