Our City Garden and A Little Bit of Other Stuff

We have our own City Garden we have been trying to keep alive all summer. With the drought we are in, it has not been easy to keep alive. We have cucumbers, tomatoes and basil. We had rosemary and thyme but we lost those. The boys had fun picking rosemary and thyme and sprinkling on their steaks when we grill. I will get some more when it cools down and we get some rain.

I am sitting outside with the patio fans going and the breeze blowing. That kind of breeze right before it storms. I have my broken foot elevated and enjoying the company of my sweet Gabby who stays by my side.
Radar shows rain coming so we will see and say a prayer it does. But then it needs to go away for Friday and Saturday - lots of rentals going out. We just picked up two rentals today. Andrew being at camp has allowed Christopher to step up and help his daddy. I will fiinish my blog today with a picture from last week when it rained for a little bit. It didn't last long but my boys made the most of it. Andrew popped popcorn and they sat at the window and watched it rained. You know it hasn't rained in awhile when my boys get excited to see it rain :) ok so I am going to share one more picture with you. Andrew is at church camp and loving it. Today they took them to the Cowboys football stadium to play dodgeball. He said there are 67 dodgeball teams that are going to play. Well as I was at the end of this blog he sends me a picture of the stadium and says its huge! Here is Andrew's picture. He also sent me a picture the other day someone took of him jumping off the high dive. OK now I am ending this blog so I can go pick up Christopher from weight lifting. And by the way, Daniel has finished painting Kevin's room and the boys' hall. Next is Christopher's room! It looks so fresh and clean with new paint!!!!

He just sent another picture! Here he is on the Cowboys' field. I think he is having fun :)
. BYE!!!!

Slow Pace Life with a Few Projects

I have not blogged lately because baseball has been over and we have been cleaning and preparing for a busy school year. We started with Andrew's closet then Christopher's and now we are working on Kevin's room. With all the stuff we cleaned out we have decided to have a garage sale. We are also going to begin painting in our house. We are starting with Kevin's room tonight. Daniel has been a big help with the house and helping me with projects. During all stars I was struggling with a hurt foot. I finally made it to the doctor. Apparently I have a broken foot. I think I did it when I stepped in a hole in our backyard. Here is a picture of my stylish shoe I have to wear.




Andrew came home from yearbook camp. He had a blast on his first official high school trip. He was chosen to attend a photography course and carry the school camera around to take pictures for the school. Now I might be learning a few things from Andrew . . . and I might even end up in a few pictures on my blog with another photographer in the family :)

There were only 2 freshman on the trip. The upper classman initiated the freshman. In front of the whole camp a girl sang to Andrew at a lip sinc contest. He was so embarrassed. The video is so funny. I will have to try when I am not on my phone to download the video the yearbook teacher took of Andrew's yearbook initiation. Here is a picture of Andrew heading off to yearbook camp. Andrew and the girl next to him were the two freshman on the trip. They went to elementary and middle school together. And now she lives down the street from us.



Andrew is now at church camp until friday. He is staying in a college dorm in Texas. One of these days that they are there they will play dodge ball in the Cowboys stadium.

Kevin has had a busy summer too. He lost his first tooth (which I think I posted earlier this summer) and learned to tie his shoes. He also learned to ride his bike. We have tried to help him ride his bike but he did NOT like to try. He rather ride his scooter. Last week a neighbor learned to ride his bike so Kevin decided he could ride too. He got on his bike and took off. Here is Kevin and our neighbor that learned to ride bikes on the same day.



Nothing new with Christopher besides he is staying on the go with friends and lifting weights for middle school football.

I will try to blog more often but I sure have been enjoying our slow pace life at home getting projects done with Daniel. I haven't had much to blog about lately.

