A Great Soccer Weekend for Blake and his team

The Quincy High soccer boys won all 3 games of their tournament yesterday and today. Blake had a great tournament. He played the stopper defensive position and several times reminded Mario and me of how Chris handled the ball at SIU....very calmly and confidently and with quick feet. Great job Blake!

Carrie called just before the Idol concert--thrilled to have seats right by the stage. :o)

A couple of reasons to smile today....
Blake is playing with the Quincy High soccer team, and they had their season opener today, a 4-0 win. Looks like we could have a very good team this year, as there are 12 returning seniors and some juniors who can play very well also. Blake got the assist on the first goal, and he played well.

I took Chico to the game, and he met his first little dog friends, white and fluffy just like him. One was a 12-yr. old female with a pink bow in her hair. All she did was stand there and look at Chico. Then he met a malti-poo (maltese-poodle combo), also 4 months old, and they wrestled each other for most of the 2nd half of the game. Cora, Hannah, and Nolan played with him the rest of the time, and when he saw Blake coming across the field after the game, well both of them were happy to see each other.

Nolan had his first and second days of 3-yr. old preschool this week. The 2nd day was a little better than the first. He struggled tremendously leaving Mommy, or I should say Mommy leaving him. But I predict in a couple more weeks, he will romp right in and be happy as a clam. He likes the school and his teacher, and likes what he gets to do, but it is oh so painful for him to be apart from his mommy. And it's not easy for Mommy to let her baby boy go either! But separate for a couple of hours twice a week they must. The principal has taken an interest in him, so he will have a friend there.

We have two soccer games tomorrow, and then Carrie and Tony head to St. Louis for the American Idol concert (Carrie's birthday present, lucky girl). Would love to see Adam do the David Bowie numbers. I expect there will be a good amount of glitter. Carrie is looking forward to seeing the heartthrob. The reviews I have read say the performers are even better in the concert than they were on the show.

Look at What Steph caught in Alaska!

Holy Cow! That's a lot of salmon. Now I am wondering....did you take it home and eat it Steph?

update

No license for Blake until next Tuesday. The computer wouldn't allow it. Well what's one more week.

Finally....

The Eilering girls at college. Have already heard a report that the younger one sleeps earlier than the older one. :o) Have fun girls.

Today is the day Blake will hopefully get his license so he can drive like all the other juniors. He was 16 on June 1, but his class got caught in the new regulation, so everyone is behind getting their driving privileges. So I will watch the daycare, and Momma Carrie and Baby Blake (oops I said I was not going to call him that again) will be off around 1:30 to take the driving part. If he gets that right, he's on the road alone, folks. And since he has been driving the family van with family in tow, for about 9 months now, I think he is ready. If there is ever really such a thing as that. So go for it Blake!

Nolan is going to preschool this week--Thursday and Friday mornings. Looking forward to watching this unfold. Just hope he doesn't take anybody down on the playground or in the classroom when he feels a certain injustice occurring....like somebody taking their turn BEFORE it's their turn! He is a strong, tall, powerful 3 year-old, and I do think being in preschool will be a great experience for him. Carrie has been teaching him how to spell his name, as well as some vital statistics you'd want every little one to know if they are going to be out of your care....like where do you live, who are your parents, when is your birthday, etc. I thought I'd be helpful by reviewing the info with him. When I got to "When is your birthday?", he answered, "Which one?" Of course sister Hannah was at the ready to instruct her brother that he only has ONE birthday, and it is on October 13. So heads up Blessed Sacrament....the Nolan train is comin' through. :o)

Mario has begun school as a sophomore religion teacher and loves it so far. He still has one freshman Spanish class, but the rest of the day is devoted to spiritual matters. The students do seem responsive from what he has told me. And the ISD job is in full swing too.

I am doing some work at church--making a small presentation along with another parishioner to the parish leadership on Thursday. So I will be preparing for that in the next few days. This kind of word makes me happy.

My big achievement for the weekend was getting the toy/computer room reorganized so there is room to walk and play and pull out the trundle without having to move half the things out of the room. The floor closet has become a big toy box, and when they are through, they can just shove everything back in there! That should make clean-up easy!

