Spending the day with my boy

Two weekends ago, Patrick treated Caleb and me to a great day at the Delray Beach Open Finals.  

Baba watched the girls while I took Caleb to the tournament.  We had such a fantastic time.

 We arrived about 45 minutes before the doubles finals and had lunch.  Then we slathered on some sunscreen and took our seats to watch the Bryan Brothers from the US (Mike and Bob are twins!) play Cermak/Elgin.

 Thankfully, Mike and Bob are mirror twins (opposite handed); it makes it easier to identify them on the court.  Bob is left-handed, and Mike is right-handed.

 Bob and Mike won 6-2, 6-3.

I didn't get a shot of it because I wasn't ready, but Caleb managed to get Cermak's autograph before he left the stadium.  Then we hung around (and I took my cameras out) and got ready to snap a few of the Bryan Brothers.  I was a bit giddy, being a twin and all.

 Caleb managed to get both of them to sign his ball.  And then we headed out of the stadium and into the line outside to try to get a photo with them.  The autographs happened so quick, I didn't have a chance to get one then.  And the line outside the stadium was loooong.  So when Mike came by, I quickly asked for a photo.  I wasn't pleased that a stream of light fell right across Caleb's face and overexposed it, but beggars can't be choosers.  So we had to say thanks and roll with it.  (I converted it to black and white just to reduce the glaring hotspot on Caleb's face.)

   

 The match finished up quick.  So we had about two hours before the singles finals started.  We hung out, browsed the booths, and ate.  There was a fast serve challenge that benefited junior development.  And since we've never had Caleb's serve checked with a radar gun, I thought I'd let him give it a try.

 He couldn't bounce the ball and do any routine.  So his numbers were lower than what I've seen him serve.  Still, he served in the 50s with a few in the 40s.  An older boy went before him and was serving in the 60s.  Being pretty ignorant of speeds but able to compare that boy's serve with how Caleb regularly serves when he does his routine, it's safe to say that Caleb is serving in the 60s and even sometimes in the 70s.  Getting an idea of how fast he is serving has been a good motivator for him.  I can clearly see him getting more power behind it.  I'm so proud of him....okay back to the tournament....just passing time with my boy...

 Clouds started to roll in before the singles finals started, and I wondered if we would have to sit out for a rain delay.  Thankfully it never rained.

 The singles finals had Kevin Anderson of South Africa against Marin Cilic of Croatia.  Oh, I should say that my Nikon battery died right after the doubles match.  So I was no longer able to use it or my zoom lens and was left shooting the rest of the day with my Fujifilm at 35mm.  Boo.  I mean, I was glad I had it; it was better than nothing.  Still, it was limiting.

 Cilic serving...

 Anderson serving...

 And believe it or not, we sat right behind Kevin Anderson's family!  Seriously.  

 That's his dad on the far left, his coach in the front row with the white cap and shirt, his wife Kelsey, and the rest of his fan club.  It was kind of hard to cheer for Cilic at all; I just felt self conscious.  lol  Anyway, the match was the longest in the history of the Delray Beach Open- 3 hours and 8 minutes.  Cilic won 7-6, 6-7, 6-4....that makes for a long match! lol

And I have to tell you something funny.  Before the match got started, I saw this gentleman walk down and take a seat in the front row of the section next to ours.  To my untrained eye, he looked like a tennis player.  That's what I told myself.  Well, after Cilic won, another fan went down to this man and asked to take a photo with him.   That did it....I took Caleb over to him and asked him the same thing.  I told myself that I would figure out who he was later!  Sure enough, after Cilic won, he came over and shook this man's hand.  Turns out it was his coach, fellow Croatian tennis star Goran Ivanisevic!  I knew it was somebody big! lol

Although it was late, I asked Caleb if he wanted to hang around and try to get some more autographs. That was a silly question.  Of course he did.  And since I knew he could sleep on the drive home, I let him.

You know, even before the singles match started, Caleb declared to me that it was the best day of his life, ever.  He just melted my heart!  He is so precious, and the joy he experienced was written all over his face.  We had such a wonderful time.  I can't wait until his sisters are big enough to attend such an event.  Right now Havi has a hard time keeping quiet at his own matches. lol

Well, you know another funny thing about the day is that I had forgotten that the event was going to be shown on the Tennis Channel.  As the doubles was getting started, I had to ask Patrick to make sure he recorded it so Caleb could watch later.  Then when we had to take a bathroom break, I remembered that the Tennis Channel was there because we watched their live feed of the game when we had to wait until we could take our seats during the change over.  Well, the craziest thing happened while Patrick was watching the end of the singles match....remember I said that Marin Cilic came over to shake his coach Goran Ivanisevic's hand?  Well, the Tennis Channel happened to get it all on tape, and Caleb was standing right there in the frame!  And not only that, both Caleb and I are right above Cilic's shoulder during his interview!!!  Patrick couldn't wait to show us that we made it on TV.  Oh, what a way to cap a day!

