Virtual Vlasaty

Well, we just finished with a very eventful weekend. Connor had his first Squirt B hockey tournament of the season in Rochester. To go along with that was a very nasty blizzard. Blizzard or not, hockey continued. The weekend started with a Friday night game for Connor's team against another Rochester team. Our team came out on top 3-1. On Saturday as the snow was falling heavily, we played at 10 a.m. against Osseo Maple Grove and won 9-1. Later that afternoon at 3 p.m. we played St. Francis and won 5-2. That set us up for an 8 a.m. game as second seed in the tournament, and we played another Rochester team and came out on top of that game 3-1 in which Connor scored a goal. That took us to the Championship game of the tournament. Again, we faced yet another Rochester team. Unfortunately, the other team came out on top ending with a score of 3-1. We proudly took 2nd place in the tournament that included 12 Squirt B teams. What a finish! Thankfully we made it to those games on Sunday

We download photos from our camera fairly regularly. When we downloaded photos the last time, we found out that we aren't the only ones taking pictures with the camera. Seems that Cody has found the camera lying around and found it to be an invitation to take some creative photos. Here are just a few.

Kindergarten is going very well for Cody. Not only is he learning lots of new and exciting things, he also seems to be getting the attention of the girls. He is not shy when talking to his dad and I about it either. He tells us there are at least 4 girls that like him, but only one he calls his girlfriend. Her name is Becca. Before he went to school yesterday he sprayed on some cologne. :-) He told us that while he was waiting in the bus line, Bella and Becca both said he was "hot". Look out girls, Cody is on the loose!!!

Cody lost his first tooth on November 11, 2010. Needless to say he really lost it because he had it in a special tooth box for the Tooth Fairy, but when he opened it to look at the tooth (over and over again) it fell out somewhere on the floor. The whole family spent time looking in the carpet and couch for it to no avail. Luckily the Tooth Fairy still makes a visit even when the tooth is really lost.

Halloween turned out to be a nice day. The weather was a bit chilly, but nice for trick-or-treating. Here are pictures of two very handsome goblins.

Connor is in Safety Patrol this year at school. He has the responsibility of keeping the students at school safe as they cross the street to get to school. He has morning duty and is on the schedule every several weeks. He usually is on patrol for a week at a time, but he may only be needed for a day at a time.

One evening before Connor was getting ready to go to sleep, I was in his room and it was quiet as we were watching a little TV. All of the sudden Connor said "Thank you mom". I asked "For what?" He replied "Everything." Those are the moments that make being a parent so worth it!

On Friday I did not have to work so it was Cody's first day to ride the bus to school. He gets to ride the bus home with Connor. Things went great, and he enjoyed riding the bus. It was fun to ride home with his brother. I am so proud of them!

The day finally arrived on Thursday for the first day of Kindergarten. They let the older grades start two days earlier so that things aren't as chaotic. As we were preparing to leave that morning to take the boys to SACC, Connor gave Cody a few words of advice. He told Cody not to say any bad words or do anything to get in trouble. He warned Cody not to embarrass him. Words of wisdom from the older brother on the first day. :-)

In preparing for Cody's first day of school, we needed to decide if Cody would be having lunch at school that day since he would need to be in School Aged Child Care. When checking the lunch menu I told both he and Connor that they would be serving tator tot hot dish. Cody asked "what's that?" to which Connor replied "it's tator tots, corn and some kind of cream stuff, I don't get it..." We laughed. Connor couldn't understand why that combination of ingredients should ever be put together. Needless to say, they both took their lunch that day.

Connor started his first day of 4th grade on Tuesday, September 7, 2010. He had a good day and hopefully has a great year!

Hard to believe, but my baby is now 6 years old. We had a great party the day before his actual birthday with a Transformers theme. He decided on the same theme as last year so that his Uncle Perley could be here this year to be a part of it, and he was! His friend Bella said she was lucky to be able to sit next to the birthday boy. :-) Also in attendance at his party were his friends Julian, Charlie, Sheldon, and Joey, his brother Connor, Great Grandma Zella, Grandma Jean, Grandpa Chuck, Priscila, cousins Alyssa, Breanna, Josh and his fiance and her daughter, Great-great Aunt Madora, Grandpa Dietz and Grandma Jacky, Bella's parents Mike and Megan and little sister Anna, and of course Travis and I.

