2025 Tennis Banquet - Connor’s Senior Year and Paige’s Freshman Year

 

Tuesday, May 6th, was the end of season banquet for the high school tennis team. This was our fourth year going with Connor, and his last banquet. It was Paige's first time going, and it was special that our whole family got to attend together this year. The banquet was at the clubhouse in our neighborhood, so couldn't have been more convenient or close for us.

Coach Jim gave Andrea a big hug, and we have always appreciated his guidance and support for Connor.

Paige and her friends arrived a little early to snap some pictures outside before it got dark.

The banquet started off with some short speeches from the coaches and a pasta dinner. 

After dinner, each team went through to give out awards and team captains gave speeches. The girls JV team went first, followed by boys JV. Paige's Varsity team went third and she got her varsity letter and her captain Amy gave Paige the "Sweetheart Award" during the paper plate awards. 

Connor's coach congratulated the team on a strong season and had a lot of positive things to say about the time Connor had during his high school years. Coach Fredo presented Connor one of the wooden rackets that he's so fond of. 

The boys presented their paper plate awards, and as one of the co-captains of the team Connor presented a few of the awards. He is a good speaker and went first to kick off the awards. Connor received the "Paparazzi Award" because he's fond of snapping pics of his teammates. 

After the banquet, we snapped a few pics of the kids with their friends and teammates.

Driving Everywhere with Paige

 

Paige has been eager to drive and we've driven with her almost every day since her birthday. She was a little nervous on the first drives, but has settled in and as of today she's had a chance to drive every car and she's done well. The driving can be a bit jerky at times, but so far she has been careful and safe, which is exactly what we love to see. 

This evening we went to Starbucks and she drove a few miles on the highway since the Starbucks close to us was closed. It was scary for me, but Paige is gaining confidence every day and was completely unbothered on the drive.

Paige's 15th Birthday

 

Paige turned 15 on Wednesday and she started off the day with Andrea at the DMV to get her permit. It was an exciting birthday and we made sure to get her some cookies from Crumbl and some balloons and other goodies. 

Paige had a fun tennis event after school so she was home a little later than usual. In the evening, Shawn took her out to drive for the very first time. We took the Jeep through the neighborhood and she did so well that we left out the north gate and went through another neighborhood nearby as well. She ended up having to do a three point turn and did well until she got distracted by a cat and drove up on the curb. Thankfully the Jeep has plenty of clearance so nothing was damaged. 

Millie Mae and the Portuguese Man O’ War

 

Millie Mae and I went to the beach for the first time this past week and were careful to avoid the Portuguese man o’ wars that have been washing up on the beach. She was super excited to be at the beach again and made a mess of herself rolling in the sand and splashing around in the waves.

Paige and Friends Playing Pickleball in the Neighborhood

 

Paige and Sadie got together with a couple of boys to play Pickleball, and Andrea and I almost killed them all by being so embarrassing and showing up to take a few pictures. We got one short video of them playing and a couple pictures before we finally left them in peace.

Paige's 15th Birthday Party with Friends at Top Golf

The Saturday before Paige's birthday, she celebrated her birthday at Top Golf and Town Center with friends. We took two car loads of girls to Top Golf and they had a good time hitting golf balls and goofing off together. While they were waiting their turns to hit golf balls they stayed busy working on a Tik Tok dance and five of them got a recording of it. I don't think anyone actually posted it online, but we did get a copy of it included on the video I put together.

At Topy Golf, we had two bays next to each other, and we got the girls snacks and drinks. Instead of cake for dessert, we bought a couple buckets of the injectable donuts and the girls sang Happy Birthday to Paige before making a mess with the donuts. 

After Top Golf, we dropped them off at Town Center where they walked around and did a little shopping. It was a really fun group of girls and we're so happy that she has such great friends that celebrate with her.

 

Pickleball with Neighbors

 

On Friday evening, Andrea and I went to play pickleball with neighbors. There's a group of ladies that Andrea has played with in the past and they put together a mixed group on Friday. We were thinking it would be a relaxed and fun activity, but holy smokes it was not. Apparently pickleball is serious business and we got quite the workout. 

Andrea and I played together a couple of times, and then she went off and mostly played with the ladies. I played most of the time, but did take a break to take pics of Andrea in action. 

It was a great workout and it was also a great opportunity to meet some of our neighbors. As long as we have lived in the neighborhood (9 years now!), there are many people that we've never met or talked to.