Ally's Dances

Here are some videos from our new camera of Allison at some recent rehersals for the upcoming competition season. They're not all complete but coming along nicely:

Large Group Tap - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtwCANoqSBU (check out those facial expressions!)

Large Group Jazz - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhwwfDydp9w

Tap Solo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcAfP4EHp9A (too cute!)

Been awhile?

Yeah, I know I haven't updated the blog in some time. Too much going on. I've missed lots of hockey updates, deer camp, the holidays, etc. Maybe I'll cycle back to those but we'll begin with a quick post just to get back in the swing of things...

Holland Advanced Hockey Tournament

Nathan's team played in an early season tournament last weekend in Holland at the Great Lakes Advanced Tournaments. Having only played 2 regular season games before the tournament (both of them losses), we weren't sure what to expect. The first game was Friday night against Kentwood and we lost 3-2 and we were lucky it was that close. Our goalie stopped 5 breakaways to keep us in it until the end. Nathan scored one of our two goals. Saturday morning was an 8-3 win over Lapeer. Nathan and one other player on his team each had hat tricks (three goals). Saturday night was a game against Battle Creek who beat the Hawks in their first game of the season 2-0 but Nathan had to miss that game due to a football game. It was a good game and we were up 4-1 but let them back into it in the final minutes and ended up winning 4-3. Nathan scored another goal in that game on a wraparound. Sunday morning was the final round-robin game of the tournament and the boys needed a tie or win in order to reach the championship game. Unfortunately, Heidi and I had to miss the game because we were flying out to Las Vegas for a work conference I had to attend. When we reached Chicago, Nathan called to let us know he had just scored the game-tying goal with less than 30 seconds on the clock to help his team reach the finals against Kentwood!!! Heidi and I were very excited for him and the other boys but very upset that we weren't there to see it. Then, we had to way until we got off the plane in Vegas before we would learn how the championship game ended up. When we talked to Nathan he was still very upset. They had ended regulation of the championship game in a 1-1 tie (Nathan had the goal for his team). The team was short-handed going into overtime and Kentwood ended up scoring to win the tournament. Our Hawks team was the tournament runner-up. Click here for the results sheet. Each boy got his name announced and received a runner-up medal. Additionally, theh team received a runner-up banner which will be decorated with all the player names and hung up at our home rink in Walker. The team manager sent out stats from the tournament and in 5 games, Nathan scored 7 goals and 4 assists. So Nate's stats for the season are 9 goals and 4 assists in 6 games. Not a bad start! I really think playing football this year has made Nate quite a bit stronger and it's showing when he's on skates. He's one of the older kids on his team this year and is learning to be a leader. The games are pretty fun to watch so if you want to catch one, take a look at his schedule here. Click the picture below to enlarge.

Nathan is third from the right in the middle row...

Football Update

The Trojans are currently 2-1. The first game was a 42-7 win over the Spartans. Second game was a 12-0 win over the Chargers, and last week was a 14-0 loss to the first-place Steelers. Hopefully, the boys will be able to win their next two games to get another crack at the Steelers in the championship. Nathan's been getting a lot of playing time at defensive guard and is doing a good job of shooting the gaps. He's also getting much more comfortable hitting hard on tackles. A local photographer takes pictures of some of the games and posts them here. Nathan is in the 5th & 6th grade division and his team has maroon jerseys with gold numbers. He's number 81.

Cub Football Dancers

Like last year, Allison did the Cub Football Dance during halftime of the 5th & 6th grade football game. This is an annual fundraiser for the Jenison High School Dance Team where they teach all the girls a dance on a Wednesday night and then they all perform at halftime of a Cub Football game. Nathan played the early game at 8am and Allison danced during halftime of the last game of the day. They both got rained on pretty bad but still had fun. I don't have video uploaded yet, but here are a couple pics.

Kaylynn and Allison...
Rehersal before the halftime show...

