0-21 vs. Windom Eagles

August 29, 2008, was the first game of the season. Ben is #60 on the St. James Saints Football Team. He played hard, he played both offense and defense, he was fun to watch!! I LOVE football!!! (Only when Ben is playing!) It was an exciting game with several injuries on our side, LOTS of yellow flags flying out of the refs pockets - on both sides of the field, and lots of action. It was very exciting! The teams seemed equal in ability to me. Even though we did not score, the team played well and that is what is important.

My classroom

Well, much to my relief and happiness, the tables I originally had for student desks were replaced by traditional desks. So, this is what the classroom looks like and visually I am ready. I have all the bulletin boards done, the desks are set up with the students' books on top and they have chair bags which will hold some of their belongings that I don't want lost in their desks. It feels good to walk into the classroom and know that I am almost ready.

A theme that I am really going to push this year is good manners and respect for themselves and others. I am starting right away the first day and am excited to make a difference in the lives of my students! I have found out already that I have to slow down a little bit though because I have so many ideas running through my head that I am finding it quite difficult to get a good nights sleep!! Only three days to go and I will meet my students and their parents at early entrance conferences. Then Wednesday we are on our way! Wow! A dream come true!

First Day Flowers

First day of in-service was Monday, August 25. I was more than a little nervous. I walked into the office and the secretary said, your husband sent you flowers! I said, that isn't possible. And, sure enough, I was right....my good friend, Shirley Coleman, knew that I was nervous and offset my day with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers!!! Thank you Shirley!!

Cory's 1st Cross Country Meet

The Saints Cross Country Boys Team talking a pre-walk...caught them walking away from me because taking a picture of them coming at me would have mortified Cory and I would like to be welcomed at the next meet! The second picture is his first lap around. He has a good stride going and I don't hear any loud wheezing noises yet from his activity-induced asthma.

This is his second lap. He is alone, but going strong. The second picture is him crossing the finishing line. He was wheezing and I was nervous. I walked him to his inhaler and made sure that he was okay before I left. After we both returned home he told me that he placed third in his heat running with both Varsity and Junior Varsity runners. He was rated 1st JV. Mr. Kyle Blomgren, his coach and Maren's 6th grade homeroom teacher, told him that he ran 4th overall in his team i ncluding both Varsity and Junior Varsity runners. Jeff and I are so proud of him and he was so happy with his results. This is Cory's first year as a cross country runner because his over-reactive mother was too nervous to let him try out last year. Over the past year he has done quite a bit of short-length running (1-1 1/2 miles at a time) and has proven that he can take care of his asthma and run. So, a new sport and I actually enjoyed going from spot to spot to see how he was doing.

2008 Saints Football Team

Karen, the photographer, told the teammates not to squint when she said "3". Look closely at Ben's eyes....don't think he listened very well! In his defense, it was really sunny out. Will be interesting to see how Karen's pictures turned out!



Ben is #60 again this year. The second picture is of Ben and head coach Lee Carlson. Mr. Carlson is also Ben's teacher in high school and he really enjoys being in his class. I think that Mr. Carlson has a great vision for the team as a unit and not just a "winning machine" and that is what I love about sports...let's teach our children how to play fair, be gracious winners and not-winners, and to love the game! Ben has been playing football since he was quite young. In 7th grade he said he wasn't going to go out again. Every year he returns. Last year the coach had to come to our house and talk him into coming back. At the end of last year, he said to me that he needed new gloves and cleats for the following year...first time he had ever said that after a football season! The clincher was when he got a football player on his class ring. I told him now he had to play through his high school career! (Besides, I LOVE watching him play!) I have watched football since I was a baby from the back yard of the house I grew up in...then there was the sneaking under the fence years so we wouldn't have to pay to get in (thanks Dave and Todd for that great idea!)...but we were always required to sit and watch. If our dad saw us running behind the bleachers or fooling around we weren't allowed to go to the next game. And they had the greatest concession stands with caramel apples! Just couldn't watch a football game without a caramel apple from the West side concession stand...not sure what they use that building for now.

Rock Wall Climing in Albert Lea

What great fun was had by all!! The foursome of Cory, Macy, Emma, and Logan wanted to do something fun before school started up for their 10th grade year! Yes they are all in 10th grade! I am having a hard time with them growing up so fast, but such is life! Okay, so anyway, I found a rock wall climbing facility in Albert Lea, threw the idea out to the mom's, collected "yes" from the four children and a "yes" from Shirley to ride shotgun and we were off! We ate at Applebee's restaurant...Shirley and I sat 3 tables down and one row over from the foursome...leaving them space to chat. Then we went to the rock wall climbing facitility where they all suited up and were off. Later that night the guys that were helping the four asked them if they wanted rock wall climbing shoes to put on...all said it was much easier after they put them on. I was amazed at how hard they worked to get to the top. The one instructor suggested a game and they all had fun playing that too. It was a great time and I think we will be returning there for Christmas with all of the Malakowsky grandchildren in tow.


#1 - Cory reaching, #2 - Cory doing the "side wall" and Logan "spotting",
#3 - Emma doing a great job!, #4 - all done and all tired out!

Fishing...a Malakowsky thing

What a beautiful day to go fishing! The girls had Bailey and Shelby Haseman over for a fishing trip....which was originally supposed to be just a boat ride. What fisher girls these four are! They did not want to quit! The first boat ride was with Maren and Bailey. They didn't come back for 45 minutes! Jeff shows up and something from the bucket was splashing him as he was driving his boat in. It was the large mouth bass pictured above...may not taste the best, was a fleshier fish to chew on than a blue gill! Morgan is asking for a repeat adventure today.