Update

Christopher's all star team won last night. We are on our way back to Minden to see if we can continue to stay in the tournament. Christopher's chest is fine. It actually didn't bruise at all. He is now wearing his heart guard shirt. We call it "The Cup" for the heart. Here are some pictures of the shirt and heart guard
This morning we sent Andrew off on his first high school trip. He will be back Wednesday night. Andrew and a neighbor of ours are the only freshman going. Here is a picture of Andrew and our neighbor, Madison. So please say prayers for this group of high schoolers safety while away at camp and on a college campus. And when did this child of mine grow up???? I did have Daniel take him to the bus this morning. Thought it would be less embarrassing for dad to be there than mom. Lots of the students going drove themselves to the bus. Oh my! Not ready for that yet. He has been texting pics of his fun so far. He went ice skating. And I have to share a picture of Christopher and Kevin from last night. I went to check on the boys before I went to sleep. Christopher was not in his room. I found him in bed with Kevin. I am now sitting at the ballpark watching workers try to get the field ready after a heavy rain a few minutes ago. We will be starting late. Happy blogging for now from the Minden ballpark.

Scary Moments

Ok being a baseball mom can be scary sometimes. We are going home from Minden right now. We lost our first game in district play. We play again tomorrow. We have to win to stay in the tournament. While Christopher was pitching tonight he took a linedrive in the chest. Very scary!!!!! Even Daniel went running towards the gate. I didn't go on the field but so wanted to. It hit his finger on his pitching hand as he put it up to stop the ball. He is fine but gave us a scare. Go figure he is more worried about his pitching hand than chest. Here is a picture of his chest right after the game. I'm sure it will be real pretty and colorful tomorrow.
I have been bugging our Dixie league president to get a defibrillator for the ballpark. I have heard of horror stories of kids getting hit in the chest and their heart stopping. Christopher use to wear a heart guard in pitching machine. I asked him if he wanted to wear it again. He was all up for wearing it! And I will pursue the defibrillator and see if a local doctor will donate one. If not I see a fundraiser in my future.

Golf Tournament Results

City Tournament Results

Andrew won 4th place in his age group 13 - 18 year olds.

Christopher won 2nd place in his age group 10-12 year olds and he won Most Improved for the season.

Meaningful Monday and Summer

Subdistrict tournament is over for us. We have qualified to go on to district next weekend. Our team has the potential to do well but there is some really good competition. So I am not sure how well we will do in this next tournament.

But Christopher has a great attitude towards this all star season. I wanted to share this picture of Christopher's hat. He asked me the other day if  I could help him find the Bible verse that says, "All things are possible with God." We found it and it is Matthew 19:26. Look what Christopher did with that verse. Too cool!



The next picture is the first game of all stars. They were just introduced and listening to the introduction of the other team. Christopher is right in the middle. He is growing up and getting taller. Can't believe in just a month he will be entering the doors of middle school. Wow! It still doesn't seem real.

Our Summer is just starting to kick off with camps. Kevin went to his school camp this morning. It was Hawaiian day :) On Sunday, Andrew will head off to his High School Yearbook Camp and then come home for 4 days and head off to Church Camp for a week. Then he will return and go to his high school writing camp. Christopher has some more all stars left and then middle school football camp and tryouts the first week of August. And then Stallion Camp (middle school camp at his new school). This is a camp where he will get introduced to the ins and outs of his new school.

And then we will head off to a much needed vacation. We are going to Destin, Florida!!! We have been so busy with baseball All Stars the last three summers and getting our business started that Kevin has never stepped foot on a beach. So we are going to Florida and will return a few days before the boys go back to school.

Here is a picture of Kevin heading off to his Hawaiian Day at school.

All my big boys (that includes Daniel) are playing golf this morning. Daniel is being Andrew's Caddy in the City Tournament. I am having a quiet morning at home while they are playing golf and Kevin is at camp. I am going to get caught up on laundry and the house. We have been at the ballpark a lot lately. And I have been enjoying the Summer with the boys. So time to catch up while they are not needing me. Hope you have a Meaningful Monday!

