Vernon Volumes text

Vernon Volumes text

Sunday, April 30, 2023

Paige's 13th Birthday Celebration with Family

 

Sunday was Paige's birthday, and we met Aunt Amanda, Griffin, Grandma Alice, and Grandpa Rick at First Watch for lunch. There was a bit of a wait, but it was worth it as we got a nice round table that was tucked away near the back of the restaurant. Paige loves the Chicken Avocado Chop Salad, and most everyone else got delicious breakfast and brunch food. We also told Grandma Alice happy birthday as she was away in Europe during her birthday last week. 

Paige's 13th Birthday Party - 2023

 

This year Paige turned 13 and she was lucky enough to have her birthday fall on the weekend, on Sunday. Paige wanted a sleepover with friends, so we invited them to come over to celebrate a day early on Saturday. In the afternoon on Saturday, after her track meet, Paige put on the cute dress that Andrea picked out with her, and Paige did her hair and makeup. She is always beautiful, but she was extra pretty for her party and her friends that came to celebrate with us also enjoyed putting on cute dresses and getting dolled up for the evening. Of course we took a bunch of pictures, and it was hard to pick out the best ones, so there are quite a few pics on this post as a result.









Four of Paige's friends came over for her birthday celebration: Raquel, Saylor, Sadie, and Ella. 




We went to Town Center to the Sugar Factory for dinner. Andrea had gone years ago when she was in Vegas, and the restaurant just opened recently in our area so it seemed like a perfect place to try for Paige's birthday celebration. They had quite a few cute areas for pictures and the girls all enjoyed posing for pics.






The restaurant was nicely decorated, and we had a table right in the middle. Paige sat at the head of the table, and we let all the girls pick a "mocktail" and we ordered a bunch of different dishes to sample together. 







The girls all ran around after we finished our food, taking pics, and making Tik Toks, and then they brought out the banana split with a sparkler for dessert and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Paige.






After dinner, the girls went shopping and they had fun running around Town Center and in to all the shops. Andrea caught up with them a couple times and snapped a few pics of them together.



When they got home, we warmed up the hot tub, set out some snacks, and then Paige opened some presents before they all got changed for swimming. 


I think Millie had the most fun swimming with everyone, but unfortunately she kept jumping on people and scratching them. She also couldn't contain her excitement and wouldn't stop barking, so we had to put her inside eventually. The rest of the girls had a great time in the pool. They played volleyball for a little while, and then eventually spent most of their time playing on the inflatables together. We expected them to stay out for thirty minutes or so, but they swam for a couple of hours and had a lot of fun.



After the girls all got dried off and cleaned up, they watched a movie together in Paige's room before falling asleep. In the morning, Paige made cinnamon rolls for everyone and then they all headed home. 

Paige's birthday turned out better than we expected. The forecast for the weekend had lots of rain, and it did rain on the girls for a little while before dinner, but after that the sky cleared up and they had nice weather the rest of the time. Paige's friends were all sweethearts and we are happy that they all showed up to celebrate with our girl. 

Happy 13th Birthday Paigie May!

Paige's Second Track Meet - Bishop John Snyder HS

Paige competed in her second track meet this Saturday morning at Bishop John Snyder HS. She was scheduled to run in the 100 meter event, the 4x100 relay, and in the 200 meter sprint. It was a sunny and warm day out and I baked even under an umbrella in the stands. I brought my Nikon to the event, but I thought that videos would be more interesting while Paige was running, so mostly focused on taking videos when she was competing. 

Paige improved her time very slightly from her last track meet in the 100 meter event. She ran 14.21 in the last meet and improved to 14.12. Paige finished 17th of 63 overall.


For the relay, Paige ran the third leg of the relay and her team finished in third place. Paige received a third place medal afterwards and was pleased with their performance. After we got home and checked the times, we realized that her team actually finished in second, as the first place team didn't complete their second baton handoff within the space required and they were disqualified. 

I got a few pics of Paige with her teammates stretching before the relay, but not many photos. Paige's friend Saylor snapped a pic of Paige with her coach afterwards. His name is actually Coach Speed, a perfect name for a track coach.

We ended up leaving before the 200 meter event, as Paige needed to get ready for the party and the track meet was running way behind.

Connor's Varsity Tennis Team's State Championship Experience

 


Connor, Andrea, and Amanda all went to Orlando for the Tennis State Championship matches. On Monday at 11:00am, they played against Gulf Breeze in the quarter finals. The doubles matches were very close and PV won line two but lost line one. With the format of the match, the team needs to win 4 of 7 of the matches to move on and with the teams splitting the doubles matches, that meant that they'd need to win 3 of the 5 singles matches. 

Connor's match started off pretty rocky and he had trouble with his second serve and had lost some of his confidence with his backhand. Although his opponent was a fairly good player, many of the points that Connor lost were because of errors. Connor lost the first set 2-6 and was losing the second set 1-2 when it started raining and they had to stop. They waited around for a while, but it continued to rain and they didn't play any more that day. 

