Woooo--It's been a long time...

Marx and Grandma Fuzzy

Marx and Uncle Ron

Marx on his 16th Birthday

A storm above our house--see the lightening.

Wow, time really flies by when you are busy. Now that I am sitting down to work on this, I'll have to beat my memory a bit to list what has happened.

May--Fairly uneventful month. School was winding up for Marx who was really excited for his freshman year to be done. He practiced for Grand Nationals and begrudgingly did homework. Marx T. landed a new job at Ace in April and loves it. He is turning wrenches and working with a group of guys he really likes. Lori was busy with work and enjoying a little break from the crazy traveling we did with wrestling. We did make it to my cousin's graduation from MSU. It was great to see so much family, some who I don't see often enough. We went up to my Aunt and Uncles house for a party. Uncle Ron wanted to take Marx around the ranch, but Marx didn't have a coat as usual and it was chilly. Ron, in true fashion, brought out his MSU letterman jacket for Marx to wear. Keep in mind that Marx and I went to Bozeman in true Griz fashion--Maroon and Silver everywhere! Marx called it a very weak moment!

June--Grand Nationals--Marx really shined at this final tourmanent of the year. Marx wrestled his bum off and placed 2nd in Greco, 3rd in Freestyle and 2nd in Folkstyle. The only kid in his bracket that he didn't beat took 1st in all three. Marx tried several different moves that he has been working on and also beat a state champ. It was awesome. We stayed at a KOA in the cabins, cooked out for meals, did a bit of shopping and watched movies at night. We also enjoyed our time with the Conklins who are becoming like family to us. We had a great time watching our fellow wrestlers showcase their outstanding abilities. We also had the Relay For Life event. Marx and Wes joined me for the evening and helped set up and enjoy the festivities. Marx took photos of the luminarias we had made for Penny and Grandpa Dean. Marx started working out at the Dog Pound learning different martial art styles that are useful in wrestling. He loved it.

July--Vacation--we had a week long vacation at the lake. Wes and his family joined us for the weekend and then Wes stayed for the week. The cabin sold the day we got there so it was bitter sweet too. We enjoyed the waverunner for one last summer as a small wreck totalled it out. It would have cost more to fix it than what it was worth so we took the money for future travel for wrestling. I will miss it for sure, but someday I would like to get another one or maybe a 4 wheeler again. Have more important things to put my money too like Marx's dream of wrestling in college. The boys enjoyed playing xbox, swimming, walking/biking to town and shopping. Only Marx and Wes can spend a ton of money on pop and candy!

August--Marx went to Nebraska with the Riglers for a wedding. While the drive was very long, they had a blast. Marx also enjoyed a week long youth camp at Holland Lake--full of swimming, boating, rope swings, and tube riding. Marx also surprised us with deciding to try Cross Country rather than football--he wants to be in better shape for wrestling without the risk of injury. He still loves football as his second favorite sport, but this move shows how serious he is for wrestling. I had surgery on the 19th and I am spending my time recoverying. My in laws and friends have been awesome with getting Marx around town for practices and fun. Hopefully I can start driving at the end of this week, but I am not sure if I am ready to return to work just yet. I enjoyed a long visit with a fabulous friend and sitting in a chair for several hours is kicking my butt. Marx is enjoying a little more time with his grandparents too. His first cross country meet is this week so we'll see how he is doing. He did make Varsity! Today was the first day of his Sophomore year. I was more excited than he was. He seems to be ready for this year though. We were talking about how he needs to study more and he shocked me when he said he would skip training to take more time for tests and homework if needed. Last year, I had to put my foot down and just not take him (with a bunch of grumpy attitude later) just so he would have the time to study. I think he will make better use of his time in school and after practice so he can still train and get good grades.

September--Oh that's tomorrow so I guess I'll update this month in December.

