O Christmas Tree!

Seems we are running out of time to visit the tree farm in Milton this year. With Christmas two weeks ago, and the kids asking when we were going to get a Christmas tree, we jumped in the Yukon and headed down Lakeshore to Port Credit where we purchased this years Christmas Tree, a 7ft Fraser Fur for the bargain price of $50, from a short little Italian man who move to Canada 52 years ago. He came to Canada from Italy and opened a butcher shop in Little Italy in downtown Toronto. He retired many years ago, and sells Christmas trees around the holiday and flowers in the Spring. Sweet old man who enjoyed MacDaddy and Lil' Lefty's song and dance with Christmas tree branches.

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

Much pleasure thou can'st give me;

How often has the Christmas tree

Afforded me the greatest glee!

Reason to be Callus

A few weeks back I noticed that I had a callus (or dry skin) on the outside of my pinkie finger. The odd thing was that I had the same thing on both pinkie fingers. I assumed that with old age came a few spots and some changes in my sweet, subtle skin. Just getting old. It was weird that they were the same spot on each finger.

This morning as I was lacing my son's skates for his recurring Saturday AM hockey practice I noticed that when I am tightening skates the laces rub against these parts of my fingers. I guess that explains why MacMom has the same rough spots. And I thought we were just bonding in our old age.

Happy 11th Birthday Lil' Lefty

We are so proud and grateful of the girl you have grown up so fast to become. We celebrate the way you put your heart, determination and strive for perfection in all you do. Thank you for the wonderful memories and smiles you bring to our family. We are so thankful that our lives were blessed by a terrific daughter like you! Happy 11th Birthday Lil' Lefty!!

MacDaddy's Good Deed for the Day

MacDaddy came home for lunch today. After eating his chesse quesadilla, he said he was going outside. Five minutes later, I went to the front window to check on him...couldn't find him. I grab my coat, throw on my boots and head outside in search of MacDaddy. He is down the street shoveling the driveway of an elderly man who lives alone and then proceeds to shovel the driveway of our neighbor R across the street. He didn't ask them, didn't tell them...just did it! What a selfless act of doing something good for another with no recognition... not calling attention to the himself for doing it and not being done in return for a favor. He really is nice, kind and caring 9 year old boy!

First Snowflakes

Mac Mom says, "Who ordered up this white crap falling from the sky?"

MacDaddy & Lil' Lefty, on the other hand, are sooooo excited that it is snowing.

It brought huge smiles to both their faces.

Lil' Lefty enjoyed some snowflakes on her nose, tongue and eyelashes.

Spitfires Christmas Party

MacDaddy and his team celebrated Christmas with a Pizza Party after Power Skating

practice Friday night. All the boys received Spitfire logo long sleeve t-shirts

from Coach R and Coach J above. A.C.'s mom made # hockey jersey sugar cookies.

Greetings for a Merry Christmas!

2009
MacGrandle
Highlights Tree…
cruise, Alligator
Alley ,MacGrandle
Pond, A-mac basketball,
MacDaddy hockey, Lil' Lefty

free throw contest,

fundraising for baseball and

softball, softball practices for A-Mac

and Lil' Lefty, MacDaddy indoor

baseball training, Lil' Leftypitching,

March Break Ft.Lauderdale,

MLB Spring Training, Buffalo Bison Game,

A-mac 7th grade camp trip, A-mac softball
tournament in Ohio, Play Ball!, Lil' Lefty homerun over
the fence, rain, A-macTexas A&M softball camp, more rain,
Cooperstown, Montreal, Boston, Fenway Park, move to a
new house -still in Canada, pool, Papa visits, A-mac’s

13th Birthday, MacDaddy provincials-A’s earn silver,
new school, MacDaddy’s 9th Birthday, Hockey, new glasses for A-mac,
Halloween, Minga visits, Fall apple picking, A-mac confirmation prep,
MacDaddy “A” Spitfire rep hockey, hockey practices, hockey games,
hockey tournaments, Softball indoor training for both girls, more hockey,
more softball, softball fundraising for 2010 season, around the lake and over the
US border to Nana’s house we go for Thanksgiving, Black Friday here we come,
Coming Soon… kids ringing the Salvation Army bell at the mall,

Happy 11th Birthday Lil' Lefty!, Christmas parties, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2010!
www.macgrandle.com
david@macgrandle.com

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

May Joy, Love & Laughter fill your heart and home always.

