Me and My Five Boys

Let's see. Looking at the calendar, I think I have might have two weeks, maybe three, if I'm lucky, to slow down and breathe a little before things pick back up again.

Baseball season is finally over. Jared finished his coach pitch team the second week of July. I forgot to sign him up for soccer this year, but he says he's okay with it. Adam's team did well in their baseball tournament. They took 3rd place out of 16 teams. Adam had fun and ended the season with with a single and an inning of playing 2nd base, after spending most of the season in the outfield. After winning the consolation game to take 3rd place, I heard him saying, "Best season ever!" It was good to see him enjoying it. This next week he will finish up swim team. He best times in the regular meets have qualified him to swim in the Silver meet at County. He is also talking about taking lifesaving and water safety instructor courses in the future, so he can prepare to teach swim lessons and life guard at the pool when he is old enough to get a job. It's nice to have our community pool is so close to our home. We get a family pass every summer and take as much advantage of it as we can. Adam and Ryan are both old enough to swim without an adult, so they head over there quite often to swim with friends too.

Ryan just started practices for his competition soccer team. I sat and watched them for awhile the other night, because the coach had asked parents to be there for a meeting. I was really impressed with him--his coaching skills, his knowledge of the game, and especially the way he interacted with the players. He's expecting a lot of them, but he communicates it in a very positive way. I think it will be a great experience for Ryan to play for him. Ryan is excited to start 5th grade in a few weeks. We got an email from his teacher, asking him to practice typing, cursive, and times tables each week until school starts. It's hard to think about school in the middle of the summer, but he doesn't seem to mind.

All the boys finished the summer reading program at the library. They've been reading 15-20 minutes a day, five days a week, since the first week of June. They'll keep doing that even though the program is over, but I'll switch to encouragement mode, rather than "you have to get all your chores and reading and piano practicing done before you can have screen time" mode. Now they just have to do chores and Adam has to practice piano.

There are lots of changes going on around here, some of which are nicely facilitating my "breathing time." I decided to step down from the Library Board in June, after 3+ years of service. It was a great experience and helped me get to know our community after we moved here. I enjoyed it, but felt like I needed to put more volunteer hours in at my kids' schools. With all four of them at different schools next year, I'm sure I'll be busy enough.

Then, last Sunday our stake presidency canceled regular church meetings and held a special stake meeting--to reorganize ward boundaries. Every single ward in our stake was shaken up, most pretty drastically. We were moved from our ward of four years to a new ward made up of parts of four old wards. Everyone who was moved to a new ward was automatically released from their callings, so I am no longer the Primary president. I will miss the kids and especially the wonderful ladies I served with in the presidency. We attended our new ward for the first time today--sacrament meeting only. Our new bishop and his wife gave great talks. They introduced themselves and we learned that they met in a "military ward" in Virginia shortly after he returned from the Viet Nam War. (Sound familiar Mom?) He is from Hawaii, originally. By way of introduction, his counselor told us that he likes to give hugs, and he loves luaus. Our first ward activity will be a luau in mid-August. This change is going to take some adjusting for all of us--particularly Adam, who was attached to his deacon friends and Young Men leaders--but it will be an adventure and an opportunity to grow. Jared was happy to learn that several boys he knew from school are in our new ward, and it looks like there are some Ryan's and Dallin's ages too. Hopefully Adam will find some as well. We are sad to leave the friends we made in our old ward, but at least this time we don't have to pack any boxes to do it, and we don't really have to say good-bye either.

I've decided my motto is, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other gold." We've made so many wonderful friends in all the places we've lived. We love keeping in touch with them. (And living in Utah, we get to see many of them when they pass through. We visited with one family we knew in Texas last week, and we're having dinner with with four different families this week--two we knew in Cincinnati, and two we knew in Texas.) For Family Home Evening last Monday, Jeff took us all to Provo for a little "family history tour." We ate dinner at the Malt Shoppe on University Avenue, then drove around and showed the kids all the apartments we lived while we were dating and first married. Then he talked to the boys about all the places we've moved to, the good friends we've made, the wonderful experiences we've had, and the memories we've made. Then we talked about the changes in our ward and how we have the opportunity to grow and make new friends, just like our family has done many times through the years. It was a fun trip down memory lane, and hopefully an effective lesson. At least it kept the kids attention and they weren't wrestling on the couch, like normal. :-)

I feel like I'm rambling, but I'll finish up with this. We have a 16-year-old German girl coming in a few weeks to live with us and go to our local high school for the coming school year. She is the youngest daughter of a family Jeff first met as a missionary in East Germany. I'm not completely sure I'm prepared to deal with a teenager, or a girl, but we are excited that she got all the red tape worked out so she can come. It will be another adventure for us. Mostly I worry that she will get homesick, but I guess we'll cross that bridge if we get to it. In preparation for her arrival, we have to clean out all the stuff we've been storing in the guest room. So for the moment, I'm spending my breathing time deep cleaning my house, room by room, making space elsewhere to put that stuff. It feels good to dejunk a bit, and my house certainly needs the cleaning.

