Monday September 29th, 2014

My Favorite Moment of the Day: Waking up this morning and getting hugs and kisses from my family. Can't imagine something happening today that gets any better than that!

Thing that Made me Laugh Today: This didn't happen today, but often last week while we were on vacation in Atlantis. Many of the employees there, and the lady at the airport, said how young and good Kristin and I looked. Maybe they were just blowing smoke, maybe they were just trying to be nice, but you don't get compliments in everyday life very often, at least not as a grown up. So to get several each day, boy that was nice!

Thing that Made me Think Today: I'm amazed at how much I have changed over the years, with regards to competition and trying to "get ahead". When I was younger, as a young adult, I really wanted to make a lot of money, move up the ladder, go go go. Sometimes I feel that way about the kids, and I get competitive about the basketball teams I coach. Mostly though, I just want to spend time with the family, seeing the kids and Kristin smile and enjoy each other. I struggle with my desire for that, and realizing that the kids don't want to do only that, that they want to go go go and do do do. they do love spending family time together, but Olivia definitely already has gotten to the point where she needs more than that to be happy, and Claire is getting there. I suppose I'll be able to reconcile it at some point, and hopefully seeing them be happy doing the things they enjoy will give me the fulfillment that I've done my job right.

Wednesday August 13th

My Favorite Moment of the Day: Luke and I played mini-golf today, in the sweltering heat at Smuggler's Cove. We haven't done that forever, and it was nice being together with just him and I. We played golf, fed the alligators, had slurpees after, just a good time all around.


Thing that Made me Laugh Today: Luke made a hole in one, actually two in a row, but when he made the first one he went bezerk! It was so much fin to see him so excited. Then when he made the second one, his smile was a mile wide. I was so happy seeing him so happy, Also, it made me think about playing real golf with him, can't wait for that, just waiting for Fort Myers CC to reopen.


Thing that Made me Think Today: We had our first basketball meeting for the high school team today, we had 24 girls show up. They are mostly tiny, under 5'6", and several have never played basketball before. It really made me think about why I enjoy coaching, and what my focus should be, which is having fun with the kids that come out and not just about winning games. I also thought about coaching Olivia as she becomes a more integral part of the team, and hopefully that will be fun and not too stressful.

I also thought about my Dad today, as he turned 82. He's such a great guy, and I'm thankful for all I've learned from him about how to be a good person. Happy Birthday Dad!

Tuesday August 12th

My Favorite Moment of the Day: Today was my first day at home alone after the beginning of the new school year. Luke hasn't started school yet, but he spent the night at Gma and Gpa's house, so I after the girls went to school I was by myself. This is always a difficult day for me, and next Monday, when everyone is really gone at school for the day, will be tough I'm sure. I  reflected  on what a great summer we all had together, and that was a nice change. In the past I usually think about the kids not being around anymore, I was happy I was able to focus in a more positive way on what we did do while they were around.

Thing that Made me Laugh Today: Every night when Kristin and I go to bed, I walk to each room to kiss the kids good night and tuck them in. Most nights they are all asleep when I do this. However, even when she is asleep, Olivia wakes up, and sits up and gives me a tight hug. Boy am I gonna miss that, but it sure feels good now.

Think that Made me Think Today: Honestly, not much today, other than thinking about the summer.

Monday August 11th

My Favorite Moment of the Day: Today was Claire's first day of school, her last year at St. Francis Xavier. When I picked her up after school, she talked non-stop about her day for the next 30 minutes. She was so excited, and seemed to have a great day. It reminded me of when we used to drive around in the car together, just the two of us, before Luke was born, and all she would do was talk. She would ask to hear a particular song on the CD player, then talk throughout the entire song, and then ask to hear the song again "because I couldn't hear it because I was talking."

Thing that Made me Laugh Today: I played "war" with Luke and his buddy today. We all had different types of fake guns, and we chased each other around the house for about an hour. It was a lot of fun acting like a little kid again, hiding, jumping out to shoot someone, hustling to recover the bullets and hide again. We all worked up a sweat, until finally Luke shot me in the throat with the IronMan fist gun - thus killing me and ending the war!

Thing that Made me Think Today: It's been a little bit of a rough afternoon, and I'm trying to stay positive. Going back to yesterday, talking about the process, I need to not worry about things that I can't control. Maybe the things I'm concerned about will work out, and they aren't "real" problems anyway, they aren't major life issues. Sometimes I just feel like I don't have the stomach to deal with people, hopefully if I keep doing things the "right" way, the things I'm concerned about will not come to fruition.

Sunday August 10th

My Favorite Moment of the Day: We all attended 7:30am mass, and the girls both served. I always enjoy watching them work during the mass, particularly when they are processing in and out holding the candles. They both look like angels, so beautiful! Of course I also enjoy giving the peace sign to them from across the church, and watching them try to give it back to me without being seen by the priest.

Thing that Made me Laugh Today: It didn't make me laugh, but I enjoyed trying to explain the game of baseball to Anna today. We were all in the family room, and I was switching the TV back and forth from the Rays game and the PGA Championship. Anna was asking me the rules of baseball, and we kind of talked about the game. I actually did laugh when she suggested it would be more fair if the teams pitched to themselves instead of the opponent pitching to each other. I certainly had never thought of that!

