Squirrel's Saturday Basketball

The Squirrel had basketball once again this past Saturday in Rice Lake. The Raiders played the Wildcats this week. Abby played GREAT--her defense really improved this week! Here she is guarding her girl, and her arms are moving so fast, you can't even see them in the picture!!!!~~~

Abby, number 4, dribbling past everyone to the basket!

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The Squirrel

Unfortunately, it was another loss for the Raiders this week. We are confident they will pull off a win soon, though! GO RAIDERS!!!

It's Homecoming Week--Powder Puff Football Time!

Tonight marked the start of BHS Homecoming week with the annual Powder Puff Football game. Why is this significant, you ask? Because, it is that time of year when Austin and his friends get to become CHEERLEADERS for the girls as they play flag football!

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Here is Austin at the top of the "pyramid", showing his class spirit!~~~

Another cool move by the sophomore cheer squad!

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In spite of all of the sophomore boy's great efforts to inspire their team, the sophomore girls lost to the junior girls by a score of 24 to 0. Hopefully, our girls will continue to practice in the off-season and have a better showing next year!~~~

Some of the squad...

(l to r) Jake Sinclair, David Sloan, Hunter Karnitz, Austin Klimek, David Kaus, Dalton Ress

A Day in Indee

Today we made a trip to Independence to Grandpa Edward's house to have an early celebration of his birthday. His birthday isn't until October 7th, but this weekend worked out for everyone to get together, so we had a party for Grandpa. He told me today he will be 95 on his birthday!

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We had a nice meal to celebrate the day, and then got indigestion as we watched the Packers stink it up on the field! UGH! :-)

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Of course, when everyone was together, it was a perfect time to get family pictures!

Here is Grandpa Edward with his Great-Grandchildren--

Andrew, Bradley, Austin, Carter, Grandpa, and Abby~~~

Grandpa Edward and his Grandchildren

Nicole, Grandpa, and Jamie

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And the rest of the bunch (thanks to "Photography by ABZ" for the picture!)

couch: Nicole, Chad, Grandpa, Shana, Jamie

floor: Deb and Ken

The only thing missing in our pictures, was Meme sitting by Grandpa's side. It seems strange to be at Grandpa's house without Meme there, too. :-(

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The kids went to play outside after dinner. Grandpa Ken took them to his house to get Grandma Deb's scooter--always the highlight of the visit! They all took turns driving around the neighborhood...
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Andrew and Bradley tearing up the sidewalk!~~~

Just kickin' back...

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And when you can't decide whose turn it is to ride...

good thing they all have small butts!!!

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Carter and Bradley played some soccer in the yard with their mom, too, while they waited for their turn on the scooter...

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It was a fun day in Indee! Happy Birthday, Grandpa Edward!

Fasten Your Seatbelts!!!

Well, today was THE DAY. The day Austin and I went to the DMV and made it official. Austin is now a LEGAL DRIVER according to the eyes of Wisconsin. Terrifying, isn't it! Jamie took Austin yesterday morning, but it turns out the DMV didn't open until 10:00 on Thursday mornings, so we had to wait until today.

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After waiting for the 20 people in line ahead of us to be helped, Carol, the not-so-friendly DMV employee, gave Austin his vision test, notarized his paperwork with my signature, and took Austin's picture. He now has his permit--good for one year from today.

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After leaving the DMV, I gave Austin the keys to my "little white station wagon", and let him drive. We were both quite nervous! And as all of you parents who have gone through this before know, there is nothing quite like sitting in the PASSENGER seat while your baby is sitting in the DRIVER's seat, putting the key in the ignition!

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Austin did a really good job for his first time driving, and I did a good job "coaching", if I do say so myself! He drove us to Applebees (in town!) for a celebratory lunch. He went through THREE ROUND-ABOUTS on his way to the resturant, and he parked the car! He also drove us home (or back to school) after lunch, and got through an especially busy intersection and brought his speed up to 55 MPH! Not bad for his first time driving outside of a parking lot!

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Here is a picture of Eddie behind the wheel for the first time as an officially legal driver...

