Happy Birthday, Charlie! (July)

Can't believe this kid is now 14 years old. Where has the time gone?! He's now actually taller than me. He's actually taller than Graham!  I always wanted to be taller than my older sister, but that never happened.  My hands and feet are larger than hers though - does that count?! LOL!!

Look how small Charlie was just last year.  Awww!

And look at him now! 

This year's birthday presents were very much golf themed. Charlie has been playing a lot of golf lately, as he is getting ready for try-outs for the high school.  When he saw my new LPGA Snoopy headcover, he wanted one too.  So I bought him this "Good Vibes Only" one.  Charlie gets pretty discouraged when he hits a bad shot. So hopefully this head cover will keep his chin up!

Hmm, I wonder what's in this box???

Personalized golf bag! Who is so special??

And Graham bought a book for Charlie. Supposedly it's written by a podcaster / entrepreneur.  The book is titled "How to achieve more by learning less".  These boys, I tell you. Anything to do less! 

I suppose it goes along the line with "work smarter, not harder".  Ha!

Ok, I guess now I can get my little personalized golf bag back from Charlie. Except there are like candy and chocolate stains on the inside of the bag.  How is that even possible??!

Charlie is starting to learn how to drive the car, but only within the garage and driveway:

So far so good, but I was on edge a bit when he was trying to get Bobby's car into the driveway the other day. He had about quite a few attempts before finally getting that car in!

And for dinner, just like last time - we are heading out for Korean BBQ.  All-you-can-eat!  Can't go wrong with that. It was about a 45-minute way. Bobby was being very patient, for once!

Yummy food! We were all so stuffed after this meal:

This kid, I tell you.  Always keeping us on our toes!

Ps, Charlie made the JV team at his high school!  He just picked up all of his new gear, which includes a school/team golf bag and some shirts.  He is so excited to play in his Freshman Year.  Yay!!

Happy "heavenly" Birthday to Mom (6/30)

Can't believe it's been 19 years since Mom lost her battle to colon cancer.  She was just shy of her 57th birthday.  She would have been 76 years old today.  I planted some lilies for her when we moved into our home here.  Look how lovely they are blooming!

Hope she's enjoying these. And check out all the hydrangeas that have bloomed too. It's like a jungle in our front pathway!

Missing my mom so much still. I have so much to thank her for! XOX

Josh Groban concert! (6/27)

I finally had a chance to watch Josh Groban LIVE!! Bobby always teased about, when Josh Groban comes into town, etc...  Well, it's "Year of Cindy" and I'm finally making it happen! :-)

And Charlie is my date for the night.  Tickets were a tad expensive so I only bought 2 for the show:

Seats aren't too shabby!

There's a piano on a mini-stage not far from us.  Maybe he'll play there too??!

We are ever ready with pop-corn :-)

Jennifer Hudson is opening for Josh Groban.  What a voice!

Although, I did feel it was a bit loud and no doubt she can hit those high notes!

I wish this photo was of better quality.  She had on some of those puffy sleeves, which she eventually took off towards the end of her show anyway.

After 45 minutes with local Chicagoan JH, it was time to change up the set for Josh. Tech crew is not messing around!

In the meantime, Charlie is busy playing Pokemon Go. He's telling me that there's 2-3 other people in the Arena that are also playing it. Ha!

Ok, his peeps are almost set, including a mini orchestra!

OMG, Josh starts his set right by that mini-stage!!

He has aged!! I guess I'm still seeing him as the young man on my CD case/cover.  Can't believe he is already 45 years old. For some reason, I thought he was younger. Same amazing voice though:

So close, I can almost touch him! Ha ha, ok... I wish I was that close. Maybe I will need to save up for one of those VIP passes one day instead ;-P

He did walk down the aisle and was high-fiving the audience as he went up to the main stage:

Jennifer Hudson came back out for a duet for Unchained Melody:

He talked about getting his dad to play the trumpet to accompany one of his songs. What a cool moment!

You can hear some of it here: https://youtube.com/shorts/QmrTzBeTJUw?feature=share

So glad he came back up on that mini-stage right in front of us!

I love you, Josh!! :-D

It's funny how he talks about being an introvert.  That after this concert, he said he would just change into his pjs and then just play Nintendo.  Too funny!

He also thanked all the music teachers - talked about how his one choir teacher had picked him out to sing a solo. Can you imagine if that never happened?!

And check this out - this is the same lady we saw during one of our CSO (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) concerts recently!  And she was the one that I really enjoyed listening to, out of the group of 3 other string players:

Wow, what a show! Really enjoyed it and looks like I've managed to convert Charlie into a Josh Groban fan.  We went back to merch to buy a new sweater for him :-)

I would totally watch Josh Groban again live in concert!! 