Spring is here update

State


Getting his first Varsity Letter

Giving Luke a Ride at Montana Open

AAU State

Well, it has been awhile since I updated this. Much has happened, mostly wrestling related of course. Marx wrestled at divisionals and was seeded into the State Tournament. What an experience that was. I ran the divisional tournament and that was a ton of fun as well as getting a front row seat to the action. BSHS sent 13 wrestlers to State. State, in Billings, is for all 4 classes, so every top wrestler in the state was there. Marx had the number one seed for the first match and Sprinkle went on to win the tournament at 130. He is a returning state champ so he is a really good wrestler. Marx lost of out of the tournament in the second round but to go to State is a big accomplishment too. Marx has continued with post season wrestling. Marx has placed at most of the tournaments since then so we are turning a corner. He is starting to stand against some of the best wrestlers in the state--while he may not be beating them yet, he is giving them a run for their money and going 3 rounds to decision. Marx went to the Rocky Mountain Nationals in Denver, which was quite the experience-2700 wrestlers from across the country. Marx want to the 6th round before losing out. Marx then turned around and placed 5th at the Montana Open which hosts 1200 wrestlers from the region. Both brackets were 32 man brackets so this was a wonderful accomplishment. Now we are in freestyle and greco mode. Marx placed 4th at Smith McCarthy and then surprised himself with a 2nd in Freestyle and 1st in greco at Battle of the Elkhorns. He also won an award for the fastest pin in 26 seconds in greco at that tournament. We are now moving to State Freestyle & Greco this upcoming weekend.

Marx has been earning good grades, but 4th quarter is always a challenge--spring is in the air.

Marx finally found a new job. He is working at ACE turning a wrench. He started this week and likes it. They pay well and have a nice benefit package and also said they would work with us on tournament schedule during high school-which will be nice. I have been busy with work as usual and finishing up my Club business. I am focusing on the high school wrestling program going forward as I run their tournaments and assist the coaches with the mountain of paperwork.

Photos & Videos--Just for Uncle Mick

Happy New Year 2010

Well, the last few months have been crazy! Marx is doing well in school. He has one class that he is struggling in, but not for a lack of trying. His teacher is new and has expectations that most college students couldn't achieve. The class average is a low C and the teacher has yet to adjust so that more students are successful. Marx is giving A effort for a C and that is a struggle to watch and further more, motivate him to continue to work that hard.

In October, Marx went right from football into wrestling. He is still working with the trainer, primarily on conditioning and strength training and also working with his Talon coaches. He is a hard worker and a go getter. High School wrestling officially started in November and his new coaches are great. His head coach is Lanny Bryant, who is a long time wrestling coach at the high school and college levels. Cody Bryant is an assistant coach who was a 3x state champ for Hellgate. Glenn Jarrett is one of Marx's Little Guy coaches and a great coach who really likes Marx's motivation on the mat. Dave Morrison is another coach who was also one of the football coaches that we liked and Mike Merrit is also coaching too. Marx loves how intense Lanny runs the practices--there is no time for goofing off which was one of his frustrations when he practiced last year with the high school team.

Our first Dual was in Helena--Marx made the JV team right out of the shoot, but at the last minute was moved to Varsity because the Varsity 135 pounder didn't make weight. 10 minutes before the first match and we get the news. Marx's response was classic--big eyes and a sweaty brow. We had to wrestle Capital High first and as I watch Marx walk out of the mat, I am about ready to have a meltdown. JV I was prepared for--but Varsity as a freshman??? Not so much. He walks on the mat, the ref walks up to him and up goes his hand. Marx won by forfeit--6 team points and no match. Talk about build up and let down. Next he wrestled Anaconda and lost by pin in the second round. He actually had the kid in a pinning combination but was too high on the chest and got flipped--it was a bummer since he was ahead in points. I knew it would be crazy when the wrestler from Anaconda had more tats than a felon. Next up was Dillon and again another pin loss. Still, Marx scored points and was wrestling really well. Finally, Noah Rivers from Helena High--a triple crown winner that Marx has wrestled a few times. The kid is an excellent wrestler. He pinned Marx in a questionable pin combo, but Marx realized that he put himself in that position. I was worried that Marx would be discouraged--1-3, and 3 by pins. He wasn't. He felt that he made the mistakes that caused him to lose and that those mistakes were the result of less experience--he was wrestling mostly seniors.