Connor's team was in bad shape at that point, and it was difficult for Connor to sleep peacefully knowing that he'd have to continue his match the next day and that he had a hole to dig out of. The match continued on Tuesday, and as other matches wrapped up it became apparent that the fate of the team hinged on Connor's match. If he lost, their team's chances ended. If he won, they'd move on to the semi-finals. Connor played better on Tuesday and he managed to win the second set 6-4. They had a 10 point tiebreaker to decide the match and it was a close thing at a few moments. It was tied 6-6 and then Connor steadily pulled away and won it 10-7. 

It was an exciting moment for Connor, and for everyone there. I can't imagine the pressure he had during the match because everyone else on his team had finished their matches and were watching him. Additionally, many of the parents from the girl's team had wandered over, as well as people from the opponent's team. He had a lot of eyes on him and he rose to the occasion and played well. Win or lose, we would have been proud of him for turning the match around and making it competitive, but it was an awesome moment for him to get a victory that was so important to the team. Some of his teammates ran out on to the court afterwards to congratulate him and one of the moms was recording the moment and sent it to Andrea afterwards.


I wasn't able to watch it live, but Amanda had been texting me updates throughout the day and especially for the tiebreaker. My heart was beating so fast as the match came to an end, I can't imagine how tense it was for everyone there. Amanda called me on Facetime so I was able to congratulate Connor after his match.


Because of all the rain delays, his team had to hurry and get ready for their next match against Wiregrass. The format of the match still consisted of 7 matches, but due to the rain delay the format was different to speed things up. The doubles matches were one set to 8 with no-ad and singles were sets to 4 with no-ad as well. Unfortunately, both of the doubles matches went to Wiregrass, so PV had to win 4 of the 5 singles matches to move on, and that proved to be too difficult. Connor won his first set, but was down in the second set when the match was called.  Wiregrass won the 4 matches required to move on, so Connor's match was completed. 

Overall, the experience was one that Connor is likely to remember, and I'm thankful that Andrea and Amanda both were able to go and support him and be there. Although his team didn't win the State Championship, they had a strong team and did well to get as far as they did. Wiregrass ended up winning their next match and were the Class 3A Champions.

Andrea got a cute pic with Connor and also took a picture of Connor with one of his coaches, Coach Jim, who has been a calming influence for Connor and who always watches his matches and helps him stay positive. 


Connor's tennis season has come to an end, and he improved a lot this past year and got a lot of experience. We're hopeful they'll make it to States again next year and maybe they'll even do better. Great job Connor!

Cantina Laredo with Paige


Andrea and Connor were away in Orlando for the Varsity tennis team's upcoming State Championship matches, so Paige and I were home by ourselves. Paige loves to go out with me for a Daddy Daughter Date, and she picked Cantina Laredo. She even talked me in to getting her the mango cake for dessert because she's very persuasive and cute.








Connor's Tennis Team - State Championship Bound for Orlando

 
Connor's tennis team met up at the high school on Sunday, April 23rd, 2023. Family and friends showed up to wish them good luck and send them off in style, with a police escort and cheers. Their matches were scheduled to start early in the morning on Monday, so they drove out the day before. Paige and Andrea took some pictures and a video of them as they departed.







Their team was also featured in a local news report, with their photo and a brief mention of their accomplishments and upcoming matches in Orlando.




Sadie and Paige with Whit's Custard

 


Sadie came over last weekend and hung out with Paige. They swam in the pool and played with Millie Mae. We went to Whit's Custard for dessert in the evening and it was delicious; we haven't gone there in a while.



Monday, April 24, 2023

State Bound - Varsity Tennis Team Wins Regionals


Connor's tennis team played two regionals matches last week and they won both, which qualified them for the State championship tournament in Orlando. The girls also qualified this year, so it was extra exciting for everyone.

On Sunday, their team departed from the high school with a police escort as friends and family cheered them on and wished them luck. They were also featured on a local news report.




Andrea's Birthday 2023

Andrea's birthday was Wednesday this past week, which is a pretty boring day of the week for a birthday. Andrea got lots of calls, texts, and well wishes from friends. We got her some chocolate covered strawberries and balloons, and we had one of Andrea's favorite lunches at the French Pantry. In the evening after the kids got done with school she opened her cards and the presents we got for her.







Sunday, April 16, 2023

SUP with Millie Mae

Since it was a beautiful sunny day, Millie and I went out on the SUP on Saturday. We went south from our friend's dock and we went under the bridge to the harbor and explored some areas where we haven't been before. It was a nice day for it and although Millie's not very comfortable on the SUP unless she's sitting in my lap, I think she had fun.

Paige Plays UTR Tournament at Creekside HS

Saturday, Paige played in a UTR tournament at Creekside Highschool. She played two matches against highschool age boys, and unfortunately she lost both matches. She played competitively, and in one of the matches she won the first set in a tiebreaker, but ultimately she couldn't beat either opponent. Paige had a good attitude about it, and Millie and I enjoyed watching her. The Gobles all came too to support Paige and afterwards Paige went back to their house to spend the night and hang out with them.