The Saez Family Blog: Grandfather

Showing posts with label Grandfather. Show all posts

Saturday, September 6, 2014

#310 - June 2014 (and Crescent Beach!)

This year, Owen started swim team. He was in the U6 division, and had a fantastic first season. He swam freestyle and back stroke and despite being the smallest kid on the team, he swam very well, and made us very proud!

Little guy

The great swimmer - Owen Saez

Getting ready for his first swim

This summer, we returned to Crescent Beach, Florida. We were joined by lots of friends and family - in fact, I think we had a total of 7 individual units rented at the Crescent Sandpiper, and that did not include the family members that came down for the day. It was a wonderful family vacation where fantastic memories were made. Looking back at these pictures, I just can't wait to return next year. There were 6 grandchildren, lots of cousins, spouses of cousins, grandparents, and even great-grandfather Papa came down for the day. It was a special week, and one that I'll never forget. Here's a recap in pictures.

Owen (almost 6) and Benjamin (3)

Katie, Jenifer, Mom, Benjamin, Owen and Kaylin

A family shot

Owen caught a flounder

Owen and Kaylin throwing the cast net

Lou and Benjamin in the surf

Lou and Owen

Playing in the kiddie pool

Another favorite spot

Surfing in the pool

Relaxicating

Dinner under the stars

Loved having Nana and Pop Pop there too!

My beautiful sister and Kaylin

Love these three men

It doesn't get much better than this

Dinner at the Colombia

Cousins

More cousins

My handsome son

Nana and her little buddy

My mom!

This sums it up

Friday, May 16, 2014

#306 - March 2014

Owen is now in his fourth soccer season - he's been playing since he was 2 1/2 years old. When we moved to Atlanta, we immediately enrolled him in a program here, and he's been playing with other 5 and 6 years olds since January. It's a great group of boys, and the coach is fantastic. This soccer season, he picked up a lot of new skills, and has really become a great player who can manage the ball. At this age, they don't keep score in games, but I can assure you that every boy on the field know exactly how many goals have been scored by each team at any given time.

To say Owen is competitive is an understatement. He loves sports - he'll turn on Sportscenter in the morning before school to check scores from the night before. In fact, we're worried he might be a bit too competitive, and have had a few conversations with him about what good sportsmanship is and is not. Part of us is happy to see his drive to win and desire to learn new sports and skills, but we're also sensitive to not allow a competitive monster to emerge.

Here are some pictures from one of his games in March:

I celebrated a birthday in March..... Lou and the boys made it very special for me. When I woke up that morning, the first thing Benjamin said was that we get to eat cake that day! That boy has a sweet tooth even bigger than mine.

Our neighborhood had an early Easter Egg Hunt in March. It was a beautiful, yet cold day. The boys had fun, of course. It was a kid's fantasty - playing with other kids while having access to tons of candy.

Speaking of our neighborhood - it is fantastic. We love living here. The streets are full of kids playing outside, and with each other. Parents walk around with their kids, stopping to chat with neighbors. It's a very social neighborhood, and the people have been incredibly welcoming to us. The week that we moved in, we had many neighbors stop by to introduce themselves, and they brought us cakes, potted plants, list of neighborhood services and recommendations on restaurants and doctors.

Another thing that is wonderful about living in Atlanta is our proximity to Dad and Catherine. It's a true gift to be so close to grandparents. The boys adore them.

It didn't take us long to introduce the boys to The Varsity.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

#303 - December 2013

Life in the big city has turned out to be quite busy. I never realized (or appreciated) how much 'spare time' I had until I no longer had it. To be honest, I don't know if the lack of time is due to our new jobs, being in a new city, or just having two children who demand every waking hour of your day! It's probably a combination of it all. Regardless.... here we are, nearly five months later and I haven't updated the blog.

So, let's go back to December 2013.

December was the month of the big move to Atlanta. It also included Owen's last day at Blessed Sacrament School in Savannah, our going away party at the Von Breunings, and one last visit from Mom, Leighton, Jen and Kaylin before we moved 5+ hours away. We said good-bye to our many Savannah friends, many of whom had become like family to us, including our nannies Gabby and Haley. We said good-bye to our home there, which will forever be special to us because it's the first home of our children. We also said hello to Atlanta, or Dunwoody, specifically, where we bought our new home, found our new church and began settling into our life here. Just a few days after we moved into our house in Dunwoody, Lou's family from Michigan came to visit us. They were here for Christmas and were a big help in getting us unpacked. So, December 2013 was a big month for us.

Haley with the boys during our last week in Savannah

Gabby and the boys.

Celebrating Christmas, in Savannah, with Nana, Pop Pop, Aunt Jen and Kaylin.

Since the movers came during Owen's last week of school, Benjamin and I headed to Atlanta to meet them to unpack the house while Lou and Owen stayed behind and came three days later. Before the furniture arrived, Benjamin and I decorated the Christmas tree. The boys really didn't care where we celebrated Christmas as long as Santa knew where to find them!