Uppy, Uppy, Mr. Andy -- Update -- WRAP UP -- Post 1346, Page 90

[KatMark]

Looks like he really enjoys coaching!

How is he feeling?

Tink, he LOVES coaching. He has a hard decision to make next year. He loves the team he coaches now as an assistant coach. He was also offered the head coaching position at a different high school next season about 30 minutes away from where he is. The problem becomes whether or not they'll still let him work 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at his job so he can get to the further high school and whether he wants to leave where he is.

All caught up again, Kathy!

Sorry to read about Mark's headaches, and I cannot believe he has to wait all that time for more examinations.
But I love the pics you took of him coaching!

Great Marco pics too! How fun you got to spend so much time with your little sis again!

Thanks, Karin. The waiting is awful.

A couple of more dates yet with my little sis before the trip is over.

Sweet Kathy! First things first! I will pray my little heart out for Markie, absolutely, consider it done. Let me offer a little insight from my own experience that hopefully will set your mind at ease...

Several years ago, after I had my last beautiful DD, my whole body went wacky. Like scary wacky as in trips to the ER wacky. I had many, many tests over the course of several weeks looking for everything from brain tumors to lymphoma. In the midst of all this, I had several MRI's, full body ones and brain/neck/artery ones. This was mostly due to the excruciating headaches I was experiencing. The MRI's were all clean (thank God, I had 3 little girls to take care of!) and I was sent off to a neurologist. He reviewed all my scans and discussed what could be causing my dizziness and intense headaches. There were two top culprits...Meniere's disease or cluster headaches. I was suffering from cluster headaches. They are exactly as they sound, they come in waves and can last everyday for weeks. I took advil for them thinking that would help but all it did was cause rebound headaches. My point in sharing this excessively long statement is that headaches don't necessarily mean something ominous. My guess is if they saw any little thing on Markie's CT or were concerned, they'd have him scheduled for an MRI immediately. (With me, they moved lickety-split which only served to increase my anxiety level!) I'm sure Markie's will turn out to be nothing to worry about Kathy, that's what I'm praying for! I'm so sorry that you have to deal with the stress and worry of this situation though. Hang in there! You can congratulate me for being right after Markie's MRI.

I'll catch up on your fabulous updates a bit later, but I wanted to comment on this first! Oh, and the girls aren't getting their pictures done till Monday so that's why it's taking so long for me to get your card out!

Molly, you always make me feel better. I will be delighted to "Congratulate' you when we get good news.

Hi Kathy, I know it must have been a relief to see Markie looking so well...and HANDSOME! How awesome you got to go to the game and spend time with his girlfriend...(I hope my boys only bring home sweet girls...so far, so good)!

Looking forward to more updates when you have the time and I plan to get a few hugs from Marv on your behalf tonight!

He did look good (except for his ear...long story). He is a handsome devil, isn't he? Alisha is a sweetheart...and we have already fallen in love with her.

I'm going to try to do updates tomorrow after Mark and I clean the house thoroughly.

Hope tonight was great for you.

Praying for Markie, Kathy. He looks like he really enjoys coaching, and I'm sure the boys are benefiting from his experience and obvious enthusiasm.

Thanks, Glenn. It was good seeing him the other day and he looked pretty good and said he feels a little better.

He does love coaching. I met a parent of a young boy on the team who transferred to the school and will have to sit out for so many days because of the transfer. She informed me that "Mark" was the reason they transfered...they love his enthusiasm and his knowledge of the sport. We also had very nice words with a ref after the duals on Thursday. He told us that the sport needs more coaches like Mark for his enthusiasm and his dedication. Not only does Mark coach the high school team (practice from 3:30 to 6:00 every day and then duals twice a week and tournaments on Saturdays), but he also is the head coach of the youth wrestling program and they practice every night from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and then wrestle every Sunday.

 

[KatMark]

This was going to be a relaxing day...mostly at the pool (with a little laundry thrown in).

Mark was cleaning the pool from the rain the night before and the debris that had flown into the pool (Nathan, the condo manager, had not been around yet):

That was tiring work so a nap was in order:

It was really hot and after I took a dip in the pool, I took some pictures around the condo:

Relaxing:

A few pictures as I headed back to the condo to shower for dinner:

Continued

 

[KatMark]

We went to dinner at the Sand Bar, a local sports bar. It was crazy, busy as it was football Sunday, but we found a table and had another enjoyalbe meal here (I didn't take dinner pictures this time).