I watched two movies over the weekend that I enjoyed: Doubt with Meryl Streep and 2 other talented actors, and the film made about Harvey Milk played by Sean Penn. It is called "Milk." Both films are well cast and acted, and they raise consciousness about a couple of important issues.

Chico gets his last shots tomorrow and then should be good for a romp in the fenced dog park. They have two sections, one for the big dogs and one for the little ones. We have not been able to let Chico run without the leash because he is so fast and will run as fast as he can in the opposite direction. I can't catch him, and Mario has to use his best tricks to get him to come back. So for now at least, he stays on the leash and runs only as fast as we can keep up. He does get in a fair amouny of running around the house. I believe the term for it is "the Bichon Blitz." He does that plenty of times to get his energy out. Then he sleeps like a baby for a couple of hours. Still fun and makes us laugh and laugh.

Facebook?

OK, so I responded to a friend's request to be a Facebook friend. I immediately got a few more requests for friends, including my daughter. but I have no clue what to do next. I did write a little blurb of general info, not realizing I should just write something conversational, and put a picture of myself there. So can somebody tell me how this works? I am LOL that I am so illiterate. Well that is not even the right descriptor. I need help. :o)

Bailey at Augustana

Bailey is the newest college gal in the family. Have a great year, Bailey!

Oops. Forgot to rotate these when I transfered them. Well, Nolan loves to stroll his and Hannah's stuffed animals, and he tries to stroll with Chico too. Chico might ride for 5 seconds.

Mario started school this week. He is happy with his new station in life: religion teacher 4 out of 5 periods. One class has 36 students. He will teach all sophomores. First semester is called Christology. It's basically the study of Jesus in the New Testament. Second Semester is church History. I could benefit from taking that! He has one freshman Spanish class and is the freshman class moderator. The only time that job is difficult is at float-building time.

Nolan starts preschool at Blessed Sacrament next week. The other kids all begin tomorrow. Hannah is playing soccer, and Blake will begin his first Varsity season of soccer with the Blue-White scrimmage on Thursday. Hard to believe it's time for all the fall stuff to roll around again. Blake gets his license in September. He has been waiting patiently.

We got a 4-inch rain in the middle of the night a couple nights ago. Carrie and Tony are fighting the water-in-the-basement battle again. Ugh. Wish I could do something to help. Just takes time to dry everything out and clean it up.

I hope everyone gets a good start to their school year.

Chico Can Make a Mess!

Great Nephew Noah's Boy Scout Photo

I got some very good Boy Scout photos of Noah from Heidi, and this one is my favorite.

Assorted photos

Our uncle enjoying himself on a recent cruise....Can you pick out the relatives in this picture?

Now I think I might be able to ride a bike like this one....

Chico resting;

He likes to lay on his back.

Nolan and Chico, two boys sleeping after a long day of play.

Rest in Peace, Aunt Shirley. You were a good aunt, always caring and showing interest. You are now with Jesus and the angels and my good cousin Joe.

Home for a Little While!

One tired puppy. He likes to sleep on his back.

We arrived back home Tuesday night from Scottsdale. It was a terrific week with Makenna, Chris and Maria. We mostly stayed at home and played with her. By the night before we left, she was plopping in Mario's lap and giving him hugs, so lots of Papo bonding took place on the trip. We were on the web cam today with her, and she was all smiles, pulling the little train we took her, and giving us the peace sign (still using all fingers at this time!). Had some great meals while we were there, including an authentic Mexican one in Phoenix that Mario especially enjoyed. I am sure I will make a trip back in a few weeks, especially since I have earned a free ticket from Southwest. And they will all be back the last week in October for a long weekend. Always good to have that to look forward to. :o)

The grandkids are here for the night while Carrie and Tony enjoy an evening out. Tomorrow after mass we head to J'Ville for Aunt Shirley Haycraft's wake and prayer service. Mario will have three consecutive days on the road, as Monday we go to Franklin for the funeral mass, and Tuesday he works at ISD. We are sorry for the loss of our kind aunt, but happy that she is with Jesus and her suffering here is over.

We are truly enjoying being puppy parents. Chico got his first good grooming today, and he looks like a white ball of fluff. Mario watched, and he has more good material for his storytelling time. Chico had a great week with the Dede clan while we were in Arizona. I think he was happy to see us when we got home. And I KNOW who was happy to see him!