Finally Home!!

After a VERY busy two weeks of a so-called vacation, we are home. Of course, you can't just stop there.

Alisa had an appointment to get her long hair cut off for Locks of Love. She needed 10 inches of hair in order to donate it to Locks of Love, at which point they'll make her hair into a wig for a child with cancer. She's been growing her hair for over a year and has been looking forward to cutting it for over a month. As you can see, the end result is very cute.

School starts on Monday for the kids and they go right back into their schedule of going to the golf course after school and practicing.

Jack also starts football on Monday, so he'll be going to practice everyday. Oh well, no time for TV.

Washington DC

After Pinehurst we took a few days relaxing in Washington DC.......NOT!! What a whirlwind, we walked everywhere, from the State Capitol to the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a busy trip.

The kids had the most fun on the flight simulator at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. They were able to re-enact barrel rolls on the simulator for the F-18. You could hear Alisa giggle everytime they flipped over. Jack was flying. He only crashed twice. I'm sure glad he's planning on sticking with golf.

We also got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We were able to sit in the House Chambers. Although, Congress was not in session, the republicans were holding a sit-in to get the President's attention regarding the energy bill. So, they were allowing the general public to sit in during these meetings in the House. What an experience. Of course, no camera's were allowed in so I have no proof but our word. They confiscated the camera's, not trusting any of us.

The last day in Washington we went on a tour of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. It just made me sick seeing all those $100 dollar bills coming off those presses. All I wanted was one sheet; one sheet has 32 bills on it. There were STACKS of those sheets as tall as me (5'8"). Now you know why I was sick just seeing those stacks.

We didn't want to stop at Washington DC, we decided to drive to Virginia Beach on our way back to Raleigh, NC (where I flight leaves from on Saturday). Virginia Beach is beautiful. We decided next year after Pinehurst we'll spend a few days in VA Beach and REALLY relax.

3rd Round at Pinehurst

Again, the kids did amazingly well for their first time at a World Championship. Scott and I are extremely proud of Jack and Alisa and are very grateful to Ben Weir (the kids coach from Las Sendas CC who caddied for Jack) and Dick Robbins, who caddied for Alisa.

Jack had a 7:30 AM tee time for the final round, so he and Ben were up early and Jack was perky and excited. Ben needed a little coaxing to get up and now wants to add a few clauses to his contract about getting up before 6:30 AM. Too late, that's all for next year. Jack and Ben were on the same wavelength and were working well together. Jack played with another boy who was the European Champion for 9 year-olds and Jack hung with him very well and ended up beating him. Jack scored an 82 for 18 holes on his 3rd round which put him in 73rd place out of 135 boys in his group (40 for the front 9 and 42 for the back 9). The picture above with Jack jumping in the air was a 40 foot putt he sunk.

Alisa had a tee time at 8:44 AM, so mom watched her while dad watched Jack. We were also very happy that the kids Grandma & Grandpa Snyder and great-Aunt Shirley and great-uncle Bob Black drove all the way down from Ohio to watch them play. Unfortunately, since the kids had similar tee times for the 3rd round they had to pick one and this time it was Jack. They watched Alisa the first 2 rounds.

Anyhow, Alisa also did great for her 3rd round shooting a 45 for 9 holes. Overall, Alisa ranked 38 out of 68 girls in her age group. By the way, that's 38 WORLD WIDE!!!!!

The US Kids Golf World Championship was a very impressive event. Very professionally organized and the golf courses were immaculate. Jack's course, Pinehurst #6, was an extremely difficult course and most of the time the boys played from the red tees or farther. What's even more amazing is Jack and Alisa each played with one ball the entire three rounds. That means no balls were lost. I challenge anyone to do that on courses like that.

After the kids round we finally had time to go to Pinehurst #2 clubhouse and buy a few sourvenirs. Did I say a few???? Not sure what I'm thinking. We walked out with 4 bags full.

By the way, the condo we stayed at in Pinehurst was gorgeous. It was right across the street from the Pinehurst #6 clubhouse, so the kids were able to walk across and practice putting, chipping and their drives. We're going to have a hard time transitioning to a hotel when we head-off to Washington D.C. for the next week.

Watch for the update on the D.C. trip.

2nd Round at Pinehurst

A big Thank You! to our literary genius (Lisa Martinez) for filling in and updating the blog. We're at a hotel with a very slow computer so I'll give the updates but we'll have to wait for pictures.

Alisa's second round tee time allowed her to sleep in a bit which may have contributed to her improved score over her first round, but still not as well as the practice round. She shot a 44. We hired a caddie for Alisa, Dick Robbins, who is a member of the Longleaf Golf Club where the 9 year-old girls are playing. Dick is fabulous and knows the course like the back of his hand. The two of them seem to hit it off well and Alisa really likes him.

Alisa was hitting her driver and irons just beautifully. We've found she needs a bit more work on the putting. But overall, for the first time at a World Championship we are just proud parents.

After watching Alisa play her 2nd round of golf, we went to Pinehurst #6 to watch Jack play his 2nd round. Ben Weir, the kids coach, came to Pinehurst with us and caddied for Jack. Jack had to complete the rest of his 8 holes from the 1st round at 7:30 AM on Friday and did fairly well. He finished his first round with a score of 90. Then, if that's not enough at 90 degrees and 80% humidity, he had to play his second round at 2:20 PM that afternoon. In one day he had to play 26 holes but, those energy drinks must have helped because he shot an 82 for his second round.

By the way, all spectators have to walk the courses. Golf carts are only allowed by spectators 65 years of age and older. Needless to say, we are all pretty tired by the end of the day. We had dinner at 7 PM and got the kids in bed by 10 PM in order to wake up for their 3rd and final round of golf on Saturday morning.

Of course, the kids (big kids too) still had time to relax a bit and do a little fishing at the local fishing hole, aka hole #15 at Longleaf.