We LOVE Baseball!

Our baseball season is coming to an end. :(

Before that officially happens I thought I better blog about it…because dang it…I am going to be a better blogger!

Our family loves baseball.  We enjoy going to any baseball game whenever we get the chance.  I especially love being a baseball mom to my two boys.  It is magic for me. Something about it calms me and I completely forget about my mile long to do list and any other thoughts  floating around in my head.  I am just happy to be in the moment with my boys; being their best cheerleader.  

I love watching them on the field.

 

You can always find Casey behind the fence as one of the coaches.

  

Did you notice Kaylee’s striped hair?  It was opening day and man was it a partaaay!

There was plenty of entertainment for the kids in between games this day.

Usually Ady spends the whole game digging in the dirt…

but she makes sure to check in on the game every once in awhile.

Kaylee reads or does homework…

or something.

Did I mention that I am the best cheerleader???

Yeah, I need to rub off on Kaylee a little.

However, she is very good at taking care of this little chick for me so I can watch the game and not miss a great play. 

Because we all know that is the worst! How do you tell your super excited son that you missed his awesome play???

I don’t know how you other sport mom’s do it, but I bring my camera to ONE game.  I usually choose a day that both of the boys are playing but at different times (so I don’t miss a great play. :) Double duty is HARD!) I focus on snapping pictures that day.  I get what I can and then that is it.  No more camera at the fields anymore. Even if I didn’t get the pictures I wanted or had in mind.  For me, watching the game through my camera lens isn’t the same and I end up getting distracted.

         

I tell them to be baseball ready so I need to be cheerleader ready! 

But for one game the distraction is worth it.

I love me some baseball playin’ boys!

 

P.S. I remembered an old post from Jake’s very first T-ball season at the Y. This is how it all started.  It was fun reading it and seeing how much we have all grown since then, especially my little man!

Back to Reality

We have been spoiled with 2 weeks of vacation.  It is always so hard to get back in the groove again after that.  It’s Wednesday today, so that means we are halfway through the first “normal” week we have had in awhile.  Not that I am complaining.  Vacation is always a treat!!  I just feel like I am in a funk now and I can’t snap out of it.  Does anyone else feel the blues after a good long vacation?  I am laughing at myself after re-reading that!  It sounds ridiculous.  Maybe it’s just the mood I’m in right now, I don’t know.  I am hoping to find a remedy for all of these thoughts swirling around in my head, I just can’t figure it out yet.  I'm workin' on it.

Anyway, I have a lot to share!  I am trying to find the time and motivation to tackle all of my photos and put words to them.  Casey and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on our first cruise! 

Maybe I wish I was back on the cruise ship…that to me was the definition of relaxation, especially since it was just the two of us.  Well, the 4 of us.  We tagged along with our friends who we tease are professional cruisers.  They taught us the ropes and were the best company.   I will get a post up about our cruise soon.  Promise.  Just don’t hold your breath.  I seem to be in turtle mode these days. :)

The cruise was our first week of vacation.  When we got home we headed straight into the kids Spring Break.  That actually worked out really good.  It was nice to get home and not have to rush right into a crazy routine.  Casey was working on call at home that week so we were a little spoiled having the entire family home together.  

Plus, we were lucky to have a few extra days with Casey’s mom and our nephew.  Carmen flew out to take care of the kids while we were gone.  She did so good and had the routine down like a champ!  The kids had so much fun with their Grandma and their cousin.  Me, my mother in law and Cameron (my nephew) all have birthdays in March.  We try to find excuses to celebrate together.  Sadly, I do not have any photos.  I think I was pictured out by the time we got home from our cruise.  I put the camera away and just enjoyed being in the moment. 

I do have a few photos of our last day of Spring Break, which just happened to be our last relaxing, lazy Saturday we will enjoy until summer is here.  Actually, that was the thought that made me want to pull my camera out.  I was looking around at us enjoying the day and I realized how peaceful it was and how lucky we were to be taking full of advantage of having absolutely no schedule. 

We were caught doing a few of our favorite things:

Ady has been glued to my side since I got back.  It was a really nice day so we took our electronics outside and got some fresh air while surfing around. 

 

Casey and Kaylee rode around the neighborhood on the boys’ rip sticks.

 

The boys played Monopoly all. day. long. 

They played again on Sunday. 

I spied the girls coloring together.  I love coming across moments like these. 

 

I should have gotten a picture of how Ady colored all over her table in her “quiet” time.  Sometimes quiet time is a dangerous thing. I don’t know what I would do with out my Mr. Clean Eraser. 

Lastly, we enjoyed our favorite Easter candy.

Cadbury Eggs. 

That is what we consider a perfect Saturday.

