To the love of my life,
I am so glad God put us together and has allowed us to have such a wonderful marriage and life together.
I pray that you are blessed with many more years of happiness and fulfillment.
I love you.
-mat
I am a disc golfer (humor me.) I am not ashamed to admit that I play what George Costanza, in an episode of Seinfeld, called Frolf (a combination of Frisbee and Golf.) It is a bit more serious than it sounds and is a fun game that does not take a whole lot of time or money to play - which makes it perfect for a husband and father of three.
This weekend was the big tournament that I have been excited about for a while. The Mr. Jim’s Carrollton Open is traditionally one of the biggest Tournaments in Texas and this year was no different with 218 total participants. The tourney consists of four rounds of 21 holes crammed into two days (Saturday and Sunday.)
I played in what is known as the Amateur Intermediate Men’s division which is the second hardest, non-pro division. There were about 60 guys in my division making it the largest men’s division. Needless to say, I was wondering how I would stack up.
Saturday morning was crazy. There was not a parking place to be found at the course because there were so many golfers. I had to park at the apartments across the street. There was a brief player’s meeting and then we found out what course we were to play first and at which hole to begin.
Once at my course and hole, I met the four other guys on my card. All were really nice guys that were fun and relaxing to play with. My first round was great. I shot a SIX under par 57 for the 21 holes at Jimmy Porter park. I was not expecting to shoot that well all weekend, but it was nice to start out strong.
After a lunch break, they redo the cards in order of score. I was excited to learn that I had made it onto the leader’s card. I started the second round of Saturday at Greenbelt Park in third place. Unfortunately, I did not fare so well in the afternoon round. I had some errant throws that ended up out of bounds and missed a few short putts. This combination was good for a score of 67 - a TEN stroke difference from the morning round.
I went home that night, enjoyed the family, got some sleep and was determined to come out Sunday and change the way I played the Greenbelt course. My main goal was to stay out of the water. Luckily, I did and did not end up out of bounds one single time. This, combined with better putting, meant that I finished even at 63. Even though I did not get to play the third round on the leader’s card, I scored the best of my group.
Round four found me on the second card once again and in 9th place. Even though I was tired from a lot of walking and a lot of throwing, I was feeling good about my chances to at least finish in the money. All I would have to do was keep from melting down totally. So, I stepped up to the first tee box and promply threw the disc out of bounds. ARGH. I ended up taking a two over par 5 on the hole. But despite a bogey on the second hole and a few others, I ended up getting six birdies the rest of the round to finish with a one under par 62.
Now, we just needed to wait for all the scores to be tallied. After almost two hours(!) they finally were posted to the side of the trailer and I found out that I had finished tied for 8th place! Although I was hoping for a cash payout, I was happy to get a bag full of 95 dollars worth of brand new discs. (For reasons of Amateur versus Pro, they don’t pay out cash for lower divisions.) For my first and biggest tournament ever, I was very pleased.
(click the picture for a larger view)
I had a great time playing this weekend and cannot wait to try to take home first place at next year’s Carrollton Open.
Further Reading:
http://www.carrolltonopen.com/
Thank you to everyone that has wished me a happy birthday so far today.
So many cards and so many wonderful gifts from my family. I am so blessed.
My mom called me early this morning and said, “I am so glad I had you. All the huffs and puffs were worth it.” 
Kara and the kids, in what is becoming a tradition, shoe polished my car. This morning was cool and there was A LOT of dew on the ground and my car so the results were somewhat runny. But I loved it just the same.
Pops and Nana sent me a funny card that Parker got a kick out of. (We swear he’s not always naked.)
The first of many tooth-shaped dominos has fallen for Ashton. The wiggly suspect was being pushed out by a permanant tooth that had already broken through the gums. So it was time.
I got a paper towel and did the best I could to fight off the protruding tongue and clenched bottom lip in my quest to get a grip on the loose tooth. Ashton shed several tears and was on the verge of trying to call it off. Kara reminded her that she had had her ears pierced and several shots from the doctor; surely she could handle a loose tooth extraction. Finally I got a good grip and with a bit of a pop, it was out.
One of Ashton’s best friends, Anna Butts, was over at our house to spend the night. Although Ashton is a few inches taller, Anna is almost a full year older. She had already been through the lost tooth procedure. They posed with lack of teeth proudly displayed.
Last week began a new chapter in the Guerry family…two of our little ones are now in school.
Ashton has joined the ranks and now accompanies Wyatt to school each day. It was bittersweet to see her all dressed and grown up and ready to tackle the world. This is, after all, my “baby girl” and I was not quite ready to accept the fact that she is getting older.
Here are Wyatt and Ashton on the first day of school.
Of course, Parker had to join the fun. How would he react when he realized his two best summer playmates were gone?
It has become a tradition to walk to school the first day. We packed up backpacks and school supplies and headed down the crowded sidewalk.
Camey Elementary School has been good to our kids so far. Although there are some things we (read Kara) would change, the teachers and and kids are very accepting and have been great to Wyatt and Ashton. (Just out of frame to the left were other kids in other photo ops in front of the school marquee. I opted for the quick take of building with lettering…good ‘nuf.)
As we approached the Kindergarten classroom, Ashton was a bit excited and a bit nervous. She, to her credit, did not pitch a fit or cry when we dropped her off at her desk.
She found her name tag and sat at her very own spot. We turned to leave the room and the look in her eyes seemed to say, “are you really leaving me here?” I told her she would do great and then felt the need to go reassure her but as I walked toward her, she had already turned around to reach for a crayon…I knew she would be fine. (sniff, sniff)
To Wyatt, this was old hat. Despite the fact that we were still five minutes early, Wyatt was the last second grader to arrive. His seat, too, was near to the door but his look was quite different from Ashton’s. Was that a, “don’t embarrass me by coming in here” look already? Maybe he was just ready to start.
So there they were, at school and comfortable. And there we went, back down the lonely sidewalk toward home. Parker seemed no worse for the wear.
Later in the day, Parker was playing outside in the backyard when he must have seen something interesting. He came running inside and called out, “Wyyy, Aa-aaa” forgetting that they were not there. He was fine after Kara told him that they were at school…after all, we all must get used to the changes.
Stay tuned for updates as the school year moves along.