This may be my shortest blog post ever because I want you to go check out my daughters 5 songs! Buy the album, buy a song, listen on an app! Spread the word! Tell a friend, tell a neighbor! If you enjoyed hearing her sing the National Anthem last week, here’s the encore!
What are you waiting for? Go! Go find her on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon music. Search for Sarah Lopez! You won’t be disappointed! And you are helping a Pre-Med college student pay for that great education at Vanderbilt!
My daughter sang the National Anthem at the opening of the Ohio vs. UVA football game today that was played at Vanderbilt University due to Hurricane Florence. Yes, the same game that was aired live on ESPN 2. Don’t you dare tell me you took a knee unless you were tying your shoes! Or praying! And I pray that my child who stood out there on the 50 yard line all alone saw nothing but proud Americans standing tall with their right hand over their heart while she sang THE National Anthem. Yes, you have the right to sit or kneel while the Star Spangled Banner is played. I also have the right to be offended when you disrespect OUR National Anthem that is sang and/or played to honor OUR Flag. The same Flag that flies high over our Nation’s Capital. The same Flag that covers the coffins of our Service Members when they make the ultimate sacrifice. The same Flag that is presented to the mourning family members of the Veterans that gave up so much so you can sit, stand, kneel, or even do a cartwheel when they play the National Anthem.
National Anthem September 2018 Ohio-UVA Football Game played at Vanderbilt (link edited from original post to the professional edition courtesy of UVA)
It is a time honored tradition that our sporting events begin with the playing of the National Anthem. When did it become acceptable to turn that treasured moment into an opportunity to protest? Yes, I understand the protests are not meant to be disrespectful to those that gave their lives to keep that flag waving high. So why not do it some other time? Turn your back on the half-time show? Ignore the announcer during the coin toss? Refuse the cup of Gatorade or Powerade when you are thirsty? Talk about it in the post-game show?
National Anthem June 2018 WAHS Graduation
This isn’t the first time my daughter sang the National Anthem. She nailed it at her high school graduation just a few months ago. I was just as proud then as I am now. But now she’s taken it to a whole new level! She’s stood on the green grass in a college football stadium and sang her heart out with nothing between her and the crowd but her guitar. This time was also different because she sang the National Anthem while I sat in a hotel room on the other side of the world waiting impatiently for the video to be sent to me because this region of the world doesn’t get ESPN 2! That wouldn’t have mattered anyway. While she was on TV today, America missed the opportunity to hear her beautiful voice because she WAS on TV, but they didn’t air the National Anthem. She looked so tiny on that big college football field. But her voice was huge and those in attendance today at Vanderbilt Stadium were blessed with a great start to their afternoon of football. The rest of us were blessed shortly after when the non-professional video was sent literally worldwide!
Yes, I’m a little passionate about the National Anthem and protecting our Flag. My family has a history of military service. I’ve worn the uniform for over 25 years. I’ve stood and saluted the National Anthem hundreds if not thousands of times. And I’ve attended military funerals. If you’ve never experienced hearing the bugler play Taps at a graveside service following the firing of a 21 gun salute or watched the solemn folding of the flag before its presented to a grieving family, you may not fully understand what it means to sacrifice yourself for the greater good. True sacrifice means you are willing to give up EVERYTHING and expect nothing in return.
I’ve heard people joke in the past that “no one joins the military to get rich.” While most in the military do not get paid big dollars, they get to experience so much more than money could ever buy: The friends that become more like family than your real relatives. The opportunities to see and experience different cultures. Education and training in some of the top schools and facilities around the world. Learning the meaning of defending the Constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic. Sacrificing family time, missing birthdays and holidays, and explaining to your kids why you are going away again and again. Then seeing your daughter sing the National Anthem just as good if not better than you’ve ever heard before knowing you did something right when you instilled in your children that you RESPECT the National Anthem and stand to face the Flag, always.
And if you don’t agree with me….you are welcome. You have every right to disagree. You have every right to speak your mind. You have every right to sit, stand, kneel, or stand on your head. That is the American way of life. But next time you decide to protest during the National Anthem remember that my daughter sang her heart out and nailed it. Twice! And that deserves a little bit of your respect, too.
