To My Family, Friends, and Those Who Know Me Not

I have a relative, many actually. This one particular relative has expressed how he/she thinks that I am too religious! This proclamation has been something that has befuddled me for a while since. I grew up without religion. I believe that man has distorted religion I have come to know the truth about religion. I don't think of myself as a religious person! Sure I go to church regularly, try to do what is right, believe in Jesus, Heavenly Father and The Holy Ghost, but I don't consider myself religious at all! How can I go to church and not consider myself religious? I have already stated that I think mankind has distorted religion. I just know why we are here, where we came from and where we are going after this mortal life. With that being said there is one church upon this earth that teaches all truths about those 3 aspects of our lives. It is Jesus' church and He and Heavenly Father will always help us when we are humble and pure of intent. I had a grandmother who passed away a little over a year ago and her funeral was conducted by a church that she attended that was not Jesus' church. I am not going to name this denomination but her funeral was a big let down. I had heard that even with non-secular funeral ceremonies, not long before her passing, that the spirit can still be way strong even with a ceremony carried out by a church that is not of Jesus' church. I went to this ceremony/funeral with an open mind and high hopes that we would be able to feel of the spirit strongly and know that there was love in the room. It became apparent that during this so called "family prayer" before the funeral was to take place that this wasn't going to be one of these strong spiritual experiences! This person, whom was the leader of this particular congregation, had no clue what he was saying. I don't like to go to funerals period, so I don't go to many but this was the worst one I had ever attended. Sure I loved my grandma and I now know that her funeral wishes were met with this church. I am 99% sure that she, having the veil removed her after passing from this mortality, knows now that this particular church wasn't even close to preaching the truth. I say 99% because even beyond this life we will still have the right to believe what we want and still deny Christ if we so desire. Why, would one deny Christ let alone his church after having all knowledge from before is brought back to us once the veil has been lifted? I have thoughts/knowledge on that subject as well but won't dive into those as of yet. This leader of this church, whom is a paid clergyman (which is wrong within itself) of this sect just liked hearing the sound of his own voice. Sure he mentioned some passages out of the bible, which I am pretty sure wasn't a King James version unless they just totally misconstrue a ton of things in their church? Who knows? I have told other family members that I cannot see how anyone can go through life without the church in their lives. I am not saying any church obviously, example above! This one relative, mentioned above, also says that he/she doesn't believe in Jesus! This is heartbreaking to hear. He/she has had a rough life and is probably soured to the entire idea of "why/how could God let this happen to me?" You have heard the same story from all of those non-believers who blame God for what has gone wrong in their lives and/or shut Him out of their lives thinking that He can't exist. He can't exist because if he did, these things wouldn't have happened to me! On that note I always have the same 2 responses! A. Everything that is bad upon this earth is brought about by Satan! B. Who suffered the worst in this existence? If you are a believer you know that answer to also be the only person whom was "perfect!" So on that note about people's arguments about life not being fair they should take into consideration that God, gave his only begotten son. This Son was the perfect example, led the perfect life, and yet was the one who more than we will ever know or imagine! Back to the funeral for my grandma I wanted to grab the microphone from this person and just tell everyone who was there that this wasn't right. He is not telling you truthful things and he is most likely upset he had to give up his Saturday for this funeral, but the blow was softened when he received his paycheck for giving up his Saturday. I am not saying this gentleman is Satan or anything like that, he is just ignorant to the truth or if he knows the truth has chosen to follow natural urges over trying to live the way Heavenly Father and Jesus wants us to live. Why didn't I grab the microphone from this guy? It wasn't the right time. It was my grandma's time no matter how wrong the information was. It was her earthly/mortal wishes that were met and I didn't want to intrude on her wishes. I did hope that whatever this dude was saying wasn't sinking in as doctrine that was to be followed by my family members who have no religion! I haven't heard of anyone from the family suddenly taking up this religion since her funeral so for that I am grateful. What is Jesus' church you may be asking if you have taken the time to read this much? It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder-Day Saints. The LDS (Mormon church-which is a nickname) church is the only true church on this earth. As a little lad growing up I had seen the Idaho Falls temple and I knew that I was going to go there someday. Why would a pre-teen think/know this if he hadn't ever been to church before in his life? I also knew that marriage was an eternal concept. Why would anyone only want to live with the person that they fell in love with and be devoted to only him or her for this short mortal lifetime? It is the only church that has the priesthood power to marry couples for all eternity and not just until "death do you part!" how did I know of these things without ever being taught them? It was the Holy Ghost that gave me this knowledge! There are hundreds of churches upon this earth and it can probably seem overwhelming to those who want to know God and Jesus and just do not know where to start. This was the issue that a young boy in New York was plagued with in the year of 1820. After reading a scripture in the bible (James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him) was decided to do just that! When Joseph Smith was 14 years old, he wanted to know which church he should join, so he asked God in sincere prayer. In response to this prayer, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph and told him the true Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth and They had chosen Joseph to restore it. I had felt the Holy Ghost in my life before, telling me not to steal, to obey the teachings of my parents, when to avoid danger and so on, but it wasn't until I was taught the fundamentals of this church that I was so struck with the spirit (Holy Ghost) so strongly that I was unable to speak! I was asked a certain question after hearing the truths of the gospel that were being taught one day by the missionaries and I could not respond. Tears filled my eyes and my chest could barely contain that heart within my chest! I have had this glorious feeling time after time since that day and since being baptized and confirmed a member of Jesus' church. Knowing that I am going to be together "forever" and not just until "death do us part" with my wife gives me this feeling. Knowing that I am sealed together forever with my children also fills me with the spirit as well. It baffles me that people go throughout this life without the one true church let alone any church at all. I cannot remember where I heard this analogy before but it conveys my thoughts on the subject. If our life was a simple walk and from time to time we had to cross fast flowing rivers there would be a few of us who would simply walk over a bridge that is there for us to use. Most of mankind, however, would try with all their might to cross these rivers by wading across or renting rafts that are not strong enough to withstand the fast flowing waters! The Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder-Day Saints is that bridge! You don't have to drown in the rough waters of life. There is a bridge that Jesus has built to help you cross those rivers each and every time you come to one of these trials in life. Sure the wind may blow, or there may be rain or snow, or the bridge will be icy but why would you ever try and swim? Life is hard enough why would you let Satan win? Satan wants you to be discouraged and hopeless! He doesn't want you to know that Jesus and Heavenly Father love us and want nothing more than to have us find the gospel! I am here for that one relative that thinks I am "too religious," I am here for those family and friends that are struggling and don't know where to turn. I promise you that I know the Church is true. Life doesn't have to be a hard journey upon which you have no hope. I love each and every one of you so much. It is my prayer that you all can know of this truth and the blessings that come with it. It is my prayer that I be not the only one in my family that has these blessings! It is my prayer that you don't wait until you pass from this life and realize that I was correct about this church. If that is the case then Satan was able to throw wrench in the works and hinder your happiness as well as your eternal blessings.

