Fall 2004

New Beginnings, September

I started junior high on August 30th. I was pretty nervous, but it turned out to be not too bad.

I have language arts, social studies, algebra, lunch, science, band, and home ec/art. In social studies we're learning about early American history. In language arts we've had to had to write essays and do a PowerPoint presentation about the Iroquois. In band I'm first chair, which I've defended in the two chair try-outs we've had so far. In home ec we did a lot of baking, which was fun, and then sewed pillows. I made an extra one for Sofia.

Things I especially like about junior high are having different classes with different teachers, getting to know new kids after having the same group of kids in my elementary classes for six years, much better lunch food, and being within walking distance of home.

I ended my first quarter of junior high with a 4.0 GPA (all A's)!

Big Brotherhood, September

Sofia is getting bigger and smarter. I can actually play with her now. I think it's really cool when I can see her learn new things. She's not walking yet, but she crawls and pulls herself up on furniture, and she's good at climbing up my leg and begging me to pick her up.

She always smiles at me when I come in the room, and I like to make her laugh.

Football, September-October

This year I played tackle football for the first time. My team, the Juanita Steelers, was part of an Eastside extra-curricular league.

My position was starting quarterback [right], and my number was 8.

Before the first practice, I was really excited about being able to tackle, although once I was finally able to crunch someone (and be crunched), it wasn't quite the awesome experience I'd imagined [left]. But now that I've gotten used to it, the game is really fun.

We practiced three nights a week for two hours a night and played a game every Saturday for eight weeks.

My coach was Roger Moore [right]. He was an awesome coach whose team, for the past several seasons, had lost 0 and tied 1. Unfortunately for him, he was starting over this year with a new team, most of whom had not played tackle football before, like me.

He always found a way to see the positive lessons in a situation, and I feel like I learned a lot from him—and not just about football.

Even though I'd never played tackle before, Coach chose me to be starting quarterback. It's a lot of responsibility, and I had a lot to learn, like new plays, the jobs of all the other players, and how to throw the ball under pressure.

It took me a while to be able to throw during the game, but eventually I threw two touchdown passes into the end zone, four or five extra points, and some other completed passes [left].

Because our team had only 15 kids, some of us had to play both offense and defense. So I also also played defensive end and defensive line [right]. I might not have been the biggest guy on the field, but I had lots of sacks and even forced a couple of fumbles.

We ended the season with a disappointing 3 wins and 5 losses, plus an extra, after-season game that we won 32-13. I hope to be able to play again next year for Coach Moore, and I hope that next year we'll do well enough to get into the play-offs.

Halloween, October

This year I didn't plan to go trick-or-treating for Halloween (Mom and Dad said I'm getting too big), but I still managed to obtain a good amount of candy.

First, in the late afternoon Sofia, Mom, Jan, and I went to Bellevue Square. Sofia was dressed in her Halloween outfit [right] with her "Happy Halloween" hat, and I pushed her stroller through the mall and collected candy from the merchants "for her." (Like she would be able to eat it!) We got a good-sized bag of small treats, and it was fun to watch her look around and to see all the other children dressed in costumes.

Then later at Dad's house I took Brennan and his friend around the neighborhood. I wore my junior high sweatshirt and last year's dead park ranger mask. Brennan tired of it fairly quickly, but not before I'd collected some more chocolate and gum for my own stash.

Not bad for someone who wasn't even planning on going trick-or-treating!

[ Home ] [ Our Travels ] [ Family Features ] [ About Us ]