Luke’s Notebook

I’m real tired, but I thought I should give a quick update.

We lost on Thursday night to the Killer Beez by a score of 8-3. It was a really tough loss to swallow, but hopefully we’ll do better on Monday. We just didn’t hit the ball all that well and made a couple of big errors in the field that led to some extra runs for the Beez. They played a solid game, though, so it’s not a surprise that they won.

The Classic is one week away. That’s amazing! If you’re reading this, please take a moment to stop and pray that God will provide us with a beautiful day weather-wise and that He’ll just be watching over the entire event on the evening of August 7th. Thanks!

Time for me to get some sleep!

This evening, my brother James and I built a 10-foot ramp/walkway that will attach to the dock. There aren’t currently any photos, so let me describe it to you. It’s made out of the same type of lumber as the dock (Wolmanized two-by-sixes), but it’s only 40 inches wide. There are six four-by-four cedar posts, and we’ll eventually attach some sort of handrail onto those. All in all, though, the ramp looks nice. We also put one of those large plastic barrels under it, so the end that attaches to the dock will float in the pond, and the other end will be secured on the land. It’s neat! I’ll have to get pictures soon.

Off to bed for me. So long!

This morning I had a 10:00 appointment with an orthodontist in Fairview Heights. The purpose? To remove my braces! I first started wearing them on January 3rd, 2003, so that puts me at a little bit under 19 months. It definitely wasn’t fun to have those, but they certainly served their purpose, and it’s such a relief to have them off now! Plus, there are the benefits, such as purdy teeth.

By the way, we had a 7:30 game tonight, which we won… by a score of 5-4! That’s very low scoring for slow-pitch softball. We actually didn’t play that well at all, but we managed to squeeze out five runs, and our defense was solid, holding them to just four runs in seven innings. I batted 0-2 with a walk, so that was a little disappointing. Thankfully, we played well enough as a team to increase our winning streak to 11 straight games. I played first base today as well, so that makes it three straight games I’ve played the infield. It’s fun. On Thursday, we play the Killer Beez, which is a team consisting of a few of my cousins and their dad, our Uncle Tom. We’re a half-game ahead of them in the standings, so it’s a really important game!

Well, that’s about it for now. Thanks for stopping by to read! I need to get off and get some more sleep.

We managed to win tonight’s 6:30 softball game by a score of 21-6. Because we had a 15-run lead, the game was called after four innings. I played second base, and I really had fun. I normally play the outfield, and on the rare occasion that I do play infield, it’s usually first base. Since I’m a lefty, I don’t typically play the other infield positions. This game, though, I got the start because my brother John was unable to make it in time. So I essentially took his place. I had lots of fun, and I managed to make a few nice plays, too. Good times! It’s amazing that we won again, and now we’ve won 10 straight as a team.

After the 6:30 game, one of our teammates, Kelly, asked if I would sub for his 7:30 game. I happily agreed, and Paul and I went to the upper diamond, where we both played for the Killer Beez and contributed to their 15-10 victory. I played first base for that game. So all in all, it was a lot of fun to play the infield again. I still enjoy the outfield, but it was a nice change of scenery to get to play on the dirt.

Well, tomorrow is a very, very exciting day for me! I’ve been looking forward to it for quite some time!

Here’s a collection of a dozen photos from the trip I took with my three older brothers to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. We had a great time.

The EntranceThe view right as you walk in the park. There’s a two-level carousel across the the water. It’s a pretty entrance!

Vertical VelocityA roller coaster called Vertical Velocity. I believe you end up going 70 MPH at one point!

VV AgainAnother view of Vertical Velocity. You go straight up on one end, and then straight up and through a corkscrew on the other. It’s good!

Log FlumeA log flume type ride that we went on. There’s a 60-foot drop at one point, and you get quite a splash!

Raging BullA twisting roller coaster that has a huge drop and tops out at 70 MPH, this is a photo of the Raging Bull.

ViperA photo of the Viper, a fast and very “tightly-fitted” wooden coaster. Lots of fun!

Raging Bull Part TwoAnother photo of the Raging Bull.

Giant DropGiant Drop brings you up slowly and then you experience a 200-foot free fall.

And the fall…What a rush!!!Paul and I on VVPaul and I as we board Vertical Velocity. We sure didn’t know what to expect!

What a blur!Vertical Velocity goes fast.

The end of a fun dayMark, me, John and Paul soaked after a fun day at Six Flags Great America. Good times!

Well, I hope you enjoyed those photos. We certainly had a blast at the park.

I figured I’d post a picture of the helicopter that came and flew over our land last week for the Fox 2 News feature.

Photo of SkyfoxHere’s a photo of Skyfox as it flies over our land.

Enjoy!

Here’s a collection of five photos of the dock-building process.

Photo 1The framework and joists of the dock. The eight rectangles are where the plastic barrels would fit in.