Thing that Made me Think Today: As I mentioned, I watched the PGA championship today, and Rory McIlroy won again. Rickie Fowler came in 3rd, finishing in the top 5 in all 4 majors this year, but with zero wins. Afterwards he talked about how it was a good year, and how he just needs to keep putting himself in position to win, and one day he will. It seemed to me as though that was another way of saying I just haven't been lucky, and when I do get those couple lucky breaks, I'll win, as long as I'm doing everything else right. The last hole was a perfect example of that, as he had a putt lip out, and Rory had a tee shot miss the water by two feet. If those results were different, maybe Fowler wins. It made me think how much luck, good fortune, fate, destiny, whatever word you want to use, plays a part in life. I always tell the girls just make sure your process is good, whether it's grades, sports, friendships, whatever. The results take care of themselves, you can't control those. I need to get better at listening to that advice. Even when you do that though, the results don't always work out the way you want, sometimes that turns out to be a positive thing. But you have to keep doing the process right, because more often than not, in the long run, it works out in your favor.

Saturday August 9th

My Favorite Moment of the Day: I was watching NBA hardwood classics tonight, and the 1997 playoff series between the Heat and the Knicks was on. It made me reflect back to 1999, and the playoff series between the Heat and the Knicks. I don't remember the basketball, but I remember being on the phone with Rob, watching the entire final game of the series, talking about the players and the plays as the game wore on. We probably talked about fantasy baseball too. All the time I was on the phone, I was holding Olivia, rocking her, at 3 months old, trying to keep her asleep. That was her real intro to basketball. The old and broken fisher price hoop pictured above was a present on her 1st birthday. Good memories of holding her, watching her play on that little hoop, and talking sports on the phone with Rob was my favorite thing today.

Thing that Made me Laugh Today: Olivia had a little party tonight, with 11 people, including herself and Anna. It was pretty funny watching the interaction between all of them. Some of them know each other, some of them don't. earlier in the day one of the people asked everyone to send a selfie so they could see who they recognized. One of the boys actually responded "the lighting is bad where I am right now, I'll send one later". When Kristin read that to me, I started to laugh and shake my head, but Kristin started laughing hilariously! It was awesome!

Thing that Made me Think Today: Why the hell am I spending $100 on a calculator that I can get on the iPad, (that I am paying $1000 for), for free?? Then I thought maybe this is just another thing that I "don't get", and that this is a result of me getting old. But whatever, it still seems ridiculous.

Friday August 8th

My Favorite Moment of the Day: Today was the first day of school at Bishop Verot High School. Olivia and Anna began their sophomore years and seemed very excited about it. Last year, Olivia and I would always fist bump as she got out of the car, our compromise way of giving a hug to each other, without embarrassing her in front of her friends. I had forgotten about that over the summer. As they were getting out of the car, Olivia reached back and put her fist out for a bump. That made me feel good.

Thing that Made me Laugh Today: When the girls got back in the car at the end of school, they were talking and laughing about how the day went, about their classes, the kids in their classes, etc. It was fun hearing Olivia be so excited to be back at school, and to hear Anna's positive reaction to the day.

Thing that Made me Think Today: Anna's family was over today, and it was their last day seeing her until December 22nd. Yes, maybe they can skype, and they can talk on the phone, but they won't SEE her, or hug her, for almost 5 months. I wasn't there when they said goodbye, but Kristin and Olivia said neither of them cried, and they said Anna seemed completely unfazed. I know I mentioned it earlier this week, but I just can't grasp that. I guess I can kind of understand the child not crying, they are getting to go live the adventure. Maybe Mom was just doing a great job of holding the tears back. I just can't imagine letting my baby go out into the world just yet, and not feeling scared...for me, not really for her.

Thursday August 7th

My Favorite Moment of the Day: Was the picture above. It was Olivia's last day of summer, so the girls and I went out to Captiva first thing in the morning. Luke wasn't with us as he was spending the night at Oma's house. It wasn't very crowded, the water was beautiful, and the three of us just kind of floated in the water and on the sand while talking. It was a great way to spend the last day of summer together.

Thing that Made me Laugh Today: While we were in the water, a helicopter kept circling around the beach area, obviously looking for someone. I said to the girls that it felt like the chopper was gonna turn and start firing missiles and bullets at us (and I mentioned maybe we've been watching too many superhero movies this summer). Then I squatted in the water, and as the helicopter came around and faced us, I slowly rose from the water and threw up my arms as if I was deflecting said bullets and missiles away from us (like a superhero). Then I felt a twinge in my back, and I froze up, and we all started laughing.

Thing that Made me Think Today: I thought a little about trying to realize that I can't control most situations in life. I had a conversation with someone who experienced this harsh reality this week, and listened to how he handled it. It made me think about similar situations I may encounter, and how should I handle it. I think as I've gotten older I've gotten better at realizing this truth, that we have little control, and accepting things while not giving up on something that's important. I need to keep working on it, but I am trying to enjoy the gift of every day, not worry about what's next, and do things I enjoy, mostly which is spending time with my family. 

Tuesday August 5th

My Favorite Moment of the Day: We met Anna and her family today, which was very exciting. We had them over for dinner, and had a nice time talking about Luxembourg. It was nice to get to know them, and to talk to Anna.She seems like a very adventurous kid, a lot like Olivia. I think the two of them have a chance to get along very well.

