I'm awake.

I had one of those dreams.
It seemed so real and I awoke from my own weeping.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had those, right?
In this dream, I lost Trevor.
And the dream seemed to last the whole night.
It was horrible.
And it took the whole morning to stop the tears.
I was exhausted the whole day.

And more aware.

I held his hand every chance I got.
I looked at him a little longer.
I stopped and hugged him more than once.
I inhaled his scent and savored it.


Sometimes I wonder why it has to take a dream
to wake me up.
And appreciate the man that shares my soul.

Summer So Far...

Wait! Don't throw away that old potato in the back of your pantry!

Just look at your other options!




Date night at Hogs and Dogs in the park...oh yeah baby, can you say biker chick?


My man likes to surprise attack. Especially his offspring.

The poor kid...didn't even see it coming...



Melting my heart...



Googles, me & monkey A


4 tubes + good friends = tons of fun


Yo mom.



The monkeys.



More monkeys with cousins watching driveway fireworks.


Hope you had a
hap hap happy
hip hip hooray
zippety doodah
shiny sparkly
poppety pop pop
4th of July weekend!

Wimbledon Wow!

Who do I want to win Wimbledon you may ask?

I know you have just been dying to know.

Okay, here are my picks for Wimbledon 2009.

#1 pick.

Oh Roger Federer.
Amazingly graceful on the court. Good feet and touch.
Love the way he moves.
Love his whole game.
Love HIM.
I know I am not alone when I say this...simply, he is my favorite player.



#2 pick.
I would LOVE to see Andy Roddick make it to the final.
I enjoy watching this guy play so much.
Big serve, spunky attitude, and loving the wrist flick on his backhands.

#3 pick.
Okay, I do love Andy Murray also.
His game is interesting.
A little bit of everything, and I love that he does not
win off of sheer power.
He has amazing touch, and plays smart tennis.


#4 pick.
At first I did not care much for Novak Djokovic.
But I can't ignore his game.
Powerful hitter, good control, strong all around.
His game is SOLID.
I like that he smiles a lot and seems to enjoy himself on the court.
I just thank the heavens he is not wearing those big blue shoes at Wimbledon.
Please tell me they are in the trashcan, Novak.
Oh Please.


#5 pick.
Okay, I'll be honest. I have not watched Tommy Haas play before this Wimbledon.
BUT - I had heard of him.
He is the oldest guy out there - 31 - and I love rootin for a fellow oldie.
He has put on a GREAT game, and I love surprises.
Keep going Tommy!

#6 pick.
I also like rooting for the underdog. Leyton Hewitt.
Wow, I've been impressed with his comeback.
I don't think anyone expected him to go this far.
It's been fun watching him win his matches.

And the ladies?
I'm only rooting for 3.


#1 & 2 picks.
Venus and Serena Williams.
Either one.
They both play AMAZING tennis with power and smarts.
If you have never watched tennis I would highly recommend watching these 2.
ENJOYABLE!!!


#3 pick.
Victoria Azaranka has not been on the scene for very long.
But WOW! She has GREAT game. Powerful and precise.
If you can get through her loud bird like exhale with EVERY shot,
she is definitely one to watch.

There you have it.
You can all breathe a sigh of relief now that you know.
My Wimbledon faves.
Enjoy!

The cool mom.

I was pretty sure she hated me.
Or maybe it was just disapproval.
I could feel it.
I could see it in her eyes.
He assured me I was wrong, but...
I knew.

Why?
I was a nice girl.
I was a good girl.

Then it happened again.
This one didn't like me either.
I just could not understand it.
I remained polite.
But I kept my distance.

And now?
It's unbelievable...

I AM ONE OF THEM.
I disapprove.
My tone of voice is friendly but...with an edge.
The poor girl probably thinks I don't like her.
Ah, it is her turn now.
I'm sorry.

I always thought I'd be the cool mom.
BUT...

You just don't know how you are going to react until it happens.

A girl likes my son.
She likes him a lot.
She calls him every day, at LEAST once.
She sends him letters in the mail and signs them with too much love.
He is 13.
I know this stuff happens.
I remember it all...I GET IT.
But do I have to like it?

