Baseball at the Park

Amidst all of the rain, snow, sleet, hail, wind, and whatever weather we have been blessed with, we finally had a sunny day last Sunday! It started out as any other weekend morning lately, that being waking up slowly, knowing there isn't much we can do in such horrid weather. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked outside and didn't see the liquid sunshine we've been used to seeing. "Get dressed everyone" I yelled, "We're going to DO something today!" I was greeted with sleepy acknowledgements and sluggy movements toward bedrooms. I figured if they didn't want to do anything on this fantastic day, I'd do something all by myself (sunbathing in a sweatshirt and sweatpants instantly came to mind). Finally, everyone was ready to go and a picnic lunch was packed. Kelly and her family were meeting us down at the park and we were off! Luckily, now that baseball season has begun and so many practices have been cancelled, mitts, bats, and balls have a permanent space in the back of my trusty Mountaineer.

Surprisingly, the park was not packed. I figured that on such an unusually un-rainy day, everyone would take advantage of Castle Park (Kneeland to the lay person). I was soon proven correct....It got crazy there! I, personally, would not walk directly through any one's obvious baseball practice...balls being hit everywhere! Apparently, not everyone feels the same way...HELLO??!!! All we needed was a line-drive hit and someone to end up like Natasha Richardson...geez, I'm not sure if it's just Shelton or if other cities have such smart people in them as well. Wow, I guess that was a little harsh but seriously, we had so many people look at us and just keep walking right between the pitcher and the batter! Oh well, I suppose to some, it may have been confusing as to what we were doing and the dangers possibly involved.

So anyway, after all of that ranting and raving, I have put up a few pictures out of the thousand I took that day :-)

Alyssa can almost hit the ball out of the park!!!

Kind of a cool picture of Mike and McKenzie....notice the ball! And yes, she hit it!!

Can we say next star pitcher??!!

Notice the tiny cleats and mitt she just HAD to have...how could you say no to something so cute? She caught the ball 6 times in a row!! Must have been the shoes~~she did tell me that they make her jump higher and kick (yes kick) the ball further like in soccer!

Look at that arm...

Alyssa worked so hard on catching fly balls. She improved so much in just the short time that we were there....Daddy helped her practice catching grounders too

And yes, it's all in the pose...

This is one of my favorite pics of McKenzie. Perfect form! She has really become an awesome baseball player. I am so proud of her!

You can't really tell from the pictures, but many spots on the ground were pure mud. As most parents know: Kids+Mud+Riding home in the car=BIG FAT MESS... Holy moly, my truck will never be the same!! They were covered from head to toe in slimy mud and loved every second of my discomfort :-) Needless to say, it was showers all around when we got home. What a great day we had!

From the Mouths of Babes

McKenzie~11


Alyssa~8


Rylee~3

If you are a member of Facebook or Myspace, you've probably seen this survey posted within the last few weeks. I normally don't take the time to fill them out but I thought that my girls would come up with some cute responses. I asked each one individually because I know the two older girls would try to top each other's answers. This was so much fun!


1. What is something mom ALWAYS says to you?
M-I love you
A-I love you
R-R..Y..L..E..E


2. What makes mom happy?
M-When you're good
A-Listening
R-R..Y..L..E..E.....Can I have some gum??


3. What makes mom sad?
M-When you're bad...when you say I hate you
A-Not doing what you're told or being bad
R-Doesn't give you hugs


4. How does your mom make you laugh?
M-She tells me jokes
A-By being nice I guess..Wait!! When you say funny things
R-Does funny stuff


5. What was your mom like as a child?
M-Smart and funny and pretty (awww..how nice)
A-How would I know??
R-Me!!!


6. How old is your mom?
M-31 (so close)
A-31 (maybe they forgot my last birthday??)
R-5


7. How tall is your mom?
M-5'6"
A-5'6"
R-This tall! (hands above her head)


8. What is her favorite thing to do?
M-Spend time with her family
A-Be with her family
R-Go to work (huh??)


9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
M-I don't know, I'm not here!! Ok, um....she reads
A-I'm kinda not here so....I don't know! (smart aleck)
R-Go to work


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
M-Oh goodness, um...a beauty competition (LOL cuz I enter so many!)
A-Being so nice
R-Working (I'm sensing a trend here)


11. What is your mom really good at?
M-Everything
A-Being pretty
R-Watch TV


12. What is your mom not very good at? (I'm scared!)
M-Nothing
A-Being mean
R-Not writing :-)


13. What does your mom do for her job?
M-She...What are you??
A-Works at the front desk of the Tribal center (well kinda)
R-I don't know


14. What is your mom's favorite food? (This took a long time for everyone to answer EXCEPT Rylee...no hesitation!)
M-Crab
A-Soup...I don't know!!
R-BEEF (it's what's for dinner, right??)


