A New Chapter Begins

Wow! It has been a long time since I have posted anything. I am so sorry for my absence. Last post was written in April and now it is August...time has flown by. The last post was when I was visiting Phillips Exeter Academy with my older son Robert - Exeter is a prep school in New Hampshire which he was accepted to for a PG (post-graduate...kind of like doing a 2nd high school senior year) year.

"Why is he doing a PG year? Why would he want to do another senior year in a Prep-school/high school?"...you might ask. Well, as you know, Robert is passionate about playing ice hockey and his goal is to play hockey in college. The path from playing hockey in high school (in California) to playing college hockey is not a straight path. The majority of the kids need to play in a junior league between high school and college in order to develop further. Going the junior route for Robert had some risks - if he would make a team in the middle of the summer and not make the final cut in September...what would he do then? For Robert, going to prep school meant playing hockey for a school, playing another year before college to develop further while getting a great education...in hopes to go play in college next year.

Anyway...Since my last April post, the boys finished up school in June and Robert graduated from high school.

Robert's graduation day (June 12, 2014) - upper left: me and The Grad; upper middle: The Grad and Dad; upper right: The Grad and his brother; bottom: The Family with The Grad. 

We had both sets of grandparents in town with this big celebration. It was nice to have them all here to help celebrate.

The summer was filled with little trips for hockey (of course) and getting Robert ready to go away to prep school. Prep school attire requires shirt & tie with either shorts, pants or jeans depending on the weather situation. The public school he graduated from didn't require any kind of dress code, so we had to go out and purchase his prep-school clothing.

In addition to clothing, we also purchased bedding and towels, as he will be living in a dorm. All of which we had to box up and ship off to the east coast.

Robert trying on his prep-school attire (shirt, tie, shorts with a belt and, of course the Sperry TopSiders) while we were packing up boxes.

Last Sunday afternoon, we found time to have one last family outing in Half Moon Bay, California. A little day trip to the beach and a nice late lunch at Sam's Chowder House.

 It was a nice afternoon...good to get out and put our toes in the sand, to smell the surf and to have some fresh seafood!

Now, on August 29, I find myself back on the east coast with Robert. Before I take him to Exeter and get him settled in his dorm, we have a weekend of hockey to get through. The prep-school hockey season doesn't officially begin until Nov. 1. However, there is a New England Fall Prep School Hockey League which consists of players from all the New England prep school. They start their season with the Labor Day tournament, which is this weekend. So Robert and I flew out here from California yesterday for this tournament. He is excited because he will be able to meet some of his Exeter teammates...and I will be able to meet some of the parents.

I tell you...it is nice to be on the East Coast - where everything is lush and green (in California we are having a horrible drought and it is so brown!). This morning I got up early and went out for a wonderful jog around the hotel we are staying at...

You have to love the name of the business park the hotel is in...The Minuteman Business Park, which is located on 1776 Rd.

Well...time to end this post and let you all go on with your daily lives. Thank you for visiting! Until next time, remember...

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch Often!

Lisa