Photo 2James and me after screwing down the planks on the floor.

Photo 3Me screwing in one of the cedar two-by-fours that’s part of the handrail.

Photo 4The van as it launched the dock into the pond for the first time.

Photo 5It worked! The dock floating on its own.

That’s it. I hope you enjoyed!

Yesterday’s 6:30 softball game was rained out, stormed out, lightninged out, hailed out, thundered out, washed out — it was cancelled. The game began on a hot summer day. During the second or third inning, a storm started rolling in, with thunder and lightning in the vicinity. There was a five-or-so-minute storm delay, and when the rain lightened up we resumed play. By the middle of the fifth inning, the storm rolled in to stay. There was so much lightning and thunder in the vicinity, and then the clouds broke open. Once it started pouring and the infield became soupy, the umpires finally called the game. We were winning 6-3 in the bottom of the fifth, but I don’t know if we’ll just continue the game or if we’ll have to start over against Hammertime. We shall see.

Also, yesterday we launched a floating dock that James and I put together with Grandpa’s help. It’s a very ingenious design that Grandpa came up with. We have 10 plastic barrels that are underneath this 10-by-10-foot dock. The barrels do a good job of keeping it afloat, and we may eventually anchor the dock somewhere to stabilize it. I have yet to go on it, but I plan to do so pretty soon. It only took a little over one day to assemble. On Wednesday, James and I put in some of the four-by-four cedar posts that the handrail connects to. Yesterday morning, we put in the rest, using half-inch, galvanized leg bolts and washers. In the afternoon, Grandpa came over and James and I screwed down the floor planks. After that, we attached two-by-fours horizontally across the posts on all four sides to make a fence/handrail.

When all four sides were complete, Paul drove the van out to the shore of the pond, and with it he pushed the dock into the pond for the official launching. It looks really neat, and I think we’re going to add additional components such as a ladder and possibly a walkway or a ramp.

I took many, many pictures of the assembly process, so I’ll try to post some up here soon. Stay tuned!

Back to scoping for me. I’m working on a 160-page job. It’s a longer one, but thankfully it’s pretty simple. It’s a deposition that’s all about payment plans on furniture so far. Not too difficult, thankfully.

Well, last night the four of us returned from our five-day trip to the Chicago area. We actually stayed at a Drury Inn in Schaumburg, Illinois, and we made day trips to Chicago, Six Flags, etc. We had a great trip! It was really a surprise trip, as I didn’t even know that I was going until Wednesday evening (sounds kind of like the South Carolina trip, doesn’t it?)

Tonight, we had a 6:30 softball game against the Sweet Swingers. We won by a score of 8-2, thanks in part to solid defense and Paul’s two inside-the-park home runs. I batted one for three with a triple. The two outs weren’t exceptionally pretty, but what are ya gonna do? At least I was able to contribute with the triple — and the best part is we ended up winning! That makes nine straight victories for us, and we’re 16 out of our last 17. That’s pretty amazing, considering how we had a really slow start to the softball season. I guess we’re all just jelling as a team, with playing solid defense and just getting timely hits. I know this streak can’t last forever, but it’s really fun to be able to string together a bunch of wins.

Here are our records on the three nights:

Monday: 10-3

Tuesday: 6-8

Thursday: 9-4

Off to bed for me. So long!

I know I’m kind of behind here, but let me hurry give a rundown of things that have happened recently.

On Friday night, the four of us went to a Loews movie theater that’s across the street, and we saw Spider-Man 2. I really liked it. It was well-made, had great special effects, and it was clean. See, Hollywood? It’s possible to make good flicks without throwing in a lot of junk!

On Saturday, we drove to downtown Chicago and stopped at an ESPN Zone restaurant. They have TVs everywhere basically, and we ate lunch as we watched the Brewers versus Cubs on a big screen. After leaving the restaurant, we drove around the Windy City, and we saw sites such as Navy Pier, Lake Michigan, Sears Tower, Soldier Field and Wrigley Field. It was a lot of fun getting to see all of those places, and we managed to snap quite a few pictures.

Sunday, we drove to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. The drive was a little bit under an hour from Schaumburg. We had a flat-out blast! It had been several years since any of the four of us had been on roller coasters, but our love for them certainly remains. We rode coasters such as Superman, the Viper, Vertical Velocity, Iron Wolf, Raging Bull, American Eagle and more. We had a fun time there. We spent nearly eight hours at the park. The weather was pretty nice, too. It could have been a little hotter, but it was definitely sufficient for everything but the water rides. After getting soaked, it made you wish that the sun was beating down on you just a little bit harder. But it was still fun, nonetheless.

That brings me to now, and I’m afraid I must get going. I’m really tired, and tomorrow is when we leave to drive five hours back home. It’s been a very fun trip! We thank God that He’s kept us safe through every single part of it, and we trust that He’ll continue to do so.

Good night!