Nico was thrilled to meet his newest cousin as was Maya. A crow bar was required to pry Maya from Rosie.

 
I met my niece, Rose, for the first time today. Nico, Maya and I are visiting my brother and his family in Minnesota. Jeanine had to stay back to care for Kyle who was in no condition to travel.

I hit my target weight today after losing 16 pounds since mid January. I think I will try for another four pounds to make it an even twenty. This should help my soccer speed significantly. This will be my last post for about ten days while we are in Minnesota visiting my brother and dogsledding 

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Kyle was diagnosed with mononucleosis on Monday and he is really suffering quite badly. His throat and glands are so swollen that he can not swallow nor can he sleep at night. It is so difficult for him to speak that we can hardly understand his speach. We are scheduled to leave for vacation on Friday, but he is in no shape to travel. Jeanine will stay behind to care for him and should his condition improve they may try to join up with us on Sunday.

 
Today we received our invitation to the Shane’s Inspiriation 2008 Gala. Nicolai is being honored at tha black-tie event for his climb of Kilimanjaro and fundraising for the Free Wheelchair Mission. This is a photo of the invitation describing Nicolai’s accomplishments. The foundation is flying Nico, Jeanine and I out to Beverly Hills for the $250 a seat gala to be held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on March 9th.

 
Most normal children do their homework at a desk. Maya seems to favor the kitchen floor. If not for the fact that she is doing well in school, I would be somewhat concerned with this practice.

 
Nico has another near pin using his massive upper body strength to advantage.

 
With a deeply set cradle, Nico nearly pins his opponent.

 
Nicolai had another wrestling tournament this weekend and continues to amaze us with his ability. He had far less experience than his opponents but improved with every match. We reviewed video footage after each bout and he would apply the teaching points in the subsequent match.

 
Each team was permitted to write the word down, compare notes, and give a final answer. Kyle was on hand to witness his sister’s performance which meant a lot to her.

 
Maya on stage with teammates Allison and Lydia at the Willard 3rd grade spelling bee. Her team did not miss a single word. The girls fashioned their own team uniforms and named themselves the Dominators.

 
Klye strips a defender of the ball in a playoff game which ended just before midnight. His Chaos team came from behind in the final minutes to win their first round match. A goalie save at the last second preserved the victory in an extremely exciting contest. Their second match was a one sided loss to a very unsportsmanlike team. Kyle’s sarcastic congratulations to a non-playing loud mouth from the opposing team spawned a shoving match. It took all the restraint I could muster to supress the urge to punch this kid in the nose myself.

 
Maya inspects the fresh snow while waiting for her bus this morning. She recieved her report card yesterday and is doing very well in school.

 
Kyle did a little strength training this evening with the help of his sister. Maya’s general utility around the house never ceases to amaze me.