Rewinding before Springing Forward

As we prepare to “spring forward” let me take a moment to rewind just a little.

Ended the year 7-1.

Ellie finished her first season of St. Justin volleyball with a record of 7-1. She did very well; routinely worked on serving overhand and had a fun 1^st year.

She transitioned into NJB basketball, as well as her 1^st season on the St. Justin basketball team. These two teams are VERY different. Her NJB team with friends Keira and Gianna hit 40 points one game. At St. Justin, it took them until the 3^rd quarter to make their first basket during one game. But considering her NJB basketball team didn’t win a game last year, getting 3 or 4 wins this year was a huge step up.

St. Justin's 5th Grade Team

NJB Season

It's all about the mouth piece

Lukas joined Next Level Flag Football again, although they didn’t have college team names like they did last year. He was on the purple team this year with his friends Diego and Ian. He also scored his first ever TD, which was a nice 40 yard run. He also helped seal a win recently with a true fullback conversion, a 3 yard run up the middle for a 1^st down. He much improved from last year when it comes to pulling flags, he's not fast enough to run anyone down, but if they get into his area he can pull a flag.

The middle of February also means Steph’s birthday celebration. This year we celebrated in Napa with the Vasquez, Brady and Denny families. Good times were had by all. We toured the Mondavi Winery, had some snacks at Dean and Deluca and settled in at Flora Springs, a winery that the Bradys are a member of. Tomahawk steak at Cole’s Chop House, and overall it was a very fun day. We had brunch in downtown Napa the next morning, and then went to Castello di Amorosa, which had an awesome tour and the wine was pretty nice too.

Tour at Mondavi

The boys

And now, spring is here, at least almost here. Softball is in full swing as is baseball for Lukas.

But it wasn’t all sports, although sometimes that’s what it feels like. We did travel to Hawaii for Thanksgiving, which was a gift from mom and dad as the whole family got to celebrate Turkey Day Aloha-style. Plus, the kids got to experience a lot of what the island had to offer – swimming, boogie boarding, zip lining (although it came with an ankle casualty. Steph went home with crutches after a sprained ankle on the zip line trail.), playing on the beach, great sunsets, etc. It didn’t take long before the kids wanted to know when they were going to go back to Hawaii.

Outside the Tasty Crust

While in Hawaii Dad was able to catch up with an old friend. The priest who was at Mitty when he was is now in Maui. So we attended Mass with him and then hit an old Maui staple, The Tasty Crust.

 

And we got our annual trip to Disneyland in as well.