Baseball/Softball

June is definitely Baseball (or Softball) month.  Ally, Logan and Jensen all joined teams and they have loved it!

This was taken after Jensen's last game.   They all had games on the same nights most of the time and it has been crazy shuffling them to their games.

Ally at her Softball game.  She has never played until this year, but she enjoyed watching the boys's games and wanted to give it a try.

Logan is all business.  He scored a home run a couple weeks ago.  

He usually plays center field.

Jensen loves to play!  He got a hit in every game this year.  

He even got to play catcher on his last game.

Holden LOVED going to the games.  He would ask every morning if this was a baseball game day.  He loved wandering around and having a "dog dog" or a "ice crise" (snowcone).  The people in the concession stand just loved giving him free snowcones-sometimes three or four a game!  He also liked to sneak up to the scoring booth and pretend to announce the games.  He got used to being up there because I took a few turns at score keeping which was pretty fun.

We definitely loved baseball season and are sad to see it be over.  Can't wait until next year!

Whew!

I'm glad June is almost over!!

To say June has been busy is quite the understatement.  This is our calendar and I don't even have everything written on it!  Yikes!  I think I can safely say I have reached the "busy" part of raising kids. I love being able to watch my kids try new things and continue with the things I know they love.

It's Like Christmas!

You might think I'm weird after reading this post, but yesterday was like Christmas to me.  Josh's work provides a cell phone for each employee in the company, but they have very few minutes (and no texting) allowed per month.  Anyone who knows Josh knows that a "few" minutes would never work for him, so I inherited his company phone. I consider this my one and only perk from the family business-a paid for cell phone.  Well, I have affectionately called it my "Trucker Cell Phone" or "My Brick" because it is so ugly.  It could seriously get run over by a vehicle and be just fine. The last few months I have started to notice that people stare, snicker or downright laugh when I pull it out (it might not help that my ringtone was ducks quacking).  Being the sensitive person I am, I asked if there was any way I could get a new phone.  Josh said, "why?".

Men just don't understand, I guess.  

Anyway, after about three months of getting the runaround I finally got to upgrade (for only $4 a month) from this...

...to this!  Wahoo!  I'm so stinking excited!  I feel like I have finally entered the 21st Century.  It's an Android phone (whatever that is) and I love it already.  So, judge me if you will, but it feels like Christmas to me!

As the Saying Goes....

...a bad day of fishing is better than about anything else!  

My Dad invited the kids up to the dike to go fishing.  We had been told that it had been planted.  Unfortunately, I think we got told too late.

We tried and tried, but finally came to the conclusion that there were no fish left.  They probably got pushed over the dike.

Oh, well!  We still had lots of fun, so the saying is true!

Things Holden Loves

The "cap".  He loves to hold it, pull it's tail, smother it with pillows and otherwise make it's life miserable.  Poor Nimbus!

The golf cart.  He loves golf cart rides, especially with his Dad.

Jumping on the trampoline.  He always figures out some way to get on the tramp.  He usually finds the stroller and pushes it over so he can climb up.  He makes me so nervous when he is up there!

After all that fun, he usually crashes hard!  Isn't summer fun?

It's Summer!

School is out and the kids are excited for summer!  Notice I said the KIDS were excited for summer-not me.  Ugh.  I think it's only been the last couple of years that I have dreaded school being out.  I used to miss my kids while they were at school.  Not that I don't now, they are just getting old enough to whine about being bored, trash the house in 30 seconds flat, and fight like crazy with each other.  I have already heard "I"m bored" at least two dozen times-even from Jensen who never had a problem entertaining himself after morning kindergarten.

Oh well, like I've said before, I need to cherish these moments while my kids are little and life is good.  I hope to have lots of fun with them this summer (and hopefully Josh will take the boys to work with him a lot!).

Here are a few pictures from our last few weeks.

Jensen's Kindergarten Program-Together, Together, Together Everyone...(I know you all know that song, so feel free to sing along!)

Cute neighbor Liberty and Jensen after the program.  They look like such a cute little couple!

Jensen really tried hard to sing during the program.  It's not really his thing, but he did so good.  His favorite song was "Snowman".  It was pretty funny during the program because Jensen's pants kept sliding down and he kept wiggling his hips to keep them up.  We weren't sure if it was a potty dance or not.

As most of you know, we have been storing electric golf carts for a friend.  He let us use them and we got quite addicted to the convenience of getting around town in them (we can drive them on the street in our town).  So the day after he came and took the last one away, we got on KSL (a classifieds site) and found one to buy.  We were able to get a REALLY good deal and so we are the proud new owners of a blue golf cart. (It's not the one in the picture, I'll try to get a picture of it soon)  We are all loving it and it saves on gas for all those tiny trips around town.

Other things going on:

Jensen is playing coach pitch baseball.  His team is the Phillies and he has hit the ball every time he was at bat.

Logan is playing Little League and got his first hit the other night.  His team is the Orioles.

Ally has her first softball game on Monday.  Her team is the Orioles, too.  Not cute according to her because no one wears orange-ew.

I've been going to Zumba classes twice a week.

Logan and Ally are still in piano, Scouts and Activity Days.

The kids did really well in school.  At least I think they did.  It's hard to tell with the new grading system they have.  It's numbers between 1 and 4, with 3 being "at grade level".  They all got mostly 3's.

Ally graduated from Elementary School.  She was sad.  I'm terrified.  I do not want her to go to intermediate school!  It will be such an eye opening experience for my sweet sheltered girl.

Life has been crazy busy, but I love it!  Now onto the craziness that is summer...

Mother's Day

How was my Mother's Day you ask?  Well, let me tell you.  Ally made me chocolate covered strawberries, a cute flower pen and two different cards at Activity Days on Wednesday.  She couldn't wait to give them to me so I got them on Wednesday.  Jensen made a sillouette of himself in Kindergarten and gave that to me with a card on Sunday morning.  Logan forgot about his cute card and didn't give it to me until Sunday night.  This is what I got from Josh:

Isn't it fabulous?  Isn't he the most thoughtful husband ever?  He is such a wonderful husband that there is no way that I would have to order something like that for myself, huh?  

Let's just leave it at that. ;)

It's really hard to get a picture of jewelry with a crappy camera so if you want to see what it really looks like (with other kids names on it) you can check out thevintagepearl.com.  Needless to say I love it and expect to wear it a lot!

At church I even got a present from the bishop.  I got released from Cub Scouts!!!  Not that I'm excited or anything.  I might be wishing to be back in Cub Scouts when I get a new calling.  I will miss the boys and the people I've been working with, but I've been a Den Leader for a long time and I was feeling kind of burned out.

Our Relief Society lesson was about being a mother and there were several moments of laughter along with some uplifting thoughts.  The teacher even quoted a poem about motherhood that my Mom has always quoted.  I would like to share it with you.

Song For a Fith Child, by Ruth Hamilton. 1958

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
and out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
but I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

I love this poem and I will be using it as the excuse as to why my house is always messy!  And it's also a good reminder to spend more time with my kids.  It shocks me to think about how fast time has gone since I first became a mother 11 and a half years ago.  And my "baby" is so big now.  I keep looking around for "the baby" but he isn't there!  He's growing up so fast!

Well, the rest of Mother's Day was spent at my Mom's for lunch and Josh's Mom's for dinner.  These are two great women that I am glad my kids get to know and spend time with.

I love these kids and I am so glad I get to be their Mom!!