Labels: Adam, baseball, change, church, family, Family Home Evening, friends, Jared, Primary, Ryan, soccer, swimming

And finally, swim lessons. We just finished the our first session today. Our second session starts after the 4th of July holiday. I considered not doing two sessions this year, but all the boys are doing well and progressing, so we're pushing on and trying to take advantage of that.

Dallin is finally old enough to enjoy the water and not freak out. Last year he lasted less than two days of the Preschool class. Thank goodness he doesn't remember that. He even loves the water slides. He can't do them on his own, but I think he went down 9 or 10 times today with help.

Jared was the best swimmer in his Level 2 class, according to his teacher, our good friend Rachel. Watching him catch on to swimming and become more independent in the water is almost as much fun as seeing him learn to read this past school year. He's moving on to Level 3 next week.

Ryan passed a major milestone in the pool. For a couple years he's struggled to pass his swimming classes because he was afraid to go in the deep end. This year the fear is gone. And he even jumped off the diving board for the first time this week. Now we can hardly get him off it. :-)

Labels: Dallin, Jared, Ryan, swimming

The third week of June is Strawberry Days, a week-long celebration of local heritage. We usually participate in the Children's Parade, go to the carnival, and watch the big parade. This year I took the kids to the carnival while Jeff helped with the concessions at the rodeo as an Elder's Quorum service project. It was the first night, so all the rides were one ticket instead of two or three. There were people everywhere and the lines for the rides were long, but it was worth it, because the boys loved it. I stuck with Dallin, so almost all the pictures I took were of him.





Ryan ran fast enough to earn the right to participate in the Strawberry Days relay races with other 4th grade boys from his school. They ended up taking 2nd place. They started fast, but all of them faded too much at the end. The relay teams from his school got enough points to win the whole group a mission at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center hosted in another elementary school in town. They got a two-and-a-half hour simulation of a real space shuttle mission. I haven't seen what it's like, but it sounds like a lot of fun.

We actually skipped the big parade this year. The boys sacrificed it to go to Cedar City and support me at the Utah Summer Games instead. I've wanted to participate since I volunteered there as a teenager. I finally got my chance--now that I'm old and have little to no competition. Literally. I won a gold medal in Women Masters 40-45 Weightlifting (snatch, and clean and jerk). No one took silver or bronze, because I was the only one in my division and weight class. :-) I snatched 25 kg (55 lbs.), and my best clean and jerk was 38 kg (84 lbs.). It was lots of fun, a goal completed (after a year of Crossfit workouts), and a dream come true. Thanks to Jeff and my boys, my parents, and my brother Enoch and his family for coming to support and cheer for me.

Gold medals earned by TUG club members, l-r: me, Cali, and Coach Moore.

Labels: boys, Harmony, Ryan, Strawberry Days, weightlifting

Somewhere I fell off the blogging wagon. I don't know why. But I'm trying to climb back on again. I have some extra motivation, which should help. Jeff's parents left two weeks ago to begin their 18-month-long LDS mission to Tennessee. (Hi Mom and Dad! We're praying for you!) You can thank them if you are glad that I am trying to blog again. You can also blame them if this blog becomes somewhat grandparent-focused. Feel free to skim or skip altogether.

