Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Drive, Chip, & Putt

Our kids recently competed in the PGA's Drive, Chip, & Putt competition and they were so excited.  Actually, they were so nervous is a better description.  Our son had a little meltdown the night before and said he "wasn't ready", but after a good night's sleep he was fine and ready to go.  We really had no idea what to expect.  We knew what they had said on the website, but really until you do something like that you don't know how it will go.  We didn't get there too early because we thought it might be a lot of waiting around which we aren't fans of.  In hindsight we should have gotten there way earlier to allow for more time to warm up. Since our kids are so close in age they only had like 15 minutes between when they competed so it was hard to be watching one kid and warming up another.  And by the time we signed in, got our free water (it felt like 100 degrees out that day) and our free balls to warm up with, we didn't have much time for actual warming up.  I don't think my daughter even did any practice chip shots because she was watching her brother hit his drives.  Next year will go much smoother now that we know what to expect.  Overall it was very well run and it went fast!  Which is good in most cases, except for the whole having 2 kids and wanting to watch them both.  First, they hit 3 drives and scored a certain number of points based on distance.  Then they went immediately to the chipping station and hit 3 chips where they had marked circles around the hole and they got points based on which circle their ball landed in.  Lastly, they headed right to the putting green which was literally steps from the chipping and they hit 3 putts.  They had 3 balls all set up for them at 3 different distances.  I think they were 6 feet, 15 feet, and 30 feet.  That was it.  The scorers marked the scores for the kids and the kids just handed their scorecards to the next official.  Then they had to turn it in at the end and sign it to make it official.  Just like the pros. :)  The kids had a lot of fun and it was so good for them to experience.  They were glad to see that there wasn't too much of a crowd watching the kids. Most parents were too focused on giving last minute tips to their own kids to watch other people's kids.  We only watched the kids who went right before ours.  All the kids did pretty well though.  It was fun to see other kids who are passionate about golf!  So, the big news is that one of our kids got a ribbon!  Scroll through the photos to see which one it was. ;)

I only took photos during their practice swings.  I was nervous the sound of the shutter would distract them on their real shots!  Paranoid mom...

Waiting around for her turn. She was so nervous, but I think she hid it well.

Somehow I completely missed getting photos of his chip shots.  It really went so fast!  This was after he holed his 6 foot putt and the official was waiting for a fist bump. :)  That's the circle and hole for the chip shots behind them.  

Next putt.  That's the last ball all set up behind him and waiting to go.

As soon as her brother was done we went straight over to see her (I was so afraid I would miss seeing her drive) and she was next up.  Just made it.

Practice swing.

I think this was the real swing...the ball is gone, so I guess?!

     Here she is chipping.  She definitely should have warmed up on this because she didn't do so hot on it.

   Putting.

If you know my girl's name you can find it. :)

And the big announcement of the day....my girl got a ribbon for putting!!!  I must take the time to mention that our kids got the exact same overall score and the same score in putting.  My son didn't take it too well that they scored the same and she got a ribbon and he didn't.  If you notice on the boards in this photo you can see the boys standings on the right and the girls on the left to see the difference in the number of competitors.  It was rough trying to get him to understand that she had a numbers advantage.  We are super proud of her though!!

She's already ready for her next competition.  She was so excited to win her first ever award.  :)  I think it's the first of many to come!

Friday, June 20, 2014

Photo Friday 2014 ~ Week 25

My brother was in town this past weekend after their Disney World trip so there was a lot of talk of princesses and such.  It was my niece's birthday too so we had a little celebration and my girl dressed up in her Elsa costume.  It was a nice excuse for her to wear it.  I took a couple pics of her and my niece together since my niece has the Anna costume.  She was mad though because she really wanted the Elsa one because all the little girls are obsessed with her.  Luckily she got the Elsa dress as her gift so she was a very happy girl.  So here are my princess themed favorites of the week!

I'm not usually one for using Photoshop effects but since my girl likes to imitate Elsa's pose where she's got a snowflake I thought it would be fun to add some.  I like how it turned out and it was really easy!  If you want to know how I did it, just message me and I will share.

I just like this pic of my niece before she opened her gifts.  She's such a cutie.

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

10 Years ~ A Photo Shoot ~ Clearwater Beach

My baby girl turned 10 a few months ago and every year I've been trying to do a photo shoot of her for her birthday.  I was a couple of months late getting around to it, but I'm still so glad to have these photos of her.  

I want to remember that when she was 10 
she was spunky as ever, 
her hair was short, and her legs were long.
She loved dogs and tigers.
She loved her little brother and playing pretend, 
building forts and climbing trees.
She loved drawing and reading,
going to the park and the library.
Her favorite movie was Frozen
and she read all the Ramona books a half a dozen times.
She loved swimming and going to the beach,
rolling in the sand and finding shells and sea creatures.
She discovered her talent and love for golf.
She loved exploring nature and being outdoors.
She lived life to its fullest
with intensely happy moments 
and drama filled moments in between.
Life with her was never dull and watching her filled me with joy.
She was independent but still needed her mama.
She was beautiful inside and out.

