A Final Re-Cap of 2013 & My Word for 2014

My Word for 2014: BALANCE
Today I unrolled my yoga mat and did a series of poses. Just kinda went with it and as I was practicing familiar poses to my brain, yet somewhat unfamiliar to my body (as I haven't practiced regularly in 8 or more years), I came to some pretty interesting thoughts. And I decided that I need yoga again. I need BALANCE and that is something pretty difficult to achieve in our world. As soon as we accomplish one goal, we are setting another...pushing farther and harder. But we need time to just be without all the  grasping for more, more, more. And the truth is that if we can find an inner stillness, we can see things so much more clearly. We can see that the path we are on and that we are on that path for a reason. Sometimes it is hard to see why we are on a particular path, but if we are able to see it a bit more clearly, we can have fun and be adventurous and embrace the path and thereby gaining more happiness to spread into the world. Ahhh yoga. And the bonus of feeling better physically is worth it. The mind body balance. So perhaps you have guessed my word for 2014...BALANCE. It only took me one month to find that word!

I have decided that I still really enjoy blogging. I love reading others blogs and I love to share my perspective on things...my writer side, if you will. So I AM BACK to BLOGGING and you will see more posts from me. I am still trying to find my authentic voice in blogging. So this will be another exploration this year. As a mom, so many things are changing at warp speed. Things that I thought were far off in the future are right here, right now. Things like college visits. For my girl who never left my side for 3 years and would just hug my leg and never let go. She would grab my face and kiss my cheek for as long as she could. That girl is ready to explore colleges in different states and areas that are fairly far from home to see what they have to offer her. It kinda hit me hard when I realized that most of her college visits need to be scheduled in the next 3 months...so we have a calendar filled with dates and times of visits...probably around 10 colleges. And I am trying to catch my head up with my heart. And so far, I am doing ok. I am sure the watery eyes I have had this week are from a head cold and {not} the emotions of letting go of that sweet 3 year old hugging my leg.

It has been bitterly cold here in Ohio. The changing temps have left me with a cold this week. The kids had 5 days in a row off due to our winter weather. It all went well when I put things in perspective and let the kids sleep in every day. I realized that this was an opportunity to be together without the added pressure of homework. We didn't do anything that was super fun or  blogworthy. We just hung out and tried to keep warm. I think they needed the extra rest and relaxation time. We celebrated hubby's birthday with some shopping & good food. We ate out. One got a haircut.  We kept an appointment for the son with the broken arm. We all went together. Nothing spectacular, but perhaps that is what we needed to make it through January this year.

Summer 2013
So let's take a look back at summer in 2013. I am a summer girl and I love the sun and the heat. Summer always goes too fast for me. We had an awesome summer despite all of the rainy weather. Of course we had a lot of TOW...Time on the Water...which as a newer slalom skier, I love. It is a pure adrenaline rush for me and I always feel fantastic after a ski run around the lake.

The kids rarely tube but when they do, it is always interesting to see how they jockey for the best part on the tube:

This is Ana having fun on her wakeboard after a new trick:

And at the end of a great lap around the lake:

My hubby, Rich, tried a new sport this year...I may have influenced him just a little with my enthusiasm:

As either my hubby or I am driving the boat, we hand the camera off to one of the kids and they still haven't figured out how to capture us just at the right time...but we will take whatever pics we can get from them and we have something to work toward next summer.

Marissa is improving so much with her skiing that she will be on the slalom ski soon. I wish I had learned to slalom earlier! Here she is enjoying herself on the lake after overcoming fear issues of other boats and going around the island. So proud of her!

Foster is always having fun on the water and trying new things from surfing to new tricks on the wakeboard. He has always loved the water. I didn't do a good job of photographing him this year as I have (like many) relied on my iPhone way too much. Here are a few shots of him having fun:

Wakeskating...no bindings to hold your feet onto the board:

 Wakeskating...look ma, one foot, one hand:

 He totally rips on the slalom ski...I think this could be his sport but he just gets on the ski a few times a summer and rips through a lap and is done all the while making it look easy:

And a wakeboard photo from early in the summer...he was using his Dad's board (which was too big) and was just having fun:

The kids have permission from this dock owner to use the dock if they knock on the door and let the owner know they are jumping off...it is cute to watch them run up the sidewalk and knock on the door and then run back to the dock to jump off...again and again...while we wait in the boat and take pictures (mostly for Instagram posts)
Sisterly love...

