Fishing tournament weekend = lots of girl time!

Yesterday and today were Jay's annual fishing buddy fishing tournament (I'm not allowed to publish where it is!), so we have had lots of quality girl time! Last night, the other Kim Mauck and her daughter Katelyn, who is six months younger than Claire, along with our friend Kara, came over and we ate pizza and caramel corn and watched New Moon. Delicious! Claire and Katelyn pretty much ran around screaming and yanking out Claire's toys and books, so we really couldn't hear a whole lot--good thing the visuals are really about 75% of that movie anyway!!

Today, we spent an entire day at home. We’re trying to rein in spending, so I didn’t want to go do any of that, and Mom and Ty were in OKC all day for a Quiz Bowl championship. So I baked like crazy: biscuits, bread, corn muffins, and double-chocolate cookies. Claire helped with the biscuits only, but she loved that. She has a little rolling pin in her little kitchen, so she went and got that. At first, she was wearing her Easter dress (just trying it on), and so I told her she needed to take that off if she was going to help me bake. She said, “I just be real careful,” so I suggested she wear her apron (I got it for her for Christmas; it has her name on it and “Mom’s little helper”). She willingly took off her dress then--she loves wearing her apron, and forgets it’s on top of her kitchen a lot of the time. I suppose if she wore it everyday, she wouldn’t be so excited about wearing it though! Anyway, she got her rolling pin and apron and helped make the biscuits: she mashed the dry ingredients into the shortening, poured the milk, helped me roll out the dough, and then used the biscuit-cutter to cut the biscuits out. This was all highly gratifying work to her. After we cut out all the biscuits that would fit on the pan, I let her have the remaining lump of dough to keep playing with. Who would have thought a lump of dough could keep her occupied for 30mins? She rolled it out, pressed almonds into it, rolled it some more, decided they were bad nuts and took them out (that’s what she told me), sprinkled flour, sprinkled cinnamon (she was thrilled when I gave her the cinnamon jar and let her have free rein with it), and rolled some more. She said she was making cinnamon pizza. Sounds good to me!

Diane got me a bunch of baking goods for an early b-day present, too, so I was anxious to use them. She gave me her King Arthur Flour catalog, and I picked out a whole bunch of stuff wanted to order. So she did, and then when it came in and I tried to pay her, she said it was a b-day present!! What a great surprise--She's pretty sneaky!!

Late-breaking fishing tournament update: in the eleventh year of the tournament, Jay faced 35 mph winds and had a terrible day, catching only a 21-lb stringer (that's the biggest five fish that he and his partner catch). The winning team, however, caught a 35-POUND STRINGER!! That's an average of SEVEN POUNDS per bass! Those are some BIG bass. Too bad, hubby! He is sporting some very wind-chapped, sun-burnt cheeks tonight, but of course, still has the super-pale eye region. That's his usual fishing tan!

Proud moments for the Mauck family!

We welcomed our hunting hubby/daddy home Friday night from his WEEK-LONG trip to western Kansas. Claire and I spent the week in Coleman at Nana and Grandad's old house/Mom, Grant, and Ty's temporary house while Jay was gone. I really don't mind staying by myself that much, but last week I had a story assignment to travel and write for, and a slew of papers to grade, so I really needed some built-in evening babysitting help. I ended up coming back to Durant everyday to feed our animals and run errands, even when I didn't have to be at school. Claire stayed with Nana and Grandad two mornings while I went to school, and really enjoyed playing with their toys (that trash bucket full of toys has served many grandkids, and now great-grandkids!) and spending time with them, along with Aunt Betty of course. I liked getting to watch Dancing with the Stars and Project Runway with fellow fans who aren't two and a half (Love dancing with Claire, but adult conversation is nice occasionally, too!).

