Introducing water polo players #12 and #18!

Without doubt, had we not moved to Ohio and possibly even Mason, the boys never would have found themselves playing water polo in high school! It wasn't until meeting their friend Mia that swimming even began to be of interest to them. Then a friend of mine from church encouraged me to look into water polo as her daughters played at the high school and she felt pretty confident water polo would be something the boys would probably find more fun than swimming. She was right! The middle school had a program that allowed interested 8th graders to practice with the high school JV team as a way to get them acquainted with the sport and teach them the basics. Sure enough the boys really enjoyed it and now after playing their first high school season will agree that they much prefer polo to swim. Having said that they will swim through high school because the coaches encourage it as a way to keep them in shape. So here are players #12 and #18!




This year the high school had a brand new water polo coach. What was good about that was she had no preconceived notions about any of the kids. We all know politics exists in sports but having her come in from the outside diminished any of that. She also was thinking about the development of the team over the course of the next few years and so had indicated she'd be selecting a couple freshman to attend the first big two day varsity meet at Napoleon as a way to develop and prepare future players. Ty and Connor were thrilled to learn they were the two freshman she had selected. She couldn't guarantee how much playtime they'd get but wanted them to come to gain a better understanding of how tournaments work and hopefully give them opportunities to play as relief players. How exciting it was when one of the moms text me to tell me Ty had scored his first goal! Although I didn't get to attend, I heard all about the fun they had. It was the first time they had traveled with a sports team overnight which I know they also enjoyed! Here is the varsity team plus two cute freshmen!



After the Napoleon tournament Coach added the boys to the varsity roster. Although they'll primarily play on JV, they were thrilled at the opportunity to play in varsity games and I think it was great for their confidence that out of all the freshmen, they were the only two selected. She mentioned to me a couple times how she'd never seen such eager kids who desired so much to get better so I was happy to see them rewarded with the opportunity to push themselves even further. It was clear she hadn't yet learned we were moving and the boys would not be around next season and I hoped when that time came she'd continue her investment in them. Thankfully she did.

We never have to worry about the boys trimming their nails during polo season...For football we had weigh ins, and for water polo they have nail checks...



Here are a few shots I managed to capture of Ty during the season:



And here are a few shots of Connor. By far a highlight was seeing Connor score his first goal in a varsity game:



The beauty of team sports is watching the camaraderie that is so evident from the stands. Compound that with getting to watch your two boys play at the same time handing off the ball to each other warms my heart. So glad they found a sport in high school that they love and I enjoy watching. No more freezing on the stands or roasting in the sun. It may be a big muggy but with tournaments lasting just under an hour, I feel like it's the best of all worlds in sports! :)



Proud supporters...




The award ceremony: It's no secret that when raising twins you worry about the competitiveness that can exist between them. Although Connor has had an edge on Ty in school, Ty has had an edge on Connor in sports. The good news is each of them have had bragging rights for something. Unfortunately it's not like you get publicly praised when you get good grades in school..at least not until graduation. But Ty has frequently been awarded special awards and leadership roles in football and swim. Once again I found myself bracing and keeping an eye on Connor as Ty got the boys Rookie of the year award. Of course I was happy for him but you have no idea how thrilled I was to hear Connor also recognized with the boys most improved player award. To see the look on Connor when he got the award was priceless. A great way to kick off high school sports! Had to laugh though when I said to the boys how cool it was that they got a "letter" and their response was "what are we supposed to do with it". Clearly it doesn't symbolize to them what it did to people back in the olden days when I was in high school...haha!




Now off to Florida where the boys will get to participate in water polo for a second time this school year since there it is a spring sport!!!

What would we do without Grandma and Grandpa!

Who knew at the beginning of the year grandma and grandpa would end up watching the kids for 10% of the year?!? One thing is for certain though, the kids don't mind one bit. And it's so much easier to leave when you know they are in such good hands. From our trip to Hawaii to the Philippines to a house hunting trip to this time when I had to select stuff for the house back in FL, they have always been willing to make our life easier by watching the kids. This will be it though for their visits to Ohio. Next time they visit us will be in Florida!!! Here they are with the kids during this most recent visit. Sage was off to a church Halloween party and the boys were off to participate in a water polo tournament! We love you!!!

Halloween fun 2016!

Kicked off the Halloween season with a trip to Shaw Farm out in Milford! It was a beautiful day to go and attempt our luck at their two mile corn maze (thanks to Michael's recommendation)! The whole time we were in the maze I kept thinking what a creepy yet fun thing it would be at night with flashlights! It may have taken a couple hours for us to complete the whole maze but we did it! Check out all that corn!!!




A couple weeks later we got together with Michael and Michele to carve pumpkins out at their place. Can you guess who carved which one? Two of them are not Roddy pumpkins!



