Freshman Baseball 2022

Austen didn't have enough to do this spring with a full course load of school and a robust spring soccer schedule that takes him out of town a lot to play. So he decided what's one more sport and thought he'd try out for the freshman baseball team. He just wanted to prove to himself that he could make it. Approximately 40 kids tried out for an A and B team where they only had 28 uniforms so kids were going to get cut. Austen didn't think he'd be one of those kids who were cut but he was vying for the A team even though the B schedule (which was posted beforehand) worked out much better with his soccer schedule. He thought he had a good chance at A and it was between him and his really good friend for the starting shortstop position on the A team. But, before the coaches decided A and B teams, Austen had to tell the head coach that he had to miss a practice to fly to Arizona for a soccer tournament. Never mind that he delayed his flight so he could make a 5:30am practice on Friday before a 4pm soccer game in Arizona but he still was missing a Saturday practice and had to come clean with the head coach about his double athlete life. The coach understood but told him he'd be benched for missing. Austen expected that and was prepared for that but when the rosters were released the next week what he couldn't understand was how many kids on A shouldn't have been on A. Neither he nor his friend made A as the shortstop. He made B. 

The B coach (whom I love) used to be the assistant varsity coach but was going to retire and then got called back because they didn't have a Freshman B coach. He told Austen he should have been the starting shortstop but had no input into the rosters. Austen actually really liked his B team since they had several A caliber players and won many games as the B team but what he was really relishing was that the A team was losing - every game! 

It's been nice to watch him have fun in his last season (he thinks) as a baseball player. He's been a strong shortstop making some great catches and double plays. His hitting is crazy. He's hit the top of the fence for an almost home run but just wants to swing at everything now (a few years ago he barely swung the bat at all). His coach (again, whom I love) has to tell him that he has to be a bit more selective because while he makes contact with every pitch they can end in weak grounders or pop ups (his hits lately) if he tries to get them all. I think it's good advice. Did I mention I love this coach? He's stern but very positive with the boys. I think it's exactly where Austen is supposed to be. So while sometimes it bothers him that he'll never have a real shot at the A team because of soccer (he thinks), I know he's having a good time with his teammates and he really likes his coach too. That worries me a bit though when the coach tells him that he's going to tell the JV coach all about him and I ask Austen, so did you say that you're not playing next year? Of course he didn't. Keeping his options open, I think. Goodbye spring break! Maybe. 

Easter 2022

Easter weekend 2022 was a busy one. Austen had a soccer game in St. Louis early Saturday morning, and Tom and I both wanted to go so off the girls went with Sadie to Grandma Szurgot's house. We probably would have brought everyone (our hotel was pet friendly) but we were also bringing one of Austen's teammates and our car wouldn't fit everyone plus the dog. 

We got an early start to St. Louis on Friday despite the rain. It was certainly different having just Austen with us. He never gets both of us (probably none of the kids do all that often) so it was an extra special treat having dinner with just him and his teammate on the way down to St. Louis on Friday night. Austen passed out about halfway there as the week of baseball, school and soccer finally caught up with him. We arrived about 9:30pm and both the boys were asleep by 10pm. 

We arrived early on Saturday for warm ups and then Tom and I enjoyed a leisurely coffee at a brand new local Starbucks before heading back for the game. About 5 minutes into the game, Austen made the trip worth our while with a great volley into the goal off a corner kick to put his team up 1-0. They played really well in the first half scoring another goal to put them up 2-0. However, somewhere in the second half they lost some steam (might've been the subbing) and they pulled Austen back from playing up top to defend. They ended up holding the lead though and went on to win 2-1. 

After the game, we made the long drive home to rescue Sadie from Peyton who complained the entire time that Sadie would not get up and go outside. I get it. Sadie is not easy but the complaining and constant texting us showed us that she's not ready for any real responsibility including another dog or a cat that she desperately wants. 

We made it back to Grandma's house and after taking Sadie out, we enjoyed an early Easter meal together. We got home about 8pm. Showers for all and then bed for the girls while Tom and I hit the grocery store, prepared a salad and a french toast casserole for the next day and got our Easter egg hunt squared away. Together we can accomplish a lot!! I think we went to bed just after midnight then got up at 7am to make it to church for 8am mass. Back to our house for the kids' Easter egg hunt which ended in them having to do a "Wordle" to find their Easter baskets filled with candy and a few little presents for them - water bottles, pajamas, socks and goggles. 

Then it was back in the car to go to the other Grandma's house. We ate, caught up and then the kids all partook in the famous Easter egg hunt in Grandma's backyard. We didn't have any winners this year but there were apparently some cheaters so maybe that's why. 

