October Wrap-up (Now that November's Nearly 1/2 Over)

Sorry Jax kept you all waiting. I assumed she updated (mainly because when I asked she said she had - ding ding.) She passed her belt test and is now a 3rd degree brown belt. She will test for 2nd in January (depending on her progress of course) and 1st degree brown sometime near March/April (if she's ready -discretion of instructor). Then the next black belt test is set for next August. If she needs more time it will be February of 2008. We are very proud of the little kicker! It is tradition to get hit by your instructor after receiving your new belt. The harder the hit, the more respect. She was tapped pretty good!

The next Saturday she competed in Oktober-fist (clever aren't they?) and placed 2nd in sparring. Losing to the same kid she always does. She is determined to beat him next week in the last tournament of the season. Next season she moves to an all girl division, plus she will fight in advanced with her new belt instead of intermediate. She she really wants to beat him because it will be her last chance. I think she just wants to say she beat a boy - it has nothing to do with the competiveness of it! Uncle Mo & Aunt Bunny came to see her fight and were quite impressed with "princess" as they refer to her.

Other October news of course was Halloween. Jackie went to 2 different parties and a trick or treat street and now we have enough candy to last us a few years. She went as a flapper (though none of her friends knew what that was - the negative side of having a mom with a history degree!)

Other than that all is normal in Arvada!

Piano Recital

Jackie had her yearly piano recital on Sunday (thank goodness Bronco's played late or she would have had to skip the recital!!!) She played Amazing Grace and played it quite brilliantly (but we're biased). Had a wee bit of a snow storm yesterday but in true Colorado fashion it is mostly melted already. Saturday is the big belt test for her 1st level of Brown belt. Other than that, life is normal here. Until later, Signing off - na noo na noo. Barb

Finally Fall

Fall is in the air and we finally made it up into the hills for a bit of an Aspen show. Not as good this year, but the snow/freeze beat us by a weekend. We headed up to Guanella pass (Baily to Georgetown) early in the morning in order to miss all the traffic. The plan worked and we had the road to ourselves for the most part. We actually saw better colors here in town when we got back and went for a long walk but what's the fun in checking out the fall colors in the neighborhood? Here are few photos (not the best, but the best I can do!)

Looking forward to the Bronco game tomorrow night - 60% chance of snow! Karl got sent to Dallas on short notice so Leah (Krappes) Watts is going with me. We have our Schnapps smuggling plan in place. Hopefully it will wait to snow & precip until after the game. Snow on Monday night means big business for the ski areas though! GO BRONCOS!!!!

Back to School

First day of school in front of the car (in true Strahl tradition). It is dark because it is frickin' early!
School is back in full swing and fall is moving in. Heater on the drive in to work; air conditioner on the way home! Jax has the same teacher this year (moved up with class) so no big transition issues into the 5th grade. My juniors are all good kids (so far)! I have a lot of football players so I throw the "Petro" card on the table early. Once they know Coach Petro is related and we communicate about students they are very well behaved. Appearently Danny makes them run and do extra drills if he finds they are misbehaving! They say he always has a good ("sometimes stupid") joke when they're done though!
Another week or two and we should have some aspen pictures as the leaves change and we make our annual pilgrimage to the hills to stand in front of clumps of trees with many other city dwellers taking photos!

Blog updates

Well it's been a while since an update but we've had quite the busy summer so I'm going to post several different topics in one long ass posting. We had just started our bathroom remodel and that is progressing quickly again. Took a break when Sandy & gang were here. Barely finished the tile and setting the tub before they arrived (about 20 minutes to be exact!) Our first problem was a big tub and small doorway.

So a little ingenuity prevailed,

Along with replumbling and adding a hotwater heat register, reframing then tiling we were glad to get a break. We have now started on the drywall and should be totally done with in the week. The tile was the biggest pain in the arse but we made it through and are quite proud of ourselves as those who were here can testify since we made you look at it!

The Hawaiin's at Altitude!

Sandy, Darin, Montana, Leilani and Hiilani all made the pilgrimage to the Mile High City and we had a blast. A brief rundown of festivities including a family dinner: Us, Butch & Cakes, Pat, Greg & Jen & Matt, Dan & Jan & Kayleigh (sp?), Sue, Bessie, and Dong and Faith (not family but always welcomed as such!) Did I miss anyone - the night became blurry? Some highlights:

Trail Ridge Road & Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park - altitude is not good for sea level dwellers that have the flu and pregnant - am I right Sandy!?!?!

Toured Mile High Stadium

Did a tour of Coors, went to the base of Winter Park to ride the alpine slide but it was lightening, ate a ton and drank even more. It was a good time as it always is with Sandy & Darin and getting together with family!

Softball is over and Karate is still going strong. Didn't place in a June Tourney but took 2nd in July. Just tested for and passed to earn her red belt. Three belts (3rd, 2nd, and 1st degree brown) and some very intense training stand between her and a black belt!!

Garden is progressing nicely. We've been eating greens (chard, collard, beets) as well as kohlrabi, beets, various herbs, cucumbers and squash. The tomatoes are there, we're just waiting for them to ripen.

