T-Ball Wrap Up

 For some reason unbeknownst to me, t-ball starts a whole month after baseball and softball, which leaves Luke feeling more impatient than ever. Once it did finally start we found out 9 of his 17 games were scheduled for Sunday leaving, in some cases, 10 days between games. He didn't complain one bit, but when it was game day we all knew about it! Keeping track of that gold hat proved to be more difficult then I imagined with such lulls between games. Other than the hours of my life wasted searching high and low for that darn hat, the Sunday games worked out in our favor with an already full spring schedule.

 The last few games the coaches finally came to their senses and started coach pitch. It was all Luke really wanted out of life, or at least the season, and he was thrilled to bits when they finally made the change.

His coach was so great, and for the games he did attend he put Luke right in on the action. He spent a good amount of time at 1st base, pitcher, and short stop. In one game he caught three kids out! It was then I realized he didn't fully appreciated the "everyone is safe" rule as he made sure to let every one of the those kids know he got them out! He also played the outfield a little. Outfield play in t-ball has little to no rules (or at least that was the kids' understanding). No matter whose side the ball went to it was a mad dash to see who could get to it first. And if they didn't get their first no problem, they were just as happy to wrestle someone for the ball! 

Luke wasn't afraid to be a coach out on the field, tell his teammates where to throw and to "just get it in" to the pitcher. He might have also impatiently yelled, "just throw it to first" a time or two! When he had a big hit or a great play he always looked over to make sure we saw it, and he wasn't afraid to let us know when we didn't cheer loud enough. We got our fair share of thumbs up from him at first base, and we tried our best to be the overly impressed parents he wanted us to be! 

 I think Elle was his favorite cheerleader. Every game he would call her over to the bench to sit with him while he waited for his turn to bat. She might have loved it as much as he did!

 Although he only played in a handful of games he had a great time, learned a lot, and most importantly he got a trophy. Cause when your 5 hardly anything else matters!

Until next year!

The Thing About Hot Water

Rain and thunderstorms were forecasted all day so I came up with the brilliant plan to spend the whole day cleaning. Frankly, with Ethan and Kai gone for 10 days, the rest of us gone to Kentucky this past weekend, and the general craziness that the first couple weeks of summer bring, we were overdue. My grand plan of course was met with nothing but smiles and yes ma’am’s. Well, at least that’s the way I will record it and therefore remember it for the rest of my life!

Just as breakfast and the children’s “school” work was finishing up Olivia (who has made it her business to read my emails and check my calendar for anything I may have forgotten) kindly reminded me that Kai had a dentist appointment in 20 minutes. In all fairness I wouldn’t have forgotten the appointment, my phone would have dinged 10 minutes before the set time and we would have just been a few minutes late. Note to self; set the reminders on my phone for more than 10 minutes before an event is supposed to start.

The dentist appointment went well. That is if "well" means you leave with all the teeth you came with, which is how we now judge the success rate of all trips to the dentist. We’ve clearly set the bar very high.

After we got back home I’m happy to report that most the jobs did get done. However, sometime between cleaning out the refrigerator and cleaning the cabinets I noticed the hot water was no longer hot. Being the self-sufficient woman I am I grabbed my phone to call Brian at work, and marched down to the basement to solve the problem. When I got to the water heater it was clear, from the rusty water leaking from it, that I wasn’t going to be able to fix it, even with the best YouTube video at my side.

The lack of hot water completely knocked the wind out of my cleaning sail to the point that I was completely paralyzed by the thought of doing any household chores. It was as if vacuuming, cleaning windows, or even mopping were worthless without hot water. The children took my lead and somehow we got going on a Full House marathon. Then, as if being a couch potato was my life calling, the mail lady rang the doorbell with a delivery of Cheryl’s Cookies. Just like that everything was right with the world again. Or at least as good as when we had hot water.

Happy 11th Birthday Ethan!

This cute kid turned 11 today while away from us visiting family in Colorado. Knowing he would be gone for his birthday I asked him if that was ok with him before finalizing the trip. I knew the answer would be "Yes, it's fine" but I asked anyway.

Now today as I head to bed without this cute 11 year old in the house I can't help but think about what  a big year this is, as it precedes 12 which for members of our is church is a very big age. Only 12 short months to prepare him to hold the priesthood, pass the sacrament, and attend the temple. We have so much to do and to teach him, but I know he will be ready.