Thing that Made me Laugh Today: When we were talking with Anna's mother and aunt, we asked them how best to pronounce Anna's name. We told them how it normally sounds in America, and the Aunt started saying it over and over, stressing the short A sound at the beginning of the name. It was funny because she sounded so harsh in a southern/country sort of way. Claire and I started laughing hilariously, and to make sure she didn't think I was laughing at her, I said it sounds much nicer the way you say it in Luxembourg.

Thing that Made me Think Today: We talked with Anna's mother and aunt for almost 5 hours, and I just couldn't get out of my head that she is letting her daughter, 14 years old, travel across the world and live with total strangers for 5 months. Obviously Anna is an independent kid, and she should be able to handle it, but I can't see myself not having Olivia in the house for 5 months right now. Does that mean Anna's mom is better adjusted to Anna growing up than I am? Is she more brave than me? It can't be that I care more about Olivia than she does Anna, so what is it? Maybe by the end of the 5 months I'll have it figured out.

Monday, August 4th

My Favorite Moment of the Day: One of the things I've tried to develop in each of the kids is the habit of regular exercise. So when I was coming home from my run today, and I saw all three of them doing sprints at the end of the street, cheering and encouraging each other on, it made me smile.

Thing that Made me Laugh Today: Olivia and I were watching a show about home renovations, and the person on the show said they liked the "complimentary back splash". So we started making jokes about how the back splash would talk to you, and say nice things. Then later in the evening, Olivia mentioned something about a rude awakening, and I said there should be an alarm clock app that insults you as the alarm to wake you up. We both were laughing a lot about the different things we thought each would say, and it was fun laughing with her.

Thing that Made me Think Today: Our exchange student is arriving tomorrow, we are picking her up after volleyball tryouts. I thought about the courage it must take for a 14 year old, alone in a new country, to walk into a high school gym, for tryouts, where everyone knows each other but you, and try to perform to make a team. I thought how cool it is that she has that much self confidence, and what a great experience it will be for us to meet her and learn from her over these next 5 months.

Sunday, August 3rd

It's been forever since I've written, so much has happened. Olivia finished her freshman year, made the varsity basketball team, is learning how to drive, finished in the top 10 of her class, etc. Luke started a new school, got placed in the gifted program, has learned some awesome songs on the guitar, Sweet Child O Mine and Enter Sandman as examples, etc. etc. Claire got all A's in 7th grade, and played great on her elite basketball team. We got to travel to Atlanta where she won one of the games for the team by making a bucket and 4 of 4 free throws in the last minute to win by 3. She also won a grant to FGCU based on her excellent science fair project.

As a family, we took an amazing trip to Seattle, and the kids all learned to ski. It was beautiful, I think we all really enjoyed it out there.

Going forward I am going to try to do a daily post, short, sweet and to the point. I hope to still add pictures as well, but I want to document our life together going forward.


So, for August 3rd:

My Favorite Moment of the Day: The family went to the beach and I went running, first time running on the beach in years. It was hot, but fun, and running along the water looking out to the horizon is just awesome. Running in front of people never hurts the motivation either, so that was good. But the best part was seeing the rest of the family waving to me as I arrived back at our spot on the beach...it's always nice when people are excited to see you!

Thing that Made me Laugh Today:  Claire and Kristin were walking upstairs, and Claire told a joke. Kristin kind of fake laughed, on purpose, then Claire fake laughed, then they both started really laughing. That made me laugh as I heard the two of them from downstairs.

Thing that Made me Think Today: I was thinking about family, we went to my parent's house for dessert tonight (awesome blueberry pie), and how there's always something new for the family to deal with. Everyone has their things going on, good stuff, bad stuff, and trying to figure out how to handle all of it, in the best way possible. I thought how important it is to be there for each other, whether it is to celebrate little things (fixing a ceiling fan), celebrate big things (meeting someone new after being by yourself for a long time), and support in tough times (being on your own for the first time in a long time, what to do with a family member who is now alone). I mentioned to my Dad and Kristin a few weeks ago, it kind of bums me out that there are so few people you can truly count on. You want to be someone people can rely on, good times and tough times. I thought I need to be that person, even if the person you are giving yourself to isn't returning the favor.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we took a summer trip to the mountains of North Carolina and the beaches of Jacksonville. We had originally planned on traveling to the west coast, however we had to postpone those plans until next summer. We then were working on going to the Poconos, but the day we were to leave, there was trouble with Gma and Gpa's house up there, so we were not going to be able to go.

We decided to look in the NC mountains, and needed to find a place where Cooper could come along. We found the Lazy Bear Lodge, in Sylva, NC. Lazy Bear was at the end of a long climb up the mountain, with very few houses anywhere near, and almost complete silence. It was fantastic! The only dicey part of the trip was the drive in and out of the gravel road, with Kristin driving. :)

On the drive up we stopped in Atlanta, with a trip to the varsity for some hot dogs and Frosted Oranges. The next day we traveled to Tallulah Gorge, which was a beautiful spot in Georgia, with some outstanding waterfalls, and excellent hiking. After a couple hours at the gorge, we had lunch (pimento, jalapeno, bacon burger!!) and stopped a flea market (Claire!). Then we continued on to the Lazy Bear Lodge. A long day, but we had a ton of fun and were happy to find the house was so cozy and the weather very cool.