Back in February, Ryan took the test to qualify for placement in our school district's gifted education program. He hasn't been very excited about the idea because it's a magnet school arrangement and he would have to leave his current school to participate. I've had a few reservations as well, but I felt like he needed to take the test and keep all the options open. He's had a good experience at our neighborhood school, but he just learns things so quickly and easily that I have felt like he is not being challenged, that his potential is being limited, and that he has even been bored in school. He gets his work done and then reads--so much that he probably has double the "reading points" of any other kid in the 4th grade. So anyway, after a little confusion about the scores on his test, Ryan was offered placement in a gifted class for next year. We attended an orientation meeting last week to meet the teacher and learn more about the program. Ryan still isn't thrilled, but he liked the teacher and said he is willing to give it a try. One idea that the teacher presented at the meeting made a lot of sense to me. She introduced Bloom's Taxonomy of thinking in which there are six levels of thought processes arranged from lower order processes to higher order processes: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. I can't explain this as well as she did, but basically, in a regular classroom most of the available time is spent helping students with the lower order processes--remembering and understanding, sometimes applying. There is little time left for analyzing, evaluating, and creating. Gifted students need less time to remember and understand, so putting them in the accelerated environment of a gifted classroom allows them time to move quickly through the lower levels so they can have time for the challenge of the higher level processes. I doubt Ryan is the smartest kid in the school district, but he is bright, and I am excited for him to have this opportunity. I hope it will be a good experience for him.

Last Saturday was the opening day ceremonies for Adam's baseball league. Special guest of honor was Dale Murphy, retired Atlanta Braves star and my hero when I was a Little Leaguer myself. I was looking forward to seeing him and hearing him speak to the kids. He gave them all high fives as they filed onto the field, then after some encouraging words to the kids and the parents, he and and the mayor and the Salt Lake Bees mascot threw out the first pitch(es). Afterwards, Adam and I stood in line to talk to him and get him to sign a couple of my old baseball cards. I tend to get flustered and not know quite what to say to "celebrities." (I wonder if they get tired of that--fans stumbling over their words when they try to talk to them.) I did ask him if he was still in touch with Ray Knight, another former baseball player who actually had some of the missionary discussions in our home when I was a kid and my dad was the ward mission leader. I think he said he wasn't, but like I said, I get flustered, so it wasn't much of a conversation. There were people in line behind us, so I snapped a photo of him and Adam and we thanked him for coming. On the way to the ball field, Jeff had been telling me how he didn't really like Murphy and the Braves when he was a kid, because he was a Dodgers fan. It took him quite awhile to figure out why the Braves were the only team ever on TV. (Thanks to Ted Turner and WTBS, the Braves were broadcast nation-wide and became known as "America's Team." I didn't really know this as a kid. We didn't have a TV, but we lived in Georgia and attended a couple of "Mormon Night at the Braves" games, so I've always felt like I came by my Braves fanhood naturally.) As Adam and I were standing in line to get Dale's autograph, one of the coaches said to all the kids standing there, "You guys don't know how good this guy was. He was my hero when I was your age. I used to come home every day after school and turn on the TV to watch Braves games on TBS and see this guy do his magic." As we were walking off the field, another coach or parent saw my baseball cards and asked if we'd had him sign them. When I said yes, he said, "I hated him when I was a kid. I was a Dodgers fan." I said, "And the only team you could see on TV was the Braves, right?" He said, "Yes, exactly!" It was funny. Seems all the 40-somethings at the ball field that day were either Dale Murphy groupies who could hardly contain their excitement, or they hated him--not much in between. And the kids hardly knew who he was.


We had a nice but quiet Easter at home this year. It was a little chilly, so the Easter bunny hid the plastic eggs in the house. The Easter bunny needs to remember, however, not to hide one in the oven, then turn it on to preheat for Easter dinner baking. Oops. The melted egg had to be scraped off the bottom of the oven. The Tootsie Roll inside of it was still intact on the oven rack, which I thought was interesting in a 350 degree oven. Reminds me of my kids new favorite--roasting Starbursts over the campfire. I didn't quite dare eat the Tootsie Roll though, as I think it was contaminated with the melted plastic. I might have to try roasting some at our next campfire though. Jeff cooked an un-traditional but very delicious Easter dinner of German food for us--rouladen, red cabbage, spaetzle, and klöse. We finished off the day by watching the new "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" movie which the Easter bunny had brought along with too much candy.




My favorite part of Easter though, was a wonderful sacrament meeting program at church. The speakers gave great talks about our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the love He gives to each of us personally, individually. And I was able to sing "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," and my new favorite Easter hymn, "The Resurrection and the Life," by Sally DeFord, with our ward choir. (I haven't yet sung a song by her that I didn't really like.) It was an uplifting worship service for me. I've been reflecting on my testimony of Jesus Christ lately. I remember as a teen and young adult wanting to have a strong testimony, but just not feeling it like I thought I was supposed to. I imagine there are people for whom a testimony comes as a gift in a sudden way. But I think maybe the Lord knew that I would appreciate my testimony more if it came to me gradually, line upon line, here a little and there a little (2 Nephi 28:30), through people and experiences and scriptures that have also become dear to me. I still struggle to express my faith in words, but I feel it, and I am so grateful for it.