I arrived in California Friday evening after escaping the worst of Hurricane Lane. I spent the day with my team on the ground in Cali and did a little site seeing while we got caught up. First stop was Santa Cruz for lunch on the wharf!
We also watched the sea lions hang out. It’s amazing how many just lay around. We also couldn’t believe how high they had to jump to get up on the beams under the wharf. For the big ones, that had to be quite a site. We hung around for a bit, but all we got to see were some lounging sea lions sun bathing and relaxing. 
Next on our journey that day was a drive into the mountains to see the Big Redwoods! They are miraculous. The way they intertwine and split and fall and keep growing is amazing. The forest was beautiful and the mountains were surreal. Like a scene from a movie. We searched hard for Harry (aka Big Foot), but he was no where to be found. Guess he’ll still remain the hide and seek world champion! Below is me inside a tree and a view from the side of the road along the way. 
For a 36 hour lay over, it was a busy and memorable stop on my trip home. Before I forget….I wanted to share this photo I took from the airplane on the approach to Los Angeles. It was really hazy that night, perhaps it was even smoky out. But getting to see a classic icon from an airplane window was just plain cool!
And my Delta SkyMiles continue to build as the journey really never ends. Looking forward to sharing more from my travels! But extremely thankful that tonight I can sleep in my own bed. At least try to sleep. My schedule is completely out of whack and my sleep cycle will take a few days to adjust. Until then, I’ll keep adding to that bucket list (aka future vacations) and reading more books until I fall asleep.
Here I sit at the gate, plane is here, signs show on time. Looks good so far! The storm has slowed down and weakened, so today isn’t horrible. Tomorrow and Sunday is questionable. 
Beautiful site at the Honolulu Airport!
The wind was loud last night and the lights flickered, but being a hurricane veteran it was a relaxing night. Hope those on the other islands recover quickly from the flooding and the rest fair well. For those flying today, safe travels!
More to follow later with the better parts of this trip!
Aloha!
Edit: first class on this plane rocks!!!! 
[the_ad_placement id=”after-content”]When we first moved into our house over 5 years ago, there was a single goose that visited our pond. Shortly after we settled in, Goosey found her true love. Geese mate for life, so we expected the two to return the next year. They did. It was refreshing to see commitment and long term love in a relationship, even if it was a pair of birds. It was exciting when they had their first babies. My kids enjoyed watching the little goslings grow into adults. We all anticipated their annual visit.
This year, our two geese returned and we watched all summer as their 5 little children grew to be as big as them over a few months time. They laid in our back yard, they swam in the pond, they visited our neighbors, and they gave us something beautiful and entertaining to watch out our back windows. While 7 geese was a bit overwhelming, we knew they would leave soon and the cycle would start all over again next year.
But then 5 more geese showed up one day this week. 5 more joined them the next day. For several days, we watched the 17 geese swim and hang out along the shore of the pond. I started to get a little nervous about the number. But I kept telling the kids they were all gathering up to head out soon. Sounded good to me. Apparently, my pond is a sweet spot for birds. I mean, we do see egrets and other water birds from time to time.
This morning a few more families showed up. I counted 33 geese! 33! It’s starting to look crowded out there. I think they agree. We watched a few fights this afternoon. Not sure who is who at this point, but I would chase others off too if I was one of the originals. At what point is the pond considered “full”? How do they know to come here? Are the new families some of Goosey’s original children? Things that run through my mind while I hope all 33 will leave soon.
Of course, I “googled” the migration patterns and schedules for Canadian Geese. It says they should be heading out mid-August. That would mean some time next week. At the rate the numbers are growing, I’m a little worried about the next few days and the possibility of more geese showing up. For a small suburb in a rural community, 33 seems like too many already. Seems appropriate that a group of geese is called a “gaggle.” Is there a limit to the number of geese in a gaggle? At what point will they turn on the “no vacancy” sign and claim the pond is full? Looking forward to watching their V-formation fly away until next year.
