I'M AN AUNTIE!! POSSIBLY TWICE OVER....?

This BEAUTIFUL little baby, JULIET RYAN, was born yesterday morning at 4:07am (pst). She was 7 lbs, 15 oz; 21 inches long! She is Bennett & Jennifer's newest addition! Isn't she delicious!!!

Her middle name, Ryan, is after my sister in laws brother who recently passed away from cancer. I think that's awesome! So special! Jen was scheduled for a c-section today, but her original due date was 6/9. Looks like Juliet had other plans. I was thinking at tennis yesterday morning, I wonder "why" Juliet decided to come so soon! Well.....

Yesterday evening, I get a text from my sister LILA!!!

Here is a direct post from her blog: OUR BABY GIRL! Yes you read it right. We got a call this evening from a friend in Sacramento that someone she knows had a baby girl this morning & has decided to place her for adoption. So she called US! We just talked to the birthmom Cindy (please pray for her and her family) on the phone & it went great. We are still awaiting many details of how long we will be there & how soon we need to leave but we may be in california tomorrow to get our daughter!!!! Crazy! And, incase you didn't notice, my brother had a daughter today too & our sons are only a month apart. :) soooOoOO excited. So UNprepared! Oh well, off to talk to the sacramento caseworker... Did I mention we are in shock? Ok, just checking. :)

WHAT!!!!!! TWO BABY GIRLS IN ONE DAY!!!! Some might call it irony, some fate. I call it AMAZINGLY AWESOME!!!! So exciting!

To keep up to date on the progress of my other very special niece, here is a link to Lila's blog: http://michaelandlila.blogspot.com/

and, in case you don't still believe in fate - here is a PICTURE of Lila's little girl - they could be TWINS! :-)

HAPPY JUNE BIRTHDAYS

Can't believe I've got such a big birthday coming up! HOW DID I GET SO OLD?!?

We had a nice Memorial day weekend with hubby's sister and daughter. My sister-in-laws birthday is today, so we took her to Farrell's while she was here. The kids had their FIRST pig trough! LOL We couldn't finish it, but they still go the ribbon, the drum, etc. So much fun! Always a good time, and SIL got to experience the magic that is Farrell's that we all remember from our childhood.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

TENNIS, TENNIS, AND MORE TENNIS :-)

My friend took some pictures at our recent USTA match of the team playing tennis. Here are the ones she took of me:

I learned a few things.

1) I can never wear that outfit again - it's not as cute as I thought...
2) I need to go on a diet :-) hehe
3) I make funny faces when I serve
4) My feet do weird things when I play ;-)

AND, let me explain why I look like a "seniors" player - I have on like 5 braces! ha! One brace, is to continue to support my calf which I tore really bad last August, the ankle brace is because I ignored a pinch in my neck about a month ago, which gravitated to my right shoulder, which gravitated to my lower back - specifically my left sciatic area, which gravitated down my leg and settled in my right ankle and achilles! Not only did it settle there, it SLAM DUNKED there the weekend of the aforementioned club Doubles Championship (which is why I played so horribly - I was a cripple!). After two weeks of frequent visits to the chiropractor, I'm feeling much better and am brace free :-)

These pictures have grown on me over the last week, and I no longer care about the 4 lessons I learned :-) hehe

The pictures at the beginning of the post are all serves. I have a great serve if I do say so myself :-) Thanks to my parents for the 6 lessons with Bernardo back in '88 - he DEFINITELY gave me a great start to a serve, and it turns out, teaching me the continental grip helped me learn to volley and backhand better 20 years later! :-)

These next five pics are mostly of my backhand shots. Big THANK YOU to my mom for my amazing slice backhand :-) It makes people CRAZY!






The next few are of my forehand and one is when I was a little "jammed" :-)



These last ones are split steps, and running for a wide shot to my forehand.

TENNIS

So, anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a tennis addict :-) Last year was a rough year and my tennis was hit hard.

Thankfully, this year has been much better, and I'm back in the swing of things! In February, I made a decision that I was definitely finding a partner for next years tennis season, and began to work to improve my consistency and game in general. I started making better matches, and playing with people I would WANT to partner with.

One rainy day, I was talking to my friend on the couch in the clubhouse. She had been my team's captain my first year here, and I adore and respect her. I had volunteered to captain my team for the upcoming year, and was bouncing ideas off her, and talking about what I was trying to do with the team, and my partnership quest. She is a couple levels above me, and I asked her what SHE was planning to do next year. She blew me away by saying she was interested in partnering with ME!!! I was floored!

As luck would have it (and trust me, I'm LUCKY!) after a few weeks of figuring out logistics, we officially decided to partner up. I feel like it's Christmas morning every time we play. I can't WAIT to see what next year brings us, and am having possibly, the best time I've ever had playing tennis. :-)

The following is a picture of three other girls on my next years team. My partner is on my right. We participated in a Doubles Championship the club recently held. We won our first match and moved on to the finals. Unfortunately, it wasn't our best tennis day at the finals, and we lost. BUT, we get the title of 4.0 Finalists and our picture on the wall for the next year! :-) WOOHOO! So, here is a picture of the picture :-)