Bird Hunting

Nathan passed Hunter's Safety class over the summer and now can officially hunt. We picked up his Junior Small Game license and Meijer had a coupon to get his combo deer license free. So he's set for the season. We sat twice during the youth deer hunt a couple weeks ago but didn't see anything. During the same weekend, though, we joined Scott, Bob, and Remy for some morning bird hunting. This was Nate's first time carrying a real gun so I didn't take my gun so I could watch over him and make sure he was being safe. He was using his Rossi matched pair gun that he got for Christmas last year. It has a .22 barrel and a .410 barrel. He was using the .410 with bird shot. I was very pleased with his hunting. He stayed up with the group, kept his muzzle in a safe direction, and stayed in his safe zone of fire on more than one occasion when a bird flew between us. It was a fun day. Remy put up quite a few woodcock and a handful of grouse. One of the woodcock that flew between us landed close by so Scott and Nate walked over toward it. When Remy flushed it up Scott and Nate both pulled up and shot at the same time. Scott is "pretty sure" he missed so Nate got his first woodcock. ;-) Not bad. Of course we had to clean it, wrap it in bacon, and fry it up in garlic butter for him to go along with his dinner. Most importantly, Nathan followed all the safety rules and is welcome to hunt with the group again. Here are some shots after we returned.

Bob, Scott, Remy, Nathan, and Troy
Remy holding Nate's bird...

Football Season

As I mentioned before, Nathan pressed to give football a try this year. Unfortunately, football is all done by grade instead of age so he's playing with 5th and 6th graders. There are six teams in the league. This is his first year of ever playing football and he's on the low end in weight but he's still having fun and improving each day. It helps that his friend Dylan is also on the team. I think he enjoys it more than I expected him to. His team has maroon jerseys with gold lettering and they voted their team name to be the Trojans (like USC). So far, he's been playing defensive guard (usually against some pretty big kids that can throw him around pretty good...but he can also use his quickness to squirt through the hole). He's also been working on a nice little spin move that he uses against some of the bigger kids. He does a nice job of tackling but we're still working on getting him comfortable (and mean) enough to really deliver a solid hit with the shoulder pads. When he gets to play offense he's usually tight end. They don't run too many plays with wideouts at this age but they do occasionally throw to the tight end.

Last weekend was scrimmages against some of the other teams and he did a nice job. He played defensive guard (his best position), offensive guard, and outside linebacker. He said he liked outside linebacker the best but he'll need to learn to deliver a hit at full speed before he'll see much playing time there. He did a great job of covering the pass plays though. Overall, the team looked pretty good. We've got some pretty impressive kids on the team that are going to be tough for the other teams to handle. Their first game is coming up in a couple days so it will be interesting to see how that goes. Coach Mattson invited the whole team over to his house after the scrimmage so the boys could play together away from football for awhile. It was a perfect day.

All of the games will be played on the Jenison High School football field (here's a cool aerial photo of the campus). It's really an amazing complex that many colleges would probably envy. The last two games they play are during the week at night under the lights. That should be pretty cool. You can see the game schedule here.

Prepping for the scrimmages. Nathan is #81. And for the Weiss boys... Yes, he WILL be getting Timmy's towel back!
Warming up on the field...
I just had to take this shot.
The team party at Coach Mattsons. The boys are on a huge water mat. They could even walk on the thing but not when everyone is trying to get on!

The Fishin's Been Good

It seems the last month or so has been great for fishing both up north (in Bitely) and back home in the little lake behind the house. One of Nathan's friends who's big into bass fishing taught him some techniques to catching more and it's paying off. It's all about the slow retrieve (so I'm told). Personally, I much prefer a fly rod and a kayak (and a cold adult beverage) but that's just me. Here are a couple pics of some of the 10-20 nice bass the boys have caught out back over the past month or so. The nice part is everyone throws them back so there are some really nice ones out there.

