End of Summer 2013

It was another busy Ahlberg summer full of fun and a lot of pool time.  Quick update as to where everyone landed and what this fall looks like.

Bailey worked at Eden pool this summer as a lifeguard.  She also supervised Red Cross swim lessons.  On Saturday's, she often put in 12+-hour days starting about 7:00 AM with coaching Eden's swim team and then working a pool party or two on Saturday nights.  Since she was living pretty much rent free most of the summer, she was able to save save save most of the summer.

This fall, Bailey started classes at University of Nebraska - Omaha (UNO).  Very proud of her because she's paying for at least the first semester out of her own savings!  We found a great 1-bedroom apartment so she won't have to deal with crazy roommate issues this year.  She's working at Juice Stop in the Aksarben area.  After just the first two weeks, sounds like things are going very well for her.

Taking a break after moving into the new apartment.  You can see the boys have found their own entertainment. 

Cody also worked at Eden pool this summer as a cashier.  He and Drew both did a lot of swimming.  Almost every morning they were both at Woods pool by 7:00 AM swimming with the Greater Nebraska Swim Team (GNST).  Dad drove them the pool and they both rode their bikes back to our place in time for Eden swim team.

Cody is a junior at Northeast and is on the JV tennis team.  He turns 16 in a month and will most likely inherit the old man sedan - the Impala.  It will be good to have an extra driver in the house again.  Right now, Jace is shuttling the kids to/from school and practices.

Drew is looking forward to working at Eden pool NEXT summer!  :)  This year he finished up what will probably be his last year of playing Saltdogs baseball.  He had baseball games almost every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday with a few practices thrown in there.  He, too, was busy with swimming with GNST and the Eden swim team.  Both boys did a great job with swimming and, unfortunately, I don't have any great pictures from all of those swim meets!

Drew is a freshman at Northeast this year.  He's really enjoying high school which is great to hear.  He's on the cross-country team and is doing great.  What's really fabulous is that he has a goal of being on Honor Roll the entire time he's in high school.  What a great goal!  He's also continuing with Boys Choir and is singing with the oldest kids who get to wear tuxedo coats with their suits.

Trent had a busy summer, too.  Baseball practice and games, Eden swim team practices and meets, lots of pool time and aikido 2-3 times a week.  The difference between his patience and ability in all areas compared to last year was wonderful to see!

Trent is in 3rd grade at Calvert and has a BOY teacher.  He didn't like his new teacher at first, but I think he's coming around now and seems to be enjoying third grade.

He also played roller hockey for the first time.  He LOVED it.  He's also playing flag football for the first time and is digging that, too.

We ended the summer with the annual Family Camp through our church.  It's always a good time with lots of family and worship time.  One new thing this year at Covenant Cedars was "stacking."  Trent talked about this after the week he was at camp but I don't think neither Jace or I really understood what he was talking about...THIS is what he was talking about:

They start by stacking milk crates.  You can either do a single stack or a double stack.  Most people opt for the double stack where you alternate and keep stacking higher and higher.  I don't remember if this was the most that Trent got (14 here).  He might have gotten a few more than these pictures, but you get the idea.  Pretty crazy!  (They do wear helmets and are strapped into a system so they don't fall down.)

In the Ahlberg family, summer ends the day the pools close which was August 11.  Jace finished up his 2nd year at Star City Shores (loving it!) and is still teaching at North Star (loving it!).  He's still teaching GoPo (government/politics) and has taken on Student Council this year.  He's already bringing home some pretty funny stories.  :)

On that note - love my family!

Muckin' It Up @ MuckFest MS 2013

The Kussatz family--immediate and extended--all came together to help fight MS by participating in MuckFest MS 2013.  None of us had ever done anything like this before so we weren't quite sure what to expect.  We signed up for a 5-mile run with obstacles in mud.  When we first saw the course, didn't think it was too bad.  And we saw the first wave of competitive runners finish it in 40 minutes and still didn't think it would be too bad--too muddy and such.  Boy, were we wrong!  Five miles up and down hills through a moto-cross track, 26 obstacles (ropes, muddy water, tunnels, muddy water, balance beams, muddy water, barrels, muddy water, fireman poles, muddy water, teeter totters, muddy water...you get the idea) and lots of fun.

Trent and his cousin, Max.  Oh-so clean at the beginning of the event.

And then into the Lil' Muckers area...hours of fun in the mud.

Fun stuff!

The Ahlberg family--again, oh-so clean.

And we're off!

Cody and Drew starting off strong.  And they finished strong, too!  Drew finished in 57 minutes--23rd out of 702.  Cody finished in 1:04--59th out of 702.  They did so great!

Kim (sister) getting through the Big Balls.