Spiders and Goals

Big news! It has been a while since the last post and a lot has probably past that I should have written about and didn't. Triton has been in soccer for 5 seasons now (they have spring and fall seasons). His first season was a bit boring because the kids are so small and they play on a much shorter field with tiny goals. Triton never "really" technically scored a goal in that first season because the referee didn't see something that he should have. I had coached Triton at home to throw the ball towards the other team's goal when throwing in from an out of bounds position. Well Triton threw the ball in one game and it bounced off an opposing player and went in the goal. The referee didn't see this and so the goal didn't count. The next season and all since have been on a regular school sized soccer field. Triton, being one of if not the shortest on the team, hasn't scored a goal since. He is super good and usually always pays attention to the game but he is just a little too short to keep up with the taller kids. He is a great defender and even though he hasn't scored a goal his play has been admired by coaches and other spectators. This last Saturday, the 4th of October (2014) I had to substitute as our team's coach because the real coach was out of town. We only had 6 kids but we still played and the opposing team only played 6 kids as well when they could have played the normal 7 players. I did a little warm up session with the kids before the game and basically told them two things. Keep the ball with you, which means no kicking the ball and just watching it sail through the air, and don't stop running. If someone gets the ball past you don't just sit there. Anyway, our boys were playing the best I had seen them play. There was really only one kid that was standing in one spot, but he was defense and it was pretty cold outside. We took an early lead 1-0 but then the other team scored to catch up. That is when I saw Triton get passed the defense of the opposing team and was close enough to their goal that he had a chance to score before the bigger kids could catch him. It was one on one with the goalie. Triton and I had practiced many times how he should keep the ball close when driving in and then at the last second kicking it hard into the goal where the goalie would not have enough time to stop the ball. He was a natural driving the ball in pretty quick actually and at the last second kicking the ball past their goalie. Their goalie didn't even have a chance to touch the ball. You might be thinking I was playing favorites and placing Triton in the forward position to give him that opportunity but I really didn't. There were three kids that wanted to play forward and Triton was one of them. We were up 2-1 but then again the other team scored when our goalie didn't use his hands to stop an easy goal. Triton was only in the forward position for the first half. With the score tied I wanted the teams best defender (Triton) to play defense for the rest of the game. It wouldn't have mattered if nobody else would have wanted to play forward except Triton he wasn't going to play forward the rest of the game because he is better at defending. We scored another goal and ended up winning the game. I thought that Triton would have been more excited scoring his first goal, but he celebrated as if anyone on his team would have scored and just went about his business. Even after the game he was not going on and on like I thought he would. Sheri and I went on about it more than he did. We are always proud parents, but more proud in that moment for sure. Spider story is a hilarious one. I was outside a few months ago and Quinn was outside as well catching lady bugs. She was over by the fence when I hear "Daddy there is a spider over there!" I asked her if the spider at her and she said "no." I asked her if she ate the spider and she said "no, spiders are gross!" At this point I decided to keep it going and went on by saying "how do you know spiders are gross Quinn? They might actually taste good." I thought she would just respond by saying the same thing that spiders are gross. I turned away from her and started walking somewhere else and she followed so I knew the conversation wasn't over. This is when I got this response from my 4 year old daughter "well, you would have to cook them!" I started laughing so hard. I must have laughed for like 5 minutes. It was the cutest thing. We have yet to cook any spiders to see if they do actually taste good but who knows, only time will tell. I have been a wannabe golfer for many years now without success. I have won a few tournaments here and there but only in the higher handicap divisions. I had been told that I had a good swing and I felt as if I had a good swing but I knew I was doing something wrong with my hands just before impacting the ball. Well this year has been pretty dang good for me and golf. I have tried a bunch of things here and there that have worked. I might even go so far as to say that I might have caught onto something that is gonna stick. Usually I figure something out that works for a week or two and then it leaves me. So with that said I have always had a goal to shoot par or better once in my life. My uncle Henry, who anyone knows has one of the ugliest swings, had shot a 73 a few years back and I was never able to beat that. My old struggles were off the tee. The driver was not my friend. I fought the duck hook for over ten years. Golf was not a fun game most days. I started to figure something out here and there but the duck hook always seemed to come back. Whatever I have figured out this year has worked. As of right now I am hitting the driver the best I ever have. I haven't duck hooked the ball off the tee with the driver in months. Anyway I met Henry at the golf course one day a few months back and we were forced to play the back 9 first because the front 9 had some 5 groups waiting to tee off. I hate waiting for slow people on the golf course. Not very many people are good at golf, I am one of them, but there is no reason to be slow on top of it. Anyway, I was golfing okay. I started out with a par and then had 4 bogeys and then had 2 birdies to end the back 9 two over par. I didn't know if I wanted to golf the front nine because I wasn't sure if it was going to be way slow. My swing wasn't the best that day so I didn't feel as if I had a chance to break Henry's record. We were going to be up next on the number 1 tee box so I decided to just golf the full 18 holes. I thought it might be a little slow but we flew through the back 9. I hit a really good second shot to just about 4 feet from the hole and made a birdie right off the bat on number one to get me back to one over par on the day with 8 holes to go. It was at the moment that I thought I might have a chance to beat Henry's lowest round ever. I was getting pretty nervous after parring the next 5 holes! I had two par 5s and one par 3 left. I some how birdied number 7 (par 5) and was at even par on the day with two holes left! I told myself if I parred 8 I was for sure going to beat Henry's low round. I parred 8 and was 2 under on the front 9 with one hole left. With one short par 5 left I could beat Henry's low round and maybe achieve a life long goal of shooting par or better! I hit a decent drive and the ball was in play which was half the battle. I had just about 204 yards left for the second shot. This second shot is a daunting one however, there is water left and a huge bunker on the right. There is about ten yards of fairway running up to the green in-between those two hazards. I could have used a 7 iron and laid up like a wuss or I could go for it and chance a double bogey or worse. A smart man would have laid up and tried to get par the hard way. I decided to go for it. I took out my 4 iron and hit a really good shot. I was just barely short of the green and was able to use a putter for my 3rd shot. If I two putt from there I shoot a 69! Forget shooting par or simply beating Henry's low round I now wanted to get a birdie (70). I hit my putt and had a tap in birdie! I was 3 under on the front nine and killed Henry's record by 4 shots! I am so glad that I decided not to lay up and simply beat Henry's record. I went for it and surpassed my own expectations of finishing with a birdie and shooting a 69!

Any Day

Sheri and I moved into our new home August before last. The church that we go to I believe is the only ward in the city that has inmates (who are within a year of release) attending church. I never knew this until I was asked to teach them at the work center. The work center is where inmates (or offenders as we call them at the work center) who are close to their release dates have the opportunity to work, go to church and live a semi normal life before being released back into society as a free man again. There are four of us that rotate and go and teach these "offenders" at the work center. There is usually some 2-6 offenders that go to this class each week. We teach for an hour on something basically of our choosing that is church related. I have not always been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints so most of the offenders in the class probably know more about the church than I do. Not all of them know about the church but I am sure that each one of them understands my conviction and passion about the church by the time that I leave after that hour we have together. I have always been a very quiet person, especially if it is the first time meeting a person. The first 4 weeks of going to the work center I was required by the state to attend with someone else who normally taught the offenders. Then after that I would be allowed to teach these gentleman on my own. My first time to teach I was terrified. I prepared a lesson and walked in with knots in my stomach. I was not afraid of the offenders themselves but afraid that I would not be able to reach them, give a good lesson and for sure was afraid that I wasn't going to take up the full hour. Where the offenders and myself were basically strangers I wanted my first day to be an introduction. I remember there were probably 5 gentleman in my first class that night and I asked if we could go around the room and introduce ourselves and maybe tell a little bit about what we knew about the church. Most guys took maybe a minute at the most to tell me their name and where they were from and that they had known about the church most of their lives. 4 of the 5 knew of and probably believed in the church but had just had a few things go wrong with their lives when they weren't allowing the church and Heavenly Father to help them. One gentleman did take up maybe 5 minutes introducing himself which I was very grateful. This left me with some 45 minutes to myself now! I had taught one lesson to grown men some 11 years before in an Elders Quorum, and that was horrible! It was probably 3 years after I was baptized and still didn't know much of the church. I was baptized a month before my 17 birthday. Of course I knew more about the church now but my confidence was still (still is) low as far as how I might conduct myself in front of people I do not know. I began to tell them about myself. How I grew up. How I learned of the church and came to know that is it the one true church on this earth. I rambled on and on and remember that I didn't even have time to teach the lesson that I had prepared! I rambled on and on about myself and the church for 45 minutes! I felt so proud! It was the first time in my life that I felt that I did a good job speaking to someone that I did not know! Since then there have been about ten to twelve times that I have taught at the work center and I am no longer afraid of not being able to take up the whole hour. We have a small discussion about their lives, work and what not since our last meeting. Then we have an opening prayer and then I ramble on for the rest of the time! With my confidence growing I was asked this one Sunday by one of these offenders why I am the only member in my family? I have a grandmother whom I am sure has felt the Spirit and knows that the church is true but she never goes to church. I have a half brother who is 12 years younger who was baptized when he was the same age I was when I was baptized but he no longer goes to church. I was able to baptize him and it was one of the happiest days of my life and I will not forget. Knowing that he was doing the right thing and that if he lived with the church being a part of his life he would be blessed immensely. Anyway this offenders question puzzled me. Why was I able to tell these gentlemen that were in front of me about the church (an not shut up about it) but was unable to tell my family about it. I have come to the conclusion that these gentlemen choose to come to my class. It is easy to teach about something when someone wants to hear about it. I have not had the opportunity to give my testimony to any immediate family. My father and stepmother heard me speak at Zack's (half brother) baptism but they must not have been reachable at the time. Anyway I have a (very close to family) friend that has been having some relationship issues. Their significant other doesn't treat them the way that they feel they should be treated. I had mentioned in passing a few times throughout this past year that if it weren't for the church I wouldn't be who I am today. I remember having told this person here or there that I know the church is true but didn't ever get any more questions regarding my thoughts on the church. Anyway just this past week of hearing that he/she is only in this relationship for convenience now and not for love saddened me. Then come to find out that this person didn't believe in God saddened me even more. We are on this earth and we have the right (agency) to do whatever we want. We live in a country where we can believe in anything and any religion we choose. However no matter what country we live in on this earth we have been given the right to do whatever we want. If you or I are walking down the road we could at any moment take a left and see what path that would lead to or the opposite and simply take a right! I had no problem with this person not believing in God but again it did sadden me. I was texting back and forth to this person and let them know that I have no clue how people on this earth can go day to day without this church let alone a simple belief in God or Jesus Christ. This person (who again is basically family [AT THIS MOMENT]) asked me how I knew the church was true! Sure this person isn't family but he or she is in a relationship with someone in my family. I then informed this person that I would not be able to text such a response to that query. I informed he/she that I would have to tell them in person, on the phone or via email. This person of course chose email. I have no problem with email and anything before a year ago (since teaching the gentlemen at the work center) I myself would have preferred email! I wrote a simple email to this person explaining how I came to know that this church was true. It was about a page long and could have been a lot longer but I didn't not want to overwhelm! The next day I received a text from this person informing me that the email I sent them was the most powerful thing that they had ever read! This person said how they cried after reading it. Cried uncontrollably for some 10 minutes. This person then said it was so weird looking up into the world after wiping away those tears and seeing it (the world) in a different way! I have been told that I write well, but I am not taking any credit at all. In the email I explained how I felt the Spirit (Holy Ghost) when I had the missionary discussions and at that time I knew the church was true. Because the Holy Ghost himself visited little ole me to give me the knowledge/conviction that the things that the missionaries had taught me were in fact true. After getting this text about this person having such a reaction to my email I told him/her that he/she had in fact just felt the Holy Ghost! I cannot take any credit in the email for him/her feeling this way. It was the Holy Ghost who not only touched me but him/her as well. I have no doubt that this person when taught the Gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will know of it's truthfulness but will also have a blessed life because of it! Any Day is the title of this post because it is any day that we can pass from this earth. Anyone who has taken the time out of their day to read this I hope to one day to tell you about my knowledge of the truth. If you have heard things that have soured you toward the church but you know and love me then let me tell you with my perspective. This life is so short and any minute that we can have with this knowledge in our lives will benefit us beyond measure after we pass on.