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Cruising down the road--hands were at 2:oo and 10:00, and eyes were on the road!Congratulations, Austin, on another milestone!

BHS Soccer vs. Amery

I would love to start this post by saying we won our soccer game on Thursday night against Amery, but, alas, I cannot. Our boys, however, played an AWESOME game! They held Amery the first half of the game, and we were tied 0 to 0 at half time! (just a reminder, we played Amery our first game of the season, and they beat us 0 to 10...) Our guys looked really good out on the field, and the ball was on our end of the field most of the first half.

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Unfortunately, the second half of the game, we gave up 3 goals, and never were able to score any ourselves, so we ended up losing with a score of 0 to 3, final. Even though the final score didn't reflect it, our team has IMPROVED tremendously throughout the season, and we are confident that if we keep playing this well, we may still pull off a win or two before the season is through!

GO BEARS!

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Here is Austin controlling the ball as he dribbles down field...~~~

Taking it past the defender!

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Up the sidelines...~~~

Fancy Footwork

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Austin just had a GREAT HEADER! Look closely at the top of the picture, and you can just see the very bottom of the ball--I am always just a millisecond too late with my trigger finger!Austin and his team continue to play hard, and we are proud of how they are doing. Austin, especially, shows great sportsmanship, and is a great leader for the team on the field. He is a good kid!

:-)

BEWARE!!! NEW DRIVER ON ROADWAY!!!

Tonight was a BIG NIGHT for Austin! He took his written test for his driver's permit, and he PASSED!!! Tomorrow, He and Jamie will make a trip to the DMV to get the official paperwork done, and then, Austin will be a LEGAL DRIVER(with parental supervision, anyway!)!! Look out, world!

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Tonight, I am sure Austin will be dreaming of his DREAM CAR...

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And his mom will be dreaming of the days when the only car he drove looked like this...
Congratulations, Austin!

A New Friend for Sophie!

One of the neighbors whose house is behind ours got a new puppy several months ago. The puppy started off in their house, but now, it lives out in back of their garage. It is tied to a downed tree limb, it's collar is a piece of twine, and it is constantly tangled in the tree limb and is walking thru piles of it's own poo. It is a very cute and nice puppy, and it is breaking Abby's heart to see that dog in those conditions. She has been taking it treats, water, toys, and gave it Sophie's old dog collar.

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Today, Abby and Andrew asked the lady that lives at the house if they could bring the dog to our yard to play. When the lady said yes, the kids tied the dog, whom they named "Max" (even though he is rummored to be named Duke) to one of our trees with a couple of tie-outs. Max and Sophie LOVED each other! They played and played and played! I think Sophie was happy to find another puppy with the same energy level that she has! Jack liked Max, too, but he was interested in him for other reasons... (we HAVE to get that dog fixed!!!)

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Here are Sophie and Max wrestling out in the yard...

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All of that wrestling and chasing makes a dog thirsty!

(Jack, Max, and Sophie)

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Sophie and Max sharing the water bowl...~~~

Abby is already planning Max's next play-date!

The Barron Invitational

Last night (Tuesday), Andrew ran in the Barron Invitational Cross Country Meet. There were a lot of kids running, and once again, Barron did well. We had the first 2 runners that crossed the finish line, and Andrew came in third for Barron. Here are a few pics of Andrew from the evening...

(Sorry they are blurry--he just runs too fast!!!)

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This is a picture of Andrew horsing around before the race started. Often, the runners practice their take-offs. Andrew was over-exaggerating his, and being his usual wild self! He didn't know mom had the camera trained on him!
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Our plan was to watch Andrew run in Barron, and then race over to Cumberland to see the last half of Austin's soccer game. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate, and a big storm rolled in, causing the soccer game to be "called". We were behind 0 to 1 at the time of the storm, and from all accounts, Barron was playing very well... Bummer! It always seems to rain on soccer nights!

The Ronnie and Nancy Show!!!!