Back to school already?! As we walked into the middle school for open house yesterday I felt like I had just been there a few days ago for the last day of school awards ceremony. However, it had been 73 days. And just like that—74 days of summer are done, and the kids went back to school today. Yes, it is the first week of August.
What happened to going back to school after Labor Day? I realize some schools up north still have weeks of summer left. They also were still in school when we were already starting our many summer adventures. However, I think we have this whole concept backwards. August in the South is hot. Very hot. And humid. Not just a little warm. Africa hot with tropical moisture. The afternoon thunderstorms are still arriving. The grass in my yard is still growing. The geese that arrived last spring are even still here! Mother Nature says it is still summer! Today would have been a great pool day with a high of 90 degrees and sunny to partly cloudy skies. Sounds like summer to me!
I can complain all day about the early start date, but it isn’t going to change the fact that my kids went back to school today. 74 days of summer went by in the blink of an eye. So quickly that we were still cleaning out backpacks from last school year at 8:00 last night. To their credit, at least they agreed to recycle the backpacks this year instead of insisting on a new one. After purchasing 7 binders, all the discounted notebook paper I could find (2 packs at a time—I didn’t want the cashiers to know I’m really hoarding school supplies), 48 #2 wooden pre-sharpened pencils, several boxes of colored pencils, glue sticks, numerous other items, plus a calculator that would have made high school math so much easier back in my day—we were ready for the last two school-age kids to get their learning on! Off they went to school this morning carrying a load of school supplies that looked like they were about to hike the Appalachian Trail instead of riding a school bus.
Summer was busy but went by like a blur. The first day of school started smoothly, even with someone forgetting their glasses they need to see the board. Easy fix! They were ready 20 minutes early. No one cried. Everyone ate some breakfast. No one changed their outfit a million times. No one was late for school. Sounds like a success story to me. Now….how many days until next summer?
Next weekend is my 30 year high school reunion. I missed the 10 year reunion because I was stationed in Korea. I missed the 20 year reunion because my husband at the time was returning from Afghanistan the same weekend. I missed the 25 year reunion because I was TDY to Korea. The Army made sure I was unavailable for all three events. But my best excuse yet—I’ll miss the 30 year reunion because my daughter’s soccer team is playing in the 3v3 National Championships at Disney World.
30 years ago this summer I would never have imagined I would be where I am today. 5 kids. 2 divorces. 1 Bachelor’s degree. 2 Master’s degrees. 25+ years in the military and still going. 2 house mortgages. 1 car payment. Big ol’ John Deer lawnmower in my garage. Living with my dad….no wait, he lives with me.
I could go on and on about all the ups and downs in my personal life, but where did the last 30 years go? Since we left high school in 1988, we’ve had 6 U.S. Presidents. We’ve had 5 Jurassic Park movies. There’s been over 55 different flavors of Oreos. We witnessed 9/11 and have experienced many changes in our way of life since then. And can you imagine how different high school (or even college) would have been if we had the internet and Google?
The last 30 years have been a blur. Birth of my children, college graduations, multiple career changes. The growth of computers and cell phones. The loss of typewriters and pay phones. In 1988, the price of gas was 95 cents per gallon. Now you are lucky if you can find gas for less than 3 dollars on a good day. In 1988, the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan. Guess who’s there now? The Soviets were there for 10 years….we beat them on that statistic. Who would have thought in 1988 that we would have U.S. troops in Afghanistan for almost 17 years?! Things sure have changed the last 30 years, even when we didn’t notice the time flying by.
Yes, I’ll miss the 30 year high school reunion next weekend. But its 2018! We have Facebook and Instagram to keep us all up-to-date. Thank God, we didn’t have social media in 1988!
My oldest daughter is getting married next year. And the wedding has weaved its way into all aspects of our lives. Our calendar revolves around wedding events!
What did you do for vacation? We went to Charleston. Did you see the fort? Did you visit the market? We tried on dresses. We visited venues. We made address labels. Oh, but wait…
We did walk on the beach and eat a good meal. We did spend 2 days cramming in a lifetime of memories with my oldest daughter. We did enjoy our visit. It just wasn’t all touristy.
