Me Again (!)

Another busy day has come and is almost gone...lots of running around today getting some errands done, sneaking in a movie (The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds - loved it!) with mom and dad, and then watching Rylee and Reeva's ballgame. The girls had a great game. Randy is finally in the fields again so he wasn't able to go but Reece and I and Aunt Libb, Uncle Shaun and family were there to cheer the girls on. Reegan decided to stay in the air-conditioning at Aunt Nikki's and play with Caleb. :) Reeva played first base and did a great job - she has been improving with every game and got several girls out at first tonight. Rylee has been playing right field and helping back Reeva up but got moved to second base tonight. I think she was a little nervous about the move but she did a great job at second. They both got two at-bats. Reeva is batting second in the line-up and got a single and a walk. She also had her first slide into home tonight and looked like a pro...I was so proud of her! She would have been out if she hadn't of slid. It was great! Rylee got bumped up to third batter at the last game! She has improved so much this year in her batting...she wants to hit that ball rather than hope to walk. I love watching her bat, she is so good at reading the pitches. Tonight she struggled a little and struck out the first time but got a hit the second time. :) I was so glad to see her go up to bat the second time determined to get a hit.

CJ - if you happen to read this - Bethany did a great job pitching tonight and then hit a grand slam to finish the game! It was great. :) I'm so glad she stayed with our team this year...the girls have really needed her and she is helping them so much.

Ball Games

So, I keep telling myself that I am going to get back in the habit of journaling some of our everyday moments now that I am finished with school and the kids are home for the summer but it seems we are constantly on the go and, before I know it, a day passes and then another and another...how does time pass by so quickly? I'm just going to have to make myself take a little time to remember right now...so I figure I had better get started. We had ball games tonight - Reegan's last for the season - Reece still has tourneys - and the girls play every night this week and then tourneys in another week or so. I feel bad that I haven't gotten many pictures of them this year, but I guess it is not entirely my fault...there is has been so much rain that a lot of their games were rained out. Not to mention the fact that my 18-135 mm lens got broken when it dropped out of the camera bag that someone (Randy - not that I'm naming names or anything ;) left unzipped (how could he?!?!) so I have been w/o my camera for weeks now...sniff, sniff...the good news is that the store called today and said that it was covered under the warranty so it is getting fixed and I will hopefully have it in the next couple of weeks - keep your fingers crossed for me! So, for tonight I took Rylee and Reeva's camera with me to try to get a couple of snapshots from this year so I thought I would share them.

Here is Reegan after her first hit. This girl loves to play ball! She is usually covered with dirt and dust at the end of every game but she loves her purple helmet and pink socks - she insisted on wearing these socks this year because she noticed the girls and Reece all wearing the long baseball socks. I told her they didn't make her size and she informed me that she already had a pair. I had forgotten about these socks that Aunt Becca had given her for her bday but they worked out perfectly and she wore them for every game. :) I wish I had a picture from her first practice because she was so excited to go and went to get dressed herself and came out with a black shirt and tights with a pink tu-tu and her cleats. She's so funny...she loves the girly stuff but isn't afraid to get dirty either. I didn't get to watch all of her game because I had to go back to Rylee and Reeva's game (they were at the same time and Randy was in the fields) so that I could bring them back to this park for Reece's game after Reegan's. (It was a crazy night!) but when I got back Reegan came running up to me and was so excited to tell me that her coach had pitched to her on her last bat and she had hit the ball! She said, "I missed the first one, Mommy, but then he threw it again and I hit it!"

Here is Reece warming up before his pitching machine game. He was lead-off batter tonight and got a triple on his first bat! I was so proud of him. :) He has been working so hard to hit off the machine and he has really started to get the hang of it the last couple of games. He got a single off his second hit and did well in the outfield too. It has been so fun watching him improve over this summer and I'm looking forward to his tourney games this weekend. :)

And, of course, I had to have them all pose for one picture. The only one of them together this season :( and they are a mess...dirt everywhere after hard played games...blue mouths from after game Ring Pops...but that is ok....I love 'em this way and want to always remember moments just like this.

My Plate May Be Full But My Cup Runneth Over

I saw this quote the other day in my Guideposts magazine. It was submitted by another reader and just wanted to share it. Sometimes I think I focus so much on what all I have to do...the places I need to be...at home...at school...the list is never-ending...and I forget to take the time to focus on the many blessings I have in my life. I've just been thinking about those words the last couple of days and remembering it when it feels like I have so much to do. My plate may be full right now but, honestly, I am also very fulfilled and, at the end of each day, I have no doubt that 'my cup runneth over.'

