Senior Picture Time!

Well, it took 2 sessions and a 2+ hour drive to Granite Falls, MN.  But we finally got the girls senior pictures finished.  We know most seniors do summer pictures, but since mom loves the fall colors the most we thought it would be great to have the pictures taken when the colors peaked.  Unfortunately, with the busy schedule that the girls keep getting pictures at just the right time was impossible.

The photographer came to Shakopee for the first session.  We encountered a bit of a problem at the first photo spot at a barn off of Cty. Rd. 14 in Shakopee, when the grandson of the farm owner pulled up and informed the girls and the photographer that they were trespassing on private property.  There were posted signs, but with the high grass nobody seemed to see them.  Thankfully, the photographer talked to him and agreed that he would go no further onto the property other than by the barn and silo on the side of the road.

We moved from the barn to Memorial Park and then broke the law again by sneaking into Murphy's Landing through a broken fence.  They ended their first session at an abandoned gas station off of 1st avenue.

The girls scheduled their 2nd session for October 4th, but due to a rescheduled soccer game we had to postpone the final shoot to October 6th.  We had to detour around the closed bridges to make our way over to Highway 212 which added an extra 20 minutes to our already long drive, but we made it to Granite Falls right in time to begin the studio session.  Julia forgot one pair of shoes and her scarf for one of her outfits, but we made the best of what we had.  After an indoor session we moved onto a park by a creek where he took several outdoor pictures.  From there we all went to lunch at the local golf course and then afterwards headed to the Minnesota River where we decided to take some of our own photos (attached).   On our way home we also found an old railcar with some graffiti.  Unfortunately the sun  and the fact that the girls were tired of smiling made it hard to get any good pictures, but we managed to snap a couple.   The rest of the drive home was pretty quiet.  The girls were exhausted and napped and mom and dad enjoyed the quiet time. 

In 2 weeks we will get our proof books from the photographer.  We're so excited to see the pictures, its going to be hard to wait that long.  You can also look at some of the pictures we took ourselves under our Pictures section.  Look at 2010 Granite Falls or go to http://picasaweb.google.com/jdovolos/2010JuliaStephiSeniorPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCLrEgOrhv_ziwQE#

Soccer from the Faribault News Paper

If you look close, that is Julia on the right in the background.

http://faribault.com/news.php?viewStory=101957

Stephanie gets some Credit

http://scoreboardmn.ourvarsity.com/schools/school-article-profile.php?ID=2311

Soccer News

http://scoreboardmn.ourvarsity.com/schools/school-article-profile.php?School_ID=&Article_ID=2184

Time Flies When You're Havin' Fun

Seems like just yesterday we were in our North Minneapolis home with the Oakley's and the Kilanowski's living a short distance away. The days of late night canasta games, house parties and fun nights at the local bars are long gone, but the memories... Oh, the memories... There isn't a time when we get together with our long-time friends where there isn't a familiar story that is told about those days. And they never cease to make us laugh. Whether it be Pete walking in on Michelle while she's giving birth to Julia, or John's trip to the ER after a fall that broke his ribs where Pete picked him up at the door to be the designated driver for the night, the Halloween parties (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles still ROCK), or Jeannie's crazy cat, Kitty, attacking John's feet as we walk in the door of their home. Each and every one of those stories holds a very special place in our hearts. Our kids were born in those homes and we spent our first years getting together at least once a week to hang out, have a backyard bbq, spaghetti dinner and play cards.

Now our kids are all grown up. Jake, the first one born to our family, has graduated and is going off to college at the University of Iowa. Julia and Stephi graduate next year and Kaitlin will be the class of 2012. The kids may be busy with their own lives, but every time we have the opportunity to get together they act like siblings and pick up right where they left off.

We have watched these kids grow up to be fabulous young adults. We have been so very blessed to be a part of each others' lives for this long and hope that we are part of each others' memories for many years to come.

Music Videos

Check out the new music video site to the left.

Back to State, Again

We cannot believe that another year of club soccer has gone by. Seems as though we just wrote the blog a month or so ago saying that "The Girls Heads Back to State" for last years season. Looking back at the blog though and it was one year ago today.

This year the girls had a very good season. They ended the regular season with 5 wins, 1 loss and 4 ties. But they took home the championship in the two tournaments they were in.

New this year, the girls played in the Schwans USA Cup. It was a great experience for all. They had a lot of fun and met players from countries all over the world including Sweden, Haiti, Mexico, Costa Rica, Iceland. During our game against Lake Simcoe, Canada, Stephanie had a head on head collision with one of the Canadian players and they both ended up getting stiches. We do have the broadcast video and are in the process of getting it on the blog. Stephanie and Kelsey (the canadian player pictured on the right) are now facebook friends.

The girls went into districts this year the number one seed. They played the Minnesota Thunder Acamedy in Game 1 and with both Julia and Stephanie each scoring a goal, they won 3-0. In game two the girls played Monticello and again Julia and Stephanie each scored a goal and the game ended up going into overtime tied 2-2. Julia, Stephanie and Racquel(Ducky) scored while Dani was able to stop 3 of Monticellos shots and we won 3-2 in the shootout sending the team back to the State Tournament for the fifth year in a row.