Homecoming 2021

Nina had her first Homecoming this past weekend.  Obviously, last year with COVID and virtual school, Homecoming didn’t happen, so she and her friends were excited to get that experience this year.  The whole week at school had been a lot of fun.  It was Spirit Week, so there were lots of fun activiites, hallway and rock decorating, pep rally, football game, etc.  To allow for as many to attend that wanted, and to have no mask requirements, the school held the dance outside in the stadium.  They rented tents, dance floors, and had the DJ and light/smoke show going on outside, and honestly, it was probably a lot more fun outdoor than it would have been inside.

 

Lyla and Mark’s teams were both in a tournament this past weekend, so while we were at games, Nina went with one of her good friends to get their nails done, then to a house of another to help her get ready, then they ended up back at our house just as I arrived home to finish getting ready.  There were 5 other high schools having Homecoming that evening, so they were out of luck trying to get reservations at a restaurant when they called earlier in the week, so we hosted an Italian dinner at our house, and it all ended up being perfect.

Before dinner we took pictures...

  

 

  

 

 

…then the girls had dinner here and hung out until the dance started.  All reports came back that they had a blast.  I’m so glad they got to have this experience. Being back in person at school has been such a game changer this year.  They both are enjoying it a lot and having a great start to the year.  Maybe the past year+ of being virtual has given everyone a bit of appreciatioin for how it feels to be in person.  

  

Meanwhile, it’s been good to see Lyla back at soccer.  After missing five weeks with the ankle injury, she played three games prior to the tournament but not in her usual position.  This weekend she was back at defender (where she prefers to play) and feeling much happier until she took a ball to the head and ended up with a mild concussion.  Thankfully it seems that her symptoms improved a lot after the first 24 hours, and I think all will improve from here on out. Just got to keep this girl healthy!

The Wedding

September 25 was the day we were all waiting for.  Bo and Brittany tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony at Historic Shady Lane in York, PA.  Everything about their wedding weekend was beautiful.  There was an awesome rehearsal dinner on Friday night, and they had a gorgeous day on Saturday to celebrate with family and their friends.  

  

  

  

I took some pictures, mostly during the rehearsal dinner and some of the girls just after they got ready, but once the day got rolling, that was all for the crew of professionals.  Feel free to scroll through some of the pictures I took here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/csrk79kAMbYm4nBo7

and preview some shots the real photographers got by viewing their video trailer here:

https://video214.com/play/8GI7fsMwgBkF17Wb8J2csQ/s/dark

 

I can’t wait to see the wedding gallery photos once they come in.  The wedding, the bride, the location, and the groom were all stunning - the pictures will certainly be so as well!

 

 

The Last of Summer

After settling in from out trip to Florida, we took a family hike to Sugarloaf Mountain.  Sugarloaf was the scene of one of our worst previous hikes.  I had taken the girls and Cayenne about five years ago, and we ended up getting lost with no water, no cell service, and daylight hours waning. https://the-simpson-family.blogspot.com/search?q=sugarloaf

I’ve been trying to get the girls to go back in recent years to have a positive memory of Sugarloaf, but they wanted nothing to do with it.  In fact, our perils of the first Sugarloaf hike only continued to grow each time they told the story about our first hike.  Now if you hear it, we barely made it out alive!  

 

So, with Mark along they were more in favor of trying Sugarloaf again.  We were off to a good start.  We tried a different path and saw some cool sights, then things turned south AGAIN.  We got on a path that was a lot longer of a loop than the girls were hoping for, everyone got irritated, Lyla fell a few times, and in an effort to shorten the hike and get back to the car, we ended up getting lost again.  To top it off, once we got back to the car, Lyla evidently took her nice North Face hiking shoes off outside the car and left them there as we drove off to home.  So…needless to say, Sugarloaf is not for us.  So, when Nina asked if we can finally agree to never go back to Sugarloaf again, my answer is a resounding, YES!

 

Shortly after the Sugarloaf hike, Lyla injured her ankle in a pre-season soccer scrimmage, we ended up at the ER, and she ended up spending the better part of the next four weeks in a boot.  :(  It definitely wasn’t how we wanted to spend our last weeks of summer, but I guess if there is any bright side, at least we had finished our vacations and had made it to the start of August before the injury.  She’s been out of soccer and activity, but as of today, 9/2, she’s been given clearance to get out of the boot and start getting strong again.  She has plenty of ankle strengthening exercises to do, and she’s allowed to do some jogging, so hopefully if all goes well, she’ll be able to at least participate some in this fall soccer season.

On the bright side of things in August, we celebrated Mouse and Pop’s 50th wedding anniversary!  Pops had planned a surprise dinner for the Mouse with the whole family gathered at a restaurant, and it was a really nice evening to spend together both there at the restaurant and back at the Williams house afterwards.  We are so grateful for them and all that their commitment to each other has meant to our family.  They are such a blessing to all of us, and we are so thankful for God’s faithfulness in their lives and the impact that they have had on our family.  We only wish for many more wonderful anniversaries ahead for them.

 

  

  

 

Discovery Cove

Discovery Cove gets its own post because, well, I just took so many pictures and it was such a fun day.  Of all the things we had planned for our Florida week, this was the thing I was most looking forward to.  I knew the girls were anticipating it for months, so I was hoping it would live up to the hype, and I certainly think it did.  Our day started early.  They ask that you arrive around 7:30 am to check in, then you’re given a full breakfast.  After breakfast, we had our Dolphin Experience booked.  As you can be over 12 and do the Dolphin Experience without a parent, we wanted to let Nina and Lyla do it together, and Mark and I were able to watch it all from the beach.  After a debrief and some instruction time from the trainers, their group got in the water with the dolphins.  They learned about dolphin behavior, got to help with some dolphin tricks, then they got a ride from the dolphin!  Mark and I loved watching their faces from the beach.  Their faces throughout their time with the dolphin experience just seemed to convey so much joy, and I know Mark and I enjoyed just watching them take it all in.  It was definitely an experience like none other they’ve had before!

  

  

  

 

   

 

 

 

  

Discovery Cove is big on dolphins, but it also had a lot of other interesting wildlife.  We saw a parade of flamingos walking along the beach, we saw marmosets, otters, exotic birds, and tons of marine life in their great reef area.

 

 

   

   

The reef was so cool.  You’re given snorkeling gear when you arrive, and at the great reef, you are free to snorkel amongst all the fish and rays.  It was such a highlight of our day, and we spent a lot of time there.  The rays in particular were amazing!  Mark and I had interacted with rays before when we were in Grand Cayman (before the girls were born), but this was the first time Nina and Lyla have come in direct contact with them.  They both loved getting to touch them and swim with them.  They are beautiful creatures!

  

  

  

 

 

 

  

 

I had brought my Nikon camera for taking pictures of the Dolphin Experience, but I put it in the lockers afterwards as it’s not fit for water and lots of sand.  I did, however, bring a smaller camera that I used for the bird photos and the underwater photos.  Sadly, the battery died after our first swim in the Great Reef.  Either I took too many pictures or the cold water caused the battery to lose power quickly, so I don’t have any more pictures after this, but we had an amazing time.  Everything is included in your visit to Discovery Cove from wetsuits, to snorke gear, to marine safe sunscreen, to unlimited food and drinks. Suffice to say, we also did a pretty good job of eating our way through Discovery Cove!  We decided it would be the perfect summer job for the girls.  Nina, with ambitions of being a marine biologist, would love to work with the animals.  Lyla, with her love of snacks, woud be perfect for working in the snack huts that are open all over the cove throughout the day.  If only Discovery Cove was closer… It certainly was a day to remember!