Or some throw in a dock flip:

We love it when my sister and her girls come to visit...it may involve a little arm wrestling:

Or some time on the boat:

Or all of the girls just spending time on the deck and chilling:

The best part of being at the lake is spending time with loved ones.

Our youngest, Marissa, had her 11th birthday which we celebrated in style, here with a rare parent picture:

And with her sister and brother:

She had an awesome birthday with family and friends. Part of her present included a Carly Rae Jepsen concert which was really good. Me with my two girls:

Fall 2013
Summer seems to morph into fall so quickly. We had two in high school sports and one playing travel soccer. I don't know how we made it through the grueling schedule, but we did and I was super grateful to have Ana help with the driving to/from all the sporting events.

This was Ana's third year of tennis. We have an awesome team and our school has made many trips to the state playoffs. Ana played both Junior Varsity and Varsity. She got in a ton of playing time and really progressed with her game this year. I was frequently bopping from tennis, to high school soccer to my other daughter's soccer practices and games. I did not get one single photo of Ana on my real camera. This photo is courtesy of another tennis mom...I love this:

Our girls placed 3rd in the Ohio State Coaches Tennis Tournament...Ana (in purple hat....it was so cold that day in October!) did not play in this match but she was there to support her team. She did play in a match earlier in the season to help advance her team. I am proud of what a team player she is and how she has grown in her tennis skills. She is lucky to have these girls as friends and teammates. I know that when she is older she will be able to draw on a lot of lessons learned through high school tennis. I hope she will continue to play beyond high school for fun, social, and fitness.

High School soccer started for my son on the last day of 8th grade. The team had open field all summer long and my son was at every one that he could possibly make. Our school fielded a 100% freshman team, a junior varsity team and a Varsity team. We are a smaller district and it was awesome to have the opportunity for my son and other freshman to play on the same team. Some of the freshman players were also asked to play up for JV and Varsity, as the coaches requested them. This was a bit of a different season for my son as he has played goalie almost 100% of the time in the past 7 years. This year he was on the field and played forward and midfielder. Most of the teams we played were a mix of older (and much bigger) players and in fact we did not play one team that was purely compromised of freshman like our team. The one time that my son did play goalie, he was kicked in the head (when he had possession of the ball and a penalty should have been called, but it was not), which resulted in a very scary 24 hours of watching him and a dr. visit...and that is how the season ended. I am proud of him for taking on new positions and putting forth an awesome effort and being a team player. This pics is of him entering the game when his name was caled by the announcer. I must say it was nice for all of the parents to hear all of the boys names announced before the game and during the game.

This is Marissa playing soccer..she is in the white jersey with the long blonde ponytail. She played on two travel teams in the fall. Our travel is different than some other areas. We are pretty far from the other teams that we compete against and usually have to travel 45 minutes up to 1.5 hours each way. I have some thoughts on that but will save them for another day. Marissa is a developing player and has amazed me with some of her soccer skills. If she continues to develop skills at her current rate, I think she will be a tough competitor. I will say that sometimes I am disappointed at the poor sportsmanship and overly aggressive play by some teams at this level (she plays on the U12 team, but is a true U11 player due to her bday so she can play on both teams) I am thankful that she is on a team that emphasizes skill rather than brute force. I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut when I see the blatant pushing, shoving, and tripping. I am working on being less vocal in 2014.

You may have noticed that I updated a few pics along the sidebar. We skipped family pictures this year and instead I hired a talented photographer to take pictures of the kids. It was very low key and I am glad that I went that route. Here is one my favorite photos by Aemee Ellis

Ana went to two homecomings this year. This was the first one...we opted for a long dress as this school had a lot of rules about the dress and I thought it would be really hard to find a dress that met the length requirements with her long legs. I ordered it online and then she had to scurry to get it approved by the school and thankfully it passed! Rich and I were headed to an Ohio State game.