15. What makes you proud of your mom?
M-Everything that she does...she quit smoking!
A-She's nice and sweet to other people (Aww...I love these girls!)
R-Hug


16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
M-Jessica Rabbit (very quickly answered)
A-Sandy off of Sponge Bob (Great!! An underwater squirrel)
R-A doggy


17. What do you and your mom do together?
M-Have fun
A-Have mommy and me days
R-Words


18. How are you and your mom the same?
M-We are both pretty (LOL...no self-esteem issues thank goodness)
A-Both of our favorite colors are purple
R-We both have purple shirts


19. How are you and your mom different?
M-I am 11 and she is 31
A-My mom's older than me
R-Purple and pink shirts


20. How do you know your mom loves you?
M-She tells me and she expresses her love
A-Because she's always there for me
R-She kisses me


21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
M-A spa
A-California
R-Work (Are we back to that??)


22. Where would you like to go with your mom?
M-Wow...there's a lot of places...On a cruise
A-Everywhere
R-McDonalds


These are the types of things I am going to treasure forever!

The Girl's Seattle Trip

A couple of weekends ago, February 28th to be exact, my sister-in-law and I decided to brave Seattle with our 5 little girls. You may be asking yourselves "What the heck were they thinking??" and with understandable reason. Now Kelly and I have been best buds for approximately 7 years, so of course, we spend a lot of time together and are very close to each other's children. This was actually our second annual girls get-away weekend...the first being a trip to the ocean for our stay in a penthouse suite which, by the way, was very cool. So we had been contemplating all year long where our next trip would be and finally decided on Seattle. Mike and I had gone to stay the night there a couple of weekends before that for my birthday, so I had scoped out all of the hot spots that are also kid friendly. As any western Washingtonian knows, plans are contingent upon our ever unpredictable weather. As luck had it, we picked a good weekend! Not all that warm, but not raining and the most wind we saw was on our ferry ride to Seattle (which I highly recommend).

During our car ride to Bremerton to catch the ferry, everyone was in high spirits. Bright pink lip gloss was being passed around for beauty sake and the volume in the car was reaching ear piercing decibels. By the time we reached the ferry, the girls were so excited that they could barely sit still while we waited in line to board. We hadn't told them where our destination was, so everything was a surprise to them. The sights from the deck were breathtaking as Seattle came into view and the girls all had a blast feeding Cheetos to the sea gulls. One took it right out of Rylee's hand...



The girls were so excited to be on a trip with no daddy's and no boys! Just mommy's, aunties, and girl cousins. It also didn't matter to them how cold it was outside!


Alyssa~Kenzie~Brosia~Bella

~~The Trio~~


~Kenzie's just happy to be there~

So all in all, we went up to the top of the Space Needle, did lots of walking down on the pier, paid for lots of parking, ate an awesome dinner at Red Robin on the water, and visited many shops. Of all of the fun stuff we had planned, the number one response given when asked what they wanted to do next was, "We wanna go back to the hotel and the hot tub!!" The hot tub....well that's another story!!! We had a good time and spent lots of quality time together. Our little hotel room was noisy and packed but if we could go back and do it over again, we wouldn't change a thing! Well except maybe the naked statue of the man that the girls discovered, or the 3 hour wait for the Spaghetti Factory, or the cussing lady in McDonalds, or the diseased man wearing a surgical mask walking around the Pike Place Market with a sign on his front and back saying that the hospital stole his stomach and sold it....LOL...Good times, good times...



(Luckily you can't see the statue of the naked man behind the fountain!!)

And this is just a little something I made from another trip a couple of years ago...just to show how time flies...

Introducing Us!

So here is my first official post. I've been wracking my brains trying to figure out something witty and funny to start with, but I'm coming up blank! My husband will probably be surprised because there is hardly a time that I can't find something to say. I'm not saying that I'm always witty and funny, but I try my hardest! :-) It's taken me a while to get this whole blog thing figured out but I think I'm making headway. I had a whole paragraph written, hit the wrong button, and wham.....it was gone. Surprisingly, I work on a computer all day long.

Anyway, I suppose I will start by showing a few pictures of my family. In November of 08, we decided to get family portraits done since we hadn't had them taken in about two years. When digital cameras became so popular, professional portraits started taking a back seat. So....where to go. My friend's husband had recently decided to start up his own photography business, so we figured we'd be some of his first guinea pigs. What a great experience! We found that in-home photography is the way to go. The kids were relaxed and had a blast. Here are a few of the shots~~

~McKenzie~

~Alyssa~

Rylee was so goofy....

May the force be with you...


Growing up, people try to imagine what their life will be like when they're older but it usually can't compare to reality. I just knew I would be a famous doctor with tons of money and lots of degrees....but I'm not. As of right now, I live in the same town that I grew up in, I don't have a degree yet, I'm married, I have three children, and I work in a mediocre job...and I wouldn't change it for the world! Ok, well maybe the area that I live in part. I would really like to live where there are four actual seasons, not just 2.....almost sunny and rainy. I suppose we've added another: snow. Maybe someday I will remedy that part of it but for now, it's not a bad place to raise a family. Besides, if I'm ever feeling lonely, I can go into Walmart at any time and see at least 3 people that I know...LOL.

I figured I'd better go back to school and get a degree so that even with this wonderful economic deterioration, I can keep my house. So, I signed up for online courses to continue my education because I have no time to go to a physical campus....don't recommend it!!! Holy moly! Talk about time consuming...and I thought I was busy before! So, once again school is on hiatus for me but I will eventually succeed. For now, I will keep doing what I do best: being an employed wife and mommy. Who wouldn't love that?