The birthday weekend continued via Easter Sunday’s gathering at the Nicolai household, just as tradition would have it. After egg hunts, basket discoveries, and a baked ham dinner, we returned to my house for birthday cake, ice cream, and the much anticipated gift opening ceremony.

Best of luck to the poor soul who has to play against me in a future virtual or real world competition, because I have big plans to put my newly-gifted Steph Curry shoes and Xbox gaming system to good use. Watch. Out.

If my birthday party is any indication of the year that lies ahead, 8 is going to be GREAT!

On Saturday, April 16th, my friends and I took over the Lunda Community Center to test the waters of their swimming pool, climb their tall rock wall, and run circles around their open gym! We enthusiastically covered all of the ground and left no corner untouched because that’s how you unlock level 8! I was so grateful that my pals Colin, Wyatt, Ashlyn, Maddox, Quinn, and Noah made the big trip to Black River Falls to celebrate my becoming of eight.

These days, people call me “Jaeger,” “Jag,” or “Jag-a-lag-a-ding-dong,” and my world centers around soccer, basketball, golf, ice fishing, Pokémon, electric scooters, Nintendo Switch games, spaghetti with meat sauce, and Grandpa’s nachos.

I’ve still got my clumsy skills and a big, soft heart, but I’m also becoming quite the drone pilot, and I’ve taken a liking to writing as my favorite subject in school. Other favorites of the year are gold & black (colors), Big City Greens (TV show), elk (animal), and Pizza Ranch (restaurant… especially their cookie pizza).

In the here and now, I am most happy at home, with my whole family, especially my hero, Genesee. In the future, my 8-year-old self thinks I might become a “logo maker” (also known as a graphic designer). We’ll see if that idea stands the test of time, but regardless, mom says I’m a bright kiddo with a bright future, so get out your best sunglasses if you plan to watch how this show unfolds!

We kicked off our spring soccer season with a 4.5 hour drive to Des Moines, Iowa to compete in the Iowa Rush Spring Champions Cup.

Instead of booking a hotel, we packed up the motorhome and headed for Griff’s Valley View RV Park & Campground to make the trip more exciting. Little did we know, that excitement would turn out to be an early morning wake up call to 3 police cars visiting a nearby camper, which ended with a dead body wheeled off the premises a few hours later. Yikes! How do you write that Yelp review?!

Still, we managed to have a good time, especially because we had paved, open roads to take our electric scooters for a spin. Of course we cruised the campground like pros, thanks to the many indoor practice laps we’ve been taking around our kitchen island.

It was fun to get outside and play soccer again, but the Iowa wind was a little harsh. And although we traveled many miles, we decided to let all of the teams beat us because who needs a trophy anyway?! Still, I think we did pretty good for only having one practice under our belts with this new U-9 team and our new coach, Jaison. It’s gonna be a good season!

Mom and Dad drove me 3.5 hours across the state for an early, surprise birthday gift! When we parked near the Fiserv Forum, however, I was disappointed to learn that we weren’t special guests of Giannis Antetokounmpo for an exciting Milwaukee Bucks game. But, my low spirits were quickly heightened when I got to experience my first fast-paced and fun-filled professional soccer game at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena next door.

While I cheered on my newly-discovered favorite soccer team, the Milwaukee Wave, Genesee gawked at the Disney princesses and super heroes who happened to be the theme of the night. So naturally, at games’s end, I stood in long lines to obtain signatures of the top athletes in the sport, while Mom reluctantly accompanied Genesee who unabashedly requested a photo shoot with each real-life character. Priorities, I guess?