Emma Swims, Owen Scores!

Just a quickie. Emma had her first major swim meet this weekend. The top 15 swim clubs were there. It was a 3 day meet. Emma swam four events: the 100 yrd Breaststroke, the 50 yrd Backstroke, the 100 yrd Freestyle and the 50 yrd Breaststroke. The meet was held at an Aquatic Center on the Northwest side of Washington DC, right near Walter Reed Medical Center where many of our Iraq heroes go after being wounded in battle.

It was a humbling experience for Emma. While she did well in her heats Day 2 (see Video), she saw how fast kids can get who have been swimming year round for 2yrs or more. She also is on the small side for her age and just building up shoulder and leg strength. But she gives it her all and goes to each practice w/ enthusiasm and a love for the water. Her best event was the 100 Free which is the first event on the short vid below. What was so encouraging was at this longer distance her stroke got smoother and stronger on the inward 50. Despite my shakey camera work (don't yak Scott!) you will see she wanders too far right, instead of down the center stripe. But she refused to give up, she gets out touched by a half second at the wall, but the girl misses the timing pad...Emma Wins! My commentary has it wrong on  the video b/c there was a girl swimming in lane 2 who didn't count, she was getting an extra swim in.  Enjoy the Video.

Owen's team had a really solid game this past Sunday morning. It was the first time we decided to keep players in positions (Forward or Defense) for an entire game rather than alternating them every shift. BTW, we play half ice 4 on 4. Owen wanted to play D, like his hero Nick Lidstrom (don't ask me where he would get that from...I am all about Stevie Y). He scored 3 goals from the blue line (we won 29-8, so there were lots of hats on the ice), which was fun: two slap shots from the defensive position and one where he was out of position on defense (in front of their net) but got the quick put back. My favorite play and what i am most proud of him for lately, is his speed to the puck and on defense it's critical. In the middle of the third period, they had there top kid take the puck from us in their zone from the right wing position and he skated down toward our net at a pretty good clip stick handling all the way, i thought he had a clean shot for sure as he angled in on our goalie's left side. Our goalie (who was pretty unstable) slid slowly to his left but fell at the moment the guy was about to shoot and just as Owen who never gave up on the play was skating in with his stick extended for a poke check. Instead of stopping, Owen leaped into the air (Superman style) over our goalie and landed on the puck and stick just before the shot could get off. Our coach turned to me and said, "where the hell did he come from?" Owie, the Wings could use you on D right about now!

"Happy 1yr 'Gotcha' Anniversary to you...."

Today, December 10th, we celebrated our 1yr Gotcha Anniversary w/ Audrey. I've re-posted the original Gotcha video from Kunming and the social affairs office. For us, an for many who adopt, this is Audrey's Birthday even though we celebrate the traditional day on Aug. 21st. It would be an understatement to say she's grown, she's loved, she's changed our lives. All of which are true. But most important, she's developing into a unique little person. We are having a blast and really looking forward to this Christmas as she is now in the habit of saying "meeeeee" and "minnnnnne" and so it starts...a healthy level of self-worth and there will be no stopping her. Can't wait to see her fully participate in the rip and tear.

We celebrated w/ a trip to a traditional mainland restaurant...PF Chang's! We did it though very much like in China--all the food comes at once. Audrey stood and bounced the entire time in the booth, like one of those wind up toys. After we headed home for Kathie's fantastic red cake (no communist puns necessary) and then we watched....you guessed it...the Red Wings and a "Red Out" at the Caps center. Both of our teams were victorious last night in honor of Audrey.

Last weekend we did our annual Middleburg Hunt parade. Last year it was the weekend before we left for China so it was really fun having Audrey w/ us to see the Huntsman and dogs ride through Middleburg, get a famous Mello-Out hot chocolate and afterwards pick up our tree. Pictures are at the end of the post. It was a chilly morning, probably the coldest so far.

I won't wax poetic on the anniversary. Suffice to say we love this little girl very much and feel very humbled, as with all of our kids, to have her here. Enjoy the Gotcha Vid one more time and some of the pics from our first few days with her in China.

Many Blessings,

Tom and Kath

All dressed up...what?....what upside down baby?