We arrived back home mid afternoon, took a leisurely walk with Sadie to Starbucks and then Austen and Tom hit the driving range. It was a busy and tiring weekend but a good one too. Thanks Easter bunny!

Hawaii 2022 - Oahu (Part 2)

We landed early afternoon on Oahu and had a little snafu with our shuttle pick up. A few calls later we had a private car service and a full refund, and we were on our way. Ko Olina is a very nice part of Oahu. Twenty years ago when we went to Hawaii for our Honeymoon, my meeting planner at work recommended this area. Since then the area has grown with shops and stores and more hotels and condos. It's a great area with lagoons which protect the beach and the swimmers from the big ocean waves. Our hotel, Disney Aulani, was pretty magnificent in size. I mean Disney does not do anything small. We were only going to be there for 3 nights and 4 days so we made the most of it. Hawaii had just removed their mask mandate two days after our arrival but a lot of the restaurants were still closed especially at Aulani. You could tell they had a shortage of staff too. It wasn't necessarily the same Disney quality. Our quick lunch we had by the pool when we arrived was great and then we let the girls swim before heading off to our dinner reservation at Monkeypod in the Ko Olina area. The restaurant was cool - almost like a treehouse for monkeys and the kids had fun with all the fruity drinks. 

Stitch - Peyton's favorite Disney Character

Monkeypod and fruity drinks

Character breakfast

The next morning we had a character breakfast scheduled. But you know the great buffets that you loved from Hawaii? They are all gone now due to COVID. I really missed that. We took pictures with some characters from a distance and had an okay breakfast (not as good as I remember). We then spent the day at the beach with the kids running back and forth between the lazy river and the waterslides at the pool. It was much hotter in Oahu than on the Big Island and we got a lot of sun. We had to go in early anyway that day because we had the 5pm VIP seating for the Disney Luau. I wanted to arrive later but the concierge said we'd miss the special activity which was making fresh leis. We did have fun making the leis, listening to stories about Hawaii and the food was really, really good (especially the pork) although served in a bento box and not buffet style. Lots of fun Hawaiian dancing and specialty drinks and a little bit of fire throwing too (which was the best part of the previous luaus that I had been to). It was a 3 hour plus show so it took up most of the night. After a few shops (Peyton and Hailey loved the shops and had saved all of their gift cards and money to shop there), we retired to bed. 

Disney luau

Mickey ice - melting too fast in the heat!

Disney Aulani lagoon

Mickey ice cream bar and the Four Seasons in the distance

The next day was another beach day. The kids did snorkel in rainbow reef and then Austen and Peyton snorkeled in the lagoon as well. They ate Mickey Italian ice and ice cream bars too. We lounged in the lazy river and all of us had fun on the waterslides (well, except for Hailey who refused to go down). That night was technically our last night on the island so we enjoyed a fancier dinner beachside at the Four Seasons Ko Olina next door. We dined on surf and turf (Hailey a cheeseburger) and discussed our favorite family vacations. Alaska still ranks pretty high but the kids really enjoyed Hawaii and our ski trip to Breckenridge.

Dinner at the Four Seasons

Disney Aulani in the background

Waimea Waterfall walk

Pearl Harbor

Rental jeep

On Friday, we had had enough sun so we checked out and stored our luggage. With all of the rental cars sold out and a whole day to kill, we again turned to Turo who dropped off our Jeep at the hotel so we could drive around the island for about 10 hours before heading back for our flight. We hit up Pearl Harbor. The kids got to tour the museum and listen to the story behind Pearl Harbor as well as see the U.S. Arizona Memorial. We didn't get to go down in the memorial as the ticketing process was a bit crazy especially during spring break and COVID but it was good enough. They were there. We then went into downtown Honolulu because Peyton had to go to this Lululemon store to find Hawaii Lulu gear only to find out you can only get that in Maui. Guess we know where our next vacation will be! We had fun exploring and showing them the city though. Then we headed way back north to go to Waimea Falls. We hiked in and got to see the waterfall (and got caught in a torrential downpour). The way back took forever due to the unbelievable amount of traffic or we would have hit the Dole Pineapple Farm too but we had to get back to drop off the Jeep and catch our red eye flight home.

As we all said, we would have been more disappointed if we were leaving Hawaii and had nothing else to look forward to but once again we had First Class tickets which afforded us a bed as well as food and alcohol (for the adults) for the long trip home. We did have a connecting flight this time and when we arrived in Seattle we were seeing many flights canceled that day due to technical issues. Luckily, we were only delayed two hours and arrived home Saturday afternoon. 

