Tennis, friends, and a fun night out

Like last month, I thought I would try to consolidate an update on Caleb's tennis playing into a single post rather than inundate the blog with all things tennis.  So here it goes... I mentioned earlier this month about an opportunity Caleb had to play just kids his age (9 years old) with a regulation ball, as opposed to the slightly slower green dot ball.  Unfortunately, it wasn't a large draw.  So he only had two matches. Two minor injuries in his first match got the better of him, and he wasn't able to pull off a win.  But he came back strong in his second match and won it.  

The nice thing about this tournament was that we got to see a family we met at a previous tournament.  Their girl Gracie hit it off with Madeline and Havi the last time.  So she was quite happy to hang out with the girls again.  It was also very cute to hear her cheer on Caleb in his second match.  Hopefully, we'll get to see them again in July.

It's so funny how after the boys reported the score, the "support staff" came around to get in on the action.  Havi and Madeline are never far behind their brother when he's at the tournament desk.

This young boy that Caleb played actually lives not too far from us.  They have been playing against each other in several tournaments.  Caleb has beaten him in all their matches.  Yet the boy's father is always asking what tournaments Caleb is playing in next.  I like that his father is willing to have his son continue to play Caleb despite the lack of success for him.  Tennis isn't always about winning; it's about improving as a player.

This past weekend Caleb played in a local Grand Prix tournament.  He has always played green dot for this tournament.  But lately we have felt, and Caleb agreed, that the level of competition just wasn't there.  He was easily beating his opponents but wasn't challenged in the least.  So since he's been playing in the middle school league on Friday nights, we thought, and he agreed, that he should give yellow ball (the regulation ball) a try.  He was so excited about it all week.

Both of his opponents are 11 years old and have been playing a while.  And Caleb took second place!  We are so proud of him.  And in case you were wondering what he was holding in those two photos above, that was a cooling towel.  When I went to edit the images, I chuckled when I noticed he was holding the towel like a trophy. lol  Precious boy.

Well, after the tournament on Saturday, Patrick wanted to take the family to a special dinner at the Polynesian Resort in the Walt Disney World Resort.  So we headed that way.  The dinner was perfect for the dumplings.  They served all their favorite foods family style- salad (for us), dumplings, wings, noodles, steak (for Madeline and me) and shrimp (for the boys.)  Caleb declared it the best dinner ever.  He said, "They served all my favorite foods!"  After dinner, we took a quick walk around the resort.  The sun had already set.  So I missed that.  Boo.  Also, before you wonder what happened to Havi's right eye, let me tell you that she got bit by an ant the day before.  It was pretty swollen and looked bad, and it was uncomfortable for her.  Poor girl.  But it's better now. 

Well, we are gearing up for another big tennis tournament this weekend.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.  I think it will be just me going with Caleb and Havi.  Patrick has to work and will hang out with Madeline.  We are really enjoying our "lite school"/summer schedule for homeschooling.  Yes, I know it's only April, but we finished up our core year a few weeks ago. So now we are taking it easy, doing some Shakespeare and hands-on science in addition to the 3 R's.  Caleb continues to practice his tennis every day, and now Madeline is going to start a little beginner tennis clinic.  She's excited about it, as are we.  And Caleb couldn't be more thrilled to have yet another excuse to hit the courts! lol

Our Easter happenings

Easter morning started fairly early for the girls, up before 6:30am.  They saw their baskets and opened their eggs with their bible verses in them.  Caleb finally woke up around 7:00am and did the same.  Then it was a quick breakfast and out the door since church starts at 8:30am and isn't close by.  We dropped Madeline off at her class, and Patrick went with Caleb to his (Patrick is his teacher.)  Havi and I scooted over to the cafeteria to hang out for the next 90+ minutes.  I thought chocolate milk and a sugar cookie with sprinkles might make a good snack.  I often carry my Fujifilm camera with me because it's so compact and convenient to use.  So I propped it up on the table with the lens cap and set the timer to snap a few photos of me with my little girl.

We sat at a table by a window with the beautiful morning light streaming in.  After the service we went to the children's ministry to pick up Madeline.  We ran into our good friends Greg and Cheryl and their two kids.  Their son Connor is a year older than Caleb, and their daughter Kylie is a year younger than Madeline.  So our kids are not in the same classes.  They always play chase and run crazy wild while we chat after service.  I'm surprised we haven't had any major injuries yet. lol  Anyway, I snapped a quick photo in the parking lot before we left....in front of someone else's car. lol

Although it had been sprinkling on and off, I thought we could attempt a quick photo of the dumplings at a little park we pass on the way to/from church.

It took maybe twenty photos to get Havi to look, and then we called it done.  Once home, we got ready for the egg hunt.  Patrick hid the eggs in a few select rooms in the house (because of the rain.)  Some eggs had candy and some had money.

So after the one pose photo in the park deal, I determined to capture a few more shots of all three dumplings together at home.  

Our neighbors were in their driveway.  So the dumplings said hello.  And I know under their breaths, they were giggling watching the drama unfold as I attempted this mini photoshoot.  Their kids are in their 20s.  So no doubt they were thinking back to years past when they were in our shoes.

After Havi's nap, Patrick wanted to do some yard work.  He had to run to the store real quick for a few things.  Often when he leaves, Havi cries.  She has really grown attached to her Baba.

Caleb and Madeline helped rake our sea grape leaves.  Havi dug around in the dirt and poked at the leaves.  And Caleb loved giving the girls rides in the garden wagon.  It was such a nice, relaxing day.  I know most people don't do yard work on Easter.  And I don't know if we'll be making it a tradition.  But still, it was nice family time together.  The kids laughed and squealed all afternoon.  And the backyard is slowly getting a mini makeover.