Foster celebrated his 15th birthday with an unofficial concussion and cherry pie. And an annual pic with his Mom & Dad:

One thing I have found out the hard way is that when there are special events like birthdays or homecomings, you have to make an effort to get a picture with your child or in this case children. These pictures are the most important to me, but I haven't always gotten them due to distraction. This is Ana's junior year of homecoming (only one more year!) and Foster's freshman year.

My brother and his wife were here for the Homecoming festivities, and also to celebrate a birthday. This is Marissa helping Uncle Dan with his birthday cake. Who do you think is more excited about the birthday?

Hubby and I dress in black tie twice a year for a club that we belong to. I had a hard time finding something this year, but it was comfortable. And we had a good time out on the town: cocktails, dinner, and dancing!

Thanksgiving 2013
We changed things up a bit for Thanksgiving this year. Since our youngest is now over her fear of elevators, we thought it was a great opportunity to head to Chicago. We had a blast and thanks to the CityPass we were able to see everything on our list and more. This is one of my favorite memories while on our way to the Field Museum. We had awesome weather, pizza every night, incredible shopping, sightseeing, cab rides, views of Lake Michigan, and lots of good memories!

Another of my fave Chicago pics was of the kids just before we left. This was taken outside at Pizano's Pizza....yummy...love the red checked table cloths!

Christmas 2013
I missed taking our picture on Christmas Eve, so instead I created a collage of what we were doing that week. Ana is now a ski instructor, the kids with their new Christmas ski gear, hubby and I on the lift and Marissa taking a ski break in the lodge:

And that is the end of the picture Re-Cap 2013. I hope to be more of a frequent blogger so that these mega posts are few and far between. Also if you want to follow me on Instagram, you can find me at cathymskier

My words for 2013: Small Changes
I loved my words for 2013... I was able to make a lot of small changes that added up to a whole lot of big changes. Organized areas of my home including drawers and closets. What an awesome feeling to make small changes, and to feel progress!!! I blogged about my choice of words here and then went on to make to outline my goals here. I stayed active with tennis, skiing, water skiing, training with a personal trainer, and barre classes.

I will blog soon about BALANCE. Until then.
hugs,
Cathy

My 101st Post: Going Backward to Catch Up, Part 5

Pre~Note

Today is absolutely beautiful and it started with a gorgeous sunrise on the front of our property while simultaneously there was this surreal moon shining over our pond on the back of our property. It was truly incredible. I didn't take any photos. What was I thinking? Here is a photo of a sunset that was taken in November 2011. Love the pink reflection on the pond!

So as you have figured out, I haven't been able to sync my blog posts with the calendar! I spent a lot of time in November and December working on "organization" and cleaning out areas that needed de~cluttering! I was able to transfer about 10-15 bags of clothing, decorations and lots of unused toys. What an awesome feeling! My focus word for 2011 was "organization" so it felt good to make progress in that area. I am still working on my focus word for 2012 and have narrowed it down to 5. I like the idea of a focus word for the year, rather than all kinds of resolutions that I may or may not work on.

I really enjoy blogging. I haven't made it a priority in the past year, because I feel out of control when I spend too much time in blogland. This is my attempt to get back on track and get synched up with the calendar! I appreciate any advice on how to keep blogging with a busy life. Let me know what works for you!

November 2011
The Levy Passed!
I was asked along with a number of other people to help out on a levy campaign in the middle of October. There was a lot to be done in a 3 week period. What I will take away from the experience is that there are many wonderful and dedicated people who support education. I am so happy to say that our levy passed by about 200 votes. It took a few weeks to verify, but it is good to know that our children will continue to enjoy a very high level of education...at least for a few more years!

A picture of some of the thousands of levy pins that were made to show our pride in our school district!

This is a rally that was held on our town square. My daughters are holding the neon yellow/green sign and they are flanked by a wonderful first grader teacher on the right and sweet friends of mine on the left:

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to meet some really fantastic people. It is amazing what a team can accomplish.

