PVJGA End of Summer Blast

On Sunday after lunch the kids went to the driving range to hit some golf balls, play some golf-themed games, and eat some snacks. 

Beach day - Swimming in the Ocean with Pupper Dog

 

We went to the beach on Saturday with Millie Mae, Grandma and Grandpa, and the kids brought their friends Cailyn, Robert, and Quinn. It was a fairly hot day and we spent a lot of time in the water since it feels great this time of year. Millie's been brave about swimming lately and this was the first time at the beach that she was willing to swim voluntarily and she absolutely wanted to. She loved to swim towards the kids in the ocean and kept wanting to interrupt Connor and his buddies while they were throwing their football. Paige was cute about working with Millie in the water, but she was a little short at times if a big wave came through. Millie loved it and had no fear. 

105 Tournament with Liz

 

On Friday Andrea and I played in a 105 tournament with our friend Liz. The format was doubles, where you rotate out if you make a mistake or get beaten on a point. The big difference in 105 is that clean winners earn bonus points, so there's a lot of strategy involved. We started off slow and lost the first matchup 104 to 106, but then we won a lot of the next few matches. We made it to the finals, but unfortunately lost to the same team that beat us in the first round. It was a fun night overall and we had some really good points. Big thanks to Liz for playing with us.

First Day of School 2021 - Connor in 9th grade, Paige in 6th grade

 

Today was the first day of high school for Connor and the first day of middle school for Paige. Paige's schedule starts super early and she was up at 6am so she'd have time to get ready and get on the bus. We should have known that the bus would be super late the first day, but she was out the door on time and in the dark. Connor's bus didn't come until almost 8:30, so he didn't even wake up for another hour after Paige left. With their different schedules I waited until after school to take their back-to-school pictures this year so we could take them together.

Both kids had positive first days, although Paige said she was pretty bored as they didn't do much in any of her classes. They both found all their classrooms and both made it home! One day down, lots to go!

Summer Memories 2021

Our 2021 summer came to an end this past weekend. We had lots of fun and made a lot of memories together as a family. As is our tradition, we asked the kids to put together some of their favorite summer memories, which are below.

Summer Memories - Paige

Camp Pinnacle

I enjoyed Camp pinnacle because I was able to try new things and make new friends. I also was able to have some great food! My friends made camp pinnacle so fun and exciting! I was also able to do things I wouldn't normally do like camping and mountain bikes!

Big Canoe Georgia

I loved Big canoe Georgia because I could hang out with the family and was able to do things I wouldn’t normally do! One of those things was tubing on a river on my own tube which was VERY FUN! I also loved hanging out at the house making s’mores and playing games like ping pong and darts!

Wyoming

Wyoming was much more fun than I thought it would be! I Loved making new friends and doing the hikes. Brooks lake lodge was also a very fun part of it because I could hang out with friends better and there were a lot of fun activities and our group was the only ones there! Some of the activities were archery, horseback riding, canoeing, fly fishing!

Surf camp

Surf camp was very fun. I was able to swim, make friends, and surf! I enjoyed surfing the outside break a lot more than the inside but it was still fun! Surf camp was the only camp I did this summer because summer was cut short because of covid but it was still fun!

Summer Memories - Connor

Camp Pinnacle

Camp pinnacle was an amazing two weeks of fun. I was finally able to get out of the house and

got the break I needed away from my family. I was more social and way more comfortable

making friends than I was a few years ago when I went. I felt like my cabin really bonded well

together and got along for the most part. Unlike two years ago I was able to meet and make a

lot of new friends outside of my cabin and was pretty well known outside of my cabin around the

camp. I did lots of cool and fun activities and the time went by fast when I was there.

Georgia

The Georgia trip was right after Camp Pinnacle so I was really tired most of the trip and the beds

were not that comfortable, but besides that it was a blast. It was awesome seeing my extended

family for the first time in around a year or so. I went to a Braves game and got to see the

Braves score 20 points. At the end of the trip I was exhausted though because I was ready to

get home and sleep in my own bed. The house we stayed in was very nice and big, but it was very interesting staying in a house with 13 people in it.

Wyoming

Wyoming was a very cool place to visit mainly because I got to do so much when I was there. I

got to go White Water Rafting, mountain biking and a bunch of other activities. It took a while to

make friends, but ended up making some. My favorite part of the Wyoming trip was Brooks Lake

Lodge. You could do so much fun stuff there like Archery, horseback riding and fly fishing. We also did some little fun games like shuffle-boarding, darts and cornhole.

Surf camp

I did three weeks of surf camp and really improved on my surfing skills throughout the summer.

The waves were sometimes good and sometimes bad, but I was able to learn a lot of new tricks

to become a better surfer. I got extremely better at trying to get barreled and got a lot better at

going left and right on the wave. I learned a lot about different kinds of surfboards and different

kinds of waves. I met a lot of new friends each week and always was able to get some good rides every week.

Back to School Preparations with Plandrea

Andrea has been a busy bee lately going through the kids' schedules and making sure they have everything they need. She did some last minute shopping over the weekend and spent quite a bit of time with Connor and Paige to organize their backpacks, binders, and to-do lists. We even got a whiteboard for in the kitchen so we could make sure we all remembered the morning and evening schedules. We're so thankful Andrea keeps us all so organized! 