Last year I thought was the boys last year trick or treating but they talked me into one last year! From the looks of what I saw they were far from the only 14 year olds out trick or treating but they did assure me this was indeed their last year. Leave it to Ty though to decide what he wants to be the day before Halloween! Unlike Connor who plans ahead and had already figured out he was going as Clark Kent since he had done it a few years back, Ty tries to give me a list of stuff to go by the day of. Needless to say with trick or treating starting at 6 and the boys getting home from swim practice at 5 we spent the next hour quickly throwing together something I found online...an emoji! After a bit of prodding, he agreed...



Sage had attended a church Halloween party earlier in the week that was Harry Potter themed. I haven't even read the Harry Potter books but Sage and her friend decided to go as Ginny Weasley and Hermione. Another quick throw it together costume...



Once again the runner in Sage seems to emerge on Oct. 31st of each year. Even Tanna had a hard time keeping up with her but it was all worth it when she compared her candy stash to that of her brothers! I love her passion. What's funny is that she immediately donated a bunch at school and if it's anything like last year, she'll have it sitting in her room through next spring...



Happy Halloween!

Mason Homecoming 2016

I still can't believe our boys are freshmen in high school! With that comes a whole new chapter of experiences! And the first one was Homecoming weekend! There was the football game on Friday night and the dance on Saturday. We had told the boys that they were welcome to go to the dance with a group but there would be no going with a date. Connor really had no desire to go to the dance but was interested in hanging out with the group beforehand at dinner. So he joined Ty, Mia and a couple of her friends and did dinner with them before coming back to the house to hang out with a couple of buddies. Ty and Mia had a great time at the dance meeting up with friends from water polo and swim. I was anxious all night to hear how it went and sure enough he had had a great time! Here is the crew beforehand!



Note to self: Always run the boys dance attire by Jack first! I had no idea it's a fashion faux pas to wear a belt with suspenders!!! How would I know as no one I know has ever worn suspenders before this night! Yes, they both serve the same purpose of holding up your pants but for skinny Ty it didn't occur to me that you would no longer need anything to keep your pants fitting nicely around your waist! lol! Lesson learned!!!

It's all about the Jack...

Once in a blue moon Jack will take a photo with his phone. It's rare. It's sad in some ways because he's traveled to some fabulous places for work and had some amazing experience but just never thinks to take photos. Well as I was going through the few photos that he had taken the past couple years that managed to get onto our computer, I decided to throw them into a post. Some are really great memories that I know he'll be happy to look back on...

It's no secret that when it comes to college football Jack follows BYU and Notre Dame. Here's Jack with Tyler Eifert who had played for Notre Dame before being drafted to the Bengals here in Cincy. As it turned out Tyler is from Cincy, and his dad actually does work as a contractor for LUX. So when we were attending a LUX golf event, Tyler was accompanying his dad and Jack was introduced to him. Funny, the following year we ran into him again at the same event! I don't think Jack has ever felt so short...haha!



Jack spent many weeks in Italy over the course of his time at Lux but this particular weekend trip to Venice was to celebrate Michael and his upcoming wedding. These two have been best friends for a long time so I was so glad they got to have this time together before Michael's big day!



@ Library of Congress for special dinner



enjoying the view from his room in Puerto Rico (without me...)



Jack was at a work event in Scottsdale, AZ (Paradise Valley) when he took these photos at the resort he was staying at. Reminders of where he grew up...



I had to laugh when Jack sent me these photos while attending a Nascar event at the Auto Club Speedway out in CA. He happened to walk by some of the Housewives who were there too...and of course were being filmed. I guess you never know the crowd you'll run into at a Nascar event...




Maui Jim event...at least that's what he tells me... lol!



Guys trip in AZ in honor of Ty Bailey. Jack was thrilled to outfit many with new glasses as you can see...



Fun times at the Kentucky Speedway and meeting Jeff Gordon.



Just a day on the new job...



Well this falls very short of capturing all the fun times he's had over the past few years without me but there are a couple special trips here he'll be happy to look back on!

9.17.2016

Someone's a year wiser! And that someone is me! We started the day golfing as a family which, well...is the only thing about the day Jack and I would have changed...haha! Or perhaps we should have stuck to Top Golf but with the unseasonably warm weather we've been enjoying it seemed crazy to not be out enjoying it! Unfortunately Jack and I weren't golfing our best and then you add a couple boys who hadn't been in a while and a girl who desperately wants to drive the cart, well, it made for a bit of chaos and many extra minutes spent looking for lost balls but... we were all together and that is something that doesn't happen often these days with Jack being away most of the time! We ended the day strong though with a delicious dinner at Tony's, a Cincy favorite for me! Of course it wouldn't be a complete birthday without ending the night with some angel food cake!!!





Here's also a shot that was taken of the sweet ladies I use to serve with at church who took me out to lunch in honor of my big day! I'll miss each of them. They all are such amazing women who exemplify the definition of service.