From 28th July

Friday Our Friday turned out to be just another day. Nothing much happened. Just the usual, went off to school, work etc. The boys are enjoying the new school year. Their teachers seem to be good so that is a big relief. Bruce went off to work, they are getting really busy, filling orders & expanding to lines to Elementary Schools for uniforms (spirit gear). Nothing much to tell about the evening, did the pool thing, dinner thing, the boys stayed up a little later 'cause it's Friday. Nothing special just another day. Saturday We woke up in the morning & pottered around, games didn't start until 1.30 (Jamieson) then Conner 3.30 (his 1st game). We had an early lunch & headed off to basketball. Jamieson played well, got a couple of goals. They had a really good time. John & Jamieson played really well, Dylan sat on the bench with the boys & loved every minute of it. They won, this time they knew that they did. I got some nice pic's too. John did the coolest spin move. I didn't have the video on so 'not happy jan'. It made everyone laugh, the big boys especially. It was a pricless moment, one we will never forget. Conner played & they got their butt's kicked by 10. If they had just made their layup's they would have won easily. They took the loss well, it was a good lesson for them all. We went home & chilled out for a little while, then after a lot of debate, we decided to go out for dinner, not sure where, we just got in the car & off we went. We ended up at Denny's. We had some dinner & made our way home. We got home & pretty much went off to bed. It had been a long day, exciting, but long. Sunday We woke up, expecting yet another warm day. We pottered around the house for the morning. Around lunchtime we called the Charle's to see what they were doing & organised to go over there after lunch for the afternoon. I made the boys BRUNCH (bacon & eggs without the eggs) & then I whipped up a batch of choc chips biscuits to take with us. We packed our bags with bathers & snacks and off we went. We arrived around 2.00 & the boys went out to the backyard to play baseball. Alfie had marked out the diamond with his chalker thingy. They had the bases out the whole thing, we sat and watched for a while then the big kids got involved & had some fun. I jumped in for a while to have a pitch. There were some great hits & lots of running & tagging. Lots of fun. Everyone was sweating so they changed & all went into the pool for a cool off. Kristin, Cooper & I sat under the umbrella out of the heat. We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool the kids stayed in the pool until about 4.00. Then we went inside, & sat around chatting, the usual stuff. we ended up staying for dinner (pizza, what else) but hey, I didn't have to cook so, who cares. We got home around 7.30 & put the kids to bed. It was not long before we were off to bed either. A quiet morning turned into a busy afternoon. Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday The start of the week was pretty much a blur. I've been working everyday with Paula to get her office done. Starting after the kids go to school, & have been lucky as Bruce has been either at home working or back from the office so he has been able to get the kids for me. So I've been working until usually around 5.00. Also Tuesday night we went out to Ikea to look at some stuff & bought some stuff too. So that was fun, she's really cool & we are getting along really well. It looks like we will be working together in the future. Not sure how it's going to work with the hours that I can work. (School hours & holidays off etc) Anyway, I'm tired, but it's been a lot of fun. The boys have their basketball practises & they went really well. Poor Conner, has so many books this year. The weight of his bag is too heavy for me let alone 10 year olds. I thought kids having rolly bags was weird, but now I realise they are necessary. So the days this week have been hectic but not bad. The weather is still on the hot side, but we are getting used to it. I just have to get a little more organised with the being out all day then fitting cleaning, workouts & dinner in. It'll happen, I just have to make to time to figure it out. Bruce is getting busier which is great for him. He's made some progress with the Elementary School system for penetrating that market. Thursday We woke up to another warm day, got ready & waiting for Paula to pick me up. Haven't worked out for a couple of days, although I have been doing alot of heavy lifting, I need to go for a run, (never thought I'd be saying that in my life time. It must be the fact that I think I'm not an asthmatic at the moment, when Winter comes who knows. But for now, YEAY!!!) Off to the office I went, I concentrated on the meeting room today, also spent a little time on Paula's office, but mostly the meeting room. It's really coming together, I will take some pics when it's done (for now, we are doing things bit by bit- she has a budget) but what we have achieved so far I think she is really happy with. I had to be home to pick the kids up from school so I just did 8.30 - 2.00 today. A short day, Udith (Assistant) gave me alift home, thank goodness, HOT!!!! Got home, had a quick snack, changed my stinky clothes & went to get the kids from school. We were going to go down to the pool, but decided to stay in & started on dinner. Aunty Tracey's Noodle Casserole!!! Jamieson had a smile from ear to ear..... & would not stop talking about it until the damn thing was ready. It was very