Catching Up

I can't believe it has been MONTHS since I last wrote a blog...so today, I decided to play catch up. It's Cinco de Mayo and we are celebrating Sophia's 14th Birthday!! Last night, we had 12 of her friends come over to "party" for over 5 hours. With Ted being away on sea trials aboard the USS MINNESOTA, I'm glad we didn't have a sleepover. Poor Alex and Matt decided it was best to hang around upstairs. They just came down when they were hungry. The girls had a blast and I was EXHAUSTED!! I have never seen a bunch of teenaged girls so giddy, so loud, and just enjoying each other's company.



Sophia celebrates her 14th Birthday with her friends.

In April, we decided to spend a few days in Washington, DC since all three kids had the same spring break this year. Although a bit cool, we enjoyed visiting a few of the Smithsonian Museums including the Air & Space Museum and the Native American Museum, both located on the mall. We also visited the Manassas Battlefield and the National Firearms Museum.  The kids enjoyed riding the metro but we still did quite a bit of walking as well. Sophia and Ted are going back to DC for her 8th grade field trip next week.



Ted and the kids with the Jefferson Memorial in the background.



Cherry Blossoms

Ted has been working very hard these past few months, preparing the MINNESOTA to go on its first sea trials.  On top of that, his boss retired and because of this, he has been working on two different jobs at once... filling in on his boss' side (aircraft carriers) while working on his submarines. Thankfully, his boss' replacement will be starting in another week or so, and the madness will die down a bit, I think. WHEW!!



USS MINNESOTA

Alex made the JV Soccer Team at Hampton High School. He has a pretty rigorous practice schedule and averaging two games a week. I can't believe he is finishing up his sophomore year!! We took him for his first college tour at Christopher Newport University which is located in Newport News. It is literally less than 5 miles away from our house. We just wanted to get him thinking about college. Alex received the Sacrament of Confirmation last week...although the mass was long, it was a very nice celebration with candidates from three other parishes. He is looking forward to working this summer at a local car wash.

Alex playing center midfield.



Alex received the Sacrament of Confirmation on May 3rd. His Uncle Chris was his sponsor.



Sophia finished up her swim season at the YMCA. She got 3rd place in both the 50 YD and 100 YD Freestyle at the Championship Meet which was held at the Yorktown YMCA. In March, she won 1st Place in a poetry contest out of all the 8th graders in the area. She has had an awesome 8th grade year at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School and will be graduating from middle school in a couple of weeks. We are thrilled that she got accepted into the International Baccalaureate Program at Hampton High School!!



Sophia receiving her award for her poem titled, "The Wooden Swing".



Sophia competing in a Freestyle Relay event.

Matthew turned 10 years old on Easter Sunday. We had a very nice Birthday/Easter Celebration with my family.  He is doing very well in school and is finishing up 4th grade. He has a wonderful teacher, who is teaching them things that Alex and Sophia did not touch until they were in middle school, like learning how to do sentence diagramming and he actuallly gets it. He is now playing U13 soccer, making him one of the youngest players on the team and playing on a much bigger field. For us, this means a little more traveling, although still local. Back in January, his Pinewood Derby Car won 1st Place in overall speed. He went on to the District Pinewood Derby in March and got 2nd Place for Webelos and 3rd Place for overall speed. He is looking forward to going to Summer Resident Camp in June.


Matt's "Redskins Mobile"



Matt passing the ball to another teammate.

I decided to cut down on my Cub Scout activities and stepped down from the Committee Chair position at the Blue and Gold Banquet that was held in late February. It was a hard decision, and those of you who know me well, know how much I enjoy the scouting program. But, sometimes enough is enough...won't get into any details but I am much happier and less stressed with just being a Webelos Den Leader. I have been doing A LOT of substitute teaching at OLMC, where I also work as a Before School Care Provider in the mornings. It makes for long days, but I don't mind.  I've substituted in everything from Pre-school to Middle School and even Music class!! The Pre-schoolers are my favorite because they still listen to you and do as told.

We hope you and your families are doing well!! We hope you are looking forward to the warmer summer months ahead!! Keep in touch...we would love to hear from you. :)