Little League Fun

I have to say, I have really been enjoying Travis' baseball team this year. I know a lot of the kids because they go to our school. Plus Travis knows a bunch of them because they are in his class or he has played with them before on other teams. It has also been nice knowing the parents.  The team has awesome parental support as well.  All of that makes a recipe for lots of fun!  Yesterday the weather was warm but beautiful and I was able to get some good pictures of what I have been watching this season. I don't know where Travis got his stance, but he looks so cute when he is at  bat.

 Although he started off the season with a home run (YAY!) he has had a few hits and some strike outs and walks.  Yep, this next one was a strike!

 Don't they all look so cute hanging out in the dugout??  Such little men in training!

 In the meantime I have to keep my eyes peeled for Connor at all times.  This is where he enjoys hanging out... watching the girls' softball games through their dugout!  Evidently it is MUCH more exciting over there....

Or I can find him playing with the other little girls who have brothers on the team. We have known this family since last year, it was nice that this year Connor is old enough to actually play with other children for entertainment instead of just running away into now where.

Connor is running to the other side to see his grandparents.

Here is Travis' cheering section.  They found a nice shady spot under a tree.

Connor also likes to find the dirt.... he usually needs a bath the minute he gets home from the game!

Travis also got another chance to pitch. He pitched in the third inning and struck the first three batters out.  We were so proud of him! Woo Hoo!

Travis only has 4 games left in the season. I can't believe how fast the time goes by. I am very, very excited that our summer break is almost here.  Just 3 1/2 weeks left.... but who's counting?

Happy Birthday Grandpa Hank!

Last weekend my dad had a birthday.  Again. Can you believe these things happen every year??  It's a funny thing about celebrating your parent's birthdays. When I was young they seemed soooo old.  In reality, my parents are only 20-ish years older than me. What?! Now that seems like nothing.  I can remember when each of my parents turned 40. Now talk about O.L.D.  What's that you say? I am 40? Well I can tell you one thing for sure, nowadays 40 is waaayyy younger than it was when MY mom and dad turned 40!  ha! As I have aged my opinions on aging have changed somewhat.  Here is my dad, as young as ever on his 64th birthday.. I know he LOOKS 54, right?  (It must be in the genes...lol)  My parents came over before Travis' baseball game so we could do a little celebrating.  We had my dad close his eyes while Travis escorted him in from the garage.

SURPRISE!  We had a few gifts, balloons, and a party hat just for him.  We enjoyed some cake and ice cream and of course we sang to him and made him blow out some candles.  I think there were only 12 in the box... that's ok, who wants to actually light 64 candles??? 

 I know who wouldn't mind lighting that many candles.  Travis. Now that he knows how to use the lighter he takes any opportunity he can to light a few birthday candles.  (Can I rent him out?)

 It's a good thing we only had 12... I think that was hard enough for grandpa to blow out on his own!  (I only say that because that is what grandpa said after he blew them out and I thought it was kinda cute!)

 Look at these two checking out grandpa's new dbacks shirt! Just in time for baseball season, too.

 Yep. I think he likes it!

 It's a funny thing about using more than one camera to take pictures.  I found some shots I forgot about.  A few weeks ago my mom and I took Connor to the dbacks game for a bit.  We didn't sit in our usual seats because the roof was opened and our seats were right in the sun. My mom has to be super duper careful in the sun. We got permission to sit in this nice covered area.  It was good because Connor could walk around a bit when he started getting restless. (He also said, "LOOK! I can see the baseball players!!") He actually made it through about 3 innings here. Pretty good for a busy 3 year old!  Here is Connor showing off his muscles... Grammy looks so impressed with them!

 Proof that I was there too.  This time of year my make up never stays on long.  My allergies are wrecking havoc on me these days. The only reason I am looking forward to our 100+ days is because then the allergies are less intense. And my make up stays on longer than 30 minutes.

 How could I have forgotten this cute picture from Travis' birthday??

