12.26.12

cabo san lucas, part IV

{this is the last post for cabo san lucas…}

poolside in cabo

our last day{s} is always a little sad in cabo. we all mentally prepare to go home. do you do that on vacation? the last day or two, do your thoughts return to what-needs-to-be-done-at-home-or-work mode and you start to abandon the carefree spirit of vacation? cabo is so special to us, that none of us want it to end…

for some reason, we usually stay one to three+ days longer than our friends who go with us… so, the day they leave is a total downer.

KJ cheered himself up with three vanilla milkshakes after his buddies left…

three vanilla milkshakes

then, we have some family time to fill with our favorite last activities. we try to play tennis while in mexico so myla gets a little practice time. more or less, our family tennis time involves myla being e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y patient with us while we make complete fools of ourselves on the court.

walking to tennis in cabo

correction: big papi is good. the rest of us, not so much. these photos are by kj, he was our sports-photographer for a few minutes…

rhodes family tennis in cabo

jane and myla tennis

Dusty and Jane tennis

famiy tennis in cabo san lucas

kiana missing the ball

once a dancer, always a dancer:
{i LOVE this picture}

always a dancer

pueblo bonito sunset beach grounds

pueblo bonito sunset beach flamingos

until next year…

{photos by me, Jane Rhodes and KJ Rhodes}

7.18.12

tennis camp

with little words and mostly photos, eight days in *southern california:

our typical day went like this: wake up, get ready, go to breakfast, drop myla off at tennis camp, watch her for a while, i would go to bikram yoga or go running, shower, get ready, rest, read, time on my computer, pick up myla.

then… we spent our afternoons at the beach, a little shopping, lots of food, myla would snuggle up on the couch to read & watch tennis, or we’d go to movies – while in cali we saw the amazing spiderman, katy perry: part of me, and the latest ice age movie.

one evening via trolley we went to the sawdust arts festival. it was so fun – and such a beautiful setting! myla created a cup/vase on a pottery wheel with help, we picked out matching rings, and myla got fitted with a toe ring with our little cousin! {these toe rings are SO tiny and cute!}

more tennis… more beach… more mother-daughter time…

mother/daughter-tennis-camp-trip to *southern california is synonymous with pure joy, a perfect week, and sign-us-up-again-please!

*we hope to move to this area of the country one day…

{all photos by me.}

3.6.12

viddy

there is a new awesome iPhone app on the scene. if you are a fan of instagram, and want to take that obsession into video. viddy allows you to create & share with your friends fifteen-second videos. like instagram, you can add a filter + music. i love it – the first day i downloaded the app i created these three videos below. {all three can be watched in less than one minute!}

green balloon

winter without snow

my tennis girlie

fun, yeah? are you on viddy? i can be followed as “see_jane” – one more techy treat to waste your time! ::smiles::

i am now a contributor for Boston Mama’s, a blog filled with daily tips for hip mama’s in Boston & beyond!
you can read my first post here. camera phone lenses! who knew?

{videos via my viddy account, this is not a sponsored post.}

9.9.11

our gym… and a challenge.

lately, i have been forgoing the gym and the laundry and the upstairs bathroom that despertly needs to be cleaned and instead trying to get caught up on blogging, enjoying friends who came to visit, and trying to adapt to our new back-to-school-schedule.

i wake-up and put on my work-out clothes, i wear them all day while enjoying all that is new around us…

and then, i take them off and go to bed. did you catch that detail: i never worked out.

so.

i have a new challenge for myself, and for anyone who would like to join me.

i am going to get in great shape, in the next six weeks.

seriously. only six weeks.

i have been-OFF-sugar for one month, and have lost three pounds. unfortunately, i gained at least ten this summer, so three is not going to keep me in my skinny jeans this fall. i must be eating well, AND exercising to get great results.