Hard to come back home and definitely hard to come back home to the mix of sleet and rain that greeted us after we landed. It was a great trip. More memories made with our family, and the kids are already on to planning the next vacation (or at least Peyton is!). 

Hawaii 2022 - The Big Island (Part 1)

Aloha! I wish I was still back in Hawaii enjoying that sunshine and warm weather but on Saturday we were welcomed back to Chicago with a mix of rain and snow after spending 10 glorious days on two Hawaiian Islands. 

We took the kids out of school two days early due to better flights and pricing so we left on Thursday. We had a direct flight to Kona on the Big Island. The airport was crazy crowded just like it was prior to COVID. Our plane was a United Dreamliner. Very nice and new, and we benefitted from it in First Class. As part of the kids' Xmas gift and due to a little other creative accounting on my part, we booked us all in First Class to Hawaii. To say that this was worth every penny and probably one of the highlights of the trip is an understatement. We didn't pay for bags (at any weight), meals or alcohol. Our accommodations were amazing too with seats that retracted to full beds complete with blankets and feathered pillows. I may never travel economy on long flights ever again! I was seriously wishing we had a few more hours after we landed 9 hours later. What a magical way to start our trip. The kids (and us) were in Heaven. 

First class is amazing!

First class breakfast

Austen asleep in his pod

We landed and went straight to the hotel - since we flew in a bit earlier than planned we had to get a hotel for one night since we couldn't check into our house until the next day at 4pm. We knew we would be tired anyway so once we checked in, we did a little shopping in downtown Kona, ate a snack (flavored ice for the kids and pineapple Dole whip for the adults), watched a little March Madness basketball and went to bed really early Hawaii time -7:30/8pm. 

Peyton and Hailey were the first to rise at about 4:40/5am. We held them off til about 6am, ate an early breakfast at the hotel and checked out for our 2 hour drive to Volcano National Park. We planned this the first day since we knew we would be up early and couldn't check into our house until 4pm. 

We visited the steam vents, the lava tube and did a 3-mile rather treacherous hike around and through one of the volcano craters. This path was not for the elderly or anyone not in shape. You had to watch your footing every step of the way and the hike took us about 2 hours. Of course, 1/3 of the way through Peyton (trying to keep up with Austen) tripped over a root and ended up scraping her knee up and twisted her ankle so we had to listen to her complain the rest of the way back and almost hyperventilate since she didn't think she was going to make it out. Drama. 

The hike in Volcano National Park

Peyton's meltdown and scraped knee

Finally, we arrived back at the car and Peyton declared that she would do no more hiking on this trip. She never was the outdoorsy type anyway. Her mood changed though when we arrived at the house we rented just past 4pm and she took in the magnificent view from the double front glass doors. We had a great view of the ocean just over our private infinity pool. The house too was spectacular with separate wings - one for the Master and the other for the two additional bedrooms located on the other side of the house which were split between a big kitchen and family room. The outside lounging area was spectacular too and Austen loved having a putting green right outside his room. He got in a lot of practice in just the short five days we were there. 

We hadn't planned too many activities while we were on the Big Island because we really wanted time to soak up the sun, play in the pool and just relax. It was our first beach vacation in a really long time and we were all looking forward to it. We did, however, plan some dinners including a really nice one at the Fairmont Orchid at Brown's Beach House in Waikoloa Village. Austen and Peyton also did get in some surf lessons. Peyton got up on her board pretty quickly (they said swimmers tend to have an easier time with surfing) while Austen struggled a bit more. The waves were pretty small that day but they each did really well. Unfortunately, they got a lot of sun on their backsides (despite having on SPF 50) and suffered a bit of sunburn the next few days. We did also get to see the famous black sand beaches on the Big Island as well as meet up with some friends for dinner at the Kona Brewing Company who also happened to be visiting the island. 

After five days on the Big Island, we took a short flight (not First Class) to Oahu so we could explore another island or rather let the kids explore another island. It had been almost 20 years (on our honeymoon) since last visiting Oahu. Interestingly enough we were staying at the property next door to where we stayed on our honeymoon (formerly the JW Marriott at Ko Olina now the Four Seasons at Ko Olina). Back then there was no other hotels in the area. Now the Disney Aulani Resort was adjacent to their property sharing a lagoon. More on how the island has changed in the 20 years since we'd been there in my next post. 

The view!

Putting practice

Fairmont dinner

                Dinner at Kona Brewing

Black sand beaches