Tag: Owen

SOIS Sabers defeat Bulldogs

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Owen’s middle school baseball team won yesterday 13-0 against the Marist Brothers International School (MBIS). We made the long trip across the Koshien metro area to go to the MBIS field, which is in Suma, an area in the west part of Kobe. The Sabers outclassed the host Bulldogs. Owen pitched innings 4 through 6, playing a part in the shutout along with two other pitchers. He hasn’t played much baseball and is tentative, but he has some athletic talent. Owen also played centerfield. At the plate, he had a ground rule double, walked twice and got on by an error. He also made some nice fielding plays on the mound. He has not allowed a run in the three games he has pitched. That is more a statement of the quality of opposition to his ability, but I really enjoy watching him play!

Leading off of first base.

The Saber middle school A team is now 3-0, with victories over Canadian Academy, Nagoya International School, and MBIS. Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan and with soccer, it is the best sport the school offers.

Playing center field

Happy Birthday Owen

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Cutting the Cake, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

With the rush of the end of the semester this past week, I didn’t have time to do a blog post on Owen’s birthday. He turned seven last Sunday and in honor of the occasion, we invited some of his close friends for a day at the Usče Mall here in Belgrade. It was the hyper mega Usce day with five hours of fun. We did it all, with bowling, dance competition, playland, food court, and movie. Owen and this friends loved it.

For posterity, Matija had the high bowling score of 97. Riana had the high on the other lane of 79. Owen bowled a 60 and Oliver bowled a 64. We watched the movie, Planet 51 dubbed in Serbian. The winners of the dance competition were the employees of the bowling center and the crowd gathered around watching. Very talented and entertaining kids.

I can’t believe it has been seven years since the birth of Owen. He is growing up too fast!!!! Happy birthday big boy, we love you.

Below is a short video of Oliver dancing. The boy has some moves and tons of charisma and charm.

Owen’s Big Catch

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Owen’s Big Catch, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Owen caught his first fish yesterday! He is shown above with his monster fish. After a ferocious fight lasting seconds, Owen pulled up his catch. The behemoth took the bait of Canadian crawler only minutes from our arrival. It was such an impressive specimen, we practiced “catch and release” so it can continue breeding. It is a type of freshwater fish known as a “blue gill.” He was very pumped! Now we have to get one from Ollie. It was the only fish we caught.

In the debate about what to call the Capsian Pit or Pond, I think I found the best solution. My Dad says a guy in church yesterday called it the “Caspian Sea.” Very funny! I knew people who worked in Baku, Azerbijan, which is located on the Caspian Sea. They reported the water is quite polluted, so this is a better example of the Caspian Sea.

Owen’s Kindergarten Reflections

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Owen this past school year was enrolled as a kindergarten student. He had Nadia for a teacher. At the end of the year, Nadia asked the students to write about each other. She collected them in a book and it makes a great memory of the their year together. I also think that it gives good insight into the personality of Owen. I feel that people do grow and mature, but their basic nature doesn’t change much throughout their lives. Here are some excerpts on what the children had to write about their friend Owen.

Joaquin – “I like Owen because he has yellow hair and he is more funny then everybody in the world.”

Camila – “I like Owen because he is beautiful and the color of Owen is red.”

Maximo – “I like Owen because he is funny and Owen is crazy.”

Cristina – “I like Owen because he is beautiful and he is crazy and he is cute. Owen is nice with me and he plays with me.”

Valeria – “I love Owen because he plays tag and transformers and Pokemon and he tries to kiss us and hug us.”

Glenn – “I like Owen because he has pretty hair and Owen has a pretty house”

So basically, Owen has yellow hair and is a fun-loving guy.

Family Journal: Wednesday July 2, 2008

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Owen Rides a Bike, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Huge day yesterday as Owen rode a bike on his own for the first time. I really didn’t need to help him much as he was ready to go. We have rode bikes with training wheels for a couple of years now and lately he has been talking of taking them off. We borrowed a bike from my brother.

Yesterday we took the kids to Iron Mountain. Nadia did some clothes shopping at JC Penny with my sister-in-law Michelle, and Jim and I took the kids. We first stopped at the Pasty Oven for lunch. We then went over to a park in Quinnesec and that is where Owen just took off. He went around the block several times. Quite emotional for me and an important milestone for him. Owen is quite coordinated and athletic so bike riding came quite easy to him. We also went to Lake Antoine and went for a short hike.

After returning to Caspian, Nadia played in bocce (a post on this later) at the Duc of Abruzzi courts. We finished up the evening by going to Scott’s Subs for ice cream. We didn’t visit my mother in the hospital because she was sleeping. She continues to stay at the ICCH.

Owen Graduates from Kindergarten

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Owens Graduation Speech, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We had a nice ceremony on Friday morning at the school. The Kindergarten “graduated” to first grade. It is a big moment for them and their parents as it marks the end of early childhood. Next year they will be in the elementary school. All the students read a prepared graduation speech and received their diplomas. Many proud parents were taking video and photos. Above is Owen’s speech. He is a bit sad in leaving his friends. We plan to re-enroll him in kindergarten next year at his new school due to his young age.