Three Little Fish

Once upon a time there was a family with three little children that lived in Florida.  Since everybody in Florida needs to know how to swim, the mommy put the three kids on a swim team.

The three children were basically like fish, and spent all of their time in the water splashing and racing and winning ribbons and medals.

Eventually the family moved to New Hampshire, but they continued on with their swimming endeavors.

I am the oldest fish of that family.  I began competitively swimming when I was about six or seven years old.

I enjoyed swimming and loved the competitiveness that came along with the sport.

In high school, I swam for my school and for a club team.  Swimming was fun for me, but I wasn't ready to make a serious commitment to the sport.

I swam for a Division III college that was close to my home town.  It was the perfect fit for me.  I was able to get an education, enjoy life with my friends and boyfriend, and be an athlete.

Vinny is the second fish of the family.

I remember being competitive with him in the sport and being so mad when he finally started to beat me consistently.  

Swimming was his life.  He lived for the sport.  

He worked harder than I think I have ever worked for anything in my life.  His hard work payed off as he ended up attending the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on a swimming scholarship.  

Michael is the third fish of the family.  I'm pretty sure he got dragged into the sport because he was the baby of the family and if everyone else was doing it, then he had to as well.  I'm fairly certain that at his first swim meet, when he was three years old or so, Vinny pushed him off of the starting block because Michael wouldn't dive in.

I'm also reasonably sure that he used to be bribed with M&Ms to go to practice and behave.

Well, all of those M&Ms and practices paid off because he is now at the University of Louisville on an academic and swimming scholarship.

Currently, my brothers are in Omaha, Nebraska competing at the Olympic Trials.  This is Vinny's second time competing at Olympic Trials and Michael's first.  

I am so incredibly proud of my baby brothers and all that they have accomplished in this crazy sport of swimming.  You have both worked so hard to get to where you are today and I love you.

The Girl Behind the Blog

Linking up for "The Girl Behind the Blog" today!

I saw this linkup at Janna's blog, Perception is Everything, and decided to give vlogging a whirl.  Since I am officially on summer vacation, I have plenty of time on my hands.  

So without further adieu, here is my first attempt at vlogging!

Buffalo, NY

Last weekend we trekked down to Buffalo, NY to go to a wedding.  I have no idea how I used to do car trips from FL to NH when I was little.  Being in the car for hours on end is brutal!

Our trip began on Friday after I got out of school at 3:30 PM.  Many, many hours later, we arrived around 1:00 AM.

Since the wedding wasn't until 5:30 PM on Saturday, we had the whole day to relax and explore.  I found out the Buffalo Zoo was super close to where we were staying, so we went there for the morning.

I absolutely love zoos!  I could spend all day looking at the animals and taking a million pictures.  My picture taking habit drives the hubs crazy, but he enjoys looking at them afterwards.  So I will just keep on taking pictures and enjoying myself.

After the zoo, we had a quick lunch with the family and then it was time to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding was at the Historical Society in Buffalo, NY and it was beautiful!

The weather was perfect, the brides were gorgeous, the food was delicious, and it was a wonderful time!

Coast to Coast

I just came across this button on Ashley's blog and thought it was the best thing ever.  While I love reading blogs from all over the country and hearing about other cool places, I have been desperate to find fellow New England bloggers.  This was such an awesome idea that I just had to pass it on!  Thank you Shane at Whispering Sweet Nothings.

Sunday Social

Linking up with Neely today for Sunday Social, the music edition!  Play along and enjoy.

What is your all-time favorite song?

For me this changes on a day-to-day basis.  I have so many "favorite" songs, they don't even really count as favorites.  "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield, "Frankie & Lola" by Jimmy Buffet, and "Never Wanted Nothing More" by Kenny Chesney to name a few...

What is your favorite singer/band?

I grew up listening to Jimmy Buffet so he holds a special place in my heart.  I know almost all of his songs by heart and love to belt them out.  Last year I went to my first Buffet concert with the hubs and my parents.  It was one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life.

What is your theme song/song that best describes your life?

