The Left Coast

Now that the holiday season has come to an end, I can reflect on how lucky I truly am!  Not only do I have great family and friends here in St. Louis, but I can honestly say that my circle encompasses most of the US!

The climbing wall at Mountasia

The Spellers headed off to California just before Christmas for Alana Stolnitz's bat mitzvah.  It felt great to be back in the Santa Clarita Valley and to hang out with some good friends.  Anna got to work out at her old gym and we all got to catch up with our SCV family...even Minnie Bear.  We headed out to Simi Valley on Christmas Eve and enjoyed a beautiful Shabbat service at the Brandeis-Bardin Campus of American Jewish University.  The next day was spent relaxing and enjoying the peaceful surroundings, including a killer walk to The House of the Book.  Andy and I weren't sure whether we would make it to the top.

Ruby and Anna

After naps, lots of "friend-time" and some basketball, we joined the Cohen and Stolnitz families for Alana's big night.  The service was wonderful and Alana did a great job!  After the party, we packed and got to bed relatively early so we could head down to San Diego in the morning.

The House of the Book

Sunday mid-day, we arrived in San Diego and joined the Eisenstein clan to board the ms Oosterdam to the Mexican Riviera.  What a wonderful trip!  We all had rooms with balconies and spent a lot of time just hanging out and relaxing.

 

 

 

Our first two days were at sea and after the initial queasiness of the ship, we all got our sea legs and enjoyed the amenities of the ship.  Jake discovered the basketball court and also learned how to play mahjong with Nanny, Teppy, Andy and Jill.  I think he even won a game.  Andy and Anna both won BINGO and we all ate A LOT!  We spent time in the pool and walking around exploring.

Our first port was Mazatlan...not the most beautiful place, but it was fun to drive around with Teppy, Ted, Jill, Emily, Rachel, Matthew and Nan...

Our second port was Puerta Vallarta.  This time it was just us with Nan and Obie.  We took a van and toured around a bit and then Anna, Andy and I did a Canopy Tour zip line...totally cool!

Anna's Zip Line Landing!

Lastly, we went to Cabo San Lucas, by far the prettiest stop.  Andy, Anna, Jake and I enjoyed an America's Cup Experience.  That evening included a formal dinner for New Year's Eve...then on to a nice start to 2011!

How to clear your ears...

Merry New Year

Bob's Banditos

The Cousins: Andy, Stephanie, Emily & Rachel

Happy Birthday to Jake

Our last full day was at sea was New Year's Day and then back to reality.  We got to have a small celebration in honor of Jake's 12th birthday, since he would end up spending his actual birthday traveling...All in all it was a very relaxing vacation!  Thanks so much to Obie...Happy New Year!

They Have An App for That

Donna & Tracy in Pink & Black

Amazingly enough, even with snow and ice on the ground, the Speller clan made it to South St. Louis County for Anna's 2nd meet of the season, Barron Invitational.  Again, the team came out and did a great job...cheering for each other and having a great time!  The scoring was tough, but consistent.  Our girls ROCKED!

Earlier in the week, I discovered that Apple has a Meet Tracker app...gotta love technology.  I put all the girls' scores in and it calculated All Around and Team scores...so much fun!  Anna placed 5th on Vault, 3rd on Bars, 3rd on Beam, 2nd on Floor and 3rd All Around!  WOW!  Her dedication and passion never cease to amaze me!   Jake didn't watch too much of the meet, but cheered his sister on, of course.  Again, technology came through for him...he watched the football games on dad's phone and Barbara's iPad.  Click here to link to my YouTube movie of Anna's meet.

Proof Jake was at the meet

Celebration dinner at Red Robin

 

Ta-Da!

Let The Games Begin!

They, whoever they may be, have always said it not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game...I have never agreed more!  Our gymnastics season has begun and our first meet, Judges Cup, was this weekend.  When I started this journey as a gym parent, I knew very little about the process, only about the numbers I saw flash during the olympics.  It is SO MUCH MORE!

Today, I watched a group of girls truly become a team...cheering for each others' successes and hugging to soothe the pain of some failures.  I am in awe.  I am in awe of my 9 year old, who after falling off the beam, got back on and finished her routine beautifully.   I am in awe of our coaches, who work with so many kids on a daily basis, but find a way to make each one feel special in their own way.  I am in awe of teammates who never got to raise a team trophy last year, and this meet got to lift up 1st place!

Judges Cup was held in Columbia, MO.  In the scheme of things, our scores were all over the board, seeming low, but actually very strong.  Anna scored 8.4 on beam, 9.125 on floor (earning her a 1st place), 8.7 on vault (also earning her a 1st place) and a 7.4 on bars (usually her strongest event, but a slip-up turned into missed skills...her coach was still very pleased with her performance.)

Halloween Festivities

The only problem with Halloween falling on a Sunday is that the sugar rush doesn't wear off quickly enough for the kids to go to bed...oh well.  Lynne & Joshua and Donna & Olivia joined us for our trick-or-treating fun and everyone had a good time...not only that, we didn't freeze our butts off like last year!

 Showing off their costumes at school.

 Allie, Celia, Camille, Spencer & Addie getting ready for the Halloween Parade

 Schuyler & Anna

 Allie and Celia

 The 3rd Graders performing their song

 Olivia (the gymnast) and Anna (the skeleton bride)

 Joshua, Jake, Olivia and Anna

A happy young lady guarding her candy!

Find pockets of tranquility in your busy life.

Life is busy...that's just the way it is.  Anna has gymnastics three days a week, Hebrew school starts this weekend, Jake is going to start math team and chess club...like I said...life is busy.  However, we wouldn't have it any other way.