Vernon Volumes text

Vernon Volumes text

Sunday, January 31, 2021

Millie Mae first week at home

 

This was our first week with Millie Mae and it's been a very eventful week to say the least. Millie Mae has been adjusting really well so far and is a playful, happy, sweet girl. We've mostly been focusing on potty training at this point and it's going fairly well so far. We opted to work with her on using pet pads indoors and we tell her to use the "Puppy Pad" while we're encouraging her to go. Millie was pretty used to using them at the breeder's place, so for the most part she's good about using them if one is handy.

We've also been playing with her and trying to work on leash training, obedience training, and crate training in general. Overall she's been a joy in our family and she has fit in well. 

























COVID19 Vaccination - Shawn and Andrea

 


While there's still a lot of demand for it, Andrea was able to sign us up to get the COVID19 vaccination on Friday. It tends to be kind of random whether you get the Pfizer or Moderna Vaccine and the day we went they were doing the Pfizer vaccine. We get the follow up dose in three weeks and we're hoping that it gives us some measure of protection.



Paige's level 6 tennis tournament victory

 


On Sunday, January 24th, Paige played in a level 6 green dot tournament at JCP. It was one of the first tournament that Paige has been to since USTA changed their format and a lot of their software and processes for the year. There were ten girls signed up for Paige's age group, however for some reason the tournament director had to split it in to two separate 5-girl groups. Paige actually sat out the first round of the tournament and just spent that time warming up with one of the girls from the other group that was also sitting out. 

Paige ended up playing four matches against each of the girls in her group. The first match she found herself behind and lost the first set without winning a game, but she is a stubborn girl and fought her way back for a win. The next two girls were difficult, but Paige managed to win both matches.

Paige's final match was against Portland who is very evenly matched with Paige. They have played each other before, Paige won their first match and Portland one the second match a couple of months ago. Portland and Paige were both going in to the final match having won all of their matches, so we expected that whoever won the match would be the tournament champion. 

The final match was so close it was hard to watch, I know it was difficult for Paige to hang in there, focus, and push through. She was definitely tired by the end and after the split sets they went to a 7 point tiebreaker. Portland got a lead in the tiebreaker and had a match point, but Paige fought it off and then Paige had a match point. Portland fought back and had another match point, but Paige came back again and ended up winning the match on her second opportunity. My heart was beating so fast just watching the final few points. Both girls should be proud of themselves, they played hard, showed a lot of guts, and it really could have gone either way.

Unfortunately, the match was structured in the most ridiculous way I'd ever seen. Although the girls were split in to two completely separate groups and no girls from group 1 played any girls from group 2, they ended up comparing their records in the end and as a result Paige ended up in second place overall for the tournament. Although Paige won every match and did everything possible, she officially got a second place trophy. We told her that we're so proud and it really doesn't matter about the trophy since it was like they're comparing two completely separate tournaments with completely different girls. 

After learning the results, I snapped a pic of Paige with her trophy, and with Portland. Paige was not very happy at the time, was exhausted, so she kind of ended up with her visor pulled down a bit. 

No matter what the results were, we are so proud of the way Paige played and her determination. We love you Paigie May!



Saturday, January 23, 2021

Welcome home Millie Mae!

 

Today was an exciting day! Millie Mae finally got to come home. It feels like we've been waiting forever for the day and we could barely sleep last night. We got to the breeder a little after 10am and the process to sign paperwork and give final payment was pretty quick. Millie Mae did a good job on the way home and didn't have any accidents and didn't get carsick. Andrea and Paige split time holding her and although she was a little squirmy she was very good.

After we got home we let her sniff around in the driveway for a couple minutes and she peed on the pavers, so that was nice that she'd held it until she was done with the car ride. We took her inside and played for a little while, took a family photo, and then we put her in her kennel before we went to lunch. The kennel is still a bit of a work in process, but it's got a pee pad in it and just as we were getting in the car she went pee and poop on it. Paige was a brave girl and cleaned up after Millie Mae and then we went to lunch. We checked up on her while we were at lunch on a camera we setup and she did fine once she settled down. She got in a good nap and when we got home, she was ready to play!

We spent the rest of the day playing with Millie Mae, working with her on a system to use the puppy pad, and just getting to know each other. Millie Mae has a cute little round body and an affectionate personality. She got tuckered out a few times and really liked sitting with Andrea on the rocking recliner wrapped up in the soft blankets. We tried going on a walk, but I let her sprint a few times and she ended up barfing after a couple hundred yards, I ended up carrying her home. She did not enjoy her bath, did enjoy her food, and by the end of the day I think she used the puppy pad in her kennel to pee four times in a row. Not bad Millie Mae!

We took a number of videos throughout the day and I put them together without any editing, so it's a bit long and silly.

Looking forwards to lots of fun with our cute little puppy!

















Remote school lunch

 


The kids are still enjoying doing their schooling online from home. Paige is cute about making healthy yummy meals on her own. The other day I walked through just as she was wrapping up her meal prep and asked to take a pic of it before she ate it. 

Scrambled eggs, waffle, gogurt (yogurt in a tube), an orange, celery, grapes and blueberries. Yum!

Connor usually tends to eat the same thing every day which he has nicknamed his "gourmet meal". It consists of a "Uncrustable" PBJ, doritos, fruit, and gogurt.

Friday, January 22, 2021

Tennis turning point with Connor

 


Yesterday I played tennis with Connor and for the first time he absolutely beat me. In the past, if we played singles, I'd play the entire width of the court including the doubles alleys. Recently Connor's gotten good enough that we play real singles tennis and while I have always beaten him, he came very close a few times and won a set here and there against me. Yesterday was a whole new experience though, although we had some close games, he beat me 6-1 the first set and was ahead 5-1 the second set when we quit. I couldn't believe how well Connor's covering the court and his decision making and shot selection is also hard to beat. 

I always tell Connor that one of the reasons I love to play tennis against him is that I win no matter what. If I beat him I'm happy because I won. If he beats me, I'm happy because I'm so proud of him. Great job Connor!

For reference, the picture I'm posting with this was from our trip to Palmetto Bluff the week before and Paige took it.

Palmetto Bluff visit with the Neals

On Thursday, January 14th 2021, we drove to Palmetto Bluff for a weekend with some friends. Shortly after we arrived, some rain swept through and the weather got cold. Despite the cold, we enjoyed a lot of time outdoors. We went on walks, bike rides, played at the park and treehouse, played tennis, pickleball, and basketball. 

We had lunch a couple times at Buffalo's, lunch at Octagon, and dinner at Cole's BBQ for dinner. We endured the cold for the lunches, but we decided to try and eat indoors for dinner at Cole's, it was the first time we'd eaten indoor since March of 2020. Hopefully we don't regret it!

We enjoyed a lot of ice cream at Melt and we went twice to the s'mores fires. Paige and Owen enjoyed the food and really enjoyed burning up the sticks.