Jay spent the week waking up at the crack of dawn, hunting until lunch, coming back for lunch and a bit of a rest, and then heading back out at 2 or 3 and staying out until dark. NO cell phone signal meant we didn't get to talk for THREE DAYS, probably the longest ever in our relationship. Maybe it was just pregnancy hormones, but I probably could have just sat down and cried a couple times if I had thought too hard about that. Jay did get a Kansas buck, a 200-pounder we will use for meat and mount for our wall. We have a nice upper corner of our cathedral ceiling in the living room where a deer is barely visible unless it is pointed out. I still am not a huge fan of feeling a dead animal's glassy eyes staring down on me.

Saturday morning, Jay got back behind the wheel, this time with his wife and daughter in tow, to head to Edmond for Jay's induction into the Oklahoma Christian Athletic Hall of Fame. Paul, Diane, and Ike Miller, a family friend from our church who has taught Jay to golf, and has watched him play basketball since he was in elementary school, followed fairly close behind us.

I'll just go ahead and brag on my talented hubby for just a minute. During Jay's three years at OC, he broke the career scoring record (even with a knee injury that cut a year out of his career!), and led the OC men's basketball team to one of its best seasons ever. He was NAIA Player of the Year his junior year (again, even after his season-ending injury), and is the OC record-holder for most 3-pointers in a game and season.

Too bad I never got to see any of those things! I was just telling Jay it's ironic that so many people know him because of watching him play basketball, and I am probably the person who knows him better than anyone else, and have never seen him play! I probably saw him play in high school, but I was four years younger, and didn't play close enough attention to really remember.

Anyway, Jay dropped Claire and I off in Norman after we ate lunch with Amanda, so that Claire could get a nap and be rested for our long afternoon and evening. Don't know how much good that did, as this little one was a LIVE WIRE during the basketball games and the banquet. Jay got to watch the women's game, seeing a girl from our church who graduated from Durant High School last year, score 11 points for OC! I wish I could have seen that; hopefully we'll get to watch them again this year. Amanda and I came on a bit later, and slid into our seats just in time to see Jay's slideshow go up on the big screens. Whew!

After the slideshow, with an announcer voice-over that told all about Jay's accomplishments, the OC Athletic Director Curtis Janz went out to center-court with Jay and held up the banner of him that will be hung up in the gym. He got a standing O!

Girl-cousins at the game! It was so hot in there, no matter what skinny old Amanda says.

For the banquet that night, the program was really neat. Also being honored with Jay were Stan and Betty Green, the longtime OC Sports Information Director and his wife, who was a longtime athletic department secretary. After they got up with several pages of notes for their speech, Jay and I exchanged nervous grins--of course, Jay had only written down a few words on his iPhone by way of notes. For Jay's part of the program, they of course read a bunch of his most impressive awards and records, and then showed the slideshow from the basketball game, and some game footage from the OC/OKCU game where Jay turned it around in the last few minutes with some three-pointers.

Then four people got up and gave testmonials of all Jay had done for OC. His freshman-year roommate, Clint Vaughn, who also played baseball at OC, talked about how Jay was not a big man on campus, even though he could have been. He was kind to everyone and humble, despite his ball-hogging on the court--hehee, couldn't resist!

Then the national championship winning OC golf coach, Kelsey Cline, who didn't know Jay personally, but was a fan of his, talked about the fan base Jay and his team built up for the basketball team, and how he still tells people today that Jay is the best college point guard ever. (Lots of tossing around of the word "best" tonight.)

Then Jay's former teammate, Rob Seat, got up to really warm up the crowd. He got them laughing so much that by the time Coach Hayes and Jay got up to give their talks, we already had big smiles on our faces. Since Rob is also 5'8", he cracked a joke about how he and Jay were one of the most intimidating 1-2 combos many players had ever seen. He also made a real crowd-pleasing joke about Coach Janz' hair, which of course, is a favorite subject for any OC basketball fan.