Labels: Adam, baseball, Easter, Ryan, testimony

Jeff and Adam and Ryan worked hard to get cars ready for the Pinewood Derby this week. Adam and Ryan picked out the designs for their cars. Adam's was a Ford Mustang in Green Bay Packers colors.


Ryan's was modeled after a black Hot Wheels car with green flames.


Adam's won the Most Realistic award, but after the race he realized it had a wheel that was sticking, which had slowed it down. Ryan's car was working perfectly though. It was so fun to watch how excited he was when he won the whole thing, without losing a single race. It was Adam's last Pinewood Derby, and Ryan's first. That mean's three down, still quite a few to go!

Labels: Adam, Cub Scouts, Pinewood Derby, Ryan

I have some thoughts running through my head that I really want to blog about, but I have some catching up to do first.

Many thanks to Jeff's parents who took our kids for three days before Christmas so we could have an anniversary get-away. It was so nice to have some down time, just the two of us. We raced a snowstorm up Provo Canyon to the Homestead Resort in Midway. I shouldn't say we raced, because we actually drove very slowly and carefully, but it was a race to get up there before the roads got too bad. It snowed most of the time we were up there, so we just hung out at the resort and didn't do too much exploring out in the treacherous winter wonderland. Still, we really had fun. Since we moved back Utah County, we've gone back to some of the places that were significant to us when we were dating/newly-married. We've discovered that you just have to hang on to those memories, because it's pretty hard to relive them. It's better and more fun to make new memories. Our new favorite memory? Hot-tubbing in the snow! It was a blast!

I told Jeff I'd make a snow angel if he'd go back to our room and get the camera. I wasn't going to do it without a way to prove that I'd done it! He said he'd make one too if I would go get the camera. So I put my boots and coat on over my wet swimming suit and hiked back to room for the camera. It was worth it--and it was COLD! But then the hot tub felt better than ever!



While we were hot-tubbing in the snow, the boys were seeing the Christmas light display at Willard Bay, building a gingerbread train, sledding at Happy Hollow, and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in the snow. Thanks Grandma and Papa!



We had a nice Christmas. Santa was good to us, as were grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. We enjoyed the gifts, but mostly we just enjoyed the family time. Jared wrote a cute note to Santa that I had to take a picture of:


He did get his robot. And here is Dallin playing with one of his favorite gifts:


Our New Year's was extremely uneventful, but we made up for it on the 3rd when Ryan was baptized. He and two buddies from his Primary class were baptized in the same meeting. After the baptism we hosted 30 family members for lunch at our house. I am so thankful to live close to family again, so that we can celebrate important events like this together. We are proud of Ryan for wanting to follow Jesus Christ, and for preparing himself well. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, and a great desire to do what is right. We are blessed to be his parents.


And finally, Jeff really outdid himself for my birthday this year. He has been reveling in the fact that he has set new birthday gift standards for husbands everywhere. :-) He says he hasn't scored this many points from my friends since he brought me flowers at work for no particular reason. I knew I wasn't getting any gifts because the camera I got for Christmas was for my birthday too. So I wasn't expecting the large envelope Jeff handed me, full of cards and letters and gifts from good friends, and the new blog he created for me, full of more birthday wishes and kind words from people I love. I was in tears reading them all. What a great birthday present! To all of you who participated, thank you, thank you! And if you are reading this now and feel bad because you didn't know about it, that's okay. Jeff contacted as many people as he could get in touch with, but he didn't have access to all my e-mail addresses because I hadn't finished updating my address book. (Now that my birthday is past, he's complaining that he's not getting any interesting e-mail anymore.) Still, it was overwhelming to hear from so many people, and to think of the many more dear friends I didn't hear from this time, plus the ones I've lost touch with (hopefully temporarily). I am rich with friends! Thank you!

Labels: anniversary, birthdays, Christmas, family, friends, holidays, Ryan

Labels: birthdays, food, Ryan

We celebrated Adam's 9th birthday back in November. We were in Cedar City with my family for Thanksgiving, so he got to have a party with cousins this year. It was also the week of the BYU vs. Utah football game, so he requested a BYU football cake for his party. I'm not much of a cake decorator, but with some help from Aunt Tasha, I thought this turned out to be one of my better efforts.