***

soon after we arrived here, we went searching for a local gym. after trying out a few, we chose the boston sports club. they are unlike any health club we’ve ever joined, mainly because they focus on family fitness. traditionally, the gyms i’ve had memberships with, if you choose to use the childcare – the kids are all in one room together & it’s somewhat of a defend-yourself-babysitting-zoo with an extreme lack of order. never been much of a fan. so, i’ve typically tried to work out at home to avoid taking my kids there over the years.

boston sports club has a very modern approach, in that they also want the kids active while at the gym. so, if i take sela and/or kj, they get to go to the large basketball gym & the kid-trainers run drills with them, shoot hoops, jump rope, etc etc. also, if the kids choose to stay in the kids club room, they make crafts, have snacks, it’s really cool. the parents like the kids being active & the kids have a great time! my munchkins love our little routine {well. to be honest, sela cried & screamed the first four times she went due to seperation anxiety from me – but now she loves it!}: i drop them off at the kids club, i get my workout on, they have fun without realizing they are working out, i pick them up when i’m finished & we all grab a snack at the snack/juice bar, we get to spend some time hanging out for a bit – then continue our day. often, we hit the outdoor pool afterwards. i have loved this little routine. the gym became part of our summer vacation here.



…the gym offers literally everything. they have six indoor tennis courts + four outdoor clay courts – which is where myla is training now with a fierce French coach that she’s very fond of, he’s been able to help her increase her strength on all her hits. this is also where myla spent one week at tennis camp, and attended her first tournament here in new england. the bsc has an indoor pool for rainy days/winter, they have a fun outdoor pool {with an impressive snack bar} that is where we spent a few days in august. kiana is able to workout with dusty and i, if she wants to -

and, now that we are more settled, my home gym is also set-up. with two gym options, i really have no excuse to go to bed without having a workout somewhere in my day.

i’m eating good, exercising – and i’m going to get my scale to a very happy number in six weeks.

game on!

are you with me?

3.10.11

Love, 15, 30, 40…

my moosey has been playing tennis for about 18 months now, and her heart strings are attached to the sport. i think she has actually decided to weed-out other sports this coming spring & summer to continue down the tennis road.

during the past 18 months, she’s been attending saturday morning tennis tournaments at our local tennis club. these are small tournaments for the kids to practice in preparation for real tournaments…

and, her first real tournament was a couple of weeks ago…


she is now a registered player with the UTSA, and i think she’s even more hooked than before.

prior to her first match, she was soooo nervous.

she kept leaning over to me, and saying,
“dear God, please don’t let me die of being nervous…or fall on my face!”

that last part, is because she fell on her face during practice last month, she was going for a ball really fast & didn’t have time to drop her racket and get her hands down to catch herself. she stayed home from school the next day, waiting for the swelling in her lips/cheek to go down before braving the public.

in the end, she didn’t fall on her face during the tournament!!!


she had 3 matches, including one outside. no, she didn’t win any – but, there was a huge learning curve. the players must run these matches all on their own. they call all their own balls out for their opponents, keep score, focus on playing well. they are not allowed to speak to any adults during their games for help {which can be very challenging as the parents!!!} – only their opponent. so, there is a LOT to deal with. from her first game to her last – she really improved. and, we look forward to many more days of watching moosey play!

most importantly, she loves it.


also…her first tournament playing doubles & her new doubles partner {hallie!}—
i just love the matching tennis outfits!


this winter, myla has also been playing futsol for the first time with her regular-season-competition-soccer team. she loves it. futsol popped up a few years ago, in these parts. if it’s new to you, it’s indoor soccer + a harder surfaced floor + a heavier ball + everything moves quicker. it’s great for improving foot work. but, mighty fast.

{photos by me.}

2.18.11

*our girls*

there was a phase of our life, when these two girls were our only babies.

they are 22 months apart.

and, we really debated not having any more kids.

i was charmed by husband saying things like, “for my girls” and “there’s my girls” in reference to the three of us.

we thought two kids was perfect, one for each of us to manage, when moments get crazy.

{ha! that didn’t last long… we had two more, now we think 4 is perfect!}

but, for 3 years, kiana and myla were *our girls,*
we lived in Asia & travelled with them, bought our first home with them.
so many *first* milestones were met with *our girls.*

it was such a distinct phase in our life that i still catch myself saying,
“where are the girls?”… “what are the girls doing?”meaning: big girls.

vanessa captured *our girls* perfectly.

they are so different, yet the same…

more photos by vanessa, here, and here.

8.10.10

love!

watching kj & myla play tennis…
it is one of the best things ever!

since the end of May, they have spent most their tennis time
playing on outdoor courts.

they still attend saturday morning tournaments whenever possible.

those little tennis skirts moosey wears,
cutest things ever. kills me.

on the right, myla with one of their coaches, vasil.

© 2013 jane rhodes.