LIFE Archives - Page 7 of 11

Dear Alex

Posted on May 13, 2015September 23, 2023 by Tressie

Dear Alex,

You’ve always been a little weird, in a good way. A fun, generous, kind hearted way. You are my beautiful free spirit, my sunshine, my summer storm.

You will never know how my heart swells with love every time I see you with your mismatched clothes and untied shoes, and your smile that can light up the darkest room – you truly are my sunshine.

2015-05-10_0001 Do you remember the time you asked Daddy what he would do if a monster came, and he said he would fight it and you said “oh, so you will die first?”. How about your very first haircut, that you received at the hands of your big sister? Speaking of your big sister, did you know that when you were in my tummy she wanted to name you “Snake”? And none of us will ever forget the day I asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up and you answered, “A Bear”. Of course you want to be a bear, because, why not??

You cannot imagine how proud I am of you for everything that you are growing up to be. How happy I am to just be with you, and to watch you live your life with enthusiasm and joy. I see you growing into an amazing athlete, and love that you have so much passion for all sports. My favorite thing of all is to watch the way your face lights up when you are on the ice – THAT is what life is all about. Embrace it Alex, and know that I will always be here cheering you on.

Don’t ever change, Allie-gator Tater. Stay true to your unique and amazing self and you will go far. Love you always baby girl.

Love,

Mom

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Dear Riley

Posted on May 11, 2015September 23, 2023 by Tressie

Dear Riley,

My fierce athlete, smart and beautiful. My little girl who is not so little anymore. I cannot believe you are 13. THIRTEEN. A Teenager. Where has the time gone?

You will never know how very wanted you were, from the very beginning. How patiently I waited for my first little girl – preparing with loads of pink and pretty things. Oh, if I had only known that I should prepare with BLUE! Blue for Michigan, Blue for Finesse and Chelsea Sports, Blue for Denim and sunny skies and your gorgeous eyes.

Your creativity knows no bounds, and never has – remember the time you colored Alex head to toe with a blue sharpie? (Blue, there it is again ha ha) What about the time you pulled the stuffing out of our couch for your art project? The couch may be sad (and so was I for a minute), but I adore watching you create.

Your energy is boundless, especially when it comes to your sports that I so love to watch you play. You were feisty from the very beginning, and we smiled as you grew into your ~~bossiness~~ leadership skills which have served you well in sports and academics. My heart swells with pride not only for your performance on the field/court, but when I see you on the sidelines cheering on and encouraging your team mates – always.

My heart skips a beat when you turn to look at me with that brilliant smile and giggle when we are sharing a funny moment. Sharing the moments – this means so much to me, more than you can imagine.

As you are growing up, I want you to know that forever and always I will be there for you and have your back. You will always be my baby girl….I love you so much.

Happy Birthday Riley!!!

Love,

Mom

Things I learned in Washington DC

Posted on September 4, 2014September 28, 2023 by Tressie

Better late than never – here are the things I learned in Washington DC when my family and I visited in July!

1. If you leave your Facebook locations on and post a photo of your kid making a face at Applebee’s, a friend in the area might message you and say “hey, I wanna come see you!!” Excuse the crappy phone photos – I loved catching up with Sarah 🙂

2. If the White House is going to have an event that dictates tourists can’t get anywhere near it, it will be on the only day we are there to visit it.

3. Secret Service men are not allowed to pose. They will however, pretend like they don’t see you while you take their picture.

4. If a friend recommends a museum that you have never heard of, you should go – it may end up being the highlight of the trip! At the National Museum of Crime and Punishment you will see the history of crime, current crime, how to commit crime, famous criminals, how to investigate and solve crimes, and the history of punishing crime. You can look for clues in a “crime scene”, sit in on the “autopsy”, and crack a safe…as well as sit in a driving simulation, and hold a gun in a shoot out simulation. I probably shouldn’t tell you that I shot at one of the victims….oops.

Also, heat seeking cameras may expose you. We’ll just make this picture real small.

5. Don’t ever visit landmarks without taking at least one forced perspective shot. I found these gems on the camera that Riley was using.

6. The Lincoln Memorial is a great place for a photo of daddy and Robby.

7. The water is a lot dirtier than I expected it to be, but if you change the color in photoshop you can still get a pretty reflection.

8. The National Museum of Natural History is pretty awesome.

9. No matter how much history or how many monuments, your kids may just want to take pictures of ducks. Or in the case of Alex, rocks.

Which one of these rocks captures your attention? Just curious.

10. I like to take pictures.

11. Regardless of where you are, it’s a great place to make memories, and no matter how much time you think you have, it will go much, much too quickly!!!

Things I learned in Virginia

Posted on August 19, 2014September 28, 2023 by Tressie

At the end of July, my family and I made a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia to watch my older daughter play in the 2014 NSA B East World Series. In addition to LOTS of softball fun and World Series activities, we made time to hang out and visit some of the tourist attractions in the area.

As I always do, I learned some things while we were in Virginia. Below are some of them…

1. There is something pretty special about going on vacation with a whole BUNCH of your favorite friends. This is our third year traveling for a Softball World Series, and yes, we are ALL making memories.

2. People from Ohio are confused (those are Michigan colors)

3. Robby likes Roller Coasters. Alex, not so much. Busch Gardens was a super fun day!

4. The plantation house at the Powhatan Resort in Williamsburg is haunted….the kids went on a ghost hunting excursion inside.

5. At the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum in Williamsburg, I learned that the tallest man in the world was a LOT taller than my husband, you really CAN build a gorilla out of nails, and if I don’t pay attention Robby might get eaten by some random teeth. The 12 foot transformer and shrunken heads were pretty awesome, but by far the best part was the Impossible LaseRace where you had to navigate through a web of green lasers without breaking the beams of light. The kids had a blast!

Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, Williamsburg, VA

6. At the Nauticus museum in Norfolk we saw a log book from May of 1951 with Riley’s name in it, other artifacts, and super cool models. Riley stuck her head in a cannon. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about boats. And stuff.

Also there was this. (Battleship Wisconsin)

7. From the museum to the boat tour of the Norfolk Naval Base, I learned how much my dear husband likes boats and military stuff. Me…not so much. But here are some of them, cause it was cool for the first 15 minutes or so.

8. If I get tired of taking pictures of ships, I turn the camera on my family.

Well that’s it. 8 things. Profound, huh? After Virginia we made a trip to Washington DC for a couple of days. I learned stuff there too, stay tuned.