Coach Hayes also talked about Jay, of course, and it almost brought tears to my eyes when he described watching Jay get injured at the OBU game. I can't imagine what a heartbreaker that was for the Maucks, Jay's team, and all the OC fans, when they were so close to conference play in an undefeated season. Many people will make comments about Jay's talents using the phrasing "pound for pound" or "inch for inch," qualifying his abilities by saying that for a player his size, he's the best. But Coach Hayes said there is no pound for pound or inch for inch. He was simply the best point guard and best shooter he's ever seen. *tear*

Then Jay got up to give his talk, which of course, was mostly off the top of his head, but totally heartfelt. He said that OC is a family, and you don't realize what a support system you have until you leave. He also talked about how difficult it was to transition to not being an Eagle anymore, how that at the first Southeastern huddle he was a part of, he actually shouted "Eagles!" at the end when everyone else said "Savages!" He told a couple stories about people not believing that he was a basketball player when he was trying to charge his books to his athletic scholarship in the bookstore (the worker actually called to verify it), or at the pre-game dinner for basketball players.

Here's the Paul Mauck family who was present: oldest brother Brian, his wife Jennifer and their kids Zach and Abby, middle brother Kyle (his wife Audrey was at a church retreat, and his kids Carson and Kerrigan were home with Mimi), and Paul and Diane. Hopefully the OC staff got one of Jay looking at the camera; Amanda, my faithful photographer, was a little rushed. Other Maucks who were present were Jay's cousin Tracy, an OC alum who opens her home up to us every Thanksgiving, and who was in for a reunion of her college track team, and Jay's uncle Don, Paul's brother and another OC alum (most of them are!), who was in for a class reunion.

The proud family!

And one of the sisters! Look closely; there are actually TWO sets of sisters in this one! So exciting! I was glad Amanda got to be here for this, both to share this neat time with her, and so that she could help with Claire, who really needed to do some running around during this two-hour-plus banquet.

Even though I didn't ever get to see Jay in his basketball glory days, I am still so proud of him, not just for his God-given and hard-practiced physical abilities, but for his good heart and friendly smile. Those are what bring so many people to his team, not just for Calera, or OC, or later, for Southeastern, but through all of those experiences where he excelled, the light that Jay projects has always been for Christ.

Five years of marriage today!

Five fun memories from Jay and my marriage (all numbered one b/c Blogger is weird):

1. Playing two-on-two volleyball on our honeymoon with a couple from Coleman, OK. (They had the same wedding day AND the same honeymoon package in Puerta Vallarta!) Jay and I usually make it a point to NOT play on the same team in sports or games, because we have different competitive spirits, shall we say. We're both competitive, but in sports, Jay thinks I'm not trying hard enough when I do badly, and I think the same of him in games. But in the past five years, we've learned to compete together, I think. This year, we actually played a game of Nertz as partners without getting mad and won a series of volleyball matches as a team.
   

1. My first Thanksgiving with the Maucks in Kansas: Jay shot a deer, but was the last one in the deerwoods, and this was at about oh, noon, when we're CARVING THE TURKEY! So his dad, cousin, and uncle wolfed down some food, drove out to meet him, and processed the deer so that Jay got back to his darling wife after I had been hanging with his family--some of whom I was meeting for the first time--for about six hours. We drove home with a deer head and an ice chest full of meat, along with all our Black Friday purchases of couse. Tight squeeze.

1. Jay and I got our first dog, a full-grown stray yellow lab that we named Beau. He was well-trained in fetch, sit, and come, so we wondered at first why he was a stray. Then he jumped our fence, repeatedly, and we figured it out. One neighbor told us he put him in his six-foot fence while he tried to get a hold of us, only for Beau to jump it. Someone else told us they saw him push the fence latch up with his nose. That dog knew come, but he did not know stay. So we gave him to another couple who loved him, but had to keep him in their house to keep him at home.
   

1. Going fishing with Jay the first few times: He comes to the understanding that I will NOT participate in his usual four-hour fishing excursions unless I get a padded seat and a book. To him, if you can't go for at least four hours, it's not worth going. To me, if I have to sit on a metal seat for four hours with no entertainment besides casting and reeling, I'd rather jump in the lake. Jay gives me the "pity reel," when he gets a fish on, doesn't tell me, and then asks me to hold his rod for a second, watching my delight when I realize I caught a fish.
   

