Where's Aidan?

Aidan had a rough day on Tuesday. Therefore everyone had a rough day. What's that old saying? "If Aidan ain't happy, nobody's happy."

He came home from school, we were all a bunch of jerks and then he stormed upstairs to his room. I went upstairs to talk to him after a while & couldn't find him.

When I finally did locate him, I couldn't help but laugh.

See his foot sticking out of his stuffed animal bin?

ADE LAX Tournament at Owen J. Roberts 03/29/2009

Austin participated in the Spring Thaw Lacrosse Tournament at Owen J. Roberts High School this past Sunday.

Team Photo

Austin on the right all geared-up.

It was a dreary, overcast & rainy day, but they still played three games. Austin got to play in the third game & did really well. They actually won that game & I'm sure it's because he played!

Austin is at the top - center.

Austin is the second from the right in white (in the middle).

Austin is the one in the middle with his stick up in the air.

#39 on the right

We had to be there at 8:30 am. He had games at 9:30, 10:30 & 12:30. We tail-gated with the other parents in between the 10:30 & 12:30 game. It was a lot of fun!

ADE LAX Scrimmage vs. Holy Name 03/27/2009

Austin has his first lacrosse scrimmage against Holy Name this past Friday night. He got to play about six minutes.

He said that it was harder on him for those six minutes than an entire football practice. That's because they constantly run. Definitely not for me!

He is number 39 & in the middle of both pictures.

I think I may understand this lacrosse stuff by the time he graduates from high school. As the wise Kallie Ruhf put it "I get it. Hit each other with the stick"!

I do enjoy it.

Austin's FCS Third Quarter Project

Dare I say it? Austin is better at sewing than me? Oh wait - I don't sew!

Austin had to make a locker caddy for Family & Consumer Science this quarter. He had to pick out what color he wanted the material to be, pick a design for the middle pocket & choose if he wanted a mirror or not (what boy DOESN'T want a mirror?!?)

He started practicing using the sewing machine by stitching straight lines in paper. The one day he came home and stated "Mom, I learned how to put thread on a bobbin!". That's the little round thing - right?

He then graduated to a real honest-to-goodness piece of material.

I didn't hear much about his progress until he brought it home on Thursday.

I told Austin that my experience in the then named Home Economics class - the sewing part - was not good. I made a wrist pin cushion (which was a total flop) and a pair of pot holders (which were an even bigger flop!).

I thought a locker caddy was a great idea. He could hang it up in his locker & then organize all his locker inventory in it. Well apparently my eldest son does not share my passion for organization. He brought the locker caddy home yesterday & stated "Mom, I don't ever go to my locker - so I don't need this!".

He did a fabulous job on his project & got a 96% on it. He pointed out some of his sewing mistakes that he thought he made (I, of course, thought it was perfect) and told me I could use it or he would put it his room.

It is big enough to put a small Post-It note pad in the top, 4 pencils in the middle pocket & maybe a pack of gum in the bottom.

Top

Middle - Pen/Pencil Pocket

Bottom Gum/Calculator Pocket

I love it & am going to try to find a use for it downstairs.

Any suggestions?

Boehringer's 2009

I have to say that I love Spring. The flowers are awakening from their winter sleep. The air is starting to warm up. Boehringer's opened on Friday.
When we saw this sign lit up on Friday night after lacrosse practice - it was an hallelujah moment.


I absolutely love this place. From their hot dogs with barbecue to the fresh-cut french fries to the homemade ice cream. It is fabulous & a sure sign that spring is right around the corner.


I have had the opening day marked my calendar for a few weeks now & we planned our weekend around Friday, March 20. I am going to keep track of how many times we eat there this year.


Friday we went and had hot dogs, fries, birch beer & Coca-Cola. Jerry had peanut butter ice cream and Aidan had black raspberry. Austin & I were too full from our meals to attempt eating ice cream.

Today we went & had California cheeseburgers, double cheeseburger subs, hot dogs, fries, root beer & Coca-Cola. I saved some room and had a scoop of chocolate butter fudge on a sugar cone, Austin and Aidan both had a scoop of peanut butter.

California Cheeseburger

Fresh-Cut Fries

Aidan wanted to know why we didn't go on Saturday. Good question!

The other bonus of eating at Boehringer's - the prices! Our family of four can eat there for less than $20.00.

We had to eat in the car both times we were there because it is still fairly cold out (about 55 degrees). Once the weather warms up though, they have picnic tables available to sit at by the little stream that runs behind it.

So, for those of you keeping score at home: Ebersole's eating at Boehriner's - "2".

And for those of you planning on a trip to good old Berks County sometime between now and mid-September, I'm sure you will get to experience the phenomenon known as Boehringer's.

ACE - Display My Art 2009

Each year, the P.T.O. at Brecknock Elementary has a fundraiser called Display My Art.


Through art class, they draw a picture which is then sent away to the Display My Art company and made into adorable gifts such as Christmas ornaments, tote bags and puzzles.


When Aidan was in kindergarten, he drew a self portrait. In first grade, he drew a fish. This year he drew a duck. It is so cute & this has got to be my favorite fundraiser of the year.



He must get his drawing ability from his father, because I am hard pressed to draw a stick figure.

Mustang Open 2009

The 20th Annual Mustang Open Wrestling Tournament was held this past Saturday, February 28.

This was Aidan's first year to wrestle at the Open. Children from all over the area come to wrestle & it is a good day of competition.

This was the first year that the tournament was conducted in a "Round Robin" format & without going into great detail, it guaranteed that he was going to get at least four matches.

The first match Aidan beat the boy by decision 5-3. Aidan made the little boy cry (which happens a lot in this age group of wrestlers) and also gave him a nose bleed (also very common). I hate to see the little ones cry, especially when it is my son that makes them do it.

The second match was a forfeit.

The third match he pinned the boy in 14 seconds.

The fourth match was won by pinning the kid. Jerry got very emotional after this win. It made me smile in knowing how proud he was of Aidan.

The fifth match was for first place. We had been told that the little boy that Aidan was going up against was a very good wrestler. He was also undefeated up to the final match, so this was going to determine first place. For the first two periods, Aidan was down in points. In the third period, the young man's coach had them start in the neutral position and Aidan shot for his legs & had a take down which gave him two points and then almost pinned the boy which caused his opponent to cry. The ref stopped the match for an injury time out & Aidan was awarded three back points which put him leading by three points with 11 seconds to go. Aidan was on top because had control before the time out & all he had to do was hold on and that he did. Aidan won by a decision of 8-5.

This is the bracket that hung on the wall. Each time Aidan won, they went out & circled his name. As you can see, his opponent (Sola) was also undefeated up until the final match.

This is his gold medal alongside his name.

And here is the champ with his medal. When I see this picture, I can't believe this sweet little face can be so fierce on the mat.