Next Dual was against Hamilton. Hamilton didn't have enough wrestlers for a full JV squad so he had a intersquad match. He won, but it meant beating a teammate. We then had a last minute Dual in Anaconda. Again, Marx was bumped up to Varsity at the last minute. Marx pulled another senior and had him pinned, but just not quite long enough. The kid managed to push Marx over--super strong kid, and next thing we know Marx was staring at the ceiling.

Next tournament was in Hamilton. We were told that it was a JV tournament, but when we got there we realized it was a Varsity tournament with only a 3 JV teams entered. The level of competition was amazing. Marx had the most success of the entire JV squad. He was on the championship side of the bracket the longest and scored the most team points. His first two matches went the entire 3 rounds and if it wasn't for his work with the training, he would have gassed out in both. He did wonderful, except he kept trying the head and arms rather than take downs. Something the coaches need to work with--Marx doesn't like to get crossfaced because of his nose, so he doesn't like to shoot. He got pinned in the third round and was really bummed--"I gave it to him mom". The last match was a dud on the ref side. Marx was cradled, but only 1 shoulder down and was kicking loose--not even close to a pin, but the ref called it. Marx's coaches tried to argue but to no avail. Marx's response was great though and it shows how much he is learning and growing--"shouldn't have gotten stuck in the cradle to begin with."

The next tournament was the Holiday Classic in Great Falls. 37 teams attend the tournament from around the state and it is the toughest tournament our wrestlers will be in. Marx challenged and won his varsity spot this time. He lost out right away, but each of his matches he "should" have won. His wrestling is at a stage where he knows enough to be dangerous. Usually, the excitement gets him into a little trouble and the only thing to fix that is more wrestling. The great thing about big tournaments is they usually run a connected tournament on Saturday for those that lose out on Friday. Marx went 2-2 at this tournament. This was the first time this year that Marx felt his last loss was a result of a better wrestler beating him rather than him beating himself. Marx also had to wrestle a blind wrestler from Poplar. That was interesting as Marx had to maintain contact at all times and had a list of takedowns that he couldn't do. The wrestler was strong and once they were down on the mat, you couldn't really tell he was blind. It was amazing to watch this. Marx tried the head and arms twice and about got stuck each time. I was a little upset that he tried that since you feel the head and arms coming, which the Poplar kid did. While Marx never underestimated the kid, it was a great learning experience for him. His options were limited and what he could do he isn't comfortable with so he walked away with things to work on.

Marx entered a poem he wrote in a school contest. Writers had to use 10 words, couldn't rhyme and another list of do's and don'ts so it was interesting to see the results. His English teacher thought he had a great chance of winning. Here is the poem. I italicized the words he had to use

The Dim Corridor, by Marx Kemmer

The hall folded

as the light dimmed

in the corridor

I put in the key

I felt a slight breath

a point of light

braided on the wall

The light spread in half

like the roots of a tree

A scream echoed in the night

On December 26th, a tragedy hit. 4 friends of Marx's, two he has known since Kindergarden, were hit by a drunk driver as they were walking along the road waiting for a ride. Taylor and Ashlee were killed instantly, Teal was injured, and poor Hailey witnessed it all. To make matters worse, Marx was texting Ashlee at the time it happened, but we didn't know what happened until we heard the news and realized the timeline. Taylor was Marx's first "girlfriend" in the 3rd grade. They have been good friends since day one and were only 2 days apart in age. Taylor was also the only girl to date who has been invited to his birthday parties and Marx endured being the only boy at a couple of hers--make up, fingernail polish and all. Ashlee was also a good friend. It has been a difficult time for Marx and his friends. Boys don't seem to know how to deal with this and Marx was trying to be strong for everyone else. I also think he didn't want to upset me by displaying any emotion, but our house has been pretty quiet since this happened. These types of situations are always difficult, especially since they are completely preventable.

