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.

Getaway to the Keys

Well, I know our summer has been busy, but sheesh....I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last updated the blog.  I guess it's safe to say we have had a fun-filled July.  And I'm just now getting the chance to share it.  

Let me back up to a few weeks ago. We had been planning a little camping getaway to the Keys with our camping friends since, oh, last summer.  And well, the time finally arrived for us to hit the road.  We managed to get down there late Friday morning and promptly hit the water.  Well, we tried to anyway.

 See all that seaweed?  Well, it made it a bit of a pain to get in and out of the water.  Water shoes definitely helped minimize the ick factor.  But the shore is very shallow. So we had to walk quite a bit through the seaweed and then some until we finally got to water that was deep enough to relax in.  It was a chore but worth it.

  The kids played games back on shore too, like ring toss. And when the sun got too hot, they hung out at the restroom right across from our site.  See that space below?  Well, even I could stand up straight underneath.  So that provided some much needed shade at times for the kids (and me too.) lol

 Our campsites sat right along the shore.  It was a pretty amazing view.

The second day was more of the same.  When the kids weren't swimming, they were playing board games inside to stay cool.  Then, of course, they couldn't wait to get back out in the water.

 One of the kids managed to spot a tiny crab inside this sponge.  Can you find it? (Hint, it's almost in the middle among a dark patch.)

 Day three rolled around and was filled with more of the same- swimming and trying to keep cool.  One of the kids decided to hunt for coconuts.  She found four of them.  They were such a hit!  So delicious.  Poor Shail, though!  He was in charge of the cracking.  After the third one, he called it quits.   The sweat pouring off him made it look like he just took a dip in the ocean. It was that grueling.  In fact, I think he rinsed off under the outdoor shower right after I snapped these photos, clothes and all!

We had a short but lovely time in the Keys with our dear friends.  We always enjoy their company, no matter how brief our visits are.  And boy, we're so thankful that the mosquitos and no-see-ums gave us no trouble.  That was a shocker.

Well, after our trip to the Keys, we were busy celebrating Madeline's Family Day, Caleb's baptism, aaaand having all our dumplings foreign adoptions recognized in the state of Florida (so they can obtain Florida birth certificates.)  See, I told you we were busy around these parts.  So check back a little bit later for all the rest!

Did somebody say "camping?"

It's hard to believe it's been since last August that we went camping.  Unfortunately, Patrick had a big test he needed to study for that kept us close to home at the end of last year. Add to that two failed camping attempts, and you end up itching to get out there in the fresh air and under the open sky.  We usually go camping with two groups of friends.  However, this time our friends Lisa and Shail invited one more family to join the fun.  I kid you not when I tell you that there were seventeen kids to go along with the eight grown-ups.  Yep, we were a pretty large and rowdy bunch!  We just couldn't help it. lol

Our campsites were right next to a huge "forest" that the kids had so much fun playing in all weekend. They climbed trees and rode bikes and scooters all day.

Most of us managed to find a bike or scooter to use in order to make our way over to the petting farm. 

The animals are always a hit. And we lucked out that there were several kid pygmy goats and lambs that were just two or three weeks old.  The kids got to hold the kid goats, which was precious.  My heart just melted at the sight.

One of our campsites was next to an empty site that the kids decided to use for games.  Let's just say that didn't go over well with security. lol  Oops.

Our new friends finally arrived late Friday night.  So we ended up going back to the petting farm with them on Saturday.  I didn't have any camera with me.  So I missed shooting that outing.  Then afterward we hit the pool.  Yes, you read that right.  Being that the lows were in the mid 40s, we didn't bring swimsuits for the dumplings.  But that didn't stop them. Madeline borrowed a suit, and Caleb and Havi swam in their clothes!  I, of course, didn't have a suit, and so I couldn't get in the pool with Havi.  Instead, I watched her on the steps.  She rather quickly remembered what to do- holding her breath, opening her eyes, and then kicking and swimming.  I couldn't believe it!  She had a blast swimming around the steps.  And because I had to watch her closely, I couldn't snap any photos.  Boo.

I did manage to pull out my camera as we were getting ready to have dinner that night and head to the rodeo.

Popcorn was a big hit with all the spectators.  And I remembered to bring my 80-200mm f/2.8 for close ups of the cowboys and cowgirls.

My favorite part was watching the bull riders.  Eight seconds seems like forever! lol

At one point, the kids participated in a calf catch.  They tie two ribbons on the calf that the kids chase. They break them into two age groups, and now that Caleb's ten, he went with the older group.

He got pretty close in that photo above, but he didn't get a ribbon.  One of the younger boys in our group, however, grabbed a ribbon in the younger age group.  He won a swamp buggy ride!  Not bad!

Team Ghost Riders was there with these cute monkeys riding collies!

Then it was time for the cowgirls to do some barrel racing.

After the rodeo, all the kids lined up to ride the mechanical bull.  A few of the dads rode it too!

Our last morning, we had a little church service.  We sang praise songs blasting from the iPad, and Patrick did a little bible study.  Of course there was bible trivia and candy or chocolate was given out for correct answers.  Then we all went to brunch at the restaurant. And after that we started packing up.  

The fathers stayed back at the campsites (working very hard) while the mamas took the kids to the pool again.  Well, first we went to play mini golf, which was a very long bike for Havi.  But we were misinformed about cost and had to turn around because our pockets were empty.

That's when we hit up the pool for a second day.  Once the guys were finished, it was time to head out.  We had such a fantastic time.  It was great to make new friends and hang out with old ones.  While camping does take work on our part, we love how it pulls us out of the daily hustle and bustle of our lives and allows us to relax and just be present.  We love watching the kids have so much fun, and we enjoy the fellowship we have with our friends.  It's such a refreshing time. And thankfully our next camping adventure is just around the corner!