Soccer Season

This was Little's first full season on varsity. The team was maxed out with numerous seniors and juniors. 

Eric and I had a new experience this season, too...emcee! During all home games, we made announcements, ran the scoreboard, and played music. We were responsible for their warm up hype music, the National Anthem, halftime songs, and even weather delay songs (ie. The Thunder Rolls). The job came with the best seat in the house!!

The technical equipment was a bit overwhelming at first. One of the speakers blew, we couldn't get the microphone to work, and we learned that the pairing of our phone with the sound system also meant that text message notifications were shared with spectators. Oops!

Her team dominated our region! They usually did a shut out where the other team didn't score a goal. 

As expected, they won region! 😊

All were smiles after a game well played.

They made the playoffs. Here's a nice action shot taken by the local photagrapher.

They continued their streak to win Upper State!

Before they headed out to the State finals, the coaches cooked them a nice meal.

The team received a "clap out" in the hallways by fellow students as they headed to the bus.

Then onto Columbia, SC, at Memorial Staduim in a charted bus!

The weather delays pushed their game back a bit, but the delay didn't take away their engery as they walked out onto the field! It was neat hearing each player's name announced over the loud speaker.

A team prayer before they take the field.

Then at 9pm, the championship game began.

Although we lost 0-2, the girls played well. Here's our Little with the team trophy and her silver medal.

Very proud of our Lady Patriots! 

Nigerian Wedding

Ashlyn's roommate in medical school invited us to her wedding. Both she and her fiance were Nigerian, so we were honored to be guests of their special celebration.

It was two days of equisitely decorated events! The first night was their traditional African celebration where the families were formally introduced. Towards the end of the night, the engaged couple entered two separate times in different outfits and sat on the stage to watch their family member and guests dance.

Take a look at this program. It said everything begins at 7pm. Well, we were among the few guests that sat around for 2 hours until around 9pm when the majority of guests began to arrive.

Ashlyn had a special role to play throughout the evening. Alex's aunt saved the day when she hand sewed this dress in 48 hours!

During the bride's first outing, Ashlyn and about 30 other girls in orange encirled the dance floor while the bride and her bridesmaids danced in the middle.

The next day was the Catholic ceremony in a church with the traditional American celebration. As in the first night, no expense was spared, including the mocktail bar. So cool!

The couple again made several entrances throughout the night with different changes of outfits.

Instead of bringing gifts, it's cusomary to bring lots of cash to sprinkle on the couple as they dance. After each dance, the floor is swept and all the cash given to the newlyweds. Eric and I had fun throwing dollar bills at them. It was tough to get close, though. With over 600 guests, the dance floor was crazy full!

This was my best close-up picture of the couple. Many blessings to Cindy and Nambdi!

Texas Spring

Most of our visits to the Lone Star State are either wintry cold or summer hot. Everything is brown and dead. The kids didn't know it any other way until this year. 

Spring in Texas is beautiful! The weather was perfect and the colors so vibrant! It was bluebonnet season, too. 

I had forgotten about the buttercups. These were fun growing up as we would let the flower "kiss" your cheek and leave yellow pollen.

There was plenty of work to be done on the farm. Lots of grass to mow...

Weeds to spray and pull...

And limbs to pick up and burn (forgot to take a picture of the fire pit). This was Alex's first time in Texas. We had to get him into the proper gear for walking around, at least until the high brush was cleared.

While driving around the land, Ashlyn wanted to stop to take a picture in the bluebonnets.

Then it was time for fishing. It was cute seeing the newlyweds hang out, although it got a bit much after a while. 

Fishing was good! The bass weren't large, but they were still fun to catch. Both Ashlyn and Alex each caught a few.

After our chores, it was time to relax and play. An instant pickleball court was set up outside the annex.

I enjoyed my long walks in the countryside.

Every trip to Texas must include two things...real Czech kolaches

and barbeque!

Occasionally there's the additional stop at the birthplace of Dr. Pepper.

The trip was timed perfectly to attend a Mass at the church where Eric and I got married exactly 29 years ago (weekend after Easter). 

Our added bonus for the trip was the total eclipse! While the cloudy, overcast skies diminished it's typical effect, the phenomenon was nontheless pretty cool.

Holiday Cruise

This Christmas, we decided to take a holiday cruise since all six of us were able to go. 

We drove to Alabama to pick up Ashlyn & Alex, then departed out of the Port of Mobile.

Once onboard, it was time to eat!!

Our favorite items at breakfast included lox & bagels, eggs benedict, french toast, and Ceasar salad with salmon. 

Our youngest decided to order 5 boiled eggs and didn't think that was strange. 

In the evening, we'd have to dress up a bit more in the dining room. But the food there was just as delicious!

The wait staff entertained the cruise guests with singing or dancing every night. 

And then for lunch, the ship had an amazing buffet on the top deck along with specialty foods like Guy's Burger Joint and the Blue Iguana.

The challenge was to burn enough calories at the gym to counter all the food. Then after every workout, we'd relax in the whirlpool or sauna.

Our cruise itinerary had 4 days at sea and 3 at the Bahama islands. On sea days, the ship kept things fun with trivia contests. Our family attended several of these activities and did well with sports trivia, The Office, general knowledge, and mind games, but only took home the trophy with Seinfeld trivia. Streaming all 9 seasons this fall paid off! 

Something new on ships now is to find rubber ducks. They are hidden all over the ship. Families will bring them to hide, and others look for them to keep. Luke found one and re-hid it for the children. 

Our first island stop was Nassau. We walked around the city to look for a catholic church offering Mass, but it was a holiday for them (Boxing Day) and services were on a different schedule. So we did a few touristy things like climb the queen's staircase.

A short walk later we arrived at Fort Fincastle overlooking the bay.

Then my favorite, rum shots at the Graycliff Chocolate Factory where you also eat the cup!

After that, we tried to tour John Watling's Rum Distillery with their amazing pina coladas, but it was also closed for the holiday. We decided to spend the extra time relaxing on the beach.

But then found some rum punch stands and had to partake.

Our return time back on board the ship was 4pm, which was perfect to clean up for another amazing meal. Our dinner time varied between 6pm-7:30pm, depending on when we scheduled our reservation. When we had time to spare, we took a few pictures.

Our next island stop was Bimini, a smaller land mass that's only 7 miles long. We rented a golf cart to take us to the north beach.

There, the girls enjoyed tanning while the guys built a "fort" around them. Eric enjoyed riding the current in the water. 

Our last island didn't have much to offer since the weather was rainy, but we did manage to explore a bit and found thier volcanic rock coastline. It was just as peaceful as it was gorgeous!

Back on the ship to head home, one of the kids snapped this beautiful picture. The sunsets at sea are so pretty!