The MacGrandle Family

Thanksgiving

Around the lake and over the border to Nana & Papa's house we went to celebrate Thanksgiving. We enjoyed yummy turkey with all the fixings. Black Friday was actually a White Friday! Frist Snow! We woke up to a scene Irving Berlin must of been thinking of when he wrote White Christmas.

A-Mac on the Ice

We took a break yesterday with only A-Mac having a hockey game. Both she, and her team, played well ending in a 1-1 tie. A-Mac had the most shots on goal and has really learned where to go. It reminds me of when I used to "snow bird" playing basketball. (Just kidding) It was a fun game to watch.

Excerpts from MacDaddy's Unique Me Book

You Made me Love You
"The most important person in my family is my mom and dad because they feed me and take me to my hockey games. They also buy me lots of things like video games, hockey sticks, baseball gloves, balls and bats."

Need Somebody? Yes I DO
"Someone I look up to is my mom and dad because if I need help with my school work I can ask my mom because she was a teacher when she was younger. If she doesn't know how to explain it to me, we wait for my dad to get home because when he was younger, he loved math."

Feelings, Nothing More than Feelings
"Happiness is my family.
Love is mom and dad.
Fear is sharks.
Lonliness is when I have no one to play with.
Embarassment is when my parents talk about me.
Envy is my dad's hair. (No kidding, he really wrote that! LOL)
Hurt is mean words.
Joy is Christmas."

I am the Envy of Every Canadian Dad

I spent 5+ hours building the frame for Mac Pond.

Very sore.

Let the cold weather come!

A Busy 24

We had a busy twenty four hours. Friday nigh MacDaddy had hockey practice at 7pm. We also attended Lil Lefty's Texas Hold'Em fundraiser from 6pm-1am. I finished third out of 100 poker players. The team raised over $6,000. Saturday morning I was up at 6:30am to get MacDaddy to his power skating. He is in green below skating backwards.





Lil Lefty had a hockey game at 1:45 and A-Mac had softball at 1pm. MacDaddy pitched to me while I caught him and then I pitched him a bucket of balls. We got home and I took A-Mac to a movie with her friends. I then to A-Mac to her 8pm hockey game where she scored the only goal in a 1-0 win. Lil Lefty then had practice (A-Mac stayed and skated) at 9pm on the same rink. I came home and went o bed.

Lil Lefty Winter Pitching Practice

Lil Lefty (and I) had pitching-catching practice last night. I put together the first 8 week practice plan and run the practices with the objective to become better pitchers (not just throwers). We are working on communication between the pitchers and catchers, framing, pitcher's counts and signals. I have enjoyed being a part of the process and think they will have learned something by the end.

In past winter gym sessions I had noticed that the girls pitched from a flat floor. I put together these mats (one for each girls) that have a wooden pitching rubber attached with shoes laces. The girls are able to "push off" and use their proper footwork as if pitching in a game. I saw something similar on EBAY for $299.

MacDaddy - Orillia, Ontario Tournament Saturday

MacDaddy and I finished our Saturday in Orillia, Ontario. I have no pictures of the game at Brian Orser Arena. MacDaddy and I got there over an hour before his game. He put on his equipment and went to warm-up. When he returned he said "Dad where is my sweater?". I proceeded with saying a four letter word, let's call it "c - r - a - p", you get the point. I set the land speed record driving back to the hotel to get his sweater which was packed in his garment back and on the bed in the room. I am happy to report that the quick thinking of one of the coaches allowed MacDaddy not to miss a shift. He borrowed an old sweater for one shift, I returned with his and we were good to go. I felt bad. The camera was locked in the locker room so I couldn't take any pictures.

Our next game was at the Orillia Community Centre. The pictures above show what we believed was interior reinforcement in this barn-like structure. The locker rooms were bigger but still no doors on the toilet.

The team picked up a medal but didn't qualify for the elimination round. They were 0-3. The picture in the dark parking lot was the last game on Saturday. Some of the hosts said there was snow on the ground the time last year.

MacDaddy and I left our Days Inn at 10:00am Sunday morning and picked up Chilis for the family on the way home.