I heard clicking from downstairs, i snuck down to grab the camera, snuck up to grab this scene. Her first foray into dress up shoes.  Alena had a funny line when we were watching the video,  "I showed her how to work her stroller...I did NOT show her how to put in the baby!"

5 Lil Elves--Kickin' It

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

OwieVechkin shoots and scooooorrrrrrreeeZ!

Hey, thought you all might like a "short story" of a 6yr old coming into his own on the ice

8th game of the season for the Blue Sharks. Owen had 7 goals in his first 7 games (the top two kids probably have 20+ goals each). but until last week (two weeks after we started power skating lessons again--learning literally to skate like the pro's skate) he wasn't really covering the entire ice like i thought he could. Today we played the best team (they have 4 kids who are on the Selects travel team, these kids play 30+ add'l games around DC, Philly, and Balitimore) and 3 of the kids i swear to gosh shave! (they also have a full-time goalie who plays travel--whereas most teams like ours rotate each kid each week) anyway, i told Owen w/o two of our best players this morning, he might need to step up and fill their spot. we had 9 skaters, they had 13. it's a shift every 2min for our two lines.

this Red team plays super aggressive which in Mites translates to out of control. on his first shift he raced down for a loose puck and a kid literally checked him up against the boards. this is suppose to be no "purposeful" contact until the age of 11yrs and up. he got up and skated after the puck to disrupt their offensive flow, shift ended. on his next shift, he was all over the ice w/ a couple of breaks out of our zone stick handling (side to side w the puck while his stick was being hit) and got a shot off twice. at this point Red has scored twice and it's 2-0 w/ 8min gone in the 1st 15min period. Owen has two shots on goal and a couple of good chase downs on defense. his line hasn't given up a goal yet.

before the game Owen tried to grab a sip of my coffee..i said "back off! coffee's for closers" (for you Glengary/Glenross fans). he said, "i am going to score our first goal today", i said, "if you score the first goal, i'll buy you a coffee." next shift the puck goes down by our goalie, one of our players gets it, Owen breaks toward the other team's net (as our Head Coach has practiced w/ our kids every week) but the pass goes wide, Owen races to the right of the goalie, grabs the puck w/ a guy on him, skates around the net, makes a stick move on a guy waiting for him on the other side, surprises the goalie and rips it in for our 1st flamin' goal. Starbucks it is! (don't worry, we all went to Saint IHOP's afterwards). the Red team scores 3 more goals to end the period to make it 5-1. they are bigger and more aggressive, we have to be relentless on the puck.

but before the period ended, Owen brimming w/ confidence now jetted for another puck in their end. he was suppose to stay on defense, but no one else moved. he beat the Red team to the puck, but the kid behind just clobbered him down. he was slow to get up, shift ended and he motored back to the bench. i asked him if he wanted to chase that kid down. he started to cry, apparently the kids skate had hit the back of his leg. i got him calm pretty quick and said, "hey, you are leading this team today, they need you to stay aggressive, keep after the puck." he wiped his tears and headed out for his next shift and kept his skating up.

he ended up scoring another goal in the 3rd where he stole the puck from the other team at center ice, dragged the puck in front of him, chased it down as it skittered ahead, faked left after he gained control w/ his stick and shot right about 10 ft from the goalie, a rising wrist shot while on the move. at this point we were down 7-3. we were only outscored 2-1 in the 2nd period. Owie did okay on the puck, but his line did give up the two goals in front of our net in the second, as they started to watch the Red team w/ the puck instead of going right at them.

the end of the third was the best, the other team had only scored twice on us, we again had scored once, but Owie's line really got a second wind and didn't give up any goals that period. OwieVechkin (as i will now refer to him) was all over, he had a bunch of good breaks, would get skated down, but he kept driving up and down the ice. if the puck went against the boards, he was after it to chip it out. if it shot across ice from the scrum he was the first Blue Shark after it. 

