Summer 2013. Where Did You Go?

So after adding the last blog post I realized I didn't post anything all summer long.  Mostly because we were so busy, I guess.  So now that it's unofficially fall and school is back in session I thought "hey, why not update the blog?"  :)  Warning: this will be LONG.

Summer was spent mostly swimming.  Not so much leisurely at the pool but more at daily morning practices for Max for both swim teams.  I loved our routine of early morning drives to the pool and stopping for slushies afterward while singing tunes at the top of our lungs.  We got to do a bit of traveling for the long course season with the Sharks; we spent a few days in Oxford at a meet at Miami University where Max scored tons of ribbons and won a high point award for 8U boys.  Big time!  :)  We also got to spend several nights in Bowling Green at BGSU for the Ohio Regional Championships.  This meet was really for kids 9 and up and we didn't expect Max to make it beyond prelims for any of the events but he surprised us all when he qualified for finals in EVERYTHING!  He earned more ribbons/medals, had fun decorating Coach Lee's hotel room door, spent quality time with his teammates and learned what it takes to win at big state meets.

For his summer club Max also did great things... his goal was to break the 25m butterfly record which was set back in 2003.  He did it!  On his first try at his first meet.  During the 6 week season he also broke the record for the 25m backstroke that was set in 2004 and the 100m IM.  He was so pleased.  During the end of the season ceremony he was awarded with three really cool plaques for breaking three records, 4 trophies for winning all 4 events at the championship meet, and he was named the MVP.  (Should that be MVS?)  :)  It was quite a summer for swimming for Max!

Friends:  Carson, Max, Laura, Nora and Joe.  You rarely saw them without each other.

Max getting his record-breaking awards from Coach John.

Posing with his "bling".

So from my last post you all know we moved.  What I didn't really write about was what happened in the week prior...

To make a long story short, I fractured my pelvis in three places and tore a muscle... running.  No, I didn't fall.  I didn't get into an accident.  I just ran as I have for years and years and years (which is the problem, so I have learned).  No more 50-60 miles, 7 days a week running for me.  It's been 5.5 weeks since it happened and I have 6.5 weeks to go before I can even think about trying to run again.  Until then it was rest, rest, rest.  I have just started riding a recumbent (i.e. BORING) bike every morning for 30 min and even though it's not nearly as great as being outdoors and running I will take it!  I sweat, my heart rate goes up, and I just feel better mentally being able to do it.  I also bought a new elliptical trainer, even though I have never used on before, because once 12 weeks are up I'm only "allowed" to run 3-4 days a week.  I need to find other things to do on the other days of the week.  My right leg has atrophied pretty badly but I'll be ok.  I'm hanging in there at least.  I was on crutches for 3 weeks, one crutch during week 4 and now have moved to a cane, which unfortunately brings a lot of stares with it when I'm in public.  Rude people.  I wanna smack them with it!  This was all really poor timing too because I couldn't help Chris pack much at all.  Thankfully we have parents and friends who were willing to jump in and help when they could!  xo

So then school started.  Max had to move to a new school this year since we moved.  That means a lot of transition for him right now... new house, new school, new bus, new schedule, sending Daisy to "foster care" with friends, etc.  He had anxiety for about three weeks; he woke up every night scared.  Now that we are in a routine things are better though.  He has an awesome teacher this year, Mr. Knightstep.  We have heard that Max will never have another teacher this great his entire career in school.  That's huge!  Third grade is a giant leap from second, too.  His work is tough and the teachers aren't as forgiving.  He's going strong after the first week and has made new friends, too!

In front of his new classroom during an open house.

His new school!

"Lifting" his new school.

First day of 3rd grade!!

Walking to the bus stop. Please notice his first day outfit he chose.  

Here comes the bus!  (see my shadow and the crutch?  dang.)

So that's it, right?  Lots of news this summer.  I'm sure the next several months will be filled with posts about our new home that is being built... and more swimming.  The new season started last night.  

Happy start of fall!

Moving Day.

