Hegwein Family Blog

Oma Hits 75!

Oma hits the big 75!!!

Happy birthday!

The entire Hegwein clan wishes you a very happy birthday, continued good health and spirits, and a long stay on earth to serve as inspiration for all of us!

Honoring Oma: The daily routine

1. Dusting and waxing of select furniture, conducted religiously and meticulously almost every day. Floor mopping accomplished every Friday. 5%
2. Laundry and bed-making a daily must. During our marriage, Ann made the bed 18,755 times. 5%
3. Decorating is an ongoing task, rotating through myriad assorted figurines, floral arrangements and photos. 5%
4. Bookkeeping whereby Bello maintains all financial records since our days in Stockholm. Oma never misses even one cent! 15%
5. Shopping. Ann likes shopping excursions for food and antiques. Dollar availability governs some purchases. 10%
6. Cooking. Bello jealously protects the kitchen; positively no trespassing while another culinary masterpiece is being prepared, worthy of a listing in Larousse Gastronomique Francaise. 25%
7. Pro Bono. Renders untiringly (and unsolicited sage advise to all family members on just about any subject, comparable to Wikipedia. 20%
8. TV-viewing. Loves to watch from the Blue Couch happenings on the tube. As a result, knows everything politic from around the globe, as well as the latest in cooking and decorating. 10%
9. Puzzles. Alternates between puzzle solving and reading old magazines or an occasional book. 5%
10. Tribute. Although Oma retired some years ago from the culinary arts and retail sales, she still works in excess of 100%. When men retire, they just sit around, watch TV, or sleep. Wives go on cooking, washing, cleaning, and gardening.

Therefore, a toast to Ann, Oma, Bello is in order...NOW!

Swanky Deb!

Recently, Deb and John went a-partying in Miami, sipping champagne, gazing at uber-expensive boats, and getting lost in a 10,000 sq. ft. mansion. All this courtesy of Vogue! Anyway, here is a picture of Deb, posing before the pool.

Love the White leather sofas poolside!

Samantha Tops Her Class!

After some summertime trials and tribulations, it looks like Samantha has made great strides in her life. She was recently lauded as the "Student of the Quarter" at Westfield High School, earning all A's and one B! Additionally, she is working after school at the Leader Store in downtown Westfield. We congratulate her and look forward to more accolades as she works her way to Senior graduation Day!

Results and Video From the 2007 SYS Turkey Meet

It has been quite some time since the last blog entry, mainly because we have been very busy with Cindy's new job (had to create new office in Karl's room; new computer), swimming (natch), and management-created busywork that will have no appreciable impact on my job performance...

Enough of that; on to the 2007 SYS Turkey Meet!

This was to be the first time both Karl and Natalie would swim the dreaded 1000 yd free...and to take place after swimming the grueling 400 IM! you can see all the times and results here. The weather was very chilly on "distance Friday," but warmed up nicely for Saturday and Sunday. You can see videos of the kids' swims here (Natalie) and here (Karl). Now the kids are getting ready for the Gator Holiday Classic, and extremely fast meet at the University of Florida Natatorium with over 1100 swimmers entered. Karl should do very well, and Natalie will try her best to break into the top 20; it is hard being a newby 11-12 yo!

Dear Henry!

Customarily browsing on son # 2, Thomas' computer at around 5.00 a.m., I was pleasantly surprised to see two lovely pictures of Sarah and Emma in action. As a faithful and properly registered Hegwein family Blog reader and occasional contributor, I want to thank you for your message, expressed in pictures. "Unbekannterweise" (a total stranger to you) I take the liberty to congratulate you for these two very nice shots.

Sarah is a real eye-catching beauty, a facsimile of Jacquie. Sarah should concentrate solely on the breaststroke to enable onlookers to see her charming face out of the cold pool water! Emma's picture is a study in "Grace in Action," so well demonstrated by her outstretched arms and contrasting superbly with the totally paralyzed face of the goalie. Did Emma also get a motivational call from Uncle Peter in regard to result-producing goal attack techniques?