Last Bowling Blog...for 4 months or so

So, two weeks ago was our last night of bowling. We made the finals. We usually always make the finals but I don't want to sound arrogant. It is pretty tough to make the finals in that league because it is a handicap league and we all know that handicap means that anyone can beat anyone on any certain night. Handicaps level the playing field thus the worst bowler could beat the best bowler! This league isn't setup that way, the worst will never have to bowl the best. It is handicapped in a way that the worst bowler on each team bowls the other worst bowler on another. Then so down the list where the best bowler has to bowl the best bowler on the team. On finals night however it is a total pins handicap so it doesn't matter if you beat the bowler you are normally going up against. There were 4 pretty tough teams in the finals. My friend Mike who I have mentioned was in the finals, his team won 2 of the 4 quarters in the league. We beat them in the third quarter if you can't remember by one and a half points. They are the toughest team to beat for sure. Another team has a pretty good bowler but the other members probably aren't strong enough to help him win the whole thing. Then there was this other team that had a bunch of extra pins in handicap and I knew that they were going to be the most likely team to upset Mike's team. Mike's team won it all last year. I have always been a pressure player. If it is the end of the game and I have a chance to have the ball I want to take that last shot. There are those who can't stand the pressure and don't want to be in that situation. This league doesn't pay hardly anything for the finals, but it is the bragging rights that I wanted! Everyone in the league is usually afraid of Mike's team. I relish the nights that we get to bowl against them because I have (even in my slump for the past ten years) never backed down from the challenge of bowling against the best. Obviously Mike has been one of the best in the city for the past three years. With me coming out of my slump I wanted validation on finals night. I wanted to win that league and gain enough confidence to bowl a scratch league next year (scratch means no handicap). Mike's average along with another person on his team was over 215, Mike's was probably 220. Sure I was only at a measly 205, but I only had 4 pins of handicap myself. Even with Mike's team having two players having no pins handicap to start our team was still actually the same as Mike's team or a little lower. So our team and Mike's had the lowest pins to start. Finals night begins and everyone on our team were bowling pretty dang good except for Sheri. She only bowled a 144 or something like that. Barbara bowled a high 180 game. Jeff and I put on a show! Jeff hit a 279 and I hit a 276. We hit the highest scratch game as a team (not just on the night, but the whole year)! We took an early 100 pin lead over the other three teams after game one. Game two wasn't so kind to Jeff as he hit a 179, Sheri bowled over a 200 which helped a lot and I had a good game of 245. Our lead was only 60 going into the last game. The team behind us was the ones that I feared the most. That being the team that had the most handicap. We had an 80 pin lead over Mike's team and I knew they would have to bowl a huge game to beat us, or we would have to really suck. Well, Jeff tried to really suck by only hitting a 178 his last game. Going into the tenth and last frame the handicap team had taken the lead from us! Their last two bowlers had 3 strikes a piece going into the tenth. It looked as if they were going to pull an upset. I told Jeff that if him and I got three strikes a piece in the tenth frame and if both of their last two bowlers (who had the 3 strikes a piece) didn't strike or spare that we still had a chance. Well Jeff stepped up in the tenth and hit his first strike! Their bowler didn't strike and left himself a pretty hard spare which he did in fact miss! Jeff only got a 9 spare in the tenth after his strike, but I knew we still had hope. I needed to strike out and their last bowler needed to open. I watched their bowler leave a horrible split on his first ball! He in fact did open, but I still felt that I needed to strike out to win. I stepped up and threw three great shots and struck every ball! Jeff and I filled 50 pins out of the last 60! We won by 45 pins! Mike's team did bowl dang good and actually passed the handicap team to take second place! We had won! Sure there was good fortune in that last two frames, but I bowled great. I hit a 723. My 5th 700 series in the last 11 weeks of bowling! The following Saturday we went to the banquet to get our money and rewards. I didn't plan on winning anything as an individual. I had hoped that I might win most improved bowler on the year, but on a handicap league that is way hard to do because someone could have a 100 average and end with a 130! 30 pins is going to win most improved all of the time! I had only improved my yearbook by 12 pins, but I was still hoping to win. We get to this mexican resteraunt and first eat. Then the sheets were passed out showing everyone's awards and games throughout the year. I had wanted to figure out what I averaged since having my bowling balls redrilled and since I figured out a new release. I was mainly interested in that. I didn't really pay attention to the award sheets since I didn't figure I was going to win anything. You get a little extra money for having the top three high scores for high games handicap and scratch along with high series. I knew I wasn't going to win any of those because there was a lot of great bowling by other people. I had to only hope for most improved average! After looking at all my scores through out the year I finally turned to the award pages. I see that we obviously took finals, took second in most points won by a team all year (that is where a team makes most of their year end money). Of course Mike's team was first, I think they have won that 4 years in a row! We also won high handicap series as a team or something like that to win a few extra bucks too. Then I turn the sheet over and see that I did in fact win most improved bowler! I was pretty dang happy about that! I got to looking through the other awards and noticed that my name was on another! You can only win one individual award because they want to reward a lot of people. There was a clause though that stated one person can only win one award except for the person that took most improved average! That person is eligible for two awards! What other award did I win? I had to ask because I didn't even remember there being this other accolade? It said bowler best w/lo % of the year Jason! I asked the secretary of the league what that was? He informed me that I had the best win/loss percentage of all the men (actually the entire league). Which meant that you were more likely going to lose against me over anyone else on the whole league! I was going to beat you more times than Mike beat you. There are 4 other people on that league that are pretty dang good bowlers! It is a handicap league which helps level the field which means a person with a high handicap could beat a person with a low handicap. All of that aside I had the best winning percentage! I won just over 66% of my points. I was most pround of the last 11 weeks though. I think I had to bowl Mike twice and I remember taking 8 out of 10 points from him. I bowled this other guy who averages almost 220 on this other team and took all 5 points from him those last few weeks. I probably had the highest series that was printed in the newspaper 4 of the last 5 weeks on that league! It was the first time in over ten years that I was actually sad that bowling was over. It is the first time in those ten years that I wanted to bowl from week to week. To have my highest winter average in all of my life after all these years of being in a slump, after only bowling the one league, and no practice between weeks all year shows me that I can for sure be one of this cities elite bowlers again. If I pick up another league next year (a scratch) and maybe get a few practice sessions in then I have no doubt that I will get that elusive 800 series. I will be asked to bowl city and state tournaments again! I will be feared. I will always now be known as the best bowler in my family. Sorry Josh you tried your best this year. I really appreciate you bowling with us this year. You starting off the year so great fed my hunger to figure this game out again. I owe you for helping me pull my head out! I have to thank Kevin for redrilling my bowling balls as well. With a bowling ball that fit properly I was able to figure out a release that helps me stay consistent. I know that I am not all the way there to figuring out that release, but I am close. I hope with this summer's break that I jump right back in the swing of things next fall! Only time will tell.