Nathan caught this one early one morning by pulling his Senko worm slowly across the dropoff.
Nate's friend Dylan caught this monster on a different morning using the same technique.

It's Been Over A Month!

Wow, time really does fly when the kids get active! I haven't posted in about six weeks. And a lot has happened during that time. Nathan attended summer camp and passed his hunter safety course. He plans on doing some hunting this fall if he can fit it in between practices and games. Allison had dance tryouts and is going to take on a couple more dance routines this year including a tap solo (she's got guts!). We also had our annual karaoke party up at the cabin. On top of that, Nathan has now started 5th grade and Allison is in 2nd. Ally started her dance practices the same time school started. Nathan is playing hockey again and talked us into letting him give football a go too. Needless to say, between practices, games, and school, they're able to get some sleep and that's about it. But nobody's complaining (yet). I'll try to post some updates with pictures very soon...

First Day Of School

Today was the first day of school and the kids were mostly ready to go back. While it's nice to have them back on a routine it's also a bit hectic with fall activities starting up too. Nathan is now in 5th grade and Allison is in 2nd. Only 2 more years and Nate will be at the Junior High building. That's crazy! I can still remember holding him when he fit in my hands. Everyone says the time just continues to speed up and I'm starting to understand it.

Allison with friends Abby and Hannah on the first day of school.
Heidi's annual picture of the kids on their first day of school. Allison looks WAY too old in this picture for me...

Camp Geneva

Nathan and cousin Noah attended Camp Geneva again this summer in Holland. They both went last year and had so much fun they decided to do it again. It sounds like box hockey was the big hit again during free time. But other than that the boys enjoyed skits, games, polar bear morning swims, worship time, candy at the camp store, and who knows what else.

Nathan and Noah with their cabin counselors.

Ludington Camping Trip

We took our annual week-long camping trip to Ludington a bit earlier this year from July 10-17. The weather was quite a bit cooler than usual but we didn't get much rain so it still worked out well. We hit all the usual spots and, of course, went to House of Flavors for ice cream more than people should. Here are a few shots from the trip in no particular order...

Fishing on the Au Sable River at the Hamlin Lake Dam (Allison, Troy, Breanna, Grandma Anderson)
Floating down the river from the dam to the beach at Lake Michigan

Nathan working on his skateboarding moves at the skate park downtown

Allison and Zoe on the boardwalk by the river...

Big Sable Point Lighthouse (4-mile round trip bike ride from our campsite)...

Allison and Nathan on the old tree stump by the lighthouse... the 127 is how old the tree was when it was cut down.

Family photo at the top of the lighthouse (90-some feet up). Great view... but it was pretty windy that day! Heidi, Allison, Nathan, Troy

Allison climbing a tree during one of our hikes while Zoe took a dip in the lake...

Allison the doggie

I realized I haven't posted in awhile and was looking back through pictures to see what all we've been up to lately. I ran across this little gem that you can bet will show up at her graduation party. I remember this morning... Allison's imagination was on overdrive while she was playing in her room. She somehow came up with the idea to use hair clips and socks and "become" a dog with floppy ears and a tail. Here's the result.... too funny!

Dance Photos

After posting about the dance competition last weekend, Heidi pointed out that we hadn't posted any good action shots of Allison doing her routines. So here they are (click to enlarge)....

Hey Daddy (jazz) flying leap...
Hey Daddy (jazz) again... Ally is 2nd from the right.
Scooby Dooby Doo (hip-hop) beginning...
Scooby Dooby Doo.. Allison is on the left.
Scooby Dooby Doo ending... Peace!
The Shoop Shoop Song (tap).. Ally is on the right.
The Shoop Shoop Song... it's in his kiss... that's where it is....
The Shoop Shoop Song kick line...

