Boomeranga!

Well! I think I can chalk this past weekend up to once-in-a-very-long-while sorts of experiences: Javier, Serena, Justin, Ben and I landed in Eau Claire to watch the 2007 Boomerang National Championships. Javier and I actually headed up on Thursday night, and so on Friday got to catch the nice, sunny day of the event - and some of the more fun competitions - fast catch (how long does it take you to throw and catch a boomerang five times) and trick catch (picture on left - Dan threw 2 booms at the same time, just caught the first, and is holding it in his mouth as he catches the second) among others. We got to hang out with a bunch of the competitors - many of the best boomerangers in the States - and listen to their stories and watch them compete. Joce joined us for dinner, and we were later joined by the rest of the crew. The weather wasn't nearly as fun Saturday and Sunday (it was cold and rainy!), but it was still great fun to be around such quirky amazingness. [pics]

Bro Dan, who was competing, ended up getting 3rd in the Aussie Round (a combination of distance, accuracy and catching), which was very cool - but because he had done consistently well in all of the other events, he got 2nd in the all-around tournament!! It will be neat to see how things go next year as the World Cup will be held in Seattle, with team trials in the spring.

There were tons of stories flung about throughout the weekend, but one of the best actually happened during the competition: Katie, the sister of the Bauer brothers, headed to Shopko for sunscreen on Thursday (I think). She found the pink bottle of Banana boat spray stuff, and ended up picking up the last in the store. She paid, and was walking out with her bag, when a mom spotted the sunscreen in her bag, grabbed the bag away, and hit Katie on the head with it!! She then took off, and only because the store manager happened to be watching was she intercepted and the precious sunscreen commodity returned to the stunned and speechless Katie! So much for midwestern friendliness! Katie did assure us she bore no ill will toward Wisconsinites in general, which I thought magnanimous given the circumstances. I would have loved to have watched that one unfold.

My favorite part of the weekend was hanging out with my nephews & niece who I hadn't seen in far too long... definitely overdue!!