Pete wins club championship

By K.J. Cardinal

As some of you may have heard (or followed my updates on Twitter), Pete George won the Farmington Country Club Championship back on September 7.

It was my first time ever going to the club championship and it was a lot of fun to follow the final pairing around the course. The 36-hole, one-day match actually had to go to a playoff, where Pete took home the title on the second playoff hole.

Pete was playing in his ninth club championship, so it was so great to see him take home his first title. I would just like say that I did not attend his first eight championship matches, so naturally, I feel as if I'm Pete's good luck charm.

Anyway, the only thing on the day that I found more impressive than Pete's play was the support of the George family. Pete's mom, wife, kids, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, friends, etc. were all on hand to root Pete on and to witness the joyous occasion. Probably a gallery of around 50 people.

It was really something to see and just goes to show you how much that entire family cares for one another. Top to bottom, the George family is absolutely amazing and some of my favorite people in the entire world bear the last name George.

Congrats Pete on the title and for having a championship-caliber family as well.



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Last full day at Steele Hill

By K.J. Cardinal

Today marks the last full day of our vacation at Steele Hill and we've had a blast.

The weather has been amazing all week and has really added to the fun that we were able to have. On Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday I was able to make it down to Farmington to golf with my Dad, Matt and Jeremy at Farmington Country Club.

My Christmas gift for my dad this year was a membership at the FCC and he appears to be REALLY loving it...even more than I originally expected. From Sunday to Thursday he improved by 12 strokes and we were able to spend a lot of time together, which is even better.

Likewise, my Mom and Katie were able to make it up to Steele Hill a few times and got to hang out with the girls quite a bit. This week has really been a teaser for June 21-28 when we all have a rental house together on Perkins Pond. We can't wait!

We've spent a lot of time by the pool. Anna really loves the water and seems to be on her way to a water bug, much like Sammy. Angie and Sammy bought Anna this little yellow duck that she can sit in while in the pool and she's so adorable in it. She kicks her feet underneath and splashes the water all around. She's the best.

On Wednesday night we had a really good dinner at Patrick's Pub. That place is awesome. They had a guy on an acoustic guitar singing and the food was awesome, as usual.

Last night, my Mom brought dinner up and cooked us some awesome seafood canollis. Aunt Kate was able to make it up after her class too, so it was a great night.

It's back to reality for me on Sunday as we have a PackCast of the America East Women's Lacrosse Championship at BU. Adam really hooked me up this week by taking care of the semifinals, which are being played right now, so thanks a lot buddy.

Well, the next post will probably be from back in Hudson, but April Vacation 2008 has been a lot of fun. Thanks so much Mom and Dad for letting us take over your timeshare and we're glad you were able to spend so much time with us.

I'll post some photos to accompany this post when I have more time...

Golf, Racing and Basketball

By K.J. Cardinal

Wow, I'm still tired. Day three of April Vacation 2008 really wore me out, but it was a ton of fun.

I started things off by getting up early in the morning and heading to Farmington to meet my Dad and Matt for a nine holes at Farmington Country Club. The temperature at Steele Hill was in the 40s when I got up and my dad said it was 37 when he woke up in Farmington, but I still braved the elements in shorts.

That turned out to get a great decision because it turned into an awesome day. I was rather happy with my first round of golf of the season.

I actually parred the first hole and was six over after seven holes...bogey golf is good for me. I then proceeded to self destruct on the 8th and 9th as I tripled and doubled to finish with 47....11 over par.

I had to snap that photo above because there was actually one spot on the course (back of the 4th green) that had snow still on it. I have to admit, it's my first time ever playing snow golf.

After golf, Dad and I headed to Lee for Rick's race. Again, it was a beautiful day, so we were able to enjoy a little tailgating before and between races and Rick did awesome.

In his first-ever ACT race, Rick dominated his heat...winning by at least 8-10 car lengths. He started ninth in the 100-lap feature and came home with an impressive sixth-place finish.