1. And of course, the birth of our first child, Claire! That same year, Jay and Preston bought a restaurant and I began my short stint as a high school teacher, so it was so busy! But Claire was the uniting blessing through it all: she never fails to make us laugh and smile and work together.
   

Birthday weekend!

This video is of Claire "poofing" me with her wand, and then putting on her fancy shoes. I just thought it was funny how she was having a hard time balancing and putting them on, but remained determined to get them on.

Of course, I don't have any actual pictures of this weekend, because I'm lame like that. But I figure all you people really want is some quality footage of Claire, no matter when it took place. So, here you are, Claire-hogs. (This is also what Mom, Amanda, Kyle, and Tyler used to call each other when they fought over holding Claire. Those days are long gone.)

Anyway, this past weekend was Jay's big yearly fishing tournament. No, it wasn't Bassmasters or anything--Tyler saw Bassmasters on TV at our house this weekend, and asked, "Is Jay going to be on this?"--but it has been a very big deal in his group of eight friends for the past eight years. This year, the weather was awful--it was in the 60s and 70s all last week until Friday, when BAM, this arctic front came through and those poor guys were layered up in their Gore-Tex and long johns and getting rained on, but they soldiered through as a sacrifice to their love of fishing and competition. Jay came in second this year, alas. He and his partner's top five fish weighed about 26 lbs, and they caught about 20 fish on tournament day, so the fishing wasn't terrible. The man who lives on the lake came in dead last, so that shows you the weather made this a tough gig, with luck having a lot do with it! (Gotta stick up for my hub!)

I had a couple friends and fellow Twihards over Friday night to watch Twilight on DVD for the first time. Fun times! The movie can never be as good as the book; you can hardly compare the two, but it was a decent translation, and it's always fun to watch a film with people who are so familiar with the characters and complete arc of the story.

Saturday, Mom, Tyler, Claire and I went out to eat and shopping for my birthday. We were going to watch Monsters versus Aliens, but it was almost sold out, with the line to get in stretching all across the lobby, so we said forget it. Instead, Ty brought Bolt over to our house that night while Mom and Grant went to his sister's to eat dinner.

And today, we had a lovely birthday lunch at Paul and Diane's. The weather was great today (of course), so Ty and Claire got to do some four-wheeling and Jay and Seth got to hit some golf balls.

Claire's new thing is to pick up a purse or put on some shoes (mine or hers) and say, "Bye-bye, Mama!" And I say, "Where are you going?" And she always either says, "MamawPapaws" (It's all one word) or "Wal-Mart." And then, "Later!"


Here's some pics of Claire playing outside. I just realized that the last pictures I posted of her also included a mud-puddle pic. I guess we usually end up doing this on bright, sunny days, which is the only time my camera works, and is only a few steps away!

Good times with Jay's college buds

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post about our fun weekend in Edmond. This spring marks the ten-year-anniversary of Oklahoma Christian's men's basketball team being ranked Number 1 in the country, which happened to be Jay's junior year. So his coach, Dan Hayes (who's still the coach) organized a reunion for Jay's team, last Saturday. Jay, Claire, and I went up Friday afternoon and ate dinner at Chileno's with Jay's old college buddy and current fishing buddy, Eric and his fam, which includes two adorable boys and another on the way.

We spent the night with another of Jay's old college buddies and current fishing buddy, Nate, along with his wife Ashley and their kids, a two-year-old boy and a baby girl. Fun times playing some golf (card game) and in the morning, seeing Claire play with the kids. She loves babies!

We had been planning on going to the Oklahoma City Zoo on Saturday, but we woke up to temps in the 30s with 20 mph wind! I would have pushed on had it not been for that wind--we'd been telling Claire about it all week, and even checked several zoo picture books out of the library. But alas, the zoo will have to wait. I feel fairly sure it will still be there in a few months when the weather is reliably stifling.