After dinner, we took a drive to Walgreens to pick up Mark's one prescription that had run out and then went to the dock so Mark could have a cigar.

Monday, October 3

Today was our beach day. We arrived at the beach around 9:30 after having some breakfast on the balcony.

Mark emptying his pocket after collecting seashells for me:

Happy couple on the beach:

We left the beach around 1 p.m. to head back to the condo for some lunch and then the pool.

We went to the pool for a couple of hours and then it was time to shower and go meet Todd and Nicki for dinner. On the way, I wanted to check my office email which I couldn't do from the condo and I wanted a cup of coffee so we stopped at Starbucks:

Mark's Ice Tea/Lemonade:

We saw this guy every time we drove to Naples for dinner:

Up next, dinner at PF Changs.

 

[KatMark]

We met Nicki at the parking lot by one of the little strip malls and she drove with us to PF Changs; Todd was coming right from work.

We checked in and Todd arrived shortly after us. The place was empty and we had a lovely booth in the corner.

We ordered some appetizers:

A couple of us had soup:

Our entrees:

Desserts:

Best friends:

Yours truly:

Another two great days on Marco Island, ending with a great dinner with great friends.

Up next, our last day on Marco.

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Oh my goodness! Your pictures have me longing for a FL beach vacation!!!! Especially because the high here today was 30! I know it could be a lot colder or snowing!!

DH and I went to the Sarasota area in March of 2010 and it was fabulous!! I LOVE the Gulf Coast!!!

You guys look so relaxed and tan! that's a great vacation to me!!

 

[blessedmom4]

OHH I loved the beach pictures, they were AWESOME!!! And now I want some chinese food...I wonder why...

 

[dizneeat]

I love the photos of the beach, pool and condo area ......... sounds like you had a really enjoyable time at Marco!
And again .......... so nice you got to spend so much time with your best friends/little sis!

 

[glennbo123]

Wow, Markie's really busy with the coaching. That's a lot of time that you described!

Mmmmm, PF Changs!

 

[Shannon84]

It looks like you guys had beautiful weather on Marcos!! You both look incredibly happy to just be relaxing and getting to spend time with great friends

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Morning Kat. I'm playing catch up here...

Oh my, Marco Island is gorgeous! Great pictures. The water is such a beautiful shade of blue. No wonder you love going, though I'd imagine Nicki plays a small part in that, yes??

So sad that you had to say bye to sweet Andy though. I think it's very special that he was able to spend that time at Disney with you! He looks like such a nice son Kathy.

I love all of your BFF pics! You and Nicki, er I mean Thelma and Louise, are just shining with happiness in each other's company. So sweet! That pic of Andy and Mark with Nicki is adorable too, in spite of Marv's comment about her standing in a hole.

Dinner looked like such fun! The food looks good and the Mai Tai's even better, right Kathy?

Looks like you had fun shopping too. Did you keep a running Starbucks tally??

Oooh, PF Chang's is my favorite restaurant! Well, that and the Melting Pot. I see that you ordered the Mongolian Beef. That's good, isn't it? And the triple chocolate mousse cup too! You have excellent taste, that's what I order when I go (because it can be made gluten free!).

This picture is very sweet, you and Mark look like two teenagers out on a date! Love your sweatshirt too, I almost bought that last trip.

Loved all of Markie's coaching pictures. His passion comes through clearly! I love this pic, his hand are a blur!

How sweet that his adorable girlfriend is taking care of him. She sounds like a keeper!

Looking forward to your final Marco Island day AND your PTR! You are one busy lady Kathy.

 

[afwdwfan]

Tink, he LOVES coaching. He has a hard decision to make next year. He loves the team he coaches now as an assistant coach. He was also offered the head coaching position at a different high school next season about 30 minutes away from where he is. The problem becomes whether or not they'll still let him work 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at his job so he can get to the further high school and whether he wants to leave where he is.

I'm glad his employer is willing to work with him on it. DW has been coaching varsity volleyball at a local HS for about 5 years now. Her employer doesn't let her go early and doesn't exactly hesitate to keep her a little late... even on game days.

Fortunately she has worked with good JV coaches who actually teach at the school, so they've been able to take care of things until she can get there. She's been known to have to drive straight from work to the gym for away games and still not even make it there until after the JV game has started.


Great updates about your time at Marco. Not much to say other than it looks very relaxing and it looks like you guys had a lot of fun.

