First off, I’d like to thank everyone for your strong showing of support during this extremely difficult time. Words can’t explain the appreciation that I feel for everyone who has supported us over the last almost two years.
After we heard the preliminary results from the MRI where they saw a suspicious spot and would take a few days to examine in more detail, we decided to getaway for the weekend. We knew that we would go crazy if we just sat around the house and did nothing while waiting. With the extreme heat blanketing the northeast, we decided we would need some water wherever we went. We decided to spend a day at Lake Compounce and the next day at Coco Key Indoor Water Resort, both in middle Connecticut.
Lake Compounce is a theme park that includes a water park area and an amusement park area. During the hot day, we spent that time swimming in the lake. Later in the afternoon and evening, we went over to the rides area and the kids had fun on all the rides.
After we were thoroughly tired out from Lake Compounce, we made the 15 minute drive over to Coco Key and checked into our hotel (luckily getting the last available room!). Coco Key Water Resort is an indoor water park that includes a giant play area for kids, a lazy river, and several tube slides. We were glad to hit the parks in the order that we did because it was nice to be indoors after getting all the sun we got at the lake.
All in all, the kids had a great time as we were able to get away for a couple days on our impromptu vacation. Check out the picture slideshow below to see some of the highlights.
Emmanuel T. Icatar - 1946-2002 from Roneil Icatar on Vimeo.
This video is dedicated to my dad, Emmanuel T. Icatar who died on July 25, 2002 after a short battle with lung cancer. Today (July 1) would have been his 64th birthday. It is impossible to capture an entire life in 10 minutes, but what I tried to show in this video is my dad's love of life and family (and the Beatles). We miss you.
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Annalise had a very busy day this past Saturday. She is part of the Norwalk Zeus swim team and is also part of the Norwalk Zoomers fast pitch softball travel team. On Saturday, she had a softball game up in Bethel, CT which we had to get up very early for. It was a hot day and she played the whole two hour game. Once that game was done, we had to drive all the way from Bethel to Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT where she participated in a giant swim meet. I’m usually wiped after a baseball game, and I can’t imagine having to swim competitively afterwards. Anyway, Annalise ended up swimming in 3 heats: 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly, and 50m freestyle. I should not that this was Annalise’s first time competing in an Olympic sized swimming pool. Her usual swim meets are in a 25 yard pool, and most of her heats are only 50 yards. We were curious to see how she would do in the slightly longer 50m and the really long 100m heat, but she did great in all of them.
All in all it was a great day. We finally got home 130 miles and 12 hours later. Check out the pics (click the picture to see a large version) and videos below.
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How’s that for a catchy title? So, we have a couple videos to share with you. The first one here is of Isabella at her first softball game. This is her first year playing where the ball is pitched to her, but as you will see, our practice in the back yard has prepared her for the real thing!
About two weeks ago, Isabella started to learn how to hula hoop. At first, she could only hula hoop a few times and she would count how many times. She would be excited to hit 10 or 12. Within a few days, she was able to hula over a hundred times, and now, she can do it with two hoops! Amazing!
And finally, you’ve undoubtedly heard the hoopla over Apple’s iPad. After agonizing over the decision, I ended up getting one for myself, or should I say, ended up getting one for the family. I can honestly say that the kids have probably used it more than I have, and as you can see from the pictures below, it’s gotten ugly! Don’t worry though, we were able to work out a friendly, timed usage scenario and everyone is now happily sharing the device (including me!)
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Our busy year continues. As I mentioned previously, I am coaching Annalise’s softball team, the Hawks. You can follow the team at our website (http://www.eteamz.com/NAASoftball/index.cfm?league=1190520&subsite=3701528). We just had our first two games this week and everyone involved had lots of fun (except maybe for myself, since I was stressing out so much over making sure the girls had a good time!) But Annalise did great pitching and hitting in both games. Isabella is also playing softball in the Rookie division and just started practices. She should be starting games soon and she can’t wait.
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Did you ever think you can have so much fun with balloons?
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I can’t believe it’s been a whole decade since Annalise was born! As she enters the double-digits, she celebrated with a few friends at a sleepover party. What better way than have a few of your friends bow down while you open gifts!
Somehow, the girls managed to stay up and watch 5 movies! Beverly Hills Chihuahua started the night.
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