Top Sail 2021

With all the traveling we were doing this summer, one goal remained--to make it to the beach as a family. We finally set aside a Saturday and cleared all our other plans to make sure we could spend some quality time together. 

We drove 2.5 hours to our Top Sail Beach. I am glad they read at least for part of the way. 

Oh wait, not part of the way...also ON the beach. 

Going to the beach with teenagers is very different from going to the beach with young kids or babies. They don’t eat sand, but they eat all the food you bring. And they think they are almost too cool to go splash in the water... unless you have friends, of course. Basically, we have a boogie board and that’s what they think is fun. 

We do play pickleball on the beach sometimes too. Proof.

Oh wait! I’ve got to tell you about the highlight of this beach trip. It wasn’t actually the best part but it was most memorable! Around noon, big storm clouds rolled in....HUGE! We started sensing that rain is inevitable and with the sound of the first thunder, quickly tried to pack and cover all of our stuff. In fact, Robert lowered our canopy and kind of sheltered our chairs and bags/towels with it. We quickly walked back to our car as it started to rain suddenly. We seriously made it JUST in time and didn’t get really wet. For almost thirty minutes we had to wait in the car because it was CRAZY out there! The thunderstorm and the wind were impressive but quick moving. So when we felt it was safe to walk out and go back to our stuff...we actually weren’t sure what we would find. 

And here is what we found...that’s our poor canopy. 

It took us a bit of time to figure out how to still use it for the remainder of the day as we simply needed sun shade at this point. It was funny and sad, but we made it work-hahaha. 

We still spent around 4-5 hours at the beach. 

And got this one final picture that says “Top Sail, NC 2021” on the sand. 

We broke down the canopy into the smallest pieces we could and just dumped everything by the trash can. It lasted us only maybe two beach seasons... time to start a new page of our beach going. 

And so, this is how our exciting day at the beach went. 

The end. 

 

Alex Turns SIXTEEN!

 It is so fun to see your kids mature and celebrate fundamental milestones throughout the years. This time, it's Alex who turned SIXTEEN! Man, was he excited to turn sixteen! 

It's always fun to plan Alex's birthday celebrations as he likes really big get togethers with friends, but we still celebrate him first by spending time as a family. This year, as Alex was doing his internship with the Republican Party of North Carolina, we figured it would be the perfect time to make him a GOP birthday cake-hahaha. Alex is avoiding all dairy we opted for an angel food cake kind of cake with awesome non-dairy frosting.  To be honest, he doesn't look quite like himself in this picture but we'll take what we got. 

It looks like Alex pretty much only received shoes for his birthday. 

He is a very grateful kid actually and does receive his gifts graciously always. We love that about him.

A couple of days later, we had a grand party for Alex at the pool. I always have to let our neighbors know about Alex's parties a week or so in advance, so that they plan on avoiding the pool for a couple of hours on the day of his party. I say "Alex will have a few teenage friends over to swim" but in reality, he ends up having a dozen friends over! 

Just kidding...seventeen friends...

We usually serve an awesome lunch with BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and veggies. 

After a few games and swimming fun and dancing, Alex opened all of his gifts. 

Wait, gotta show this awesome picture! I love how these kids are just having a fantastic time and glad that Alex has soooo many different friends! It was hard to choose JUST seventeen!

Oh yes, and the cake. Pretty much, the usual...hahaha Costco American Flag cake. I think that our Costco bakers think it's the weirdest cake they make at the end of July writing "Happy 16th birthday, Alex".

And just like that, Alex turned 16! We  are so grateful for Alex and for everything that he brings to our family. He makes us THINK! A lot. And teaches us how to feel uncomfortable with some of the ideas we are used to. He is discovering his own ways and ideologies, framing his character and figuring out how to talk to people with opposing views. We have been agreeing to disagree a lot lately but that's okay. He has a lot on his mind and a lot to say, he knows a lot and is ready to learn a lot. We are so happy to see how passionate he is about politics and how our country works (or doesn't work). For him, diluting all of his strong opinions with the human factor and imperfections is the next challenge. I can brag about him all day because he is our kid and this is for his posterity to read-hahaha....Alex is an amazing kid with a bottomless potential. He found out he is ranked 12 in his grade (that's like over 600 people) according to his GPA. He loves rowing and is trying hard to get faster and stronger. We appreciate how well rounded he is and how approachable he is with people. At the same time, he is still only 16 and has a lot to learn in this complicated world of a myriad of views and opinions. 

We love you, Alex! And wishing you the best year yet! 

Height: 6 foot 3 (*** Alex says, "It's true, I measured against dudes on my team")

Favorite sport: Rowing

Favorite sport to watch: Football

Favorite Book: Breaking the News by Alex Marlow

Favorite movie: Batman: The Dark Knight

Favorite Color: Purple

Hobbies: rowing, singing, piano, basketball

When I grow up I want to be: 

When I grow up, I am going to be president

The Swimming Watson Brothers

This post should be titled “Never say never”. Two years ago Mark said he would never want to do swimming again. Ever. And yet...when the time came in 2021 to decide if maybe he wanted to do summer swim for two months, he actually agreed...after much thinking. Swim=cross training, so technically he did it for the reason of getting better at tennis, but it worked out! 

