Birthday Weekend

We had such a busy weekend! Rand took Thursday off and Friday he had to take off since he worked the weekend before and so we had a GREAT 4 day weekend. Friday I turned 35 and I actually got a fancy cake from a little cake shop and I didn't have to make my own this year! It was real good.

Saturday was a true Saturday and we had baseball all.day.long! We were there from about 10:45am until about 5:00pm....maybe later. It was long. But wow, the weather was beautiful! After baseball we headed up to Tacoma to stay at the hotel with Uncle Chris and Aunt Joanie. Always a treat when Aunt Joanie comes to town. We get to go on vacation too! We had a stunning view in the morning of Union Station, the Tacoma Dome and Mt. Rainier!

We had to take advantage of the pool, of course and Annabel had her first swim. She liked it and who can resist a fat baby in a swim suit!

Are we getting tired  yet???

Well as if it it all wasn't enough all ready we headed across the street to the Children's Museum of Tacoma. Because the weather was so lovely and it was a Sunday we had the museum to ourselves, which was nice!

This is what Joanie and Annabel did the whole time.

This little art studio was awesome. I could use one of these rooms in my house!

FUN!

Snake!

We went for a little walk around our property today to show Aunt Joanie and Uncle Chris the beauty of the Great PNW. It was beautiful. On our way down the path we saw a little tiny dead snake. The boys were fascinated. I went on to tell them that oh yes, when it is warmer this summer we will see snakes, probably in the grass and probably much bigger than that one.

It turned out we didn't have to wait until summer. Joanie spotted a nice big one out in the grassy field and we chased it, took pictures of it, and some (one) of us even picked it up! *shudder*

how awesome are these trees??

A Garden.....Sort of

We have visitors this week. I love when people we love from far away come to visit. Rand's Aunt and Uncle from Minnesota are here. And I discovered tonight that they just laugh and giggle about how in the world I can knit and throw birthday parties, let alone blog at all with this new(ish) baby and 3 crazy boys. They even went so far as to tell me that they joked and said, "What's next? A gardening blog??" Well it just so happens that was exactly what I was going to do next and there are some gardening photos just sitting there on my camera card as a matter of fact!

We jest in fun, right Chris and Joanie??

So for real. I've been plotting a garden (and other things!!!) in my mind since we moved in here in November. Our "lower yard" where we have all the space is a great spot. BUT, we would have to rip out grass and rocks and break up hard ground and bring in good dirt and then protect it from all the animals and honestly I don't think we could have made that happen...at least not this year. (See??? I have limits!) So my mom came over one day and told me she had heard about this public garden in Shelton where you can "lease" a garden box for the summer and grow your own stuff. It's super cheap, it's filled with organic soil and compost, there is water and tools available. I just have to plant what I want and maintain it. If I have extra produce I can donate it and they distribute it to the food bank or others who need/want it. It's perfect.  I have a small garden space near the house that I will plant in and then I have my garden box in Shelton too! Seemed like a good solution for this tough "season" we are in right now.

So believe it or not....I've planted some stuff. It just feels irresponsible to not try to at least grow some of our food!

Opening Day

Well today is a sad day. I miss my brother. Today is the day that I say it out loud. Today 5 years ago changed everything. Does it need to be said? I don't know. It's a part of who I am. It's a part of my everyday and I don't need to say it to know it or feel it or so that anyone else remembers. I remember. It just is what it is.

BUT, that being said, I was glad to have something fun to do today.

Today was opening day for Capital Little League. Woot-woot!!!! The boys play at different levels, but low and behold they both wound up playing for the Cubs. Different teams. Both Cubs. So they look like they are on the same team, but they aren't. (This has happened before!)

They did great and had a huge cheering squad. Both of their games were at the same time which was good and bad. We didn't have to stay for the whole day, but I felt torn between both fields. And then another bummer was that Rand couldn't be there. I know, right?! It just felt so wrong. The one guy who has been grooming them for these moments, who is living a dream with these sons of his in baseball uniforms, had to work today. :( But there are lots of games and you better believe he will be there!

They both won their games and they are still giddy with excitement. This is going to be a fun spring. Crazy, but fun.

After the games we went to the Farmers Market downtown. I got some local honey and a few vegetable starts to plant. I met some family down there, but eventually we went our separate ways. All of a sudden I found myself in the middle of a very crowded market with all four kids, all by myself!!! I about had a panic attack. I pretty much high-tailed it to the car!