Close, But So So Far Away

So Friday I walk in and my average is up to a 204 which I am happy about because that pretty much guarantees me a yearbook of 200 plus this year. I am bowling Mikey and of course I want to beat him even though he has been my doubles partner and best bowling friend since the 6th grade. Plus we all know that he has been one of the hottest bowlers over the last 3 years. The first game I was bowling alright and he bowled like crap, I finished the game really good and beat him like 222 to 170? He might not even have hit a 170? Anyway I knew he wasn't going to stay down under 200 for long and that he didn't! The next game we both start with the first 7 strikes. He finally missed in the 8th and then I lost all confidence in my release! It was like I went back to the last ten years! I actually slopped down the next 3 strikes giving me the front ten! With lack of confidence and being completely lost in how to throw the ball my hands were sweating. It might have been due to a little nervousness but that usually helps me focus. I couldn't remember how to throw a ball though. The 11th ball I was way too quick with my feet and barely hit the head pin leaving the 2 4 5! I hit a 287 against Mike's 279! The last game I realized that I wasn't being aggressive with my release. Thus I pulled my head out and smashed the pocket. Mike and I were at it again. We both started out the last game with the first 5 strikes, I then hit the pocket in the 6th and for some reason the 8 10 remained? It was pretty weird so I opened nonetheless and
Mikey struck another 2 times eventually beating me that game 232 - 224 taking one point away from me. I hit a 733 series and took 4 of 5 points from Mikey. That should get my average up to a 205! I was happy about the series but so disappointed that I forgot how to release the ball in a moment when I could have obtained perfection again! Ahhhh, I guess there is always next week.

What's Next

So, this last week we were all able to take a trip to Disney Land! It was my first time there and obviously the little ones first time too. We went with Sheri's mom and step-father, as well as her half sister and her husband. We left last Monday and came back on Friday (I couldn't miss bowling)! That isn't the real reason we came back on Friday, it was just time to come back is all. We visited Disney Land that first night and the next day, then drove to Sea World on Wednesday and then back to Disney Land on Thursday. It was way fun, busy and it wore Triton out each night. Quinn would get in a little nap around 1:00 or 2:00 while in the stroller and then she would outlast Triton through the night.

Quinn was able to go on more rides than I thought she was going to be able to and Triton was just barely tall enough to go on Splash Mountain. That was probably the scariest ride that he went on. There was one other roller coaster that he was able to go on that was fast, but no big drop like Splash Mountain. Every time he would get off a ride, he would say "What's Next"? It was pretty cute how he just wanted to go and go. The lines were pretty long, but him and Quinn did pretty good while waiting in lines.

So many thanks to Crystal and Trevor as well as Darrell and Laura for watching the little munchkins while Sheri and I jumped on some bigger rides that the little ones weren't tall enough to ride on. Here are just a few pictures to share of the trip.

Not too sure what Triton is trying to do with his face?

This is Sheri and myself after riding the Atlantis ride at Sea World. You can't really tell but my shorts are soaked as could be. I actually did scream on this ride, but it wasn't because it was scary or cold. I was sitting in front and you can see the big drop just behind us there? That isn't where one gets most wet! There is another drop in the back where nobody can see and that part is where I got about 75% of the soakage that I have in the picture. I screamed because I was in front and I knew before it happened that there was going to be no escaping the wall of water that was coming! I screamed in frustration of not being able to escape the water. So again it wasn't because the water was cold or because I was scared! It was simply the fact that I had no change of clothes and I knew I was going to be wet as can be!!

Nothing Big

Just as the title of this blog is nothing big. I really don't have anything to say that is important, just going to give a quick update on how I bowled last week and maybe other stuff who knows. Last week we bowled on lanes 11 and 12. I have always hated these lanes because it seems that no matter what I don't get the carry I deserve on those lanes. I think I have had maybe one 700 series on those lanes and a high game 290 on those lanes. They must have had the flu on those nights. This night seemed classic 11 and 12 though. I started out practice striking like 4 or 5 times and was throwing a good ball.
The league started and scoring began and I was bowling pretty dang good. I was hitting the pocket and nothing wanted to fall. I threw a couple of bad balls, but was happy with the way that my ball was reacting I just wasn't getting the carry. I hit a whopping 155 or something? I didn't get a strike that whole game? I finally got my first strike in the second game first frame. I was using my Trauma Recovery (which is the ball that I have basically thrown 90% this year) and I think I might have gotten one more strike with it toward the end of that second game. I switched bowling balls to my Track in the tenth frame of the second game. I think I threw 8 out of 12 strikes with that ball. Guess I should have switched earlier? Kind of weird that I was throwing a better ball with the Trauma, but the Track carried better with a worse pocket entry? Some nights are like that I guess. I got an open in the tenth frame of the third game for a whopping 215. Shot a 550 series the worse that I have had in probably 4 months and I blame it on the lanes! Sure it sounds as if I should have just switched bowling balls sooner and maybe that is true, but it still doesn't change the fact that I didn't get the carry that I deserved. I had my average up to a 203 before that night and I imagine it might drop a pin after that 550? So, I need to work to maintain my 200 average in time for the yearbook numbers to be taken (which is the first couple of weeks in April).

Did I Blow It?

Last night we were in first place by 5.5 points bowling against my friend Mike who has thrown 8 three hundred games and three 800 series in just about 3 years. He has been one of the city's best bowlers for the past two years. I have been friends with Mikey ever since 6th grade. He and I have bowled tournaments and leagues together for so many years now. I am glad that he is a great bowler now. He was always pretty decent like me, but I was just a bit better than him and of course my funk slump came into play and even then he wasn't that much better than me until these past few years. He went to college for a while and really wasn't bowling much so that is why he never really got great.
With the way that Josh has been bowling I figured if we were to take first place for the quarter and earn a spot in the finals we would have to rely on the girls (Aunt Barbara and my wife Sheri to win the most of the points). Why did I not include myself in the list of earnable points for the night? Because I was in fact paired to bowl against Mike, and did you not read his resume above. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that he basically averages 220! There is a total of 30 points possible on the night and we simply needed to win 12.5 or something like that to hold off Mike's team.
The first game started out great we won 4 of the total 6 points available on that game. I won my point and Barbara won her point and we had the higher team score which was 2 points. I bowled a 227 against a struggling Mike who finished strong with a 202. The next game wasn't that great! Sheri was the only one to take a point out of 6 available. Mikey started the 2nd game with the first 9 strikes in a row against me so I didn't have a chance to beat him. At this point I am even rooting for him to shoot a 300. It wasn't meant to be and he tugged the 10th ball just a bit and shot a 277 against my 237. Yeah most nights when you shoot a 237 you are most likely to win that point. Not against Mike like I said! So out of 12 points available after game 2 we only had 5 of them.
The last game started out pretty good and everybody was winning on our team except Josh. I was only ahead of Mike by ten pins but I was throwing a pretty decent ball and just figured if I kept striking I would at least take 2 points out of the possible 5 against Mike. Sheri ended up tying her last game against her opponent and she won 3.5 points out of her possible 5. Barbara won her last game and took totals as well thus she won 4 out of her 5 points. Mikey shot a 246 his last game. I shot a 266 and beat Mike not only that game but series as well. He shot a 723 and I hit a 730! Pretty weird to shoot exactly the same series as the week before, but I was dang happy. I had beaten one of the city's best bowlers on one of 5 of the most important nights of a league! There are 4 positional rounds that earn a spot into the final (last night being one of them) and then you have finals! Without this win we wouldn't be in the finals unless we were to win the last quarter. It always loosens up a swing knowing that you have already stamped a place in the finals. Mikey's team had already won a quarter and thus they were already in the finals. Was what we bowled enough to win the 12.5 points that we needed? We lost the last games final score which I thought we absolutely needed. So we had Sheri's 3.5 points Barbara's 4 points and my 4 points which gave us 11.5 points! We did win that first game as a team and that gave us 2 points and gave us our victory 13.5 points! We took the 3rd quarter and earner ourselves a spot in the finals! Wahoo I didn't blow my good bowling either!
Another 730! I have now averaged just over 232 for the past 4 weeks and am feeling better and better. I beat one of the best bowlers around here last night when he shot a 723! I honestly think that is probably my first back to back 700 series since I started bowling! My average was up to 202 before last night and I imagine that it will probably move up another 2! I had two goals this year and they were to beat Josh (which I thought was going to be a lot easier that it was) and to get my average up to a 200. I am sure that I have the Josh goal in the bag, but there is still 10 more weeks of bowling to go. Anything can happen, but I am hoping to keep it going.
On January 20th Sheri had a chance to get her first 600 series. She has been bowling really good this year and I had hoped that she would get her first 600. She bowled a 220 her first game and fell slightly the second game hitting a 184. Thus she needed to get a 196 her last game. She knows that in order to get up in the high 190s to low 200s you will need to double up (that is getting two strikes in a row) and leaving no opens. Thus she needs to get a double and shoot all spares to get her 196. Well, it was the ninth frame and she hadn't doubled yet. She hadn't opened which was great, but she need to get them two strikes in a row yet. She asked for my advice. I knew she was throwing a good ball she just wasn't getting any breaks. I noticed one thing that might give her a bit more carry so I told her my advice. She stepped up in the 9 frame and missed! She got her spare and had one last shot to get a 600. She needed the first two strikes in the tenth frame to have a shot. She stepped up with the first ball in the tenth frame and smashed the pocket! Strike! The next ball was a bit light in the pocket but there was still some pins moving around and at last that final pin fell giving her that much needed double! She would however still need to get like 6 pins or something like that. I think she might have struck, but the fact was that she got her last 5 or 6 pins that she needed and hit a 604 series! I was so pound of her! With that 600 by Sheri and my 700 series last week we have all our team on the honor roll board! Pretty cool. We are probably the only team in that bowling establishment that have a mixed team (2 guys and 2 girls) on the honor roll board.
In order to get on the honor roll board you have to either shoot a 225 or higher as a woman or hit a 600 series. Barbara has not shot a 600, but she did get a 234 one week. Sheri obviously got her 604. Josh has been on the board for most of the year. As a man you have to shoot a 700 or have a score in one game higher than a 275. Josh did both of those things in the first 5 weeks of bowling. I finally hit my 730 and it is pretty cool having all of our team on the board! I am happy for us all, but hope that Josh doesn't get to down on himself for not bowling good. He did hit a 226 his first game and I thought he might be making a comeback from his last month of bowling, but his next two games sucked. I still think he is trying too hard and expects too much from himself. Keep up the desire to bowl good Josh and just have fun.