MacDaddy - Friday Night Coldwater Arena (Orillia Tournament)

MacDaddy and I left Friday mid-morning to drive 2 hours to Coldwater, Ontario. The one pad, old arena in 12,000 person Coldwater was all wood on the inside.

The arena was very crowded and I could see the H1N1 germs crawling on the walls of the four dressing rooms. Just kidding, but it was close quarters. The team warmed-up outside. MacDaddy is the last Spitfire in the line, farthest from the camera. I took a couple pictures in the arena that disappeared from the memory card. Do I have to turn the camera on to take pictures? Oh well.

The Spitfires lost to North York 2-1. We should have won. Just couldn't get the puck in the net.

Pitchng-Cathcing Practice Lil Lefty

Last night was pitching-catching practice for Lil Lefty's Mississauga Tigers. I put together an eight week program for the pitchers and catchers to work on communication, signs, set-up and a host of others small but important parts of the game. I have a detailed MS Excel file with every 5 minutes mapped out and specific objectives. Last night, along with throwing, we worked on "high" pitches.

After the practice I snapped a couple videos of Lil Lefty. Great form. Need to work on the "flip" as it will improve her accuracy and consistency. She was throwing hard last night.

Second Goal - MacDaddy

OK, so it has been a while. The Erindale Spitfires are not busting the back of the net with goals. MacDaddy scored his second goal of the season last night in a 2-1 victory. They haven't been putting up any points either.

Of course, I was attending a 3 hour class from Hockey Canada called "Speak Out" so I can be an assistant hockey coach. I open and close the doors. The class was well taught and interesting but I would have preferred to see MacDaddy score and the Spitfires win.

COLORING

All three of my kids mastered the skill of coloring within the lines by 1st grade. They are now in grades 4, 6 and 8 and I am amazed that all three of my kids continue to come home with homework that requires more time coloring than doing the actual pencil and paper task. Ridiculous! Lil' Lefty spent 10 minutes on a french writing assignment and over and hour drawing and coloring the 5 illustrations for the assignment. Is drawing and coloring really going to help her ace french as a second language?

Christmas Card Pictures - UNCUT

The cost to mail a Christmas Card to the US from Canada has continued to increase. We started a tradition three years ago to mail Christmas Cards from Cleveland while visiting for Thanksgiving. This means we have to have the pictures taken, cards made and envelopes addressed before we get to Cleveland so we can buy stamps at the US Post Office and mail them. Our tradition had been that our kids, our "presents", are our Christmas Card.

I heard MacMom say it takes 200 pictures to get one good picture. The weather was nice today so we went to the Credit River to take some pictures. I captured all the excitement of a professional photo shoot with by candid, behind-the-scenes, unauthorized pictures... you get the idea.

A Favorite Movie - Field of Dreams

AMC played Field of Dreams last weekend. I can remember back in 1989 going to see Field of Dreams with my Dad the day after he had gone to see the movie. Little did I know then, that when I grew up I would enjoy seeing the same good movies over-and-over-and-over again. Ask MacMom. I am pretty sure Field of Dreams didn't have an immediate impact on me, and wish I could pin point the exact instance when it made sense to me. Not recognizing important events in your life when you are doing them is a theme in the movie.

I have read the book "Shoeless Joe" and seen several specials on the making of the movie. I watched an anniversary special where Kevin Costner discusses the movie with Johnny Bench, George Brett and Bret Saberhagen.

It is funny, to me, that we lived a 100 miles from the location in Iowa, and I never made time to go see the Field of Dreams. Maybe the importance of the movie, and the lessons have grown on me as I have gotten older.





These are Top Things I enjoy about the movie.

1. I like the idea that there is Magic in the world
2. I like the idea that there is a God and a Heaven (baseball players play baseball in Heaven... what else would they do?)
3. Sometimes you believe you are doing something for one reason, and it turns out you are really doing it for something completely different ("Build it and HE will come")
4. The game of baseball is a great backdrop for stories because little has changed and a lot has been recorded of the last 100+ years
5. Sometimes you do very important things, and don't realize you are doing them
6. Sometimes you have to support someone without questioning why
7. It is nice to "have a catch" with your Dad
8. Only those who believe actually see the ghost players
9. Baseball is important, not necessarily the teams or the players... it's all about having a catch with a friend
10. Great music enhances the movie
11. Kevin Costner is the king of baseball movies