Tournament Bracket

Here is a link to Christopher's all star tournament that he is playing in this weekend. Once you get on the page with the different tournment links go to the Subdistrict West bracket. They won their first game. They play another one tonight at 8pm. This is going to be a tough game.

The game is so late which is good for dodging the 100 degree weather but makes it hard to keep Christopher entertained without him getting worn out from outdoor activities. So today we are going to go see Zoo Keeper.

Andrew started our Saturday off with baseball lessons. We were worried about this lesson being productive because Andrew decided to be a teenage boy last night. He came in from the garage with his finger sliced and bleeding ALOT! He explained that he wanted to watch a glass bottle break. He threw a glass bottle in the trash can and watched it break as he was still holding onto a piece of it that slipped and sliced his hand. So this morning he had to suck up the pain and go to his scheduled practice. Welcome to being an athlete and playing through the pain. His coach said that he had a great practice :) He worked a lot on his pitching. The coach changed up his pitching style so he has more control over the ball and more leg power behind the pitch. Andrew is working hard to be ready for some high school baseball. And by the way we didn't make him go to the practice. He didn't want to miss.

Well, this is a short blog but wanted to give you a link to the all star tournament so you can keep up with his games.

All Star Time

Well it is finally here! Weeks of practice every night and scrimmages. And now the real deal. Last night I was making my rounds telling the boys good night and Christopher in a sweet voice said "I have a game tomorrow." As if he was Kevin ready to play his first tball game. Christopher loves the game of baseball with true passion. Yesterday the whole family went to the ballpark to help get the complex in shape for a tournament. We were there from 11am until 8:30pm we worked up there and then Christopher had practice. Here is Daniel and Andrew powerwashing the bathrooms and fixing the fields.
And here is Christopher ready for his first 2011 All Star game.

Splash Kingdom

Today we went with some friends to our local waterpark. This waterpark has been here since I was a teenager. But I have not been much with my kids because it was getting run down. Now a local church has taken it over and fixed it up. And it plays contemporary Christian music throughout the park. We had a great time today. The park use to be Water Town and is now called Splash Kingdom for Matthew 6:33


Now I am sitting at Christopher's all star practice. This might not be his best practice because he has spent the night out two nights in a row and then went to the waterpark today. But his past three summers have been strictly baseball because all three years his team has made it to the world series. Christopher almost didn't play all stars because he wanted a normal summer. We told him we would have a vacation and get to swim and have a normal summer. So he is getting to be a normal kid and play all stars this year. And now a thunder storm with a lot of lightning as appeared out of nowhere so we are heading home. I had a friend get killed on a golf course a month ago from lightning. So lightning makes me nervous these days. So bye from the safety of my car!

4th Of July Weekend

The day started out early - 5am! Daniel woke up to get ready to deliver inflatables and put the brisket on the smoker before he left. Last night I made about 12 egg, bacon and cheese biscuits and put them in the freezer so Daniel would have a hardy breakfast for morning like these. I left a couple in the refrig for today. So off he went with a full belly. Andrew went with him. I went back to bed and woke snuggling Kevin. Christopher spent the night with my parents. Christopher has one of his bf that live across the street from my parents. They like to hang out at my parents' house and play their XBox. They were there late so he spent the night. This afternoon we took our boys and Christopher's friend, Hayden, to see Cars 2 in 3D.
Kevin gives a thumbs up to Cars 2


Now I am riding with Daniel to pick up an inflatable. Then time for some brisket, ribs, broccoli and potato salad and a few other items. It's been a relaxing day with some work thrown in. Here are a few pictures from yesterday. We had some neighborhood friends over.

In The ZONE

We had a members only Celebration Jump tonight. My boys had a great time jumping with neon necklaces and disco lights flashing. Here are a few pictures and videos from the night.