I am so glad this last week is over.  The schools all had testing this week. The good part is that I don't have to do much planning or grading. The bad part is that it is totally exhausting.  I think my class did well, so that is all that matters.  I wish we would get the scores back before the end of the school year but it doesn't work that way. Instead they come in over the summer so that by the time I have a chance to look at them I already have a new group of students sitting in front of me. Oh well.  I can't believe we are already approaching the end of April. Where has 2012 gone so far??  I am anxious for things to slow down a bit. Is that even possible?

Easter 2012

For some reason Easter seemed to come and go very quickly this year.  I bought all of the stuff to dye the eggs, but we never quite got around to doing them.  The Easter Bunny must have been feeling the pressure too.  He didn't leave an egg hunt around our house this year either.  Oh well.  I think the kiddos still liked their baskets full of goodies anyway.  However, the bunny did leave a family gift... the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. They just love this one!  Connor was so excited to see it on the counter!

 Checking out his loot. (He still has some bed head here.)

 Travis is checking out his basket too. 

 Comparing to make sure things are equal!  lol

 Ready for church!  We took some inside shots first.

 Then we went out side.  This is one of my favorites of Connor right now. He just struck a pose and it was so darned cute!  He doesn't always want to cooperate, so this was a pleasant surprise!  (He insisted on wearing his boots with his shorts... I just pick my battles around here! He is a child that KNOWS what he wants. If he were a girl we would say he was a diva..!)

 Poor Travis. The sun really does bother his eyes.  Why didn't he put on his sunglasses that the Easter Bunny gave him??  Stubborn child.  He would put his hands to his eyes, say to me, "Tell me when!" I would say, "Now!" and he would put down his hand and try to smile. This is all I could get.

Oh well. Better this than nothing I suppose!  Although Daryle jokingly asked me why I was dressing Connor like Nemo (from Finding Nemo) I think they look cute in these spring colors. 

All in all we had a pretty nice Easter.  All I have to do is block out the part where Connor had a temper tantrum right in the middle of Mass. I really hope that as my kids grow up these are the things I permanently block out from my memory bank!  The part I probably will never block out was some lady way behind me say loudly, "SSSSSHHHHH!  Little brat." Oh my.  Really? On Easter Sunday? As we were sitting outside, in the hot sun, and listening to the priest over a loud speaker? We couldn't see a thing.  Plus we were there 25 minutes early before it even began.  I am sorry that my child was loud. I am sorry he was yelling. I am sorry he was screaming, "BUT MOM YOU MESSED ME UP! I WANTED TO BLOW THAT LITTLE BUG AWAY!!!"  I was already embarrassed enough. This unfortunate event only compounded to my stress level.  I have never, ever, ever heard anybody do that to anybody in the middle of church. There is no nursery at our church, nowhere to take the little ones so they don't bother anybody. Didn't Jesus say, "Let the children come to me?" That is why the priests at our church don't have a nursery, they want the children to be at Mass.  I sort of wish I knew which lady said that.  First, to apologize to her for my child's behavior.  Second, to tell her I will say a prayer for her. Other than that, we had a nice time celebrating with the grandparents.  We even managed to get in part of a Diamondback's game that day as well.  Of course my little "angel" was perfect once we got home from church. Figures.

Next year I think I need the Easter Bunny to bring me my own special basket. I think it should include a bottle of wine!

Baseball and Birthdays: Who Could Ask For Anything More?!

Last week was crazy around here.  This will probably be a bit long... so bear with me!  The craziness all started on Thursday.  Travis turned 9 years old.. I can hardly believe it!  Also, it was his first baseball game of the season. Here are Travis and Coach Daryle before we left to have dinner for Travis' birthday.

Travis picked Olive Garden for his birthday dinner. They are so nice there. You can buy a small cake and they even bring it out with candles on it.  After singing happy birthday to him he blew out the candles.  All 9 of them! (Future note to self- if we do this next year there is no need to bake a home made cake at home!)