Better Blog Before I Blow It

So as many of you know I have been struggling with bowling for about a decade. I was a decent bowler averaging around 215 and was confident that I was going to get even better. I woke up one day and was unable to roll the ball properly and my average dropped down to like a 175. I have averaged around 190 for the past 7 years, but that is just luck because there was no confidence in my release.
Josh my cousin bowls with us this year and he started out the year on fire. He was basically averaging anywhere from 198-207 all year. I was just basically sticking around that 190-193 area that I have been in limbo with for years. I knew that I needed to do something to get my game back. I decided the first step was to have my bowling balls re-drilled and see if that was the issue (it was about 90% of the issue). The way all my bowling balls were drilled kept me from holding and releasing the ball properly and consistently. I had two bowling balls redone and from then on it was up to me. Was I going to be able to learn how to bowl again? It was about the beginning of December that this was done. I informed Josh he had 5 weeks and I was going to surpass his average. I know that he wanted to kick my butt at my own game since the year started and he was so great out of the gate. Well it only took two weeks to overtake him. However, he decided to bowl great the next week and passed me again. This happened again. I would work my butt off and then he would have a great week and pass me again.
Three weeks ago he bowled pretty bad not even averaging a 170 on the night and I bowled good and passed him with a 199-198 that following week. Two weeks ago I bowled pretty good again and he didn't bowl bad just not as good as me, and I was at 200 and he was down to a 197. That was my biggest lead on him for the year. This last week was pretty cool. During the ten minutes of practice before league started I could find the pocket for anything. I was completely lost. I thought it might be a good sign because usually if you do nothing but strike in practice you are going to suck the rest of the night. I was a little worried, but my first ball of the night I was instantly sure that I was going to release the ball properly and score good. I was correct. My first game was a 234, second game 230 and my last game was a 266 for a 730! I had the last ten strikes in a row in that last game and Josh once again didn't even hit a 170 average on the night. I averaged just over 243 for the night and my average will jump more while Josh's falls. I have averaged 227 for the last three weeks and hope to maintain whatever overall average I have tonight throughout the year. Just figured that I had to blog before I do in fact bowl horrible. I know that there is going to be a night where I feel lost again and I won't score worth crap, but the last 3 months have given me hope that I can someday be the bowler I once was. These last three weeks I have actually felt better than when I was bowling great as a young man. I have just seen too many people scoring perfect games and 800 series without me! I dream to one day have an 800 ring and to have Josh (my cousin who hasn't bowled a league since he was in high school) bowl his first league in forever and come so close to it shooting an 800 with his 787 just kind of woke me up. I could have cared less in fact I wish he would have shot the 800 that night, but it for sure has awakened my passion for the game again. I am happy with the way I have been bowling. I have hated bowling for the past ten years and didn't ever think that I would be one of the city's elite ever again. I never imagined that I would want to bowl. Sure Sheri and I have bowled a league every year that we have been married, but it was basically just something to do and get out of the house in the winter months. I haven't enjoyed the game and was pretty close to quitting a couple of times. The past month I have actually thought about bowling a ton. I have thought about bowling tournaments, I have thought that I want to have a Steve Stricker like comeback. I have no aspirations of being on TV, but I do want to go to some bigger tournaments this next year if I am bowling like I am now and still have the confidence that I have right now.
I thanked Josh for giving up on trying to beat me this year as far as average is concerned. He didn't really like that remark and said that the year wasn't over. I hope that he does not only try to beat me, but I hope that he does in fact bowl great. I don't think that he will be able to pass me though. I have a ton of confidence that he is lacking. He expects a bit too much especially since like I said he hasn't really bowled since juniors. He gets down on himself way too much too. Once a person is able to stop beating their selves up over little mistakes in any sport and focus on the next shot or task at hand is the day that they start excelling exponentially.
I now have no doubt that Josh isn't going to be able to beat me this year and I will still be known as the best bowler in the family, but that is hopefully just the tip of the iceberg. I expressed to Josh a sincere thanks as for bowling with us this year and pushing me to get out of the pit. I have been a big let down to my fellow bowlers for years. This is the first year that I haven't been asked to bowl city or state tournament by someone! Nobody! Not even fellow bowlers who aren't that good that have idolized me back in the day and would love to have me on their team in the past didn't even ask me this year. It really doesn't hurt my feelings. I wouldn't not want to have asked me either if I were them. Heck I don't know why I was asked for the past 9 of these 10 years. I literally sucked but I hope to have those multiple invites again next year when I prove to everyone that I am back!

Josh moved ahead

With Josh's 787 two weeks ago he moved ahead of me for highest average on our team. He has a 199 which could drop a pin after this last week, but that will still keep him ahead of me for this upcoming week. I only beat him by 7 pins this last week and my average will probably remain the same 197.
Josh has never been a big bowler. I mean he bowled as a junior and subbed on our team here and there throughout the past years, but this is the first year that I found out that he really wants to do good. He only has two bowling balls. Many of you probably think that is one too many and for sure enough as many as you would need to be a good bowler? Well, I have thrown away a few bowling balls over the years and gave away a few as well and I still own 7 bowling balls. That is probably the lowest amount owned by someone who might be considered a decent bowler. If I were to finally get my average up to a 220 then for sure 7 bowling balls would be considered a low number. I have a friend that I have bowled with since 6 grade and he probably has over 50 bowling balls easily. He is one of the best bowlers in the city. That is not saying that having more bowling balls is going to make you a better bowler. There are a lot of balls that react differently since there are many types of oil patterns on a few types of surfaces as well.
Anyway after seeing Josh own them lanes that night he bowled that 787 I suggested that when he gets a new bowling ball someday he should get one that is more aggressive. The lanes that night were dry and tough. His equipment is old and I figured something new might help as well. Plus technology is always changing and a new aggressive bowling ball could give him more confidence as well if he could be more aggressive himself. Confidence is everything and if a ball can help him gain more of that then I am sure that he would bowl a 300 within two years.
I wasn't thinking that he would get a new bowling ball at least not until the new year. He sent me a link of a brand new bowling ball. He has three kids and I didn't want him to spend any money on a bowling ball. I told him to let me ask Mike (the friend with the 50 + bowling balls) and see if he had a bowling ball that he never uses anymore that might be good for Josh. Turns out that he did have something that wasn't too old at all and he ended up just giving this bowling ball to Josh and I paid for the ball to be plugged and re drilled to fit Josh. I wasn't impressed with the way that the bowling ball looked when I had to be the middle man in getting it from Mike and delivered to Josh. Josh got it back yesterday from my friend that plugged and re drilled it and Josh texted me informing me that the ball was pretty. I guess that Kevin (guy that drilled it) also resurfaced it and made it look all shiny and new. Josh now has a bowling ball that is newer than 8 years old and he likes it so far. He hasn't had a chance to throw it yet, but he thanked me for helping him save $180 since a new bowling ball is like $160 online and at least another $25 to drill. So that was my good deed for the season and maybe the year!

