It is a sad day in Wisconsin. Meeting clients at the gym I work at, the tv was tuned to ESPN which was reporting that Brett Favre has been traded to the Jets.

Packers Football was so pure. It had been so great, then it was so bad, and then we got Brett Favre. Now Ted Thompson comes in and drafts Aaron Rodgers (who I think will be really good). Thompson thinks he needs to create his own legacy with his own QB. And all of Wisconsin suffers. Who in their right mind says ‘no’ to Brett Favre? Favre’s last throw was an interception – and a stupid one at that. But he was one score away from the Super Bowl, and nothing has changed since. Yet they don’t want Brett back. It’s bad leadership. This never would have happened under Ron Wolf. Thompson and the Packers need to keep one eye on the future. But AT THE SAME TIME they cannot overlook what is right in front of them – a quarterback legend who wants to play a couple more years.

I’m disgusted with the Packers. I’m embarrassed to be a Packers fan. I wish Brett would have retired rather than be traded away from Green Bay. But this is the sports world we live in now. Nothing’s pure. That was made clear today.

I won’t even mention the line that goes something like, “Can you believe how fast summer is going?”

We haven’t been all that busy with events and things like that. Our life within pregnancy has seemed to change things. We still go to the Farmer’s Market, which is great. Over the 4th of July we went canoing down the Wisconsin river, near Arena and Spring Green. That was great to get on the water and be outdoors. Speaking of outdoors, we bought a great tent (well, it depends who you ask) at REI for cheap. My version of a great tent is one that can be strapped on to your backpack and fits just above your head as you’re lying down to sleep at night.

Katie’s version is the one that can fit a queen-size mattress and where we can fully stand up inside. We bought the latter. But we’ll use that tent for the next 20 years at Family Camps at Fort Wilderness and other State parks around Wisconsin. Look at the view from inside that thing!!!

So we’re doing our best to stay active. Katie gets really tired and is just wishing she could work out like she used to. No bike rides, no runs. The paddling wasn’t that comfortable for her, either.

Summer has been busy. What’s new. But like Matt Metzger talked about today at Blackhawk – we need to be intentional about taking a Sabbath, taking a day off to rest and refresh.

For me, that includes reading and writing. I started this blog to process life, and that’s gotten too far and few between. I need this time to create journal memories and document and process.

I need to read b/c readers are leaders – I get refreshed when I read the paper and learn new things.

The date is one of our romantic anniversaries – June 24th. Four years ago today, I invited Katie to a Brewers’ game with some church friends for an outing that I was sure to clarify was not a date. So looking ahead to June 24th on the calendar, I was excited to see that Katie had a baby shower with the women from work. That meant I could pick her up from the shower and take her on a walking date around the old neighborhood where we took so many walks during the summer of 2004.

Regarding the shower – it still amazes me the generosity of our friends. It’s been such a help to get the supplies we need for having this boy!

My favorite outfit was the Wisconsin onesie and matching booties! Thanks Linda!!

I just got back from the Robertson Men’s Fishing trip in Canada. In the works since last November, I’d been waiting for this trip with eager anticipation. I’m certainly not an experienced fisherman, but any chance to be out in the wilderness on a trip like this is an opportunity for me to cherish.

The final total was 14 men on the trip – 5 uncles and 9 cousins. We had four vehicles meet up in Eau Claire and then Duluth before crossing the border to Canada at Baudett. After gearing up a few last minute supplies, we made our way to the outfitter and were able to check out the 2 houseboats that we rented. We had five small 25-horse boats for our daily fishing. The set-up couldn’t have been better.

We ate like kings, thanks to Uncle Tom. How does this menu sound… pork chops, marinated chicken sandwiches, ribs, and steak. That was just dinner. Breakfast was as usual… Wranglers and Lumber Jack – eggs, bacon, pancakes. Life was good. And of course mid-day we had shore lunch, sandwiches filled with the walleye we caught in the morning.

I struggled with walleye fishing. The bites were smaller and I had a hard time with the feel of it. Now fishing for northerns is a whole different thing. That was a blast b/c the bites were rock solid – there wasn’t much of a fight for the fish, but reeling in 8-12 a day was a lot of fun.

The fishing trip to Canada was a great time to spend with family, working and playing together. Everyone chipped in and we laughed a lot. What more can you ask for from a group of men?

And as I was coming home, it begged the question — what next?

I only met Christian one time – at his wedding reception at his parents’ home two summers ago. Big guy. Almost quirky, but certainly an attractive personality. I’m not that great with words sometimes and I only met him once, so you will have to trust me in my thoughts here… As I hear about what Katie and her family say about Christian, and as I hear about his funeral and what was said and who attended, I’m left in awe of the man he was.

