Lift with your back in a jerking twisting motion. Take your legs completely out of the equation.

Friday
We met some friends for happy hour after work and then went to a movie. Movies on nice evenings = unhappy Lisa. Went to bed pretty early because on Saturday...

Saturday
Ken was up and out of the house for an 8 am start time for the Super Leisure Olympics. 16 guys compete against each other in mini golf, croquet, bowling, bocce ball, horseballs, darts and billiards. You can read their bios on the website. I didn't understand Ken's bio, which is apparently from Steve Martin in "The Jerk".

Here are the 16 competitors before the first event (Ken is on the left, Rich is to his right and Dennis is below them):


The Super Leisure Olympics started at 8 am and finished around 1 am. I slept in, drank my coffee, picked up some deck sealer and painted the first coat on the front porch. Then I made some lunch and around 3, Kinley and I met the group at the park for bocce ball and horseballs. The organizers got an alcohol permit for the park, so folks drank beer while they watched/played the festivities. It was a beautiful day. Plus, it was an off-leash park, so Kinley got to run around as everyone threw his ball for him. He was exhausted by the end of the day.

Us in the park. Kinley is checking things out since he's the ambassador of dogs. All of these people were in our group. There were about 25 of us (players and spectators).


Kinley after running around for 4 hours. He was exhausted. Apparently, he was also drinking.


Ken ended up winning the bocce ball event. I was very proud. They crowned him as "winning the party" for that event and gave him the designating sombrero.




Horseballs was next, which is two golf balls tied together with a foot of rope. You get four sets of balls and alternate with your competitor throwing them onto a PVC ladder. Highest rung gets you 3 points, middle rung is 2 points, lowest rung is 1 point. After you've each thrown your balls, points are decided as follows: If you get 6 points on your throws and your competitor gets 2, the difference is awarded to the winner... i.e. player 1 is awarded 4 points while player 2 gets nothing. Games are played to 13. It's pretty fun and more difficult than I expected it to be. It's a great backyard barbecue game.

Here is Dennis throwing horseballs:



I stayed for the darts event (by then, it was around 8 pm). Ken placed 2nd in that. Then we dropped off Kinley and I joined Ken for part of the Billiards. I left at 12:30 and was exhausted. Ken got home shortly thereafter -- after he was eliminated. You can see all of the pictures on the SLO website.

Sunday
We woke up and went to Sauvie Island to pick our strawberries for the year. We met Mindy and Jaime out there and stayed for about an hour. We each picked a flat. Ken picked 7.5 lbs; I picked 10.3. Needless to say, we're eating berries everyday and I'll be freezing some and turning others into jam. Delicious.

After berry picking, we picked up Corey and went out to Edgefield to play some golf with Dennis and Ingrid. My golfing good luck was not there and I had a tough time. It was fun though. On one of the holes, I made a bet with Ken that if I got a hole-in-one, I could have chickens. He agreed. I took a long time to steady myself and set things up. It went way left. Ken let out a sigh of relief.


Monday
I was sore from golf the day before. I also turned a year older. Coincidence? I think not. Ken and I rode into work together and stopped for some coffee at one of our favorite places downtown. It was a treat. The work day was pretty calm and I got lots done. After work, I did the second coat of sealer on the front deck while Ken let the dog out. Then we went to our dodgeball double headers. In our second game, I caught a ball between my legs! I was excited. After dodgeball, the league went for pizza and beer at a new place with the giant open windows. Perfect for a summer night.

Tuesday
I am sorer still. My neck. My back. Ugh. Ibuprofen and strawberries for breakfast. After work, I met Ken for his softball double header and sat in the sunshine. Nice day.

Wednesday
Still sore. We are out of ibuprofen. Still eating berries. I was going to start golf lessons tonight but my mom convinced me to take private lessons rather than group lessons. She said they were more helpful for her. Momma knows. So instead of golfing tonight and being extra sore tomorrow, I'll be making jam tonight. Either are fun in my book.

Today also marks the day that our friend finds out the sex of their baby. They are very excited. I also heard that Dave H. just got a new job as a medical science liaison (translation: talking to drug companies and scientists about the status of clinical trials)! Congratulations Dave! This job is PERFECT for you. Finally, a job that pays you to be cruise director!