Talent On Parade National Finals - Des Moines, IA

This weekend was the Talent On Parade National Finals at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, IA. If you ever have 7 1/2 hours to spare and want to ride in the car with virtually NOTHING at all to look at, point the car west and take a trip to Des Moines. I've heard it's a boring ride and that is an understatement. Luckily, we broke up the drive out there by leaving Thursday night after my softball game and stopping about half-way for the night in Princeton, IL. The following morning we took a quick dip in the pool and headed out for the rest of the way to Des Moines.

While the drive wasn't that fun, the competition was pretty cool. There were groups from a bunch of different states and it was fun to watch the different routines (I think Nathan just likes looking at all the girls!) Luckilly, Allison performed all three of her dances on Saturday. Her group was the first of the day doing The Shoop Shoop Song (tap). Then she had a break and did Hey Daddy (jazz). A couple hours later, they did Scooby Dooby Doo. The girls did a GREAT job and performed each of the songs better than they ever have. Perfect time to nail it! They received an Elite Top First ranking (based on scores) for each of them which is pretty impressive. In terms of awards they did great too. The Shoop Shoop Song took 2nd place in the large group category (behind another BLDC routine done by kids in the next older age bracket). Hey Daddy took 5th place in the line group (larger than a large group). Plus, the judges give out "special" awards for whatever they feel like... The Shoop Shoop Song won one judges "Tu-Tu Cute Award". By about 6pm all the awards were presented and we headed back to the hotel for some pizza and swimming.

I must say I'm extremely proud of Allison and the way she's thrown herself into dance this year. She was a bit nervous during the first competition (and who wouldn't be when on stage in front of a crowd of about 1,000 people, judges sitting right in front of the stage, TV cameras, etc?). By the time Nationals came around she was like an old pro. She was clearly just having fun and enjoying herself and it really showed. And of course I let her know just how proud I was...

Heidi & Allison at the entrance.
Prior to the first dance of the day...
Stretching with the other BLDC dancers in the early morning...

Summer is here?! Random thoughts...

I have no idea where the time has gone since early April. Spring is gone and summer is here! I thought after hockey was done in March we'd have all sorts of free time. In reality, it was just the opposite. With both kids playing ball and Allison still doing dance we actually were more busy! But that's about to change (I think). The kids are both a year older now (10 and 7). The Wings lost in the cup finals (but secretly, Nathan is excited because Dan Bylsma - the Penguins head coach - is running a hockey camp this summer that Nate is attending). Allison and Nathan just wrapped up softball/baseball last week. I started my softball league with some guys from work. And we even built a 10'x5' box garden at home in the back yard. I'll have to post a picture sometime. It's growing very well. We've got some lettuce, spinach, brocolli, tomatoes, beans, cukes, peppers, etc. We haven't had a garden since our house on Fuller about 9 years ago.

We haven't been able to get up north as much as we'd like but we have been able to get some yard work done around the house so it looks pretty nice. We're travelling to Des Moines, Iowa this weekend for Allison's National dance competition. Now, it's getting very nice out and staying light until 10pm. We'll have to take full advantage and enjoying the outdoors until the madness begins again in September.

Great Grams' Rose Bush

Heidi's Grandma had a giant rose bush in her yard in Chicago. And when she passed away a few years ago, the bush was split up among a few people in her family. We got a little piece of it and planted it on the side of the house. The first couple years it didn't do much. Last year we cut it back and it actually grew pretty well. But this year, for some reason, it seems to be growing like crazy. Heidi picked up a trellis for it to climb up and it's already filled the whole thing. Here are some pictures she took of it in full bloom. It's still got a ton of flowers on it. I have no idea how long they'll last but it brightens up the side yard...

Allison's Dance Recital

Today was Allison's dance recital for Body Language Dance Company at the Zeeland High School. They have these recitals once a year so you get to see alot of the non-competition dancers as well as the competition routines. Ally lucked out and got to do all of her dances in one show (her friends ended up having to be in 4 shows in one day). At the end of the recital they handed out awards. Allison received a 2nd straight perfect attendance award. She also received the Shining Star Award. That is an award handed out to one kid in each age bracket that the teachers vote on as the one that is "always ready on time, excited to be there, is a joy to teach, and makes it fun to come to class". That was quite a surprise to Heidi and I, but a nice one.