Josh Fights Back

As you may have read in the last few blogs Josh hasn't been bowling good. I have been bowling pretty decent but nothing great. I overtook Josh the week before last as high average on the team and reclaiming my throne as best bowler in our family.
I have been losing a bit of confidence over the last couple weeks and have only averaged 198. I keep reverting back to the old crap that brings down confidence and scores. The new release is keeping me close to the 200 average though. So I figured I can get my average up to 200 before the yearbook deadline in the first part of April. I also figured that if I average just around a 600 series for the night that Josh will not be able to catch back up because his confidence is lacking and maybe his focus too?
Friday we walk into bowl and this kid on the opposing team informs Josh and I that he didn't want to see any of our crap. He was partly joking but he was indicating that he didn't want us throwing any big games. Josh hasn't always been used to other teams/bowlers fearing him so when someone says something like that and he hears it he is like a shark that can smell blood.
I still intimidate a lot of bowlers just because of my history when I was a great bowler. I don't know if they just don't know how to pay attention that I haven't and still am not even close to being the bowler that I once was, but I know that I still have that intimidation factor. It is a new thing for Josh though and I am glad when someone says something like that to him because it is going to be a good night of bowling. A shark can smell a drop of blood a mile away. This kid had just severed an artery right in front of Josh. This kid was Josh's opponent and had just shot himself in the leg. The last time someone indicated in passing that Josh was an elite bowler he tied his best series. Like a 727 or something? A record that wasn't going to last!!???
The first game Josh and I were both bowling pretty good. He was ahead of me for the first half of the game and I figured the pressure might get to him and I would eventually win that game. I opened the ninth or tenth frame for a 214 but it didn't matter the pressure wasn't getting to him that night. He finished his first game with a 266! Good job Josh I just hope that I can beat you the next game. He and I were doing pretty equal for the first half of game 2 when our lane broke down! I had two strikes going into the next frame which I threw a half hour or so later, it was a horrible ball and I split leaving an open frame. My next frame was an open and that game I fell apart. I think I got like a 166? Josh wasn't phased by the fact that our lane broke and we had to bowl on one lane for a bit until we could move to another pair. His second game was a 254.
If you know anything about bowling you know that Josh's first two games put him over 500, therefor he had a chance to bowl an 800 series which is the Mecca for any good bowler. There was one bad thing though with his first two games. If he would have gotten one more pin he would have been at a 521, however he was only at a 520. Why was that one pin such a bad thing? Well if he would have gotten a 521 he would need a 279 for an 800. A 279 can be scored in numerous ways, but there doesn't have to be a string of all strikes all the way to the end of the game to get there. Since he only had that 520 this meant that he needed to shoot a 280, now in order to shoot a 280 you can spare the first frame and strike the rest or you have to shoot the first ten strikes and then you can miss. I was already pumped up for Josh because I knew that he was lined up and I knew that as long as he stayed focused he could easily shoot ten more strikes in a row. He was in a zone and I just wanted him to stay there.
We ended up moving a few frames later in the second game to a pair of lanes that worked. We got moved to a nightmare pair of lanes. I thought that they were way dry. I was doing all I could to get the ball to the packet but Josh didn't seem to be laboring at all to finish that second game. So, like I said, I knew that ten in a row wasn't going to be that hard for him. He got the first 4 strikes and I kept telling him just one frame at a time, just one ball at a time, just nice and easy. I didn't want him to get all pumped up and throw a bad ball. He got the first 7 strikes and I was pumped up. I was screaming each time he threw a strike and I knew that he only needed 3 more strikes and he would have the ring (pictured a few blogs below) I have always wanted on his finger.
In the 8th frame he stuck again. I knew that his line was getting a bit tight but it was working for him. I didn't know how his ball was staying in the pocket but it was. Strike number 9 fell and I was about to come unglued. I was screaming louder and louder. I wanted him to get the 800. I figured he was more focused on the 300 and didn't have a clue about the 800. So one more strike was all he needed. If he gets this one more strike he has a chance to still shoot a 300, plus he earns $100 for shooting an 800. He gets a ring for an 800, plus a plaque next year at the hall of fame banquet. If he gets three more strikes he gets two rings one for the 800 and another for the 300, plus an extra $100 for his 300.
As he was stepping up to the lane I wanted to tell him to throw this last strike a little farther out to the right. There was no way that I was going to interrupt him though. For some reason something was telling me that he needed to throw this next ball out a little more so that it would drive through the head pin a bit more because like I said I thought his line was a bit tight. I said nothing and Josh began his approach. He let go of the ball and it made its way down the lane just as the same 16 balls before that. He had gotten 16 strikes in a row dating back to the last game! The ball hit the pocket and the pins began to fall. I saw two standing when I fell on the ground. I knew that he had thrown a pretty good ball, but I knew that there was no way that both of the pins that I saw standing were going to fall. I belted out at the top of my lungs "Nooooooooooooooo". I looked up and he had gotten 9 of the ten pins, one of the pins that I thought were standing had fallen but not both. I knew at that moment he was going to walk away with nothing on the night. When a mere seconds before he still had a chance to have two rings $200 a plaque and a head as big as the world for the next (rest of his life). I only want one thing in bowling and that is an 800 ring. He was one strike away. He threw a good ball the pins just didn't want to fall. I sat on a step with my head on my knees for a minute or two and I could have cried. If there wasn't a bunch of people in the bowling alley I would have cried. I just couldn't believe that that all that was taken away from him in an instant. I wish that I would have told him to move his line a bit more to the right with that last ball, but I didn't. At least then if he missed he could have had me to blame and not just bad luck. He ended up with a 267 that game and a 787 series. Averaging 262 for three games and shooting the best series between us. I think my high series is 762 or something like that I can't remember. I shot a 587 averaging just over 195, but I wish I could have given Josh that last strike. In my mind before he threw that last ball I was saying "Please just let him have one more strike". I guess it wasn't meant to be. Maybe I am supposed to get an 800 before him? I am glad that he has bowled with us this year. He has awoke my desire to bowl better. I am figuring out the game little by little again and it is because of him. Sure I have tried and tried to come out of my slump for the past 9 years, but it wasn't until I was (and still might be) in jeopardy of losing the title of best bowler in our family. It will be a race for the next couple of months on who has this best year, but he knows that he needs to get a ring on his finger before he thinks he is the best in our family. I hate that he is moving in a couple of months. He is taking a job up north in February or therabouts. This has been the most fun bowling I have had since bowling my last 300 game. I have the desire to bowl again. I will miss you Josh and if I figure out how to bowl completely again I will owe a lot of it to you. So maybe when I get my 800 (since you can't) I can just dedicate it to you? Hahaha....

Pulls in the Lead

I had told Josh that I was going to give him 5 weeks until I was high average on our team. It only took 2 weeks! My average jumped form a 191 to 197 in two weeks and he dropped from his 200 like I mentioned to a 195. I really feel bad that he is not doing so good. I felt good going into Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, but I was a little tired. I played basketball that morning after working all night. Took a short nap before bowling. Started out practice really good. I had 7 strikes in a row. The last ball or two that I threw felt like I was slipping back to the old style though. So any confidence I had vanished. I scraped through the night averaging just over 200 bowling a 602 series. I was in between the old style of bowling and the new. Again, once I figure it out all had better watch out because I am going to be on a terror of high scores.

My friend Mike started out his first game with 11 strikes in a row and missed his last ball for his possible 8th 300 game by throwing a 7 count finishing with a 297. I love watching him bowl good and hope that I can be up there with him before too long. I guess the next day in a local tournament he did the same thing! Except this time he only threw a 6! finishing with probably his worst after the front 11 strikes, he obviously got a 296. I can say that is sad, but it is more sad that I can't even come close.

http://mormon.org/me/7H9P/#

Closer Than I Thought

Well, I made up 5 pins from the weeks previous 684 series on Josh. Before leagues started I checked the updated average sheet and I was at a 194 while Josh had dropped to a 198. I started out bowling kind of crappy, not a lot of confidence because the approaches were slick and I couldn't stay on my feet. The beginning of the first game Josh was ahead of me and he was throwing a pretty good ball. He had a couple of late opens while I started stringing some strikes. I ended the first game with a 213, second game Josh tried to stay with me for a while even though I had the first 6 strikes. I ended with a 256 and he had another untimely open. I don't know what we got any of his games but overall I beat him by at least another hundred while shooting a 670 series. I wasn't happy with the overall way I threw the ball but it was mostly because of the approaches. I am happy with my series and for the past two weeks I have averaged 225. I am sure again if I can get this proper release down that a 225 average won't be that hard to maintain overall. I am hoping to get over a 200 average on the year, but mostly I just want to stay focused on getting this release down and in the muscle memory bank!
Josh wasn't happy that I beat him, he say that he has been tired lately which is probably true. I just wish that he could get some confidence and get his first 300. Again my year and a half long goal is to get another 300 under my belt and average a 215 or more for next season! Simply end with a 200 or more this year.
Henry and I did golf today. Triton was sick so we didn't go to church. I had a triple bogey on the first hole we played then double bogeyed the next hole! So, I was 5 over par after two holes. The next sixteen holes I play at 4 over. Shooting 12 pars and 4 bogeys. What happened on the first two holes I have no clue, but I was way happy with the last 16 holes. I hit the ball good and was happy that we got in one last round before the snow fell. It was snowing pretty good when we left. The last green we were on was about a third covered with snow. We finished just in time. Sad that it was probably the last time this year, but way happy that we got to go. I wasn't expecting to be able to get in that round. And to golf as good as I did was a bonus too. USA won The Presidents Cup and if Tiger can golf as good as he did today all of next year he will probably win two majors! That is my prediction for his year. I just want Tiger to beat all the records then he can sail off into the sunset and never golf again. I think that he has to win 10 or 12 PGA events to overtake Snead on the all time wins list and of course he has to win 5 more majors to overtake Jack Nicklaus in the major category.

