Aaker Adventures 2011 - Part Four: Nick

It sounds so cliche, but it's hard to believe that this is the 17th installment of the Aaker Adventures Christmas newsletter.  The whole concept originated with the birth of Nick.  At that time, I felt compelled to impress upon you all the details of our lives simply because we added another person to the mix, and obviously, the addition of Erika added even more texture to the Aaker family dynamic.

Now, it is 17 years later, and instead of discussing sleep cycles and monumental events like rolling over, the content has changed to discussions of college choices and future plans.

Yep, as you have probably surmised, Nick is in his final year in high school. As a senior, he is faced with all sorts of decisions to be made, none of which he is excited about due to the fact that he is about the most indecisive person on the planet.

Homecoming

Prom

So far, Nick's senior has been quite memorable.  This fall, Nick was honored by his friends and classmates when he was nominated a homecoming king candidate.  In fact, several of Nick's friends as well as his girlfriend, Hanna, were nominated, so it was a fun and memorable experience.

With regard to Hanna, Nick and she have been good friends since the 8th grade.  Not only did (do) they work together at Cub foods; they went to Prom together in May as friends, but by June, they decided to start dating.  I guess I don't need to say a whole lot on the topic other than the fact that Hanna is very sweet (and responsible and organized), so we are more than happy to have her in our lives.

Like most teenagers, Nick is rarely home. As I alluded, he still works at Cub Foods, and he is still involved in sports. As to organized, school sports, Nick's top priority is still the swim team.  He just started his final swim season (sniff), and he and four of his friends were honored by their teammates in being chosen captains.

This spring, he is planning to join the tennis team.  He and his pals played A LOT of tennis this summer, and Nick and his friend, Mitch, even tried playing doubles in the Rice Classic this summer.  

In addition to all the school activities, Nick plays tennis, golf, Ultimate, etc, etc, etc in the summer, which explains why my house always looks and smells like a locker room. Of course, he continues to be quite involved in youth group at First Covenant Church, where he serves in SLT (Student Leadership Team). 

As much fun as high school and being a kid has been for him, it is now time for him to be thinking ahead.  It's time, of course, but he has been dragging his feet.  Last summer, he told me, "Mom, I don't want to grow up; I like being a kid."  Well, don't we all, Peter Pan, but that's life.

So far, Nick has done one college visit. . .to Bemidji State, which he liked quite a bit. He applied and has been accepted at both Bemidji and Ridgewater, but he still plans to visit North Dakota State University and maybe Bethel University (if Mom can talk him into it). As of today, he is thinking about majoring in Construction Management, but he is open to see where God will lead him.