Braggalope Bay 2014

We made our annual visit to Braggalope Bay the last Sunday in June.  And what a fabulous day it was!  We all arrived within two minutes of each other and the kids literally dove right into the water as quickly as possible. The weather was gorgeous and the company was wonderful, as expected.  It was a great trip, that came to an end far too soon, as it always does.  Until next year....

Waiting for Clint so they could swim across the lake and back - a tradition Elizabeth and Ethan started last summer and all the kids wanted in on this year!

One of my favorite photos from the day.

This loon popped up out of nowhere and kept a close eye on the kids all afternoon.

Fishing off of the dock.

25+ years of friendship.  Love these ladies.

Owen caught a fish!!

Not to be outdone, Ethan caught one moments later!

The Graduate

In mid-June, my oldest niece graduated from high school as co-valedictorian!  Although we couldn't make it to the ceremony (it rained, so there were not enough tickets for everyone), her family held a graduation party for her last weekend which was great fun.  The girls loved hanging out with their cousins and it was nice to see Meghan in her element.

Meghan's graduation cap.

Playing badminton.

Several games of "across toss" - or something like that.

Her cousins found these goofy frames for Emily and she insisted on wearing them all day so that she could fit in (Meghan, Jillian and Elizabeth wear glasses).

The girls helping Auntie Karen with the cake.

First time cousins from both sides of the family met.  Lots of frisbee and badminton games seem to suggest that they got along just fine.

My parents and their granddaughters.

Meghan and her aunts.

4th on the 5th

The rain ruined our plans on the 4th but we had a full, fun day on the 5th.  We spent the afternoon with our friends Melissa and Mark and their extended families.  Mark's parents invite us to their 4th of July party every year and we always have such a great time.  We capped off the fun with an early evening boat ride, which the girls loved.  That night, we took in Middletown's fireworks show, for the first time in 11 years - that's right, the girls have never been to the fireworks!  The jury is still out on whether they liked it enough to make it a tradition.

It wouldn't be a 4th of July party without ribs!

Emily found Lamb's Ear and couldn't wait to show me.

Elizabeth learned a new game - and almost beat Mark!

#selfie

Why eat an entire s'more when you can just have a nice, warm marshmallow?

#selfie (with a more willing participant!)

Elizabeth insisted that we bring their lifejackets - just in case there was a boat ride!

The dock is a little bit tricky....

Much to their delight, Mark let them sit up front.

Melissa and Maya

Their delight is not genetic - Lee and I were holding on for dear life, they were urging Mark to take the boat as fast as possible.  I can't remember if I was like that as a kid.

Playing ball with Elsa (Mari) on the lawn.

The girls engaged in plenty of people watching under our watchful eye - and that of our favorite Middletown detective, who was on fireworks duty.

Couldn't keep her eyes open one second more.

Battle of Champions

In January, Lee competed in the North American & New Jersey State Championship meet in Newark, New Jersey.  Despite having a great training cycle, things did not work out the way he wanted and he fell short of several of his goals.  He was disappointed and frustrated - despite finishing first in his division, he knew that he could have done much better and, in fact, had done better in other meets.  His training partner immediately suggested that he enter the Battle of Champions in June at the EUROPA Expo and I encouraged him as well.  Lee dislikes this competition for several reasons - it's in the summer, and two years ago, the heat was so bad in the weeks leading up to the competition that he was completely sapped of energy; the competition is huge, not only the number of competitors but the number of spectators, as it is part of an exposition.  Nevertheless, he succumbed to the pressure and decided to compete - mostly because the venue is home turf; there is a set beginning and end time - no danger of a 10:30pm deadlift; and because he can control his nutrition better (dinner and breakfast at home is always better than on the road).  He had a great training cycle and kept his weight on point, weighing in at 197.8 to compete in the 198 weight class - it doesn't get much better than that.  He stuck to his game plan and squatted 575 lbs (a new personal best), bench pressed 400 lbs, and deadlifted 565 lbs, for a total of 1540 lbs, also a new personal best.  He failed to hit his third squat attempt, so 600 lbs waits for another day; the 600 lb deadlift also remained elusive. I think, however, that the results of this meet were perfect - not good enough for him to rest on his laurels, but good enough for him to be satisfied with his performance.

Waiting for the 4th flight of squats to begin. 

Champions of the long day.

Wrapping the knees for squats. 

Making 575 look easy. 

She gets better every meet - takes her job seriously and is a better listener than me when it comes to being ready.  Never complains.   

400 lbs 

All day.... 

Waiting for awards. 

Another ugly trophy to add to the collection - this one was chosen by the girls because it looks like a Dementor (from HP).

575 lbs - a new competition PR.

He still had a lot in him for bench press and there was quite a bit of discussion amongst us afterwards (not including Lee, of course) about whether he should have gone for a higher number.  The 400 lb bench was part of his overall strategy, so there are no regrets here.

I find Elizabeth's commentary here to be hilarious.

EUROPA 2014

Lee and three other members of The Refuge competed at the Battle of Champions EUROPA Expo in Hartford on Saturday.  It was a huge meet and a big day for all of them.  More on Lee's individual accomplishments in a later post.