Jack and Owen have qualified for the MAWA Regional Tournament every year they’ve entered. That’s four years for Jack and three for Owen. Jack’s first qualification was in 2006 and his most recent was last weekend (we took 2009 off). Every time, they’ve either qualified in first place or second.
Here’s a little overview of Jack and Owen wrestling in the MAWA tournaments through the years: PHOTOS HERE.

Since I’m never going to have time to blog about any of these events individually, I put them all together. I put captions under most of the photos to explain them. There’s even a bizarr-o photo in the collection!
Selection of photos from December.

Jack and Owen are playing some game upstairs that involves lots of yelling and thumping. A few minutes ago, they came down to the kitchen, rooted around in a drawer and ran some water.
Jack said something I couldn’t really hear. Then, I heard Owen say, “I think we should wait to start playing again until I staunch the flow of blood.”
******
Update about 10 minutes later: I hear them come clomping down the stairs. Jack is breathing heavily, kind of gasping. Then Owen says, “Jack, you’re not screaming in agony, so I don’t think anything is broken.”
Jack’s class has been studying major 20th century events. This was what he wrote for one of his assignments.
A Polish Cavalryman Remembers WWII
The tanks came over the hills like iron mountains.
Planes in swarms like hornets filled our skies.
My brave Polish brothers swept back like unwanted leaves.
The Germans came into our land.
Their put their chambers of death on our land.
Fellow citizen who were only different in German eyes, not ours,
Annihilated by the invaders, but not forgotten by us.
The Germans put death on our land.
I had been trained to fight with my bay stallion.
Together we went to war.
Flesh and blood fought iron and steel.
We fought the Germans on our land.
Against their tanks, we stood no chance.
But, sabers aloft, we charged them full force.
So many died, but their spirits still live.
Riding away, rivers of blood followed me down the hill.
The Germans could never take the soul from our land.
They may have held our land for many years,
They may have killed many of my fellow Poles,
They may have caused a never-ending circle of death,
But as long as we kept hope,
The German never took over our land.



The big-deal Halloween parade at Germantown Academy was today. Everyone looked wonderful. The whole school, from pre-K to seniors comes out to the quad and parades around.
The PK teachers were famous GA athletes from the past, the 3rd grade teachers were Phillies “fans,” and the 5th grade teachers were bats in the belfry.
More photos are here.
Owen had to give his first book report this week. He read an abridged version of The Man in the Iron Mask by Dumas.
Over the past two weeks or so, once he’d read the book, Owen wrote an outline with setting, characters, plot summary and high point all detailed. The assignment was to deliver the book report to the class, using props.
Owen, being Owen, of course, had to take things a step further and BECOME the main character, Philippe. So he delivered his report in the first person, wearing the iron mask.
Our goals for the project diverged a bit. I thought he should [click to continue…]