Wow

Big time blowing it keeping up with the blog posts. I see in the post below, the last time I wrote was in July.

July.

Since our last post we ...

... took our trip to the Wisconsin Dells.

... climbed to great heights at the Discovery Museum.

... were creative with new friends.

... found the tickly bits.

... stood tall in the batter's box.

... face painted (for the first time).

... found a few things utterly amazing.

... saw Dad's cool old office.

... met the coolest bird in Iowa.

... graduated to Pre-K 3 with a fancy luau party.

... met the 2nd grade teacher.

 

... became a 2nd Grader!

... dreamed big dreams about elementary school.

... attended a first football game with his dad ...

... and grandpa.

... admired a mom who just gets better with age.



... ate some personalized cake

... delighted with the perfect card.

... and gift.

... and kept the ball in play.

It's been a wonderful end of summer and a busy fall. Mom is back in graduate school. Owen lost his fifth tooth. Maya is now an aspiring gymnast. We've adopted each of the school hamsters for a weekend. And, only occasionally slept through the night ...

... ah, yes, the real reason the blog hasn't been updated.

Hopefully we'll all do better at the things we're supposed to do.

A final look at first grade

Completing a big round of home improvements today, as the tile guy finished his work in the kitchen and dining room. He began his work yesterday, but had to come back this morning. We initially headed over to Grammie and Grampy Ives' house to sleep last night, as the smell of the adhesive was strong in the house. Owen didn't do well with the last-minute transition and was still firmly awake at 11:45, so I brought him back home hoping we'd have better luck here.

He finally zonked out at 1 am, sleeping until almost 10. It gave me a lot of time this morning to sort through our computer room, put stacks of paper into their intended files, and tidy up the place a bit. It got to 102 degrees today, so, really, what was the hurry to get outside.

In my digging, I found the computer disc we ordered of Owen's school photo. The shots are handsome, so I'll share them. Summer is nearly halfway over, but first grade was pretty wonderful.

Just take a look at this handsome boy ...

The Baseballer and the Ladybug

A dance recital. A first baseball practice. It's been a very busy few weeks at the Aalberts house. No wonder that, once again, Dad's been doing a poor job updating the blog.

Sometimes life just takes time.

Maya had her end-of-year dance recital three weeks ago. She was beautiful in her Ladybug number and she had a great time.

Meanwhile, Owen finished First Grade at the end of May and is now deep into vacation mode. He's been the boy of many tumbles lately -- note the scab on his elbow below and imagine on his ankle a gash that runs the length of his Achilles Tendon (how very Curt Schilling) -- but his first practice was sweet.

He's a real boy of summer.

Here's the video you requested, Grandpa ...



P.S. The Ladybug is also now in a big girl bed. Very fancy, Miss Maya!

Happy Birthday, Seven Year Old!

ZERO

 ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

The excitement keeps on growing!

Happy, happy, happy 7th birthday, Owen! We love you!

Sporty, sporty

It's been a busy couple of days for sports activities ... and the fun's not done yet. Owen had his second soccer game on Thursday night, a rescheduled match from a rained-out game this past Saturday.

As it was the first time, the game was lots of fun. New to the mix, though, were howling winds out of the south -- nothing to stop them but the Illinois prairie, which was lying down on the job as usual.

And then there was the score.

Owen's team splits in two for each match, with five players on each pitch. While the other half of Owen's team did well, his side excelled at having fun, which, honestly, is perfect.

They ran into the harsh winds, distracted by a tractor turning over soil to the south, and planes taking off from the airport to the north.

Shoot, even Beckham would have had a hard time concentrating. And the chances are pretty good he's practiced soccer during a Spice Girls concert.

We have another game tomorrow afternoon. It should be fun!

The fun continued tonight with Amy's test for her orange belt.

She did great! She whistled through her routine, zipped through the counterattack routines (I love how her classmate is smiling while he takes a chop to the neck (below), and whacked the board with one swift kick. Very impressive!

Best part, though, is her smile throughout. She really loses herself in the activity and is having a great time with the class.

As I've said before, when I married her this was not an activity I could have ever predicted we'd share together ... But I couldn't be more proud of her, or Owen for setting such a good example that his mom had to take her turn.

Breaking the board.

Check out that smile!

Purple belt!

Congratulations, Owen!

Owen earned his fourth belt in Tae Kwon Do tonight, with a test of his skills, some sparring with his mom (talk about every kid's dream ... or nightmare), and a whackety-crack of his fourth piece of lumber.

Great job!

GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Owen's soccer team kicked into gear today. His team was assembled in the last minute, comprising kids who were mostly new to the community or (like Owen) new to organized soccer. Watching their opponents warming up on the next pitch, the parents were all expecting a Bad News Bears outing.

That was before the team scored their first goal.

And then the next.

And the next!

They were on fire!

The final score was 5-3, although I suppose we weren't supposed to be counting. Owen's sweet spot is defense. The games right now are all 5 on 5 with no goalie, but I can imagine him feeling very comfortable when the day comes he can put on some keeper gloves.

Most importantly, today was fun because the boys all had a great time ... as did the rest of us. It was really fun to see them work so well together and feel good about themselves.

Here are a few photos from the match.

FYI, Owen came home and took a shower when the match was over ... and asked for some hair gel for the first time.

Watch out Ronaldo!