For the first time, Jake fished with the Triple J team in division 11. The division consists of three tournaments in Marco, Naples & Fort Myers. Overall the team came in 2nd place - awesome!!! Jake was the top Junior Angler for the division. He won college scholarships, a kayak and a fishing pole. I think we have created a fishing monster. He will fish with his dad in November in Boluxi for the national title - Go Jake!!!!

Palermo

Last week me and my friends Michelle and Pat went to visit Robin in Palermo. We hit the ground running and did not stop for a week. Robin took us to our hotel where we showered and changed clothes, then to her house for wine and appetizers. Then to our first dinner in Italy....of course I ordered pizza and it did not disappoint.

The next day we took the red bus tour of the city. We got off to find the farmer's market. After a round about walk through the city we stumbled upon it. There was fresh fish, fruit, vegetables and spices. It was no less than amazing. After getting back on the bus and completing the tour we browsed some shops while we waited for Robin to get off work. After lunch Robin took us to Monreale to see the catherdal. It was our lucky day and we saw a young couple tie the knot in one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. We headed back down to Palermo for dinner with Frank & Somona at a castle of the water. Once again dinner was fantastic.

The next two days were spent in Taormina. We shopped and ate and drank wine. There is also some historical sites to see there...like a Greek ampithreater (Sicily was once occupied by the Greeks) and of of course several churches. One night instead of a traditional dinner we hopped around sampling appetizers from several different restaurants...it was awesome.

We drove back to Palermo along the coast and the views were breathtaking. We stopped in ???? to have lunch and do some more shopping. The restaurant we ate in served pizza with french fries on it. It sounded like my idea of heaven....but I have to say it was my least favorite meal of the trip....I still cannot believe it.

Our final day we drove down to ????? a medievil city on the coast. On a clear day you can see the coast of Africa. Our day was not clear but it was still breathtaking. We bought our final souveniers and keepsakes while walking up to the castle. The streets were full of kids on field trips and other tourists like us. One little aspiring photographer took our picture during her adventure to the castle.

The trip was fabulous and it was great to visit with Robin and see how well she is doing it Italy. We would have been lost without her Italian speaking abilities and local knowledge. I do not think I can go into our driving adventures....let's just say that stop signs and speed limits are merely guidelines...it's your choice whether to follow them or not.

For Spring Break 2009 the Myers Clan plus PJ's mom and my mom went to Park City, Utah. We stayed at Deer Valley. Jordan went to ski school for two days, we could only talk Jake into one day. On Thursday we all skied together. The kids are quickly becoming better skiers than mom, they have some more work to do before they can out ski dad :). I did not fall any while skiing but did somehow mange to fall right in front of a ski instructor while "poling" on flat snow - go figure.

Balls Out

For everyone who has watched PJ's video & heard the expression "Balls Out" I thought I would post the origin of his colorful term & just so you know it has become a common expression in our day to day banter :)

An interesting saying with a generally misunderstood etymology. It has commonly come to mean to do something with reckless abandon or extreme courage, or perhaps a combination of both.

However, contrary to popular belief, going balls out is not something that is limited to those people who have the proper equipment to exhibit such testicular fortitude that this saying conjures images of in the vulgar argot.

It's true meaning is derived from the advent of the Watt's Governor, created in the late 18th century. This governor consisted of a pair of steel balls that were connected to a central vertical spindle by a pair of link arms. As the engine speed increased the spindle would rotate faster, causing the steel balls to move further and further away from the central arm. The point at which the balls were completely extended, the engine was said to be running balls out, meaning it was going as fast as it could.

So next time you decide to go balls out, just keep your shorts on, and give it your all.

There you have it, PJ did not make this up or misspeak as some of you have commented. I hope you all learned something new today.

O' to be young

It never ceases to amaze me how much we learn from our kids. I have to admit I did not particularly care for the "baby" portion of my children's lives. Everyone says that is their favorite time and about how much they wish their kids were babies again. I am missing that gene because there is not one atom in my body that wants to go back to that time in my life. I love my children dearly and I would not trade the baby experience for anything but their lives are only getting better. They are so interesting now. Take Jordan for instance. Riding in the car on Saturday she matter of factly said that she broke up with her kindergarten boyfriend because "he would not share his bugs". I almost wrecked the car for laughing. I asked her what breaking up with her boyfriend meant to her and she promptly responded that she does not love him anymore. Good for her for standing her ground, if only we looked at things so simply. I guarentee that he won't share bugs, then he won't share anything else either. Jake on the other hand is my little observer. He does not miss anything (just like someone else I know). He is learning about politics and asking me if I think Barack Obama is good for the economy (I am not going to touch that one on the blog). He is 8 and already worried about the economy. Can babies do these things - no, but they can smile and look cute.

My kids also have so much confidence. When do we loose that? Somewhere between elementary school & high school our self worth gets smashed to pieces. The other day Jordan was trying on a dress and I told her - Jordan that dress is beautiful and she responded "especially on me". I mean I would never say something like that but she thinks she and that dress are beautiful. I am going to do everything in my power as a parent to help her keep that self confidence - I know it will not be easy.

Every step of the way having children has gotten better and better. Why on earth would I want to stay in the baby stage of their lives when they have so much to teach me - oh wait I am supposed to be teaching them. What a beautiful thing to realize that you never stop learning or growing as a person. I cannot wait to find out what they are going to teach me next!!!!

Jake fished with PJ in his first kingfish tournament this weekend. The tournament was out of Marco Island (a very familiar area for our family). The Triple J team placed third overall and Jake placed 1st as a Junior Angler. He got two plaques, a $500 scholarship & $500 cash. We are now working on the importance of saving your money - he of course has big dreams at Toys R Us. The SKA rules state that Jake only has to be on the boat when the fish is caught and it will count but he actually reeled this one in himself. A few more tournaments like this and there will be no living with him :).

In February, PJ and I joined our friends Greg and Robin on a cruise of the Caribbean. We made four stops - Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya & Grand Cayman. We took the diving excursions at each port. We saw some beautiful sites and met some interesting people, not sure I would call them all divers, but definitely interesting. One gentleman from Canada chose to dive in his speedo each day, as long as you were ahead of him - you were ok. Our coolest experience was in Costa Maya. There were only 12 of us this day so our dive group consisted of six divers (of course speedo man was in our group). On our way back to the boat we came into a group of porpoises, we could not tell exactly how many but somewhere between 40 & 100, so lets realistically say 45. They played and jumped and swam right between our legs. It is by far the coolest thing I have seen diving. They move very quickly so I did not get a good picture but it is an experience I will never forget. PJ and I calculated it and we maybe spent 5 hours on land over the course of 7 days. Those few hours we did spend on land were waiting for our dive boat to leave and having a beer before getting back on the boat. It was a fabulous trip and we are already planning our next diving adventure.