Tennis
My kids have been playing tennis for a few years now. But, it wasn't until this year that I realized how fortunate we are to have such an awesome facility just 10 minutes from our house. I started playing in October with a group of fun women. One drives from 45 minutes away.

I am working on getting good indoor shots. This one is blurry, but I still love the action of it! This was Foster's first real tournament and he did well. He loves tennis and is addicted to it.

It seems that my tennis photos of Marissa are rather boring, so I will have to work on capturing her high energy level on the court.

Veteran's Day
I love that our schools recognize Veteran's Day and as 3 rd graders, Marissa and her classmates saluted our hardworking military and veterans with a very special music program which was created by my dear friend, their music teacher, Mrs. H. It was very inspiring and I particularly loved it when they asked for all of our veterans and military personnel to stand so we could honor them! This was the moment she spied me slipping into the filled auditorium, a few minutes late. Love that smile!

My friend, Mrs. H, the best music teacher.ever.period:

Black Tie Baby
We have 2 black tie events that we attend each year. Although it can be tiring finding an outfit to each one, I am always thankful for the date night with my well dressed hubby. The photo was taken by one of the kids, therefore shadows behind us. (I will take a slightly shadowy photo over no photo.)

Thanksgiving
We had a very low key Thanksgiving. The kids wanted to stay home and make traditional turkey and fixings. It was nice to be together for the day. We cooked, played outside on a rather warm day and then went to the movies.

A little football to stretch after Thanksgiving dinner. My girls both know how to throw a football. A skill that is necessary, if they ever go to a beach full of guys. Much easier to talk to a guy if you know how to throw a football:

I am not the best at football throwing, but I do like to get into the action and really appreciate a good quarterback & their abilities:

Enjoying being outside with my hubby, a former 8th grade QB!

Annual Buckeye Photo
Every year I take a pic of the kids on the OSU vs. Michigan football game day. This year I am amazed at how mature they look. Even though the Bucks lost this one, we had a great time watching the game!

December 2011
Choir Concert~Foster
I love snapping a photo of my kids during their concerts. When they played instruments it was so difficult to get them in action. It is much easier to get a choir photo! Foster is in the middle above the piano. I think this photo will be fun to share at graduation time!

Choir Concert~Ana
Years ago when Rich and I were newly married and I was pregnant with Ana, I sang in our church choir. It was a small group of good singers and I added some off key reality. I really did not know the notes, but for some reason they let me stay on for about 6 months, until we moved to another city as Rich had finished his doctorate. So when I see Ana on stage, I am happy to know that she is using her God given talents and I am ever so grateful for those choir members for the opportunity to let my baby hear the correct pitch and intonation. It has been years of music lessons and it is gratifying watching her and listening to her pretty voice. And as luck would have it, as a freshman you get to wear the choir robes for concerts.

One of their songs involved a bit of dancing which was fun to watch:

This concert was really such a treat. At the end of the concert the entire high school choir surrounded the audience and sang two songs. It gave me goosebumps, as it was really beautiful and put me in the perfect Christmas mood!

State Champions
In December Ana's tennis team was honored at a basketball game. The team was the Ohio State Tennis Coaches Association Division II State Team Champions. They won the title in October. Although Ana did not play in the actual event, she was there to support her team in winning the Championship. It was Lexington's 4th state championship in the past 6 years. Ana has wonderful coaches and great teammates. She is proud to be a part of this team! They are an amazing group of young women.

The following photos were taken by a professional photographer from the nose-bleed seats. I saw his big lens and asked him if he would take a few pics for me and he was so nice and agreed to. He then edited them and emailed them to me a few days later. I was very thankful that he did such a nice favor for me.

Christmas Eve
All I truly wanted for Christmas was 3 things. 1.Attend church with my family. This is the most important thing to me as it truly celebrates the birth of Jesus. We had an awesome service with incredible music! It was simply beautiful and such a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas. 2.The second thing that I wanted was for the kids to sing/play a Christmas song of their choosing. Here is a pic of them in the music room. I think they played and sang Jingle Bells. It was perfect for me!

