Golf for the Gift 10!

I had the pleasure of meeting Rod Simons 8 years ago when we returned home from India. Our good friend Beth Rozga was serving on the local Gift of Adoption board when she had to take a new job assignment which caused her to have to leave the board. She called me and basically said ...Tom, there is a board that needs your help, Rod is a great guy and is doing great work but he needs your help.

Two weeks later Rod and I met and became instant friends, his passion for adoption and to help create forever families was the bond we shared.

In the past 8 years we have worked along side a group of incredible and passionate people working towards creating forever families. Rod drove us to the brink of madness with his visions and then his changes and then what about this...he was constantly trying to make improvements and make a bigger impact.

This is the 10th year of Rod's dream and sadly he was not part of the day. In February we lost Rod to a sudden heart attack and we were all deeply saddened by his loss. It was his dream and passion that carried us forward during this difficult time and we as a group were able to rally around Rod's dream of creating forever families. Over the past 10 years Rod was instrumental in creating over 125 forever families here in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota.

The golf tournament is the tool for raising money for the incredible cause and this year was no different. The people came, battled the rain and other elements but they came and participated ... buying silent action items, live action items, outright donating both in person and online and one lucky bidder paid $900 for me to come into his home to create a 4 course meal, a very humbling and inspiring moment.

I cannot express into words some of the feelings I had during they day looking around for Rod's smile, to hear his call for help or his infectious laugh. I know I felt his spirit and his gentle guidance and know going forward that the Golf for the Gift will continue too carry out his legacy and dream of creative forever families.

Billy kicks ass at Taekwondo Nationals!!

Billy was invited to compete at Nationals in Detroit (6/30-7/8) and he's been working all year to be ready.  While he was invited for sparring, Tracy sort of screwed up and signed him up for pomsea (forms) as well. That was a little hectic as it meant an extra day of competition and learning 2 new forms in under 5 days.  The kids that were invited to nationals were on 2x a day training programs with all the different coaches and there was a big good luck potluck sending them off.

We drove to Tammy's in Grand Haven on Thursday to drop off Jimmy and Kay so that they could go up to grandma and grandpas cottage with their cousins rather then waiting at the national tournament for 2 days.

Then, it was Billy, Tom and I.  We realized 1/2 way through the weekend that we had never been on a trip with just Billy (he is the 3rd after all!) and it was really fun.  Since we were new to the expectations of nationals, there was a lot to learn.  When to get here, how to register, where to weigh in, how long to stay, when other team mates were competing so that we could cheer them on, etc.

We were a bit nervous about weigh in because it was the same day he was supposed to be competing in forms and at the same time. Plus, he was fighting cadet red belt fly weight (12-14 yrs old, red belt and he had to weigh under 37 kgs).  During our practice last week, he weighed in at 36.8 kgs and he'd have 2 chances to weigh in under, if he didnt then he couldn't compete.  So, no breakfast for Billy that day and luckily his pomsea group didnt call until AFTER he was weighed in so...he made it at 36.8 kg and enjoyed a large turkey sandwich.

It was really fun to get know the pomsea kids/team and families. We hung out (waited) with Loriann and Nick and got all the inside scoop on how pomsea team works.  Dinner the night before was at a yummy cajun place and it was fun to see the kids sit together and support each other.

Billy was called to holding at 1pm and actually competed at 2pm. That was pretty fast and there were 18 kids in his group. 8 would go to finals.  They score pomsea with 5 judges and they deduct points from 10.  Billy did great and got 5.5 which is a really good score for his 1st national competition.  He did say that he was nervous.  Most kids gots between 4.5-7 and while he didnt make it to the finals, we think he was 9th or 10th. Not bad for a kid that wasnt even supposed to compete in that event! The coaches are now all asking him to be on the pomsea team:)

We then took a break and went for a walk around Detroit to see the sights.  Ate burgers outside Tiger Stadium. walked the river front, window shopped and Billy played Pokemon.

Then back to the hotel for a nap before dinner, man, we were beat!  2 hours later we dragged our selves out of the hotel for greek food (Billys favorite) and to bed early. He had to be ready to spar the next day!!

Luckily his call time was later in the morning so he didnt need to get up early for holding. We did get to the competition about 10am to watch his team mates and it was fun but nerve racking. Lots of head shots and tons of pressure.  Billy got called to holding at 11:30 and then waited and waited and waited. His coaches were great about getting him warmed up but it was a long wait and I'd suspect nerve racking for him too.

Then, all of a sudden, he was on!  It was about 3pm and he had 3-4 matches depending on if he won. His 1st match was good and he was super aggressive and fought great. He won!! Then, the next 2 kids were fighting, one took a head shot on the other and the kid that got hit was literally knocked out.  They were both eliminated. (if you do a shot that knocks someone out, you are disqualified and if you get knocked out you are disqualified). This meant that Billy had a by for his next fight and would be fighting in the final match, for gold or silver! We were really nervous and I thought I might throw up... I was nervous for him and worried he'd get hurt, these kids were tough!

But, he did great, got in the ring and ... while he didnt win, he fought hard and was really proud of himself.  Silver!  Head shots are the name of the game and we are going to have to work on those for next year!

