Late Night

To bring our little league baseball season to a close, our last outing was a trip to a Tacoma Rainier's baseball game. The girls on the team were asked to be standing on the field with the players, in the position that they play, while the National Anthem was being sung. They were so excited! They also participated in the "Rhubarb Run" with the team's mascot and got their hats/mitts autographed by the players. Our whole team and their family's got a free Rainier's hat, hot dog, chips, and a soda. Our girls were chanting and cheering so loudly that they offended the snooty lady in front of us and caused her to complain and ultimately move. Last time I checked, the players enjoy hearing the fans rooting for them. God forbid our girls were excited and cheering for the team! The perturbed fan moved herself, her husband and her child to another location which opened up more space for us! LOL...some people.

Two bats were broken during the game, and amazingly, Mike managed to capture one of them on camera.

The other one unfortunately, was a more exciting break as it almost hit the pitcher, we did not get. That's ok though because we got so many other good ones.

McKenzie waiting her turn for an autograph...

Needless to say, if the game didn't start until 7:00 pm in Tacoma, we didn't get home until very late. Too bad I had to get up early for work the next morning...

As I sit here posting this, between trying to keep my eyes open and helping my customers, I am reminded of how important memories are and how quickly they can disappear if not documented. Every time I find an old picture disc or photos that were actually printed out (prior to digital obviously), I am taken aback how fast time actually flies. The time it takes our children to change and grow seems to be only milliseconds. The song by Trace Atkins, You're Gonna Miss This brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. It's funny how some days it seems that time is running a marathon to see who can finish first and others feel like a never ending repetitive cycle in different colors.

(One of my reoccurring days though not always with a smile)

As I'm looking back over what I've written, the phrase that keeps popping into my head is "What an odd post!!" I guess I'll just blame it on sleep deprivation!

Jam Packed Weekend

Well this weekend certainly made up for all of the crummy weather we've been having! It was in the mid 80's both Saturday and Sunday and we definitely took advantage of it. McKenzie had a baseball tournament both days and at Saturday's game, I got fried! I never use sunblock on my legs because it seems like they never get any color, so why use it? Well I guess that rule does not apply when you are sitting on bleachers outside for 4 hours in 85 degree weather. OUCH!!

McKenzie was catcher both days and I'll tell ya, she was awesome! She was so hot in all of her gear but she gave it her all and helped bring her team to victory. The first game started out not so good with the other team kicking butt. Never fear though, our girls forged ahead and beat them 6-4. Woo hoo!! She definitely deserved the Baskin Robbins treat afterward.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early for our household. I had to meet my ride downtown at 6:30 am for our 7:45 half-marathon start and Mike and the girls had to be at Yauger Park by 7. I didn't get to see K's first or second game but they worked really hard and lost the first by only 1 run and won the second.

We met our team at Sylvester Park at 7 am to watch the marathon runners begin. We then got in line for our start at 7:45. It was the longest jaunt of my life!! I broke off with one other member of my team and we bolted. We alternated between walking and running and had a very good time. I included a picture of our team before the race:

Notice my nicely burned knees right there in the front with my lucky #1303!! I was freezing cold with burning legs and arms. Such a nice way to start out the day...LOL.

At every mile, there was a marker and every two miles, there was water and sponges. At one point, running through a neighborhood, there was a beer shot stop!! They actually had little cups of beer. Tempting....but no go, I chose the Gatorade instead. A little girl asked me if I wanted to be sprayed with water while we were passing by and I learned a valuable lesson....always ask what you are going to be sprayed with and how many pumps they are going to take. Oh yeah, she pulled out a Super Soaker 5000 (or something huge like that) and nailed me! She soaked me from my belly button to my knees. Had I known I was going to look like I peed my pants (and shirt) I would have declined; however, it was very warm out so I dried fairly quickly. Right about mile 11 1/2, I stepped down with my left foot and felt a crack. I managed to put it out of my mind for the rest of the race but I'm still enjoying that pain today. I took a picture of the last mile marker before the finish line so I can look back and re-live that gratifying moment again and again and know I did my best:

Whitney and I ran at full force, through the finish line with tons of people on the side-lines cheering for us with a time of 3:13:56 and I have to say that it felt amazing! I was kind of regretting my decision to register but I am so glad that I followed through and finished. It really makes me wonder if I could do the full marathon next year (??????) Maybe not, but I can certainly work toward that goal.

After the marathon, I went back to the tournament for a BBQ and a final game that ended in a tied score. That game was the most exciting of the entire season so far. They worked their tails off and almost won. They won in our book anyway and got an A+ for effort. I'll post some pictures of the tournament soon. All in all, it was a pretty great weekend and ended on a perfectly sunny note!

Busy Busy Weekend

(Butterfly in flight)

Well, we survived the weekend! It was quite hectic but I am alive to speak of it today. I would have written prior to this but it took me two days just to recover! We started the week off again with games. Alyssa played in Tumwater on Monday, which was also Bobbi's birthday (thank goodness for DQ) and McKenzie played last night at MCRA. Alyssa and Ambrosia make quite a duo with Brosia in the pitcher spot and Alyssa at 1st base. They can get just about every batter out! McKenzie's game last night was awesome! They were on fire and with an ending score of 10-0, it really showed! She hit a double and playing first base, she got every single batter out! The girls were very excited and were so loud in the dug-out that other teams couldn't hear their ump's calls. I just smiled :-)

So back to our crazy weekend, it started out with practice at 9 am and then Connor's party at the pool at 10. For some reason, Rylee is terrified of swimming. She will cling to the side of a pool or hang out on the first step, but she will NOT venture out into the actual water. The pool party was no exception. If I try to get her to let me hold onto her life jacket and put her into the water, she turns into a monkey and is worse than trying to get a cat into a bucket of water...you know the funny videos of them clinging for dear life to anything in reach! That's her. This time however, I pointed out that Colton cannot swim either and the only reason he was staying afloat was because of his trusty life jacket. For some reason, unbeknownst (it's a word!) to myself, she listened to me!! I was able to hold her out away from the edge and she kicked and paddled back all by herself. She was very excited to point that out too..."LOOK MOMMY, NO HANDS AND I'M DOING IT ALL BY MYSELF!!!!" I was so proud of her that I almost jumped in...ok not quite that far but I did have tears in my eyes. Who is this little independent girl and where is my baby?

