So. Much. Happening.

***I am writing this post at the end of the "didn't have the time to blog" summer! 

So this will be sort of a recap of our fun SPRING...yes, back to spring and end of last school year. These events seem trivial but they are what compose our family lives and definitely shape the kids' eventful youth:) 

Back when we went to Knoxville for a regatta, Mark got to participate in one of his favorite tournaments--Tennessee State Open. He played in 12 and under category although he could still play 10s and this was a high level tournament. He did so well and got to the final! His finals opponent was 11 years old (and kind of looked like Mark...in fact Robert was watching the wrong kid for a short part of the match before realizing that it's not Mark as they were both wearing white hats😂) and a great kid that he could definitely play doubles with if we are ever in TN for another tournament. Mark got second place and was very happy! 

The crazy thing was that in the middle of his match his strings broke...ok..no big deal as he always has an extra racket, although it is a different kind. Well, just a few points later, an even crazier thing happened--Mark broke strings on that spare racket as well! He couldn't believe it! He was a bit shaken up by that but his opponent was nice enough to let him play with his spare racket. For those unfamiliar with tennis in detail, changing rackets is not an easy thing to adjust to as players practice with certain kind of racket and are used to its specifics. Mark did an amazing job considering the circumstances--he adjusted quickly to his new "weapon", lost a few points while doing that and then got back in the game. All in all it was a great although crazy match, definitely one to remember:)!

Alex finished the season on his Middle School track and field team. He did a bit of short distance running, but his main achievement was being fantastic at shot put! Who knew? HAHAHAHA. Here is Alex with his coach. Alex is hoping he can do shot put in high school as well...unless it intervenes with musicals:) 

Here is a happy mama, Alex with his MVP award and our minivan with an open trunk (??? why???) and an open door.

My mom, who was still visiting throughout the month of May, was trying to keep up with all the events. The boys and I took her out to Brixx pizza one night where not only we tried yummy pizza but also taught her to play corn hole! It was fun!

In the meantime, our tennis club season came to a close. I am proud of this project as this was MY baby. I get notices from Western Wake Tennis about various announcements and one of them mentioned "free tennis equipment for your school"--this was last fall. I dug a little deeper and discovered that the school needs to have a tennis unit as part of their PE to qualify for that. The principal, the tennis lady, the PE teacher--all had a meeting (thanks to me) and discussed the possibilities. Although the PE unit wasn't going to work, having a tennis club was the next best idea. Of course, they needed parents/teachers to volunteer, which made yours truly say "YES". Mark was excited as he was one of the "coaches" rather than participants. We found a lot of helpers--Gregoriy (just finished High School and plays tennis), son of one of the teachers, Mark's teacher and her middle school daughter with friends who all play tennis. Over 20 kids signed up and every Monday we had our meetings. Kids had a blast! I realized how much coordination tennis does require as some had a much harder time hitting that ball than others. This is a picture from our "tournament day" with the boys. 

Katya...finishing up her 10th grade and mowing the lawn as she cruises through life. We have this awesome quiet rechargeable lawn mower, by the way. 

Katya is still very much involved in Taekwondo and is passing to next levels with flying colors. She is a blue belt now, half way to BLACK! I have prepaid for her lessons all through March 2021 as the master gave me a great deal...so that's her deadline for achieving black belt:)

And, of course, Katya is an active member of our high school speech and debate team. She has some serious plans for next school year and is looking forward to competing in some major events. She IS very good at it! And I don't like to fluff things up:)

Back to Alex. His one wish for this summer was to try wearing contacts. We had an extensive appointment, ordered fancy lenses, but then Alex had a very hard time putting them in...And even then (30 minutes later), after he got help, he couldn't see well with the lenses in. So we came back a couple of weeks later to try hard lenses (old school, but work for some people) and they poked/stung him quite badly, so we gave up on the idea. He was so excited to do that before school...but alas will have to wait...or just make peace with the idea of always wearing glasses.

Here is me! With Pepper the dog...who is still here. And I recently dropped off her original borrowed crate from the Peak Lab Rescue at the animal clinic, which means she is staying (two years later and we were still wondering?). Robert keeps wondering if we still need to find another home for her because he does have dog allergies even if she is in the basement or outside, but for now she is here. 

We took Pepper (and my mom-hahaha) for a walk on the American Tobacco Trail one Sunday afternoon. I don't know why all the kids complain whenever I propose the idea of a walk--they always have such a nice time for that hour or so. 

My mom gets along with Pepper so greatly. She loves her! If she could, she would totally take her to Ukraine with her...but then it would be apartment living and not exactly what Pepper is used to...

And finally here is our favorite man of the house. Lots of changes are in store for him this year, mostly relating to his work--all exciting but busy and time demanding. 

Therefore, we all just keep on rolling with life, trying to cut out moments of peace and relaxation in the middle of this "typical suburban life with kids".