yummy, (thank you Trace for sending over the noodles) After dinner, I got online, the boys left to go fishing. I had some time so I made brownies & choc chip cookies. That relieved some of the guilt of not being home a couple of afternoons this week. Go figure, Bruce Laughed!! Just how I am, don't feel right if I'm not there for the boys after school. Anyway, it turned into a late night for the boys, by the time they got home etc they went off to bed after 9.30, very late for them on a school night. Bruce went off to bed when they did. He's had some early morning's and late nights, filling orders & doing other stuff at night. Friday We woke up & all got ready for the day. Bruce had to leave earlier than usual as they had more orders to get out. He left at 5.30 to get to work by 6.00. It was going to be a long day for him. We all got ready for a busy day. We sent Conner off to school today with one of Bruce's rolly bags & get this, his lunchbox & binder (no books) just fit. The boys & I walked to school, I then went off to the gym. Not fun, I had lead legs from lugging all the boxes etc upstairs to the office all week. So that nearly killed me, I came home did the usual tidy & washing (quickly) as Millie asked me to go with her and Lexie to the Dr's. Millie let her license expire, so she has a permit but needs a licensed driver with her. I went to look around to another supermarket called Albertsons, like Safeway. I was cooking dinner for Bruce & Scott (a contact from Phoenix, who is doing some work re Billy Bounce) So I decided to make it a bit Australian, Apricot Chicken & scolloped potatoes. Thinking about trying to make a Pav, we'll see. Not sure if I'll have time. Anyway, while there I found a backpack rolley bag on SALE, so no brainer, bought it for Conner for school. It should fit everything in it, I hope. We made our way home, Bruce was back to shower & change from the order packing & having some lunch before Jeff picked him up to head south to a place called Stockton. That left me with the car so I could go to the office & be able to get back to pick the boys up. I got to the office & was organising the reception area when the Fed Ex man came in and asked if there were any guys there to help him. I said not at the moment or any time really. He was a bit freaked, so I had to do the girly thing and ask some guys in the building next door. Paula's desk alone was 150 pounds. There were 3 packages. The guys did a really good job, Paula bought them some beer but when we took it over the bosses wife wouldn't let us leave it cause her husband doesn't drink. (it wasn't for him anyway, it was for the others guys who helped) Thought that counts. We started putting the everything together when we had to go so we've arranged to get it done tomorrow. Then the girls can start fresh on Monday morning, no more sitting on floor or at the board roomtable. Picked the kids up from school, did some more washing stated prep for dinner & Jamieson & I went down to the pool around 3.30. We stayed for an hour & organised dinner. I rushed but we were out the door to a local outdoor concert. Dinner was done & off we went. We got there around 5.30 & put down our blanket then waited for the fun to begin. We had food & drinks, then the music started. The boys went off with the other kids & Paula & I sat there chatting. The music was fabulous, the kids had a great time. WE ALL DID!! Back again next week, well not next week, we have a thing next Friday night. Well the next week, they are happening all month. We all had a great time & it was confirmed by hands up & all the hands went up. We got home, the boys went to their rooms to play quietly. I cleaned up around the kitchen while Bruce said goodbye to Scott. We said goodnight to the boys & I kicked Bruce off the computer so I could finish this. So here I am. I can predict what is going to happen next. I'm going to finish this & head off to bed sometime very soon. Everyone have a great weekend. I know finals are coming up so Good luck to everyone. Congrats Supercats on your win already this weekend. Woo Hoo!!! I got lots of emails this week, for those who wrote to keep me informed on the goings on at home, a very big THANK YOU!!! Hi everyone - Bruce here... A couple of really big things are on the boil in the background re BillyBounce - the exact reason we ended up here in the first place!!!!! It looks like everything is going to fall into place, within a specific niche for the Billy Ball program (like Auskick for basketball). But there is much work to do and this place is just so big - that we need to break it down into tiny little pieces - otherwise - too hard. I will keep you all posted as things progress - hopefully we will be able to make an announcement in the next few weeks. The BIG picture is this - we are about to completely change the basketball learning landscape in America - sounds like a big dream - but now it is actually about to become a reality - thats the plan!!!!! The uniforms business is going very well and yes - I am busy but once the systems get put into place - it will be pretty turnkey. I just posted a new blog on www.5starhoops.com and there is some pretty cool stuff happening with that website for us as well - stay tuned for more info as it progresses. Belinda will be pleased as she has been pressing me to write on here for a while - and not just proof it!!!! Ha!!!!! Hope you are all well - keep smiling - stay warm - GO SUPERCATS!!!!! I am thinking of you boys - wish I was there to help with the championship defence.