Stay tuned for more.  I really will be back soon. :)

Ward Camp Out {2012}

This in an event that is looked forward to each year by my family.  Casey is always in charge of it.  In fact, he wasn’t supposed to be in charge this year, but he loves it so much and doesn’t mind planning it, so it is still his baby.   Our ward (The Church Jesus Christ of Latter - Day Saints) gets together each February at Huntsville State Park for a night of fun. It is fun to mingle with each other in a different, way more relaxed environment.   We headed up early to set up and make a day of it. 

Ady spent a lot of time exploring.

I love this picture of Drew.  He is such a little man.

The girls enjoyed hanging out on the hammock.  This hammock brought back memories for me!  When I saw Christian pull it out, I recognized it right away.  Darn it!  Now that I think about it, I have a picture of me and Sara and Jen in this hammock.  I should have scanned it and posted it.  Too late now. :( Christian brought it home from his mission.  We all spent some fun nights chillin on this thing in good ol’ Provo… back in the day. 

Here are Kaylee and Sara’s two girls. 

As for the boys…What can I say?  My boys are pyros.

They were obsessed with the fire.  As soon as they dropped their sleeping bags off in the tent they headed straight to the fire pit.  They didn’t leave it the entire time!!  Especially Drew. 

With help from the manly men in our group, they got a fire going for our tinfoil dinners. 

Three hungry families tin foil dinners.

  

After dinner everyone gathers together for a short program; campfire songs, a skit and s’mores. 

The boys waited anxiously listening to the skit while guarding the goods.  The s’mores is what they were really after.

These boys make me smile.  As a mother I absolutely love the fact that I can most always find them together.  At home I expect to see them together, but when we are out with friends in a situation other than home and I see them together, I know that they are friends.  Best friends at that. 

After s’mores the kids played for a little bit more and then it was off to bed.  The adults stayed up by the campfire for a looooooong time chatting and having some late night snacks.  Fun times!  The kids slept great.  The “tween” girls had a tent all to themselves.  Of course they enjoyed that. 

Good morning sunshine!

Time for breakfast!

After that it was a quick clean up and we were outta there!  Back to reality…baseball games, errands, cleaning and getting ready for church the next day.  It was fun while it lasted. :)

As for other news…I was featured on the U Create Party Blog last weekend!  Thank you U Create.  What an honor.  It was for Jake’s Movie Themed birthday party.  

Have a great week everyone! 

Family Theme 2012 {and family pics}

I am rolling out our Family Theme for 2012.  I have had this printed and hanging on my wall for awhile now.  I ran across this quote somewhere and knew RIGHT away that it was made for us.  This is what I want our family to focus on in 2012. 

I would have to agree.

What better place is there to be than home? 

I am a home-body.  What can I say?  I love being at home puttering around.  I feel most content at home.  I feel most productive on the days that I am able to stay home.  Running errands and spending the majority of my day away makes me grumpy.  I feel much calmer when I am at home.  I feel like I am able to take care of myself and my family more when I am at home preparing for whatever it is that needs to get done. 

I want my family to feel the same way.  I want them to love spending time at home.   I want them to know that we value our time at home and feel like it is one of the most important things.  I am going to work extra hard to make our home a place of comfort and peace and warmth.

Some days it is not an easy thing to do!

I am going to continue teaching my kids that we all play a part in that.  We are a team at home.  There are days, or moments in our day I should say, when someone or all of us might not want to be here for some reason or another.  That is to be expected.  We all have bad days or bad moments, but I want my children to know that home is a place of acceptance and unconditional love.  When we have a tiff, we make up and laugh again.  When we have a busy, crazy day that takes us away from home, we meet up at the end of the day and share our experiences with each other. 

I want my family to continually work on slowing down a little so we can enjoy more time at home together. Because our family is worth it.  Sometimes it is hard to say no to extra things.  The “extra’s” help us learn and grow and figure out who we are and what we enjoy doing, but when it interferes with our life at home and starts to replace time as a family then it isn’t beneficial for us.  I learned that last year (school year) and promised myself I would do better this year.  I am proud to say that as a family we have done so much better!  It has made a huge difference.  We are able to focus more on our families needs and do the things that are right for US.  Every family is different and needs different things at different times.  That is why it is so important to work together to figure it out. 

Just a little something I have learned along the way.  :)

I realized the other day that I never shared our family pictures.  How did I let that one get past me? 

I have no idea, but I am sharing them now!

When we went to Arizona for Thanksgiving my sil Beth took our family pictures.  She is an awesome photographer.  I love and admire her work so much.  She rocked our photo session.  She captured it exactly how I envisioned.  Love when that happens!

If you live in the Phoenix area and are looking for a photographer, check out Beth Curtis Photography.  You will be glad you did!

Thanks for following us and sharing our journey!