Summer Days are a bit like castles in the sand. The wind whittles away at the towers and arches, reminding you that sand castles are only temporary – much like summer. Then you turn around and the castle is a heap of sand that blows by just like the last days of summer.
Last week, we just returned from a much needed break in Port Aransas/Mustang Island, Texas. Our clan, met Mel’s mom and dad, and sisters family and the kids had a blast as usual. Good ages and good swimmers makes beach life REALLY easy these days. Lots of salty water, sand, sun…and WIND. Almost blew Mom over 🙂 No alarm clocks for 6:30a swim practices, no Monday afternoon swim meets…..
Good times. This year we took Chase to Sharkey’s – The Greatest Beach Club ever – on the island. First bar trip (at least as far as we know – ha!). He was “amazed” at a lot of things. Mainly Uncle Dave’s (Melinda’s hubby) ability to dance ALL NIGHT LONG without stopping. Literally. It was an eye-opening experience for Chase and we LOVED having the automatic designated driver.
This past year – wow – went so fast. Chase’s senior year at Austin High School was full of normal, exhausting senior-like things – projects, homecomings, and prom. That’ll take you back in time real fast. Homecoming and prom isn’t what it used to be. It’s totally out of hand in my book. Kids still look great but take professional photographers wherever they go (homecoming too). And limos – stretch limos. Chase had a gorgeous prom date and they had a great time. Really good group of kiddos. Chase is lucky. We are lucky. We’ll miss them all as they leave us for the next step, whatever that may be.
Alexandra will be a junior at Fort Bend Austin and continues to “stare at the black line” (Gary saying) and swim all the time. Two teams – two practice schedules, but it’s all worth it. Her long course season with FCST ended really well with drops in everything which is amazing considering she’s fighting plantar fasciitis due to “extreme” growth. Chase dealt with this a bit earlier in life than Alex , but the specialists feel it will go away with time as her body catches up…with her FEET. Her high school swimming was good, but she expects more out of herself. Such a goal setter. She has her sights set on State, and if her feet continue to improve, it might be doable this year. Lots of medals at District, she again moved on to Region 6 Meet. She has a nemesis in our Region that is on her radar……still loving the sprints, she’s learning to appreciate events over 100 yards – ha! Thanks to her coaches!!!
Grant is moving on to Sartartia Middle School in 6th grade and is actually excited about it. He has continued to played baseball through the entire school year (WSLLL Imperials) and swam for the New Territory Tarpons again this summer. He did great, and adapted to flip-turns quite nicely. The backstroke turn actually looks like a turn now. And…..he wants to swim year round for FCST. Oh wow. We are still wrapping our heads around potentially having another FCST’er in the house. Just as Chase retires……! Grant is moving on to football for the 5th or 6th year – 4th with Fort Bend Gridiron. And yes, Gary will be coaching. Lots of schedules to juggle, but he just loves it all so, and he shouldn’t have to choose a sport yet. Mama Bear is TOTALLY against that.
Gary and Mel – are simply trying to keep up with the schedules. Gary is still at the helm of Bizopia (doing websites, SEO & social media marketing) and is going a great job of growing the company. The rest of us are trying to hang on! Mel is still working at Bizopia – building websites and managing social and online presence for the clients. We are getting away with friends in November again, to a GREAT house in Acapulco (but that’s a whole ‘nother topic) and really looking forward to it. Got Gary’s parents coming in for a last “summer hoorah” in a few weeks and then we get back to the school-grind.
Family websites require a lot of updating, but OF ALL FAMILIES, we should be able to do this. This is a work in progress and always will be, but at least some updated pictures and kid updates are getting posted! I have a friend who I absolutely admire for her DAILY photo-blogging capabilities (check out her site – it’s REALLY cool) This new layout is making it a bit easier to update – especially the pictures and I’ve granted the kids access to their own pages – we’ll see…..beware of Grant though 🙂
Have a great rest of the summer! It’s just flying by…….
~Mel