We spent the rest of the week doing the sort of things we would do in the Poconos, such as hiking, swimming in rivers, tubing, and jumping off waterfalls. One really neat thing we saw was called Sliding Rock, which is a natural waterslide. They have lifeguards and everything. It's a giant, relatively smooth rock, that water is rolling over, and provides a 60 foot ride for the swimmers. It was pouring rain when we were there, which was OK because we got to ride more often. Luke took a shot to the ribs from one of the guardrails, but that didn't deter him from continuing to ride!

We went to an Asheville Tourists game (low a affiliate of the Colorado Rockies), and we spent a day at The Biltmore Estate. Both of those trips were a ton of fun. We sat in the hot tub at the house, played some board games, and the kids just explored around the house as well.

We stopped in Jacksonville on the way home, and me and the kids went to the beach for a couple hours two days. Kristin stayed in the room with Cooper, because we couldn't leave him alone. The kids, and Daddy, had a spectacular time body surfing and riding the waves in the Atlantic. We bought Luke a boogie board for day 2, and he did great with it. We've taken it over to Ft Myers beach a few times, not quite the same at real waves. We've promised a trip to the east coast so he can ride some real waves again. He's even decided he wants to be a pro surfer when he grows up!

It was a week filled with "bucket filling" for me. There's nothing I enjoy more than spending time with my family, with everyone locked in on what we are all doing, without being distracted with life's little everyday trifles. Hopefully the kids will have great memories from this trip and our time together, as I know I will.

Long Overdue...Part 2

My last post focused on catching up with the kids. This one will focus on me and the little lady. It's been a crazy 11 months for the two of us, that is for certain. With all of the changes the kids have been going through, it sometimes gets tough to "keep it together" so to speak. We are all running in different directions almost every day, normal stuff that families go through, but it can get to feel like you never get to take a deep breath. But at the end of every day, Kristin and I sit on the couch, throw something on the TV and catch up. I really value that time, because it's the one time of every day that me and my baby get to be with each other, just us. It usually involves a foot massage (me for her), and that's awesome.

Kristin had a full year of work of course, winning at least one big trial, and maybe two (sorry can't remember for sure). She finished her work to become a certified mediator as well.  She took a trip with the kids to Universal in the winter to meet Amy and Monica and their kids for a weekend. They sounded like they had a ton of fun! A few weeks after that, we hosted Deltas weekend at our house, and several of her friends came to visit, a couple brought their daughters as well. It was nice to see everyone together, particularly Olivia and one of the other girls. They really hit it off, and seemed to enjoy each others company.

Our basketball season at BV was an interesting one, getting smashed several times, but in the end coming together to make it to the league title game again. We were able to upset a team in the semifinals, Claire's travel coach was the coach of the team, in a thrilling game. We had a player announce she was gay to the rest of the team (a first for Mark and I), and after one game the team turned against our best player. I think Mark and I did a good job of rebuilding the team's relationship with each other, and overall it was a successful year.

March and April were amazing months for me. First, I got to watch Claire do so well in her hoops as mentioned previously, which is of course fun. I returned to Las Vegas with my buddies for the first weekend of March Madness, and in addition to the normal fun that goes with the trip, the local team, FGCU, scored a huge upset. They were the talk of the tournament, and we all won a bunch of money betting on them. In early April I traveled to Georgia with Stan, and in a span of three days attended the National Championship game at the Georgia Dome between Louisville and Michigan (L'Ville won), then drove to Augusta and watched the Wednesday practice round at the Masters. An amazing three days that I'll never forget. What a gift from my buddy Stan.

We took a summer vacation which I will write up in another post, and spent lots of time at the bowling alley again this summer.

The last few weeks, since we got back from vacation have been tough for me. I always dread the beginning of school, I miss the kids so much. Add in the downer I get from returning from vacation, and that Olivia is now in high school, and this year was a double gut punch. A college friend of mine, and husband of one of Kristin's college friends, killed himself just about two weeks ago. While I hadn't talked with him in several years, this really hit me. He suffered from depression, and had been for several years apparently. This brought up the feelings and thoughts I've been having for a couple years about myself, which led to Kristin and I talking about me for a while. As I explained to Kristin, I love my life. My family is the BEST! I'm just so scared of what the future will be like when the kids grow up and move away, and if anything were ever to happen with Kristin. Everyone says you have to stay in the present...and I try to do that. It's hard to look back, just because I know things will continue to move away from that. And I can't look forward, because it's so damn scary. So that leaves me with today, which I always try to make the most of and enjoy. Hopefully from talking with Kristin about my feelings I can find a way to enjoy the times we had when the kids were smaller, look forward to the great things that will happen in the future, and enjoy each day along the road.

Long Overdue

I'm just realizing that it's been almost 11 months since my last past. I've recorded much of those 11 months either on video or with still pictures, but mostly without my thoughts attached. I'm going to update as best I can in this post, so settle in.

Luke did wonderfully last school year, although he didn't seem his happy self as often as usual. When he told me one day in the car that he wakes up happy every day, but when he gets to school that goes away, I knew we had to look at alternatives. St. Francis has been great for our girls, but the classroom setup and teaching style just wasn't working for Luke. 3 weeks ago he started at Allen Park Elementary and seems to be loving it. He's in a classroom with kids that are more at his level, and that's allowing him to keep working and stay focused on doing a great job like he always does. He misses his buddies, but he's already made new friends, went to a party this past weekend, and has really adjusted well. One of my favorite parts of the new situation is that I get to ride bikes with Luke to school and home from school every day. It gives us about 10 minutes each way of time for just the two of us, which is so precious.

