Walks with Millie Mae

 

Millie's been enjoying her walks lately, but it's starting to get hot and the yellow flies are coming out, so I don't think we'll be able to walk much in the neighborhood soon.

We almost had a fish fall on us this last week. A bald eagle was getting harassed by a hawk and it dropped a big old fish in the street next to us. We heard it come crashing through the tree near us and we went over to investigate it. I snapped a pic of Millie with it so I could remember how big it was.

Connor's High School Tennis Team - Districts Tournament

 

Connor's high school tennis team played in their District matches this past week. His coach was very excited for the matches and told the kids to get up super early and to be at the courts by 7am. That was a bit painful, especially since their team didn't have early matches, but Connor was a good sport about it and had a positive attitude. Connor's team played well and they won almost all their matches and their team placed first overall. For districts, Connor played line 4 singles. His team has had several injuries this season and he's been playing lines 3-5 singles. He won his singles matches by a fair margin and he also won his doubles matches with Ethan. 

The viewing area's not the best through the fence, but I did have one opportunity to take some videos during a doubles match since the other courts weren't being used for a few minutes. 

The team had long days and a few of the kids got pretty bad sunburns, being outside all day. Connor was tired, but he had a good time and was cute about cheering for all the different people and socializing with his friends. They had a tent set up for shade and he got to hang out with his friends and relax between matches.

We're proud of the boys for their success. Each line had their own bracket and Connor's team won lines 1-5 singles and line 2 doubles. Their doubles line 1 played well throughout the tournament and their only loss was in the final match. 

Paige Track Meet at Bolles

Paige competed in another track meet on April 13th, 2024. Andrea and I were out of town, so Paige went with her friend Sadie. She ran in the 100 and 200 meter events, and it was an interesting meet since there were all age levels represented. 

For 100 meters, Paige's time was 14.18 and she placed 19th overall out of 120. For the 200 meter event, Paige's time was 29.35 and she placed 8th overall out of 103. Her times were pretty fast, but just a tiny bit slower than at her last track meet (14.10 and 29.24) (http://www.vernonvolumes.com/2024/03/paige-8th-grade-track-meet-at-bolles.html).

Since we didn't go, there's no pics from her day, except for a silly selfie she took with Sadie.

Ukraine vs Romania - Amelia Island - Billie Jean King Cup

Last weekend, Andrea and I went to Amelia Island to have a chill weekend together and to watch the Ukrainian team take on the Romanians in the Billie Jean King Cup. Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the tie was staged by the Elina Svitolina Foundation in Amelia Island. We have been Svitolina fans for quite a while and it was an awesome opportunity to see some top tennis players near to us.

The format for the tiebreak matches is to have two lines of singles play the first day, then two lines of singles the second day along with a doubles match. The first day, Ukrain's Lesia Tsurenko beat Ana Bogdan in the first match, and Elina Svitolina beat Jaqueline Cristian in the second. Ukraine's victory seemed certain going in to Saturday, but Cristian won over Tsurenko and Bogdan beat Svitolina. So, going in to the doubles match, both teams were tied up with 2 wins each. The Romanians decided to switch up their lineup, presumably since Cristian and Bogdan had been playing so well, and put them back in for another match against Ukrainian twins Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok. We were rooting for the Ukrainian team, but the Romanians prevailed and it was certainly an exciting ending.

We enjoyed the matches, and it was the closest we've been to the players during a match. At times when they came to the side of the court to wipe off with a towel, they could be close enough to reach out and touch. Andrea got a pic with Elina Svitolina and with Lesia Tsurenko, although they weren't super smiley in the pics as they weren't having much success at the time.

On Sunday morning, we did some tennis clinics at the resort, and overall it was a perfect weekend. The weekend was also a momentus weekend as it was the first time we left our kids at home overnight unsupervised. The kids did a good job setting alarms and making all their appointments and to work. We're proud of them for being responsible and independent.

Connor's Match vs Creekside

 

April 9th, 2024, Connor's high school team had a match vs Creekside High School. We were hoping to see him play singles and doubles, but he only played singles since a few of his teammates needed to play another match to be eligible to play at districts. Connor played well and won his match fairly easily. It's good to see him dialing in and playing his best tennis as the season progresses, we love to cheer for him.

Solar Eclipse

 

The kids had an excused absence for Monday, April 8th, due to the solar eclipse. Although our area of the US only got about 66% coverage, we were excited to see it. Paige and I went out during the maximum coverage and it was unfortunately fairly underwhelming. Andrea found the glasses we bought for the last eclipse, so we were able to look at the sun to see it. It was a bright sunny day and if I hadn't known there was an eclipse, I wouldn't have noticed a thing without the special glasses. 

Easter Baskets with Connor and Paige

We were all out of town on Easter so the Easter Bunny didn't come out to our house until this Sunday. Andrea has always been thoughtful about making Easter special for the kids. Connor is way over it at this point in his life, but Paige still really enjoys holidays and of course she loves to receive goodies.