Bye, bye baseball

I start longing for little league baseball to begin at about the end of January. I can't wait to find out what team the boys will be on, who their coach will be and who their team members will be. I love going to the games, meeting new families, watching kids improve as the season goes on....

By late July, however, I'm ready for the season to be over. It's hot outside, the baseball dirt blows around too much for my liking and the kids (well mostly Lily) have NO interest in watching baseball or anything in the park surrounding the baseball game--except for eating ice cream that is.



Sam finished his Rookie career on the St. Louis Cardinals this year. We were quite pleased that Sam received the Most Improved Player award this year. He made the last three outs of the season!

I must admit, I'm a bit ready to move on from the Cardinals (sorry Grandpa and cousins!). Whenever we stop for a bite to eat before or after a game in this Cubby land we live in, we get more than a few comments about the Cardinals shirt and hat!



Joey had a great season too. He has turned out to be quite a pitcher and struck a lot of kids out. (We're not really the kind of folks who keep stats on the kids!) Joey received the most valuable player award this year.



So it's on to fall soccer for us. Just about the time that's ending, I'll be ready for more baseball!

Happy Metcha Day Lily!

Three years ago today, we met Lily Rose for the first time.

Happy "Metcha Day," Lily!

Family Reunion

Tradition. It's tradition. My parents, siblings, nieces and nephews gather together in Baileys Harbor Wisconsin every year for the 4th of July and a family reunion.

Everyone wears their red, white and blue.



We toss candy to parade-watchers in an old-fashioned parade while my dad drives his old Ford truck.





This year was Sam's first year walking in the parade (in previous years he watched the parade). We had to ration the candy this year! There were thousands of people!



After the parade, we return to my parents cottage on the lake to play in the water and catch up before dinner, fireworks and s'mores.







According to most of the kids in our family "Fourth of July is the best day of the year after Christmas and my birthday!"

Double Digits

Several weeks ago, Joey turned 10. Double digits. It seems as if time has passed so slowly and yet so quickly at the same time.

A little bit about Joey:

Joey does everything fast. He moves fast. He eats fast. He thinks fast. I told Joey the story of his birth the other day. "Joey," I said, "you came into this world the same way you do everything else--lightning fast." There were no labor pains with Joey, just an urge to push and 30 minutes later, there he was. (Don't hate me, 10.5 pound Sam came 3 years later.)

Joey loves his stuffed animals and sleeps with them every night. They surround his head. Sometimes he wakes up with a stiff neck from sleeping on one of them.

Joey is an excellent student. He loves school. I mean seriously--he loves school and can barely wait for it to start again.

He's also an excellent athlete. Seriously, we're not sure where he gets that from. It's not from Rob and it certainly isn't from me. Joey plays basketball, soccer, tennis, baseball and he swims. He is in his element when he is pitching a tight game. Tennis is becoming his new favorite sport.

Joey is fiercely competitive. We're sort of hoping that will wane a bit as he gets older, but if it doesn't, we hope it will serve him well.

He is the Energizer Bunny in flesh and blood. As his tennis coach said "the beautiful thing about Joey is that he has the same energy at 9:30 a.m. as he has at 11:30 a.m. after playing 2 hours of tennis." When I added (with a negative tone in my voice) that he has that same level of energy at 5:30 p.m., his coach couldn't understand why that would be a bad thing.

With all that athleticism, he still loves music. He's in choir at school and has been waiting for 5th grade so that he can participate in band.

Joey loves, loves, loves visiting family. It is very difficult for him to say goodbye when a visit is over.

In honor of Joey's 10th birthday, I'd like to share a few of the poems he wrote during his 4th grade poetry unit.

"Baseball" a haiku

Pitch a speedy ball
When you hit it run so fast
Just do not get out

"Birds"

Red, yellow, black, blue
None of them have a curfew
Chirping, flying without any sigh
Can you guess? Who am I?

Building nests in a tree
Way bigger than a bee
Twigs, sticks, mud and more
Birds chirping beautifully galore.

Show Your Teeth

A few weeks ago, we celebrated our beautiful niece Mila's first birthday.



The party was held in the garden area of a coffee shop. It was a cool setting, but I was a bit nervous that the boys would knock someone (or something) over with their birthday party enthusiasm.

To keep them calm, I handed them my camera and told them to take pictures. I was pleasantly surprised by the photos they took! In fact, the photos of Mila and the garden above were shot by my 9 year old son, Joey. As I look at that photo, I realize I haven't been taking better photos with my new camera...it's the camera that takes good photos!

Sammy (6), chose to take photos of people. He would tell them to "show their teeth."



Joey, on the other hand, chose to take photos of objects. I loved his geometric choices and his framing!



My absolute favorite photo of the day was taken by Joey. I loved it so much, I started to play with it in my editing program. I converted it to black and white but can't find the original.



Happy Birthday Mila!

Wordless Wednesday