Sunday, June 21, 2009

What's Been Going On

Wow, 3 weeks goes by seriously fast, does it not? My Dad left after my niece's graduation weekend and my Mom and Step dad came to visit for a week. My mom is doing so well I am just amazed. I am also giving great praise to God for her health and I made sure I enjoyed every minute possible of her visit instead of taking it for granted. The two young boys and my niece went back to Phoenix with Granny and Papaw for a two week visit. They will be returning by plane late Tuesday night. I think they have had a great time, but they are ready to come home too. I do know that my mom has enjoyed having them very much. Her grandchildren make her so happy and she loves to have them to herself to spoil. I am sure by the end of this two weeks she will be tired though. I am quite enjoying the noiseless and clean house. I am also enjoying spending some reconnecting time with my hubby. It is like a foresight into the future empty nest. Still, I am not quite ready for that and I look forward to their return soon.

L1 has been enjoying his time brother free. He has been busy working (lifeguard) and hanging out with friends and swimming summer league. He has had an awesome season. He qualified for the Ponderosa Invitational (next weekend) in every single event. Ponderosa is the regional invitational meet for the fastest swimmers from about 14,000 swimmers in the area. He broke 3 team records in the 100 Free. He got 1st place in the 100 Free at a local invitational meet out of about 45 boys (15-18) and he placed 2nd highest point scorer for his age group at the same invitational. He swam 7 events (2 firsts, 2 seconds, 2 thirds and 1 fourth place). Yesterday was the divisional meet and he took a first in the 100 free, second in the 100 IM and third in the 50 butterfly. Today was the team award party and he got the high point award for 15-18 boys, the highest accumulative points ever scored by a member of the team, and a very special award called the Chris Marrione award. This award was started to honor Chris Marrione who was a Gator swimmer with great enthusiasm, leadership, character and sportsmanship. He died of leukemia when he was a sophomore and still a member of the team. It is voted on by the coaches and Luke was unanimously voted to receive the award. I was so very proud of him. The real bummer is that he was not at the awards party, he was at work. We had no idea he was going to receive the award. I went to the party when it was almost over to pick up his trophy and I found out he had received it. It really is quite an honor. I only wish he and I were there to hear the announcement.

Huck, Dudley and Frankie are all three just off antibiotics treatment. Huck and Dudley acquired a upper respiratory infection at the kennel and Frankie had a skin infection and a gash in his tail from a wayward palm tree barb. They seem to have recovered well, but they are also not enjoying the heat. If they are outside, Huck and Dudley are sure to be in the pool trying to get cool and Frankie is just trying to get back in the house.


We are soon headed to Colorado for hubby's brother's wedding on the fourth. We are going to do a side trip to Winterpark to enjoy the summer activities there like the alpine slide, mountain biking and rock climbing. I am looking forward to going to get a break from the intense heat we are having this year. It has been so hot so early that it is almost unbearable to do anything outside from mid-morning till sunset. We are also quite dry and could really use some major rainfall. I don't have another triathlon until August, but still I am training and the heat is just zapping my energy and motivation.

L1 and I have 2 more college visits planned in July as well. July 18th we are headed to the University of Texas and July 30th we are headed to California to visit Cal State Northridge and Hollywood and Magic Mountain while we are there. Then it will be decision time for him as early applications can go out as soon as September.

That is about it from here. I hope you all are enjoying the summer.

Peace Out!

Tri-Vet

Monday, June 1, 2009

Where Have I Been?!

Oh, I know it has been so long and just where have I been? I couldn't really tell you. Time goes by just as fast even when you are not on the computer every minute.

This past week was very busy. I spent last weekend painting the guest room and tearing down the old entertainment center and generally getting ready for my father to get here. He flew down to go to my niece's graduation last Friday. Anyway, the room had not been repainted since we first moved in, so it was definitely time. Here are a few pics of the color. It is kind of hard to tell true color from a picture, but it is kind of a golden tan and the name of it is Covered Wagon. I also bought a newer and much smaller entertainment center, as the kids use the guest room as a gaming/tv room. It makes the room look much bigger!

This is a picture of the new color and in the corner is the old color (kind of a light gray/blue).


Here are my "boys" keeping guard outside the guest room door. Dudley is in front and Huck is in back.







I was so excited for my niece to graduate. You would think she was my daughter. I don't know why, except she is the oldest grandchild and so the start of a new generation of high school graduates. She is going to attend Sam Houston State University and major in psychology. Yes, she does plan on going on and getting her masters and PhD and becoming a clinical psychologist. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the weekend.

My sister and niece.



The new graduate/college student.


My Dad and I at the graduation.


My sister, my mom and I. Can you believe how good my mom looks? She is doing so well on her road to recovery back from death's grasp this past winter.



Hubby and I also had our 22 year anniversary this Saturday. It was kind of lost in the graduation, but he did get me a hitch and a bike rack for my car. Ahhh, romantic gifts, you gotta love 'em! Anyway, it was a perfect gift for this wife of his!

I am now getting the guestroom ready for my mom and step dad to visit. My dad left today and they will be here on Wednesday. So, I have one day turnaround to have the room ready! Whew! My poor Dad lost his wallet while he was here and so he had to call and cancel all his credit cards and then he had to have his wife fax him a copy of his marriage license and his birth certificate so he could fly back home without picture ID. If any of you have ever had something like this happen, you know what a pain it really is.

L1 seems to be over his mono. Did I even tell you he had mono? Well, the fever and sore throat he had turned out to be mono. We were expecting a very long convalescent period, but he seemed to have snapped out of it rather quickly for mono (2 1/2 weeks) and he is setting records in the pool in the 100 free every weekend so far.

School is winding down and all three boys are excited. I feel like I'm not quite ready for summer yet. I just don't know that I have it all planned out and that is the way I roll, so I need to get some things scheduled. We still have at least two more college visits to make. The visit to UT-Austin is scheduled for July 18th, but I still need to set up a visit to Cal State-Northridge for some time this summer. We also want to speak with the swim coach when we go there.

I am planning a trip for my birthday already though. I have always wanted to go to Greece. I wanted to go for my honeymoon and hubby did not. Then, I wanted to go for our 20 year anniversary, but hubby did not. A friend of mine that lives in Italy was supposed to move back to the states this year, but she is not, SO, we are planning to meet up in Athens and do our own tour of the Greek Islands. I can hardly wait. I just got my plane ticket today and we are planning to spend a couple days each on four different islands. Tentatively, those stops will be Athens, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. OMG, I am so excited and I can't believe I am finally going to get to go. I have always been in love with the pictures I have seen of Greece. I also have to say I have the BEST hubby in the world who is so supportive of me going and even gave me some miles for my flight!! Thank you honey!!!

Well, that about sums up where I have been lately. I continue to train and I have a triathlon this Sunday. I am spending less time on the computer and it really does make a difference in my family life. I am finding that I don't miss it as much the longer I stay away. I stay up to date with everyone through facebook, since I only have an hour a day, and that helps. The only thing is, people do miss me. That is a really nice feeling too. I just need to find the happy medium between the two extremes and I will eventually. So, thanks for reading and I will try and get on a more regular schedule.

Peace Out!
Tri-vet