Kristin and I had a really hard time with this decision, but in the end it was the right one. The older we get, the harder it becomes to change from our patterns. But as you'll see later in this post, we got a chance for spontaneity over the summer.

Luke is playing guitar, he's learned parts of Enter Sandman, Back in Black, Smoke on the Water, Simple Man and Iron Man among others. He's a gifted young man. He's showing a renewed interest in playing baseball again, and asked if I could set up some golf lessons and take him up to the course to play. I'll definitely do that, and look forward to spending time with him out on the course.

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Claire has probably had the least amount of change over the past 11 months. Her school year had the typical bumps that comes with 6th grade. Feelings of being left out, girls being nasty to her, spending LOTS of time on her hair and nails in particular...all things Claire has been dealing with. 7th grade seems to have started out better than 6th ended, so I am hopeful that her friends have moved through their phase of exclusion, are all more comfortable with themselves, and can get back to being nice girls to each other. Claire made the 7th/8th grade volleyball team, she was very excited about that. She an excellent athlete, so it wasn't a surprise to the rest of us.

Claire also had a terrific travel basketball season. She grew a lot, figuratively, over the course of the season. She played a lot of minutes, against excellent talent, and played well. She was named the MVP of one tournament, repeated as the State of Florida free throw champ in her age group (made 60 out of 65), and her team made it to the state championship. I don't know how long she's going to continue to want to play travel hoops though. As she's getting a little older, the distraction of hair, nails, boys, etc. seems to be drawing her away a little. Obviously that sort of bums me out because I enjoy watching her play so much. But as long as she sticks with it at school, I guess that's OK.

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Olivia has experienced the most change since my last post, and it's been a whirlwind for her since about April of this year. She graduated from St. Francis in May, preceded by a graduation dance and a class trip to Busch Gardens. I was fortunate to be able to chaperone on that trip...what a blessing. I got to watch her have so much fun with her friends. It allowed me to remember back fondly to my 8th grade trip, running around the park with my friends, kings of the hill in our own minds. That's how she looked and seemed to me, and it was great.

After the dance we had about 20 kids over to our house. They were all very nice, and it was a great way to culminate the 10 years she spent with many of these kids at SFX. There were several kids I have known since they were 3 or 4 years old at our house. They were just babies back then. There was one boy left once everyone else left, his mother was late picking him up. I sat and talked with him for about 20 minutes. That's when it hit me how much they had grown. We talked about baseball and music, high school, vacations and things like that. Olivia sat on the couch and kind of just listened, I wondered what she was thinking about. She had been crying when I got to the gym to pick her up. I thought something was wrong, but it turns out she didn't want it to end because she knew her time at SFX was basically over. I'm glad that SFX provided so many great feelings for her, and I'm glad we were able to make that happen.

At her graduation, the principal and assistant principal stood and gave academic awards up on the altar. There were a couple of special awards, for different things. Then a representative from Bishop Verot High School, where Olivia now attends, came to the altar. He was presenting an award to a student that exemplified leadership, Christian values, determination and all the values you would want your child to have. It is named after a former teacher at Verot. As he was talking, it struck me...he's describing Olivia! When he was just about to announce the winner, I had this flush feeling come over me, I knew it had to be her. Sure enough, he said Olivia Woolam, and all the people in the church began a loud applause. Several of Olivia's teachers began to tear up. It felt so good for her, and for Kristin and I obviously. It was such a superb way to end her SFX life, and so well deserved.

Olivia immediately started playing basketball with our Verot team, going to camps over the summer at the University of Tampa and The University of Miami. She played well, and fit in with the team. One of the seniors had a team sleepover, and Olivia joined them. She's doing wonderfully with the team, and I'm sure she will continue to thrive.

School started for Olivia a couple of weeks ago, and she has experienced so much already. They had a freshman retreat, where they do service work, spend time with each other and seniors, play some games and sleep on campus at school. The next day there is a mass, with parents included. She was so EXCITED, even after the retreat!! She told us all about it, some of the new kids she met, etc. Last Friday was the first home football game, which we all attended. I enjoyed sitting and just getting to spend some time talking with my beautiful wife, while the kids ran all around the stadium. It was nice. The next night, Olivia went to her first high school dance, TWIRP. The girls ask the guys to this dance, and sure enough Olivia asked a boy she didn't know 3 weeks ago. Overall she had a fun time she says, even though she was introduced to high school girl behavior when someone started flirting with the boy she asked. Such is life in high school.


That's life with the kids right now. I've left off so many things that they have said or done over the past 11 months, too many to recount here. But they are in my heart. They are so beautiful, all three of them. They seem happy, they care for others, and each other. They are my lifeblood. I love how they think they can do anything (and they can), they always see the good in others, in things, in circumstances. They are wonderful role models.

