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!

Door County camping

My dad and I (Ethan) went to Door County, Wisconsin on a camping trip with Gramma and D-Daddy. We had fun building fires and taking hikes in the woods. We drove up Thursday, July 16, and came back Sunday, July 19.

When we woke up on Friday, we went to the Maritime Museum. We saw all kinds of models and ship parts there. At the end, we went on a tour of a naval tugboat. We saw all of the different rooms there including the cabins, engine room, the bridge (the room where the captain steers the boat), and even the kitchen!
After going to the museum, we took a hike and saw an 70-foot tall tower that you could climb to the top of.
After the hike, we went to the shore of the Michigan River and went fishing. We didn't end up catching anything, but we had a good time.
On Saturday, we took a driving tour of Door County. We saw cherry orchards, little towns including Egg Harbor, and we stopped at an art studio, where the owner showed me how to cut the matting for framing art. We had a fun time camping!

Gavin's Baptism

The next week we went up to Wilmette to celebrate Gavin's baptism. We drove up on Saturday, the day before the baptism, to have an extra day to visit the Browns. We took a trip to a nearby park, built trains with Cassidy, visited a Lake Michigan beach, and ordered in Thai food for dinner. We loved entertaining Cassidy and cuddling with Gavin.


The park was just a short walk away from the Brown's house, so we decided to walk. We threw around a baseball, played on the playground, and went on the swings. After dinner we got in the car to go to the beach. There was a playground there, too, so we got to play on that and in the sand. We even got a little wet from a plastic whale that shot water out of its spout, but the lake was too cold to go in.


Then on Sunday we had breakfast at a hole-in-the-wall place who's famous for their pancakes. They were excellent! Later we drove into Chicago for Gavin's baptism. Ethan and I (Kelsey) tried to keep Cassidy calm and quiet, since our parents are Gavin's godparents and were up with Uncle Erik and Aunt Erin. After then ceremony was over, we went to Maggiano's for a big group dinner. There was so much food - we were stuffed after the appetizers! Gavin loved all his presents - I think Cassidy did, too! Once dinner was finished, we went home. We saw everyone again, though - two weeks later in Florida!

Cubs Game

On July 5th, as a Mother's Day gift, we got to see The Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field! We got there early to check out the stadium and batting practice. Also, we were four of the first 10,000 fans to arrive, so we got Ted Lilly T-shirts! We hung out close to the field to be up close by the Cubs during batting practice, and after a while we went to find our seats - the third row in the upper deck. It felt very high at first, but we got used to it as the game went on.


Ted Lilly was the starting pitcher, and he did very well! There were all the other normal starters in too (besides ARam, who was still injured). We got hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, sodas, and pizza. We had a great time watching the game, even though we were high above the field.


The Cubs have had a little bit of an on-and-off season, so we weren't sure how well they'd do. But they proved us wrong and won 8-2 versus the Milwaukee Brewers! Derrek Lee hit a three-run home run, and Jake Fox hit one to the street behind Wrigley! Marmol and Heilman came in as relief pitchers for Ted Lilly. We were so proud of the Cubs!