Nicole

November 9, 2013 by robertforto Leave a Comment

My daughter, Nicole ( @nicole_catcher5 ), 14 in this picture, is preparing to run in the Junior Iditarod in February!

One of life’s greatest moments

March 12, 2013 by robertforto Leave a Comment

As a child grows up there are several milestones that mean more than the ability to drive the family truckster.

Our little flea, Nicole, got her learners permit this past Saturday and she is so excited! In Alaska you are able to drive at the ripe old age of 14 but Nicole decided to wait–with absolutely no argument from her mom and dad–until she was 15 1/2. Good choice Nicole.

She said herself, “I don’t know if I even WANT to drive, there are so many rules…”

That all changed once she got that little plastic card!

Friday

We headed to Palmer on Friday afternoon after a quick study session in the truck with me asking, “what does that sign mean? Can a person turn right at that corner? There’s a bike on the road, what are you supposed to do now?”

We entered the DMV, Nicole filled out the paperwork and we waited our turn. About 45 minutes later she was at the testing kiosk and ready to go!

She missed five. Bummer. You have to get 16 out of 20 right to pass. She missed some technical stuff like how many points you lose on your license if you are pulled over for wreck less driving? Who knows!

Defeated we left the DMV and made plans to drive to Eagle River on Saturday morning to try again.

Saturday

We arrived at the DMV around 10 am for attempt number two. We had to wait about an hour and a half this time as this was the only DMV open in the entire metro area.

This time both mom and dad were here to witness this milestone. If she passes.

A few minutes after Nicole walked up to the kiosk she gave us the thumbs up and we hurried over to congratulate her!

10 minutes later we were back in the car with Nicole’s freshly printed ID in hand.

WAIT!

Nicole exclaimed. They have my birthday wrong! What? Yep, it is is listed as July 3rd.

Michele and Nicole hurried back inside while I waited in the truck. luckily they didn’t have to wait in line or we would have been here all day.

On the way home Michele said, “you know your dad has to teach you to drive right?”

Great. This should be fun. I can remember the stress I put my dad under trying to learn how to drive an old Volkswagen Bug in my high school parking lot. I had such trouble with the shifting and the clutch and the steering that I could barely get over the speed bumps.

Monday

Nicole will be the first to admit that she is a little short to be driving dad’s Toyota Tundra.

After a few errands around Wasilly I gave Nicole her first driver’s lesson on the mile long, snow covered road that lead from the highway to our house. Before she took off in the truck she had to adjust the seat ALL the way up just so that she could see over the wheel and we took off down the road at a very speedy 10 miles per hour.

We made it home without an accident and now she wants to drive everywhere. Heck she even carries her wallet now.

What are we in for?! If I have my way she wont drive until she is 30. Heck, we already told her she can’t go on a date until she’s 18.

Daddy’s little girl is growing up too fast.

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NaBloPoMo: What is the last game you played?

May 22, 2012 by robertforto Leave a Comment

I am participating in the NaBloPoMo challenge for May. It should be a fun one. It is titled: Play.

Todays topic is: what is the last game you played?

I haven’t had the privilege, or the curse depending on how you look at it, for the last couple weeks of hanging out with another human being. I am up in Tok, Alaska watching my friends pack of Iditarod sled dogs while he is on a school tour on the east coast.

I am just glad my name is not Jack because it has been all work and no play. You know what that means?

Jack can be a dull boy!

So in the sprit of the theme, I guess the last game I played was catch with my daughter, Nicole, a couple weeks ago.

As I have said in previous posts, Nicole is turning out to be a pretty good little catcher on her high school softball team. She starts for the junior varsity team and is the back-up catcher on the varsity team. As a freshman!

Back to the game of catch. It had been a while since we have played catch together. Several years in fact. She took a two year hiatus from softball to play lacrosse–I taught her how to play that too.

But as soon as we started throwing the ball around she started talking about the way you used to play catch.

“Don’t let anything by you, Nicole!” she said. And,

“Catch the ball Nicole or you are walking home!”

I may have mentioned that I am very competitive and it has rubbed off on my kids. I am sure some of you are saying–man, what is up with this guy? Give you kids a break, dude.

To the contrary. Nicole is glad I forced her to try her best. She is glad I was hard on her in sports.

Why? Because she is playing varsity softball. As a freshman.

Enough said.

______________________

Robert Forto is mushin’ down a dream in the wilds of Alaska. He and is wife are raising two teenagers at Forto’s Fort.

Smash that Ball Flea!

May 19, 2012 by robertforto Leave a Comment

I am so proud of my little girl!

Nicole is a freshman at Houston High School in Alaska and is the starting catcher on the junior varsity team and the back-up catcher on varsity. As a freshman!

Nicole is away from home for the first time playing games in Kenai and Homer.

On the way down she texted me and said she was in Anchorage.

Being the typical dad I gave my fatherly advice:

Have fun, be safe, act like a lady and smash that ball!

I then said,

Don’t spend all your time texting, look to the right and you may see a whale in the inlet!

Nicole texted back, “Sweet!”

Nicole just moved up to Alaska over Christmas break. She stayed in Colorado with her grandparents until her mom, Michele, could get a job up here. I didn’t want to have the kids up here if mom would have to return home for lack of work.

Why does this matter?

Nicole moved from a school in the Denver suburbs with thousands of kids roaming the halls to a little school of just a few hundred kids. Sports aside, she has been given the job as the newspaper photographer for next year and is doing great in her classes.

Who would have thought my little flea (the name we have called her since she was little–we are dog trainers ya know!) would do so well living in the sticks in Alaska.

Way to go Flea! Smash that ball!