Memories on the shelf

I'm going to try to get caught up with the blog, as I've fallen so far behind that it's overwhelming to think of all the things I have to share from the past 4+ months. I know I don't have too many folks out there that are reading this anymore--perhaps because I go months without updating--but really, the main reason I'm still updating is this photo below. This is my bookshelf, which holds 12 years of family memories, shared through this blog. I still believe this is my single best decision I made as a parent, to document our family memories on this blog, and to have it printed each year. I've been wondering a lot lately about how much longer I should keep this up. As you can tell by my 4 month backlog, it's getting harder and harder to keep up to date. Also, things just don't seem to be that interesting anymore. As kids get older, there seems to be less to write about--and this just turns into a trapeze blog with a few vacations sprinkled in. There may come a time soon that I only write about vacations, holidays and special occasions, but we'll see...

For now, I'll try to get caught up so that I can get another book added to this shelf. Thanks to those who are still reading, and for understanding when I get a couple months behind. 

Happy 15th Birthday Tyler!

Our first born turned fifteen today! His idea of a good birthday is not having to have a bunch of attention directed towards him--so didn't want to do a party of any kind. We kept it simple with dinner at home after Ava's synchro meet. 

I probably say it every year when I'm wishing Tyler a happy birthday here, but he is really such an amazing kid. It's really hard to believe he's 15! We have always known that Tyler had some unique traits that other kids his age didn't have. He has always been driven to learn as much as he possibly can about the thing he's most into at that time. I truly can't imagine the person Tyler would be without You Tube. He would say that he's learned everything he knows from You Tube--and he's probably mostly right. All of his video, editing, special effects, production knowledge--yep, You Tube. He has this amazing ability to absorb information and translate it into a skill. 

He still plans to do something with video production, likely special effects, but the work he's done with the VR league over the last year seems to have the possibility of leading to some valuable experience as well. It started as a game he played on his VR headset, and has turned into what is essentially a job. He has responsibilities for the league and is getting paid for his time. He is learning and developing so many valuable skills (way more than in any "traditional" first job), and he's doing something he enjoys. And people can dismiss E-Sports, but it's a huge industry and growing. The VR aspect of E-sports is still very new as well, because the equipment needed to play isn't as widely available as a PS-4 or whatever other platform the traditional E-sports games are played on. So--there is some major potential there as well.

I think we all knew from around the time Tyler started holding full conversations at about 18 months old that he was destined to be an intelligent and amazing person. It's pretty cool to see him growing into this creative, thoughtful, passionate and truly unique young man. It won't be much longer before he's driving (even less time since I'm actually writing this blog less than 2 months before he's eligible to get his permit), and once that happens, it's a blink before he's out of here. We're very proud of this kid! Happy Birthday Tyler, we all love you so much! 

Rocky Point 2021

We didn't get to take our summer trip to Rocky Point in 2020, but we were able to make it happen this year. Thanks Science! We have two favorite resorts to stay at when we visit, and this time we ended up at the Sonoran Sea. We found a nice 2 bedroom condo that had a room with multiple beds for the kids. It was about average in terms of the condos we usually rent, so it was fine for the weekend. The best part is always the view from the patio, and is always the first picture I take when we arrive. 

We spent the first day (well, actually every day) hanging out in the pool and at the beach. We like going in June because the ocean is a perfect temperature, but it's not terribly hot outside. July and August down there can be pretty miserable because it gets much more humid, along with the heat. It was pretty warm while we were there, but the mornings and evenings are great. It was a bit windy this time, but not too bad. 

We just ate dinner in our room on the first night, and then hung out and played some games on our patio. It was a relaxing first day at the beach!

I've probably written about it in every post about our Rocky Point trips, but one of my favorite things to do while we're there is to wake up before everyone else, and read a book on the patio with a cup of coffee. I like to watch the resort wake up and get ready for the day. The pool doesn't usually open until around 9 or so, and the resort staff have a meticulous morning routine to get the deck cleaned, the pool vacuumed, and the chairs and umbrellas in place. I also watch the guests head out or return from their early morning walks, people setting up their beach camp for the day, and the vendors start their selling for the day. 

Ava wanted to get her hair braided right away, so as soon as everyone was up and moving, we headed to the beach to find a vendor to do her braids. Ava has so much hair, but she was still able to braid her entire head in less than 30 minutes. Pretty impressive! While we were waiting, we bought pina coladas from another vendor. 

We had the most delicious dinner at the restaurant inside the resort. Dave had filet mignon, Tyler had coconut shrimp, Ava had tacos, and I had this amazing, Volcano Seafood dish in a sizzling (literally) hot clay pot. It was so good! We've had some delicious meals at this restaurant, and will definitely go back every time we visit (even if we don't stay at the Sonoran Sea).

The wind made for some pretty big waves on day 3, but still not big enough to really ride on the boogie board. We had fun on the boards and with the inner tubes though. It was fun to just float out in waves and ride them up and down. It was my favorite way to enjoy the waves--when I don't have to put my face in the salt water. 

Tyler picked out this great Mexico hat, kind of surprisingly, but he wore it all day. It definitely kept the sun off his face! 