For the last few practices Travis has been practicing pitching.  Daryle asked him if he wanted to pitch that night.  Travis was a little hesitant to do it as he hadn't pitched to a "live batter".  He said he would if Daryle could stand by him. The other coaches agreed that they didn't mind if Daryle stood behind him since it was his first time pitching. I must say, he did a pretty good job. I think there will be more pitching in his future.

The following night we decided to eat the birthday cake that we didn't get to the night before. Since Travis is 9 now he wanted to light his own candles. Don't worry, Daryle and I were both very close by.  He did a great job. No worries after all.  (Look at how focussed he was!)

Saturday was Opening Day for Little League. Since Daryle is now on the board of directors he had to be out there at 7 in the morning.  Of course it was the hottest day of the year so far... it was 94... so he was pretty hot by mid morning.  He was out there until 3:00. He came home, changed clothes, then headed out to the fields again for our 5:00 game.  I was only out there part of the time, so it wasn't so bad for me. However, it was a long day overall for the family.  There were all kinds of fun things for the kids to do before the opening ceremonies.  Here is Travis trying out the jousting area.

Connor checked out a bouncy.  He loves these, I think he could stay there all day! Notice he is wearing his Darth Vader cape... he has a style all his own! I had to laugh. He asked this one boy how old he was.  The boy said he was 10.  Connor's reply, "MY BROTHER IS 9!"  Funny boy.

Then Connor wanted to try out the jousting area. He went in there and didn't even know any of the kids. After about 5 minutes he realized this was too heavy for him and we left.  Sometimes I need to let him figure these things out on his own!  He wouldn't listen to me when I told him it might be too much for him.

This is Daryle being introduced as a board member. I had to use the close up lens and of course this man had to get his hat in the way.  Oh well.

After that long day Travis finallyl got to go home and play with some of his birthday presents.  Here is Travis with his birthday present from Uncle Rob.  They are posing with their Nerf guns.  Don't they look dangerous?!?!

We decided this year that Travis could have a birthday party. He chose to have it at Laser Quest.  He invited all boys.  Oh my. Actually, they were all very well behaved and had an awesome time.

They all sang to Travis then this huge roll of toilet paper exploded all over him. It was so funny! Of course it happened so fast that I didn't get a picture of it!

After the second round of tag they all came in for pizza and cake.  They were so cute poring over their scores.  They worked up a pretty good appetite too!

Really, another cake?!  Every single cake was chocolate.... per Travis' request of course.

After that weekend, it was time for some R & R around here!

I am so glad we survived the week.  All in all it was pretty fun. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that Travis is 9 years old.  He is growing up and changing right before my eyes. He has gained more responsibility around the house.  His leash in the neighborhood has been lengthened. He has friends close by that he likes to hang out with.  It is nice and kind of scary all at the same time!  I just want them to stay young and innocent forever.   A mother can wish, can't she?

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Another Spring Break has come and gone for us.  The good part is that summer will be just around the corner. The "bad" part (or should I just say the chaotic part) I guess is that things are about to get very crazy around here.  Travis has his first baseball game this week, and it just happens to also be on his birthday.  He will have one to two games per week plus practice times for the next two months. Add that to our regular chaos and you will see how all of a sudden it will be June around here in the blink of an eye. 

Yesterday we got a chance to visit with my brother.  He was in town for training for his job so he extended his stay into the weekend. It was nice to have some good quality time with him.  My boys really enjoy playing with Uncle Rob.  I only wish he didn't live so far away so we could see him more often.  However, I did get my yearly picture of him with the boys. We did our "serious" picture first.

 Then they did some silly ones. This one was my favorite.

 Sometimes I look at other blogs or see my friends and family post pictures of their little girls playing dress up in cute princess dresses.  Well, we have no princess dresses around here. However, we do have football uniforms....

 and Darth Vader costumes! I am so glad to see they can be used for more than just Halloween! Connor lives in an imaginary world.  When he dresses up he is in total character. He has been walking around here all day talking in a strange voice, trying to sound like Darth Vader. I am not even sure he has ever even seen a Star Wars movie.  He cracks me up.

Yesterday Daryle finally got the uniforms for the baseball team.  They look pretty good too. 

