Ab Fab

Such an absolutely fabulous weekend!  Didn't want it to end!  The weather was pure perfection, mid-to-high 80's, nothing but blue skies, not a cloud to be seen.

Saturday Coach and KJ made their way to Baltimore for the NCAA Division I lax semi-finals where they were to meet up with my brother and nephew.  Cosmo pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car only to hear, "Cos??  Is that you??"  Sure enough, it was a guy Cosmo played pee-wee, middle-school and high school football with.  I think Tommy moved to Florida our sophomore year but they guys were buds on FB.  Cosmo was the center, Tommy was the QB.  Tommy was there with his boys and their high school team from NJ and they had a big tailgate spread.  Naturally, Cosmo and KJ are not ones to pass up a tailgate so they visited with Tommy and his fam for a while.  And then, oddly enough, they rain into a girl who played Hoover middle school lax with KJ and her brothers also play or have played lax for Coach.

KJ had a great time getting her picture taken with various players, autographs and swag.  She came home with lanyards, sunglasses, Tervis tumblers and t-shirts.  They had great seats and were able to stay out of the direct sun and avoid a sunburn.  My brother's seats were in a different section but they were still able to meet up with each other and do all the fun fan zone stuff for the kids.  My sister-in-law and C spent the day at the aquarium and everyone met back at my house in the evening.  The kids were exhausted and we watched Frozen before we went to bed.  Loved listening to my niece sing "Let it Go."

Sunday morning the kids were in the pool by 10:30 AM and we had to drag them out around 7 PM.  I think they only time they got out of the pool was to eat and (hopefully) use the bathroom!  Uncle Chris had the heater on all week and the water was perfect!  It was like bath water!  Al and Z came over around 1 PM and we grilled and chilled.  Around 5 PM our B'ham friends came over for dinner on their way back from DC.  They were in Baltimore for the lax games too and it was so wonderful to spend some time with them.  The boys had a good time in the pool and I think Mr. B was happy to have some boys to play with instead of C.  KJ's "friend" Connor came over for the day and ate with us, threw the rock around a bit and played some cornhole.

Monday KJ and Coach went back to Baltimore for the finals and the kids had to get one last swim in before they headed back home.  After everyone left I had a great day catching up on laundry (I love pool towels hanging off the back deck or the pool railing -- it just screams summer!), catching up on my tan and catching up on my book.  As much as I love being surrounded by family and friends, I also covet my quiet time.  The weather was spectacular and I spent quite a long time just floating on my pool raft.  No noise.  No one yelling "Aunt Valerie!!!  Watch this!"  No one doing a cannonball.  Just some good, quality, peace and quiet.  Aaaaahhhh......

Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine

Interesting post title, huh?  Answer will be revealed at the end!

The weather has been absolutely positively fabulous the last couple of days!  The service opened our pool on Wednesday and we had a ton of rain basically all day Thursday and Friday morning.  Cosmo put the pool heater on and by 12 noon on Saturday KJ was swimming (it wouldn't matter if the heater was on or not; she'll swim in anything!  If there is a body of water nearby, that kid will be in it).  And she had the dog in the pool with her.  It's so funny to watch!  Trixie jumps in and can swim from one end of the pool to the other.  Her little legs go a mile a minute and she looks like a little wind-up bath toy.

First weekend we didn't have volleyball and we were able to get so much done around the house.  We cleaned all the patio furniture, Cosmo put some mulch down around the pool and the patio and surprised me with several hibiscus potted plants and gerbera daisy pots to put around the pool deck.  We're having company Memorial Day weekend so I got all of my pretty plastic plates and serving pieces out of storage and washed them to get ready for some al fresco dining!  I also put away my "Spring Shabby Chic Parisian Flea Market" tablescape and my dining room and entrance way are full-on "Summer Beach House" mode.

Saturday night we decided to drive to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis to see the Bayhawks play the new Florida Launch.  We got to see Coach's buddy PT play.  They met at a lax camp they did together and have been friends ever since.  Always great to see great players such as Queener, Kevin Crowley, Polanco, and Mikey Powell.  The weather was perfect, we had great seats and KJ had a lot of fun.  She forgot to bring a ball with her so she didn't get any autographs this time.  MLL games are so fun because the players are so accessible.  No egos.  Most, if not all, of the guys also have regular day jobs and several of them also coach youth leagues.

Looks like we're going to have a busy, fun summer!  My bro and his fam will be here for Memorial Day as well as some friends from Alabama.  June 6 is KJ's 8th grade formal and apparently everyone's coming to our house for photos.  June 13 is 8th grade graduation and there's a weekend at the end of June that we will get to see our friends from Cincy as well as some Bama friends.  My cousin's wedding reception is mid-June, too.  After that we transition to full-on pageant mode and will have some free time mid-July to mid-August.

