Visiting Jim

HEY - Its the blog, remember? Facebook blows.

I understand some of you are going out to visit Jim for his birthday. Could anyone who plans to go post the dates they will be out there? I'd just like to make sure that I synchronize my plan with the rest of you. There's a few things I need to work around, so I need to come up with a plan soonish.

Let the communication begin.

Bill's Brigade

I attended the team captains' kickoff on Thursday, and will be registering Bill's Brigade for the ACS run/walk. Mark your calendars for Sunday, April 10th. More info to come!

Victory

GET TOGETHER

So the date is set, Friday night Nov. 26th, the venue is Tim and Mary’s house, the event is the Branson’s Thanksgiving get-together. Let the word go out to those near and far that the Branson’s, for the first time, have a plan more than 48 hours before the event. That’s right, we are being proactive, and that word is so foreign to me that I…, never mind it’s not important. What is important is that we have a date, time (5pm until ???), which can be translated as when we fall asleep, and we are such a sorry lot when it comes to keeping in touch that if you miss this you will not hear from us for some time. So come from Appleton, Iowa City, Rochester, San Diego or even the most remote areas of La Crosse. We seem to be the worst at getting together. Let’s show our children that we do love each other, (they will be shocked) and have a Branson holiday night to remember. Mary is providing the venue and some form of hot food. You should bring an appetizer, your beverage, unless you are a Miller Lite drinker, there will be plenty of that. Tim will wow the crowd with his potent potables, shaken not stirred for me. Hope to see you there!

Dome Worthy

If anybody wants to follow Tony's team playing in the state semifinal in the Metrodome, they play on Friday at 3:15. The game will be shown online at no charge at http://www.grandstadium.tv/

Hopefully you'll occasionally see #12 out there.

Is it time for a Branson family get-together?

Apparently this is Wilbur, and he's one of the world's most ugly turkeys. I thought he was kind of cute so I added him to this invite.

Is anyone up for getting together over Thanksgiving weekend? Jeff and I will be in town Friday and Saturday evening, November 26th and 27th. Either night would work for us.

Maybe some cocktails? We could sit around and one-up each other, talk loudly about how high our cholesterol is and what medication interventions we are using, and sweat profusely? My blood pressure is elevating just thinking about it.

Hope to see you all!
Love,
Karen

Girl Scout Cookie Time

Ellie is selling Girl Scout cookies until October 17th if anyone is interested. Just post your order, or email me, and I'll put you down. Cookies will be delivered between Nov. 8 and 28th, and you don't have to pay until they're delivered. If you don't live nearby we can ship them to you!
Thanks!!!

One Week Too Late

One week after the outstanding family support that Tony got from many of you (and he sends his heartfelt thanks for that), he got the start at running back this week. So that's one week too late for those who came to see him carry the ball (unless you were still there for his action in the 4th quarter last week).

The video in the newspaper story shows a few good runs by #12 this week. The first one in the video is a touchdown that was the only scoring if the first 3 quarters of the game. They ended up winning 21 - 0, but it was a nail-biter for most of the time. It was a little frustrating to watch as Tony had some success in the early parts of the game, but things stalled a bit in the 2nd quarter when our QB got hurt. The coaches tried some other kinds of runs (that didn't involve Tony) in the 3rd quarter without much success. He was back in there later on , but then left with an injury after making a tackle. Its nothing serious, just a deep thigh bruise.

Here's the video from the newspaper (very well done):

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=22&a=472249

Game on Friday

For anybody thinking about attending the La Crescent game on Friday, I need to tell you that I can't make any guarantees about how much Tony will play. His action has been spotty, but he has made it count. In the first two games he had 125 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns (playing tailback) He also intecepted a pass. But last week he saw very little action, so its hard to predict what's going to happen this week.

He'll definitely be out there for special teams, but the amount of regular offense or defense he will play is hard to predict. I just wanted to let people know ahead of time. Its a lot different than JV where he would be out there every single play.

Both teams are 3-0 so it should be a good matchup.

We're back from Denmark

I hope it's been a good summer for everyone (excluding quality assessments of the weather). We got back just before school started up and brought back a wirehaired girl dachshund, Millie. To those on facebook, this is old news, and yes, she's the cutest puppy on earth ;-)

I would like to share some sad news..