And now I finally am on the other end.
I am the one with disapproval in her eyes.
and I UNDERSTAND.

I believe it comes down to this...

HE LIKES HER BACK.


What am I going to do when he is 16, and it is the REAL THING?
Sheesh.
Heaven help me.

The tandem get away.

Time for a getaway with my hubs.
A small cabin and 3.5 days in Sunriver.
Ahhhhhhh. Just what these two souls needed.

I HIGHLY suggest a tandem bike ride with your sweetie.
We could have done this ALL day.

This handsome fellow greeted us as we passed on the bike.
We HAD to stop and say hi.


Are you really surprised tennis was involved?



My man tried the "flowrider".
Awesome I tell you.
The wipe outs were the best though.

Just the 2 of us.
Hot cocoa by the fireplace at night.
Can't beat it.

Getaways are the BEST.

PURE JOY...$ .50

I turned the corner and there he was.
A cute little freckled boy.
He had to be about 6 years old.

He stood on the sidewalk behind a small table in the backstreets of my parents' neighborhood.
Beside the table sat a red cooler.

The large cardboard sign said...
$.75.....large lemonade
$.50.....small lemonade
$.50.....water bottle

Oh did I pull over fast as a smile crossed my face.
A lemonade stand!
The first one of the summer.
But my smile was NOTHING compared to his!

He watched me pull up, and you could see him bursting with eagerness!
I told him I would LOVE a small lemonade please.

His small plastic cup labeled "Tips" was empty,
and I wondered how long he'd been waiting for a customer.

I gave him a dollar bill and I was surprised his smile could grow any bigger.
But it did.
He said, "I need to give you money back, right?"
No way, I told him he could take the whole dollar, and the $.50 cents was his tip.

He was jumping with excitement by now, but very seriously got the lemonade
carafe out of his red cooler.
He was so careful as he poured it slowly and handed it to me.

"Thank you so much!!! Good luck with your lemonade stand!
This is delicious!"

"Thank you for stopping your car! Have a good day!
Hope you like your lemonade!"

As I pulled away with the windows rolled down and the tartness on my tongue,
I saw him jumping with joy.
Up and down, up and down.
He excitedly called to his big brother in the house window...
ERIC!!! I got a DOLLAR!!!!!!!

I thought to myself...
Did I make his day? Or did he make mine?
I'm pretty sure it was the latter.

BRING IT!

I would like to introduce you to my fabulous tennis team!!

We are not only fabulous because of our team spirit,
our positive go-get-em attitudes,
our fair play,
our genuine love and respect for the game and each other,
oh, AND our overall hottiness (or craziness - you choose).

We are fabulous because we won the second round this weekend in the USTA regionals.
AND THE FINAL!
This means we are going to Portland!

We played many eastern Washington & Oregon teams,
including Spokane, Yakima & Wenatchee to name a few.

In Portland we will play teams from Seattle, Alaska, and more.

Back row from left to right: Theresa, Janelle, me, Jeanine, Cheryl
Front row from left to right: Carol, Kelly (team captain), Valorie & Sharla

For those who have been reading my blog for a while, you may remember my FEAR (and tantrum) over playing singles last year. So I did not have to do it.

Well this year I am happy to share with you that I played #1 singles for the team
and won all my matches.
This was huge for me, and it was not easy.
My nerves are my enemy.
It took a lot of pep talks from my coach, my hubby & my teammates
(and Elece who I pretend is my teammate) to help me get through it.
I loved it and hated it.
But in the end I am proud of myself.
It is the fulfillment of a goal I set for myself many years ago!!
(Not to win...but to play & compete).


Why am I always laughing around this girl?
She lifts me up.
I think she lifts everyone up.
She was on a different team this year, but she's still one of ours.
We once played doubles together in a Breast Cancer benefit & swept it.
I think we made a few enemies that day, but it was all good.
And all fun.


Elece!... Can't... stop... laughing.


So for now I am taking a week off of tennis.
My body is a bit stiff.
My mind needs a break.
But August will come quickly, and I am excited for more practice & competition.

SO HERE WE COME PORTLAND...
BRING IT!
(as Elece would say)