We did it! Before Memorial Day arrived, I transformed into a third grader…

…and Genesee became a kindergartener.

Mrs. Miller and Ms Toni taught us well and we LOVED them for it, but the time has come to dazzle our brilliance in front of new teachers and bigger classrooms. We. Are. Ready. For. It. But first, summer!

Spring soccer with my Rush club team was a blast! After our initial poor performance at the Des Moines tournament, we finished our regular season in undefeated fashion, even with one man down or no subs.

Still, even though winning is fun, the best part for me was participating in the victory lap at the conclusion of each game, because there’s just something about receiving high fives from your smiling, gushing parents fan club (especially since last season’s protocol was to wave from a COVID-safe distance). In fact, this lap of love even topped the feeling of scoring a goal in the final game of the season, after spending most of my playing time in a defender position. You might not have assumed this after bearing witness to my over-the-top celebratory run-dance, but truly, the highlight was not the super impressive, career-building goal that I scored; What I loved most about this season was the receiving line of proud supporters.

Thank you, loved ones, for faithfully cheering us on and for always being there to tie the occasional loose shoe string in the middle of the games. We hear you on the sidelines even if we’re too cool to acknowledge as such.

For Dad’s birthday this year, mom surprised him with a fun hike around Devil’s Lake! The weather was surprisingly perfect, and the element of surprise continued when we accidentally found ourselves on the Balanced Rock Trail: a steep climbing path with stone steps on the south face of the East Bluff that is assigned the level “Difficult” (if you’re paying attention).

Although this was Genesee’s inaugural hike outside of Dad’s backpack, she still rocked it! Mom’s performance, on the other hand, was a little more questionable. Thank goodness her shaky legs were unaware they were trembling on a “difficult” path less traveled. Otherwise, the anticipation of death might have killed the mood a bit.

In the end, we lived to see two spectacular views… 1) an overlook of the beautiful Devil’s Lake, and 2) the interior view of our Toyota Highlander from the safety of our seatbelts.

Post quarantine era, I was not mad about the return to field trips, especially when it meant second graders got to splash around at the Metropolis Resort, enjoy a delicious pizza party, and then play mini golf at Action City afterward (for those who could sweet-talk their chaperone mom into getting a sneak peek of the arcade area).

Although you can never go wrong with a water park, the day was initially dampened by the tragic news of a house fire that killed 4 Melrose-Mindoro elementary students. I cried in Mrs. Miller’s class as the news sunk in deeper by witnessing her tears.

So, the joy of a field trip was a timely and much-needed distraction from the sadness and concern that subsumed our small community. I suspect the teachers even gave us more free rein to make happy childhood memories because life felt that much more precious… We played, we laughed, and we even ran our little hearts out in walk-only zones.

Upon my return home, the family dinner conversation held space for every fun detail of my trip, before revisiting and improving our fire drill protocol, and then hugging each other a little bit tighter.

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?

Surprise! Mom secretly bought tickets for us to see a play called, Pete the Cat. Too bad the surprise was on mom when it turned out I didn’t really like the play; the cartoon-y plot line just wasn’t mature enough for my liking (although mom did catch a couple of laughs sneaking out of my mouth). Genesee, on the other hand, was completely captivated. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from that, but for future reference, if you want to woo me, you gotta remember that I’m a distinguished gentleman with high-class taste. And that’s why I asked to go to Taco Bell afterward.

When winter is met with sledding hills, snow person making, ice fishing mornings, movie theatre trips, icicle sword fights, COVID vaccination approval for my age group, and indoor soccer tournaments, there are no blues to be had. (We could have done without the $11,000 deer collision and rising fuel prices, but otherwise, not bad!)