Dancing with the Stars

Way back in it's first season we watched several episodes of Dancing with the Stars.  I thought it was alright, but it didn't really catch on at our house.

Something was different this season.  Maybe the excitement of having one of our very own Green Bay Packers on the show.  Maybe having our own little girl excited to watch it with us.  Or maybe the judges were serious when proclaiming over and over that this was by far the best season ever.  Whatever the reason, we watched it pretty religiously here this season.  Becky, Tabby and I anyway.  And sometimes Ben.

Tabby absolutely loved the show.  Every dance, "Dad, I love that dress.  And those shoes and earrings and that hair.  Will you get me that dress?"

Of course, often the answer was, "That's not really a dress, Tabby.  It's just a bunch of tassles."

"I love that tassle dress.  I want one."

"Well you're going to have to wait until you're old enough to buy your own dresses, I'm afraid.  I'm not buying that one for you."

Eventually she caught on that Becky and I want her to like the more modest dresses.  Then her comments became, "I love that dress.  I'm going to buy it when I'm old enough."

Ah, man.

So, anyway, the show.  Fun, fun, fun.  I mean, there was such a positive energy among everyone that participated.  They were competitive, everyone wanted to win, the bar was set high early and everyone worked hard to meet it.  But it was so obvious that despite the competition everyone really liked each other.  They weren't just cheering each other on for the camera, they were genuinely thrilled to see each other do well.

Our man, Donald won it!  woo hoo!

As exciting as that is, as happy as I am for him, I am kind of ashamed to admit he wasn't my favorite.  I mean, he was definitely in the top four.  I would have placed him third, but what do I know?  All of the top four were amazing.  I think the toughest vote to watch was the one that let fourth place go because only 3 couples got to the finals.  Any of the top four could probably have won the whole thing.  Especially tough because number four was Becky's favorite, TV host Maria Menounos.  She was the first to get a perfect score from the judges .

My favorite was Katherine Jenkins, an English Opera star who consistently got the top or near the top scores every week.  If I recall correctly, she was the first to get a 10 from the judges way back in week 3.  Well, maybe Latin hearthrob William Levy (who placed third in the end) got the first ten that same week, I don't remember who actually performed their dance first.  But Katherine got 2 tens and William only got one.  So there.  Katherine was also fun to watch because, despite winning week after week, she always seemed so nervous that she was on the verge of getting sent home.  Like crying on the verge of puking from nerves.  I guess she was worried that her relative lack of name recognition here in the States would hurt her in the viewer voting.  So every week she was just overcome with joy to still be on the show.

In the end I guess she was right about the voting.  She scored a perfect 90/90 on the three finale dances to Donald Driver's 89/90, but the Packer Nation pulled through and voted Donald the winner!  Tabby was happy about that. Donald was her favorite.  And he really was good.  Hands down he had the most fun dance to watch all season with his finale free style.  I  mean, so fun that one of the judges was literally up dancing on the table.

We'll have to watch for next season and see how it measures up.

We Bought a House!

Ashwaubenon. Southwest suburb of Green Bay. Out towards the airport. Great access to the highway. About 10 mins from work (compared to 20 mins from the northeast side of Green Bay). 4 BR, 2 bath place on a quiet street. We close on June 29th and plan to move in the 2nd weekend in July.

Becky, Tabby and I are very excited. It's going to be our own home! Tabby absolutely loved house hunting. The realtor hardly had to sell the houses at all . . . she just let Tabby go to town telling us who would have which room and why it was the perfect place for us. Every house we looked at. So, of course, Tabby is thrilled that we are buying "her favorite".

Sam and Ben have mixed feelings. They're both happy to exchange their current crowded bedroom that all 3 boys share for each of them getting their own room. They're both unhappy about moving away from friends they've made the past two years.

Becky feels guilty about that and is very, very concerned about how they'll adjust in their new schools. I'm afraid they have a somewhat unsympathetic father. I moved going into 9th grade and again going into 12th. I was disappointed with both moves at the time we made them. But I got through them just fine. That second one, my family left Wisconsin for Arizona my senior year of high school. Even at the time, even not liking it, I recognized that with only one more year at home my own interest in the move took a back seat to everyone else's. Looking back with the experience of being a parent, I don't think badly about it at all. That first move? The one when I was closer to Sam & Ben's ages? In 9th grade from Utah to Wisconsin? One of the best things that ever happened to me, I think.

On top of that, when my family moved, it was a 1500 mile distance. No internet. Mail took a week to deliver. Long distance phone calls were prohibitively expensive. I really was losing friends. Sam and Ben are moving 10 mins across town in the age of instant messaging. I think they'll manage just fine.

Jack really doesn't care at about this move. He's leaving, hopefully, in June to live with some friends in Sheboygan.