Kellie Pickler's "Small Town Girl"

Even though I was born in Orlando, Florida and didn't move to New Hampshire until I was 13, I am totally a small town girl at heart.  This song describes my attitude perfectly.

What songs put you in a good mood?

Just about anything country that has a good beat.  I really like Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown in the summer.  Makes me happy no matter what.

What is your favorite road-trip music?

I like to dig way back into the CD vault and play old-school mixes.  Like, the ones we made in high school.  Always makes me laugh and reminisce about good times.

What song are you embarrassed to admit you love?

Oh man.  I kind of really like a lot of Miley Cyrus' songs.  And Selena Gomez.  Don't judge!

Friday's Letters

Dear Summer Vacation,

You are here!  Well, technically at 3:00 today you begin.  Words can not even describe how excited I am.

Source: someecards.com via Katy on Pinterest

Dear Summer Weather,

While I am thrilled that the sun is shining and the weather is absolutely beautiful, could you tone it down a bit please?  Temperatures in the high 90s are a little bit too extreme for this girl and her un-airconditioned house.

Dear Readers,

Now that summer is here, I will be laying my fat butt out on my deck and reading for hours.  Any good book suggestions?

Source: thatcutesortofsouthern.tumblr.com via Katy on Pinterest

Dear Chris Hemsworth,

I don't know if I have been living under a rock or what, but hello!  I saw Snow White and the Huntsman last night and you are my newest crush.  Sigh.  So hot.

via

Dear Brothers,

You leave this weekend to go to Olympic Trials!  You both are amazing and I am so proud of you.  Swim fast and remember to bring me back a damn t-shirt!

Dear Hubs,

I'm sorry I was mad at you.  I'm happy that we are able to communicate and always work things out.  I love you.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving...

That tomorrow, when it is supposed to be 95, I will in an air conditioned room instead of my sweltering hot classroom.  Thank you SAU Gods for offering workshops on the 2nd to last day of school.

That we put the air conditioner in the living room window last night.

Source: someecards.com via Katy on Pinterest

That we are just hanging out at home this weekend.  After driving riding in the car to Buffalo, NY last weekend, I'm kind of pooped.

That my baby brother comes home in 13 days.

That school is out for summer in 1 1/2 days!!

via

This one time...

Last weekend I did yard work for what I'm pretty sure was the first time in my life.  And hopefully the last time.  I am not a fan of the whole working in the dirt idea.

Check out the crazy weeds and no grass...

But, thanks to Hurricane Irene last summer, my backyard is in some serious need of a little a lot of TLC.

Long story short, the rain from the hurricane (which I think was technically a tropical story by the time it got to us) knocked over our existing retaining wall created out of old railroad ties.  We then had a rock wall put in as a replacement last October.  As a result of rebuilding the wall, the backyard got all ripped up and everything was a disaster.  And then we had a freak snow storm in late October and never had a chance to clean up the old wall remnants or plant grass or anything.

Old retaining wall in pieces

September 2011

New completed retaining wall

October 2011

Fast forward to now.  We have so much cleaning up to do, it kind of makes me want to cry.

Luckily my husband and a friend carted up the old retaining wall with an ATV and a trailer.  I supervised from the comfort of the porch.  God bless that ATV and strong men.

But that still left a backyard full of dirt, rocks, and weeds.  Of which I do not have a single picture of because it was that terrifying.

Thankfully I have the best in-laws on the planet who came over and helped us with a full day of yard work.

My mother-in-law is an amazing gardner and she spent the whole day weeding our crazy hill and transplanting plants from a garden that is going to be dug up by the new retaining wall going in in a few weeks.

My father-in-law helped the hubs put in new edging out front, till, and seed the backyard so that we can finally have grass again!

I wandered around and did whatever small task they told me to do.  I also escaped into the house every now and then to do laundry or make people food.

I told the hubs to take a picture of me doing yard work, because it is never going to happen again

Hopefully all of our hard work will pay off.  I'm lucky to be married to such an amazing man who works so hard to make our yard look beautiful.  I'm also so grateful that his parents are always so willing to help us out.

Transplanted hill: done

Just waiting for some grass to grow!