Drew doing the Army crawl under/over/through the bands.

Kim sitting on top of the spider web.

Large swings with a big ol' jump into the muddy water.  (Me, Kim and Jace.)

Now we're having to drag our tired, wet butts out of the water.

Finish line.
Cody, Jace, Karis, Kim, Olivia, Michael and Drew--who has been out of the muck for so long he has already changed clothes.  :)

The whole Mucking crew.
Drew, Claire, Karis, Trent, Jace, Kim, Grandma, Max, Cody, Olivia, Nikayla, Michael, Cheryl, Mike and Caden.  Big thanks to the "support staff" (Grandma, Will, Claire and Michelle) for taking pictures, cheering us on and watching over the lil' muckers (Max, Cooper and Trent).

Trent through the Lil' Mucker tunnel.

 

Michael, Mom, Kim and Karis

Before
Mike, Caden, Nikayla, Michael, Cheryl, Cooper, Karis, Olivia, Trent, Max, Grandma, Cody, Claire, Jace, Kim and Drew.

Have I ever said how much I love my family??  Love them all!!

Touring Husker Stadium

On Friday, the first day of summer vacation, Drew's friend's mom arranged a tour of Husker stadium and we were all able to go.  It was very interesting...and the pictures even more so.  :)

Ahhhh...a nice picture of the boys in the middle of the field...

...and then the norm at our house, the big boys tackling the little guy.

Tom Osbourne has a strangle-hold on Drew.

Good picture of Drew and some of his buds.

Trent crossing the goal line.  Wonder if it'll happen with a uniform on!?

Wrapping Up Spring 2013

Random pictures from this spring...

Trent playing goalie.  He was actually a really good goalie.  He wasn't scared to get in there and grab the ball from all of those feet trying to kick it in.  He just got into the mix, grabbed the ball and kicked it back down the field.

The 2013 Spring team.  Good group of kids that tried hard and played hard. 

Easter weekend.  Grandma and Grandpa Ahlberg with Kayleigh, Drew, Bailey, Michael, Cody, Trent and Grace.

Drew's confirmation from First Evangelical Covenant Church.  

Last day of 2nd grade at lunch.
(Grant B, Oliver R, and Trent)

The Ahlberg family will start our summer like usual--Jace at Star City Shores, Bailey and Cody at Eden Pool, Drew is playing baseball this summer (hopefully without any broken arms/elbows!) and Trent is playing baseball and maybe a few other fun activities.  All of the boys will be swimming for Eden's swim team.  A busy summer for sure!

Adults Only in Vegas!

Jace and I decided we needed an "adults only" vacation and took advantage of the long Easter weekend since there wasn't school on Friday and Monday.

Since it was just us, there are several pictures of...just us.  :)  We aren't big gamblers, so we decided to splurge.  We got into Vegas a little after 8:00 AM and rented a car for the day--a convertible.  What better way to enjoy the beautiful Vegas weather in March!?

We visited Hoover Dam--drove by and stopped to take a picture--and then headed further south.  I found a little town on "historic Route 66" called Oatman.  It's a touristy little town where burros roam free.  Once we exited from the interstate and were on Route 66, I think GPS said 27 miles and it was going to take us 52 minutes to get there.  I read that the route to Oatman was very curvy and it was! Jace took the road with a bit of Mario Andretti in his blood.  It was fun.

Hoover Dam--interesting, but we did just a quick drive through and then headed south.

While we both know this is incredibly touristy, stopping by the side of the road to take the picture, but we had to wait in line behind another car that was doing the same thing!

This is the road to Oatman, AZ.  You can see the hairpin turns.  In addition to the turns, I don't think the road had much maintenance over the years either.  It was pretty narrow with no shoulders and huge potholes in some places. 

We stayed at the New York New York hotel.  Almost all of the hotels in Vegas are cool and this one was, too.  Lots of great restaurants and some shopping and even a roller coaster that wraps around the hotel.  We spent time at the pool, though we didn't ride the roller coaster.

New York New York hotel in the background.

Hanging out at the pool with the roller coaster zooming by.  Thankfully, it wasn't that noisy.  For the most part, you just heard people screaming as they went by (there's a big drop just to the right of this picture).

We did walk the Strip quite a bit and tried to hit all the hotel shows.  Unfortunately, it was too windy for the Treasure Island pirate show and there was a glitch with the volcano show at the Mirage.  We did see the fountains at the Bellagio which happens to be my favorite.

Bellagio Fountains

It was a fun trip--lots of sunshine, walking, good food and a little bit of gambling.  Love spending time with my husband!

Spring Break 2013

The Ahlberg clan headed to Colorado again for some skiing.  Friday after work, Jace, Cody, Drew, Trent and I headed out of town towards Colorado--hopefully getting a jump on the weather before the rain and snow hit Nebraska.