We enjoyed a great weekend at Lake Nancy in Minong, WI this past weekend with our friends/neighbors, the Malugani's. The weather was beautiful. We enjoyed boating, tubing and swimming on the lake.

The boys decided to go shopping with me today. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how well it went considering we went to several stores to do mostly clothes and shoe shopping. My intentions were to look for stuff for myself, but it always turns into shopping for everyone. The boys got along great during the three hours we were out and one of the last stores we went to was the shoe store. To try on shoes I had to use one of those handy nylons that just slips over your foot. Cody found a different use. Definitely a Kodak moment. :-) He is always inventive.

We love swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool in Austin! Ahhhhhh....

On Thursday, August 19 Cody earned his white stripe in karate.

Yesterday we traveled to Waterloo, Iowa to visit my Grandma Dietz in the nursing home. The boys did very well considering all the different people/situations that can occur in a nursing home. Grandma doesn't hear very well so it was difficult to get her to understand names. Had I thought of it earlier, we should have written the names down for her to read instead. Either way, the boys got a kick out of it because she kept repeating the wrong name back to me and would say somewhat funny sounding names instead. Sometimes it is better to laugh at the situation even though it is difficult. We took grandma to watch the birds. There was a man by the bird cage who was very excited to see and speak to us. He said he recognized both Travis and I from HyVee and he kept repeating how he saw us there (of course we never saw him at HyVee). He then wanted to know the boys' names and proceeded to give each of them hugs while saying I love you over and over again. The boys handled the situatio

Some days are filled with more excitement than others. Today I was out getting the mail when I saw a group of 4 boys riding bikes. Since Connor's bike was stolen, I keep my eyes open for suspicious activity in the neighborhood. Right away these boys seemed to be up to no good. There was a bike in the yard across the street next to the sidewalk where they stopped. The boys stopped there at the corner and I heard them say "Hey, this bike must be free!" I wanted to say to them that they better not take that bike if it isn't theirs, but I thought they saw me watching them and would know better. Well, one of the boys got off the bike he was riding and took the bike that was sitting in the yard. He rode one way and the rest of the boys went the other way, and I heard them say they would meet up. In the meantime, I had Cody get Travis from the house, and Travis went to look for the boys. He saw them in a park up the street and they all had bikes that were spray painted. Obvi

Cody earned his white belt in karate last night. Very proud moment for him and us! Way to go Cody!!!

We got the results of Connor's first MCA tests in the mail. He exceeded the standards in both math and reading, especially math. Way to go Connor!!!!

When Cody got up this morning, he asked me if I remembered the little toy plastic pinball game he got the last time he was at the dentist. I told him that I did remember. He then told me that he needed to go to the dentist today to have a tooth pulled so that he could get another one. I told him I didn't think that would be necessary...I told him I could probably find one at a store somewhere instead of him having to have a tooth pulled. The funny thing is those little pinball games are very cheap, but apparently mean so much to kids. :-)

This evening we went to the fair with the boys and one of Connor's friends (Carter Reed). It was a nice evening. The boys had wrist bands to go on unlimited rides until 10 p.m. They had a lot of fun and the cutest thing was when Connor had to help his brother do some of the "bigger" rides. He took care of his brother and held his hand from ride to ride at the end. At first Connor and his friend didn't want to go on the school bus ride because they thought it was a kid ride. At the end Travis convinced them to go on it with Cody. After that, they went on the ride a bunch of times (too many to count).

Cody started karate this week and loves it. Here is his fighting stance. :-)

Cody had a friend stay overnight last night. When his mom dropped him off Cody said "He'll be fine...we have candy."

I was putting suntan lotion on the boys before swimming and Cody said that they looked white like Michael Jackson with it on. Anything that is really white, he relates to Michael Jackson. :-)

Last week Cody and I had gone shopping. As we were going through the checkout lane he noticed a magazine with Carrie Underwood in her wedding dress on the front cover. He loves Carrie Underwood and even drew hearts all around her picture of one of my magazines. He asked "Mom, did she get married?" I answered "Yes." Right away he said "Do you think they will break up soon?" I told him that if she did break up with him, she likes hockey players so he still has a chance. He said "Good!"

So, apparently my youngest son loves the Schwan's man enough to call him daddy. Much to my surprise, when the Schwan's man came tonight my son exclaimed "Schwan's man...daddy!" I think he fondly calls him daddy since we get ice cream from him. :-)