anyway w/ 5:30 left the puck went deep and left of their goalie. Owen went after it w/ one of his teammates who was quickly chopped aside by this giant kid from the Red team. anyone remember the movie "the Sandlot" where the dog on the other side of the fence had through imagination and myth become the equivalent of a canine T-Rex? well this kid was bigger! twice the size of our hero. but that little son of buck would not move, he kept kicking the puck against the boards w/ his skate as his stick was being pinned against the boards by Kidzilla. he finally chipped it toward the goal away from the direction the big kid was pushing, he grabbed the puck w/ his stick while his line mates closed on the goal. Owen cut out toward the front of the net and slammed the puck at the goalie. it hit his stick bounding out front and center of the net, where big Sam (as opposed to little Sam) was there to collect the rebound and he slapped it home.

an assist for Owen and 2 goals--a 3pt morning. the Blue Sharks lost 9-4, but that's 75% of our offense, a very proud assistant coach and our Head Coach who was really glad the "kid who can stick handle around 5 guys in a phone booth" stepped up!

Halloween and other updates

Another gorgeous Fall day in NoVa (more pics below the post)

Audrey survived her first year of trick or treating.  She wore a classic costume worn first by Emma and then Alena.  Grandma Kroeckel has been responsible for so many great costumes, this one she did when we were in Kansas City, Emma was 1.5yrs old at the time.  I remember her round little face sticking out of that flower and her walking around my HayGroup office (actually, she was still doing her one-foot drag crawl if anyone can remember Emma's unique scooting style).

Any way, can you say deja vu' all over again with the round, cherub like face of Miss Audrey. She didn't do much trick or treating, mainly rode in the wagon eating the first pack of Skittles she was given.

Quick update:  Emma is swimming year round now, for Snow Swimming or local USA swimming club.  She's doing well, has great form off the blocks and through most of her strokes, still needs to work on kick and getting some power on those long  limbs (i can relate since she has my body type--i still don't think i have forearm muscles!)   But she loves it and this was her decision to focus on swimming.

Alena is doing dance and gymnastics and really prospering in school and with friends.  And we just finished her 3rd session of skating and she is finally getting on her edges and moving out. We hope to have her back swimming in the spring.  

Hugh progressed in skating and made it to his first "stick and shoots" w/ owen and I, skating in full gear and shooting shots.  He is doing great in school and Spanish which he takes twice a week.  He is a rascal. But behaves at school like an angel and is smart as a whip.  He is learning to play video games on his own, so we now have another thing to take away from him when bad.

Owen is doing well in school, really liking all day, we just need to get a little neater on our printing--which seems to have deteriorated since kindergarten when he use to take forever to print.  Hockey is going well in his first season of Mites.  He's starting to get a little more aggressive for the puck, but also likes watching his teammates skate around and shoot while he skates side to side.  Oh well, it's 6 yr old hockey.  He also started Cub Scouts this year, is in an 8-boy troop.  We've hiked, done a corn maize, collected food for Thanksgiving food drive and sold the world famous Scout popcorn.  The kids love the outdoors and Owen more than anyone likes bugs and critters and knives and guns...so we thought Scouting would be perfect!

Kathie and I celebrated our birthdays and 11yr anniversary the past 3 weeks.  After her summer of Triathloning, Kathie is working at working out at Lifetime Fitness.  The only problem:  Audrey has major separation anxiety.  But when she can go they have workouts ranging from boot camp to aerobic yoga to pilates and weightlifting.  This winter she will start swimming and Tri training again.  Most of her day is running kids around.  I try to pitch in now that my office is only 10min a way, but the schedule is a challenge.  I know everyone claims their busy and we certainly aren't looking for any badges--but c'mon people, save your sob stories for another family, 5 kids under 10 and 3 labs--you can't compute!

BusinessElite is doing better, now that we hired our own local development team along w/ a really strong database architect and a designer.  The product itself is looking outstanding and it will launch Dec 1st w/ one of the best Beta interfaces of any job site ever launched.  We fired our team in India after 5mos of slow response and inadequate design and development work. Next time Glenn and I hire Indians, they will have feathers!  The timing couldn't be better for us, because going against conventional wisdom, hiring of professionals and executives usually goes up in an economic downturn, not down.  I started w/ a new hockey team this winter and moved up from C to B.  I am now Left Wing for the Chiefs (of Slapshot fame).  The summer team made it to the semi's before we were knocked out.  I won't give you my point totals as it embarrasses my bro-n-law Scott...well he gets embarrassed for me!

