Merry Christmas to all !!

Candid funny photos from the Schramm Family Christmas....we all had to pull a hat from a bag and wear it until Rod took his hat off - - last one to pull their hat off has to plan the game for next year --- Good Luck, Matt - you're the one that has to top Rod's Hat Game!!
(yours truly is in most of these because she was taking them from arm's shot)

Grandma, Jodi and Heather (Love, Love, Love Heather's hat that she pulled!)

Ryan and Rod (The Game Honcho)

Sherry and Don - cool shot, love Don's hat!!

Aunt Sally - Giddy Up Cowgirl!

"Go Blue" dominated the hat colors - Aunt Jan and Sherry

Sherry, and bros - Adam and Jeffery

Sister Debi and Bro-in-Law Greg

"Bear Bryant" Doug and Sherry

Uncle Bud and Sherry...missed not seeing PJ this year

Pete got the PINK hat - and everyone thought his shirt was pink (blue and red pinstripes) so it

was hilarious when he pulled the pink ball cap from the bag!

How in the world did Teresa and Steve pull hats that seemed to be a perfect pair ?

Aunt Karen and Sherry


Me and my cuz, Julie - she is a fabulously fun and cool girl! But all my aunts, uncles, and cousins are !

Christmas Week

In the previous post are pics of the cookie exchange ... here are a few vignettes of the house this holiday season... Merry Christmas ....

Cookie Time in the hood

Last week we had our 2nd annual cookie exchange in "the hood"-- - - this one is of Traci, Lynn and Me - I was doing that photo thing where I hold the camera at arm's length and click ! Sort of like those photo stands they have where you're in a tiny booth ...

A few shots of the ingredients for the cookies I made this year : Spicy Cocoa Snaps
The usual ingredients...

... the mix in process...

The "spicy" in Spicy Cocoa Snaps, not shown, the special ingredient "Captain Morgan's Spicy Rum"

Happy Thanksgiving...

We're off to the East for a few days .... from our house to yours....all the best.

This bald faced hornet nest showed itself once the leaves of the maple tree dropped...it was located near the front entrance of our sub hanging from a tree near the wetlands....it's about the size of two footballs! Perspective on how big the nest is...

November happenings...

Happy Birthday to my MOM - I meant to post this yesterday on her birthday.
Love you, Sherry

Ryan - went to see the orthopedic surgeon and we have a secondary diagnosis of iliotibial band syndrome on the same knee - in layman's terms - knee tendinitis. The OCD lesion might have exacerbated the issue. So, on to physical therapy for a few weeks - if that doesn't improve the situation, then back to the orthopedic surgeon and perhaps surgery. Surgery would be done to survey the bone, maybe drill for some blood flow to the area - but, Ryan would be on crutches for 9 weeks, and 3 of those would be with no weight on the knee. Only time will tell !!

It's over.....

The end of the season and the JV team posted a 3-6 overall record. The last game, Ypsilanti - was a win. Although the record doesn't speak - they had two other games which were a touchdown away from a win - it was a tough, hard season emotionally for them. The Freshman ended their season 4-5 and the Varsity were 1-8.

The pic below - after the last game as the boys are fed a post game meal.....next on the agenda - Ryan will be seeing the orthopedic surgeon on 10/31/08 and we hope to have surgery soon. He's already back in the weight room post season to work out.
This pic below is again, not my camera's best shot - I have got to fix the zoom issue I'm having - but what this shows is that at the end of each winning game the boys sing the Dexter fight song to the parents - it's always a bittersweet shot.

Ryan's here in this shot - the blurry face in the top portion..... Lots of love to the JV team of 2008.

Fall

Turned Fall rather quickly here - we had our first hard frost in October - killed my annuals, but my two lonely pear tomato plants are still producing!
Yummy rasperries from the local u-pick farm down the road - pumpkins and gourds from another local farm.
I'm a week late posting "Happy Birthday" greetings to Pete's dad, Charlie, who turned 80 and my Grandma who turned 90 - both of them celebrated late September birthdays.
Some of her grandchildren - Jeffery, Grandma, Ryan and Adam

Me and my grandma - how can she be 90??

Record 1-4, but still playing football

Been a tough season for our boys. Ryan continues to be on the field for every offensive play - here he is below on 9/11 at the Huron game. ( remember, he's the one with the black knee brace ) pictured below in the lower right near the Huron player in the corner...
#71 Ryan
Right here, he's the one on the far right corner
Next game - tonight - 7pm @ Pioneer and it's truly a Fall weather like day ~~

Glimpses of Ryan - #71 Football 2008

Ryan is a 1st string Offensive Tackle for Dexter this year! Loving games and playing fiercely!
As of 9-11-08, JV Team is 1-2... (#65 Practice Jersey -- #71 Game Jersey)
First pic below is an inter-school scrimmage game - because of the ocd lesion, Ryan doesn't have full flexibility in the right knee - so his stance is a bit off due to this issue ...


I know my photos are not the greatest shots - mostly sideline, but I'm having trouble with my camera focus to get field shots.


Sorry for the blurred shot !

#71

Here's Ryan in his 2008 home jersey - - I wish the team photographer had taken the photos at a different angle instead of in to the sun.

First game tonight - against Adrian. Ryan will be starting offensive tackle.

Football Scrimmage

--- Suttons Bay June 2008 Vacation - -

Get to scrimmage - take out camera - dead battery. Sorry - no pictures.

But - Ryan will be in full uniform on Wednesday for pictures - so I promise to take one and post.

What about the Knee - still touch and go - first day of full pads and Ryan was off balance on a tackle, crashed down and we're back to square one with full knee pain and limited flexibility.

Keep him in your prayers - he really wants to play at least one game. Inter-school scrimmage in Farmington Hills this Thursday.

First football game - August 28th @ Home against Adrian. Game time : 7:00 pm

Ryan turns 15 on Friday, August 29th!

Later, S

Football

The season is upon us - - where did the Summer go ? I'll promise to post some photos this weekend from our Summer week in SB and the explosion of perennial overgrowth around the house - at least the rainy season stopped so we don't have to cut the grass every third day...now it struggles to stay green with assistance from the sprinklers. Skunks are back - looking for grubs, not finding them, but making a pretty 'dot-to-dot' diagram in the backyard when viewed from the 2nd floor.

...Ryan got his "okay, it's your decision with your parents" to play from the orthopedic surgeon yesterday. I really think we'll be back to see him before the year is over. He's had 12 weeks of rest on the knee - in hopes that the bone would regrow, but the xray taken yesterday shows no change. He'll probably make it through the season so long as he's not the victim of any illegal chop blocking. JV team has shriveled again this year - from 28 to 21 boys this year. Coaches will be moving up freshman to help assist. Ryan is looking forward to perhaps starting as an Offensive Lineman this year! More later this week ... inter-squad scrimmage on Saturday morning - I promise to take some photos and post.

Later, S

Summer trickles in...

The gardens are starting to blossom - and Paws is very happy that the perennial grasses have grown - she likes to spend time among them chewing the grass and scoping for birds. I really hope she doesn't ever catch a bird - she has also flushed out a few chipmunks recently - another thing I hope she doesn't catch. . . .