Tennis roadtrip

Last weekend Caleb had the opportunity to play in a pretty big tennis tournament, the state doubles championships.  Over the summer, he was approached by a fellow player about being partners for the tournament.  He's a really nice boy and a strong player. So Caleb happily agreed.  The site of the tournament was about an hour and forty-five minutes from the house, and with an early start time that Saturday, we opted to drive up in our RV, Charlie, the day before. It rained the whole drive up, which was a sign of things to come.

We grabbed something to eat since we were all itching to get outside a bit. Then we parked overnight at the Cracker Barrel, which was about 10 minutes from the tournament site.  Score!  We arrived early to the site, and upon our arrival, we saw all these white tents popping up in the park adjacent to the tennis courts.  Turns out there was a big "grill off" competition taking place.  We found a nice spot in the back of the parking lot to park Charlie and waited for the rain to stop.  It didn't.  It drizzled on and off. So we decided to get out and walk around a bit.

 The tennis facility and park were right on the intracoastal waterway, a beautiful spot indeed.

 After exploring we headed back to the RV, and the dumplings decided they wanted to scooter/bike ride.

 Yeah, we, the safety police, forgot her helmet.  We let her ride anyway.

 The rain finally let up around 11am, and the courts began to dry.  The boys started playing around noon.  

 They had match point in their first match but ended up losing in a tiebreaker.  Gosh, that was a tough loss.  Next match was too much for them.  Then their third match was pushed to a tiebreaker as well.  They played the first few points before the rain came pouring down.  It was frustrating being so close to finishing a match but having to stop and come back the next day to finish.

So, it was back to the Cracker Barrel for a second night for us.  The next day started the same way- early.  They finished up their tiebreaker and took the match easily at that point. Then they had one last match to play.

 They were down by a few breaks, and it looked like the match would be over quickly. But they clawed their way back, taking a few games in a row.   They were so close to pulling off a win, but it wasn't meant to be.  That loss was also pretty tough on Caleb.  But overall, it was a really great experience.  He played well and showed some mental toughness.  He really enjoyed playing doubles and can't wait to play in another doubles tournament.  Let's hope that the USTA will make some changes to accommodate that desire.

Well, it should come as no surprise but we are headed to another tournament this weekend.  This one is close to my sister and BIL's house.  And since my BIL will be playing an EP Release Show for Elevators, and we'll be staying the night, we will be cruising over in Charlie the RV.  Oh, and the weather doesn't look too promising either.  So it looks like a weekend of tennis, music, rain, and fun for us.

What she said

It's hard to believe our precious Havi has been in our arms fifteen months now.  And in just two short months, she will be turning three.  Where oh where has the time gone?  She's no longer that itty bitty 18 month old we held in China.  Nope.  I seriously tried to savor those younger months because Madeline and Caleb came home at much older ages, 28 months and 34 months respectively.  Yes, I tried savoring and appreciating diaper changes and tantrums because I knew those things would come to an end.  And when they did, I would be sad.  Call me crazy.

Anyway, the other night I was putting Havi to bed.  She likes to bring a toy to bed, mostly to play with to delay sleep.  Well, this particular night she grabbed her China baby album.  It's the album we actually had sent her with photos of us, but her foster family switched a few photos out with some of her and one with Havi and both her foster parents.  Despite the room being lit by just a night light, I asked her who the people were in the photos.  She pointed to herself and said, "Me."  Then I pointed to her foster parents and she said, "Mama, Baba."  I couldn't believe it.  It's been probably six months or more since she has looked at those photos.  Yet, she still identifies with her foster parents.  It was a reminder of just how strong their bond was, how much they loved her and she them.  It reminded me (and Patrick when I told him) of the hurt she expressed in Taiyuan.  Her heart was so broken....her precious little heart, crushed.  While that time was difficult for her, I'm so thankful she was so deeply loved at such a young age.  To see her today freely hugging and kissing her brother and sister just melts my heart.  It's a testimony to that first love.

Well, I thought I would include a few photos of Havi that I snapped the other night while she played in the front yard when Baba was trying to fix her hand brake on her bike. They eventually went on a little bike ride, but when Havi realized they were going around the block faster than she could keep up, she sobbed hysterically for her Baba.  It was precious and heart breaking all at once.

A new playground

You all know how much I love our little park on the river, right?  Well, it's still my favorite-y favorite park around.  But, unfortunately we don't get to visit nearly as much as we used to since we moved.  And a lot of that has to do with the fact that Caleb (and now Madeline) play so much tennis in the opposite direction of the park.  Well, what's a mama to do when a practice is too short to go home and has already gone to the grocery store the day before?  Find another park!  Now, we pass this park every day but have never stopped to play at it because we usually drop Caleb off at practice and go home.  But this past week was different.  I decided to take the girls to this small park with a playground that happens to be at the end of a deep water canal.  Now, it's not the river and has no shade...but it's still on the water (which is so relaxing) and a nice little spot to pass the time until Caleb's practice is up.  I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot more time here.

 Madeline wanted to snap a photo of me with Havi.

 Havi was so upset because she wanted to swing on the big kid swing, but I said no.  She's too young to support herself without falling off.  Poor little girly just didn't believe me and threw a nice little fit.

 So I finally took her out of the baby swing and put her on her belly.  That was enough to satisfy her, for now.

And she's off!

So this precious little peanut of ours finally got her highly anticipated bike!  Her Baba couldn't come home from work fast enough to put it together because I was having a hard time finding all the necessary tools.  After assembling the bike, this little girl insisted he install her bike light...you know, because her brother and sister both have bike lights.  So little Miss has to have one too.  Once her light was on, she was off!

She amazes me, though not really.  She transitioned easily from her little pre-balance bike to pushing Madeline's old pedal bike.  That bit surprised me because it was quite a jump from a toy to a bike.  Even though she only pushed/walked it for a week, she stayed balanced all the time, never once falling or losing control of the bike.  When she finally got her real balance bike on Monday, she just took off!  Now that the seat is at a comfortable height, she can really run.  And boy, does she run!  I can't even keep up with her.  I have to follow her at a distance and cut corners just so I'm not so far way as she rides.  And as you can see from one of the photos above, when she has enough speed, she lifts her feet and coasts.  I will have to upload a few videos I captured on my iPhone.  She's just to funny.

Seeing her so happy these last two days just does my heart good.  She loves keeping up with Caleb and Madeline now when they're either riding their bikes or scooters.  She feels like such a big kid.  Her bike riding is most definitely the talk of the block.  She might be the youngest kid on the block, but she certainly won't be left out!  You can be sure that her bike riding adventures has only just begun!

P.S.- Her new bike is the 12" Scoot by Ridgeback (in pink, obviously).