3.The third thing that I wanted was a picture of all of us in our Christmas outfits. We set the timer on the camera and had some fun, not knowing exactly when the picture would be taken!!

This is me on Christmas Eve, I was tired from all of the preparation. Whew. The holidays can really wear a girl out!

And this is how the kids typically act at picture time (if they aren't fighting) They were really excited about getting their new pj's, and of course the picture taking:

After church we go home and the kids get to open  a gift. It is their traditional jammies and slippers. We then had some delicious food and special time just being together!

Christmas Day
Check out the sky! It was a beautiful pink as the sun rose! A fun toy for son & Dad:

The stack of gifts in the back were for Rich and I . We wrap everything and give really exciting gifts like socks and ski gloves. I was adamant that his stack of gifts would be higher than mine! The joy is in giving, right? Happiness is getting a gift you wanted but didn't expect, like these two:

Marissa enjoyed her favorite gifts at one time: baton, gloves where the fingertips light up (I am borrowing those!!), a microphone and glitter hat. I love 9 year olds!!:

Skiing with Friends
After Christmas we got away for a few days on a ski adventure with our good friends.
Piggies getting warmed by the fire after a fun ski afternoon!

Our friend Connor making the girls laugh. My goddaughter, Quinn, is in between the girls:

Rich and I with our bestest buddies, Bill & Carrie, at their gorgeous lake house that is 2 minutes from the slopes.  Carrie made us a gourmet dinner that was so delicious. Not only is she beautiful, she can cook better than my momma!!

Connor, Foster, Brennan, Bill & Marissa after a fun afternoon! Brennan is the little guy in red and he made us laugh for the entire 2 days. And he is such a good little skier!

The best skiing is with good friends. We love this family so much and can't wait to make more memories with them!

New Year's Eve, last day of 2011
I don't have any pictures of New Year's Eve. We spent the morning doing some work and then the afternoon shopping and visiting with some very good friends. We were home early in the evening and for the most part spent it together as family. It was really nice to be able to see one another at midnight. The kids are growing so fast, so I know we won't have too many more New Year's Eves together!

2011
As I sit here with a warm mug of hazelnut coffee and reflect on 2011, I am feel that overall it was a good year. It seems trite to say that 2011 was filled with ups and downs. Isn't every year filled with highs and lows? What I can say about 2011 is that there were new challenges for me personally and for us as a family. Our family has quickly shifted from tweens to teens and that presents new challenges. It presents new situations with regard to dating, technology, social invitations, goal setting, sports and school. Some weeks go very smoothly, while others are completely disrupted with a new challenge.

For me, my mom's journey with NonHodgkins Lymphoma was very difficult. It was difficult to be apart from her as we live in different states. It is much better now that she is in remission. She is dealing with some health effects as a result of the chemo. Please keep her in your prayers.

I had a great experience with 2 different bible studies in 2011 and believe that this is what kept me sane this year; Reflecting on God's word and what my role is in this world.

2011 also brought new adventure into my life. I began kickboxing, learned to surf and started playing tennis. New sports that have me enamored! And I am proud of myself for working with a personal trainer to lose weight and learn some healthier alternatives in eating. I will be putting these newly learned skills back into practice in 2012. I hope to set a fitness goal for this year, too. Keep moving in the right direction. One step at a time.

I was able to give back by volunteering through our schools (worked with kids on spelling, levy committee, 8th grade DC trip) and church.

I enjoyed our first family trip to Cali and our favorite vacation spot at Glen Lake, Michigan and an anniversary trip with my hubby to Arizona. I was able to spend lots of time with friends and family on the boat, the slopes, and celebrating big events with family and friends.

I am glad that I also stayed true to my word for 2011 of "organization". I did wait until November, but then really worked hard in the last 2 months of 2011 to get areas of my home organized!

My next post will include my word for 2012. And some goals and of course, some fun pictures.

Thank you for reading my 101st post!!
hugs, Cathy