 

[mickeystoontown]

How long did you say it took to drive to Marco Island? Your pictures are so beautiful that it makes me want to go there. It looks so peaceful and quiet.

 

[marvali]

Great pictures of Markie at the wrestling duals! Wish we had a good, young energetic coach for our local HS! Things have really gone downhill since Matthew wrestled. Markie wouldn't be interested in a job down South would he???

More great Marco pics! Nice that Mark is keeping some new skills in practice just in case. One day he may need that "skimming the pool" skill when you guys move to Florida! Especially loved the flower picture....great job! And I saw the Hidden Mickey in that one picture.

We have only eaten at a PFChangs once, but I'm thinking we need to go back......soon!

Molly, if you hadn't been referring to prayer I would have made a comment about you saying you had a little heart. But I guess I won't mention that was what made the Grinch so mean since that definitely wouldn't apply to you anyway.......

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Great pictures of Markie at the wrestling duals! Wish we had a good, young energetic coach for our local HS! Things have really gone downhill since Matthew wrestled. Markie wouldn't be interested in a job down South would he???

Then poor Kathy would be forced to see you regularly Marv. That's a lot to ask of anyone.

We have only eaten at a PFChangs once, but I'm thinking we need to go back......soon!

You have to go back! When you do, here's what you order...a pot of ginger peach decaf tea, Chang's Spicy Chicken and Mongolian Beef (all with white rice). Then be sure to follow up that delish meal with a mini triple chocolate mousse dessert. If you want, you can just call me when you get to PF Chang's and pass the phone to your server so I can order correctly for you. Given your advanced age, this might be too much for you to remember...

Molly, if you hadn't been referring to prayer I would have made a comment about you saying you had a little heart. But I guess I won't mention that was what made the Grinch so mean since that definitely wouldn't apply to you anyway.......

Ha! My girls and I are watching the Grinch right now! Funny, I was thinking of a certain someone, who shall remain nameless, when I saw that the Grinch's heart was two sizes too small. Care to guess who that might be Marvie? Oooh, you're such an instigator! And to think I was going to send you a Christmas card.

 

[marvali]

Can't recall right now, but I think I said it DIDN'T apply to you.

I would comment about the rest of the bad things you said about me if I could remember what they were........

 

[that's nice]

Great pictures of Marco! I wish I was in FLorida right now. Not only do I want to be in FL but now I want some PF Changs too!!!

You can see Markie's passion in his coaching....





Kathy & Mark sent my DD Juliana and DS Christopher some Christmas gifts. They were both excited to open the box.

Hummm... what could be in the bag?

A few other goodies....

Maybe we will just ship Juliana to you for Christmas?

Juliana helping Christopher open his gift.

Thank you so much for the great gifts for the kids! They loved them. We hope you and Mark have a wonderful Christmas!!!!!

 

[glennbo123]

You have to go back! When you do, here's what you order...a pot of ginger peach decaf tea, Chang's Spicy Chicken and Mongolian Beef (all with white rice). Then be sure to follow up that delish meal with a mini triple chocolate mousse dessert.

Wait, where's the gluten? And what's a visit to PF Chang's without getting some lettuce wraps?

If you want, you can just call me when you get to PF Chang's and pass the phone to your server so I can order correctly for you. Given your advanced age, this might be too much for you to remember...

Good point Molly. Hey, I think this qualifies for an "assisting the elderly badge" from the Wilderness Explorers!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I feel 75% more relaxed now because I viewed all of your pictures from the pool and the beach. I'm imagining the palm trees, the heat, and a cool drink. Thanks, I needed that.

Love the picture of you and Mark together!

 

[Moira222]

What lovely Marco Island updates Kathy - the pool, the beach, the food and best of all the friends. Life is good on the Island!

Were those real turtles on the Dock? cool photo.

I will keep Mark (and you & Mark) in my prayers that you have a whole lotta worry about nothing. (and that you stop worrying!)

Such a handsome coach too. I hope the job works out for him. If I don't get back over this week (lots of baking, cooking, cleaning, and wrapping to do this week), have a blessedly joyful Christmas!

 

[Poolrat]

I echo what Tim said, I am so relaxed looking at your pictures of Marco.


Oh craving the PF Chang too.


I hope Markie's headaches turn out to be just migranes or soemthing simple and treatable. So hard to worry all this time. He looks like a great wrestling coach.