Long Time

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I am alive. We have moved into out new home and someday I might post some pictures. Hate the cold. Not ready for the winter to be here. Especially since I ended the golf year pretty dang good. I actually scored better than my father in law twice. He is a really good golfer, but on these two days he wasn't scoring his best. Thus the reason I said I scored better than him instead of saying that I beat him. I do not consider him golfing bad and me just golfing okay as beating him. I want to beat him when he is at his best. That will be the day that I beat him.

Henry beat me this year! I didn't get a good swing until late in the year. Ever since he hasn't beat me though. He has a bum shoulder that he hasn't had looked at yet. He usually bowls league with us but he is letting his son Josh bowl in his place. Henry hasn't gotten his shoulder looked at yet. Since the golf season is over now he had better get in and do that. Or he won't be healed (if he has to have surgery) in time for next golf season.

Josh started out the year bowling pretty dang good. He was at a 210 average for the first 6 weeks or so, but has since fell off the pace. If you haven't ever read my blog or known of my bowling career you have to know that I used to be a pretty dang good bowler. I wasn't ever going pro or anything, but just after Sheri and I were married I was averaging about 215. One day I woke up and for some reason wasn't able to release the bowling ball properly anymore? My average dropped off the map! I think the very next season I dropped from a 213 to a 180? My highest average since was last year (after 9 years of struggling) I ended with a 193. A lot of people who don't bowl would think that is pretty dang good. Sure it isn't bad but it is still 20 pins off from what was my best previous. I had thought about quitting bowling because I haven't enjoyed it for so many years. I had a buddy of mine redrill some of my equipment and I think that it has helped a bit. However something might have really clicked in my birds nest of a brain a few weeks ago. I thought that I was close to getting my old release/swing back. I even texted my buddy that redrilled a few of my bowling balls to expect some high scores. I haven't ever thought that I would have that confidence again in my swing. I never imagined that I would bowl another perfect game and someday my lifelong goal to bowl an 800 series. An 800 in bowling is the Mecca for bowlers. You have to average just over a 266 for three straight games! You get this beautiful ring and every bowler in the city hears about it.



With Josh starting the year off so good and me just remaining around that 193 average I knew that I had to figure something out. I have always been known as the best bowler in the family. Who is the best bowler in my family? Anyone and everyone has always said Jason. Josh could be a great bowler and I have no doubt that he will bowl a perfect game someday, but I can't have him surpass me as the best bowler in our family. With my bowling balls drilled perfectly I have been able to tinker with my release and I think I might have figured it out. This last week I was able to release the ball with the most confidence I have had in just about ten years. The bad release and approach creeped in a few frames here and there and basically the whole second game so my scores were 257, 173 and a 254. See the difference there? The 173 is basically what my last ten years of horrible bowling has enabled me from doing. The first and thrid game I was able to release the ball properly and with confidence.

The middle game I was just hoping to slop down the pins? I am on the right path now though. I texted Josh yesterday and told him that I would have a higher average than him in 5 weeks. If he bowls the way he started the year it will be way hard for me to get passed him. He is probably down to a 200 after last weeks sub par performance and I probably jumped from a 191 to a 193. He is in trouble if I can get the feel down and the proper release locked into my muscle memory. That is why my last ten years release overcame me in the second game last week. Because of muscle memory. I wasn't able to keep my new release or thought process at the front of my brain so the old muscle memory just takes over. It is horrible standing on the approach one frame with all the confidence in the world. There were times last week that I knew I was going to strike before I even threw the ball. Then one or two frames later I stand there and I have no clue how to hold the ball! I am so wicked close to figuring it out and when I do my average should just 20-30 pins! I will keep you updated and future blogs about bowling won't be so explicative or boring, okay mom!

I do have no doubt that if I do keep this new proper release in muscle memory that I will bowl another 300. I have a prediction that will happen before the end of the next league season. So sometime before June 2013 I will have another 300 under my belt. I will bowl an 800 (someday) and feel great when I am able to slide this ring on my finger.

For the past ten years I never imagined that I would ever say that or have this condifence again??? Wish me luck! Tomorrow is league night and hopefully my next blog doesn't say I lost it all again!

