Remnants

My daughter is fascinated with dinosaurs, as are most young kids. She knows the names, whether they are herbivores or carnivores, and sometimes the era in which they lived. Since we have tons of plastic dinosaurs we thought making our own would be fun. The first order was to get a book at the local (or in this case Iowa City) library. Step one - check! Next we found or bought needed supplies like wire, tape, newspaper, paint, cardboard and plaster. Step two - check! Now we are in the process of actually making the critter. The wire body stuffed with newspaper has now been covered in strips of fabric dipped in plaster. Step three - check. We were literally making it in the driveway today. Steps four and five to be completed this week, we hope. Oh by the way, we are making a Stegosaurus from the late Jurassic. They were plant-eaters, or herbivores as any five year old dino expert will tell you.

Coaching 4 and 5 year olds is not much different than coaching 7th graders. Much of the drills and fundamentals are the same, just a scaled down version that is simplified and shorter in length. Todays practice went smoothly thanks to the book, “The Baffled Parent’s Guide to Coaching Tee Ball.” We worked on holding the ball, throwing the ball, fielding, and hitting. The best part? Snacks and our team cheer at the end of practice. Yeah Team!

As we near our eighth anniversary living in our old house, many projects are in the works for the summer. The list includes: painting the exterior; fixing up the hallway; planting the vegetable garden; completing the second story bathroom; and finishing new plantings in the various flower gardens. We are ever mindfull of the rewards and challenges of living in an old house located in a historic district. Many of our exterior changes such as paint color, three board fence, and native plants reflect the past.

My first few weeks coaching 7th grade softball has been a great experience. I am learning from both the players and the coaches. So far we have played four games and our record is 3-1. Our next game is against Solon on Friday.