XXXI: 4th of July Weekend 2006
It's been awhile since we've welcomed a new victim to the group. Did I say victim, I meant unlucky sap who is stuck getting massive, overdramatic emails from a guy who thinks he's 113% funnier than he really is. Wait, not that...I meant, new member! Yes, new member. Everyone say hi to the lovely and talented Cindy Jo Taylor, who was my administrative assistant in Indianapolis. You might say, "I think Cindy Jo has suffered enough." But, she asked for this, so we'll add her. It makes me think about having a big "Watson Update" party where we invite all the readers to a big cookout (side note: in NJ, it's a BBQ, not a cookout - you do get looks). Then my worlds could collide and you could all tell stories about what I loon I am. On second thought.....
We are coming off of a jam-packed holiday weekend and I will try to relay some of the "highlights." On Saturday, we attended Jimmy's first game of the summer "flag rugby" season. He played two games and I must say we are very excited about rugby. In fact, I left the whole experience shocked that rugby isn't huge in the midwest.
The schedule called for his game to be from 9-12. Now, given that the attention span of the Watson male lasts approximately 7.4 seconds, I thought this to be a most daunting proposition. However, what I saw when we got there was unlike any sport. Heading toward the playing field were 8 clubs, bringing their different teams to the fields. Each club (Jimmy is on the Morristown Colonials club) has several teams (Jimmy is a "falcon", which is the 2nd grade team), and the clubs play each other in "sevens" - meaning seven kids to a side. And each club brought tents, and food, and chairs and set up the tents like it was a big festival, all around the playing fields. The teams play 10-minute halves, and then the next game goes on. At which time, the kids who aren't playing hang out in the tent with their teammates and clubmates. It's like a huge party. And the games are, to use a favorite of my son's vernacular, awesome.
Unlike football, every position is eligible to run with the ball, but like football, the object is to run across the goal line without someone tackling you, or in this case grabbing your flag. If you are "tackled," you must pass the ball laterally or behind you to a teammate. If you pass it forward or run out of bounds, it is a turnover. If you drop the ball, it is a live ball, just like a fumble in football. One other important rule: when you get to the goal line, you must set the ball down in the "try zone" (which is like the end zone) to score a "try" (the equivalent of a touchdown). Let me just say, Jimmy took to the sport pretty quickly. He scored 5 "tries," after his first incident where he ran into the try zone and forgot to put the ball down. He is quite the little runner and very fun to watch. I'm psyched for the next game. I'm telling you, this would be big in the Midwest - bigger than soccer. Everyone gets to run with the ball, and it is more natural to be running with a ball in your hands than kicking the stupid thing around. Mr. Harper, get it started. I bet Andrew would be a natural. Personally, I can't wait for Annie to start playing (though she may eschew the non-tackling phase).
After rugby, we headed to our town pool (although Maggie and Annie would want me to point out that we went to Applebee's in between). We spent a few hours there, which, while relaxing for the kids, was not for me because of Annie lacking the "fear" gene. I fully expect her to spend future spring breaks swimming on the back of a giant manta ray in the Carribean. By the time we returned home at 4:00, I was ready to sleep until Tuesday. I'm not quite sure how Mrs. Watson does this everyday. We woke up from our naps in time to catch fireworks (which we could see off our deck, thankfully - you may want to refer to Update Vol. X to see how that went last year).
On the 4th, we set out on a little extended family adventure, this time to Central Park to meet the Banichs (Joe, Jeannie, my mom's sister, and their sons Nick, 19, and Kevin, who turned 16 on the 4th). The Banichs were in town to see the sites and we took advantage of their visit to Central Park Tuesday for a rendezvous. I highly encourage one of them to chronicle their trip out here, because it would be entertaining to say the least. We had a wonderful visit with them, mostly spent relaxing in the Park. And it was great to do so with my uncle Joe, who has a personality such that he could convince you that organizing a sock drawer could be exciting ("This is great!! Look at these socks! They are matching!!!! Give me five!!!); it was a thrill to hear and watch him describe New York. "We're in Central Park, on the Fourth of July!" was uttered about ten times, each time sounding more and more exciting. I felt like a kid again; it was, as Jimmy would say, awesome. I especially enjoyed Joe asking Maggie what her favorite sport was, and her responding, "ballet."
There was one noteworthy event that may become legendary in a brief matter of time. Shortly after we ate lunch in the park, Regis informed me (by yelling) that "we have a serious problem." I looked up to see her running toward me, holding Annie by the arms. Yes, it appeared (obvious to anyone within 100 yards) there was a security breach in Ann's disposable undergarment, and we now had a Defcon 1 Hazmat situation. After a brief scrub down in the park with disposable wipes, Regis gave Ann an impromptu shower in the restroom facility, which was thankfully nearby. And to the chagrin of the several thousand patrons of that area of that park, that facility was subsequently shut down as a result. A few comments on the event:
1) The twenty minutes spent dealing with the crisis prompted my uncle Joe to express that he was exhausted after watching us.
