Backyard Fun

Thursday afternoon we spent some time just hanging out in our backyard. It's so nice to have some space out there. Sarah loves it. The hard part is trying to keep her out of the dirt! If we only had some more grass and a little less dirt, it'd be perfect.
Playing peek-a-boo in the playhouse
Big Brother Caleb was always there to help her as she worked on navigating the bricks.
Sarah has decided she's very interested in dirt...
...particularly eating it! (No mom, she didn't actually get it in her mouth.)

But she did enjoy some crackers!

Bike-a-thon

What do you get when you take 40 preschoolers, put them on bikes, trikes, and scooters, and let them go?

Well what do you think?

That's right, Friday was the bike-a-thon at the Creek preschool, and Emma was one of the participants. THe goal was to raise money for the school by collecting pledges from family members. Thanks everyone who contributed to Emma's fund!

She had a great ride. At least 20 laps around the parking lot, I lost count after that. And the most impressive thing was that nobody crashed!! Can you even believe that?

She was showing off the imprints on her hands from holding on to the handle bars so tightly.

Emma with her teacher, Miss Lori.

And so we get another day closer to the end of preschool. The end of an era, really, for me. Two kids through preschool, one to go. I can only imagine what I'll feel like when we reach this point of college!

Crazy Kids

We were wondering what life would be like if we only had one chair. But then I had to get up to take the picture. Let me tell you, it'd be squishy and stinky!

What a week!

Wow, this has been a week of craziness...the weather provided that! Last Friday Emma skipped t-ball because it was over 90 out...today it was under 60! Oh well, get a few last wears of these sweaters before I pack them away.

Well, my most excitement this week has come from Sarah. She's now officially a walker! Isn't she just too cute?

And my heart just melted when I saw her playing in her room. Emma had left all of her babies lined up on the floor. Sarah came in and found a cup and was giving each baby a pretend drink, and then one for herself! We were on our way to dinner, but I just had to grab the camera and get a shot of her. It was adorable. I just love watching her develop. She wants so much to do what her brother and sister do.

Today at Emma's t-ball practice Sarah walked over to the pile of balls, no easy feat on the grass, and took one. All she wanted to do was throw it for us.

The other big deal, for me anyway, this week was Open House. It's the night of the year when my students and I get to show off all of our hard work, and boy did we present a showcase! They all worked so hard (okay, most of them did) and were so proud to show their parents around the room. It was really a nice night and I enjoyed myself, too.

Man was it HOT today!!

I had forgotten what life without the a/c was like...and it sure is hot! The one in this new house is broken, and we are waiting for word as to when it can be fixed. It's not so urgent when the weather is cool, but this weekend we sure were sweaty! And poor Caleb has a cold. That's the worst, a cold when it's this hot.

As I promised, here are some fun pictures from our very last game. This was really a great season. The families on Caleb's team were really nice and everyone got along so well. I hope to see them again in the coming seasons.

Getting some coaching from Coach Daddy while on first base.

Caleb's sissies, faithful to the end to cheer him on!

Uncle Nathan and Grandma Laurie came to cheer at this game. Thanks Grandma Laurie, for being such a faithful attendee of all of Caleb's games!

Isn't this an awesome cake? One of the players mom's made it, and it was great!

"Forgetting" that Mommy said "no more candy" as he wins it from the machine and it somehow finds its way to his mouth.

Caleb and his proud Daddy.

The biggest trophy yet!

Have a great week!!

We've Come to the End

Today was the last baseball game of the season. I thought I would be happy to finally be done with all of these games, but it's somewhat bittersweet. As Caleb ended baseball today, I could see what a player he is. He truly loves to play baseball, and has a great understanding of the game. He's ready to move up to the next division and play with the even bigger boys. My little boy is growing up even more! It seems with every new activity we "finish" lately, it is emphasizing how quickly time passes me by.

I'm excited that the school year is almost over...only four more weeks to work. But at the same time, that means kindergarten is over for Caleb, and Emma is done with her preschool years. Where are my babies? Even Sarah is getting so big, having taken her first couple of steps. She still much prefers crawling, but makes her attempts to move around the house holding onto the walls and couches.

At work my boss always tells us to stop wishing for Friday. She tells us we'll spend more than half of our time wishing it away by doing that. And she's right. So I try to live in each moment that I'm in, making the most of it. So now, instead of continuing to sit here typing at the computer, I'm going to go play with my feisty little girls!! I'll put some pictures on later, but for right now, I don't have the time!

Now, go do something fun! Go on, do it now!! WHy are you still reading? Go have some FUN!! =)

Words can't even describe this!

This is on our desktop. Cracks me up everytime I see it. Notice the first piggy tails sticking straight out? (taken 5/12/08)

Coach Mommy

Yup, that's me pitching at Caleb's game. Why should Chase get all the glory? Saturday it was my turn to try my coaching abilities for Caleb's team. In honor of Mother's Day, all of the players' moms were invited to be coach for the day. I was a little nervous at first, but it was so important to Caleb, that how could I not? Plus, when my sister said she'd "pay money" to see me work the pitching machine, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to help earn a little for Emma's bike-a-thon fundraiser.

My boy making a catch on first!

So Saturday came and not only did I get to use the pitching machine, but I got to be an outfield coach, first base coach, and third base coach. It was fun to cheer for the players from the field, even more fun to not have to amuse Emma and Sarah (they're both a little over the games by this point in the season), and great to cheer for Caleb as he ran right by me!

Oh, and thanks, Dad, for the pictures. It was like I was you little girl again. I saw you out there with that camera around your neck snapping pictures of me and Caleb.

The new coaching staff...much better looking than the old group. (oh, that goofy guy waving his hands in the background is Caleb's "real" coach).

A Beautiful Day

Yesterday for Mother's Day I decided that as a mom, I wanted some time with my family. So we gave our gifts to our moms on Saturday, and I think they both understood why we weren't visiting on Sunday. After church on Sunday I wanted to order some pizza, take it to the park, and just have a relaxing afternoon. That is exactly what we did. We ate lots of pizza, drank the drink of the chosen ones- Dr. Pepper- (well, not for the kids), listened to our ipod on our cool new portable speakers, and just had some simple fun. Of course we couldn't have an afternoon without baseball, but we all played- even Sarah (yup, a one-year-old can play baseball with just a little help.) The best part of the baseball game was when Sarah stole second base, and Caleb got mad because there was "NO STEALING." He didn't like it that babies could break the rules.

Sarah was excited just to put the ball on the tee.

When Sarah and I got too hot and sweaty on the playground, it felt so good to just lay back on the blanket under a big tree and not worry about all of the things that were left undone at home. After a few hours, and with one exhausted baby, we headed home. Sarah took a nap, Caleb and Emma played together...it was really nice.

Down the hatch...with Sissy at the bottom to catch!

Finally, Chase went out to bring home dinner, because sometimes going out is just not as relaxing as it sounds. Afterwards, everyone pitched in to clean up the house, which even made it kinda fun. I am so grateful for each of my kids, especially my husband, and every blessing God has given us, from the job I have, to the home we live in, to our health, family, and good friends. I wish every weekend could be as relaxing as this one was!