Sunday, March 12, 2017
Edisto 2016
Even with all the basketball, road trips and boating this summer we still made sure to make it down to Edisto. Edisto has become our family's summer kickoff party. The kids always have a blast there and the memories they are making will stay with them always. I hope they always do this together even when the rest of us are all long gone.
The Way the Ball Bounces
If we heard one basketball bounce this summer, we heard a million. Big got really started with AAU and had a great season. His confidence definitely grew and so did his body. Weird stuff started happening for him this summer and at this point he wasn't even 13! It was the strangest thing I've ever witnessed and he seemed to grow like one of those dried up sponges does in a cup of water. It felt like it happened over night.
We let him go to Duke basketball camp and he had a blast. The highlight of the week was most definitely when he made the half court shot one day in front of the whole camp and Coach K. He wasn't offered a scholarship but I'm pretty sure after that shot, he's definitely on Duke's short list of 2021 recruits. Thank God we have the shot on video. I'm not sure Daddy and I would have believed it otherwise.
Yes, Big grew up this summer for sure and as sad it was for Daddy and I, I guess that's the way the ball bounces.
We let him go to Duke basketball camp and he had a blast. The highlight of the week was most definitely when he made the half court shot one day in front of the whole camp and Coach K. He wasn't offered a scholarship but I'm pretty sure after that shot, he's definitely on Duke's short list of 2021 recruits. Thank God we have the shot on video. I'm not sure Daddy and I would have believed it otherwise.
There was a tournament almost every weekend that we traveled to. Daddy and I would take turns so that Lil' wasn't sitting in a gym allllll summer.
The fall brought JV tryouts and we were so proud when Big made it!! Playing JV as an 8th grader... Duke has to want some of this!!
Our Best
This summer brought us the familiar things but also some new experiences that weren't exactly fun. This was the first summer we've ever had dealing with teen-aged problems. As Big is growing, so are his mess-ups. We all learn from them though and that's the most important thing of all. But overall this past summer treated us just as sweetly as it always does.
We spent a lot of our summer on the road or on the boat. The boat seems to bring us all together in the best way. We are all at our best when we are out there.
We spent a lot of our summer on the road or on the boat. The boat seems to bring us all together in the best way. We are all at our best when we are out there.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Beautiful Things
I love to watch Lil' ride a horse. There's something about the little boss in her that enjoys every second that she's getting that big ole' horse to do what she wants him to. She's flying when she's up there and my heart skips a beat every time I see it. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
One Season after Another
Hunting...
I can't really remember if I ever measured the year in seasons like other people do such as summer, fall, winter and spring. Growing up the daughter of an avid hunter, my year was always broken into dove season, duck season, turkey season and heat.
Most of my fondest memories with my Dad were in the swamp or a dove field. Those memories will probably be Big's favorite when he gets older too.
Papa and Big spend a lot of time hunting or looking for things to hunt or looking for places where they can hunt. He's passing his passion down and Big is picking up every drop.
I can't really remember if I ever measured the year in seasons like other people do such as summer, fall, winter and spring. Growing up the daughter of an avid hunter, my year was always broken into dove season, duck season, turkey season and heat.
Most of my fondest memories with my Dad were in the swamp or a dove field. Those memories will probably be Big's favorite when he gets older too.
Papa and Big spend a lot of time hunting or looking for things to hunt or looking for places where they can hunt. He's passing his passion down and Big is picking up every drop.
I'm bettin' on Big breaking the year down like I do - one season after another.
"The best thing about hunting and fishing is that you don't have to actually do it to enjoy it. You can go to bed every night thinking how much fun you had twenty years ago, and it all comes back as clear as moonlight."
Robert Ruark, The Old Man and The Boy
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Right in the World
2016 was marked with milestone birthdays. I turned 40, Big turned 13 and Lil' turned 10. As much as I dreaded 40, it came on strong and went away like a bad hangover (literally). Daddy planned an awesome dinner with the family and then we met up with some of my favorites in the city to celebrate. I felt old as hell but also loved tremendously.
Big turning 13 I think was harder for me than me turning 40. It's a helluva thing when your baby boy is bigger than you. And although this kid drives me absolutely insane sometimes, he's brought more joy and laughter into my life than I ever thought was possible. But these teenage years man... they're gonna suck. I can hear them coming like a freight train out of control.
He didn't think this was so funny that morning and he didn't let me PLAN ANYTHING FOR HIS PARTY! So I did it without him knowing and it was a surprise party at a restaurant on the island and all his friends were there. So ha! Deal with it. We gave him a charter fishing trip that unfortunately never came to fruition because the seas just weren't having it back in the fall. Hoping we can get him out there when the water starts to flatten back out.
