Spring and Summer News

Wow....I can't believe it's summer time already! I was just telling a co-worker whose child will be starting kindergarten this fall to hold on because time really starts to fly now. We've had a ton going on in our family - sports, school functions, family fun, etc.

Let's start with school...

Danielle thrived in 7th grade, survived Algebra and made the National Junior Honor Society. She'll spend part of her summer refining her algebra skills, but she can put a 'high school credit' notch in her belt for this class and Spanish I. 8th grade starts the middle of August and she can't wait! One major high point is that as part of the year book staff, she'll get to go to Disney again (see earlier blog).

Duncan had a blast in 4th grade...aka, the "field trip" year. He got to go to a lot of local sights, but the two major ones are St. Augustine and a beach trip to St. George Island. Duncan prefers the laid back atmosphere of summer hours so school is the farthest thing from his mind.

Duncan (left) in jail with fellow classmates.

Our "chinese" alligator at the Alligator Farm.

Spring fun....

Spring brings out the family camper more often and the chance to enjoy the outdoors with friends...it also brings rain! These pictures are from a trip to Chatahoochee, FL (no, we didn't stay at the State Mental Hospital). We found a "local swimming hole" both in a river and at the campground.

Our friend's campsite became the camping watering hole.

Spring also meant the start of

"diamond" events...that is, the softball and baseball diamonds. We started off juggling 3 different softball leagues for Danielle....city rec ball, middle school team ball and a more competive city league. We now spend the summer traveling on several weekends for travel ball tournaments.

Duncan played up in the 11-12 year old league and held his own. He learned a lot about working hard and having fun with the older kids. He's just starting up summer ball and starts his season after the 4th of July weekend.

More to come later this summer.....we'll have lot's to report about camps, tournaments, camping excursions, and bike rides.

Well, the year has started off smoothly and this month has flown by...

We've spent most of this month bouncing around town going to one sporting event or another. Duncan is currently a two sport athlete, juggling inline roller hockey and basketball. Believe it or not, the latter is more painful to watch as things can get a bit rough out there. Duncan put his name in the scorebooks last week with his first basket of the season....an outside baseline shot banking off the backboard. As soon as it went it, the fist started pumping and he was racing to play defense.

Danielle reaped the benefit of having one of the toughest science teachers....she was one of app. 45 kids that had a chance to go to Disney for 3 days. She got to stay at the Animal Kingdom lodge. Her nightly calls would include which wild animals were outside her hotel. During the days, she attended mini-classes held at one of the Disney properties and had time to go explore and ride the rides. At night, the group saw Cirque de Soleil and Fantasmic. Needless to say, she was worn out after her brief 'vacation'.

The ultimate treat for this month was an overnight trip this past weekend to Pt Richey, Florida to see our favorite band in concert.....Gaelic Storm. Dennis was first exposted to the band around 7 or 8 years ago when his brother took him to a concert in Annapolis. His love for their music became infectious and spread through all of us. We never go on a road trip without listening to a few of their CDs. The kids had seen the band's concert DVD, so they were really anxious to see them in person. We got to the performance hall early and were able to grab front row seats....awesome!! The only thing that could have made it better....to join the band on the cruise they're going on with the Bare Naked Ladies!! Well, maybe next time.

Here's a picture of the kids with the band.

Looking Back at 2007

As the Holiday Season approaches every year, I flip through my day planner and am amazed at how fast time flew by and how my cards are late again (they're in the mail!). The kids are older and growing more independent every day. Parents grow older and more frail, leaving us with the gratitude of still having them near. Looking back over this year we've had many tears and laughs....

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.

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!!