We are off to Vegas on Thursday for a Karate Tourney/Vacation. Last getaway before work starts back up. I go back the 15th & Jax the 22nd. So another summer almost over, but a good one no doubt!

Mesa Verde Trip

We are back from a whirlwind tour of Colorado's desert southwest. It never got above 80 while it remained in the mid-to high 90's in Denver - go figure. We went to Mesa Verde to see the cliff dwellings of the ancient Anasazi Indians. When we went as youngsters in Bart the stationwagon, I remember climbing in and out of all the little rooms. They don't allow that now which is good because it protects the artifacts and all. We went to 4 different cliffs, 3 with ranger guides and 1 on our own (only one you can go on without a ranger guide.) It was pretty cool and more interesting as an adult. Jackie had learned about it in 3rd grade and had been bugging us ever since to go. She was part tour guide for us as well. How do they remember so much? The ladder was three stories high to get into one of the dwellings (1st pic) and the other is a shot of the Long House - the biggest cliff dwelling. Advice - if a 250+ woman in a skirt is on your tour, climb the ladder before her - we saw 1 too many ancient ruins. Anyway, we are back and ready to tackle a bathroom remodel. Another 100 degree day expected today - we'll be sitting inside drinking tea and then eventually beer! Aagghhh - summer!

Time is still marching on - May 30

May - gone already. Recap:

• Karl's got the garden in - retaining wall, sprinkler system & all but tomatoes planted (tomorrow they go in)

• Jax takes first place at Rage '06 Tourney - new division (10 yr olds) 1st & 2nd went to the two girls in the division

• Jax starred in her off Broadway debut in the Inside Pitch a charming musical about the history of baseball - no photos - too far back from stage
• Boris had a seizure - (no photos - that's just not right) he should be fine - possibly epilepsy - apparently fairly common in dogs
• Softball team is 0-3 but the girls are having fun & it is much more enjoyable to watch than soccer!
• 3 more days until summer break!!! That's about it. Looking forward to the possible family camping trip that Greg is trying to put together.

My God it's May already!

The last few weeks have been pretty busy. We had a "Bunk with the Beasts" night at the Zoo with the 4th Grade classes. It sounded fun to chaperone in September but as the night rolled around it just sounded insane! Appearently the "beasts" aren't the zoo animals but the boys. It was reaffirmation on why I chose secondary education over primary. Nothing makes 10 year olds scream like standing in the pachyderm house -learning about how thick an elephant's skin is - and said pachyderm takes a massive dump. Sleeping on the floor was a real treat as well (not in the pach house - in the education building.) Pretty cool having the Zoo to yourself and after dark to boot though. Then we had the first annual Earthday Fun Run/Walk at Jax' school the next morning. Good times on no sleep! Then there was the birthday party at the bowling alley and Trail Dust Steak House (& slide) with 3 of her best friends. We also managed to build a small retaining wall out front and decided that we could do one around the whole garden out back. We (mainly Karl) got it done and it came out quite nice. Now we just need the last frost to come and we can start planting! Shouldn't be too long now.

Time's A Flyn'

Seems a bit since we've posted but not much is going on anyway, just the usual. Mike, Kris, Me, Boris, Boris the dog & soon Jax, Kaiya & John are embarking on another trip around the sun. Hold on - especially you two on that 40th go 'round! Had a couple of ski trips - Spring Break at Sunlight & a day at Winter Park. Jax took a couple of Blue runs - one successfully & one a bit of a turmoil. Winter coats aside now though. A beautiful 80 degrees (27 C) here in the burbs today. People flying kites, riding bikes, & the white trash down the street drinking and fighting. Aauughh, the sites and sounds of spring! Softball has started so we've added that to our weekly afternoon events so we are bit busier again. Anyhow, that's about it. A few pictures from the top of Sunlight (Jax & I) and Winter Park (Jax, Karl & Uncle Mo.) Have a great week (or however long it takes to get another post up!)

Chick's Blog

Jax' blog is up and running. http://jackieinarvada.blogspot.com/

Kickin' & Screaming

Well, Jax did well again at her 2nd Tourney on Sat. She got the 4th place trophy for sparring again, but did much better in her offense.

She received the "honorable mention" medal for her forms as well. The next tourney is in Salt Lake (we're not going to that one) then there's one on Uncle Greg's B-day. Uncle Greg made it to the tourney and besides being worried she might get hurt, he was pretty impressed with her skills. Made her day he came too! Should have some photos from the ski/swim trip next weekend. Found a waterproof camera for the pool this time. I'll try not to take to many pictures of hairy Europeans - because quite frankly they scare me. Jax will be working on her blog now (thanks to Tory's & Kaiya's)!! Have a great week.