Papa gave him his first fly rod and because of that I was able to capture some of the prettiest flood tide pictures I think I have ever taken on Harborview Road.
And because Lil' is who she is she GLADLY let me plan a party for her and I jumped all over it. So we rented a van.
Yea man... a real van.
Big turning 13 I think was harder for me than me turning 40. It's a helluva thing when your baby boy is bigger than you. And although this kid drives me absolutely insane sometimes, he's brought more joy and laughter into my life than I ever thought was possible. But these teenage years man... they're gonna suck. I can hear them coming like a freight train out of control.
He didn't think this was so funny that morning and he didn't let me PLAN ANYTHING FOR HIS PARTY! So I did it without him knowing and it was a surprise party at a restaurant on the island and all his friends were there. So ha! Deal with it. We gave him a charter fishing trip that unfortunately never came to fruition because the seas just weren't having it back in the fall. Hoping we can get him out there when the water starts to flatten back out.
And because Lil' is who she is she GLADLY let me plan a party for her and I jumped all over it. So we rented a van.
Yea man... a real van.
And we took ourselves on down to the Japanese steak house for some hibachi. And then we came home and made our own dessert and played Twister and made glow wand jars and then all was right in the world.
Keep Them or Not
So it appears that almost a full year has passed and I haven't written. I was recently reminded of how important it is to keep up with this blog no matter how old you get so my plan is to recap the last year in several posts that will follow.
In trying to retrieve pictures from my phone, I realized that so many things have happened. You know when someone asks "How have you been" and you respond "Same old, same old"? Well, that really isn't the case. Something different and new is always happening with us - good or bad but always something.
I read an article a while back that said it's harder for you to make memories when you're older because your brain is rarely introduced to something new again but when you're young your brain is trying to map out every new experience. The article also said that if adults would slow down and be intentional about making the memories, they would happen more often. Notice colors, shapes, new roads, new faces - try to notice details so that your brain sees them as something new to remember. I've tried to do that more often this year but even so, I was floored by how much I've already forgotten that we did and how much you have grown right in front of my face.
So I'm going to start with April 2016 since I left off in March. April brought us Easter which is now and really always has been one of my favorite holidays. My Easters were always spent on Oak Island hiding easter eggs in Mabel's azalea and rose beds. I try to remember now and count the steps it took to get to the creek from the house and if I'm skipping in my mind correctly, I think there were 5.
We don't go to Oak Island anymore, but I still love the day and the season that it marks.
This is Clyde and Mabel back in the day. I have to include this picture on this post because I honestly can't remember an Easter when I was young when I didn't spend it with them.
We went to church on Easter Sunday this year in Chapin and got to see Choobs and BooBoo.
Dying Easter eggs fortunately is one thing Big can still get on board with. It's always a competition to see who can get their egg to be the darkest. Because of his competitive spirit, Big usually wins but I would never tell Lil' that to her face.
So like I said the posts are gonna start coming hopefully in somewhat of the order of how they happened. Our brains are finicky and the books that come from this blog help me remember some of the best moments of my life whether my brain wants to keep them or not.
In trying to retrieve pictures from my phone, I realized that so many things have happened. You know when someone asks "How have you been" and you respond "Same old, same old"? Well, that really isn't the case. Something different and new is always happening with us - good or bad but always something.
I read an article a while back that said it's harder for you to make memories when you're older because your brain is rarely introduced to something new again but when you're young your brain is trying to map out every new experience. The article also said that if adults would slow down and be intentional about making the memories, they would happen more often. Notice colors, shapes, new roads, new faces - try to notice details so that your brain sees them as something new to remember. I've tried to do that more often this year but even so, I was floored by how much I've already forgotten that we did and how much you have grown right in front of my face.
So I'm going to start with April 2016 since I left off in March. April brought us Easter which is now and really always has been one of my favorite holidays. My Easters were always spent on Oak Island hiding easter eggs in Mabel's azalea and rose beds. I try to remember now and count the steps it took to get to the creek from the house and if I'm skipping in my mind correctly, I think there were 5.
We don't go to Oak Island anymore, but I still love the day and the season that it marks.
This is Clyde and Mabel back in the day. I have to include this picture on this post because I honestly can't remember an Easter when I was young when I didn't spend it with them.
We went to church on Easter Sunday this year in Chapin and got to see Choobs and BooBoo.
Dying Easter eggs fortunately is one thing Big can still get on board with. It's always a competition to see who can get their egg to be the darkest. Because of his competitive spirit, Big usually wins but I would never tell Lil' that to her face.
So like I said the posts are gonna start coming hopefully in somewhat of the order of how they happened. Our brains are finicky and the books that come from this blog help me remember some of the best moments of my life whether my brain wants to keep them or not.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)