Grant's Rugby League

Grant's League Game July 2011

2011 FFA National Youth Championships

In October Grant was lucky to be selected at the last moment, more on that later, to join the 16 member squad of 11/12 year olds to represent the ACT at the FFA National Youth Championships in Coffs Harbour.  The boys did very well and won 4 out of their 5 matches.  Grant's goal for the championships was to 'put one in the back of the net' and was excited that he achieved that and from what we heard, not having been there, he assisted with 3 or 4 more, so I think he was happy with his performance at the tournement.  

 12:45pm Victoria Country 1 (Jacob Vitale 9') v Capital Football 6 (Niko Ujdur 4'(2), Tom Krklec 8', Grant Barlow 15', Joshua Gulevski 6', Marc Tokich 3')

Kanga Cup 2011

Canberra Times 16 July 2011

Well, I guess it's only fitting that the first of our posts on the family blog is a soccer post.  For the week of 10 - 16 July, the family's activities, day and night, revolve around soccer. Each year for that matter, for the past 5 or so years, the first week of the July school holidays, is devoted to running kids from one end of Canberra to the other, so they can play in, to quote the Kanga Cup organisers, 'the largest tournament of its kind in the southern hemisphere and one of the biggest tournaments in the world.''

Zoe's new team, Canberra FC u/18's got a mention in the local newspaper, Canberra Times, for a thrilling final (Canberra Times Article:  Kanga Cup finals go down to wire! ) and Grant who plays for Majura FC this year, made it to the Semi's.  They both had a great time and not only enjoyed the football, but enjoyed the atmosphere and the social events (particularly Zoe) throughout the week.  Super Coach, Pete, did an amazing job organising Zumba Classes, bowling and watching Mariners Games during the week, and then dinner and an ice bath session at the AIS for the walking wounded after the event.  Zoe enjoyed herself thoroughly, thanks Pete!





Victory Celebration!

Greeting the Giants!



Grant played a team from the Northern Territory affectionately nick named, the Giants, who had about 6 boys on their team who towered over our tallest player (Jackson) by about a foot!  Our boys were completely overwhelmed and dare I say a little initmidated.  However, after moving from the atrocious ground at Kaleen, the boys were able to play some lovely passing football throughout the week and were very successful.  Well done Phoenix, you played with great spirit and sportsmanship and you really showed what you're capable of!

On Saturday after the Kanga Cup was over, Grant was lucky enough to play the two visiting Korean teams as part of his training for the Boys U/13 ACT in training squad (final squad to be announced Mon 25 July).  The boys played very well and were able to hold the Koreans to a 1 all draw in both matches. 

ACT Boys and Korean Teams

The Middle!

Ok, so we all know that the name of this blog is going to date pretty badly.  In fact when we came up with it after a couple of days of mulling, it was only a half suggestion.  Most other names we came up with were of course related to soccer.  Spike then pointed out, soccer is not our life, it's only one aspect of it (Ha!); it is one seriously major aspect of all our lives!  Anyway, I had to agree though and after some more consideration 'ibarlows' popped into my consciousness, which isn't very original, but somehow seemed to stick.  Spike and I are by no means 'i' Gen.  Unfortunately we lie somewhere uncomfortably between 'Baby Boomers' and 'X' Gen and like many our age, feel we don't have enough 'flower power' in our souls to be BB's, but aren't 'cool' enough to be 'X' Gen!  We've totally been duped!  Always feeling awkward about having no succinct way to describe our collective identity.

Anyway, after a bit of deliberation we felt that though we aren't 'i' Gen our children certainly are.  We justified it by recognising that Spike is an 'iT' lecturer  (computer science was the name this area was given back in the dark ages of computer technology), drives an 'i30' and uses an 'ipad' countless hours a day for reading; Zoe has an 'iphone' somehow magnetically attached to her person every second of the day; Grant is soon to become the proud owner of an 'ipod', and though I have deliberately chosen to avoid any Apple device that starts with 'i', I'm definitely a regular technology lover and user and by defacto fit into this category.

This blog is by no means our first, and I guess if truth be told, we started 'blogging' way back in 1994 when Spike and I left Australia to live and work in Japan for two years.  We started what we then called, our 'Most Excellent Adventures', (yes, definitely plagiarising Bill and Ted) and wrote countless 'blogs', quaintly called 'newsletters' back then, to family and friends in Australia.  I still have copies of these and one day may attach them to this for Zoe and Grant to have a giggle at when they're older.  We also have blogs from our overseas trips and will link them to this too and our 'Year in Brief' newsletters that we used to send out with Xmas cards.  These serve as a much better record of our time over the years than my memory ever could!

I guess the main reason I wanted to start this particular family blog, is so that there is a record of the kids lives and ours, 'permanently' out there, floating around the ethernet for the kids to go to one day.  Also for a few close family members who live interstate and overseas, to visit every now and then to catch up on 'how much the kids have grown' and 'how old Spike and I are looking! :-)  It's also slightly less concerned with the instant, or present moment than 'facebook', which I have to admit to enjoying every now and then, for it's social aspect.  I do still have a nagging feeling in the back of my head, the same one I had when I joined facebook, that I'm being ridiculously indulgent, and really, who is going to want to know the kind of things I intend posting on here.  I've never been that self obsessed, well hang on, at least not since I was 21 and that's almost another lifetime, so disconnected to this life and the person I am now, that it doesn't really count!  In fact I've come to the point where I should be hitting the 'publish post' button, but feel almost uneasy about the suddenness of this post becoming, as experts now say, 'out there FOREVER'!  Ha Ha!  It's not that I'm worried about the content of it which is going to become part of the permanence of the internet, but the scrutiny of my writing! :-)  How ridiculous Spike will say!  Wow! this is quickly becoming too much about my insecurities and hangups, and not enough about it's real purpose! :-0

Well, here I go, my first post on our family blog!  I've been waiting to do this for quite some years, well before blogs were about, I wanted to set up a 'web page', so here I go!