Spring Break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, it's finally here and that means there's only 10 weeks until summer break - but who's counting! As usual lately the pinapple express is due to arrive tomorrow and dump some snow on us. Of course the weatherpeople won't commit to any amounts - "if things line up just right, we are in for some serious snow" - isn't it their job to predict the lining up thing with no "ifs" involved? Anyhow, it's still a break. going to hit the slopes and paint/update Jackie's room for break. She has another tourney tomorrow (Sat - 18th) and tests for her high green belt on Sat (the 25th.) That should keep us busy. The newest member of the family is "Buddy" the hamster - he's fitting in just fine. He's a cute little rodent, and besides the dog - who wants to kill him - we all enjoy him. That's all for now so have a great week - we will!

Finally

It took me 3 days but I finally completed editing (though not very well) of the blockbuster smash hit - Biker (Grandma) Babe. The videography leaves alot to be desired but please remember I was drinking a beer in one hand, filming with the other and laughing. Dropshots only allows 2 minutes so the credits get cut off but just Jackie and the dog so not much was cut. I think it was a total of 2:07. I will send it via email to anyone that would like the whole thing. Enjoy.

Biker "Babe"

Haven't got the video up but thought I'd give a teaser. I will try and put it up tonight.

Hint - Mom & the scooter!!!

BAD ASS BIKERS

Got our taxes done and decided on an impulse buy (friend was selling it) to get a scooter. Rode it across the street to our neighbors to show it to him (he's got a Harley). We're not sure if he knew how to take us. He did lend us the nice chrome "skid lid" to wear until we find helmets of our own. It tops out at about 40 mph (going downhill!) You may be laughing but it gets around 80 -100 miles per gallon! Gotta love that. It reminds me of Uncle Bud's "goat" he used to ride us around on in his back yard. It will be good going back and forth to work - when the weather gets better. Karl took a spin to the grocery store to get hotdog buns and almost had to kick some guys butt. It brings out the beast in him - Ggrrrrr! Next week's blog - TATOOS!!!

Getting on the mat is half the battle!

Well, Jax competed in her 1st Karate Tournament today and we couldn't be prouder. She competed in traditional forms with the Tsunami form and in sparring. Her sparring field was all boys (9 yr. olds) and she towered over all of them. She fought 3 bouts and brought home a 4th place trophy (10 competitors in all.) In forms she received honorable mention (she got a medal for that.) She is ready for the next one now. We weren't sure if she would want to proceed but she is gung ho. She carried that trophy around with a grip that could advertise for Super Glue with! I managed to get all (but the end) of her form and the first few points of her 1st round of sparring before I lost battery in the camcorder. Yes I did plan ahead but we had power outage as the camcorder was charging this morning. But you can get the jest of it from this. Although we are proud of her trophies from soccer and softball, every kid got one of those for showing up and playing. This one she earned on her own and I think she sees the significance in that. Anyhow, enough from me about that. Enjoy your week. Hopefully no more power outages when it's below zero - kind of a bummer that way. See ya!

Wednesday - 2/15/06

All well in Arvada. Jackie's 1st tourney is this weekend, so she's busy preparing for that. And by preparing I mean kicking nearly everything she can, but mainly the dog, and kee-i-ing (hooked on phonics works for me) at the top of her lungs. It has distracted her from practicing her recorder as much though. Jackie and Karl have completed the building of their rockets that they are just waiting to shoot into space. They need a good weather day but they will have to wait as the first of several arctic blasts from the Great White North has just arrived today. Not going to complain about the cold though - Pat might want to reach out and slap me. Will try and take some shots of Jax kicking and fighting Saturday to post. I have nothing righteous or political to say right now, but Greg's got that covered so I don't feel too bad. I would like to acknowledge the fact that I could give a crap that Cheney had a hunting accident and that he didn't tell us for a day. Aren't we getting petty. That's all I have to say about that. Until next time, good night and good luck.

This week in Arvada

Another one down & about 18 until summer break - woohoo! Been a decent week here, Jackie competed in her first spelling bee and got out in the first round - Sackcloth was the word and she spelled it Satcloth. Didn't quite here the pronunciation I guess. But we were proud (only 18 out of around 250 qualified to compete - via test) so not too shabby. The disappoint was gone in a matter of minutes as she found out that she got a lead in the school musical. Spelling shmelling, no one ever made it to Hollywood for being a good speller. Life then, marches on here in suburbia (actually my students call east Arvada "ghetto Arvada" as they live in west Arvada & mainly new housing developments.) It gives me pleasure to know that someday they'll get beat up or in trouble and mother and father will not be able to bail them out! (not all of them of course) Anyhow on that somewhat unprofessional note, I bid you farewell for now.

The Day Has Come

I finally got to change my earrings today. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Now I can wear all my new earrings. Jax

It's finally here - TSH/MLK Jr. Celebration

The anticipation is over, the weekend of the year has arrived!! Unfortunately mom was able to locate some Lutfisk (spelling? - like anyone cares about the spelling) but I suppose it wouldn't be Thelma Swanson Haulman day without some sort of foul-smelling, lye soaked fish. Got a few more action shots and a "you have to look good, to ski good" photo from the trip. Thought I'd post for the beach bums to see. See some of you tomorrow & the rest be warned that the fish will be opened around 3pm MSTime so close your windows until the smell passes! Chao