Remember Me?

Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since my last post! I keep telling myself that I need to be better about keeping up but there just never seem to be enough hours in the day. I have FINALLY began student teaching!! And actually have 8 weeks out of the way...8 more to go and I will graduate. Boy, this has been a loooong time coming. :) But, student teaching is definitely taking its toll on me. Not so much the work involved, but juggling the rest of my life with it...the kids, the house, basketball and everything else...it has been something. I don't like having to leave Reegan every day. I just keep telling myself it is 16 weeks and then I'll be able to spend next year with her before she starts kindergarten.

Ok, enough about me and school! Everyone else is doing good...Randy and I finished coaching the 6th grade girls a couple of weeks ago and are now coaching Rylee and Reeva's IBA basketball team. This is pretty much their first experience and they are sooo little out there! They played in a tourney last weekend and did ok. Their team placed 2nd. They are on the fourth grade team since there is a third grade team so they don't get to play a lot but they did improve with each game. They are working hard at practice and seem to be having a pretty good time.

Well, I hope any of you that read this (Cj, Lacy, Jamie) and have been wondering where I've been are doing ok. I miss seeing you girls this semester and hope your student teaching is going good. Libb said you are going to be at the CPR recertification next week so I guess I will see you then!

Hopefully, my next entry will be fairly soon...but, seriously, who knows.....

Good Bye Betta

Sadly, we had to say good bye to our betta fish yesterday. Poor Betta hadn't been looking very well for the last several days - the kids were checking on him and trying to feed him but the poor little guy didn't make it. We've had him for nearly three years and the pet shop guy said that was a pretty long time for a betta fish so we were glad to hear that it wasn't anything we did. I had to get him for a correspondence science class I took and keep him alive for the semester....I never thought I'd keep him alive that long, but we ended up having to go buy a tank at the end of the semester when I had to send all his stuff back to the lab. He got pretty used to us where he would be excited when we fed him and would even eat his food off of my finger. It was pretty neat.

So, we really weren't sure what to do with Betta. The kids discussed what would be the best scenerio...what would Betta wand? They thought about putting him in the creek beside our house so he could 'swim' to fish heaven, but finally decided that we should bury him. Reegan was very concerned about all of this. As soon as Randy walked in the door yesterday she said, "Dad, will you get Betta out of his tank so we can bury him up because he died and we need to bury him up." So Randy fished Betta from his tank and the kids found a place out back they thought was suitable. Never thought I would post pictures of a funeral service but here is Reece digging a little hole for Betta and then the kids saying a little prayer for Betta. It was very sweet.

Painting Pumpkins

We finally were able to get our pumkins from Bill and Darlene painted. The kids had fun looking up different ideas on-line and then using those ideas and some of their own creations. Rylee had to do the eyeball one and also the big one with the rosey cheeks. Reeva did the big one with the unicorn on it and then the 'GOD' one that she decorated. They worked on the bat with wings together. Reece, of course, had to do Batman and Spiderman and then the green eye one that is supposed to be the little monster guy from Monsters, Inc. Reegan did the snake hair girl from Monsters, Inc. I helped her with that one then she did her little baby pumpkin all by herself. The kids thought it was so funny that she painted the stem and all.

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon out at Dad and Mom's place. Dad grilled steaks, corn on the cob and asparagas over his fire pit. They were sooo good! We also tried to figure out how to set things up for Nikki's wedding. Hopefully, the weather will be nice so we aren't all freezing! It is beautiful out there. Only two weeks to go...hopefully, I'll be able to post updates and photos as we get closer!

Almost time for class...have a great day!

Fall Flowers

Erica and Cora surprised us yesterday with these fall flowers...I wish I would have taken the picture yesterday since the flowers are starting to wilt...but it was absolutely gorgeous! They made five out of different pumpkins and gourds. They are so nice to see when we walk in the door. :)

I took the kids to pick pumpkins at our neighbors this evening. Our neighbor grows a patch of pumpkins every year and likes to grow some of the bigger varieties. The kids had a blast picking them out and packed the back of the suburban. Reegan was so cute...she ran around the patch trying to find the one....she would stop and say, "this one!" as she hugged it then she would look over and see another one and say, "nevermind!" and take off again. She finally picked a couple out and then picked the best ever little "baby" pumkin (as she called it) that she could carry herself. The pumpkins were way to big for me to get out of the suburban myself...Randy is going to have to do it so I will post photos later. I think the kids want to paint "big faces" on them. I think I'm going to have to get more paint!