Last year’s season was canceled by Covid. Alex even had an interview, and everything, to be an assistant coach in 2020. Then this year, he again applied to be an assistant coach (and swim as well) and got the job! He was quite busy with it, teaching 6 year old how to swim and assisting with pretty much everything. He is such a good sport and always helps out with whatever is needed for the team. The sad part..again..is that he just doesn’t like pictures! And because now he was so self-sufficient that we didn’t need to supervise him as he worked or train, we hardly watched him unless it was a swim meet. No excuses here...we need more pictures of Alex. 

Oh wait, I have one more of him here. Can you find Alex in the back row? This is a picture from the End of Season Banquet for Mark’s age group. 

Alex has definitely improved his swim times! He also participated in numberless relays and always enjoyed them! As long as we brought him dinner, watermelon and cucumbers, he was happy. We saw him for a few minutes on Tuesday nights (meet nights) but otherwise he was out there with his team and coaches having a great time! 

And here is Mark, under Tuesday night lights at our downtown pool. In fact, most meets were at our pool this year AND virtual...meaning, our team swam as normal, but we didn’t have the other team on site and they swam at the same time in all their events and then we compared the times and placements. I know the energy wasn’t the same as usual BUT the meets were shorter and we were all feeling just grateful that they could make the season happen this year. 

We had a special guest come for the last meet of the season--our awesome mayor of Apex, Jcques K. Gilbert. Mark introduced himself to him and I reminded him about how the year before, in April 2020, he personally called me on the phone to explain me the situation about the tennis courts being closed. I was flabbergasted that he called, so I didn’t even care after all that they were closed (well, they were opening up a few days later). But it was really neat to feature him on Mark’s Instagram account and for Mark to be introduced on his. 

It was a successful swimming season for sure! Mark got much more confident in his swimming abilities, Alex had a grand time with his swimming buddies (and made $500) earning valuable experience. What will happen next year? Not sure! So glad our kids know how to swim properly!

Lyana. 

Montana Moments-Robert and Katya Go West

Sometimes life feels like it's just going faster and faster and all we are trying to do is fit more experiences into an already extraordinary living. This was kind of how it felt this summer when Katya and Robert decided to go to Montana for a long weekend. Perhaps, after she got to go on a special trip to Ukraine with me, it was logical she would also visit Montana as part of her continuation of her "heritage" tour. 

Robert timed the trip well and showed up to Fairfield, MT on the most important weekend of the year--Swim Day weekend in the middle of July. 

Wait...first, when they landed in Great Falls, and Grandpa picked them up, they went to see Jenny, Robert's sister and her kids--Abby, Maxwell, Summer and Elizabeth. Abby is Katya's cousin, just a couple of months younger than her. It was fun to catch up. 

Here are Katya, Robert, Grandpa, Abby and Jenny. 

I can't tell you much about this picture but I can tell you it was taken when they first arrived because they are wearing their travel clothes-haha. 

The picture below is what calls Robert back to his home town. This vast land, the fields, this feeling of the earth's grandeur...

Katya's traditional photoshoot in the middle of a country road. She has closed eyes on this picture, but we all get the point. 

And, of course, tractor photoshoot is a must. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that James and Mercedes coincidentally were visiting Montana that same weekend as well! 

"Hello, I am Katya and I love taking pictures standing on tractors." 

One morning Grandpa and John joined Katya and Robert for breakfast. John is Robert's oldest brother. 

And they got to visit Grandma Watson! 

Grandma is getting shorter but still young at heart! 

They visited the place where Grandpa Watson was buried. This grandpa died when Robert was on his mission.

Back to the big sky Montana. 

So yes, each year the town of Fairfield celebrates its people and history by organizing Swim Day parade. That bearded guy wearing a white hat is uncle Andy, Robert's uncle, the famous potter. 

And a not so random picture of the model-T that grandpa owns. He actually paraded it as well this year! 

Swim Day fun of horse shoe play with James. 

For our posterity--uncle John (left) and uncle James. 

Great picture of Grandpa Chuck and Robert. With a super cool truck as their background.

What. In. The. World???! hahaha Robert and James... 

Katya, Aunt Nancy (Grandpa's sister) and Robert.

I guess finding cats to pet was a thing this trip. And here I thought they both were dog people. Katya does claim she doesn't care for cats, so I don't know. 

I am pretty sure he got this picture to show to Pepper so she could be jealous. 

It's a bit sad that Montana is so far away. It's awesome, though, that Robert and Katya were able to use their credits or miles or something and get this trip for very cheap. Delta airlines is probably the best one when it comes to connecting us with Montana. I am SO happy they got to go. It's always great to see that these two are so close and can have so much fun traveling together. I hope it's not too long till we get to go West again. 

