merry Christmas to me!

remember when i told you my true Christmas wish? well, it came true. thanks to dad. i put him on the spot when i told him he held the key to giving me the only thing i really wanted for Christmas. i've learned that sometimes you have to pressure people into giving you the answers you want to hear. (sorry about that, dad. it had to be done.)

the entire family headed over to the bowling alley to bowl. i was very excited to see my dad in action. he's got great form and even does a little 2-stop hop on one foot as he releases the ball. the scores of the first game were very impressive. dad cranked out a 137 while i came in with a 104. after that i got warmed up; i guess it takes me about a game. but in the 1st frame of the 2nd game i was left with a 6-7-10 split and NAILED it. i don't know how, but i knew it was a big deal when dad said he'd never seen a righty pick up the spare on that particular split. it's in the genes, i guess.

for the record, the 2nd game went uncompleted (we rented the lanes by the hour), but at the time that game ended, i was leading dad 102+(for the strike i ended on) to his 100.

it really was a wonderful present for me and it was even better that the rest of the family who was in town also got to join in on the fun. even mom tossed a few balls down the lane. all in all, i think everyone enjoyed themselves. even though most of us suffered from "bowler's butt" the next day or two. (sore muscles in the gluteous area) some photo links below.

mom: watching the ball down the lane
mom: post-strike reaction
dad: approach
sissy: nice follow-through
mom and wynn: approaching the lane and same height
lauren: gutterball or strike? we may never know
me: a very happy youngest child
the posse: part of the bowling crew