Millie Mae Swimming in our Pool

Millie Mae has enjoyed going outside with us and has been getting more and more comfortable around water. When I take her to jog on the beach she will sometimes run through the shallow surf if she's getting hot. She also seems to enjoy her showers and will sit under the water, close her eyes, and will lean back in to the spray. Paige has been taking her in the pool a few times, but mostly just when she's holding Millie or putting her on the raft. Millie's been forced to swim a few times, but it's only when I put her in and make her. She's never jumped in the pool, or really gotten very close to it voluntarily.

This Sunday, after I went for a jog, I was hot and I jumped in the pool with Connor. I told him to bring Millie out and we were having fun in the water and encouraged Millie Mae to play with us. I could tell she was torn and struggling with the decision. She wanted to play with us but wasn't sure about the water. Finally she was over by Connor and the spa area and she jumped in on her own. She is a good swimmer and once she gets going she doesn't really seem like she wants to stop. She'll swim over to us but once we reach out for her she'll turn away. If you are holding her you can feel her straining to get away. She just swims and swims and swims, legs constantly going even when you lift her out of the water. It's pretty hilarious and we're proud of her for overcoming her fear of the water and enjoying herself.

Andrea got a video of Millie Mae jumping in after she was pretty comfortable with the whole process.

Visit with the Froehlichs

We went over to a family friend's house on Saturday in the afternoon after lunch. We ate at TPC and since we had some issues recently when Paige was wearing athletic shorts, she got dressed extra cute in her TPC golf shirt and tennis skirt. I took a pic of her before we headed out.

A tropical storm was passing nearby so it was a bit rainy, but thankfully the kids were still able to swim in their huge new pool for a while and it was nice to just catch up with them since we haven't hung out since COVID. 

 

Thompson's Surf Camp - Last week of summer

 

It's the last week of summer break and the kids got to do one more week of surf camp. It's a super special week since Cailyn and Quinn are both in attendance as well. They always enjoy surfing and it's even more fun with friends. The waves were good on a couple of the days, but unfortunately they weren't great today. I snapped a few pics and videos of the kids surfing and they were fairly close to shore today because of the conditions, so not the biggest waves. It's fun watching them, they have definitely improved this summer.

Jeremiah's Gelati

 

I'm in a little trouble lately because I'm kind of addicted to Jeremiah's Gelati. I noticed a new store opened up in Jax Beach and it's difficult to resist. Paige loves it too and we've gone a few times and sampled a few of the flavors. Paige's favorite is Strawberry and mine is currently Pina Colada. So delicious!

Paige Baby Teeth Extraction

 

Dr. Ross took out a couple of Paige's baby teeth this past Tuesday since they didn't seem to want to come out on their own. They were both on top, a couple over from the middle teeth. They actually had super long roots and I doubt they would have come out on their own, so it definitely needed to be done. Paige took it like a champ and hopefully it'll free up some space for her adult teeth.

It ended up being very lucky because Paige fell at the pool just a few days before her appointment and chipped one of the teeth that were scheduled to come out. She couldn't have timed it much better!

Paige and Neighbor Friends - Summer Swimming

 

Paige has been hanging out with a few of the neighbor friends in the swimming pools. It's been HOT recently, so it's been nice that she has some people to hang out with and they all run around to each other's houses. The doorbell's been ringing more than ever lately.

The other day they brought Cooper over to marry Millie Mae. Sarah even brought over a marriage certificate, so I guess it's official! Millie still doesn't know how to play with other dogs and mostly lays on the ground like a turtle when Cooper tries to engage with her. Paige likes to put Millie on the raft in the pool and Millie tolerates it, but she definitely doesn't go in the pool on her own.

Grandma Delores's Celebration of Life in Chicago

 

Since Grandma Delores passed away last year, our family hasn't had an opportunity to really come together to remember her or to be together due to COVID. This summer, Aunt Sharon planned a Celebration of Life party at her house in Chicago and I'd planned to attend with my family from Florida. Unfortunately, quite a few people we know have been getting sick lately and we decided it would probably be best not to travel with the kids and Andrea so I just went by myself. 

When I arrived, I stopped by Alex and Laura's place to meet my nephew Charlie. I and got some dinner and ice cream with everyone and took a tour of their new apartment. It was getting late so I went to the hotel and on Friday I went over to Sharon's in the afternoon. Uncle Roger had originally planned a small gathering at his place on Friday, but with COVID issues we decided to have it at Sharon's so we could all be outdoors. The tent for the Saturday celebration was already up so we got to use it an extra day. I caught up with some family I haven't seen in years and Uncle Roger got yummy Chicago style pizza for everyone.

Saturday I got up and went for a jog and then met my family at a local restaurant around noon, prior to going to the party. I got to hang out with Charlie a bit while we waited on our food.

The party on Saturday was a lot of fun and we got to see even more people. I ended up taking a lot of pics, however they're mostly of Charlie it seems. We ate, drank, a few people shared some stories about Grandma Delores, and we took a group picture with many of the people that showed up. It was a really nice day and I'm thankful that so many of us were able to come together in Grandma's memory.