Ally's Benefit, School and Dance....Oh My!

Summer is finally over, Thank God! I am more of a winter, spring and fall guy because I am light complected and burn easy, plus I don't like to sweat. So what has the Schrock family been up to the last month or so? Well, the girls started dance and school, Dylanne started kindergarten and Micheala started preschool. Last weekend the gals all went to Illinois for Ally's "Rock and Rally" benefit and Addison's first birthday. I stayed home, worked and cried when the Hawkeyes lost.Here's Ally at her benefit this past weekend. I'm told that it was a lot of fun and lots of money was raised, WAY TO GO! It breaks my heart to not be able to attend these functions, but I know that Ally knows that I think about her all the time and love her very much. Doesn't she look great? I wish that I had half the courage that she does.
Ally's grandma, Jan, with the kids doing activities during the benefit. Noticed the T-shirts, if I must toot my own horn for a bit. Ally's shirt is cute, as she has found a way to make light of a tough situation. I am proud of everyone who wears the "Rally For Ally" t-shirts, as it is a physical reminder to Ally that people are thinking and praying for her.
Dylanne's first day of school. She is doing really well, although some mornings she just doesn't want to wake up. I am already seeing improvement in her education as she shares what she learns in school with me everyday. She feels the need to pose all of the time. Yes, she is a diva in training and Yes, I am in trouble when she gets older.
A head and shoulder shot. She was very excited on her first day, which is music to my ears because I was never into school much and I'm hoping that she really tries to get the most out of her educational opportunities. My wife thinks I'm crazy for thinking this way this soon, but I want Dylanne to build a solid foundation in education and I think it starts now.
Micheala's first day of preschool and she loves it! I apologize for the shadows in the picture, but I'm not Wilson Photography. Micheala has been doing great. No head trauma as of yet and the teacher, Mrs. Bark, has been keeping an eye on her and reports that everything is going well.
Once again, the girls strike a pose. Micheala really looks up to Dylanne, but at the same time is her own person.
Dance has started for the gals. They head to Troy Mills for class and so far, LOVE IT! Even though Micheala is more into shaking her ass, she is fine with tap for now. I am hanging on to the notion that dance class will improve their coordination for sports later in life. My wife tells me I need to get over it and come to the realization that the girls may not be interested in sports. I just tell Heather that she is talking crazy and that she should stay away from the booze, ha ha.

As I stated in my last post, busy, busy, busy!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I know that it's been a while since my last post, but we have been busy trying to enjoy what seems to be the end of summer. The girls have already started school and are doing great. I will have first day of school pictures soon, I've just been too lazy to download them. Hawkeye football is in full swing, as well as, the Giants attempt to defend their Super Bowl title, so I have been busy with stressing over my two favorite teams. I got season tickets to the Hawkeyes this year and our friends, John and Denise Harris are going with us to Minnesota in December to watch the Giants/Vikings game.

Heather and I have really made some nice friends in the neighborhood this summer. As always, we spend a majority of our time with Jason Liedtke and his wife Erica in the yard just visiting. We made some new friends in John and Denise Harris. They have two kids, Dylan and Jaylynn, who play well with our kids. They are a real fun couple and have many of the same interests and morals that we do. We had a young couple move in across the street, Doug and Mallory, and we are still getting to know them. They are very nice and seem to be fun and outgoing. We welcomed some other new neighbors this summer, Mitch and Janet, but they have been busy as they just had a baby girl less than a month ago. She is a cute one and their 2 year old is quite funny. Finally, Joni and Chris moved to Urbana. It has been awesome having them around. It will also be great to be so close to my new niece or nephew when he/she arrives.

We started a "bags" league at our house this summer. On Saturdays, the neighbors, as well as some family, get together and we play a bags tournament. We have gotten so into the bags games that we have built lights to play at night as well as cup holders. I keep weekly statistics and e-mail them to everyone involved. It's amazing to me how this picked up and became quite popular in our neighborhood. What a good way to spend Saturday nights, no money needed and the company of friends and family. Below are a few pictures from this summer. Dylanne on the swing. her and her friends spend quite a bit of time on our playset in the summer. Do the glasses give away the fact that she is also a full blown diva?
Micheala enjoying the swing. She's suppose to be taking it easy, but it's hard to hold her back.
Micheala playing Nintendo DS one night in the dark. My neighbor Jason, who just adores Micheala, takes tons of pictures of her and thought this was an awesome photo. She looks a bit freaky to me.
A view of the bags game set up from my neighbors house.
Another photo of he bags game setup. If you look to the left in the photo, you can see where everyone sits to visit and watch the games.

I promise to stay more on top of things as some people have been complaining since I haven't updated recently.