Fall 2009

Here it is fall. I am only a couple months down on keeping this up to date. It has been a crazy football season already and now it is over--fffewww. Freshman Football was a bit more intense than I expected. It was a bit more difficult for Marx too. We'll just say that you really appreciate good coaches when you end up with coaches that aren't. Marx did have a couple that were in his corner and worked with him, but there were a couple who needed their butts kicked up around their ears--I was a little too close to being connected to the foot that would do the kicking so I am relieved the season has come to a close. I may not have made it if the season was any longer. Marx played full back and tail back positions and did well. He gained yards and points and knew his plays inside and out. He also threw big blocks which was outstanding considering the size of some of these kids. For defense, he played corner, middle linebacker and safety. It was hard to keep up with that. Marx is number 9.




Here he comes!

Running the ball after a hand off

Running the ball on punt return

Throwing the shoulder down before the hit comes.

Making the tackle

Owww. He flipped the two defenders off of him when he continued to roll over his head!

Moving it into the end zone

Punching it right in.

Marx and Brian as captains

Marx has been working with a trainer for wrestling over the last couple of months. He was picked for this special opportunity and it is outstanding that he has such a great group of coaches for wrestling. It should be an exciting year. He has been looking forward to wrestling and is working with his Talon coaches starting next week. When November hits, Marx will have only missed about 1 month of wrestling during the past year. He took every opportunity to go to open mat and train. As he said to me today, he can't wait to start rocking the mat again.

Summer Update

Despite best efforts to keep this updated, I am failing miserably. Let's hope my memory will allow to get this updated before school starts. Marx graduated from 8th grade. As a parent, this grade was the "worst" when it came to keeping him motivated with good grades. Marx considered junior high as the 1/2 time period of a football game--doesn't really define the outcome of the game, you get a little break, and it "doesn't really matter". Ugh. Really! While his grades were ok--he wasn't even trying and it bugged me and his teachers. He was recommended for Advanced Placement for two classes, which I decided against. He has planned a heavy load for the next 4 years in order to be eligible to play sports in college and admission to a 4 year program, like at the U. It also didn't help during the end of the year when the teachers checked out either. I am glad that is over but I hope it isn't a prelude to the next 4 years or I will really begin to show signs of premature aging!

Marx is #36--He was not impressed with having to wear a purple helmet and purple/yellow stripped pants (yuck Sentinel Colors)--but at least he had an Ontario Jersey.

Marx had a brief period of rest before Football camp at the U of M. There were over 700 high school football players at this camp from across the country. Marx went with his buddy Keon and they had a blast. Marx and Keon along with other football players who were there without their teams (renegades) were placed on teams. When we arrived to the dorm, I saw a bus from Ontario and jokingly told Marx that Canadians came to the camp. He was impressed with that thought--until he was placed with the team from Ontario Oregon--then he thought I was a little nutty but we had a good laugh. The Ontario coaches were really impressed with Marx and during camp tryouts he won a starting spot as fullback for the varsity offense (freshman and sophomores don't really frequent this camp as we found out later) and linebacker for defense. He was getting pretty banged up from playing with bigger and more experienced Juniors and Seniors so he asked if he could bounce back to the JV squad so he didn't get too hurt. I was impressed with his forethought on that. We were still thrilled that Marx was talented enough to knock off the seniors who normally held those positions. After camp, Marx started lifting weights and doing power workouts with a wrestling coach as well as open mat with the head wrestling coach. His summer was busy with that and an additional football camp and wrestling camp. In between that, he mowed lawns, went to the mall and hung out with friends. We did go camping and to the lake once, but with Marx starting a new job at Snowbowl after being laid off for a month, we haven't had the funds to do much else. I actually enjoyed puttering around home for my vacation in July. Football starts August 17 and school starts August 31 so our summer is coming to a close.