Because it has taken me so long to do my blog, I am not sure what order things happened in so some of these entries are going to be random. Cory and Macy Coleman played in a tennis tournament as a mixed doubles team. They seemed to have a great time and, as always, it is so fun to be an observer....it was a warm day and I was so thankful for the apple slice from Lisa Shellum towards the end of the early afternoon!!

Morgan has a green thumb that is out of this world! She received a spider plant sprout from Mrs. Anne Olsen at the end of the school year. By late June we had to put it into a larger pot. Then in July, while visiting Uncle David in Sioux Falls, she was told to put a little bit of Miracle Gro in the pot....I am not sure what happened as she did it by herself but the next morning the plant had died. It was so sad!!!

So, she moved on to the plant that her mother killed. I recevied this beautiful geranium from Lisa and Mark Collier for a graduation gift. Morgan clipped off all the dead flowers, watered the plant, and voila! look at it now! It is gorgeous! A week after she cut off the dead flowers a beautiful red flower appeared. We were both so excited! So, I stay away from the plant and she is taking care of it herself. What do I do with it during the winter time?????

Morgan has been given a hand-me-down camera from her dad...it was our first digital and it got dropped so it doesn't have a flash, but it still takes great outdoor pictures. These are a few of her pictures she has taken over the months. She totes it with her everywhere we go. It has a long handle on it so that she can sling it from right shoulder to left hip. She has about 50 pictures of Hunter alone, her favorite subject when she can get him to sit still! Speaking of Hunter and Morgan, she has taught him to "race". She says, "Do you want to race boy?" and he gets crouched down and ready. She says, "Let's go!" and the two of them race around the house. Of course, so far, Hunter always wins.....unless he gets sidetracked by the bunny rabbits in the garden.

The Sand Box is Filled!!!!

Oh happy day! We have new sand in the sandbox....and only a few (thousand) granules travel through the house on the way to the shower....if only there was a warm water hose outside...hmmm. Morgan was ecstatic to see the dump truck bring in her load of sand. She had been asking all summer and we were so busy that I never got around to it until this week, the last week in July! The little boy in the picture is Jose, who lives on the corner. He came running across the yards and slapped his hand over his mouth and his eyes got really big...it was hilarious to see how excited he was to see Morgan's filled up sandbox. The two of them have been in the sandbox both days, making ramps for cars and digging up holes. No water traps so far.

Annual Relay for Life/Visiting Mitch and Jenny

Every year I buy bags in memory of my mom, Betty, and in honor of my dad, David, who have been through cancer experiences. We lost Grandma Betty in 1995, but Grandpa David lives on and is healthy to this day with a full recovery....we thank God for that! After making the bags we discovered the Grandma Laura is going through surgery on July 31 and we pray for a full recovery. Next year there will be a bag there to honor her too. This is the first year I did not attend the Relay for as long as I can remember because we went North to visit Jeff's family.



We arrived at the resort late Friday night and spent two glorious days there with Mitch, (Jeff's brother), Jenny, and their three boys - Luke, Alex and Nick. It was Luke's birthday on Saturday so we celebrated with cake and gifts. He turned 8!! Maren, Morgan and I went to a beading class that was held at the clubhouse. Maren made earrings, Morgan made an ankle bracelet and I made a wrist bracelet. We had a great time and it was fun to experiment with different beads to find just the right look. This is my third piece of jewelry from this resort as this is the same place that we have had the Malakowsky girls' weekend! We also went swimming, played mini-golf, went on a paddle boat ride, had camp fires nightly, played cards, and Morgan's favorite....drove the golf carts around and around the entire resort...she couldn't get enough! If I was thinking I would have taken a picture of her in the golf cart driver's seat....her dream is to drive when she is old enough! What a girl!

Vacation Bible School at First Lutheran

What a great week the girls had with their friends at Vacation Bible School! The camp counselors were fun and energetic and the activities were engaging and fun. The girls especially liked tie-dying their shirts and being able to wear them during their worship service on Wednesday night. Every year is an adventure at Bible Camp!!

Morgan found two loves over the weekend!

Morgan fell in love with Aunt Dawn's dog, Shadow. She carried the dog around like a baby all day Friday night after rehearsal. She was back to love up the dog before we headed for home on Saturday night! Shadow is a very protective, picky dog but she warmed right up to Morgan. Shadow will "talk" to you by growling low and whining....it is cuter than it sounds. Her desire is to be a veterinarian....
I was so happy that she held baby Josephine at the church so I could get a picture of her loving up a human as much as she loved up that dog! Morgan has always loved playing with dolls...still does....and she loved having a human "doll" to play with.

Kari and Jason Eastgate

We had a great time at my niece's wedding on July 19, 2008. She and Jason Eastgate said their vows in a beautiful church ceremony and then, at the end of the ceremony but before the blessing, they baptized their absolutely gorgeous baby girl, Josephine. I was the proud aunt that had the honor of holding Josephine throughout the wedding ceremony and she was just perfect. She is a beautiful baby! They are a terrific couple and Jason is a wonderful man to my niece. He is kind, caring, thoughtful, and there for her when she needs him....what more could we ask for? The weather was gorgeous and we have about 80 pictures, but these are my two favorite!

St. James Pool

After berry picking we went to the pool and we felt very safe because we had Cory, the lifeguard, as our protector! I am sure he hated me taking a picture of him, but it is his first job and I had to have proof....you know me! Anyway, the children all had fun, especially on the diving board. They were all being so silly and I got a few good "air" pictures. The girls and I have been at the pool 4-5 times a week all summer. I enjoy getting a tan and the girls enjoy playing with the friends that they find there.