It was refreshing and encouraging to hear from your neck of the shrinking globe. You brought some fresh wind into the Hegwein Blog. As you undoubtedly know, I was the "Third Voice" at Peter and Cynthia's wedding some 15 years ago. Deb, Jacquie and I delivered at the ceremony an appropriate message, written by Kahlil Gibrand. My guttural Bavarian-English accent blended melodiously with the clear and soft English version delivered by the ladies. We "Southerners" in the deep, deep Florida jungle hope to see you participating in the Hegwein Blog again soon!

With the kindest regards to Jacquie, Sarah and Emma,

Alfred Fritz Hegwein [Opa among family members].

PS: Is I-285 still as crowded as in 1982-83?

And here is the proof!!!

On Saturday the 6th, Sarah competed in another swim meet, and Mom reports that "Sarah had her first developmental meet of the season, the Fall Fest, on Saturday afternoon. Not only did she swim fantastic but she brought her times down an amazing 4 seconds in 50 Fly; almost 3 seconds in 50 Free; and more than 1.5 seconds in 50 Back. With this being Sarah's 1st ever competitive swim meet we are amazed with her effort and progress! (This could, in part, be to the psych up call she got from Uncle Peter prior to the meet on Saturday!).

Yes, I called to give her a pep-talk, to think and swim like a fish, and to win one for the Gipper...

A well-deserved rest between events!

Not to be outdone, Emma is tearing up the soccer field, creating havoc for opposing teams that dare attempt to stop her cross-over dribble! For example, study the picture below. See the absolute fear in the goalie's (closed) eyes? That's intimidation. Way to go, Emma!

Emma demonstrating the "Beckenbauer" attack technique!

Thanks to photographer Henry for these shots. Keep 'em coming!

Another swimmer amongst us!!!

While checking out the massive Swim Atlanta web site, a familiar name caught my eye; Sarah participated in her first swim meet! She swam all 4 strokes (50 yds each) during the SwimAtlanta Fall Time Trials, garnering, I'm sure, much praise from Mom and Dad! Perhaps there will be a future showdown at the 2016 Olympic Trials between Natalie and Sarah...or maybe they both make it!

Congratulations Sarah!!

Total Team Wares Fall Invitational

The first Short Course meet of the season was held this past weekend, and by all measures, was a smashing success for Karl and Natalie! Rather than type out all the results, I have compiled them into this pdf file. Natalie, by winning 6 of 10 events, took home the coveted High Point trophy; as this was her last competition as a 10 & U, she will undoubtedly have fond memories of racing Sydney Pickrem, Hannah Burge, Mackenzie Hubbard, and Morgan Perrotti. The uber competitive 11-12 girls awaits, with Taylor Katz, Summer Finke, Merrill Wilson, and Bailey Bowden ready to welcome Nat with open arms...

Karl took a big step forward with some very nice swims, especially the 29 second drop in the 500 free. We think he will make some serious noise at the big Gator Invitiational this December, as well as the Y-States Championships later in February 2008.

Before I even had a chance to write this meet up, Fritz chimed in with this:

Senor Karl & Senorita Natalie! Buenos Dias!

The three of us are flabbergasted about your performances in St. Pete. An extra pat on the shoulders goes to Natalie who garnered SIX impressive FIRSTS. Special accomplishments are always heralded and Natalie deserves this mention. You both must have worked very hard to achieve these formidable results in a crowded field of participants. My time to kick through 100 meter breast would have been about 4 minutes, give and take a minute. As pointed out in previous Blogs, your tenacity in achieving these results will be rewarded also in other fields and your life will be better for it.

Keep on kicking! So, the heartiest congratulations from the three of us: Oma, Opa and Thomas.

Congratulations indeed! Here are 2 pics from the meet!

Look What Washed Up On Shore!

A Sea Vixen! Cindy in her new bikini, in celebration of my birthday!

Video from the Junior Olympics

Here are two short videos of Karl and Natalie from the 2007 Florida Long Course Junior Olympics. Click Here for Karl and Here for Natalie. The video of Natalie is interesting to watch; can you see the false start at the beginning of the race by the swimmer in lane 4? That was the girl that tied with Nat, and should have been DQ'ed...

Sharks Do It Again! Win 4th Consecutive Junior Olympics!