Our annual family picture on the beach--it looks a lot like the last family picture we took right here on this same beach. I'll add the side-by-side comparison at the bottom of this post. 

Tyler's hat wasn't big enough, he had to make it even bigger by adding the inner tube on top!

We spent the end of our last afternoon in the pool before we headed back to the condo to get ready to go out for dinner. What a great day at the beach!

The last few years, we've had one dinner at a restaurant in town called La Curva. I think we've decided that we probably don't need to do that again. There are so many great restaurants within the several resorts in the Sandy Beach area, so it's just not worth the hassle of driving into town. We used to like to go into town to peruse the shops a bit during the day, and grab one meal at some point while we're there, but I think we just want to hang out at the resort from now on. The meal took a really long time and it just wasn't as good this year. Maybe we'll give it another try at some point, but for now, let this be my reminder that we just want to stick to the resort restaurants. 

We packed up on Monday morning and headed out of town around 10 or 11 am.  It seems to take a little while to get across the border, even leaving on Monday instead of Sunday. I think it took about 30 minutes or so, which was way better than the 3 hours it took when Dave and I went in April 2019 for Sadie's birthday. 

One last family photo in Mexico before we head back to the USA. Looking good, family! Thanks for a fun beach weekend. 

I'm so glad that we're able to take trips like this again. Covid definitely isn't gone, and they are still enforcing mask rules at the resort. They had signs indicating that they had to be worn indoors (hotel lobby) and in common spaces around the resort. There was only one time when there was a guard that asked us to put on our masks when we were leaving the pool area to head back to our room. I'm sure it's been such a challenge down here in Rocky Point. They rely so heavily on tourism, but I'm sure they didn't get the vaccine availability that we had, or the medical treatment. I'm glad we were able to go down there and put a little money back into their community. 

Here's a little flashback photo from our June 2019 trip to the same resort compared to this year. You'll note that Dave is wearing the same swim shorts, and I'm rocking a pretty similar look. We unknowingly stood in the exact same position as the previous picture as well--and that definitely wasn't planned. Crazy, right?! The clear difference, of course, is in the amount that these kids grew in two years. 

Here's the album of photos in case you'd like to see more. 

50th Anniversary Surprise Party

Claire and Ed are celebrating their 50th anniversary and we held a surprise party for them at Tina's house. They thought they were just going to Tina's for dinner, and when they walked in, the entire family was there! They were surprised, and seemed very happy to have everyone together.

Not only was our immediate family there, we also got to see some of the new babies that we haven't event met since we didn't have of our traditional family gatherings over the last year and a half. This was the first time little Owen was at a family party (born early February 2020), and also the first time we met Sullivan, who is Mike and Bethany's 8 month old "new" baby. 

After eating, I gathered everyone up to go outside for a photo. I don't think we've ever taken a family picture with a group this large, and it turned out great! 

We went from the whole group, down to immediate family....

...down to Ed and Claire with their 9 grandkids,

And, of course, where it all started with Ed and Claire with their four kids. We are all so grateful for the family that started because of these amazing people. I know I for one am very glad that Ed and Claire got married 50 years ago! What an amazing family they created. Happy Anniversary, we all love you so much!

After the meal and photos, the kids spent some time in the pool. It was a great day, and so much fun to have the whole family together again. 

     

Pool day with the fly crew

Post trapeze pool parties in the summer are so much fun! We never used to use the pool, and we still don't use it often, but it's always a treat. It'll help make these hot Saturday morning practices a little more enjoyable this summer. Enjoy some pictures from our fun little post practice pool party... 

We have the giant swamp cooler blowing on us and the umbrellas overhead for shade, this is relaxation right here! 

Happy days!

Visiting Eleanor

We got to see sweet baby Eleanor today! My cousin Kristina and her family have been back living in AZ for awhile now, but are just now getting up to Scottsdale for a visit. Kristina's husband got a job back here in Arizona, so they moved back here from Waco. The minor problem is that Kristina still has two years left of her doctoral program at Baylor. She's here for the summer, but she and Eleanor will have to go back to Waco for fall classes. I'm sure it'll be tough for them for the next year, but I know we're all excited about them begin back in Arizona once she's done with school. In the mean time, it'll be a lot of plane trips back and forth for all of them.

Ava and I went up to Karen's to visit, and we had so much fun. Eleanor is adorable, and Ava had a blast with her. Like most girls her age, she loves babies, and is not far away from being babysitting age. I wish we lived just a little closer for it to be something we could help with. But--Scottsdale is definitely closer than Waco, so I'll take it! 

After we hung outside and visited on Karen's patio for a bit, we went inside for a little snack. Nothing cuter than a baby eating! How adorable is this little girl?! I'm so happy to spend some time with her. 

I'm also very happy for Karen to have them so near by. Not only are they in Scottsdale, they're renting a house just down the street from her! It's great for all of them. Karen can help out with Eleanor when Kristina is in her online classes. 

Here are a couple of videos I took when we were together. Eleanor is about 9 months old right now, which is about my favorite age. They're not too mobile just yet, and their personality is starting to come out. She's such a happy girl!