End of the First Quarter

WOW! What a first couple of months of the 2012-2013 school year! Luke joined boy scouts, as you can see above. He already has competed in the rain gutter regatta, had a camping trip (no we didn't spend the night), and several meetings. He's really enjoying it, because all of his close "bros" are involved as well. He's playing soccer, and loving it. Again, most of his close buds are on the team, and I'm coaching along with a couple of his friend's Dads, and everyone is having a great time.

As for school, he's totally killing it. His reading skills are off the charts, and he writes even better. I was blessed to be able to substitute in his class for a week - what an eye opener! I laughed, I cried, laughed and cried some more. Several of the other teachers said they heard I was doing a great job, and I really tried to soak it all in. How many chances do you get to teach your kid's class for a whole week? I took a picture of all of them during a lesson, I'd like to write a little about each one and see where they are 7 years from now when they graduate.

Speaking of graduating from St. Francis, Olivia aced her grades and earned Franciscan honors for the first quarter. She was one of three kids to earn it in 8th grade. That's two quarters in a row for her, she has really set a high bar for herself. She also went to the high school where she will probably go for a day to learn about the school. She qualified to take the PSAT along with about 50 other 8th graders from Fort Myers. Her basketball season starts at SFX next week, and I know she's excited. She's been shooting 100 3's a day in the driveway and making about 45% - that's awesome!!

Claire hit the ground running in middle school, and also earned Franciscan honors. She was the only 6th grader to achieve that level. Claire has had some friend issues this quarter, like many other middle schoolers do. But she has handled them with grace, as far as we know, and was awarded the St Francis Award - which is given to someone who displays a Christ like attitude. We are very proud of her efforts both with her work and her character.

As for Claire's sports, she was one of the leaders of the school volleyball team, which went undefeated! Claire seems to be enjoying volleyball more and more. I'm glad she's having fun. Her travel basketball team open gyms have also started. The coach said she will probably get a good amount of time. She has definitely improved over the past 12 months and I hope this year is a good experience for her.

That's about it right now, everyone is in a good groove, and the BV basketball season starts tonight. The CEO got some good news about her workload lightening some, which is great. I've started to plan our cross country trip as well, so excited about that!

Here's to keeping things rolling in the right direction :)

A Tri Weekend

This past weekend was one of firsts for our family. We've been training since July for the Captiva Triathlon; doing family bike rides, running in the street in front of our house, swimming together at lunch and after work. We had some really good times doing the training, particularly on the bike rides when we were able to share our daily activities and thoughts. What a blessing those times together were!

The weekend started with Luke's race; 100 yard swim, 1.5 mile bike and half mile run. He was excited to do it, and had done a nice job with his training. He was a little concerned about the swim, thinking sharks or other sea creatures might get him. As the race was beginning, and his wave was preparing to enter the water, he completely freaked out about his goggles. He wouldn't get in the water, and his wave took off. Claire came over and yelled at him to get in the water, I snatched her goggles from her and gave them to Luke, and he dashed into the water. He swam wonderfully, and came out of the water ready to rock the bike. When he came back in, he was starting to look a little tired, but he headed out for the run. A couple times on the run he threw his hands up as if to say "how much longer can I go??" Well, he sucked it up, and crossed the finish line to grab his medal in a total time of about 20 minutes - awesome!

Next came Claire's race; 200 yard swim, 3 mile bike and a 1 mile run. Before the race started, a local news crew saw Claire and interviewed her about the race. We didn't know it at the time, but they followed her throughout the race, and interviewed her again at the end of the race. She'll be highlighted in a show about the race, in a couple weeks, she's gonna eat that up! When the race started, she went bananas on the swim, blowing by people right and left. After taking forever to get out of transition because she was taking so long drying her feet, she hopped on her bike and rode away. She started the run slightly ahead of her classmate, but her passed her on the run course. Even so, she had a great first tri, finishing in just over 25 minutes, way under her expected time!

Sunday brought the adult race, and Olivia's first shot at an adult tri (1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike, 5k run). Grandpop did it too, his first tri after 80. And it was my first tri that I would do with Olivia. Grandpop started in the first wave, Olivia in the 3rd, and I started in the 5th. As I watched her talking with another younger girl, I was so proud of her. She's so willing to take on new challenges, and has a quiet confidence that she will conquer it. I entered the water wanting to catch her as soon as I could, and that propelled me to a great swim time. I exited South Seas, racing down Captiva, along the Gulf, soaking in the beautiful scenery. I caught her about a third of the way on the bike, and pushed her as best I could. She did fantastic. We passed Grandpop at around the 7 mile mark, saw an awesome osprey right before we pulled back into transition, and jogged out onto the run course.

The run is always a battle of attrition for almost every triathlete. I knew this would be the same for Olivia, so I tried my best to keep her positive. I also wanted her to keep pushing herself though, to enjoy the views of the gulf, to enjoy all the hard work she had put in. She kept pushing, and was doing fantastic, but she started to have some stomach problems. But she fought through it, and crossed the finish line at 1:32:00!! Almost 15 minutes faster than we expected! I gave her a big hug after we crossed the line, and we walked to grab our medals. Grandpop finished about 15 minutes later! Olivia and Grandpop both got trophies for their performance, which was pretty neat. The oldest and the youngest people in the race were both Woolams, and champions!

It was a great weekend with everyone, including the CEO, Grandmom and Oma cheering us all on. It was a beautiful setting, doing healthy things, and doing them together as a family....it doesn't get any better than that!!