This weekend is the big reveal! The actual wedding dress that will eternally be just hers has arrived and this weekend she tries it on for the first time. Sorry, can’t post pictures until after the wedding. But there will be more fittings and adaptions made to make it just right.
But there’s so many more decisions to make in less than a year! Flower girl dresses that make the bride and her two youngest sisters happy. That may be harder than picking the wedding dress. At least the bridesmaids are in agreement, so that’s one less thing to worry about. Then there’s my mother of the bride dress. I’ve at least narrowed the color down to some shade of grey. (Just one please, not 50)
In the end, this will be a big celebration that will actually have been 8 years in the making. It’s a big deal for all of us! Our blended and dysfunctional family with branches and sequels will meld with the more traditional family of the groom. My oldest daughter, my first born child, my original mini-me, my grown-up baby will marry her “John Smith.” She’s always had a thing for blonde hair and blue eyes ever since she saw Pocahontas. My brown hair and brown eye beauty will set the standard, as always, for her many younger sisters to follow! Did I mention she has 3 sisters, 2 step-sisters, and is about to gain a sister-in-law?
This won’t be my last wedding post. It’s just an introduction. So prepare yourself for more wedding talk. And help us all to remember to enjoy this stressful but worthy event!
Soccer, futbol, or whatever you want to call it continues to grow in popularity with American kids. Most Saturdays in the Fall and Spring you can find kids as young as 3 chasing the ball up and down the field trying to score a goal. My oldest is 25, so I’ve been a proud Soccer Mom for over 20 years!
But my first wasn’t meant to be a soccer star. She played because we made her, and it was a great way to make friends. My son was a natural athlete at all sports and ultimately focused on soccer through his senior year of high school. My next daughter was a pretty good player and stuck it out half way through high school.
And now daughter number 3 is a soccer beast! With nicknames like “the wall” and awards titled “most likely to take the ball away from you”, she is a star player and a hard worker! One of her coaches referred to her as the “quarterback” of the team. She loves soccer. This past spring she was on 3 different teams at one point: Middle School Team which was 11 on 11, Soccer Academy Team which was 9 on 9, and her new favorite is 3v3.
If you aren’t familiar with 3v3, it’s totally different than other types of soccer. It has its own rules. No goalies. The goal is really small. And the game is fast and intense. Two 12-minute periods of constant running and constant shooting. It is a blast to watch, too. Not a second of boredom.
However, none of this is free. Even playing for her middle school had some costs associated with it. In the last week I have spent over $1,000 for next year’s soccer experience. This weekend will cost $200-300 for a tournament. Don’t forget soccer camp this week which was $75. But the look on her face when she plays is priceless! She loves the game, the competition, the camaraderie, the physical exhaustion. It’s her “thing” and her way of life. Ultimately, it’s costing me a fortune and there are small sacrifices along the way. And it is worth every extra effort I have to make to cover the costs.
Note: my youngest daughter tried soccer for a few years. She liked it, but she didn’t like it enough for all the hard work. However, she has started doing cheer competitions and loves it! Talk about expensive….but that’s a whole other story!
My first post. After days of contemplating the website name and learning to navigate the develop of my site, here we go!
Its summer and I finally have a day to work from home. Stranger Things is playing in two different rooms, on different episodes. Kids are still wearing their pajamas, and I’m begging them to eat more than snacks and frozen waffles. And reminding them to drink more water. Its a typical hot, humid, stay-inside-in-the a/c kind of summer. Throw in the occasional afternoon/evening thunder storms and you have a perfect set-up for movie marathons and tons of hours on social media. The life of a pre-teen in 2018!
I like to travel. I travel a lot for work. That isn’t always fun. But those trips are required in order to pay for the travel for fun! I’m not always the luckiest traveler. Lost luggage happens. Delayed flights. Missed flights. Flat tires. Wrong turns. Confusing GPS directions. But there are so many lucky things along the way…beautiful sunsets, amazing sunrises, priceless views of nature and architecture….just to name a few.
So this is my first post. And definitely not “the end.”