Lyana. 

 

National Clay Court Championships-Orlando, FL-B12s

Do you see the excitement on his face, even with the mask on? This is a face of a 12 year old junior tennis player who qualified to compete in the National Clay Court Championships in Orlando, Florida. 

We had a super early flight out of RDU on Southwest--our first flight to a tournament, carrying on the tennis bag and all that. Thankfully, Southwest let him carry on his big bag and I could check in two suitcases full of tennis gear like a yoga mat, soft sided cooler and even a small fold up chair.

Upon arrival, we made our way to the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona. 

Pure excitement just from being here! The tournament is a draw of 128, compass draw. And only the best kids in the country for their age are able to compete in it. Mark at that time was ranked 99 in the country so he comfortably got in. And he was top 20 in the South too. Sections have a quota of how many players get accepted.

We come from the Southern section, one of the stronger ones. 

I mean, seriously, how cool is it that it says "Boys 12 National Clay Court Championships"?

I was just so happy to be alongside with him for this exciting event. 

We all had to arrive a day before the tournament officially started to check-in and have a player meeting. This tournament Mark was playing doubles with Tylan Lamb, his friend from TN. They did well and won their first match which was really great. They played really well in their second match but lost. Sheesh...I am getting really boring with my writing.

This is a picture from their second match.

Mark was guaranteed four singles matches, pretty much a match a day. He, unfortunately, lost the first match to a player that was just very scrappy and knew how to get under Mark's skin. 

The kids had to sweep their courts.  

I am writing a bit out of order... Here are the Southern Team boys, not all of them, but a lot of them. 

Mark and his friend Brandon Bao.

Mark and Tylan Lamb. 

One of the evenings, perhaps after another rain delay (man...we had so many rain delays, downpours and lightning!), Tylan's grandma, Tylan, Mark and I went to Top Golf. 

It was super fun to break up our evening and try something new. I was horrible at it! 

Another morning and another warm up. I didn't take any pictures or videos of Mark during actual matches. 

Always working on his backhand. 

Mark and Ryan Corcoran. 

Mark and Ishan Mahapatra.

Oh yes, I have to tell you about the last three matches. So Mark's second match was a good match against a boy from WA state. It got interrupted by rain, but sadly Mark lost. It was very disappointing because he totally could have won and was so close. 

Mark won his third match and played really well against a player from AZ. It was a three setter. 

Mark's fourth match was against a duded from CA who traveled to FL with one of the coaches from Gorin Academy. The coach was Russian, sat near me and several times told Mark's opponent "Shut up, moron" when he would make a mistake and get down on himself. I couldn't believe my ears and glared at him. At one point he told him, "Stop slicing" and I told him, "That's coaching!", and he just said, "That's not coaching". Whatever. It was a very unpleasant match. At a very deciding point, Mark hit the line (it's clay courts) and the boy called the ball out. Mark asked to show him the mark, to which the boy said he didn't know how to look for a mark (they don't have many clay courts in CA). Of course, when the ref came over, all he could say was the call stands, although the kid couldn't even show the mark... So frustrating! Mark lost this match after all, but it was a great battle and he never gave up. 

It was hard to say goodbye to the tournament sooner than hoped for. But that is ok! We are so proud of Mark to be as good as he is at tennis to be accepted into this big National tournament. He played well, putting so much effort into every point, fairly and aggressively. It obviously didn't all go the way he wanted, but he has high hopes for next year. 

After the last match, we drove to the Orlando Outlets and then the temple. It was really nice to walk around it a bit with Mark. 

A fabulous picture of me taken by Mark. That's what I wear to a lot of summer tournaments to stay cool. 

Our friend Aimee invited us over to her parents' FL house for the evening. She was there in Orlando for her daughter's soccer camp, so we met up to hang out, have the kids play in the pool and chill.

That's our selfie after going to a grocery store to get some treats. 

Beautiful sunset over the water. 

The following morning, we checked out of our hotel and had a bunch of time to spare before having to go to the airport. So we drove to Disney Springs. 

It was my first time here, so we tried to see a bunch of things. Mark ended up going on that big air balloon for 10 minutes, paying an arm and a leg, but I didn't care. 

Yep, that's Mark up there. 

We bought a few baggies of M&Ms at the store, and sadly ate a bunch before we even got home. 

And we explored the Uniqlo store! We usually have to order their stuff online, so it was so amazing to actually go inside the brick and mortar store. Mark was happy to get an RF hat! Roger Federer is a Uniqlo rep, just to remind us all.

We did have a great time together, although it was sweltering hot and humid. 

And after a quick lunch, crazy changing at the hotel, getting gas from an extremely busy gas station close to the airport, we were back at the airport, with Mark's tennis bag (they let him carry it on again), ready to go home. 

And looks like we are doing it. We are real tennis parents--traveling for tournaments, learning all the tricks of the system, and helping our kid do what he loves. More to come, I am sure!

Lyana.