Adios, Springboro Road.  You gave us 4 good years but frankly I'm done with you.  I thought I would be sad to leave this home since we put so much energy into the design of it but I walked away without shedding a tear.  Max, on the other hand, sobbed and sobbed as we were stuffing our last load into the car and Chris said he had a bit of a breakdown on his last trip down the driveway (but I think that was more from exhaustion due to all the packing and my lack of help thanks to three broken bones in my pelvis... blah).

The things I love about this home are really just my memories, and those I get to take with me!!  We are really excited to get back into a neighborhood where Max can make friends, learn to ride a bike (yes, LEARN.  We are bad parents), we can take a walk together, etc.  The things we thought we would love about this house turned out to be the things we liked the least!  Mowing three acres is a lot of work!  And with a super busy schedule who has time to weed all the beds in a yard that size?  We thought we would love having a tree line in the back but really it was just a mess and too much work and expense to maintain.  We constantly went without power; it seems like any time it stormed a huge tree would fall onto those power lines that crawled up and down our street and we would be without for sometimes days.  And when we were without power that meant we were also without water... which leads me to the thing I disliked most about country living... well water!  I was always worried about it- the quantity, quality, cleanliness, etc.  It felt like an unnecesary struggle, even though it really was "fine".

I don't mean to sound like a total complainer though!  The home was beautiful and was designed solely by Chris with love.  So many of our wishes went into that home and we made great memories there.  Max was 4 when we moved in and 8 when we moved out.  Those are good years in a kid's life!  We will always have those memories.

On the last day we had China Cottage together at the bar one last time, snapped a few pics, and headed to Grandma's where we will spend the next several months while our next home is being built.

So thanks for the memories, Springboro Road... but we are moving on!

 (last jump on the trampoline with Esme)

 (just Max.  Playing the iPad on the last piece of furniture)

 (the moving truck)

 (an empty great room)

 (the master bedroom, empty)

 (one last capture of the study)

(Max watching a movie on the iPad before we said goodbye)

Last Day of Second Grade, 2013

It's been about a week and two days since summer break began and I'm just now finding time to post Max's "first day vs. last day" photos.  I can't believe how much he has grown this last year!  I also can't believe we have only been out of school for 9 days.  We have been so busy that it feels as though a month has passed.  Thankfully it hasn't...

Cheers to the end of a great school year and the start of a long, slow summer...

Walt Disney World!

I wish I would have blogged about our awesome trip to Disney World as soon as we got back home rather than waiting three weeks...  back then I was still on the "vacation high" and probably had lots to say.  Now though I just feel hurried... boo!

We had such an awesome time in Orlando!  The weather was perfectly "Florida hot" and sunny our entire trip.  

Friday we arrived at Old Key West Resort.  Our room was so charming!  It was right by a bus stop to all the theme parks and just a short walk to the pool, club house, restaurants, etc.  You know Disney, they go all out to make you feel like you are actually in the area of the country represented by the resort, so even though I have never been to Key West I sure felt like that's where I was staying.  

Our first evening we headed to Downtown Disney via boat to eat and sight see and then took advantage of the late pool hours to swim.  Saturday morning we were up and at 'em early, early to get to Magic Kingdom when it opened.  We spent all day going from ride to ride to ride making sure we did every little thing Max wanted to do, and even a few things he didn't want to do (ahem, Carousel of Progress...).  Four years ago he was in love with Splash Mountain but this year he's favorites were easily Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain.  Those were ridden several times in a row.  There were a lot of things that Max thought were "too babyish" for him though.  He is a thrill ride kind of guy!  Even so, we were at Magic Kingdom from open until close and saw/did it all!  The day ended with the electrical parade down Main Street USA.  Max chose a Goofy stuffed animal as his souvenir and held him tightly as he watched the parade go by.