Charlie's golf events (in June)

Charlie has been pretty active with his golf this past month.  I had signed him up for 2 golf events with US Kids and also a Drive, Chip, and Putt event. I wish I was able to have that experience!

I guess better for these kids to be golfing then spending their time on the computer all day AND all night long:

Although, Graham doesn't really play much anymore these days. 

Here's Charlie off the 1st tee at his last golf tournament.  He had a not-so-great warm-up session so when he hit this drive well, he had a great big smile on his face!

Charlie ended up 6th out of 13 kids. Not too shabby for only playing this past year!

AND... he shot 41 (5-over par) on the front-nine. Definitely something to celebrate!

It's too bad Charlie ages out of Drive, Chip, and Putt. I wish he was able to do it at least 1 more year. 

Look at this fancy score card!

He was provided a nice scorecard holder as well, which I don't have a photo of right now.

Okay, getting ready for his first event - the Drive.  3 balls to get within the boundaries. Points awarded for that plus more points for distance:

Pretty small space to hit from, if you ask me:

Here's Charlie's first shot:

Unfortunately, this shot did not stay within the boundaries. And Charlie later told me that the guy officiating the shots "set him off" - something about his annoying voice and also what he said.  Well, this was definitely a learning moment for Charlie! I told him he had 2 choices... either let the guy annoy him or let it slide. It was clear that he went with option #1, so I hope he remembers this experience and does the opposite next time!  

Here's the Chipping portion of the competition.  Same as driving, the kids get 3 golf balls and are given points on where they land their shots:

I think Charlie flubbed this one chip shot.  He is still working on his chipping, so we'll have to figure out how he can improve, especially under pressure!

And finally, the putting portion:

3 putts from 6ft, 15ft, and 30ft.  He made the first one!

Charlie was a bit aggressive with the next 2 putts. He did also misread the 30-footer - also something he needs to continue working on. And that's something I need to still learn too. Ha!

Here's his results:

And here's the results for the Top 3 kids:

Definitely something to work towards!

All in all, a great experience for Charlie and also for myself!  I had never been to any of these events before. So it definitely felt different to be on the other side of the competitive ropes.  I hope he is embracing these opportunities and knows that all this is just a learning experience and stepping stone for his real test - to try-out and qualify for the high school team in the Fall.  Good luck, Charlie!

US Senior Women's Open qualifier (6/17)

I did it!!  Well, actually WE did it - me and Charlie :-)  He was my caddy for the qualifier at Palatine Hills GC.  What's funny (or really not so funny) is that I almost gave up my professional status 3 years ago: 

https://cindyontour.blogspot.com/2023/06/us-womens-open-qualifier-june-7.html

I'm so glad I didn't reinstate my amateur status and procrastinated in the process. Ha ha! It has all worked out as I'm now moving into the 3rd year of my teaching career and now going to play in the US Senior Women's Open.  Woohoo!!

By the way, I finally retired my old Srixon irons. The guys at work are always amazed and still talk about the marks on that sweet spot :-)

Looks like Charlie forgot to clean my 6-iron!

Last minute putting practice on my rail.  This practice never fails to help build some last minute confidence!

And some last minute line drawing on those golf balls. LOL!

And also taking care of my yardage book. I just love having the photos of the boys still, even though they are so much older now than this photo. Ha!

Oh boy, the weather is not going to be fun!

But my caddy/Charlie is ready with his rain gear!  Thankfully I had some extra rain clothing that he could fit in:

AND... we get to take the golf cart too! 

Ready!

After the 10th hole, we were finally told to come inside.  O. M. G, look at this weather map!! 

Well, lucky for my caddy, we had enough time to have a quick lunch:

Glad I don't have to deal with onion breath. LOL!

After about 30-40 minutes, we were told to finish our rounds. It was probably only about 1 hole where we didn't get rained on, and then the rain started again! It's a good thing our referee went back to grab our umbrella that we had left by the restaurant.  Phew!

And well... the rest is history!  And what's funny is, the other 2 players that were in my group also qualified!

I shot a score of even par 72 with birdies on #15 and #18. Woohoo!!

And here's my first official USGA medal.  So cool!!

And I obviously have to thank and share it with Charlie :-D

Well deserved dessert after! And for me too!

And after a long day, it's time to dry up all the equipment. So glad I have a waterproof bag:

And not the best way to find out that your golf shoes are not waterproof anymore. Ha ha!

It didn't take long for the Head Professional at work to post it either on social media. Ha!

Can't wait to get to Michigan later in August. I guess this means I actually have to start practicing and continuing to work out as well. I just signed up for the IL Women's Open, so it will be a good test/practice for the Open.  Wish me (and Charlie) luck!! :-)

Ps, here's a glimpse at my new tour bag! 

Definitely need to try and get some new golf shoes too.  But can't wait to see the new embroidery of my name on the front of this bag!