Labels: Adam, birthdays, family, Ryan

Dallin took his first steps yesterday, two weeks short of his 1st birthday. He had a lot of encouragement from his dad and brothers and Grandma Marilyn and Papa Scott. He's not very steady on his feet though, so I think it will be several more weeks before he's taking off of his own volition. I think that makes him my earliest walker except Adam, who was walking at nine months (before he even cut any teeth!). It's both sad and fun to see my baby growing up. I know they have to grow, but I miss the little baby stage when it's gone.

Grandma and Grandpa came down to see Adam and Ryan in the annual Primary program in sacrament meeting yesterday, then stayed for Sunday dinner. Ryan did very well with his speaking part, and Adam impressed everyone with his solo of "Listen, Listen." He has a good ear and a good voice, but I really don't know where he gets the guts to sing a solo in front of the whole ward! We were proud of both of them.

Labels: Adam, Dallin, family, music, Ryan

Dallin turned eight-months-old on the road between Texas and Utah. He started crawling for real on July 18th, now sits himself up and is starting to pull up on furniture. He is becoming very curious and starting to get into things. He has the cutest smile that he shares with everybody.

I expected Jared would have the hardest time with the move since he doesn't quite comprehend what is going on. Actually, he's doing really well as long as he still gets his nap each day. With all the commotion lately he has missed a few, especially while we were packing. Lately he's been saying things like, "Look Mom, we have one of those at home." Interesting how he still has a picture in his mind of what home is, even though he saw the house in Texas all packed up and empty before we moved.

Ryan's eyes have been looking a little square lately. If I'd let him, he'd watch TV or play computer games all day. He also enjoys reading and sports, but will choose an entertainment screen first if he has the choice. I took him miniature golfing yesterday for a little one-on-one "Mommy time." As we were driving home, I asked him how he felt about moving to Utah, going to a new school, making new friends, etc. He seemed okay with all of that, but then asked me, "Mom, do first-graders have to get any shots to go to school?" Good to know his fears are completely normal.

Adam also seems to be dealing well with all the changes so far. He's especially enjoying spending time with grandmas and grandpas and cousins. He's a social kid, always has been, so I really hope he'll find some good friends in our new ward and school. I figure there's always going to be negative influences, so I've been praying for a place to live where there will be good influences on my boys--friends, teachers, Scout leaders, etc.

Jeff and I are hanging in there. We've had plenty of physical and mental stress--lots to do and lots of decisions to make, but so far we're holding up. Jeff is probably holding up better, just because he's been biking and swimming lately and is in better shape than I am. We've both been really tired, but I seem to get there a lot quicker than he does. My lack of stamina is pitiful. Regular exercise will be high on my to do list as soon as we get settled, among other things. As always.

Next, stayed tuned for details of the house hunt.

Labels: Adam, Dallin, family, Jared, life, Ryan

We sold our first home today, almost two years after buying our first home. The best thing about it was not having to put it on the market because some friends in our ward wanted to buy it from us. It was a win-win situation, AND nobody had to pay real estate commissions. We think we gave them a decent deal on it for the current market here, plus we got enough out of it for a down payment and closing costs on something in Utah Valley where the market is almost double. Anyway, we hope they feel as blessed as we do. Now all we have to do is finish packing and cleaning, move, find a new home, buy it, and unpack. Somehow I'm not feeling any relief yet....

On a totally different note, Adam and Ryan finished a two-week session of swimming lessons today. Adam was a pretty good little swimmer to start with, but he really improved his crawl stroke. I think he's a better swimmer than I am now. Ryan made the most progress though. He was scared of the water last summer and didn't want to take swimming lessons this year. Once he got started though, he adjusted amazingly quickly. It's so nice when they are finally comfortable on their own in the water.

Labels: Adam, moving, Ryan, sports, swimming

Possibly you thought our baseball season would never end, but it has. Ryan had his last teeball game this past Monday evening. He had a good season and really enjoyed himself. His skills will need some work as he moves into coach pitch next year, but he's really picked up on the rules and how the game is played. I think he's actually learned more from watching Adam's games than he has from playing teeball. He basically taught himself to read the same way, by watching as Adam did his homework. He's a pretty sharp cookie.