I see so many Christ-like attribute in this young man. One thing that I'm most proud of is his ability to notice and seek out others who might be in need of a friend. I've seen it time and time again, yet each time I witness his love for others, strangers even, I am completely overwhelmed. He is the greatest example to me.

11 AWESOME things about Ethan:

1) He is a very hard worker, and gives everything he does 110%
2) He is the greatest big brother
3) He HILARIOUS! His comedic timing is blessing to us all
4) He is handsome, but humble
5) He is a great friend
6) He is extremely athletic
7) He is a talented piano player (although he tells me he would be better/practice more if the piano was tuned... I'm getting on that!)
8) He loves to learn
9) He is sensitive to others
10) He is very responsible
11) He has fabulous manners

Ethan,
Your dad and I are so very proud of you. You are such a talented, kind, fun, smart young man who blesses the lives of everyone you come in contact with. People are constantly coming up to us telling us how impressed they are with you and what an awesome kid you are, we couldn't agree more. Part of what makes you so awesome is that you are willing to acknowledge what you aren't great at and you make an effort to be better. That is such a difficult thing to do and you do it well. You are such a blessing to our family. Olivia, Kai, Luke, and Elle love having you as their big brother. The way you love them and cheer them on is unmatched. We love you to the moon and back! Have a great day without us! ;)

Love,
Mom

Living the Dream

I'm happy to report that summer is in full swing around here. We spend our mornings busy with chores, school work, and piano so that we can spend the rest of the day playing at the pool. 

It's a hard life, but someones gotta live it!

Maleficent

A few weeks ago Olivia's class had an end of year party that happened to be on the same day she had a softball game. The Plan A was her class going swimming, and if it rained Plan B was seeing Maleficent. With Plan A she was going to be able to swim for a few hours with her class before leaving to her game, however Maleficent was right smack in the middle of the game and there was no way she could make it. I gave her the option to miss the game, but she didn't want to. So we just hoped the weather would hold out so she could enjoy a few hours swimming with her friends. Of course it rained, but only for long enough for them to cancel the pool party and go to plan B. On the drive home from the pool disappointment Olivia asked if we could just go as a family, and naturally I obliged. 

The day came to go to the movies. I had wanted to get a babysitter for Elle, but since it was the first day of summer break everyone already had plans. At that point I was ready to bag the movies (and almost did) but I really wanted to start summer break out on the right foot. I came up with a genius plan to go to a showtime that was in the middle of Elle's nap time hoping she would fall asleep. Spoiler Alert: she didn't fall asleep until the last 5 minutes! She really wasn't too bad though, I saw nearly the whole movie with less than 5 minutes out in the hallway. 

It got terrible reviews, but we all really enjoyed it. I love to see the "other side" to stories.

Once Elle did finally fall asleep she wouldn't let me cradle her, or rest her head on my shoulder. She had to be held out like this:

It was actually pretty hilarious since we were coming from watching Sleeping Beauty. She really got into character.

It was such a great day and we ran into a bunch of friends. I'm so glad I didn't throw in the towel when it didn't go EXACTLY how I wanted it to go. It was the perfect first day of summer!

Last Day of School

It's finally the last day of school. This year seemed to drag on, although I'm pretty sure I say that every year. By Memorial Day I've usually been over school for 2 months, so any days past June feel like pure torture!  I'm so happy to have these crazy's all to myself for the next few months!

I had big plans to have the children's teacher gifts done before Memorial Day. I hate waiting until the last minute. Long story short, I waited until the crack of dawn this morning to get the stuff and make the gifts. Next year I'll have them done before Memorial Day! HA

BRING ON SUMMER!

Late Night Games

We've had quite a few 8pm games this season which basically means that Elle doesn't get to bed until around 10:30pm. An hour of night I would NEVER had allowed Ethan, Olivia or even Kai to be awake at. She takes it like a champ and is usually very go with the flow. 

Not tonight! This adorable picture might have been the only time she smiled all night! She spent most of the night whining and crying as Brian and I stood between two fields, Olivia playing at one and Ethan at the other. 

I guess being this families caboose isn't always fun and games!