Arnold's Park Practice Round

Today golfer and fellow competitor played the front nine of the course during a practice round. They are looking forward to the tournament tomorrow and really enjoying the surroundings.

After the round, traveled to a house provided by the tournament. It is an amazing home of some generous friends of the tournament. (Golfer is pictured outside the home)

Attended a meet and greet at the golf course tonight and a wonderful meal was provided. (two of the golfer's favorites were served for dinner (Prime Rib and Cherry Cream Cheese Pie).

They are on the way back to the home and are going swimming with their host family tonight and looking forward to the competition tomorrow.

Second day of Bakker Tournament

Finished today with six over par and a + 16 for the tournament. Don't think golfer has fully recovered from finishing his coursework the first night he arrived in South Dakota and his 3 hour hold on the tarmac at DFW. He and friend traveled to Arnolds Park, IA this afternoon and visited the course where the next tournament will be played. Okoboli Lake is a resort area near Arnolds Park and they have been offered a cabin there for tomorrow night. Tonight they are exhausted and resting before they play the course tomorrow. The golfer is uncertain about whether or not he is playing in the tournament or on the waiting list. Tomorrow will tell and I'm calling it a night.

Didn't start the blog today until later because I wasn't sure whether or not this is a lame idea. My next to oldest daughter told me that it was just that she couldn't remember me writing a blog about her. I guess this is a new thing and I will need to step up to the mother plate and find some fun stories for all of my wonderful children!

First Tournament Played

Today was the first day of tournament play. Played the back nine first and finished one over par. The front nine fell apart with hooks abounding resulting in 10 over par for the day. Constant telephone calls for the next few hours trying to decide how to fix the problem. Bought new wedges. Encouraged golfer to register for as many tournaments as possible tonight. This is really the first competition for him since High School and that play was plagued by injuries, baseball, school and general foolishness. We're very serious now though.

First Day of Competition

Received a text from Stephen last night that he was a finalist in the longest drive contest. He was pretty pumped....

This morning he called on his was over to the golf course to warm up. They are staying in a home near the golf course so he was able to walk to the course because his friend Chad had a 9a tee time and he tees off at 1:50p. He said the wind is blowing 15 to 20 mph and he thinks it will probably be an advantage. We both wished him well and will continue to pray for his success.

First Day of Practice

Shooting a practice round after staying up late to complete coursework for his degree is exhausting and invigorating! The coursework is complete what a relief! But as we all know "life is hard" and as an example Stephen has a terrible toothache (it sounds like and absess). His dad is seeing our family doctor this afternoon so hopefully he will call in a prescription to South Dakota. Guess life is not only hard but "it's complicated". (Ha!)

Praying for a good nights rest and relief from the pain. Tomorrow's the first "big day".....

Off to the Dakota's

The prep was maticulous. Bags packed. Trip to airport marked by light rain and normal afternoon rush. Arrived at 6p to find that flight was delayed until 7:42. Of course, the bag tag printer malfunctioned in the midst of checking the prized "golf clubs" but no worries. With extreme effort, the agent canceled the original tags and printed new ones only taking about 15 mintues (God knows we had plenty of time with the delay). Stepped outside and said our goodbyes and our golfer proceeded thru security and to the gate.

The trip home was somewhat somber as we were sending our youngest off into the wild blue yonder to pursue his dream. Years had gone into the planning of this season in his life and gratefulness to God was apparent as we recounted our blessings and struggles on the trip with him to the airport and our drive home.

After arriving home, continued checking his flight status and the departure time kept changing. He called about 7:30 and stated that he was on the plane. He called again about 8:45 and they were still waiting on the tarmac. It seems the auto-pilot is broken and they can't legally fly above 28,000 ft. They are just going to wait out the storm. He's OK with it because it gives him time to complete his last assignment for his college coursework that has to be emailed to the professor by 2p tomorrow. So much has happened so quickly. This last summer session has been a whirlwind of classes, studying and golf practicing. Average workday has been daylight until dark. Finally, at 10:07 the flight departed. We received a call about midnight saying that he arrived safely and was exhausted. These are exciting times!