The best part of this year is we have 4 season tickets to the Capitals behind the Caps bench about 20 rows up in the lower bowl of the Verizon center.   Been great fun for our kids and our business associates.

We are looking forward to Holdiays here, even though these are leaner times than we have experienced before--no matter--by early next year I think any financial worries will be gone w/ the pending success of BusinessElite.com.

Cheers for now,

Tom and Kath

The wizards and the flower

The kids and neighbors

We get turned a way for going over the family/house quota, so we split up into two groups

The Knight and his maiden

Owen hasn't quite grasped the meaning of 40+ season ticket games.  One night he was really upset I was at the game w/o him, he called my cell and could barely talk.  After I explained that the game was a work thing and that he could look for me on TV, he calmed down, ran to his room and put on his "rooting gear."  I snapped this pic after I got home that night.  Hockey is all about passion!!!!

 

Dad's getting older birthday!

Hockey players don't need front teeth!

Kathie's friends from High School and earlier were in town for a visit (Lori--to Kath's left--and her husband Mark and fam just moved to Winchester, VA about 40min west of us).  It was nice to be around midwesterners for a change, I forget what it's like to have an ego-less, agenda-less conversation.

She fell asleep on her doll one morning while I was working, all of the sudden I heard what sounded like snoring.

Proving Caps fans are made not born! This one went to the owner of the Caps, Mr Ted Leonsis whom i know from AOL--I haven't seen it on his blog yet, but expect it on the Verizon center big board one game.

Me-yama, Ah-pa, and Boo

We had a nice visit from my Grandma and Grampa Kroeckel.  Pumpkin patch, sporting events and lots of playtime.  And, Boo showed up our new puppy.  An English black lab, we now have the complete set of lab colors.  As you can tell from the progression of pics, I learned to like him almost....but Dune and Mocha and I agree...you can take him back now.

I just met Boo..oh boy!

I warmed up...

...he's cute, I guess, if you like that sort of thing...

....okay, let's have a "cute" contest....Me! (or)

...the mongrel (who will eventually eat his own scat!)?

I think we know who wins...I mean........look at me?

Ciao,

Audrey

Hugh rides the Dragon

Audrey turns 2 in her home home state!

Audrey returned to Michigan for the 2nd time in 6mos this time for her own birthday after being there in early March to celebrate her cousin Ava's 1st.  Thankfully, in late August the rust belt didn't throw 18in of snow at us over the horn of Lake Erie.

We had a fantastic visit with family and enjoyed perfect Michigan summer weather for a week. Kathie and I got to Somerset  twice. We got some family skating in (and some hockey very early in the morning).  We got down to all three sports arena's in Detroit, walked along the refurbished Detroit River waterfront and had lunch at GMs headquarters, the "Ren-Cen" as we like to call it in De-Troit!

My beautiful bookends!

The older kids stayed in Michigan to travel back with Kathie's parents who live on the other side of the state in Grand Rapids.  That gave Audrey 4 days of Mommy and Daddy to herself back in VA...not exactly by herself since Dune and Mocha were sure glad to get out of the kennel and back to their couches and our bed at home.  

What does one do at a 2yr old's birthday when one has run out of Sudoku....

I haven't been a good blogger, so I will follow this post up with one on the first day of school and the fall activity schedule.  Until then, here is our gorgeous daughter and her equally beautiful mom, brother and sisters:

At the pool

Hanging with and on to Grandma

Beneath the Tiger's paw

Hanging w/ Ava

Entrance to the best stadium on the planet

These two photo's illustrate Audrey's creative side as well as her father's uncanny failure to know where the hell she is and what the hell she is doing.  Notice the blue marker on the trim and directly on the window as well as her tatooing of her own arm.

Additional pics from late Summer

A few more of this beautiful child...and DON'T forget, to see the full HD photo double click on the picture and it will open in a larger window, you can use the back space arrow in your browser to return to the blog...

With Marli, our friends from GR's daughter adopted 5yrs ago and one of our inspirations to do the same.

"Hey Dad, do those other kids havvvvve to come back from Michigan...I could get use to this"

Hey! Look at me lookin' at you!

Baw-deeeeezzzzz! (east coast for buddies)

I am lovin' this milk, what's in this stuff?