I hope to remember all of these things when I look back on these photos in years to come, but mostly I want to remember the intense love that I have for her in this moment, even when she drives me crazy and we butt heads.  I know our relationship grows deeper and more complex each year as she ages and I look forward to watching her and knowing her and loving her more as she grows.  But she'll always be my baby girl.  I love her more than she'll ever know.


Friday, June 13, 2014

Photo Friday 2014 ~ Week 24

We finally finished up school this week and I am so happy to be done!  I might be happier than the kids.  We celebrated by eating Oreo's and drawing with sidewalk chalk and hanging out on our big green quilt outside.  It's the little things...  I am so looking forward to some lazy summer days.  I didn't pick up my camera once this week, but I did take a bunch with my phone that I shared on Instagram.  I decided to make my account public, so if you've tried to view my photos before and couldn't, you should be able to now.  I figured that was easier than reposting pictures on here.  So go on over here and check them out and leave a comment or two if you see something you like. :)  We spent some time this week at the driving range getting ready for the Drive, Chip, and Putt competition tomorrow.  The kids are so nervous.  They've never really done any sort of sporting competition.  I think it will be really good experience for them.  I'm gonna take the camera for sure, so I'll be sure to share some shots next week!

I got out the camera this morning, once again disappointed in myself for not planning ahead and getting it out sooner.  The kids were just playing around the house and it was raining so we couldn't go for a walk or anything.  So I just asked them to go on the balcony and took a few quick shots of each of them.  These are my favorites.

My girl was reading a book this morning and decided to dress up 'old fashioned' like the character in the book.  This is what she came up with.  I love that she gets into her books.  One positive aspect of homeschooling I've noticed is that she no longer feels a lot of peer pressure to grow up and fit in.  I guess some people might view that as a negative or one of those weird homeschooler stereotypes, but I find it utterly refreshing when a kid isn't afraid to still act like a kid and isn't afraid to like what she likes for fear of what some other kids her age might think of it.  I love that she's become more confident in who she is and that we've found like minded friends whose kids are also in no hurry to grow up.  After all, she's only 10!


This boy...what to say...I love the twinkle in his eye here.  I love his gap tooth smile and his freckles and his affinity for always being shirtless.  He let me cut his hair this week when I convinced him it would keep him from getting so sweaty.  I love it even though it does make him look more grown up.  Isn't it crazy how much we hold onto our 'babies' and hate every little thing that makes them seem older?  Or is that just me?

We are off to the library today since my girl is out of books.  And then to the driving range for a little more practice for tomorrow's big competition.  If you think of it, say a little prayer for my kiddos around 9am.  Have a great weekend!!

Friday, June 6, 2014

Photo Friday 2014 ~ Week 23

I'm just gonna call this week the week of the frog.  We tried to get back into our normal routine and finish up some schoolwork since our visitors were gone.  Then my girl found some tadpoles in a little well outside our balcony and much of the scheduled schoolwork was abandoned as she learned everything she could about tadpoles and frogs.  Which is totally fine by me.  I mean, that's why we homeschool, right?  So if we are presented with real, live tadpoles we can watch their metamorphosis in person and immerse ourselves in it and learn as much as we want without the normal constraints of school.  So we did.  Or really, I should say they did.  I mostly just sat back and watched their enthusiasm and took pictures.  :)  I will say that I wasn't too excited about the prospect of having 'pets' for the week (they were secluded to the balcony) but I'm glad I got over it because it was pretty fun.  My girl just has a really hard time letting go of her pets and wants to keep everything forever since according to her they love her and she loves them and they need to stay.  So, I guess she learned a lesson in letting go this week as well.  Then we went to a used curriculum sale this week and found a book called "Pets in a Jar" which of course I knew she would love and she's on a mission as I type this to find her next new pet.  I'm trying to embrace this new style of learning.  I'm getting better at it but it's still hard for me at times to let go of the schedule I'm come so accustomed to.  We are still trying to finish up a few last lessons from the year, but I'm hoping to be done by the end of next week.  If we could just stop getting sidetracked by all these little creatures!  Oh, and I totally forget to mention, we also found tiny froggies at my mom's pool this week!  It truly was the week of the frog...

The transition from tadpole to frog actually went really quickly.  It only took about 2 full days.  I posted some photos of the tadpole stage on my Instagram feed if you care to look.  Here are Spots and Froggy. :)

So, I'm not really an amphibian lover, but these guys were so, so tiny that they were just amazingly adorable.  Here is Spots on the tip of my girl's finger.

My little froggy checking out the real froggies.  :)  I really think he failed to see the irony in his pose.

I swear my girl is gonna be some sort of biologist or something.  She loves pretty much any little creature she can find and just wants to learn as much as she can about each of them.  Our library overflows with books about different animals.  And she is not a girl that would scream when a teeny frogs hops on her...like her mom might.  :)

Love their curiosity.  My little scientists.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and that you find some of God's tiny creatures to marvel at!

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