first tee-ball game

how many 6 year olds can you squeeze on a bench?

The first game against another team went great. Everyone bats, runs aren't counted. But if you're tagged out, you're out. They gave each kid 3 coach pitches and if they couldn't hit the pitches they could use the tee. Each team batted 3 times and fielded 3 times. So basically 3 really long innings. Amazing the range of skill. One kid on our team is a natural. (Not my kid.) But Jack held his own...

ready to hit

first swing - a miss

second pitch - he hit it!

round the bases and made it to home!

finished my mothers day gift/project

Matt is responsible for all the before - admittedly the harder part. I got tired of waiting for him to finish the after so I did that myself this week. Amazing what you can get done while unemployed... Still not ready to tackle the porch painting myself though. But the new landscaping makes it even more obvious. Oh well, one project at a time...

BEFORE - huge overgrown evergreen things

AFTER - boxwoods and knockout roses (& gnome)

the driveway side, not new, just cute and English gardeny -
please ignore the weeds and messy driveway

more tee ball...

Can I just say again how surprised I am at how well tee ball is going? They got their "uniforms" this morning at practice. First game next weekend. Let's go Rockies!

pot o' gold

Did you see a rainbow yesterday evening? Em and Jack were convinced the church next door must have gold inside since the rainbow ended right in its roof. If I were a better photographer I could have captured a really good (inspirational? godly?) shot and sold it to the churchies. That wouldn't be wrong, right?

we heart wii

Nana and Jack playing the other afternoon as we were heading out for our anniversary outing. Jack really likes wii sports - especially tennis and baseball. Nana picked it up pretty fast.  (No match for Jack though...)  It was pretty hilarious to watch.

mill on the river

Man, time flies... Our 10 year anniversary this year. We decided to go to Mill on the River (where we were married) for dinner. We got to spy on a wedding, enjoy a delicious dinner and take a stroll down memory lane... Very fun day...

a house we like...

But not in Springfield. Perhaps a similar one built in SH by the same builder.... But not for a few years... :( Super high ceilings, lots of old fashioned crafty details, small footprint, but great use of space. Lots of windows and great natural light too.

it will be a busy late fall...

I can't wait!

Too lazy to load pics from our anniversary adventure. Haven't decided if I want to post the evidence of our breaking and entering anyway....

brownie no more...

Awwwww Brownies...

Emma's troop bridged tonight. That basically means they are now Junior Scouts rather than Brownies. They wear green and have greater individual responsibilities and work on bigger projects as a troop. It was a big to-do at the school with 4 other troops participating. (Luckily at the same school as tee-ball - the events were right on top of each other.) I can't believe the 3 Brownie years are over already. They are all so excited to be Juniors. And good news - Juniors still sell cookies! :)

bridging - get it?

check out that form...

Okay, Jack is not the most graceful athlete... But the fact that he willingly participated, listened to the coach, and cheered on his teammates ...we were totally thrilled. He did great (overcame some nerves on the drive over) and says he is sticking with it. A boy from his class is on the same team, which I honestly think is what won him over. I could see the relief on Jack's face as soon as he saw him. They practiced running bases, hitting, throwing and catching. And they chose their team name....go Rockies!

happy (early) mother's day...

Nana doesn't read the blog... Don't tell her she will be getting some fabulous DHD portraits for mother's day. I can't believe I wasted so many years with mall photography... If only Deb had picked this up sooner... These are gorgeous, right? I am possibly biased. But I don't think so...

first riding lesson

tacking up Nutmeg

Emma started riding lessons today. (Not counting the camp she did last summer) She and her friends have been horse crazy for almost 2 years. She has been dying to start lessons. It was all she wanted for her birthday. And she has been saving her own money to put toward lessons for over a year. With a bday boost from Nana and Poppy (in the form of a gift certificate to the farm down the road) we finally signed her up. She has been counting down the days all week and the hours today. Needless to say, she was pretty excited. (In her low-key Emma sort of way) She will eventually be part of a group lesson. But today it was just her. I think it went really well. She seemed to enjoy/do well with the tacking up part, the actual riding and the cool down/brushing afterwards. Jack and our neighbor girls (Andrea & Maddie) came to watch. Andrea also rides there, so she enjoyed showing Emma the ropes. Jack and Maddie pet, fed and renamed every horse there. Some of Jack's names were pretty rude. Go figure...