Back in the late 80's, Woody and I used to watch (and re-watch) a show on TV, The Ronnie and Nancy Show. We loved that show, and we watched it over and over again on a VHS tape. Unfortunately, the tape was recorded over, and we never saw it again... :-(

Now, thanks to the wonderful technology of the internet, I have located the lost episodes of the Ronnie and Nancy Show on YOUTUBE!!!! For those of you who appreciate political satire, this is the video for you! (although it is kind of sad, when you realize that President Reagan was suffering from alzheimer's during his presidency...)

So, Little Brother, this blog post is for you! A trip down memory lane! One more glance at...

"Yum, Mr. Stallone!"

and

"Ahhh, Woof, Woof!"

Enjoy!

(They are divided into four segements--just click on the first link, and go in order to see the entire show...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgaKy2hTr6Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PntMYkZPxCY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4BbhruyBbM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYtokOZ3akk

Princess Diamond Sophia is One Year Old!!!

Today, the "princess" is one year old! Hard to believe it was one year ago on a Saturday afternoon that I spent the day in the Balt's garage with Justin helping him deliver Jack and Misty's ELEVEN puppies!

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Here is the tired Misty with all eleven of her newborn puppies on 9-22 2007...~~~

Cute little Sophie at 8 weeks old--I sure wish she was still that little!

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One again, as has become a Klimek Family Tradition, Abby made a Delightful Doggie Birthday Cake--for Sophie, this time! For those that are unfamiliar, or can't remember, this consists of dumping CANNED dog food onto a plate, forming the lump of smelly mush into a mound that resembles a cake, and then arranging tasty, crunchy dog treats on the outside in an appetizing design for the birthday dog! (it stinks up my whole kitchen! YUCK!) The dogs, however, LOVE Abby's birthday cakes, and they were drooling the entire time she was creating her masterpiece!

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Sophie was kind enough to share her "cake" with Jack--actually, we were afraid to let Sophie eat the whole cake--you never know what the consequences will be with canned dog food and a dog who has never eaten such a "delicacy" before!

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Princess Diamond Sophia enjoying her birthday cake!~~~

The crew--

Andrew, Austin, Jack, Abby, and SophieHappy Birthday to our naughty, mischevious, fun-loving, always happy, feet-licking, sock-eating, and squirrel-chasing "puppy"!!!

Saturday Sports

Saturday morning had us cruising to Rice Lake for Abby's second basketball game of the season--it was the Raiders (Abz's team) vs the Spartans. Grandma Pat and Grandpa Denny had spent the night in Barron so they were able to come along to watch the "Super Squirrel" play some hoops!

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Here is our point guard bringing the ball up the court...~~~

Number FOUR showing off her impeccable ball-handling skills!

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Here is Abby playing AWESOME DEFENSE on one of the Spartans! Believe me when I tell you that ball was NOT getting by the Squirrel on THIS play!~~~

Andrew was a hero for the game and "volunteered" (with a little help from mom) to run the game clock for his sister's game. He did a GREAT job--I am sure he didn't make any mistakes! Abby's Raiders played hard, but they ended up losing this week to the Spartans by a final score of 4 to 10. Better luck next week, Raiders!

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After Abby's basketball game, Andrew, Abby, and I jumped in my "little white station wagon", and Grandma Pat and Grandpa Denny jumped in their KIA, and down HWY 53 we went to Eau Claire, where Austin was playing in a Saturday Afternoon soccer tournament. What a BEAUTIFUL day to sit outside and watch soccer! The temperature was between 75 and 80 degrees--I am sure too warm for the players--and even a bit too warm for us spectators at times, as we were dressed for more "fallish" weather. (If only I had shaved my legs, I would have bought some shorts on clearance somewhere... *sigh!*)

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Good Old Andrew had spent the night at his buddy, Zach's, house the night before, and I am sure those boys got NO sleep! Here he is trying to control his enthusiasm at the soccer tournament!

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BHS played two 80 minute games Saturday afternoon. The first game was against Hudson (those pics are in the white uniforms, for those who care...) We started out playing well, but in the end, Hudson beat us by a score of 0 to 3. The boys had 2 1/2 hours to kill between games, so they walked to Pizza Hut and had lunch (which came back to haunt some of the guys in the second game! Yuck!). Andrew, Abby, and I went to the mall and had lunch with Nicole, Carter, and Bradley. We also ran into Grandma Pat and Grandpa Denny at the mall!