Adam's team finished off their season tonight on a bit of a low note. They didn't look very sharp, maybe because it was 90 degrees plus outside today. Mercifully the scoreboard stopped working in the middle of the game, when the score was 10-5, so we really don't know how bad they lost. I think their final record of 9 wins and 6 losses doesn't really tell what a good year they had. All their players from last year really led the team, and the younger boys who joined the team this year made a lot of progress. Adam will miss getting to play with them next year. It was a good group of players, coaches, and parents. He was 1 for 2 with a single tonight, so his batting average for the season was .765 (26 for 34, 21 singles and 5 doubles). I am proud of him for doing so well and for being a good sport most of the time. I'm not one of those parents who think that sports are the be all and end all of their children's lives (and there are a few of those around here), but I do think it's a good for kids to participate in team sports and have those character building experiences of working and cooperating with others towards a common goal, and doing it with a good attitude.

There, now you've had your last baseball update...until next spring. :-)

Labels: Adam, baseball, Ryan, sports

I haven't caught up on baseball for a couple weeks. We've had several more rainouts, but the weather finally cooperated this week so we could make up for some lost time. Ryan had games on Tuesday and Friday. He was running a high fever Tuesday, so I made him skip that game. In Friday's game he got to play pitcher, the busiest position in teeball. I missed the game to stay home with the other sick kids, but Jeff said he fielded everything hit to him and even got one batter out at first base. Ryan was most excited about sliding into home plate. As soon as he walked in the door he proudly showed me all the dust on his pants. Adam played Tuesday and Thursday, and had a double-header on Wednesday to make up some rainouts. They won two of those four games, but I've lost track of their overall record--something like 9 wins and 5 losses. Jeff has helped me keep up with his batting average though. At the moment, he is 25 for 32, for a .781 average (20 singles and 5 doubles).

As mentioned, we've been doing the sick kid thing this week. So far the symptoms are just fever and headaches. All four boys had fevers yesterday, so I kept them home from church today. I might have to take at least Dallin into the pediatrician tomorrow, but I'm guessing this is a virus that will go away on it's own. I tend to be pretty conservative about taking kids to the doctor, as I hate spending time and money to be told, "It's just a virus."

The most exciting part of our week though, was the visit of my brother, Enoch, and his family. They decided to do a Texas family vacation this summer, including two days and three nights at our house. It was fun to catch up with them and play with cousins. Will especially fit right in with our light-saber and superhero loving boys, and Adam and Ryan were a jealous of his Gameboy. We were a little hard-pressed to find things to do to entertain them, but they went with us to Adam's baseball game Tuesday night, then on Wednesday we took them downtown to Eggemeyer's General Store, to Kings Kingdom Park and the Concho River where we had a great time feeding the ducks and turtles. In the afternoon we went bowling and Will beat us all with a score of 114! Their time in San Angelo will probably be the most boring part of their vacation (compared to San Antonio and Dallas), but we're glad they came to see us. Thanks for fixing our gates too Enoch!















And finally, Thursday was the last day of school and Ryan's kindergarten graduation. I'm proud of Ryan--he had a great year and learned a lot--but I think kindergarten graduations are kind of silly. It was a nice, short program, however, in the hot, crowded elementary school gym. The 102 kindergarteners looked great all dressed in little red caps and gowns. They sang four songs, including a very cute one called "Move Me Up to the First Grade," sung to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." I got tears in my eyes when they played the Edward Elgar graduation march song, but then I almost always do. I think I associate it with change (something I've always struggled with) and with leaving a chapter of life behind that can never be returned to. Anyway, I wasn't emotional about kindergarten graduation, but that song got to me anyway. Ryan was emotional for an entirely different reason. He didn't even want to go because he said he was afraid of getting up in front of so many people. I tried to reassure him and calm him down, but he was still visibly upset. I wasn't sure where that came from until I talked to his teacher afterward and realized she was afraid of getting up in front of so many people too. It's amazing how impressionable our little ones are. Ryan was fine afterwards though, so hopefully he realized it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

Speaking of changes, we are really going to miss our good friends, the Townsends, who moved to Wisconsin this week. One of the benefits of moving around every few years has been all the wonderful, wonderful friends we've made. The hymn, "Each Life That Touches Ours for Good," has been playing in my brain this week.

Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord.
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christ-like friends whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

When such a friend from us departs,
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory,
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.

For worthy friends whose lives proclaim
Devotion to the Savior's name,
Who bless our days with peace and love,
We praise they goodness, Lord above.