Anyway, so this weekend my sister-in-law Michele and niece Lydia are coming down from Connecticut to help Madeline celebrate her sixth birthday.  We're really looking forward to seeing them.  I can't believe my precious little girl is turning 6!  Somebody needs to tell my dumplings to stop growing up!

Way to go, Team Gina!!!

Last week, 80 plus members of  Team Gina came out to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure to celebrate Gina and the amazing woman she was.  The race began at 8:00, but we all met up at 7:00am because it can take a while to gather that many people together.  Thankfully, the sun chose to show itself at sunrise because it was a chilly start to the morning!  Okay, maybe the mid 50s isn't chilly for most, but it sure is in our neck of the woods.  It was the coldest morning to date this fall.

Unfortunately, I couldn't take any shots while I was walking because I had to push Madeline in the stroller.  Last year, my sister and Andy took turns pushing both Madeline and Leah in their strollers.  However, Andy carried Josh in his arms because he's bigger now (and they only have one stroller.)  So that left me pushing Madeline the entire walk.

And unfortunately, this was the best Team Gina shot I could get.  I didn't have time to move all the extra strollers out of the shot before the group decided the previous photographer's shot was enough. So everyone started dispersing.

Will and the kids had special shirts made.  Will's said "My wife", and the kid's shirts naturally said "My mommy."

I'm not gonna lie.  It hurt to do that walk without Gina.  My heart was heavy, and no doubt, I was not the only one.  This entire month has been difficult.  She is missed by so many people.  Will and the kids are doing as well as they can.  They are all in counseling, and they now have a nanny living with them, who has been a tremendous help.

We all hung around for a little bit, enjoying the breakfast foods provided, including cupcakes as the evidence below demonstrates.

And this is what happens to your tutu when you sit in your stroller for the entire walk.

Here's a closeup of the back of Lexi's shirt.

Not only did my sister Deb make the girls tutus for the walk, but she also made some for the both of us.

Like last year, I also took a photo of the POPS girls.  Debbie (middle) and Donna (right) also worked with Gina and my sister at the same pediatric outpatient surgery clinic.  It breaks my heart that Gina is not in this photo.

Most of the team headed home after the race, but the POPS peeps headed into Brighthouse Stadium to see all the fun freebies folks were giving away...stickers, pens, paper, cups, scarves, etc.

Then I figured it was about high time I embraced the camera.  That's me on the right with my twin sis on the left.

I love this shot of Madeline with a pen and pad in her hand, sporting her bunched up tutu and the "leggings" I made her. This girl loves to write. So very Madeline, indeed.  And yep, you read that right.  My sister made the girls' tutus, and I made leggings to go underneath.  Since these "leggings" were my first attempt at sewing with knits, I went with an easy interlock, which you're not supposed to use for pants.  And I already knew that, but I wanted "easy".  So I did it anyway.  Well, they don't have as much stretch as leggings typically do.  So they're more like "skinny" knit pants.  But hey, I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to add those cute ruffles on the bottom.  I had to whip out my walking foot for these pants, especially the ruffles.  Knits are not like wovens at all. They are very different.  But I'm eager and willing to learn.  Anyway, I can't wait to make more knit garments because knits are just so comfy to wear.

Well, our little crew finally decided to pack it up and head back to Deb and Andy's place.  The kids played together for a little bit before we headed back home.

It was great to see my sister, Andy, and Leah.  And it was great to see a lot of Team Gina members come out and show their love and support for Gina, her family, and breast cancer research.  I sure do hope a cure can be found soon.  So many ladies are being diagnosed these days and earlier too.  Cancer is a truly horrible disease.  And despite all the ups and downs during Gina's journey, she was like a bright shining star, always full of encouragement.  And it is the goal of her foundation, the Gina McReynolds Foundation, to provide encouragement to other families who also find themselves battling this awful disease.

We love you Gina, Will and family.  We hold you close to our hearts and will continue to lift you up in prayer.