My mother passed on at the end of July. The last couple of months were very hard and had little quality of life in them. She was extremely brave and did not complain at any given time, it was the rest of us who thought it very, very hard to watch and only be able to do so much to help.

The last two days she was in the hospital, due to no lung capacity left. The worry was that she would suffocate but in the end her heart gave out and she slept peacefully the last hours.

After 3 months in Denmark it's weird and nice at the same time to be back here. We have not missed the humidity and the hot weather. We're all sorry to have missed all the events of the summer with you guys and look forward to seeing you all again ;-)

2nd Annual Branson Fantasy League???

I understand Tony is playing the real thing. But what about us old, sweaty, washed up athletes?
Anyone interested in playing in a fantasy football league again this year? I can speak for three teams that would be interested in playing again: Herman, Jeff, and myself.

Are others interested?

Football Schedule

Some of you have asked about Tony's football schedule, so I decided to post it on the blog.

They will be playing at La Crescent on the 24th. If anybody is interested in coming to a home game, we play at a very nice stadium with field turf (its a fast track). The game this Friday is as close to a lead pipe cinch as we will have the first half of the season. Let me know if anyone plans to come up for any.

• Fri, Sept 3rd Home @ RCTC Regional Stadium vs. Pine Island
• Fri, Sept 10th @ Cannon Falls
• Fri, Sept 17th Home @ RCTC Regional Stadium vs. Kasson
• Fri, Sept 24th @ La Cresent
• Fri, Oct 1th Home @ RCTC Regional Stadium vs. Byron
• Fri, Oct 8th @ Zumbrota/Mazeppa
• Fri, Oct 15th @ Stewartville
• Wed, Oct 20th Home @ RCTC Regional Stadium vs. Lake City

Graduation Party

All who read this blog are invited to Jimmy's graduation party. Its on Saturday, August 14. The official start and stop times are 3:00 to 7:00 but bloggers are welcome before and after (and can also stay overnight at our house if you would like.)

The boy will be heading off to college in a few weeks, so hopefully we can give him a good send-off.

Some have asked about the possibility of golf before the party. I think we could pull that off. If you are interested, let me know. We'd probably have to start around 9:00 if we play 18 or 11:30 if we play 9. Let me know if you are interested and what your preference is for the number of holes.

Onalaska Softball

Veronica has a softball tournament in Onalaska this Saturday (the 17th). If anybody wants to stop out to one of the games, here are the details.

All the games are at Onalaska Luther High School. Her first game is at 8:30 and her second game is at 11:00. The last game is either at 2:30 or 4:00 depending on whether they win or lose game 2.

The field they are on will also depend on whether they win or lose. Just look for the purple uniforms.

We're leaving for Denmark

On Monday we'll take off from Chicago and won't be back until mid-August, right before school starts. Unfortunately, we'll miss this summer's family events here and we'll miss seeing you guys and spending time together.

My mom's health has taken a turn for the worse, and she's currently receiving radiation for cancer cells in her hip. When diagnosed the breast cancer had metastasized to her lungs and spinal cord. The spreading of the cells to her hip has meant that she has a hard time walking and is in a great deal of pain. The hope is that with different pain medication and radiation her quality of life will once again get better for a period of time.

Sara and Eva send kisses and hugs to all, as do I - well, hugs ;-)

Bill's Brigade Reminder

I need to know who will be participating so I can get shirt sizes in to the ACS by 6:00 tomorrow (Friday, the 26th) night. If you haven't had a chance to register, just do so after you send me your info. See the link on the previous post!

Bill's Brigade

The ACS Run/Walk will be on Sunday, April 18th at noon. I have set up Bill's Brigade for online registration, so all you need to do is go to http://community.acsevents.org/UHCrunwalk and click on join a team. You should be able to use past login information if you've registered online before, and if you can remember your password.
I received a plaque and packet in the mail telling us that we were the second highest fundraising team once again last year. Our total was right around $4500, and Mary was one of the top individuals with over $1000.
The registration deadline is Feb. 26th if you'd like the team t-shirt with the Bill's Brigade logo printed on it. Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks again for your support!
Jocelyn

Ellie hates the Packers

She wouldn't take Pat's $10 to take off her Vikings jersey, and she sure isn't going to take some stinking Packers jersey.

Happy Birthday Jaymeson!

I know I'm a day late, but wanted to wish our little rascal a Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Bill!

Hope you're enjoying your day up there. We miss you and we're toasting to you down here.