Believe it or not, the apple didn't fall far from the tree and most of our days in the Spring and Summer revolved around a softball or baseball diamond. Danielle got the "bug" and wanted to play as much as she could, which resulted in two different city leagues and a travel team. Surprisingly, with the heat and humidity here, she has wanted to play catcher. This picture is from a travel team tournament where she got into her first collision for an out at homeplate.
Danielle between games on a hot day.
Duncan spent his first half of the year between the roller hockey rink and the baseball diamond. He's found roller hockey exciting (and exhausting). It's amazing how well he can skate! Baseball is fun as long as a buddy is out there with him.
The year has been a roller coaster for the whole family. My father was diagnosed late last year with lung cancer and underwent surgery to remove a lobe of his lung. After recovering from surgery he endured radiation and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, for the first half of the year he had a frequent visitor pass to the hospital....embolisms in his lungs, his good lung collapsed, pneumonia, etc. He is getting better, even though it's a very slow process and he's made it through the fight with cancer - he's cancer free!!
Once the summer camps ended, it was back to the daily grind. The kids started 4th and 7th grade. Duncan is meeting the demands of more reading and math time. He's such a smart kid, but would rather spend his time doing other things...kind of reminds me of a couple guys I know in the family. Danielle is loving the challenge of being able to take high school credit classes, such as Algebra and Spanish. Her pay-out will be a 3 day Disney trip with her Advanced Science class where she'll be doing a lot of 'behind the scenes' classes and seeing Cirque de Soleil (boy, we wish we were kids again!)
Our daily grind was working good until Danielle's softball season ended abruptly Labor Day weekend. She broke her upper right arm (humerus) while riding in a Rhino (utility type 4-wheeler). This resulted in three different casts over a span of six weeks. Yep, her right arm....her writing hand, her hair brushing and dressing arm. Needless to say, the demands of caring for another person increased dramatically. and Dennis and I got a chance to really refresh our Algebra skills.
This fall and winter have been a little more relaxing since Danielle is on injured reserve. Duncan is playing organized basketball for the first time. He has the heighth...just need to work on the coordination. He's also decided he can't stay away from the smell and excitement of the roller hockey rink.
The year has been a roller coaster for the whole family. My father was diagnosed late last year with lung cancer and underwent surgery to remove a lobe of his lung. After recovering from surgery he endured radiation and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, for the first half of the year he had a frequent visitor pass to the hospital....embolisms in his lungs, his good lung collapsed, pneumonia, etc. He is getting better, even though it's a very slow process and he's made it through the fight with cancer - he's cancer free!!
Once the summer camps ended, it was back to the daily grind. The kids started 4th and 7th grade. Duncan is meeting the demands of more reading and math time. He's such a smart kid, but would rather spend his time doing other things...kind of reminds me of a couple guys I know in the family. Danielle is loving the challenge of being able to take high school credit classes, such as Algebra and Spanish. Her pay-out will be a 3 day Disney trip with her Advanced Science class where she'll be doing a lot of 'behind the scenes' classes and seeing Cirque de Soleil (boy, we wish we were kids again!)
Our daily grind was working good until Danielle's softball season ended abruptly Labor Day weekend. She broke her upper right arm (humerus) while riding in a Rhino (utility type 4-wheeler). This resulted in three different casts over a span of six weeks. Yep, her right arm....her writing hand, her hair brushing and dressing arm. Needless to say, the demands of caring for another person increased dramatically. and Dennis and I got a chance to really refresh our Algebra skills.
This fall and winter have been a little more relaxing since Danielle is on injured reserve. Duncan is playing organized basketball for the first time. He has the heighth...just need to work on the coordination. He's also decided he can't stay away from the smell and excitement of the roller hockey rink.
Duncan (#23) playing defense.
Some friends say Dennis and I have both hit our mid-life crisis stage (a little early of course!) and have become official bikers...the motorcycle kind, of course. He got the 'itch' and scratched it with a Triumph Bonneville. His itch turned into a contagious rash and I got a Yamaha V-Star Classic. One of the benefits of the South...year long riding weather!!! Love it!
The kids trying out their Harley.
We hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Season and best wishes for the New Year!!