Hannah and Allison at the recital...

Red Wings vs. Ducks - Game 7

Today started just like any other day... get up, get ready for work, pack a lunch, check the calendar (Ally - dance practice, Nate - baseball practice).. and off to work I go. Then at about 11:30am as I got back to my desk after a staff meeting I got a call from Heidi. She'd been looking online and found two tickets to tonight's Game 7 NHL Playoff game between the Red Wings and Ducks at Joe Louis Arena for a decent price. Now, anyone who knows me knows I'm not Mr. Spontaneous. Knowing that I've been swamped at work and both kids have practice, I turned them down and said we can just watch it on TV. The view would be better anyway. But Heidi was persistent and talked me into leaving work early, picking Nathan up from school early, and driving to Detroit for the game. Don't you all wish you had a wife that would do that?! I finally agreed.

I left work a bit early and planned on picking Nathan up from school at 3pm. Remember, he had no idea of what was planned. But Heidi had called his teacher to let her know we'd be picking him up early (and why). When I got there, the receptionist called him down to the office. Having no idea what was going on, he was afraid he was in trouble for something. When he walked into the office and saw me sitting there he really got worried. I let him sweat it for a few minutes while we walked to his locker to get his stuff. He kept asking why I was picking him up early. I just told him we had a lot of running around to do tonight and I didn't think we'd be home in time to watch the Wings game on TV. That upset him! "Why?!", he asked. And I said, "Because.... we're going to the game!" After a couple minutes of convincing him I wasn't joking he was giddy with excitement. He couldn't believe I was picking him up early from school to go to a Red Wings game, let alone a PLAYOFF GAME!

Since Nathan had a math test the next day, he studied for two straight hours in the car with no complaints (no way he would have done that at home!). We got there about an hour before gametime and went down by the glass to watch the Wings warm up. It was a great game and the crowd was super loud. The Wings ended up winging on a goal by Cleary with about 6 minutes left. It was a GREAT TIME and I'm really glad we went. Who knows when we'll get another chance to attend a playoff game. Heidi definitely earned some brownie points for this one!

Here are some pics we took while there.

Nathan on the steps to Joe Louis Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings...
Watching warmups up-close. The player right in front of Nathan is Jonathan Ericsson. Just two years ago, while he was playing with the Grand Rapids Griffins, he came to one of Nate's hockey practices and worked with the kids on drills. Nathan has kept an eye on him ever since. Now, he's one of the top defensemen on the Wings!
Face-off to start Game 7...
Nathan and I before the game...

Back To The Ball Fields

Baseball and softball seasons are in full swing now. Let me translate... we live at the ball fields most nights of the week. But it's fun so I can't complaiin. Nathan moved up to the 9-10 yo. kid pitch and Allison moved up to the 6-7 yo. machine pitch. This is Nathan's first season with kids pitching to him off a mound. It's quite an adjustment but he's starting to come around. I'll tell you what.. the fields they have put my high-school field to shame! Nice mound, grass infield, dugouts, unreal. They've both had a couple games and are enjoying the season. Allison is hitting the snot out of the ball and Nathan has scored a couple runs. The highlight for this season so far is happening at home though. I've been pitching whiffle balls to the kids which lasted about 15 minutes before they were bored. So I taught them how to play long-base baseball (only one base and home plate...and you can throw the ball at the runner to get them out) and introduced them to the "ghostie" runner. We've played each of the last couple days in the yard and they've been asking to play even more. What a sneaky way to get them to work on their hitting, fielding, throwing, and rules of the game. I only wish I'd thought of it earlier. I couldn't even count how many hours I spent playing the exact same game in the back yard while growing up.

Allison hamming it up before the pitch...

Nathan's first game...

Nate up to bat...