A Whilrwind

Oh, what a busy week it has been, travelling here and there and back again with my daughter.

We visited family, and it was a good visit. Too short, too many conflicting things to do, not enough time, but we smashed a lot in.

  Me, Mom, Daughter, Sister :)

 Miss Piggy, who is not on the Easter menu :)

Ash with wind blown mane

Trigger looking for treats

And now for scale - they are mini's :)

I miss the pink dogwood.

Mandatory pictures with the Maryland Blue Crab in stained glass at BWI.

Then it was off to Florida for a college visit. It was our first time in Jacksonville and we loved it. Even the airport was lovely.

I still haven't unpacked. No time.

Today is the 200 mile round trip drive to sand practice. I'm not in the mood, but it's what we have to do right now. Then in a few days we fly to Georgia for a tournament, a few weeks later, Naples FL for a tournament and more college visits. Looks like Alabama and Arizona might be added to the list.

I'm tired just thinking about it, but it's a good tired.

Hope all is well in your world. It's mostly all good in ours.

xo

I stand corrected

Mother Nature's resilience is amazing. Those snow frozen flowers are still here, some wilted and flopped over, but not dead yet. And the trillium, tall and proud today. It's miraculous, and shows how little I know.

Sometimes it's wonderful to be wrong.  :)

Snow Day

4-15-14  At this point, all I can do is try to laugh instead of cry. These poor flowers. Frozen clean through.

Saddest of all is this lone frozen trillium. I can't remember the trilliums ever freezing before.



The weatherman is having a field day with his stats:

Chicago's heaviest late season snow in 34 years (yesterday & last night's 1.4") and this area's only snow this heavy to occur within 3 days of an 80-deg temp over the city's 129-year observational record of snowfall has been followed Tuesday by February-level temps! This chill is close to "near-record" intensity. Tuesday's 36 missed the 1928 record low max of 34 by just 2 deg and equals the "normal high" Feb on 16. The overnight low of 27 missed the 71 year old record of 26 for the date by just 1-degree!


Whatever, weatherman.   Give me some good news.

A lovely quick trip

We swooped into LA, drove south to Huntington Beach, and Em played in a very competitive Women's tournament on a perfect day. We met some old and new friends, good people. It was a great trip, but a blur.

She and her partner, who just met, finished third, only losing to one team.

Everyone keeps asking why she doesn't come out for the summer to train. It's the place to be.

I'll be struggling with that one. I love it there too. Plus there's some people I've known forever online that I'd love to meet for reals and some sights I'd like to see. I've driven past Arboretums, Museums, Parks and Nature Preserves wishing I had more time. At least we got plenty of time on the beach.

This is what it looks like here for another month or so, and we have snow and lows in the 20's this week.

Our drive to this lovely but lonely beach for practice is over 2 hours each way and it sucks. 

But it's what we do now.

We are both beat today, maybe a little jet lagged.  We're leaving again in three days for a week, half family visit, half college visit.  Then a couple of weeks off  for finals before heading out again and really picking up the travel and tournament pace. I think the next six months will be a blast but a blur.

If I'm inconsistent posting, reading and commenting it's because I need another me to help out with everything right now: parenting, work, travel, life. 

Busy is my word for 2014. And maybe tired.

But it's a good tired.

xo

A Day at the Beach

Oh my. Our first outside sand volleyball practice this year. Three parents, one coach, two determined girls, at the Lake Michigan beach in April, fleeting sun and brisk winds, the lake ice finally melted.

It was a chilly Sunday afternoon, but a good one.

And a funny one too:




But they worked hard, and had a great time.



It's going to be a great summer, that's our plan.

Sandy toes. Surf. Seagulls. Sunshine. Smiles. Volleyball.

 It's a very good plan.

Next stop:  Huntington Beach California on Friday, then Delaware and Florida the following week.

Busy is good, right?