The Sarasota YMCA Sharks have done it once again; winning the Florida Long Course Summer Junior Olympics, their 4th title in a row!

The post-meet celebration! Natalie is 3rd row, 3rd from the left, and Karl is 5th row, 2nd from the left!

Now for the particulars: Natalie had the best meet of her short career, placing 3rd overall in the 10 & U Individual High Point standings. On Friday, she tied Sydney Pickrem (Clearwater Aquatics) for the Gold medal in the 100m breaststroke, going 1:28.90 in perhaps the most exciting race of the meet! Later that day, she swam leadoff on the 200m free relay, clocking a 31.61 (new individual record) that paced her teammates to a new team record of 2:11.26 and the Gold medal. Before the end of the day, she swam the 50 backstroke, finishing in 2nd in a time of 37.00 (-1.08).

Karl started his JO's in the 100m breast as well, making the top 16 and the evening finals. He swam on the "B" 200m free relay team that claimed 6th place among 22. Later, he swam the 50m fly, but did not make finals. That evening, he ripped off a new personal best time of 1:27.00, almost 2 seconds off his previous mark, and took 11th place, moving up 1 spot! He had to swim it again 30 minutes later on the "A" 400 Medley relay squad, finishing in 2nd place behind their "B" teammates (coach split the eight 11-12 boys into 2 balanced teams to maximize points).

On Saturday, Natalie had only the 50m breast, which she swam in 41.40, good for 3rd. Natalie repeated that effort on the 10 & U 200m Medley relay, coming in a close 2nd to Clearwater (CAT). Karl had only the 50m free, but swam nowhere near his potential, going 32.96. Earlier, he was part of the 2nd place 200m Medley relay team. That evening, he swam on the "B" 400m free relay, taking 5th place.

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, but not for the Sharks...Natalie got the day started with a superb effort in the 200m IM, dropping almost 4 seconds to finish 2nd in a blistering 2:50.82! After a brief rest, she tackled the 100m fly, her least favorite event. Alas, the good times came to an end when she struggled at the end to finish in 8th place (out of 57). Nonplussed she focused on her last and best event; the 100m backstroke. Racing the unbeaten Summer Finke (St. Pete Aquatics), Natalie gave chase, touching the wall in 1:18.82, a new personal best and Sharks team record!

Karl's Sunday began with 200m IM as well, but he faded to finish 28th. He ended the morning session with a perfunctory 50m breaststroke that had him upset and ready to quit. He did make the finals, so another chance awaited. That evening, he swam his heart out, posting a new personal best of 40.41 to again take 11th! His coach was very happy and gave him several high-five's! I don't think his is going to quit now!

We are now in the midst of the Summer break; the training pool is being drained for maintenance, the Seniors are going to Summer Nationals, and all the "B" level swimmers are off to the Area 3/5 Championships. Both Karl and Natalie have now completed their first year of swimming, and it is apparent that both have the "feel" for the water. As soon as Karl goes through puberty, his stock on the team is destined to soar! Natalie is getting ready to make the transition to 11-12 girls, where the competition is quite stiff; she is ready (or so she says...).

Fritz Hits 81!

Yesterday, we celebrated Fritz's 81st birthday at the usual place; Ann's Abode! Arriving a bit early to sample the hors d oevres and check out the new FIOS (fiber optic internet/TV/phone), we were greeted at the door by Fritz in his trademark blue "comfort" shirt!

The dinner was expertly prepared, including a surprise offering from Jennifer and Bobby of Carrabas' Calamari! As usual, Ann made more than enough food, a whole bowl of cooked red potatoes destined to be remade into potato salad! Thomas spent 15 minutes arranging a limited supply of birthday candles on the birthday cake; a chocolate-drizzled chocolate cake with a layer of tart Bing cherries. Fritz was up to the task of extinguishing the inferno, a single puff, mind you. This delighted the youngest attendee, Hunter, who then banged away on his toy drum (Keith Moon?).

During our stay while our house was being tented, we noticed a total lack of reading material (current) at Ann's. I knew Fritz was craving the written word, so off to Barnes & Noble for an assortment of magazines and two new books, guaranteed to irritate the non-bibliophile!

Happy Birthday, Fritz! May you survive the 80's!!