Thank you friends, for truly being blessings in my life!

Labels: Adam, baseball, family, friends, Ryan, sports

Jeff's parents just finished a 12-day visit with us this week. They needed a grandkid fix and had some Delta Skymiles to use. It's always fun to have family visit, and we enjoyed having them. The day they left, Ryan was moaning and groaning, wondering what in the world we were going to do for fun after they were gone. The kids love playing games and reading stories with them, and generally just having the extra attention. They helped me out too, washing dishes and tending kids and helping me with some projects. I felt a little guilty working them so hard. We tried to make it up to them on Saturday with a little trip to Fredericksburg to see Texas wildflowers and eat German food. Although I was disappointed that we didn't see more bluebonnets--missed their peak by week or two--we've had a wet spring so the wildflowers were everywhere and really beautiful. (I also got two or three new counties on this trip. :-)

I had a very nice Mother's Day, and it was extra fun to celebrate it with Grandma too. Jeff and his dad cooked yummy Japanese/Chinese food for us--almond chicken, sweet and sour pork, and gingered green bean salad, with pecan pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert. I love having a husband who enjoys cooking!

Jeff and the boys really outdid themselves with the gifts this year--I usually don't get or want near this much for Mother's Day. They surprised me with a beautiful new oak chest of drawers to replace the hand-me-down we've been using for 14+ years now. It's unfinished--raw wood--but Jeff is also looking forward to finishing it, which is good since all I need right now is another project. We're thinking we'll stain it medium brown to try to match our headboard and then seal it with tung oil. That's what's been recommended to us anyway, although my friend sealed hers with polyurethane and it looks great. I also got a couple Ritter Sport candy bars--real German chocolate (available at Target, FYI). I needed shirts and I got a couple of those too--a pale green button-up and a "Lady Longhorns" t-shirt. I guess I couldn't really leave Texas without some burnt orange in my wardrobe. It is "my color" after all, even if I bleed BYU blue. The most fun present of all though, was a pink cowboy hat. I don't really do pink...or cowboy...but now I have a souvenir that says "Texas" all over it. The funny thing is, whenever Jared finds it he brings it to me and says, "Put the pink cowboy hat on your head Mommy." I've worn it quite a bit this last week. :-)

I'll bet you thought I'd forgotten about baseball. I'll bet you missed my play-by-play posts too, didn't you? Well, I didn't forget, but there hasn't been much to post about. We've had several games cancelled by bad weather--lots of thunderstorms and rain lately. When it finally cleared up last week, Ryan and Adam both had games on Friday. Ryan's game was typical teeball-- everybody hits, everybody scores--except that this time Grandma and Grandpa got to see him play, which was a treat. I think Adam was a little nervous to have the extra audience--he wanted to do so well while they were there to cheer for him and got upset when he struck out a couple of times. I think he did get at least one hit, but I didn't keep track very well since the other team forfeited due to a shortage of players. We lent them some of our players and just played a practice game. They "won" thanks to our players who hit well, so technically we "beat ourselves." Adam and Ryan both played again last night. Ryan's game was cut short due to rain, but he still got two good hits. Adam batted 2-for-4 with two singles and an RBI (15-for-19, .789, 12 singles, 3 doubles on the year). His team won 10 to 7 for a 7-2 record so far.

I've had occasion recently to think about how many Little League games and Cub Scout pack meetings we're going to end up going to over the next several years with our four boys. Tonight I've discovered another benefit of having all boys--Fathers and Sons outings! Dallin is still a little young to go camping without Mommy right now, so he and I are having a nice evening here at home. I really, really love my boys, but ah, the peace and quiet!

Labels: Adam, baseball, family, flowers, food, holidays, Mother's Day, Ryan, sports, Texas

Only two baseball games to report on this week--aren't you lucky?! Ryan and Adam both played last night. Ryan's game was rather unremarkable. He got to play shortstop and left field and got no action at either position. But he was more disappointed--as most tee-ballers are--that somebody's parents forgot the after-game snack again. So I let him get Ring Pops for himself and his brother's at the concession stand. They are slowly learning they are much more likely to get a treat if they don't ask, i.e., beg.