Look at the swimming pro!

After the pool party, we had just about 40 minutes to grab some lunch and then head back to MCRA for Alyssa's game where, by the way, they kicked butt! Luckily the weather was very nice so we were able to work on our non-existent tans for a couple of hours. After the game, we headed back home for Rylee/Matthew/Karrissa's triple birthday party. Grandma Linda, Shelly, and Tausha broke into my house and had the house decorated when we got home and were working on the above pictured cupcakes. It was supposed to be a soccer theme since Matthew is playing soccer, Rylee will be in June, and Karrissa is always playing...but for some silly reason, soccer decorations are either unearthly expensive or just not in stock. I thought that Walmart of all places would have at least soccer ball plates or black streamers....NOPE! No biggie though, we just kind of settled for lots of colors and it all went together perfectly.

As soon as we walked through the door, Rylee insisted on putting her party dress on, along with a clean face and a Princess birthday button. She walked out of the bedroom with a smile on her face for everyone!



Could she be any more of a ham?

It was a good party and all of the kids had fun. My husband, however, did end up in the dog house right along with the new puppy that he decided to bring home without consulting me. Oh yes, the dreaded "Mommy! Look at what daddy said we can have!! Can we keep her pretty please??" What was I supposed to say? It was followed up by "But you said we could get another puppy since Charlie (our chocolate lab) died and then we had to give Capone (the Doberman we had for a couple short months but had to give back because he kept biting) back. You promised!!" Ok, I don't know about anybody else, but how could this not pull at my heart strings? Yes I hate dogs and would rather eat dirt than have another one, but on the other hand, my girls love them. How can I deny a cute little girl giggle with a puppy on her belly?? I grudgingly agreed and Auntie Kelly has nicely agreed to keep this little bundle of fur named Alice (from Twilight of course) occasionally since she's the one that told Mike about the free puppies... Love you Kelly!! :-)

We then headed out for Bobbi's birthday beginning with dinner at the Ram (yummy!) and then drinks back in Shelton. It was fun but I was so tired that I was almost falling asleep in the booth. By the time Jen dropped me off at home, I could barely see straight. Going out just doesn't have the same appeal that it used to. I'd rather stay at home and go to bed early...man I am old!

Sunday was pretty much a laid back day, enough that I sat out in the sun and painted my nails. Ahhhhh....sunshine on your back, slight breeze blowing, the smell of fingernail polish... Kids laughing with the dog in the background. Baseball pictures were scheduled for 5 and 5:30 pm. We didn't actually get out of there until almost 6:30 and then did some quick grocery shopping for a small dinner with friends that we haven't seen in several months. Thanks for coming over Debbie and family!! It's getting to that time of year that BBQ's are calling our name and we start migrating out of the house and getting together again with friends and family. I'm very excited for the summer to begin!

Sunny Days...Could This Be For Real??

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in almost two weeks. I was hoping to keep it a little more up to date but we've just been so busy! We have baseball Monday through Thursday every week and some Saturdays as well. That's on top of everything else of course...but I'm not complaining, just sharing. On the weekend of the 4th, McKenzie and Alyssa had a baseball Jamboree and both played two games each. Alyssa's age doesn't keep score but if they did, I know they would have won because the girls kicked butt! Alyssa, Ambrosia, and Isabella played their little hearts out both games. McKenzie's team won their first game 8 to 1 and the second game 7 to 5. She was catcher and did so great!! She was nervous as we walked onto the ball field at 8 am Saturday morning but by the time we left at 3 pm (such a long day!) she was a pro. Here are some pictures from the Jamboree:

~~The Starz~~

McKenzie taking her base after getting hit by the ball..

Look at that catcher!

~~The Cougars~~

I think she's flying to 3rd base..

Working 1st base...she's not letting anyone past!

After the jamboree, Mike left for the Desert 100 over in Odessa, so the girls and I were on our own. Luckily, Aunt Bobbi was cool enough to hang out with us and make pizza and dessert on Saturday night so we weren't completely alone. The next day was completely ours and it was SUNNY!! We decided to take advantage of this summer-like weather and took a 2-mile walk down to the park by the clubhouse. We walked around the golf course where we stopped to take a few pictures and then continued on down by the lake. When we got to the clubhouse, Rylee took one look at the lake and said, "Oh darn it...I forgot my baving suit!!" She just couldn't understand why we weren't going swimming when it was so warm and sunny..lol. I guess we haven't had 70 degree weather in a long time so it would be confusing. Of course, since I'm a camera freak, I brought it with me for a few candids....and a few poses.

We had a really great weekend even though it was jam packed. Mike didn't win the motorcycle race but he sure had fun riding in it anyway. He didn't get home until 11 pm Sunday nightThankfully for him, he had Monday off. Wish I was so lucky!

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!