Why no posts?

Summer has gotten off to a busy start here at the Contini household.


Vinnie and Christopher had some swim lessons.

They are both doing great this year.


We have taken in a couple San Jose Giants games (the minor league team near us)



We even went to a San Francisco Giants game.

They have a great little kids area where the kids can hit some balls.


We got to see Buster Posey play, San Francisco's new hot player.


There was an impromptu ice cream party on the block. The reason? To get rid of a bunch of left over ice cream from the previous nights block party!



We have an awesome neighborhood with lots of boys. There is always someone around to play a ball game with!
Which brings us to today. Pete and I had the office staff over for an office BBQ/pool party. Turns out one of our staff can make a mean lemon drop martini!

And now I must pack. Team Contini is heading to Palm Springs tomorrow for a week of sun and fun!

Christopher's moment

Christopher spends a lot of his time on the side lines. Watching his big brothers play baseball, soccer and football. Watching them receive their trophies and medals.

Today was "show day" for him at Little Gym. It is the last class of the session, and the kids show off all they have learned to the parents.

I blocked my schedule at work so I could be there with my camera. He was beaming ear-to-ear the entire time.

I saw him walk the beam, tumble, and hang from the high bar.

He was unbelievably excited to be presented his medal. After watching his big brothers, he was so proud to have one of his own.

After class was over he insisted on going to our office to show Pete, bursting into a patient room to show him.
Way to shine Christopher!

pirates

Click here to view this photo book larger

Above is the photobook I made as a thank you for Zachary's baseball coaches from the team. I couldn't figure out how to get it in to the post below.

Done

For the Contini's, summer is officially here! The flurry of end of the school year/sports activities has come to a close today.


The week started with Vinnie's end of the year recital.

It was filled with an adorable mix of summer/school/Dad's day songs.

Vinnie and Alle, (my future daughter-in-law as the two of them insist they will marry some day) looked as cute as can be after the program.

Shortly after Vinnie's program I headed over to Joey's 2nd grade class party at the park, where there was lots of food, games, and prizes.


Hayden, Corey, Dustin and Joey ~ The Four Muskateers!

Thursday was the last day of school, and for Zachary, the last day of elementary school!


He was finally given the cell phone he has been wanting for a couple of years. I have to say that he showed more excitement for that gift than I have EVER seen him show! I admit, I really didn't think he would use it very much, but I wanted to be able to get a hold of him when he is off doing his own thing.

Saturday started with Vinnie's last game of the season. The kids got to play on the "big field" that the AA boys use. They were so excited!

After Vinnie's game we headed over to Zach's game. This was it, the big championship game. Unfortunately, they lost. I was heart broken for them. In fact, I think I took it harder than Zach. They played hard and well, but it was just one of those games where they couldn't catch a break.

After Zach's game we had his end of the year baseball party at his coach's house.


The boys had a blast swimming.


Much to my surprise the coach's presented me with some gifts for being team mom. I got a sports chair to use in the bleachers, a nice bottle of wine, flowers, and a gift card! I was a bit embarrassed as I did not think I did that much.

Coach Mike had such nice things to say about Zach that Pete and I actually got a bit teary. What a great season we had.


Today we had Vinnie's baseball party at our house. Like last year, we hired a life guard to keep an eye on the pool.



Finally, the moment Vinnie has been waiting for all season. Trophy time! He did great this season, and improved a lot, but for him it is still all about the snacks and the trophy. With this party behind us, we are now officially done with baseball season. Welcome back weekends!

After the party, as Pete and I were crashed out on the couch, we were laughing at how often Zach's cell phone was going off. Not phone calls, but non stop texting. Much to my surprise I have been hearing his text beep going off constantly. All. Weekend. Long. Who is he texting?! The kid never talks on the phone to friends, so why is he suddenly overflowing with things to say?! I turned to Pete and jokingly said we better check and see how many texts he has used so we aren't shocked with a big bill. (We chose a texting plan for him with 250 texts a month) Pete got online, and much to our surprise he was up to 210 texts! In 2 1/2 days!!! WTF?! Pete hurriedly called Verizon and changed the plan to unlimited texting, effective immediately. Phew! He was on a pace to hit 2,520 texts this month. At 5 cents per text overage we were looking at an extra $126. Unbelievable.

Bye-bye school and baseball!

Question Authority

Several months ago the boys (well, mostly Zachary), came home from school complaining that they were no longer allowed to play touch football at recess. Seems some kid hit his head on the ground. Not hard enough that he was knocked out, but hard enough to require a visit to his doctor. Football was then deemed too unsafe to play.

Zach brought it up from time to time, usually when we were at the dinner table, talking about our days. While Pete and I did not agree with the decision, we told Zach he needed to respect the principal's rules.

Finally one night I told Zachary that if he didn't like the rule then he could try and change it. We talked about the legal way of working to change a law. We decided to write up a petition, get signatures from kids at school and present it to the principal.


*click to enlarge


I was very proud of the boys, especially Zachary. For him this was really stepping outside of his comfort zone. He was concerned that he would get in trouble. We had to assure him that we would take any heat from it.

Pete went with the boys to bring it to Mrs. Spencer. She was a bit surprised and said she would think about it. We weren't very hopeful.

She then approached Zach a few days later and told him she would allow it for 2 weeks on a trial basis, and re-evaluate after that. As suggested in our petition, they are using flags for flag football. Happily it has been going well and the boys have been allowed to play for the remainder of the school year.

Pete and I were approached by the principal on Open House night. She brought up the petition and told us how impressed by it she was, and what a great lesson in civics it was for the boys.

Being allowed to play football will be Zach's legacy at Graystone as he finishes his elementary school career this week.

**edited to add--Pete just read this post and is a bit offended. He would like it known that the petition was partly his idea as well. Duly noted. He is concerned that my blog makes him look like a dead beat dad. I told him he was welcome to write his own blog.**