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. 

 

Griffin's Baseball - Field of Dreams

 

Saturday, April 6th, 2024, Andrea and I went to see Griffin play baseball with his Field of Dreams baseball team for the first time. All of the players are special needs individuals and they have a cute little field that is perfect for their games. Each of the players are paired with a volunteer buddy that runs around with them and helps them as much as necessary. The players were all different ages and also different ability levels. Each player had two times at bat and unlimited pitches and swings. Some needed help to hold and swing the bat, but one boy hit his first pitch deep and at his second at bat he hit the first pitch that came his way, and blasted it clear over the fence for a home run. 

Griffin was adorable the whole day. He wasn't engaged on defense, instead he had fun just running around the outfield the entire time. When it was his turn at bat he didn't really swing the bat, but he did a great job holding it steady over the plate. 

It was a beautiful morning and we loved it so much that we made a donation to the organization after the game. 

Paige's First USTA Junior Team Tennis Match of 2024

 

Paige had her first Junior Team Tennis match of the 2024 season on Friday. Paige played a boy that was a bit younger than her, and she ended up winning 4-2, 4-0. She started off a little slow and we think she kind of liked the little guy and felt bad for him and let him back in to the match in the first set. She managed to get it together and played well after finishing the first set, and we're glad she played up to her potential. Paige's team ended up tying the other team on matches won, but since we had more games in the match-up we were the victors. 

Paige and Millie Mae at Sunset

 

We had a beautiful sunset the other night, and I had Paige hold Millie Mae for a pic together.

San Antonio - Spurs Game vs Warriors - Shawn and Connor

Connor has enjoyed going on a boy's trip the last couple of years for his birthday and this year he wanted to see a new player to the NBA named Victor Wembanyama, who was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. Many of the games were on days during the week, and some that would work were against terrible teams that Connor found completely uninteresting. He decided that a Sunday game against the Warriors would be the most interesting on the schedule and it was nice that we'd be able to see Steph Curry and the Warriors as well as the Spurs. 

We flew out on Saturday and Connor's favorite meal of the entire weekend was at the airport. He loves Orange Chicken lately and the Panda Express at the airport gave us a big heaping helping. 

Our flights went through Houston and since we didn't have any checked bags, it was super easy and fast to get out of the airport and to our hotel. Andrea found us a nice one right on the River Walk area of downtown. 

After checking in, we wandered around the River Walk for a bit and looked for a nice place for dinner. Nothing really jumped out at us and Connor loves room service, so that's what we ended up with for our meal. There were a lot of NCAA basketball games on, so we were plenty entertained while we had our dinner. 

In the morning we got up fairly early and spent the day walking around town. The Alamo was right near our hotel, so we started there and took a few pics before going on our exploration journey.

We went on a super long walk down the river and eventually found a Mexican Restaurant that looked good. We both had taco salad with guacamole and it was pretty sitting out by the river and watching the people go by. A Mariachi band came through and serenaded the guests while we ate.

After our walk, we relaxed for a little while before changing in to our Spurs gear for the game. Connor wanted to dilly dally for a bit and arrive shortly before the game started, but I thought it would be a better idea to get going. I'm glad we did, since there was a lot of traffic to get to the stadium and the Uber dropoff in the parking lot was still a long walk from the entrance. We got in to the stadium with about 20 minutes to  spare before the game started, so we went by the fan shop and did a little shopping. Connor found a brown jacket that he liked, so I got it for him. The jacket matched the warmup gear for the team that night and I liked the new team logo.

We both enjoyed the spectacle of the game, and both teams played pretty well. Wemby started off a little "off" and missed some of his first shots, but he ended the game with 32 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. 

It was a great weekend with my son, and I think I may enjoy our time together even more than he does. He's a great guy and I'm glad we can take him to see some NBA games even though there isn't a team in our city.

Visiting Renie in Jefferson City

 

Andrea, Paige, Amanda, Abby, Allison, and Grandma Genie all went to Jefferson City on Sunday to visit Renie in her new place. She was finally convinced to move out of Odessa so she could be nearer to her family, and the girls wanted to visit her and see her in her new place. It was an unannounced surprise visit, and they decided it would be fun to show up a little at a time. First Abby, Alli, and Genie showed up, then Amanda, and last came Andrea and Paige. 

Renie was thoroughly surprised and her new place was adorable. Her family did an amazing job bringing all of her treasures from Odessa, and getting everything set up, so it would feel like home. 

Renie's daughter Connie came by for a little while to visit as well and took a picture of Renie with all of her visitors together.