All his coaches were thrilled and even Billy said - wow, I'm really surprised by how well I did. I worked hard, it was fun and I'm proud of myself.

We are proud of you too Billy! You are a hard worker, good listener, supportive of your team mates and a great sport with your competitors.  Well done!

Then, post the team meeting and team photo of all the medal winners, we were off for the cottage - a 4 + hour drive that we started at 6pm but we were determined!! More on the cottage and vacation in the next blog.

Check out all the cool photos!

Wistfully looking at Canada on Canada Day

Go Billy!

2nd!

Great sport

The winners

Lunch

Cute

Mr Lee - his amazing coach

The medal winners that day, Alasan made it to Jr Olympics in Panama!!

Way to go team!

Getting ready 

The tournament

Warming up for pomsea

concentration

5.5 in pomsea

Feeling good!

warming up for sparring

waiting and watching his competitors

Billy is in the red, looking tough

shaking

registering to get their medals

Happy!

The team

:)

Amazing!

Billys seed

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to all the men we know that nature, love, care and support kids. They could be friends, dads, grandpas, coaches, teachers, neighbors, uncles, brothers, cousins, husbands, godfathers or sons.

Thank you for being positive role models for kids in all you do!

A special thank you to the Dads in our life; Tom = who's mission is to make sure our kids and the kids he cares for have the best possible childhood.  Jim = aka My Good Man, who is always encouraging, a great sport and loves to see the kids compete.  Jerry = who has been the rock for the family through Kay's cancer scare and puts family 1st, always.   Jeff = who is Tom comrade in arms and puts up with us 3 sisters.

A photo tribute!! We love you so very very much....

Take THAT MS! Hail, heat, rain, lightening and wind can NOT stop us!!

Well, we finished. No flat tires, no road rash, no broken bones … we are all in one piece and had a banner year in terms of fundraising.  Let’s start there …  the good news …

Fundraising – WOW, you all blew me away!! I raised $3,450 on a goal of $3,000!!! Woo hoo!! And, Ned, Wendy and I were a power house team in many ways.  Ned raised over $5,400 and Wendy raised over $1,000 – Take THAT MS!!  There were 3,900 people signed up and 3,200 showed up to ride. I am really hoping they had their best fundraising year ever. We all earned it!!

The Ride - My 23rd MS150 ride…. Where do I start?!  I am sure many of you watched and/or experienced the weather this weekend and yes, it did suck.

Day 1 – This was the worst first day EVER. There was a crazy thunderstorm at 4am with a pretty amazing light show.  The good news was, the rain cleared. The bad news … it brought with it 20 mph headwinds (with gusts up to 30 mph) and heat/humidity.  Fortunately the 1^st day is on the Munger Trail and so is relatively shaded and we didn’t need to worry about traffic.  It was hot, sweaty and a major mental feat to stay focused pedaling.  I would say, it was a good lesson in ‘being in the moment’ since moment to moment the ride was fine, difficult, fine, hard, hot, frustrating, fine, hot, etc….  THEN .. when we finally made it to camp, we learned that the shower trucks and sleeping tents were about a ½ mile walk from the team tents and food tent.  I’m not kidding, a ½ mile away. Thank god for Polaris and their dedicated fleet of 4x4’s that shuttled everyone back and forth all day.  Yeah Polaris!!  After quenching our thirst with beer and our bellies with pulled pork, pasta, ice cream and pie, we were ready to hit the hay (can anyone say ..9pm and it still 85 degrees???). Luckily riding 75 miles in the heat and wind knocks you out, no matter how hot your tent is.

Day 2 – Now this is MY kind of weather! We woke to low 60’s overcast and no wind. My favorite kind of biking weather. Thanks to the great volunteer masseuses on Saturday, we were feeling good and ready to go! The 1^st 2 legs of the ride were wonderful. Then … we watched a thick black wall of clouds coming at us from the east.  No kidding, it was a big front.  We managed to avoid rain until about 35 and then – the storm sirens started going off. Luckily we were near a house with an open garage and a nice man named Steve. He managed to house about 30 of us in his garage while we watched the front come through.  There were gusts of 60 mph winds, a lightning strike within ¼ mile and it was raining sideways.  What did we do before radar weather on our phones?! We tracked the worst of it and after about 20 minutes realized, while still raining, it was safe to get back on our bikes.  We did get wet (and a little cold as it was now 60 degrees) but the worst was behind us!  We managed the rest of the day in relative peace but did bike by tons of down branches, leaves, trees and piles of hail.  Too crazy.  In fact, despite the severe weather issue, this was the easiest second day I can ever remember.

So, there you have it. We experienced all the weather MN has to offer, in 2 days, over 150 miles and on our bikes.

Did I mention I signed up for next year?! J

Thank you all for your support, whether $, prayers or good tidings – they all paid offJ

Peace!

Tracy

Thank GOD we are done, a bit dirty and tired but none's the worse for wear

Bright and chipper on the bus to Duluth to start the ride

Ned and I are top fundraisers

Yummy cake and pie for the top fundraisers - the MS society really knows how to do this thing RIGHT