Adam's team won another squeaker, 2-1. It turned out to be a pitcher's duel, if you can call it that in a pitching machine league. :-) Hopefully both team's coaches learned that putting their weaker hitters all together in the lineup instead of mixing them in with the stronger hitters isn't very effective if you want to score runs. (Actually, I think Adam's coach is usually careful about that, but he wasn't there and the assistant coach in charge of the lineup appeared to be less experienced with that kind of thing.) Anyway, Adam hit a single past the shortstop into the outfield and also got on base with a fielder's choice. I've loved baseball since I was a little kid and think I know quite a bit about the game, but I didn't know until last night that a fielder's choice counts as an out when calculating batting average. So Adam is now 9 for 11 (.818 batting average). His team is 5-0 for the season. The league doesn't actually keep track of standings because they consider it a "learning league," but you just ask the 1st and 2nd grade Little Leaguers at Adam's elementary school and they will tell you that the Tigers and the Padres are undefeated, so if the Tigers (Adam's team) beats the Padres next week, they will be in first place.

Labels: Adam, baseball, Ryan, sports

I think--I hope--this is the last week we have baseball games on four out of the seven days. Adam played Tuesday and Friday. Last night he struck out once and hit a single in a 7-6 win (4-0 record for the season). He's up to six singles, two doubles, and a strikeout for an .889 batting average. He also stopped four balls at third base. On one of them he got the force at third and threw the ball to home, nearly turning the double play. It would have been awesome if he'd gotten it, but I'm just proud that he's picked up enough of the game to know to try for it.

Ryan played Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday afternoon. He was happy to get to play catcher for an inning today. It's a little harder to keep stats for him, however. In this league, every teeball player bats every inning and everyone scores unless they get thrown out at first, which happens only occasionally. He's having fun though, and has improved a lot since last season. By the way, have you ever noticed how little kids look so cute in uniforms?

Labels: Adam, baseball, Ryan, sports

We had a cold front blow into Texas yesterday. At Ryan's teeball game last night it was about 50 degrees, but the wind made it feel much colder (although not quite cold enough to send the players to the coach's motor home between at-bats). They actually called the game after two innings and let us all go home to get warm. On the way to the car 3-year-old Jared said, "Mommy, I'm frozen." Anyway, Ryan got to play in the pitcher's position the first inning and was so excited when he threw two runners out at first. Wish I could have caught the grin on his face and shared it with you.

Today was even colder. I'm not sure it got above freezing. We had freezing rain and then snow too, which actually accumulated maybe an inch on the ground. In this part of Texas that is fairly rare, especially in April. So far they haven't canceled church tomorrow, but if the roads are icy enough, they might. We did Easter baskets and an (indoor) Easter egg hunt today so we can hopefully focus on Christ and His resurrection tomorrow. That might be a bit trickier to do with the kids if there is no church. We'll see. It'll be a cold Texas Easter, but fortunately the weather is supposed to be back up in the 70's in time for the next round of ball games next week.

Labels: baseball, Easter, holidays, Ryan, sports, Texas, weather

I think it's a good idea to try to learn at least one new thing every day. I just hate learning things the hard way. Last Wednesday our washing machine broke down with two loads to go. Jeff volunteered to look at it and try to fix it, but when it wasn't even obvious how to open it up we decided to call a repairman. Sears sent out a really nice guy who popped open the washer, pulled one of Dallin's little socks out of the pump, kindly advised me to wash little socks in a mesh bag so they can't escape the tub, and then charged me $143. What a pain. I even have one of those mesh bags, but hadn't thought to use it. Guess I will now. Live and learn.



As mentioned in yesterday's post, Ryan's first teeball game of the season was tonight. He's one of the older, bigger kids in teeball now too, which I think he's pretty happy about. Last year he wanted so bad to play in the infield. Tonight he played third base the whole game. Here he is in his Pirates uniform. (Maybe it's a genetic thing with third base. That was usually my position in Little League too, unless I was pitching.) He got three hits in each of the three innings. They don't keep score in teeball, so there was no winning team. Jeff and I have always thought they should declare the team who gets the most defensive outs as the winner, since getting a runner out is quite the accomplishment for those little kids who are just beginning to figure out how the game works. And believe me, although Ryan knows more than he does last year, this team has a lot of young kids and a LOT of room for improvement. If one of them weren't my kid, it would be painful to watch them.

The elation we felt when Jeff was offered a position at UVSC a few weeks ago is beginning to take a back seat to the stress that comes with the whole moving process. We are still happy about these changes, but not looking forward to the transition period. Ugh.

Labels: baseball, live and learn, Ryan, sports