The new normal?

We have managed to transition back into a pretty quiet life. I think this is the new normal. Robert and I go to work, the boys go to school. Viktor goes to Sylvan after school 2 days a week. We all come home and eat dinner. We do homework and reading. Wednesday night and Sunday mornings are church time. Somewhere in there is usually some time for wrestling, iPods, TV and relaxing. Doesn’t that sound totally boring? Love it!!!


The boys each have their own activities of course; that tends to keep us running. Alex just finished up his soccer season and Viktor just finished up his football season. Maybe that’s why it’s so quiet now. The calm before the storm perhaps?

Alex and the team had a strong (and exciting!) finish. Alex made the first cut for Varsity but did not make the second cut. He ended up having so much fun with his JV1 team! He started every game but one and played just about every minute of every game. Critical games he never came out. He was very happy with the amount of field time he was given. He had lots of buddies on the team and it was constant ribbing, joking and smiling. He made some new friends as well which is always good in my book. Alex played much more aggressively this year. And he was an integral part of a 4 man defensive line that frustrated many a team. I laugh at this picture, the ball is on the opposite end of the field in play yet this dude has his elbow in Alex's back on our end of the field. No other player from his team in sight not to mention the ball!

And Alex has managed to develop a sideline throw-in that can’t be beat. He actually got 2 goal assists in one game just from his throw-in. He can make it almost to the goal from the sideline.

The season ended with a JV tournament in Chippewa Falls on October 9th. The first game was quite easy. Coach was anticipating a later game playing one of the Eau Claire teams who has beaten us twice each year for as long as I can remember; I think it’s Eau Claire North. Therefore coach decided to bench his defenders to conserve their energy for the next 2 games so Alex didn’t play more than a few minutes. In the second half coach made a snap decision to put Alex in as a forward, a position he hasn’t played in 5 years. In he ran and within 5 minutes Alex had a goal. Coach took him right out and there he sat again. I believe the game ended 4-0. The second game was the hardest game of the year. We managed to get a goal off the first play and that fantastic defense I mentioned held them off for the rest of the game. Robert actually had to leave the game; we thought he was going to have a heart attack. The Eau Claire North players were very frustrated and unfortunately started playing ultra aggressively. I hate it when the really nasty shoving and blatant fowls start. There were quite a few injuries; Alex ended up needing to have coach tape his foot and ankle in preparation for the next game. We ended up winning the game 1-0. It truly was an amazing effort by our guys and I still can’t believe we beat these guys. They were not happy. We were. Check out the smiles here:

The third and final game was the other Eau Claire team, Memorial. It was also a tough game but we prevailed; we ended up 2-0. Another shut out to take home the Big Rivers Conference JV Championship! The boys were very excited. The parents that made the trip were ecstatic. Here is the picture I sent in to the paper.

Viktor did not play all that much in football. I guess that happens when there are 80+ guys on the team, you’re one of the smaller guys, you’ve never played football before and you don’t speak English at the same level as the other kids and coaches. There certainly is not much time for individual coaching with that many players. Since he didn’t play that much, I only seem to have pictures of him on the sideline. At least you can tell who he is!