Going Backward to Catch Up, Part 3

Wedding Anniversary
Recently my husband and I celebrated 15 years of marriage. The funny thing is that even after 15 years of marriage, I am so happy I married my husband and it doesn't feel like it has been 15 years. We wanted to celebrate and at the last minute elected to go to Phoenix where it was 112 degrees during the day and 104 degrees at night. It didn't bother us, we just made the most of it and enjoyed being together. I am grateful for my in-laws who took our 3 kids (at the very beginning of the school year) and loved them to pieces until we returned. It was time alone that we needed and are fortunate enough to have family who was kind enough to watch our kids and get them to all of their events!

Relaxing outside at our favorite spot, Olive & Ivy.

On our way to celebrate with a romantic dinner on our last night in Scottsdale.

We were surprised with these delicious desserts!

I was having fun on the highway...on our way back to the airport.

When we first met we biked 20 miles together. You may remember that from a previous post. And although we don't have a lot of time to bike these days, we did take a rather adventurous bike ride in the Phoenix heat. And my hubby changed a flat tire for a stranded female motorist. I married a good guy.

The Buckeyes
Getting back to reality meant getting back to Ohio and the start of another football season for the Buckeyes. My years of living in Columbus lead to a fondness for the Buckeyes. My husband earned his doctorate at The Ohio State University, so he is a big fan of the Bucks, too. We are both glad that Tressel is gone and think that just because he wore a sweater vest, did not make him an honest person. Funny how people look at how you dress and not at your actions. Anyhow... we never had the opportunity to take all of the kids to a Buckeye football game, as getting 5 tickets together can be rather difficult to obtain...until this season.

Mini tailgate:

The kids at the Horseshoe.

The game was the day before the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.  The American flag was beautiful.

Marissa was so excited to have her picture taken with two of the Ohio State cheerleaders. She is almost as tall as the cheerleader!

Doing their part getting O in O-H-I-O

The Health baby had to come with us during the game, but was turned off for most of it. Good thing, too, because we might not have heard it crying with all of the stadium noise. Part of being a freshman in Health class!

Mom & Dad

Many of you have asked how my Mom is doing following chemo from Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. I am very happy to say that at this point, she is in remission. She is getting back her energy and her hair is starting to grow. My parents were able to visit and spend time with us. I was bossy and demanded some photos. 

Rich and I with my parents. Love them so much.

Apple Picking

We live very close to an apple orchard, which is really nice in the fall. This year we went apple picking with our good friends. Here is Marissa climbing trees and picking apples.

 Sister bonding time.

Me & my friend Kim. We have been friends for 15 years! She was my first friend when I moved to this area. We make time to get together for fun with our families.

The boys trying to split apples with their hands.  Its a "guy"thing.

 Taste testing some apples & having fun.

The gang going to look for more types of apples.  Love the sky in this photo.

Country Living

One bonus of living in the country is that there is no waiting line for the trampoline.

We had a pretty nice fall. Rainy cool days and then beautiful, warm, sunny days. The grass is super green from the rain & sun. It almost looks like spring.

I like looking back at the past few weeks. Only a few weeks to go and I will be caught up on my blogging. Part 4 is coming soon!

hugs, 

Cathy

Going Backward to Catch Up, Part 2

Fall Tennis 2011
As my oldest daughter transformed from a junior high to a high school student this past summer, it brought high school sports into our life in early August. In Ohio, girls have to decide between tennis, volleyball, soccer, cross country & golf. This was a tough decision for my daughter, as she played soccer for years and volleyball for 2 years. She chose tennis.

This was a hot day in Columbus and one of her very first competitive matches:

Playing doubles is a lot harder than it looks & requires a lot of concentration and communication. Especially when your mother has her camera lens up your nose!

I have learned that photographing tennis is a bit tricky, especially when they are playing 3 courts away, indoors, fluorescent lighting, and upstairs viewing. Even though this is blurry, I love the fact that both of her feet are off of the court!

Through many matches and lots of travel, my daughter learned that you have to work hard to reap the rewards. This year she played junior varsity, along with some varsity matches, and was able to watch her teammates as they won the 2011 State Team Tennis title. I am so proud to watch her support her teammates and become the best that she can be.

Ana & me at a match on a Saturday morning:

Holding her Dad's hand:

So proud of you, Ana!

Wakeboarding
Every year brings new tricks in wakeboarding for my gang. This year my son was able to master his back roll (back flip off of the wake).  I was able to catch this one, which he landed.

Which elicited this smile:

He was able to work with pro Shaun Murray, earlier this summer. An awesome experience for my son!

Hubby upped his wakeboarding game by landing his wake to wakes this summer. Not bad for an "old" wakeboarder. I think he performs better when I am driving the boat!

Did I mention that he wakeboarder way into fall and I finally told him no more boating in mid-October! This was taken in late August, after landing a bunch of wake to wakes! Can't wait to see what next summer brings!

I love this look of happiness on Ana's face as she wakeboards this summer. She did a fantastic job of wakeskating, too!

