Our Family Sports Story and Sunday Morning Coffee

Thanks for joining me for Sunday morning coffee. I am sharing my weekly thoughts about decor, crafts, recipes, and our family sports story!

This is a place to share, learn, explain, dream, and have fun. I can’t wait to see what you think of our wild and crazy family sports story.

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Season 2 Volume 5

If you have followed me for a while, you know that I have a husband and three sons. With the Winter Olympics having just started and the Super Bowl just a week away, I thought it might be fun to share with you our family sports story.

To sum it up, my boys have played sports forever. And I have loved every single second of it.

My husband Dave played volleyball at Stanford and continues to play on a men’s national volleyball team. Technically, it is now a senior team but we don’t talk about that so much. When the boys were small, Dave would rotate taking one of the boys with him to the National Tournament.

These trips were something that the boys looked forward to, anxiously awaiting their turn.

The trips were a wonderful way for the boys to not only travel to different cities across the country but to experience being part of a team. They learned sportsmanship and all of the different sides of the competition. They also learned about leadership and being a team player.

Fast forward many years to one of my favorite sporting events. My husband formed a Father and Sons Team with some of his teammates at Volleyball Nationals. Somehow all of our boys were able to play, and as you can see from the photo below, they did win gold.

I guess it’s no surprise that all three of my sons were student-athletes in college.

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Our Favorite Family Sports

For many student-athletes, excelling at a sport is a way to open the door for admission at a university or college that they might not be able to get into otherwise. Just as colleges look beyond grades and consider volunteering, school clubs, and outside interests, sports is one of those categories.

To be honest, that is all that I had hoped for. If my boy’s sports helped them get into a great college, then they should proud!

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My oldest, Andrew, swam for Stanford. At 6’7″ he has also competed at three Olympic Trials. He has been a dedicated swimmer since he was 10 (although he did play soccer too). During high school, he was at the pool six days a week, as well as three days a week with an extra workout at 4:45 am.

And yes, I drove him to morning practice until that magical day that he got his driver’s license.

On the days with morning workouts, he went to school then went back to the pool for an afternoon workout. Once he got home at about 6:00 pm, he then had to eat dinner and tackle homework. For anyone who thinks that student-athletes are coasting on their athletic ability, I can tell you firsthand that they are not!

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Our son Matthew swam and played soccer for a while until he found his sport which was baseball. He played Little League in our town and after an epic All-Star season that took them further than any team in our town, he joined a club team. And then another club team. And then he began working with a pitching coach.

At 6’5″ he was built to pitch. He played baseball at Davidson, in North Carolina. He still holds the record for the lowest ERA in Davidson baseball history!

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Our youngest son Michael, 6’6″, also swam, played little league and soccer, but decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and play volleyball. He played on a club team, his high school team, and eventually played for the University of California, Irvine.

UCI won the National Championship his freshman year, so that was a pretty good choice. After college, Michael played professionally for two years in France. He also played on the USA Men’s Nation Team and competed at the World Cup for Team USA in Tokyo in 2019.

Sports are more than playing a game. They are a test of mental agility as well as an incredible test of one’s physical ability and stamina. Sports are a test of tenacity, perseverance, and grit and at any level, sports teach kids how to be a part of a team and also find the leader within themselves.

Each of my sons has benefited so greatly from participating in sports. I love that excelling at sports came from within each of them.

And that is what I am the proudest about.

The Winter Olympics just started a few days ago. As a family, we are all obsessed with the Olympics and are enjoying the coverage so much. But as a mom of three athletes, my heart breaks a tiny bit with each fall and disappointment any athlete endures.

Once a sports mom … always a sports mom. Many of you reading this probably know exactly what I mean.

(I guess I should mention my sports history. I played three varsity sports in high school, volleyball, basketball, and swimming, but chose not to play sports in college. For as long as I can remember I have loved sports and am watching the Olympics while I write this blog post!)

At our home, February will be full with both the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl! We will literally be glued to the television all month. And as an added bonus, we live in Los Angeles and are Rams fans. We are very excited about the Super Bowl next Sunday and will be rooting for our beloved team.

Something New

I have been out of town for almost two weeks and we are flying home later today. I have been in Texas and experienced the big freeze while staying in Austin. It’s been so cold and I think I have enjoyed the change in weather!

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So many of you commented and DM’d me about the pink decor I added to our Family Room this week. I am smitten with this pink decor and I really love how it came out.

I am tempted to keep our home in this theme after Valentine’s Day. But … I love the blue and white decor so much! So I am going to change it back. Are you surprised?

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This past week was a pretty pink one. I shared two crafts for pink metallic apples and my favorite heart pillow. I also shared a fun Valentine’s Day breakfast and a gluten-free scones recipe. And I shared how to add Valentine’s Day decor in your family room and a romantic table for two.

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I will be hosting a Super Bowl party, will you? Below are some of my favorites for Super Bowl entertaining. Order early if you are planning to host!

Boards are a great way to display Super Bowl Party foods!

Chips and dips are a Super Bowl staple in our house. Here are some of my favorite ways to serve them.

Here are some of my favorite kitchen items to help you make some awesome party food!

There are so many fun ways to decorate for the big game!

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We all know that exercise helps control weight and leads to a healthier life. But did you know it also leads to a better mood and better sleep? The Mayo Clinic shared Seven Benefits of Healthy Exercise and I thought you might find this interesting.

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I have so many fun ideas to share with you this week. I will be in the kitchen sharing a Valentine’s Day charcuterie board and some fun cupcakes. And I will be in the craft room making some DIY baskets and dish towels. I am also making paper blog flowers and some beautiful Valentine’s Day arrangements with carnations.

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• Abstract Art – S2/V5
• Valentine’s Day Decor – S2/V4
• Winter Home Decor – S2/V3
• Winter Decor Ideas – S2/V2
• A Winter Color Palette, Season 2/Volume 1

Pin the image below to your decor boards on Pinterest (just click the Pin button in the top left corner). You can also follow along with me on Pinterest!

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