G'Day, Mate!

Someone gave me some fake tatoos of the Australian Flag. Mia LOVED them. She's been showing it off at daycare making the transition back to school a lot easier.

Back On The Rock!

The Venue: Sydney, Australia

They actually let me take throw ins and they actually went out more than a foot from me!

This was a team from Oregan. They beat us 1-0 in the quarterfinals with a bit of luck. Manly Beach in Sydney. Susan and me. Go, Palau!

The ferry dock. So pretty!
Kyung and Samuel.
Part of our team, which included 4 Aussies and a Canadian (our keeper) at the football "social". Check out the "photobomber" in the back. No idea who he is.

It's good to be home. Australia was fun, beautiful, and the tournament was a big success. We were undefeated with a record of 3-1-0 (3 wins, 1 tie), but lost 1-0 in the quarterfinals. That was a lot further than I had hoped to get. All of the training and fundraising was worth it with that kind of result. Awesome!

My Inner Martha Stewart...

... tends to show when I'm locked up in the house waiting for a typhoon to arrive.

White Amish Friendship Bread

Update time!

Carne asada, for Labor Day. Brings back memories of bbq's at the Woodburn house!

JB and his neighborhood buddy, Malcolm, enjoying some slip and slide time on Labor Day.
Oh, the joy of outdoor fun. Just look at that smile! I can see his "chicklets" (huh, George?) from here!
I don't know what this game was called, but you basically smacked the crap out of each other with your wet tshirts.
Mia stayed hydrated as she played. So smart.
Not much going on here. It's 4 minutes to 11pm on a Saturday night and Mia has just asked me to open her 6th rice cracker treat. I gave up the fight with her to get to sleep.

I leave for Australia on the 8th. I'm kinda excited, since I've actually been working hard on the fitness to perform well, but I'm a little worried as it's both flu and typhoon season. I know John can handle things on his own, but it kills me to think that I can't be around to help. I worry that something will happen while I'm away, knock on wood, and it's taking the wind out of my sail.

JB's kicking butt at school. I don't need to tell the kid to do his homework. He chases me around the house until I check his work and sign his planner. His only semi problem class is Chamoru. The poor kid hates to be put on the spot and they have to stand up and speak in class, which makes him fidget and fuss. He gets called out by teacher for it. He's getting a high B in there, but it stinks to see that after seeing all A's for everything else! Oh well. I tell him to do his best. It's all he can do!

Mia is growing so fast, it's breaking my heart. She talks to me like we're old friends, using full sentences. She talks to JB like she's the Mama. I just realized that she can start Kinder' next school year! Is that so? I'm not sure, but it would definately save us some freaking money to not have to pay daycare. Daycare costs almost as much as our mortgage.

John is happy with his job. Nobody bothers him. He puts in his hours and he gets home at a decent hour. The absolute bonus for him is having weekends off to hang out with us. He's still on the lookout for a job that offers more in the department that he trained in, so cross your fingers for that!

I'm fine. I work, I take care of the family, play a little soccer, run a bit, and enjoy it all as much as I can.

I hope you all are doing well and are in good health. I know that Anicia and George are down with the sickness, so hope that passes real soon. I hope Anicia was able to celebrate her birthday surrounded by her loved ones. I hope George put a little style and gel into the newly grown hair.

Love you all,

Blan and the ganx