Travel Baseball

We have made a decision which will change our lives forever. We signed Connor up for summer travel baseball. You are probably thinking that I am being so dramatic but let me explain. The program has games from June to mid-August and the website strictly states that we are only allowed one week of vacation during that time. This past week I received a reminder that the teams are meeting once a week until Spring baseball starts with a hour and a half clinics run by professionals. So that is every Sunday until April. So let me restate, what are we thinking? Keep in mind I don't even know where we will be traveling yet.

With that said, Connor went off to his first clinic today so happy and ready to play ball. He said it was awesome. He hit against a pitching machine, soft toss and coach pitching. The kids played long toss to each other and fielded balls. Overall a great learning experience and fun too.   Looks like we will be spending a lot of time at the baseball diamond for many years to come.

Basketball Season 2013

Garrett is off to a fantastic basketball start this season. He moved up a league from his winter season so I think he is enjoying the new competition. The green team huddles up to discuss their game plan.

Look at our number 2 spreading out the court. Garrett is amazing to watch because he is out there giving 100%. He is an offensive monster and also has an amazing defensive presence. Two games in and Garrett has made a name for himself. We are just thrilled you are having fun.

A quick funny story. During the game while Garrett was standing near the three point line, the coach told him to go low. (To clarify for those who don't know, the coach wanted Garrett to get under the basket.) without hesitation, Garrett goes down on his knees. It was so cute!

The Disney Marathon (and a Half)

Daddy, Andro and I decided to start 2013 with a goal that I never considered to try before.  The men decided to run the Disney marathon and I thought it best to stick with the half marathon.  

Saturday was the half marathon, where I woke up at 4 am to start my race at 6 am.  This is my first long distance race so I was placed in the last coral at the starting gate.  As I crossed the starting line, it became apparent to me that many people were planning on walk/running the race.  I spent the first 7 miles running along the side of the road and zig-zagging in an effort to keep moving.  Upon completion, my Nike+ running tracker indicated that I ran 15.5 miles instead of the necessary 13.1.  It was a successful day for me and I was happy to show off my medal to the kids.  Brian even motivated the kids to get going early in the morning and they headed over to Epcot to see me finish.  Unfortunately, they got stuck on a bus for over an hour and I was already home by the time they got to the finish line.  I missed them by minutes and I felt so bad.  Thank you for all the support!!!  I definitely felt all the love when we met up for breakfast.  Connor went for a walk with me and took this beautiful picture.

  

Sunday was race day for the boys and they had a very early start as well.  They were in Coral A and B so their start times were at 5am.  I don't know how they did it but they completed the marathon in amazing times.  Brian was disappointed because his hamstring started hurting in mile 2 but he worked through the pain on this very hot day.   Daddy completed the marathon in 3 hours and 20 minutes which is amazing.

We were stationed at mile 24 right near our hotel so it was very convenient.  Poor Brian took a minute to walk - probably for about five seconds when he turned the corner and heard me scream "Come on Daddy!"  Needless to say he started running and was so excited to see the kids cheering him on.

Andro came in strong as well.  He was so happy to see his crew waiting and screaming for him.

Then it was time to celebrate in Disney.  No we did not wear the medals in the park but brought them to take pictures.

 Don't let the smiles fool you - they were in pain.  Daddy walked a little funny for a couple days.

 It was a great feeling to start the year off with such a fantastic feeling of accomplishment.  Go Team Disney!

Disney World We Have Arrived

We arrived to Florida on Thursday to beautiful weather and so much excitement the kids could barely be contained.  There are so many great moments that happened over the next four days that it is hard to capture them all but here is a little bit of what happened.  The first night we headed off to dinner at Epcot - not just any dinner though - Jenn set us up for a Princess dinner.  Here are the kids so excited to explore Epcot.

 I think Emily was in heaven.  First stop, Belle for a beautiful photo.

 Snow White stopped by for a chat and left Emily with a parting gift.  

 Emily couldn't believe all of her favorite Princesses were in the one restaurant - here is Aurora.

 We had to go track down Cinderella for a second visit because one time just wasn't enough.

 Last but not least, it was time to visit Ariel.  Yeah!!!

 The next morning we went straight to the park for a great breakfast with all the Winnie the Pooh characters.  Our kids gave hugs and loved seeing them all.

After hitting up every ride in the park, lots of eating and a quick dip in the pool, it was off to the Pirate dinner where we met Captain Hook and Smee.  The dinner was followed by a boat ride and evening fireworks which were beautiful  What a great night!  

The next day we went to Hollywood Studios where we met up with Jake, the Cars characters and Phineas and Ferb.

Then, the boys got to participate in the Star Wars Jedi training.  The lead Jedi gave them all instructions on how to use light sabers and then they each had a turn to fight Darth Vader.

 The boys did an amazing job with all the instructions.

The final ride for the night was the Toy Story ride which was so much fun.  It is like playing carnival games all the way through.

It was such a fun trip and the amount of activity we accomplished was astounding.  Marathons, four parks and character meals all in four days is pretty impressive.  

Daddy's Birthday

In a ritual as old as time, Papa calls us as early as possible on our birthdays to sing to us.  Papa managed to hold off until 7am and then sang a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to Brian.  Emily was still sleeping but could hear the whole song over the answering machine.  As I was walking past the monitor to pick up the phone, I hear Emily say "What is happening?"  In typical Emily fashion, she kept on saying this until she finally understood it was Daddy's birthday and it was Papa singing.

As always the kids treated daddy like a king for the day.  Lots of cards, pictures and presents.  We hope you had a fun day Dad!!

Soccer Camp

It is nearing the end of summer and the boys are heading off to soccer camp for a week.  As you can see, they are all suited up in the shin guards and cleats.

 

They are very excited to try something new.

Friday, the last day of soccer camp, the boys were representing team Sweden in their yellow and blue. 

As you can see, it was a very hot day and they played their hearts out.

Here is the entire camp together.

Connor and Garrett with their coaches (who are soccer players from around the world).

The boys had a fantastic time.

Brooklyn Bound

Brian and I had a very important place to be today, the courthouse.  Thank goodness it was for a good reason.  We traveled from Boston to Brooklyn to see Kevin sworn in as a lawyer.  What an accomplishment!

After the ceremony, we went out to a steakhouse to celebrate such a huge milestone.  Congrats to Uncle Kevin!