Post Translation:  

(Manly Deeds, Womanly Words)

http://www.netstate.com/states/mottoes/md_motto.htm

Here Come the Boom !

Had such a great day yesterday!  The weather was absolutely spectacular!  It was almost 95 degrees here with nothing but beautiful, blue, clear skies.
 
I had an appointment to pick-up my new contacts (prescription is still not right so I came home wearing my regular ol' glasses), got a pedicure, ran some errands, got a haircut, spent some time in Ulta, picked up a few things at Trader Joe's and bought a bottle of my new favorite wine at World Market (liquor laws are so weird here -- no beer or wine in grocery stores yet the World Market in Rockville carries wine.  The Trader Joe's a couple of doors down does not).

Last night KJ's travel vball team had their end of year party and celebrated w/ a Dads vs. Daughters game.  The dads were too funny and did all the cheers and A.C.E. things the girls do.  The moms visited with each other and it was very nice for me to chat and get to know some of the moms a little better.  As a matter of fact, a couple of the moms are going to a boot camp tomorrow night as a group.  Should be interesting!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day even though it was spent in the gym.  KJ had her very last volleyball tournament Sunday and did great as always.  She had to be on the court at 7:15 AM and the gym was almost an hour from our house.  Who does that?  Who schedules a volleyball tournament on Mother's Day?  KJ gave me two beautiful Alex and Ani bangles http://www.alexandani.com and T sent me an "I love you" charm necklace with my initial on a small disc.  My sweet Godson sent me a beautiful basket of flowers to brighten my day, too!

Nothing major planned for this weekend.  The pool guys opened up our pool today so I think we'll just hang around and do some yard work.  I need to wash all of my summer plastic table ware so we can dine al fresco.  We need to get our patio seat cushions out of storage and set what kind of condition they are in.  May have to buy new ones.

Torch Relay

Usually I love Sunday's but today I'm not a happy camper.  I just don't want this weekend to end!

Saturday we drove to my nephew's lax tournament and got to spend quality time with both sides of my family.  The drive was lovely and the weather was spectacular!  Not only was Mr. B playing, but my youngest cousin John (who's 8 weeks older than KJ) was playing in the tournament as well.  So, I got to see my mom's baby brother and his wife and watch John play.  As an added bonus, my dad's baby brother drove up from NJ to spend the day with us so I got to spend some time with him (I hadn't seen him since my brother's wedding 11 years ago!).  Mr. B played well and played a LOT.  This season he's been playing long pole but will also go in as a middie.  He's so super fast I personally prefer him as a middie or at attack but he really likes being on defense.  They played 3 games basically back-to-back and by the end of game 3, he was pretty much done.  He got some words of wisdom from The Legend / The Guru / Champ and we're trying to talk his mom into letting him go to Coach Cos's Hustle Camp (or, at the very least, attend a local camp in MD where he can get some stellar instruction from a professional -- Georgetown, Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, you name it).  I don't think his mom is ready to let him go to a sleep-away sports camp just yet.  Very weird to watch my brother coach and my nephew play instead of Coach and one of the girls.  I guess he's passing the torch.  After the tourney we all had dinner and just relaxed and caught up.  On the way home, we stopped at Jimmie Cone for some dessert (natch).  

Today I got some things done around the house while Cosmo and KJ did some shopping.  They originally went to the mall but ended up at the outlets by the National Harbor.   http://nationalharbor.com/  Cosmo needed some spring clothes and new sunglasses and naturally KJ got some stuff, too.  I put away my china and crystal we used for Easter dinner, I did a shload of laundry (shit + load = shload) and organized my closet a bit as well as one of the linen closets.  

T's evening gown competition dress came in this week and she is so super excited!  The fit, the color, the silhouette are all perfect!  She said it is ever so slightly long and she'd like to have a sliver taken off the bottom.  She said when she walked she had to kick it out a bit and she doesn't want to have to deal with that on stage.  She is so incredibly pleased with her wardrobe for the pageant and she made some great selections!  She looks best in jewel tones and didn't even bother looking at anything pastel.  She had to have a royal or navy blue gown for the opening number (she went with royal blue), she needed a gown with a train for the parade and went with a dusty blue strapless high/low dress and her swimsuit is emerald green.  She's been packing up her stuff the last couple of days and said The Boy will help her move across campus next week to her new dorm for her May and June sessions.  It's a bit of nuisance but not a big deal.