Take me out to the ball game...

Well, baseball is more than half over and I've yet to mention it. Big Brother loves his baseball and loves his team this year. He's got a few buddies- most from our church- and has a great set of coaches. This year it's a bit more like "real" baseball- they can strike out, get out at the bases, and they are starting to really hit, throw and catch. It's fun to see the progression as they get older. His favorite is playing catcher, but also he likes to play any base, as he likes to get kids out on base. You can find us out at the parks practicing a few times a week and cheering on our boy most Saturday afternoons.

Swim Lessons

Little Brother asked me to sign him up for swim lessons. It's been a long wait, but today was finally the first of six lessons over the next few weeks. If you know this little guy, you know how predictably unpredictable he is. I went into the lesson fully expecting tears, excitement, laughter, more tears and I wasn't disappointed!

The first few minutes were rough. Once he was sitting with the class he got excited, even volunteered to be first for all the drills. We even got a few bubbles at one point!

Then, I made the mistake of moving from my seat- just a few steps- but just enough to send this little guy into tears once more. This took about 10 minutes with one of the teachers giving him a pep talk. Finally, it ended in a splashing episode that left him laughing (and nobody else was laughing!)

One down----Five to go!

Then, we headed out to the outdoor pool. Big Brother had brought a friend and found a schoolmate (that makes me sound a bit old, eh?) to play with too! 

The Sound of the Ice Cream Man

My kids have amazing endurance... Let me explain...

Every summer around dinner time, the tinkling sound of the ice cream truck arrives. It doesn't always come down our street, but we hear it getting closer. Every time (I mean e-v-e-r-y time) they hear it they beg for ice cream. I a-l-w-a-y-s say NO!

I have many reasons,

• it's too much money
• it's dinner time
• it's probably not safe ice cream
• he's probably a child predator

You know, all those rational reasons! 

Well, on Father's Day, the boys were out with Daddy and heard the truck and Daddy said "Sure!"

Their endurance paid off. They waited and listened (and probably prayed a little) and about 45 minutes later, the truck arrived just in front of our house. They both picked Spiderman. 

That day went down as one of the best in our family history (so far) and Daddy won some MAJOR brownie points with the boys!

An Amazing Zoo

Last week I took the boys to the Colorado Springs Zoo. Our other membership had run out, and to be honest, after 6 years of going, I was ready for a change! It's a bit farther to Colorado Springs, but Kevin was traveling and I had the whole day to kill.

We all loved it. The first thing you see upon entering the zoo is a huge giraffe area with giraffes right in your face, ready to eat! You can buy lettuce to feed them and they are your best friends (as long as you don't mind slimy purple tongue kisses!) The boys loved it!

Other highlights were petting a baby wallaby, riding ponies, seeing naked mole rats (their highlight- not mine!), and a very quiet ride home in the car with 2 sleepy boys!

It was not until I uploaded my pictures onto the computer that I noticed this picture below. It cracks me up every time I see it! I couldn't have planned it this good! I love how it looks like the giraffe just ate the man's head off. Too funny not to share!

A Father's Day Fishing Surprise

Big Brother thought it would be fun to fish on Father's Day. Kevin has been traveling a ton, and he is finally home. So, we thought it would be even more fun to make it a surprise. We made little clues and gave them to him along the route to our fishing destination. It's something we've never done with the boys, so everyone was pretty excited.

The place we went stocks the pond with Rainbow Trout. You can rent fishing poles and buy worms and you pay per inch of fish you catch. It was a great recommendation from a friend.  We went for 3 hours, caught 2 fish, and got pretty slimy from worms. All in all, we had a great morning and Kevin was officially surprised!

 Little Brother got tired of fishing so he declared he was the worm guy. Whenever anyone needed a worm, he'd bring it on over!

I love the progression of photos below of Big Brother. He caught on quickly and was pinching the worms in half, putting them on his hook, and casting his line all by himself within a short time. He reeled in one of the fish we caught and was so proud!

I haven't been fishing since I was a kid. I told Kevin that I didn't think about all the particulars when we were planning this day. When I fished as a little girl, my dad would deal with the worms and fish. I realized quickly that was Kevin and my job now! I am proud to report that I was pinching worms in half, baiting hooks and even took a hook out of the fish mouth! I felt like a true outdoors- woman!!!

The best part was that they gutted and chopped of the head for you -  for a small tip. I love the boys expressions above while they watched him clean out the fish. The tip was well worth it or those fish would have end up in the garbage. Looking forward to grilling them up this week for dinner!

(PS- not sure why these turned out so grainy and blurry on the website- they look much better in my editing program. Not sure why that happens on the web sometimes!)

My First Wedding

Well, not my first wedding, but my first time photographing a wedding! 


My friend, Lindsey, asked me to be a 2nd shooter at a wedding she was photographing. I met Lindsey when Big Brother was in pre-school with her daughter 3 years ago. Since then, she's photographed our family every year. I was amazed, shocked, scared, nervous, and mostly flattered when she asked me to back her up in photographing this wedding. The big day was this past weekend- and I'm so excited to share my photos.

As you can tell, the bride was beautiful. It was a very God-centered ceremony. The couple is so sweet and in love. It was a great day.

I picked just a few to share. It was an amazing experience. I feel so proud that I took on a challenge, overcame a fear, and ultimately did a good job. I know these aren't perfect and could be picked apart by a trained photographer, but all in all I am proud of my first attempt. I had a blast working with the bride and groom and with Lindsey. Thanks to all for an amazing experience.