Sunday morning we decided to give Epcot a try.  Last time we were in Orlando we did Hollywood Studios so this time we thought we'd do something different.  (Afterward we wished we had done Hollywood again though)  At Epcot Max got to meet Goofy and ride a ton of fun rides.  We soared over California,  visited Space a couple times, designed our own simulated roller coaster using physics, and so much more.  We also explored all the different countries in Epcot and decided Germany was our favorite because they had so much great candy!  Max had a caricature done in France that was really fun and I think was the highlight of the day for Chris for some reason.  The only thing we didn't get to do was ride the Chevy Test Track as it was closed.  Dang.

Monday was our pool day at the resort.  And we were there alllll day.  We rented a pedal boat (what a leg workout), spent the day swimming, and Max got to participate in a lot of fun games on the pool deck as part of the day.  A "cold front" came through that morning so it was only 80 degrees that day, too.  Joy!  I think one of our favorite things was getting those drink refills a gazillion times.  Had to get our moneys worth, after all!  Later that night we took the boat back to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping and fun at the Lego store.  Fun place!  

Tuesday morning we headed back to the airport and said goodbye to our vacation.  Max cried.  It was hard to go back home.  We had such a great trip and made many memories!  We are looking forward to the next time we can get away...

Here are MANY pictures to look at, in no particular order (again, because I feel too hurried to organize)

Spring Break 2013 - Destin, FL

Ahhh... spring break.  Man, we needed one this year.  It is April 5th and it's STILL winter in Ohio.  Max had his winter coat on for school today, I had to wear winter running clothes including gloves and ear warmers, and not a flower or leaf is in bloom.  We have had winter since October, for real.  (remember the sleet on Halloween folks?)  So for a trip to spring weather, we were ready!

We left after school on Friday and made our pit stop in Nashville.  This time we decided to stay for two night so we could catch a Vanderbilt baseball game on Saturday evening.  Chris had a great time showing Max where he played, telling him about the differences to the field now, and even running into an old teammate while we were there.

Sunday we left for Destin... destination, the Plasiers.  We always have a great time with them.  The kids play so well together and Max and Brody are just one year apart, so they have a lot in common.  Plus Carrie and Eric know all the unique, local things to do and are just great hosts, always!

The first three days in FL were chilly (but better than the snow that arrived at home) so we did non-beachy things... we had fun getting in a "spring training" hitting and baserunning practice for the boys at a field in Destin, took them to The Track where they got to drive go-carts, race bumper boats, crash bumper cars, play mini golf and more, visited friends staying at a nearby condo for swimming in their heated pool and even got to be the very first kids EVER to be allowed to visit the Meyer Skimboard Co. in Miramar Beach- the kids got to pick out and paint their very own skimboards (in which they put to good use on Thursday and Friday at the beach).  We also spent a day at Baytowne Wharf where Max did the unthinkable and climbed a really tall ropes course all the way to the top and rang the bell.   It was really fun!

Max out on the plank, ringing the bell!

The latter days of the week were PERFECTLY warm.  We spent lazy mornings playing video games and getting ready for the beach.  On Friday we even set up an egg hunt for them in the sand using eggs they colored earlier in the week as well as plastic eggs buried with coins so they could use Brody's metal detector to find them.  Then we spent all afternoon just lounging in the sand while the boys kayaked, made sand castles, threw a football, learned to skimboard, etc.  Ahhhh.  If only I lived there!!!  

Thursday night the three of us headed to Watercolor Inn and Resort for family photos taken by Red Stone Photography.  I was relieved to give control over our pictures to someone else.  No more setting a timer and running for me! :)  We spent time exploring the cute little town and beautiful resort as well as shopping a little bit in Seaside then met Carrie and the kids for dinner at a fun place called Elmo's on 30A.  

us, jumping at sunset

On Saturday it was time to head home but we convinced Chris to let us have one more beach morning. So from 9:30-12 we beached it again!  Then we went home, showered, packed up and headed north to Nashville for the night... wishing the whole time we could turn back and spend more time with our friends.

It was a much needed break.  We came  home with a lot of memories and a little sun... and proposals of doing it all over again next year.

Now... just 30-some days till Disney and only 8 weeks of school left!!!  Wow!  Here comes summer... (wonder if Ohio will have a spring first?)