We are a month into the school year, and things are running pretty smoothly so far. It's a year of change and transition for everyone, and each is doing a nice job of managing the transition.

Luke is thriving in first grade, and he gets to see Grandpop pretty regularly in class thanks to Gpa's reading assignments. he got his hair cut, and likes it quite a bit because he "can hear better", since the hair has been cut away from his ears. He has joined the cub scouts...first meeting this week! He's not in the same class as his two closest friends, and thus wanted to carry around pictures of them so he didn't miss them as much. He's preparing for his first triathlon this weekend, and he's been swimming, running and riding his bike regularly. He's such a great little guy!

Claire is in 6th grade, dealing with middle school and all that goes with it. She is doing fantastic with her grades, and doesn't seem sucked into the middle school drama, just yet. She tried out for and made the volleyball team, and is no doubt one of the leaders of the club. They just played their first game against the school rival, winning in three sets...she was the point leader for the team. Claire is also doing her first tri this weekend, and is very nervous about the swim. She's been training hard and will do fantastic, because that's who she is.

Then there is Olivia. 8th grade. Queen of the Hill. It's her 10th year at St. Francis, how does the time go so fast?? She is really coming into her own as a person it seems. She has always been confident, but now she seems comfortable with who she is. And that's great, because she is a wonderful young lady. Of course she's doing well with her grades, and she's learning lessons about trust and loyalty with her friends. she has been training hard for the same triathlon, although she's doing the adult race with me. She's nervous for sure, but she'll be fine, because she's got a tough determination. I got to ride with Olivia on a training ride for about 90 minutes, and she talked about school, girls and boys in her class, Halloween parties, basketball, you name it. How much fun for me to get to listen to her sharing about her life. I sure hope that never changes.

I'm so proud of all three, how they attack their challenges and enjoy the ride. I'm so lucky to be able to share in their lives. Keep after it guys!

Goodbye to Summer 2012

Summer 2012 is over tonight. The kids are shown above, celebrating the wonderful 10 weeks with their End Of Summer Cake on "Eat Anything You Want Day" to end the summer. I find it so hard to capture all of the feelings that happen on a day to day basis when writing, even when I make regular entries. This will probably be no different.

The Bear spent much of the summer bowling with me and her brother, as she didn't do any camps this summer. She did work on her scrapbook, and she spent three weeks in the Poconos with Gma and Gpa. She seemed to miss the family more than usual when she spent her time in the mountains without us. She and her brother spent hour upon hour together this summer, playing in the house, riding bikes together, bowling (high score 147!), you name it. They are so tight. It was a good summer for her, I think she needed a break from the stress that she puts on herself regarding basketball and school. It was good time spent, just kind of hanging out, relaxing, spending time with her family, and preparing for middle school. I can't believe I just wrote that. Claire is in middle school. Wow. Anyway, I know she's nervous, but like most things, she'll knock it out of the park. As O said about Claire, borrowing from an Olympics commercial this summer "When you meet Claire, you better tighten your skates." So true. She had a wonderful time in the Poconos with Gma and Gpa. They spent almost two weeks up there with them, and for the most part, everything went well. I think Claire missed home, she never said that, but she called a lot. We of course missed her too.

The Tornado had a very busy summer, and one I think he really enjoyed. He started by taking a two week swim lesson through the city swim program. He swam laps for about an hour a day, for four weeks. He's excited about preparing for his triathlon in September, and was thrilled to learn the different strokes in class. He had so much fun, he asked to sign up again, so we gave him two more weeks of it. He might not be a lot better than he was when he started, but he's a lot more confident, and that will definitely help him in the race. He bowled a lot (high score 117!) with his sister as mentioned above, along with doing pretty much everything with her. We put up a tent in the living room and they slept in there for about a week and a half. They loved it! A little later in the summer he went to golf camp for a week. He seems to like the game of golf, and was the only guy to hit a "bomb" over the creek - nice job buddy! He spent a week in the Poconos with the rest of us, and soaked up every minute of it. Jumping off "da branch", playing horseshoes, swimming at Blakeslee trail, tubing and jumping off the rope swing into the Lehigh River, jumping off the waterfalls at Hawks Falls, riding rides at Knoebels amusement park, and just hanging in the woods behind the house - simple but great fun! A great way to end the summer.

Then there's O. What a different summer from years past. First, she just SEEMS older. He mannerisms, her actions, what she talks about, all have the feel of a real teenager, which she is! She spent two weeks as a counselor in training at Sanibel Sea School. She was the youngest counselor, so she spent much of the time hanging out with kids that are in high school and even college. She got a lot out of it though, and I think working with a lot of young kids really opened her eyes. She worked out with the high school basketball team in June as well, doing all the drills and scrimmages. She held her own pretty well too, I'm looking forward to having her in the gym permanently. She also spent two weeks in the Poconos with my parents by herself, riding horses, and doing all the other great stuff I mentioned above. She bowled a little too, not nearly as much as the other two kids. She's very excited to start 8th grade, hard to believe her years at SFX are coming to a close.

We didn't go on any unique or different trips this summer, we did spend the one week in the mountains, which was great. We watched the Olympics together quite a bit as a family. That was a lot of fun, watching young people chase their dreams and watching my kids imitate the athletes in and around the house. It was a very special summer. I got to spend a lot of time with the younger two, and some good days with O. And really, that's what makes me happiest...getting to spend time with them, have fun with them, workout with them, do work around the house with them, and play with them, that's what I love the most.

