Tennis roadtrip!

At the very beginning of the month, Caleb had an opportunity to play in a high level tournament for boys 12s, one in which selection into the tournament is based on ranking.  As you might have guessed, he was selected to play. He was quite thrilled at the opportunity, even though he knew that most of the players would be ranked higher than him.  This boy loves a challenge!  Anyway, at this tournament they also have doubles, and Caleb partnered up with one of the boys that he trains with back at home.  We were fortunate enough to be able to take his partner Amadeus down to Miami with us in our RV, Charlie.  It was a fantastic weekend of tennis and togetherness.

The boys started off with their singles matches.  And unfortunately for both of them, they drew seeded players.  They might not have won those first round matches, but they played pretty well.  Despite the extreme heat (over 100 degrees on the court) and rain delay, Caleb easily pulled off a win in his first match in the consolation draw.  He was pretty pumped.  His third singles match was, again, a tough one, completely outmatched in size, but still, he played well.

After singles was finished, it was time for dubs (doubles.)  Although completely unplanned (unlike lots of the girls teams), the boys managed to pull together a few coordinating outfits for their doubles matches.

You see those two big smiling faces?  They belonged to the winning team in that first round of doubles.  What made that victory extra sweet for Caleb was the fact that he beat the boy who cheated him in the semi-final match at the 10s state chamionships back in June.  Oh, it was pretty awesome.  And I have to give a big shout out to that boy's partner, who was very honest and overruled his partner's bad call in favor of Caleb and Amadeus.  It was a pivotal point in the match.  Playing a pro set to 8, they had been down 2-5, but they clawed their way back on top and won it 8-6!  It was an incredible comeback!

Their next doubles match was against the #2 seeds and the tallest 12s doubles team ever....I'm not kidding, as the following photos will prove it.  Anyway, the boys knew they were outmatched.  They just wanted to get out there and play their best.  They did such a great job of managing the match, even though they lost 8-1.

See what I mean about size?  I bust out laughing when I downloaded my photos later.  Caleb's feet don't even touch the ground, as these two on his right are nothing but legs.

This shot above demonstrates how Caleb had to hit most of his shots....well out of his strike zone and all the way back at the fence.  These boys hit hard and deep.

Yep, it's hard to believe the boys on the left were playing in the 12s, but they were. lol

Anyway, it truly was a great opportunity for Caleb to play against the top 12s players in the state.  It has certainly boosted his confidence in subsequent tournaments.  He can hang with the best of them, and now he knows it.

Well, just this past weekend, he had the opportunity for yet another tennis roadtrip.  This one took us to the heart of Gator Nation, Gainesville, FL.  We got into town early so we could check out the campus before the tournament.  I did managed to snap a few quick photos with my Fujifilm.  So I will get those up soon.

I apologize that I have been absent from my blog for (gasp) a month.  We have been busy getting back to our home schooling, in addition to dance and taking on even more tennis training.  That has left me very little time for shooting or blogging.  Once things settle down here in the next week or two, I hope to get back behind my camera more frequently.  Anyway, thanks for still hanging around and checking in on our little tribe.

Hand Camp

{Warning: This is an extremely long post.}

Last weekend, we had an opportunity for the dumplings to attend Hand Camp, an action packed weekend full of activities for children with upper limb differences.  It was put together by a great group of people at Hands to Love, an organization run by Dr. Paul and Ruthie Dell, that believes difference does not equal disability.  Volunteers put together a weekend camp that allows children with upper limb differences to participate in all sorts of activities and parents to network.  This year they celebrated fifteen years of Hand Camp.  They have gone from 10-12 kids to over 90 kids in that time, truly amazing.  Many of the kids have been attending camp for a while. And while it was our kids first year, they quickly made some friends and had a blast.  

Since we found out pretty late about camp, all the cabins were booked.  No problem.  We hit the road in Charlie and dry camped right there at the camp.  We had our own "cabin" on wheels, for which we were grateful.  We arrived Friday afternoon, cut an air hose underneath the RV trying to park (fun!), checked in, and proceeded to rummage through all the goodies in our welcome bags.  Since the Dells live in Gainesville (Dr. Dell is a hand surgeon at the University of Florida), there was a ton of orange and blue...and boy, did the Gator in me get a little homesick for the home of Gator Nation! lol

After check-in, we met our "family pal" Kristin and had some dinner.

Patrick ended up taking Havi back to the RV, and Kristin and I headed down to the campfire for a welcome presentation and s'mores.

Saturday was filled with activities galore.  The dumplings did sessions on music and soccer while Patrick and I did small group discussions for parents.  Our group leaders were AULDS (adults with upper limb differences).  It was a great time of reflection and learning.

Then it was time for Caleb's favorite- archery.  He shot lefty and did awesome!  Madeline wasn't interested.

Then it was off to tennis.  The dumplings were all looking forward to this one.  After doing some basic volley and groundstroke drills, the activity pal played with Caleb.  They both had a lot of fun.  And just to let you know how crazy small this world is, I happened to talk to another mom who is not only living Gainesville right now, but she and her family attend the church my sister attended as a student and know the pastor and his family well!  What a blessing to meet this mom!  God is GOOD!

After tennis, it was time for lunch and then right back out to activities. Next up was the ropes course.  Caleb and Madeline were both too intimidated to climb the course (I think it was like 50 feet high.)  So they climbed around the "grotto".  Even Havi got in on the action thanks to Kristin.

Havi was so little, her helmet kept slipping off her head.

After watching so many kids go up, the dumplings decided they would go up to the half way point and then come down.  But unfortunately, time ran out before they had their chance.

So they headed over to art and STEM. They decorated these cute clay pots.

Then they came outside and put their handprints all over the 2015 banner.

After art/STEM, it was time to swim in the lake. The water was a little chilly, but the girls didn't mind too much.  Caleb preferred to play a little badminton and volleyball (with a beach ball) with the big kids.

Because of his limited range of motion with his left arm, he tried using his right for hitting most of the shots.  Any ball to his left side was hit like a tennis backhand.  It was pretty cute to see...even on the volleyball court, the tennis player in him came out.

After swimming we had dinner and then a parade down to the rec hall for the evening activity.

Once down to the rec hall, the dumplings went on a hay ride.  See that little head in front of Caleb along the side of the hay bed?  That little munchkin really enjoyed the hayride and promptly fell asleep...face down in the hay!!! lol

Then it was time for some fun booths- cupcake decorating, face painting, photo booths and dancing.  Rion Paige, who has appeared on the X Factor, also sang a song for everyone.  What a sweet gal she is.

Sunday morning was time to pack up and prepare for departure.  The children sang a song they all learned at music the day before.  I still hear Caleb and Madeline singing it around the house.

There were also a couple of slideshows, highlighting previous years hand camps and even some photos from this year. There was also a graduation ceremony for the CITs (high schoolers), as they will have their own weekend retreat geared toward teens in the fall.

Then it was time to say goodbye.  Caleb really hit it off with a boy named Sam, who happens to be 2 years and a day younger than him...also from southern China..and just a few hours drive from us.  So we will definitely try to get together with him and his family.

Kristin, our family pal, was great.  She is graduating from UF next month, and then she begins graduate school in Occupational Therapy.  The girls really took to her.  (Caleb was too busy playing with Sam and his younger brother Joey. lol)  It was nice to know the girls were in good hands when out and about the camp.

We all had such an amazing time.  

We're grateful to Dr. Dell for extending an invitation to us.  

And we can't wait until next year!