Marissa enjoyed her time on the fun board. It is a foam board that is awesome for getting kids comfortable behind the boat. It really helps with balance. By the end of the summer she was doing a fantastic job with her water skiing and wakeboarding, but I didn't get a photo. I will be sure to get plenty of her next summer! This was taken when we are at Glen Lake. Love that blue water and her cute smile!

Back to School

Summer came to a screeching halt in August with a knee injury for Foster (partial tear of MCL and subluxation of his knee cap as he landed a back roll while wakeboarding).  However, it did make for an interesting back to school week with crutches & dr. appointments. After a few weeks of physical therapy, he is completely healed and ready for more extreme adventures.

Ready for junior high and high school adventures:

Marissa and her dog (Bella is saying don't leave me!) on the first day of 3rd grade:

Sunkissed arms ready to hoist that backpack. Loving the pink peace sign and the pink zinnias and the blue nail polish.

This brings us to the end of August. Ready for Part 3, 4, & 5 of "Going Backward to Catch Up"? I think I am making some progress. I do know it is November, don't remind me!
hugs,
Cathy

Going Backward to Catch Up, Part 1

Sometimes I have to go backward to catch up to myself. Does that happen with you? Maybe it because I  have 2 teenagers and an adolescent (love the word "adolescent", which is now commonly referred to as tween or in my case a 9 year old.  I became very familiar with the word when I took "Adolescent Psychology" in college!) Life seems to be moving at warp speed. I am holding on, but when I finally come up for air, I am surprised at where I have landed. So. Going backward. Looking at what my life was like a few months ago and trying to put a few words with a few pics, so that it doesn't pass by so quickly. But then I discover a major problem. I am a photo addict. I find something special about every photo that I take. And I take far too many. Would you like to join my support group? How do I condense thousands of photos into a blog post?

What I am trying to say is that I haven't blogged because I have found other interests that somehow took over my life. I haven't felt the need to blog and to share what is happening in my life. Perhaps through the past 2 years of reading blogs and writing my blog, I am reaching a new level of being content and I don't need blogging, like I once used to need it.

But I don't want to shelf my blog. So I have a choice of going forward or quitting. So for now, I m moving forward, but will be going backward, in order to do so.

Here is a post that I started months ago:
August is a time of year where we get a quick breather and then jump into our fall sports. This year each of my kids is playing one sport for one team, which is much more manageable than previous years!

Self portrait in August. Typical look for me: swimsuit, tank top, headband & sport watch. I do get rather tan from my Italian heritage, thanks Dad!:

A 9th birthday party for Marissa, 2nd from left in bright floral swimsuit. Give them water balloons on a super hot August day and they will be thrilled until they run out and I have to quickly fill 30 more!

This just exemplifies the energy and happiness of my 9 year old!

Love the August sunlight and water!

Girls just need a few good friends and cupcakes=pure happiness!

My nieces came to the lake for some water fun. This is my niece Lindsey and her fist pump!

My niece Allie, showing her water skills:

The lake is always fun when we have visitors and a birthday to celebrate!

Goofiness when it is raining at the lake. Thankfully, Lindsey and Aaron watched the monkeys while the adults slipped out to the wine bar for some adult time:

My brother-in-law and sister at the lake. I am mad that I forgot to get a pic of my sis and me...next year!

This pic was snapped by one of my besties, Kim. So happy she picked up my camera and took the photo. Might have to frame this in black & white. Me & hubby on our SUP's (Stand Up Paddleboard) New favorite past time! So glad my hubby bought these for Christmas last year. Fun, yet relaxing exercise at the lake.

Stay tuned for parts 2, 3, & 4. Now, I am back!

hugs, 

Cathy

I Am Back

I am finally back after being away from my blog most of the summer. How did summer give way so quickly to fall? I feel like I should still be floating on my raft and somebody has changed the calendar on me. A cruel joke, indeed.

Today I reviewed my pics trying to decide if I should start fresh from this point forward or if I should do a re-cap of my summer. I am still deciding as I write this. I think most of us bloggers struggle with our personal reasons for blogging vs. what our readers may want to hear. I am leaning toward the summer re-cap because I really want to make my blog into a book, since I haven't been very good about scrapbooking our family memories! But then I wonder, who will want to look at my pictures of summer when there is a chill in the air? If you keep reading, you are sure to be tortured!

Foster at Dive Championships where he placed sixth.

Foster getting diving advice from 2 of his Atlanta cousins:

Pro wakeboarder Shaun Murray and Foster:

Marissa getting ready to take off at Swim Championships. Their 8 + under relay took 2nd.  This shot is super fun because it shows all of the feet of the spectators:

Ana had a one of those swim seasons where she had very little practice due to a summer gym commitment & then had to "bring it" for Swim Championships. Always a joy to watch her swim!

Good times boating with cousins, Grandpa, Aunt Anne and Dad at the lake!

Ahhh, lake fun:

14th Birthday party for Ana (in red) with a dj, bonfire, trampoline, ping pong, air hockey...

and cake..notice Ana changed to a blue & white top! Here with friends and siblings:

Now that brings us to the end of July. My next post will cover another birthday & other activities that will make us pine for summer. Stay tuned for more torture!

Hugs,
Cathy