I know...I know...it's been a while! My lack of updates hasn't been from lack of goings-on to share, but from lack of time (too often the case for me).
It's been an event-filled couple of weeks. We went to Panama City Beach a couple of weeks ago with my parents and one of my sisters and her family. It was amazing. I have always enjoyed the beach (notice I said *the beach* -- not the ocean -- I don't care much for saltwater and seaweed). I have a friend who finds the beach to be very therapeutic and tries to go as often as possible. I now understand why. In fact, I almost passed up a shopping trip to the outlets just so I could sit on the beach! LOL Alas, the call of the outlets was stronger than the call of the beach...but not much stronger. It was so incredibly relaxing to just sit there with my feet in the warm sound, listening to and watching the ocean, watching my children and nieces and nephew playing, and spending time with my family. It was, I think, the first time in a long time that I was fully present and in the moment, not worried about work and what I wasn't getting done while I was on vacation.
I did get in the water a few times, although I must admit to preferring the hot tub over the cooler, salty ocean. We ate at two great restaurants, had fun shopping, and just enjoyed spending time together with our extended family. I have decided that we must make this an annual event -- my parents go every year for my Mom's job and they've been inviting us for some time. I don't know why we haven't gone sooner...but we'll definitely be going from now on. And until next year, I'll be scheming and trying as hard as I can to figure out a way to go back to the beach! It was incredibly relaxing and we all loved it.
In other news...my sister E had a baby boy last week. Apparently he inherited our family's tendency to be a little impatient and decided to make his grand entrance several weeks early. Not the best idea on his part, but he's doing really well and is a beautiful baby. We hope he'll be home from the hospital next week.
And in still other news, my sister M and her husband are getting a little 2-year-old foster child next week. We're so incredibly thrilled for them! They're going to be a wonderful family for this little girl and we can't wait to meet her!
B's soccer season ends tomorrow. It has been a great season for her -- she's quite the tough little soccer player. She has enjoyed the season. A few people have mentioned that we should let her try out for the advanced teams but I'm not sure...too much travel, I think. But regardless, she has enjoyed the season and has really improved.
A's softball season is in full swing (no pun intended, really!). She is pitching really, really well and has pitched a couple of no-hitters. Not only is she pitching well, but she's also hitting well. She has turned out to be quite the softball player. Some of the coaches of opposing teams have come to watch her pitch (scouting out the competition) and jokingly said they wanted to reschedule their games for our vacation so they wouldn't have to go up against her! That made her feel good. She's focusing on high school softball next year and can't wait for that.
The school year is almost over here. Both girls have done very well academically this year. B has struggled with some issues with a classmate and it has been hard for her recently, so she is looking forward to the end of the school year so she can be away from that situation. Other than that, it has been a great year.
And that's about it...now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to my new relaxation technique: envisioning myself on the beach, feet in the warm white sand, listening to the waves, and not thinking about anything else!