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Here are some action shots of "Eddie"--number FOUR--during the games on Saturday...
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Dribbling down the field...~~~

Still makin' the moves with a "man-on"!

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Takin' it down the sidelines...

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Austin was very fortunate to have a HUGE cheering section at his tournament! As I previously mentioned, Grandma Pat and Grandpa Denny came down from Barron with Abby, Andrew, and myself. Also, Nicole, Carter, and Bradley were at Austin's first game! Grandma Deb and Grandpa Ken were at both games--and they were at Austin's game last Thursday in Chippewa Falls, too! We also had two special visitors! What a great suprise when GRANDMA LILA was able to come watch Austin play his second game!!! She was able to get a bit of soccer experience for when she goes to watch Moriah play in Red Wing this Tuesday. Also, Grandma Deb's good friend, JULIE MCDONNELL, came all the way from Pennsylvania to watch Austin play! (okay, she was really in the area for other reasons, but we can say she came just for the game!) It was fun to see her, as I hadn't seen her since Jamie and I got married! Thanks, everyone, for coming to show your support for Austin and for the BHS soccer team--we, especially Austin, appreciate it!

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A lovely photo of some of Austin's fans...
(l to r) Grandpa Denny, Grandpa Ken, Grandma Deb, Grandma Pat, Abby, and Grandma Lila

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SOMEONE got a bit sleepy in the hot weather watching the ball go back and forth, up and down the field--guess church isn't the only place he can fall asleep in the upright position!
:-)

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Little Bradley had a good time running around in all of the free space--here he is chasing after Abby and Carter. Not entirely sure why he was plugging his ears, though! I didn't get any pics of Carter and Auntie Nicole--bummer! I guess I didn't think of spectator pics during the first game, and they ended up going home for Bradley's nap and were unable to be at the second game... Sorry I missed you, Carter!~~~
Here is Andrew, Grandpa Ken, Julie, Abby, and Grandma Deb after the games. Julie is giving Andrew rabbit ears--guess her sense of humor is a lot like Grandma Deb's--no wonder they are such good friends!!!
:-)~~~
Well, that sums up our Saturday. A fun and busy day! One more thing before I sign off...

Guess who is having a birthday tomorrow (Monday, September 22) and will be

ONE YEAR OLD?!?!?

Here is a hint...

Have a good week!

Thursday with the Klimeks

Abby has declared herself and her dogs THE CHAMPIONS! I am not sure what they are the champions of--in fact, she, herself, wasn't sure when I asked her! She wanted the dogs to pose with her with their medals around their necks... (these are medals Abby has earned over the years in the Rice Lake Basketball League) It took some bribing with treats to get the dogs to "sit nice" for their photo op!

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Sophie, Abz, and Jack--A Championship TeamOne more shot--here, Sophie is showing her "less-than-intelligent" personality! Poor Sophie!
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Andrew had another Cross Country meet tonight in Chetek. I am happy to report that both Jamie and I were able to get out of work on time and make it to see Andrew and his team run! They really have a great team of kids!

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Here they are at the starting line--

"Runners take your mark, Get set........."

GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the picture ABOVE, the first three Barron runners (Gold and Maroon) from right to left, took the first three places for Barron! Nick (farthest right Barron runner) took first overall, Timmy (second Barron runner from right) took second overall, and Andrew (third Barron runner from right) took fourth overall, and third place for the Barron Team! Way to go, Barron!!!

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Here is Andrew at one point during the race... Sorry the picture is a bit blurry--I like to think it is because Andrew is running SO FAST!

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Andrew is approaching the finish line--his nearest competitor is about 100 feet behind him...~~~

Crossing the FINISH line!

Awesome run today, Andrew! We are proud of you!~~~
Austin also had a soccer game tonight in Chippewa Falls. They lost their game 0 to 7--another tough game for BHS. Austin continues to play well, though, and as we have a fairly young team this year, we are looking forward to having a stronger, more experienced team in the next few years. His next game is a two team tournament this Saturday in Eau Claire.

Go Barron Bears!