2) This was one year to the day that Annie's diaper went AWOL at the Crayola factory.
3) Thirty seconds after the crisis was averted, Annie sat down in her new clothes and consumed an entire bag of chips.
Hope all is well.
We are coming off of a jam-packed holiday weekend and I will try to relay some of the "highlights." On Saturday, we attended Jimmy's first game of the summer "flag rugby" season. He played two games and I must say we are very excited about rugby. In fact, I left the whole experience shocked that rugby isn't huge in the midwest.
The schedule called for his game to be from 9-12. Now, given that the attention span of the Watson male lasts approximately 7.4 seconds, I thought this to be a most daunting proposition. However, what I saw when we got there was unlike any sport. Heading toward the playing field were 8 clubs, bringing their different teams to the fields. Each club (Jimmy is on the Morristown Colonials club) has several teams (Jimmy is a "falcon", which is the 2nd grade team), and the clubs play each other in "sevens" - meaning seven kids to a side. And each club brought tents, and food, and chairs and set up the tents like it was a big festival, all around the playing fields. The teams play 10-minute halves, and then the next game goes on. At which time, the kids who aren't playing hang out in the tent with their teammates and clubmates. It's like a huge party. And the games are, to use a favorite of my son's vernacular, awesome.
Unlike football, every position is eligible to run with the ball, but like football, the object is to run across the goal line without someone tackling you, or in this case grabbing your flag. If you are "tackled," you must pass the ball laterally or behind you to a teammate. If you pass it forward or run out of bounds, it is a turnover. If you drop the ball, it is a live ball, just like a fumble in football. One other important rule: when you get to the goal line, you must set the ball down in the "try zone" (which is like the end zone) to score a "try" (the equivalent of a touchdown). Let me just say, Jimmy took to the sport pretty quickly. He scored 5 "tries," after his first incident where he ran into the try zone and forgot to put the ball down. He is quite the little runner and very fun to watch. I'm psyched for the next game. I'm telling you, this would be big in the Midwest - bigger than soccer. Everyone gets to run with the ball, and it is more natural to be running with a ball in your hands than kicking the stupid thing around. Mr. Harper, get it started. I bet Andrew would be a natural. Personally, I can't wait for Annie to start playing (though she may eschew the non-tackling phase).
After rugby, we headed to our town pool (although Maggie and Annie would want me to point out that we went to Applebee's in between). We spent a few hours there, which, while relaxing for the kids, was not for me because of Annie lacking the "fear" gene. I fully expect her to spend future spring breaks swimming on the back of a giant manta ray in the Carribean. By the time we returned home at 4:00, I was ready to sleep until Tuesday. I'm not quite sure how Mrs. Watson does this everyday. We woke up from our naps in time to catch fireworks (which we could see off our deck, thankfully - you may want to refer to Update Vol. X to see how that went last year).
On the 4th, we set out on a little extended family adventure, this time to Central Park to meet the Banichs (Joe, Jeannie, my mom's sister, and their sons Nick, 19, and Kevin, who turned 16 on the 4th). The Banichs were in town to see the sites and we took advantage of their visit to Central Park Tuesday for a rendezvous. I highly encourage one of them to chronicle their trip out here, because it would be entertaining to say the least. We had a wonderful visit with them, mostly spent relaxing in the Park. And it was great to do so with my uncle Joe, who has a personality such that he could convince you that organizing a sock drawer could be exciting ("This is great!! Look at these socks! They are matching!!!! Give me five!!!); it was a thrill to hear and watch him describe New York. "We're in Central Park, on the Fourth of July!" was uttered about ten times, each time sounding more and more exciting. I felt like a kid again; it was, as Jimmy would say, awesome. I especially enjoyed Joe asking Maggie what her favorite sport was, and her responding, "ballet."
There was one noteworthy event that may become legendary in a brief matter of time. Shortly after we ate lunch in the park, Regis informed me (by yelling) that "we have a serious problem." I looked up to see her running toward me, holding Annie by the arms. Yes, it appeared (obvious to anyone within 100 yards) there was a security breach in Ann's disposable undergarment, and we now had a Defcon 1 Hazmat situation. After a brief scrub down in the park with disposable wipes, Regis gave Ann an impromptu shower in the restroom facility, which was thankfully nearby. And to the chagrin of the several thousand patrons of that area of that park, that facility was subsequently shut down as a result. A few comments on the event:
1) The twenty minutes spent dealing with the crisis prompted my uncle Joe to express that he was exhausted after watching us.
2) This was one year to the day that Annie's diaper went AWOL at the Crayola factory.
3) Thirty seconds after the crisis was averted, Annie sat down in her new clothes and consumed an entire bag of chips.
Hope all is well.
posted by Watts at 8:21 AM
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