So, guess where we went with Jay's two fishing buddies and their three sons? That's right folks, Bass Pro! At least Claire got to see a tankful of catfish, bass, and alligator gar, and a bunch of stuffed animals, including raccoons, chipmunks, coyote, buffalo, a bear, and of course, a bunch of deer. We had a fun time, anyway! I can't complain either, because after lunch, Jay dropped me off at Gordman's while he, Claire, and the buddies went to yet another sportsman's store! Color me contented though, because shopping solo in a discount store we don't have in Sherman equals bliss! I got some decorative stuff for the top of our new entertainment center and some Easter decor. Then it was back to Nate and Ashley's house for naptime. Before heading over to the Eagles' Nest that evening, we even squeezed in an hour at Super Target!

At the gym, we went up to their little event room, where we found seven of Jay's former teammates and (some of) their families! It was so neat to meet them and to see Jay get to reconnect with them. We all went down to the gym at the end of the girls' game and sat together until right before the boys' game, when Jay and his teammates went down to the OC bench and the announcer announced that tonight was a special night in history and told the whole spiel. Then they killed the lights, played some music, shined a spotlight around, and announced the team individually like they were about to play! They even put their player pic and stats on the big screen! It was kind of silly, but also exciting, because for me, it was a little glimpse of what it would have been like to actually see Jay play. (We met after his playing days were over.) The current students even knew Jay, because when they announced him, the student section let out a big cheer! After that, they played a clip of the last two minutes of the game that made Jay's team Number 1! It was so cool to see Jay playing on a big screen! I kept telling Claire daddy was on TV, but she just kept saying "Daddy," and pointing to him down on the floor.

Then they annouced a big surprise for Jay and I--he's going to be inducted into the OC Athletic Hall of Fame in November! Yay Jay! So we'll be heading back up to the Eagles Nest this fall.

We got back about midnight Saturday night. Then it was church in the morning (barely!) and my cousin James' wedding shower that afternoon in Coleman! Whew! No wonder Claire and I got home and slept until 6 p.m. that night!

Good times!

And Claire rocks her beanie, Brad Pitt style!

Pat-a-Cake

According to Claire's admirers, she is already good at sharing! She's taken to offering us bites of slimy Zwiebacks and sucks of her paci. It's pretty cute. When we accept, she gives her little impish grin.

Today, I was reading her nursery rhymes and when I did "Pat-a-Cake," she started clapping! That must be a Maw-Maw trick, because I hardly ever sing that song. She loves to clap, as you can see in the previous post, but I've mostly just seen her do it when she's happy.

She's now eating baby food about three times a day, albeit tiny portions. She appears to enjoy the first five or six bites, and then she'll take a couple force-fed bites, and then she refuses. Her faves seem to be pears, sweet potatoes, and this baby yogurt with fruit and cereal mixed in. She also loves to feed herself, and has since we first gave puffs to her about a month ago. She eats Zwiebacks, these weird rice rusk things, fruity Cheerios, and Gerber puffs.

Jay returns tonight from yet another trip to explore hunting land in Kansas. Yes, it's true. We have so much money just laying around that we have to invest it in things like recreational land six hours away. Isn't life grand?

School was actually really good today. I had a rousing debate with my seniors on the double standard that men like to apply with their wives: when Macbeth kills Duncan, it's Lady Macbeth's fault, but when he has victory on the battlefield, that's all Macbeth's doing. Gotta love these guys trying to provoke me and the other girls into a hissy fit! Tomorrow, I'm taking the seniors to see Beowulf at our little theater in Caddo. Baby steps for my first field trip!

Happy Birthday to Jay!

Jay turned 30 last Thursday! Wow, we can't believe it. Look at Claire's fake smile in this pic! It looks like she knew she was supposed to make a certain face for the camera, but doesn't quite have it figured out. Since Jay had to work at the restaurant on his birthday and the next night, we ate at Bubba's last night with our families and constant companions, Seth and Kara. Since Claire can't say "Happy Birthday, Dad!" yet, I made her a shirt that said it!

Claire likes to stand at our back door and talk to the dogs.

And here she displays her new skill, clapping! She loves to clap! At both basketball games she's been to, she's clapped happily for the home team!