Dad and I were absolutely impressed with the new deal Rick has going. He arrives to the track with a two-car hauler, which holds his car and his teammate Bobby Dragon's car. It's really a first class operation all around and we're all so happy for Rick. He's worked his butt off over the past 20 years to get to this point, so he deserves it.

After the races we headed back to Steele Hill to hang out with the family. Katie and her friends (Jason, Corinna & Caitlyn) had come up for the day and Meme was up for the night too.

Katie's crew left just before dinner and then we enjoyed some steaks on the grill and settled in to watch the Celtics game. The C's are unbelievable and I'll be VERY bummed if they don't make it to the NBA Finals.

I'm definitely worried that Doc Rivers will screw it all up, but hopefully the players are good enough to overcome his shortcomings.

Anyway, Anna was so cute as Papa put her to bed. She was singing herself to sleep and all snuggly after taking a bath.

Speaking of sleep, I could use a nap.

Vacation begins with driving range and car wash

By K.J. Cardinal

Anna and I got a jump start on April Vacation 2008 this afternoon as we hit up the driving range at Stow Acres with Scott.

It was in the mid-70s and sunny without a cloud in the sky, so I had to do my first-ever sunscreen application to Anna. As Angie can attest to, I detest sunscreen.

I hate the smell of it, the feel of it and most of all putting it on someone else. I still couldn't stand the smell and feel of it, but I didn't mind putting it on Anna so much. It was actually kind of fun. (I can't believe I said that).

Anyway, Anna was great nearly the entire time Scott and I were hitting balls all over the range...and I mean ALL OVER. Anna was sitting behind me in her stroller in a well-shaded spot, so she was loving life. With about 10 balls left in my basket, Anna started to get hungry. So, I took a break, made her a bottle and got back to hitting balls. She's gotten pretty good at feeding herself, so it was a walk in the park.

After the range, we had to give the new Xterra a bath, so I took Anna through her first car wash. She's usually unphased by nearly everything, but she did not like the car wash at first.

She started to cry and, being the jerk that I am, I immediately scrambled to take advantage of a gratuitous photo-op. By the time I got the camera out, she had already stopped crying, but I still took advantage of the cool camera shot.

So, this picture above is taken from the front seat of the Xterra looking back at Anna in the mirror that we have set up so we can keep an eye on her as she sits in her rear-facing child seat. My favorite part of the photo is that you can see the water streaming down the rear window of the Xterra...I love my new camera.

Well, it was a great way to start April Vacation 2008...and stay tuned to the blog all week for lots of posts.

Anna & Dad dominate mini golf, Baby Bjorn

By K.J. Cardinal

Adam and I made it back safe and sound from our disastrous trip to Binghamton, getting home around 8 p.m. last night. It was great to be home to see my girls and to hear that Angie and Sammy had conjured up a great President's Day activity for us all to participate in...indoor mini golf.

There's this place in Marlboro called Trombetta's Farm that has a small 18-hole indoor mini golf course. Definitely not award winning by any means, but just the idea of playing mini golf in February is pretty cool, so we figured it would be a good way to spend the late morning.

What was particularly fun was that Anna and I teamed up to play the entire round with her strapped to me in the Baby Bjorn. It was her first time in the Baby Bjorn facing out, so it was only fitting to have her in the Mini-Me set up for a round of mini golf.

When we first got the Baby Bjorn, I swore that I'd never wear it. This was my second time with Anna in the contraption and I must admit that it's pretty cool...because she loves it so much.

We played the first 12 holes with her facing out and she was loving it. So alert, checking everything out, and talking up a storm. Then we could tell that she was getting tired, so we re-adjusted her to face in on the bjorn and she fell fast asleep.

Despite having Anna strapped to my chest and only being able to putt one-handed for the most part, I was still able to squeak out a one-stroke victory over Sammy. Angie was only a few strokes behind in third.

It was definitely a lot of fun and I think that I might start doing more activities with Anna in the Baby Bjorn. Not only because she likes it so much, but also because it's just funny. Doing anything with Anna in the bjorn would be hilarious. Imagine seeing me shovel the driveway or mow the lawn with her in the bjorn. Classic.