Illinois Game

On a cold Saturday morning, we drove up to Champaign, IL to see an Illini football game. We got there early so we could walk around campus. Our parents got to see old classrooms, dorms, and restaurants. Then we went to Memorial Stadium to watch the Illini play Penn State. It was very, very cold but we managed to fun, even though we lost 35-17. We left a little before the fourth quarter ended and looked at another bookstore. Then we got dinner at Hot Wok Express, and old Chinese restaurant. We headed home after that, and this past Saturday got to see Illinois beat Michigan!!!

Kelsey's Soccer Season

This year our team was called Nine Irish Brothers after the restaurant one my teammate's parents' owns. We had most of the normal people on our team, plus five new 7th graders. We ended up only losing two games including in the tournament. We got all the way to the championship game and played our arch-rival. We lost 1-0, but the game was super close. Afterward some of us went to Nine Irish for dinner/random snacks.

Ethan's soccer season

I (Ethan) just finished a great soccer season this fall. Our record was 4 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie (including tournament games).Our team is: top row:Coach Jordan, Coach Harding, and Coach Miller. Middle row: Bob, Devin, Nate Miller., Austin, Nate Matson , Adam, and Matthew. Bottom row: Nathan, Parker, Logan, Trevin, Ben, and me. I had a great time playing this year and I am looking forward to playing again next year.

Volleyball

We were very successful in 8th grade volleyball this year! The A-Team only lost 4 games, and the B-Team lots 2 and won the City Championship! A-Team got runner-up. We had a new coach this year and lots of new students played too, so it was a bit different this year than last year. We noticed some teams improved a lot, but we improved, too. By the end of the season, almost everyone could consistently get their over-hand serve over, which was a great accomplishment. The A-Team played West Lafayette in the City Tourney Championship and lost in the third game. The B-Team played Tecumseh and won in two! We were very excited for our victory.

Family Reunion

The weekend after Labor Day, we had a big Reder family reunion at our house. I (Kelsey) was there on and off because I had to work at the Parish Picnic at St.Lawrence, but I got to say hi and have a burger. We grilled out, played ladder golf, and watched football in the living room. Most people left later that night, but my grandparents, the Browns, and my grandpa's brother Rob and his family stayed the night. We all went out to breakfast at Bob Evans the next morning, and everyone else left from there. It was fun seeing everyone again, and we hope to have another reunion soon!

Labor Day Weekend

As always, on Labor Day weekend, our family drove up to Rockford to visit our grandparents. The Browns came too, and we had lots of fun playing with Gavin and Cassidy. On one day we went up to Edward's Apple Orchard, like we do every year. It was surprisingly warm for September, so we didn't have to rely on the delicious hot apple cider to warm us up (although we got some anyway!). Cassidy loved climbing on the old tractors and playing on the playground that looked like a ship. She would stand by the windows on the bottom and someone would peek through it. She thought that was pretty funny. We also got her to go down the slides.
At the orchard store we got fudge, cider, cheese dip, and lots of our other favorite things. When we got back to our grandparents, we watched football and snacked on everything we had bought at the orchard.

First Day of School

Hello! Sorry it's been so long since we've posted. Since we're so behind, we're skipping everything that seems "old", and going right to the first day of school. Or, rather, the second day of school because we forgot to get pictures the first morning. I (Kelsey) am in 8th grade this year at CC, and Ethan is in 5th grade at St.Lawrence. It's the beginning of the second quarter, and school is going pretty well! We both got straight A's (yay!) so that was exciting. We hope the next quarter will go smoothly too!