It's been a good day. Sad and happy. Hard mixed with joy. I really love my life. I really miss my brother. I really believe in God and am so moved today with the blessings He gives us here but also that there is something better beyond this. I'm glad those 2 exist together. There is sadness here and also joy. And thank God there is Heaven. And thank you, God, for baseball. ;)

Opening Ceremonies

Brendan on 2nd (he stole)

In the dug-out

Wyatt playing 1st

Kid Quotes::Vol. 46

Someday I am going to put together a book of all the kids KidQuotes. This one has to go in there!

Brendan: I can't believe I have only 8 years in my life and there is over a million things I can accomplish!

Dogs

Brendan is into dogs. More like obsessed. He breathes, thinks, draws, and looks for dogs. Everywhere. I have even caught myself in the car gasping with excitement when we see one out and about. "Oh Brendan!!! Look at that one!!!!!" So this has really been going on for months now. We look them up on the computer. We check out books from the library. We watch videos. We have watched just about every Cesar Millan video we can find online. His favorite dogs go back and forth between German Shepherds and Huskies. He is currently reading Cesar's Way:The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding & Correcting Common Dog Problems, by none other than the Dog Whisperer himself, of course. He is a fountain of information....all things dog. It's all he wants to talk about to anyone who will listen. It has gone on for so long now that I am seriously looking into how to give him more of a productive outlet for his "passion" rather than just obsessing about it and driving me crazy. I'd like to get him some dog walking "jobs" and maybe have him volunteer at a dog shelter or something. I don't know. He needs something! Luckily we know a lot of people with dogs....plus we have a dog (although I'm not sure how much she counts in Brendan's mind since she's so small and getting kinda old).

Here are a few of his hundred drawings and also a fan letter to Cesar and it even shows up in his creative writing assignments

there are lots of drawings of him when he is grown up and what his life will look like with his dogs.

Here is a picture of Cesar. Looks like Cesars dogs are "walking him"...that's a big no-no!

I stand corrected. These are "pulling dogs" and Cesar has given them permission to pull him down the street on his skates. It's good exercise for them. (my little dog whisperer told me that)

ever seen Cesar's cool skates?

It should be noted that this kid has lost another tooth on top, but who could tell that the huge gap in his mouth is one tooth bigger!

And how about a creative writing sample? This just killed me. :)

 

The assignment was called "Explorer". He has read a lot of adventure books this year and the idea was to make up his own explorer story. Here's his (posted with permission):

Once upon a time I went exploring in South America. But first I'm going to tell you how I got there. Then second, I'll tell you where in South America I explored. Then last I'll tell you what I came home with. Ok, so I went to South America in a plane about 6,000 miles. When I got to my destination, Rio Brazil, I went to a place where I could learn about the dangers of the jungle. Three days later I started exploring in the jungle. There was so much stuff to find. After a few hours I saw a Siberian Husky puppy so I took him home. Did I ever go back? No worries, because that's another story.

The end.

At Practice

 Wow. Baseball is our life right now. School, baseball, school, baseball. That's what we do. Two boys in two different leagues (but both playing for the Cubs!), two practices a week each, equals a lot of time at the fields for us! While one boy is at practice with his team, Rand takes the other boy and they have private coaching time, just Dad and son). So really each boy is practicing 4 times a week. Me? What am I doing? Oh, I'm glad you asked. Mostly trying to stay warm while entertaining Easton and Annabel for 2 hours, who both want to do very different things. Easton wants to play on the playground rain or shine, hail or snow. Annabel wants to be held, but it has been so cold I won't take her out of the stroller and out of her blankets. She doesn't like it much. I'd like to be sitting with a book or some knitting some place quiet all by myself. But instead, those babes and me usually wind up spending a lot of time in the car. Easton climbs around and Annabel eats and cuddles and sits on my lap. It's not all bad. It's kinda fun. And the weather is improving and so hangin' at the play structure isn't so bad either.

Opening day is Saturday and our crazy game schedule is about to begin! From now until June 2 should be a blur.

So here we are...during practice....hanging out in the car.

...still pointing, and usually scowling along with it!

but not always

also "shoosh-ing" when he is told not to do something!