Now Daniel is picking up inflatables that we had out today. He already brought one back. Andrew and I got it cleaned and ready to go out again tomorrow, and then we will clean it again for Monday and then again for Tuesday. On July 4th, our entire rental inventory will be rented out. We will deliver them in the morning and then enjoy our day together and then go pick them up that night. It is really a blessed day for our business and family! My parents are going to cook with Daniel making his famous potato salad. We had plans to go out and eat but my mom offered to cook so we can work, take the boys to a relaxing movie and then eat before heading out to get the inflatables. Our work is actually great family time when we plan it the right way. Tonight we had a great family night while opening up the indoor zone for our members. Delivering and cleaning the inflatables is an all in the family event at times. Tonight I have the boys at home and Daniel is picking the inflatables up by himself so I can get the boys baths and ready for church tomorrow. But there are nights Andrew will babysit for us and Daniel and I will have quality time going to pick up inflatables. It's all in how you look at life and what you make of it. We have had our storms with work and In The Zone is truly a rainbow after the storm!!!!!

Saturday Stuff

I am sitting at Andrew's baseball practice blogging from my phone. I have already been to Christopher's 8am baseball practice that lasted 3 hours. It's not so bad because Kevin and the other siblings are entertained at the empty ballpark running around playing. And I get to socialize with moms. Yesterday Christopher had a group of friends over and Kevin played with them for awhile. I had time on my hands so I pulled my scrapbooking stuff out. I needed to finish Christopher's 5th grade time capsule. When he graduates from high school he will go back and open it with his 5th grade class and teachers. I have not scrapbooked in years. It was great! When Kevin discovered what I was doing he joined me and used my punches and punched a bunch of shapes out for me. Here is a picture of my dining room.
Tonight we are having a special night at the Zone. It is a members only (we sell yearly memberships) Celebration Jump. We have disco lights and neon necklaces for some extra fun. I will post pictures soon. Andrew's lesson is finishing up and I am heading to take them to get some ice cream. It is a very hot day!!! Check out my car thermometer.

Lazy Moments In Busy Days

We have had and continue to have a busy summer. Christopher is playing all stars with his first game next Thursday. Kevin just finished baseball. Andrew works out with a private trainer three days a week to get ready for high school baseball along with cross country practice and yearbook. They all just finished up swim team.
 
We have been truly blessed with In The Zone. Open Play has been very busy with the triple digit weather we have been having and rentals are crazy busy. We have one of our water slides going out 5 days in a row. On July 4th all our rental inventory is out.
 
On July 4th we can not pop fireworks in our city. And the inflatables are rented so we do not have any for ourselves. So we are going to treat ourselves to a family movie and dinner night. This kind of night doesn't happen around here because we are usually working or at practices/games. The lake is too busy on holiday weekends around here. So a relaxing movie/dinner is what the boys came up with.
 
Last night Christopher spent the night with a teammate that lives in our neighborhood. And Kevin doesn't like it when Christopher is not here. So Kevin made a bed in our room and "spent the night" with me and Daniel. It is around 10am right now and I am in bed blogging on my phone. Kevin just woke up and Andrew is still asleep. Good ole lazy days! We treasure these times when we can sleep in and stay in our pjs.


Took a break from blogging and I have been watching some Disney Channel with Kevin. It is now 11am and still in pjs.

Daniel has someone working at the Zone right now and just came home from delivering an inflatable. He is taking boys to get a haircut. A much needed haircut!!!! So all boys are getting ready to head out. Me - about to have a rare moment of getting a bath and dressed in peace :) Here is a picture of the boys' mops before their haircut. Check out Andrew's hair. His hair is now as curly as Christopher's hair. The older Andrew gets the curlier it is getting.


Happy Blogging from my phone! I am off to have my peaceful time without boys wrestling or throwing a ball into things while I am trying to get dressed :) I love my boys but wow they are all boy especially when they are all together. My bed is where they like to wrestle and my living room is where they like to play ball. I just try to remind myself that one day the house will be quiet and I will miss my destroyed bed and broken things.