  

Dobryi Vecher

O was at a friends house tonight,Bear and the CEO putting together a scrap book, leaving the Tornado and I to hang by ourselves. He made a 3D Hulk movie for Cooper to watch, by throwing himself around the den, beating up pillows, jumping off the sofa and crushing stuffed animals. Cooper enjoyed it thoroughly.

I was updating some music, and was listening to some hair bands, and Metallica. I decided to pull up the 'Sandman' video from Russia on YouTube and listen to and watch that. The Tornado came up and watched it with me, asking where the concert was. I told him it was in Russia, and he asked if Russian people speak English. I said some do, but they have their own language. He then asked how they could understand the song, which is in English. I guessed they just know the English version of the song, but I honestly have no clue.

Then he asks what the Russian language sounds like, so I called up a teaching video on the language. He learned a couple phrases, such as the one above (Good evening). He really enjoyed learning the words, and repeating them to the CEO.

Hey, look at that, another first!

I just love his curiosity though, such a sponge.

Firsts

The girls and I at their first NBA game - Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers, Eastern Conference Semifinals, May 2012

Yes, I've been negligent in making any "end of school" posts. The school year ended with O earning the highest academic honors at school, Bear making first honors, and the Tornado bringing home an excellent report on his development. I played in the very uncomfortable teacher vs 7th grade year end volleyball game per O's request. I actually hit the ball back several times, and was thus deemed to have "dominated" the youngsters, while simultaneously receiving grief from other teachers for taking it too easy. It was an excellent school year for all three kids, with your normal peaks and valleys, more peaks than valleys, and they all ended on a high note.

Bear's travel team ended their season on a disappointing note, losing in the state semifinals by 1 point. Bear didn't play as much as she would have liked, but overall it was a good experience for her.

But what I really wanted to touch on today was "firsts". The Tornado started his first swimming lessons this week as he prepares for his triathlon in September. The girls both knew how to swim by his age, and were swimming laps regularly. But this was his first go at it, and I sat there this morning on the pool deck in amazement. No, not at how good he is at swimming, he's probably the slowest swimmer in the class. But rather in awe of the excitement, anxiety, and joy there is in doing something for the first time.  He gets in the pool, listens to the instructions, and off he goes. I said to O as she watched too today, "he's working his tail off in there".

When he reaches the edge, he look up for approval. He looks right at me, no smile, no frown, just staring, waiting. I don't know if it's because he's my last child, or what the reason might be, but I look at him looking at me and think, how can I give him anything but a vote of confidence? No matter how slow, no matter how improper his stroke. He's killing himself in there, as Grandpop would say 'doing the best he can at that very moment', he deserves to see a thumbs up and a smile. So that's what he got. And that's what he gave right back to me.

He had to do 75 yards, non-stop, for the first time today. With flip turns...lol. I bet the girls he could do it in under 5 minutes (yes I know that's painfully long for a 75 yard swim). Darn if he didn't try to do the stinkin' flip turns, all while taking 4:44 to swim the distance. When he got out he exclaimed that was the first time he had swam that far, and that he's almost ready for the tri! These are his first swim lessons, preparing for his first tri - and he's doing everything he can to be ready. Because when you are doing something for the first time, you want to give your best. You want to excel, you want to challenge yourself. There's real fulfillment in that, it gives your spirit strength.

Last night O came to BV to practice with the high school team. She's been before, but hasn't really played in the scrimmages with us. Last night was her first scrimmage against high school kids. Did she have all the same feelings the Tornado has in his swim lessons? You bet she does. Is she excited? Is she anxious? Does she want to look good in front of her peers and her Dad? Yes, yes and yes. Unfortunately for her, as mentioned above, I treat her and her sister differently. Maybe in the long run it will be to their benefit. But I'm so much harder on them. I gave her a pretty hard time on the floor, and in the car on the way home. I did give her some praise as she improved throughout the game, but it wasn't a 50/50 praise to criticism ratio, that's for sure. I'll need to be more aware of this going forward, to give them more confidence and not be fearful of making mistakes. And maybe I need to push the Tornado a little more, or at least that's what Bear thinks.

But it's not all about firsts for the kids, and that's the real point of this post. This week is the first time I got to see my last child learn how to swim. I remember teaching O how to swim, I remember the dive sticks in the pool in Gateway and how everyday after work she would want to get in and go for them. I remember Ms. Vicki standing, arms clenched, cheering her on in her first race. I presume I'll remember this week long after it has passed too.

I remember my first high school basketball tryout (a disaster resulting in getting cut and a lonely subway ride back to Jersey). On senior night I'll remember last night, watching O struggle, and remembering her emotions.

When we all do the tri in September, I'll remember it as the first for Tornado and Bear, and the first adult race for O. I'll remember it for it being them all doing one with me.

I'm often bummed by the kids growing up so fast. I sometimes feel that since they aren't little anymore, there aren't any "new" moments to revel in. Sitting on the pool deck today I realized that's just not true. It might not be daily, but there are moments and events happening all the time that I can celebrate - I might just have to pay a little more attention! Thanks guys for giving me so many joyful moments watching you grow, and helping me grow!