Felt Good

Many of you have read about my dang golf struggles. Every other week I am telling Sheri that I finally figured something out. Each time I tell her that she says you say that all of the time. Each time I actually did think that I had figured something out. I am always in the yard hitting styrofoam golf balls trying to fix my swing. My handicap has done nothing but climb this year so far. I only really have issues hitting a wood of any kind whether it be a driver or a three wood. Those clubs have never been a part of my arsenal, but would be great if I could ever figure them out. The driver alone costs me 5 to 9 strokes a round.
About a week and a half ago I was in the yard and of course I was trying anything I could to get the club face of the driver to square up at impact. I was close to figuring something out this time and I knew it. Sure I have always said that in the past like Sheri will remind me every time, but I knew that this time was going to be different. At least I thought. So, it was Thursday before last when I get a call from Henry. He indicated that he was going to be golfing in a tournament this weekend that takes place at all three city courses. It is a three day tournament that happens every year on Memorial weekend. He asked if I was going to play. Even though I thought that I figured something out with the driver I was still hesitant about signing up for this golf tournament. Not being about to get off the tee box with any confidence was just going to cost me $50. I have never entered a singles type golf tournament without having some confidence in the driver. I have finished first twice and one second in the three tournaments that I have played as a single type tournament. That is a pretty good record, but there have been other tournaments that I simply didn't play because I knew that the driver wasn't going to work for me at all. I hate that feeling and like I said I am always in the yard just trying to figure out something that will help me once and for all to give me confidence and consistency off the tee box when using a driver.
Henry then asked if I was going to play in the tournament, I had confidence in this new swing thought, but I hadn't been able to try it out on the golf course. I went out in the yard and hit the practice soft foam balls for a while to see if I had enough confidence in order to enter this tournament. It was already three hours past the deadline to enter, but after practicing I thought that I had enough game to enter. I called the golf course and surely enough they let me in as a late entry. My stepmother watched my two little monkeys for me Friday so I could get in a practice round with Henry before the first day of the tournament on Saturday. I hit the driver okay and in the horrible wind Henry and I shot pretty good rounds. I figured three days of that from either of us would be enough to win the tournament. We actually joked how cool it would be if we were to take first and second in the tournament. I informed Henry that I wouldn't mind taking second to him as long as he finally finished first. He should have won a few tournaments by now, it just seems that he can't hold on to the lead or shoot good enough to win on that last day. I told him that I wouldn't mind second, but of course if that were to happen I would probably not be too happy at the time. I know that I would be happy for him later on, but at the time I would just be disappointed that I didn't do what was needed to win. Henry had been golfing pretty dang good, so after our scores tied on Friday I figured that the fight was on to take first place. One of us should win no matter what.
I wasn't too thrilled about the driver so I was out in the yard right after that round Friday. Saturday morning before my tee time I decided to hit the driving range and see if I could gain more confidence. The driving range was amazing I have never hit the ball that good ever! I was stoked and ready to go take it to the course.
I hit the ball horribly off the tee box and had only two drives all day that were good, they were probably just lucky shots because I had no confidence at all! As soon as I hit the course I reverted back to old ways? I was mega upset and coming into the clubhouse with an 87 on the hardest course in the city I was just hoping to not be out of the running on day one. Henry shot an 86 and another guy shot an 81! I was tied for third after day 1! I wasn't happy with my round but I was happy with my spot on the leader board. I went home and thought and thought about how to hit the driver. I knew that this new swing thought was close to working I just needed to keep trying it and not go back to the old way like I did on day one. I was confident being down 6 shots to the leader because he is an older guy who probably couldn't do that good on day 2, plus the weather was supposed to be horrible. I don't like bad weather, but Henry and I are on the golf course no matter what the weather holds for us! Unless there is snow and the course is closed Henry and I are always playing. I knew that with bad weather Henry and I would probably make a good move on day 2. We weren't paired with each other on day on or day two.
Day two was horrible weather! It was windy and raining. Day one, I had 5 pars and 4 double bogeys. Day two started out great, I had three pars in 4 holes. I knew I was making up ground on the leaders because there was no way that anyone in my flight was golfing that good. Hole 5 was disastrous, I hit a great drive and my second shot was in the bunker. I triple bogeyed that hole and didn't really recover after that. I shot another 87 which is horrible considering my great start and the fact that we were on the easiest of the three courses. I had 6 pars and a birdie. Along with three triple bogeys and a double bogey too.
Henry shot an 88, and I tied the low round of the day with my fellow playing partner for the first two days. The guy who shot the 81, shot a 90 on day two, so he was only 3 strokes ahead of me and I was tied for second with Henry. Henry had the lead with handicap and that is how they based the pairings on the last day. Anyone who knows about golf knows that it is usually best to be on the final group on the last day. I ended up not being in that group. I was in the second to last group. Tied for second without handicap (with Henry) and tied for 4th with handicap 5 strokes behind Henry. I knew that I needed a good finishing round on the last day.
I had a calm over me as I stepped on the tee box that last day. I didn't have any confidence in the driver still so I was just hoping to get off the tee box. On day two the driver wasn't horrible as a matter of fact I hit three bad drives which is better than the normal 5 or 9! I hit my first shot down the middle! Bogeyed the hole like a moron! Second hole hit the drive dead down the middle again? Something might be working? I barely saved bogey after an amazing birdie chip that missed the hole barely but ran on by some 4 feet or so. Made the 4 ft putt for par. 3rd hole, another drive down the middle, but it didn't have the greatest of contact. Parred that hole. One over after three holes is great and I was getting stoked! Hole 4, good drive just right a bit, but safe because water was on the left. Double bogey after hitting a horrible second shot into a tree and getting a bad break. Made a three foot putt for a double bogey! Now 3 over after 4! Not great, but not out of it yet. Hole 5, hit a good drive just caught a tree! Stuck behind the trees, hit the tree again on second shot, chipped out of trees for third shot and ended up making a great bogey after making a 7 ft putt. Next hole is an easy par 5, get par. 4 over after 6 holes. Bogey the next two holes and I am 6 over after 8 holes. Driver might be failing me? I kind of hit an old shot on 8 with the driver! Yikes! Hole 9 my playing companion parred and would be two strokes ahead of me unless I make a tricky 12 footer for par. My putt is on the way and barely slips in the side for par! I was happy making that putt. If I stay ahead of everyone in my group which is me and two other guys, I am bound to win some money and not just be a donator. Wes had a one stroke lead over me heading into the back nine. I didn't know how many strokes I had on him from the first two days, but I was a little worried because he had the momentum and was gaining confidence hole to hole as we went on. The rain wasn't coming down, but I knew that the cold and the wind would stop that old man leader in his tracks on the last day and I figured that Wes and I were gaining on the leaders every hole we played. The other guy that we were paired up with wasn't doing a thing and I knew he was out of it after the front nine.
Hole number ten at this course can easily be considered the toughest par 4 in the city. It is a long hole (this day into the wind) and I figured if I could par I would gain at least two on the leaders. I was feeling okay with the driver, but still didn't have a clue what the ball was going to do after the swing. Wes drilled his drive in the middle and pretty long. I was right of him in the trees and I was forced to pitch back out into the fairway. I couldn't see where his next shot took him, but I had about 100 yards left for my third shot. He was driving up to my area and he called me Henry. I don't know if he called me that on purpose or on accident, but he started laughing afterwards either joking with me or realizing that he had made a mistake by calling me that. I hit my next shot from 100 yards on a good line and the way that the green is sloped I knew that the ball was going to go toward the whole and was only getting better and better the more it kept rolling. Wes said good shot and as he was driving off I told him that was what he gets for calling me Henry. We laughed and as we got to the green we saw that my shot was great and I only had 2 and a half feet left for my par. Wes and this other guy both bogeyed the hole and I really wanted this par. This small putt wasn't easy, it was a left to right breaking putt, I made it and was happy for my lucky third shot to get so close to the pin. I par the next three holes and knew that I was probably close to the lead if not the leader. After parring the 12th hole, I was pulling away from Wes. Wes triple bogeyed 12 and I was now 4 stokes ahead of him. I figured that my only worry was Henry. I was just going to play each of the last 5 holes coming in just hoping to get bogey. Hole 14 was just that! I hit a short drive because there is a creek between the green and the tee box. My second and third shots were horrible. Wes bogeyed the hole and I had a 12 foot putt for bogey. I didn't want Wes to gain any confidence coming into the clubhouse with 4 holes left so I really wanted to make this putt. I putted the ball and it was breaking in the direction it needed and for sure had enough speed. It fell in and I dodged a bullet. A bogey might hurt but a double bogey might take away all my momentum. The next hole I drove the ball a little left which is fine because the right has out of bounds. I hit my third shot up on the green and the ball took a great bounce and left me about 14 feet for birdie. I knew that I was going to get par, but Wes had about the same length for a birdie as well. I was sure that I was inside of his location so I told him to putt first. He barely missed the birdie and he had about a two footer for par. As he was getting ready to putt his par I thought in my head that he hadn't missed a short putt all day and it was his time. He did kind of rush the putt and indeed did miss. I knew that if I made my birdie putt that I was probably going to win the tournament. I thought that I was out of the tournament on the back nine of day two. The last 5 holes on day two I was doing whatever I could to just get into the clubhouse. I had no confidence, didn't have a clue where the ball was going to go when I hit it, begging for bogeys. Now I was standing over a putt that I knew was probably going to win me the tournament. I hit the putt and it went in!
Three holes to go! 16 is a par three over a lake! Just get the ball over the water and on dry land. I bogeyed that hole! Not too bad, figure two more bogeys coming in and I win for sure. Just don't have a blow up hole! 17 is a hole that if you drive the ball too far you go in a canal. I wanted to drive it short right. That is indeed what I did, however it wasn't as short as I wanted. I was stuck behind some trees and had to hit my next shot not only over the canal, but over trees now as well. My second shot was great, I had perfect contact and it was going right at the flag, left me a 20 footer for birdie. I barely lipped that putt and sank my two footer for par. As long as I don't get an 8 on the last hole I should win. It the longest par 5 hole in the city. I drive the ball right (into the trees) and actually have to hit a provisional. A provisional is a ball that you hit in case you can't find the first one. I hit that right was well (into the trees) my playing partners saw that second ball come down, so I have to hope that we can find that first ball so I don't have to take a penalty. I was walking in the direction of both of my golf balls and there was one in the wide open. I was hoping it was my first ball and it was. I didn't have a shot to the green, but the ball was safe and I could do a simple chip out into the fairway. I did just that leaving myself 200 yards on the left side of the fairway barely leaving myself enough room to get past these trees that were next to me. I hit my third shot a little short of the green but it rolled up on the edge of the green and I knew I was winning for sure at that point. A two putt for par and I walk in the clubhouse with the round of the tournament in that flight a 7 over par 79.
I had a huge lead and all we had to do was wait for that last group and hope that Henry didn't have a miraculous day like I did. I mean I was 6 over par after 8 holes and for the last ten holes I was one over! No way anyone else did that good (unless it was Henry). Even though that one guy had three stokes on me going into the last day I wasn't worried about him. Another guy in their group doesn't have the game to shoot that low. So there was Henry and a guy named Ryan that I had to worry about. I didn't think that Ryan had what it took to shoot a round that he needed to, plus he only had my buy one stroke going into the last day. So it was all laying on Henry's shoulders? His group came around the corner of the clubhouse and Henry informed me that he shot a 95! Just a horrific round. I knew at that point I was the winner. I took both net and gross, which means scratch and handicap. They only pay one spot for that, so Ryan took first place gross and I took first place net. Ryan won the money for gross just because they don't pay one winner both spots even if they take both net and gross like I did. Net paid more only by a bit, and Henry ended up second net. So, Friday before the tournament we were hoping that we would get first and second. We both probably figured Henry would win because my driver, but that last day my confidence just kept growing with the driver and it didn't cost me any strokes on the last day! On the last hole I didn't want to go left and I figured if I miss a little right that I would be okay. I hit just there with both drives. Actually after hitting it into the trees on hole number ten I hit the ball off the tee with the driver exactly where I wanted. I of course would want the ball in the middle but hole 11 if it isn't in the middle I want to miss right. I missed right. Hole 13 I have to hit the middle and hit it short, did just that. Hole 15 aim the ball in the middle if I miss do it a bit left, miss just left! Hole 17, aim middle right if I miss more right that is fine! Did just that by missing right of target! This new swing is finally going to work! "You always say that"! Sheri says.... 10 pars and one birdie on that last day idicates to me that I have finally stubbled onto something. Because this was the first day ever that I never reverted back to the bad swing. I was able to remember how to use what I thought was going to work and stick to it all day.
I have won a couple of golf tournaments in the past like I said, but this was the first one that I thought I deserved to win. It wasn't because of the swing, it was because I actually finished the tournament golfing as well as I thought that I could. The other tournaments I won I didn't have a low round, just lower than everyone else! This one felt good because I came from behind on that last day to win! Something Tiger Woods has never done in a major! I am not saying this is a major, but with the new swing and the final round, it was a major victory to me!!

You All Know

You all know that I hate Facebook, so I post most pictures and info here, so here is a couple of updates on the progress of our house. Looks like it might not blow over in this windy state that we live in.