For Marx's 15th birthday, we had a number of his friends over for a UFC match and sleepover. I bought a ton of food for sub sandwiches, etc and ended up with a bunch of leftovers. I guess I hit in between growth spurts! His birthday had a bit of a damper because of our neighbor. All summer we noticed that she was inviting homeless people to her home. It became a little too much on July 11th when a nasty fight broke out with one man being critically wounded and Marx T. witnessed it all. After a month of disruptive behavior from her house, I finally lost my patience with the multitude of people, some of which were aggressive towards neighbors, and the countless number of times I had to call the police for fights and other behavior I care not to write down. I also lost my patience with the park that we lease the land from. It appears that she has been trouble for more than a decade per the neighbors and the cops and until she quit paying her lease payment, the park didn't really do much about her. Fortunately, her family now recognizes that her behavior is of concern and they are moving her and the trailer out. It is sad to watch someone self-distruct, but after having homeless people (that she invited in) using my yard as a bed and toilet, I have little sympathy. I have ran into several deputy sheriffs who knew Grandpa Lockridge and spoke fondly of him and his dedication to service.

We were planning on going to the lake for my second week of vacation until out kitty Noodles attempted to fly and had a hard landing (he climbs on everything). He unfortunately fractured his leg, resulting in amputation. Now, Marx D and I are home nursing the little guy who is actually doing very well on three legs. Boomer and Sarge aren't too sure what to think about Noodles hobbling around and not attacking them at every pass. Noodles likes to watch Animal Planet so here is a photo of him earlier this summer!

Work has been crazy and I have been feeling better although I do have period bad days. I describe it as having the flu almost every month. Extreme cold weather and hot weather don't help but I am learning to slow down a bit and relax. Well, at least until sports kick into full swing!

A New Update--April 2009

It has been awhile since we did an update. I tried my hand at facebook but didn't like getting "friends" that I didn't know or that were friends of friends, etc. After playing with my settings even more, I decided enough. I think there is a contest on Facebook for getting the most friends, even if you don't really remember them from the 4th grade!

Marx has finally landed a different job. The promise to get him to several tournaments for Wrestling didn't really pan out (he made it to 1 and had to fight for it), the schedule really couldn't be adjusted for more consistency and he loved the work, but his boss wasn't easy to deal with. There is only so much ego one can handle. His boss has never had kids, so that seems to make a difference in attitude as well. So now he just started a new job working production at a lab so hopefully it will be a better fit. He went through an employment agency who gives great comments on the place. He will finish out his two week notice working both jobs since they wanted him right away but he wanted to do right by the other place.

I have been feeling much better despite the amount of traveling we have been doing lately. Marx finally made it to a freestyle tournament and wow--it is an amazing style of wrestling. If you have ever watched Olympic Wrestling that is what we see, but with kids. I am on new meds that seem to be working, until I got bronchitis and then I felt like I didn't even take anything. We realized that I hadn't been on antibiotics for over 10 years until this year, so I guess I was due! Work is going well. I jokingly tell my boss that I have been working part-time the last few months due to wrestling. I am greatful that they are so supportive of family.

Marx is getting well prepared for wrestling high schoolers since he is at a weight that we don't see many eighth graders so they bracket him in with high schoolers. It is overwhelming at times, but I think he walks away with learning something each time. Marx just got his braces off and decided to shave his head for a change. He is looking forward to football and wrestling camps this summer as well as lifting weights with the team. He will be graduating from the eighth grade in June (ahhhh) and turning 15. We will all have a safe year as he won't take drivers education until next summer.

A sad bit of news, our dog Boomer is really sick. We thought he had swallowed a foreign object and couldn't pass it. He has been in the vet's office for the whole week and we discovered that he has a severly inflamed small instestine which is swollen and blocked to the point that food cannot pass. He is miserable and on many medications to bring the inflamation under control. We aren't sure what is causing this, but if he manages to hold down food and water today he can come home. Marx's dentist wrote off the remaining balance on his braces last week which was a huge amount. I think was a blessing from God so that we can take care of our Boomer. We really want Boomer home and healthy!

Here are a few photos and I promise to update more regularly!