Ski Cooper

Again this year we went to Ski Cooper.  It's such a wonderful place for beginning skiers and families.  There are only 26 runs and 4 lifts.  We all have our favorites and it's hard to get lost.  Yet there are always runs to keep you challenged.  We never had to stand in lines.  We didn't feel we were getting run over my expert skiers and we could always find each other if we decided to go different directions for a few hours.  

Jace made sure to get a picture with all of us on the lifts.  As you can see from the pictures, it was a bit chilly several of the days.  We had great snow--new snow--most days, though it was a bit chilly and windy some days, too.  

Crazy Kid on Skis

Trent is definitely the rock star of our family when it comes to skiing.  He typically skies straight down the mountain--regardless if it's the bunny hill, a green or a blue run.  He says he knows how to turn, but that's typically just to avoid slower people who may be in his way.  He's also a bit of a ham when he knows he's being recorded.

Check out Trent skiing!

This was the first time Drew tried skiing.  Last year he snowboarded and this year he decided to try skis.  Like every first-time skier, it was a bit rough to start with (he didn't take lessons), but then he caught right on.  Did a nice job and, I think, had a pretty good time!

Trampoline Fun Center

Mid-week, we connected Cody with the youth group at church and then Jace, Drew, Trent and I headed into Denver.  We didn't have anything specific planned and we found a trampoline fun center, Big Time, and it was so much fun!  And SO affordable!

They had a Zorb ball where multiple small kids (or a few big ones) could get inside and roll back and forth on a ramp.  This was Trent crawling inside. 

Overall, there were five 50' long trampolines where you could ultimately jump into a big foam pit.  There were three other 50' long trampolines where you could play dodge ball.  There was a bouncy house type of thing, a crazy maze that was a bit scarier than you'd think, a giant (life size) chess board and a Black Ops obstacle course.  It was great fun.  We ALL were bouncing and jumping--though Drew and Trent more than me and Jace.

Video: Trent and Drew Making a Run for It!

Video: Dad Showing His Jumping Skills, Too

Video: Drew's Flip Twist & Turn on the Tramp

Video: Quick Shot of Trent Jumping

And in Summary...

As always, we had a good time.  We did ski a half day in Winter Park.  There were more runs, bigger runs, more lifts and more accommodations, there were also a lot more people, a bit more chaos and not the family friendliness of Ski Cooper.  We'll probably head back there next year.  Cody skied two more days at Winter Park with the church youth group.  They had great weather and he came home a bit rosy faced! (And I can't seem to get the picture turned the right way!)

Sun & Snow

Lincoln got 5.1" of snow and had two school snow days.  While that's an entire story on its own, the snow made for some fun sledding on Saturday.  And I have to say, I love that we're sledding at the Southeast hill.  They've all heard the story of how uncle Michael stood up on his sled and broke his collar bone.  :)

Cody going down on his knees.

Drew's big face of snow...

Lead to this face and sweatshirt of snow!

#1 - Trent getting' air

#2 - Trent gettin' air

Jace sporting the fun ski mask.

And a fun video of Dad and Cody holding hands as they come down the hill...ahhhh, so sweet.  But really, their intention was to try and take me out at the bottom of the hill.  But I was...too fast.

Happy snow days!!

Silver & 70

OK, so my Mom has been silver for a long time but she just turned 70, er, I mean--forever 69--on Saturday, January 26.  My brother emailed his sisters about 10:00 AM on Friday and said, "So, what are doing for Mom's birthday?"  A flurry of emails later, it was decided the KC sibs would drive up to Lincoln and be here early afternoon.  The Ahlberg Clan was to take Mom out for lunch while the KC Clan arrived and decorated her house.  Lo and behold...it all worked and she was surprised!

I don't know if you picked up on the "Where's Bailey?" comment. After the Ahlberg Clan took her to lunch, I asked her if she was doing anything else and she said no.  We dropped Drew off at a friend's house and then went to Mom's and were still there before she was.  My sibs: WHERE IS SHE?  I texted Mom and asked if she'd be home because Bailey wanted to stop by and give her a present (Bailey was the bait).  Bailey was actually at Northeast judging and hadn't planned on coming over to my Mom's until that evening.  It was pretty cute.

That evening ALL of us were together which was really nice.  All the Ahlbergs were there, which I know will be dwindling in the future as all the kids get older.  It was a lot of fun.  Dinner, games, a few cocktails...and a few photos...

As my Mom said, "Let me tell you Drew..."

We all wonder...what was so funny?

I'd love to know what all of us were thinking at this point in time.

And the birthday girl.  Love you!