On a training flight last fall while in Italy, Christian’s helicopter went down with 9 others aboard. From the details I’ve read, he died in the hospital of head injuries.

It’s the first time I’ve admired someone so much from knowing him so little. I don’t mean to be trite with this comment, but people say the nicest things about people when they die. But Christian’s death was different – and this I could tell from the one time I met him. He had a personality everyone was attracted to. He genuinely cared for people and naturally demanded the attention in whatever room he entered. I won’t do him justice… but he’s got my thoughts today.

He’s survived by his wife, Liz. As I woke up on this Memorial Day, she came to mind very quickly. Patriotism is important to me. Men and women sign up for military service — Service. And many have to pay the Ultimate Sacrifice. Is there a better way to die? Is there any more honor than dying for your country? Christian would probably say there is, and that would be to die serving your Lord. And Christian did just that. His life was lived in faith, and his death proclaimed that faith. I can’t imagine the sorrow of that family, but as a brother I can relate to the pride I have for a man who was so highly regarded by everyone when he left this life. What an example, what an inspiration for any Christian man.

Well done, Christian. We honor you on this Memorial Day.

I have to admit how much I’m looking forward to dressing my son. I’ve always been interested in fashion, and those adult outfits in kids sizes are just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. So Katie and I decided we should go out and get a first outfit for Baby Boy. Tori was with us, and we had fun looking through Baby Gap and H&M’s selection of infant clothes.

I ended up picking up this outfit: a cute baseball-looking shirt with blue sleeves and a brown pair of pants that can be rolled up into shorts. I’m very excited to get Junior into his first set of clothes.

I haven’t written about our pregnancy on the Game Plan b/c I had a couple other (out of town) people to tell personally. It’s kind of a long story which I can’t (and won’t) get into. But now it’s officially on the blog – we’re having a baby, due date August 28.

To all my readers (if there’s any besides my 2 moms, let me know), you can keep updated on our progress here, at the Game Plan. This has proven to be a very reflective time for Katie and me. Discussions are different. Planning is ambiguous. But the excitement is high. It’s been amazing to see Katie’s belly grow with the development of our child.

Seeing our baby for the first time on the ultrasound is a moment I’ll never forget. It practically took my breathe away, and it felt like time stopped for 2 seconds.

Calling it a child or baby has been our way of conversation for the last 4 months. Well that changed today! We had our 20-week ultrasound today at 3:15. After 18 weeks it’s usually possible to see if it’s a boy or a girl.

In the room, the sonographer was going through all these measurements of our baby, similar to the last couple ultrasounds. She measured the head (5cm diameter, 17cm circumference), arms, spine, internal organs. One of the most amazing shots was the 4 chambers of the heart. The heartbeat was 150. She said she had to chase the baby a lot – very active. Then she said, “And that’s a boy not afraid to tell everyone he’s a boy.” There it is – we’re having a baby boy!!! !!!

!!! !!! !!! !!! !!!

I can’t write without a smile on my face! I’m so excited to see what’s next. Now I don’t want to wait. Sitting here, I just want to get to the first week in September and hold him.

So stay tuned for pictures and stories. Who knows… maybe Baby Boy will get his own blog. But until then, he’ll have to be the star of dad’s blog.

I understand that we all get older, and the music we listened to gets more and more “out of date.” But like a good bottle of wine, it gets better with time…. right? (Rhymes are flowing today.)

In high school a good friend of mine, Jason Jobke, always listened to the Oldies. He was raised on it by his parents, and so we listened to them so much that the Oldies really grew on me. The summers of 1993 and ’94 were filled with nights of shooting pool in his basement, playing basketball in his driveway, and driving to McDonald’s at all hours of the night to the soundtrack of the Oldies.

On a different musical commentary, I’ve never been ashamed of my love for 80’s music. A genre in and of itself, the Monster Ballads will always take me to a good place. The music I grew up on was Bon Jovi, Van Halen, the Police, and even AC/DC. Elton John and Billy Joel were classic musicians, not to be confused with the Oldies. NOT TO BE CONFUSED!!!

Yesterday I’m driving home from the club on a beautiful sunny day, and I do the quick scan of the stations to find some good music. I flipped (quickly) through the Oldies station and had to double back to confirm what my ears were telling me. Billy Joel is on the Oldies station!! “Movin’ Out” was certainly a catchy tune, and I guess you can even say it “sounds” Oldies, but Billy Joel on the Oldies station is like hearing Def Leopard on the Country station.