I can't wait for their first game! I just love how they all look in their uniforms. They are just so. darned. cute. 

In one way I am dreading going back to school.  Back to a schedule. Back to deadlines, test prep, workshops, Science Night, yadda, yadda, yadda.  On the other hand I think my kiddos need to get back into their routine.  After two weeks of no structure they tend to get a little restless.

On another note, we had our last post placement report for Connor. Yes, can you believe that time has come already??!  We had it last Thursday.  We survived.  Thank goodness the social worker is a fellow adoptive mother and a former teacher. She understood the craziness that was going on around us.  I guess my kids get a little anxious when a visitor comes over to write things down and report it to Russia. Honestly, they are typical boys until my phone rings or somebody comes over and they need to be good. That is just recipe for disaster in my house.  I am glad all the reporting is over. When we did these for Travis I knew all the dates by heart that we needed to have the reports in by. With Connor I wasn't even sure if this was our last report or not until she showed up at my door.  I will say if I hadn't of called I don't think they would have called me. I do feel a great sense of responsibility to get these in on time in order to help those in the process now.  From what I hear things are shaky in the Russian adoption world right now. I sure hope they can work something out between the countries. Only time will tell.  I pray for all of the children around the world who don't have forever families. Of course the ones in Russia have a special spot in our hearts.

I will leave with a funny conversation at our house last night.

Connor: When I am 10 I will have a sister.

Daryle: Really, where will she come from?

Connor: Russia!!

Travis: No Connor, you don't want one of those until you are 16!

Me: What is that supposed to mean?!

Followed by lots and lots of laughter.  I am still scratching my head over that one. Silly boys!

Here Comes the Hail!

One thing I can say is that our weather stays pretty much the same day in and day out.  It cools down in the winter and gets super hot in the summer.  There is not much of a change on a day to day basis.  Often times the weather forecast calls for rain but you don't think too much about it because it may or may not rain in your neighborhood.  One part of the valley gets rain and your yard is as dry as a bone.  Well, last weekend our area got hit with a huge storm.  It was so exciting!  We got wind, rain, hail, and rainbows. Some people a few miles away even got some snow in their yards. No snow for us. Although there was snow in the mountains that surround the valley. That is always beautiful, it looks like somebody took a sifter with flour and sprinkled it all over the mountain tops. As for the hail, this was the first time Connor ever saw it and you would have thought it was Travis' first time too.  He doesn't remember ever seeing it before, but I am sure he has.  Here is was just the day  before, digging in the backyard. (Yes, my little goofball is wearing socks... why? I have no idea.  Maybe to keep the bleach company in business??!)

This is how our street looked on Sunday morning. This hail and rain came and went all day. It alternated rain, hail, sun, rain, hail, sun, etc.. It was awesome!! Oh, and it got cold too.  (Being in the 50's is cold for us! Especially in March when the previous week I was sunburned from being out in the 85+ degree weather!)

 I am so glad this weather happened on a weekend so we could all really enjoy it.

 My boys wanted to hang out in the backyard and survey the damage from the wind and rain.  They would have stayed out there all day long if I would have let them. Travis did a good job of staying out of the rain... Connor, not so much. He wanted to run out there like he was taking a shower!

We are on our last leg of Spring Break. The weather this week has  slowly climbed back up into the 80's. Just where I like it. I am not a fan of the hot, hot summer  weather. But what can you do?  No matter where you live there is some type of weather you have to deal with that is not much fun.  I guess for now I will take the heat. Along with the air conditioning!

 

 

We have lots of things to keep us busy over the next few weeks (months??!).  Tomorrow we have our Diamondback ticket draft for our season tickets and my brother is in town from Seattle so my parents are having a party on Saturday. Next week is Travis' birthday and his Little League season officially starts. The first game is right on his birthday!  (I am thinking the family celebration may have to come a day early just for time management purposes.) I can't believe he will be 9 years old!  He is getting to have a friend party this year too which will be the following weekend.  The good thing is there will be lots to post about here! Stay tuned... this may take awhile!