Summer Time is Fun Time

I love, love, love summer vacation! I love teaching and I love my kids at school, but this is a great time to relax, rejuvinate and refresh...

                                        

Or at least that's what I thought!! Heck no, this summer is crazy unbelievable   jam packed summer! It seems that the boys have got a personal chauffeur this summer because I am spending all of my time running, running, and running (OK, so it's actually driving since I do NOT run)  from one place to the next!

Jake and I are grateful that we're able to let the boys experience lots of different things, but I hate to say that he might have over done it this summer! It seems that both boys are doing the junior golf
program 2 days a week at the country club, the youngest is on the club's junior golf team which means weekly matching at various courses, both boys are playing in the Hamilton County Jr PGA


golf program with matches each week at various courses throughout Hamilton County and the
youngest is playing on a travel baseball team with practices and multi-day tournaments each week.
Yes, my schedule is a big full this summer....


We are going from one golf course...

                                                    

                                                   

to another...

                                                      

                                                   

And from one baseball diamond...

                                              

to another!

                                                     

But alas, I love summer break when I get to watch my boys grow and learn (even when they don't realize it's happening)! I get to see them experiment with new things, take on new adventures, and GROW GROW GROW!

Top 13 of 2013...

As another year winds to a close I'm taking a few moments to remember all the joys, tears, successes and fears of 2013.  Some reminscing is to keep it from happening again (hopefully) while other is to not forget the blessings that have been poured out on us!

                                      

13).  Multiple trips to visit the Georgia Bakers!  It's always filled with craziness, laughter, fun and sometimes tears, but always full of adventure!

                                                

12). Baseball, Baseball and more baseball! This was our first year to experience travel baseball... not always a great experiennce, but we learned SOOO much!

11).  Cole started HIGH SCHOOL! I know that I'm not old enough to have a kid in high school, but Jake is (ha! ha! ha!- sorry but you're older than me, hubby).  I guess it  worries a mom more than the kid.  Cole survived had a great first semester in high  school so we'll hope that 2014 brings an even better 2nd semester.

10). Folds of Honor and the Indiana Patriot Cup.  In August, we were blessed to be a part of the Indiana Folds of Honor and raise money with Mike and Janine for families of wounded or killed soldiers.  The evening brought smiles as we listened to the children explain how they've been blessed by this organization and tears as we hear how they've lost so much to get these blessings.

           

9). Year number two at Zionsville West Middle School for me! So  grateful to be asked back to the school  that I've come to know and love- even better  I've been able to do my student teaching here where I know the kids and teachers!

8). My mom got a new job and is now working at Purdue University where she graduated from.  She's loved the atmosphere there and seems to be much happier which is a blessing.  

7).  Passed my Praxis exams (almost!). In order to get my teaching licenses,  I had multiple exams to take and I passed my final Special Education Praxis the first time out with flying colors and them the Elementary Education all content wasn't bad either ... except the MATH! Darn  it for those stupid numbers!! Passed all but the math on the first time out- took a couple  more tries onn that one.

6).  Golf, golf,  and more golf! NOT ME... oh no!! While I continue to stink at the sport, my boys are falling deeper and deeper in love with it as well as getting pretty good.  Wherever we go, it seems we have to find a golf course.  Cole was even able to  play in a Master's Junior Tournament which was an amazing experience.

5).  Repurposed With a Purpose. This fall I decided to sell some of the creations that I've been making...it was a huge hit! In a three week period I sold 13 of the "You are my Sunshine" signs! I hope it continues into 2014.

4). Kitty Coco joined our home in October 2013. Poor little babe was found in a dumpster with his brother at 2 weeks old. I nursed him, fed him with a bottle and fell in love so little kitty Coco is now a part of our family!

3). Family, family, family!

2). Laughter, lattes and love. I've not always been good about staying current with my blogging but it has been an enjoyable experience. What a fun way to share and communicate with people you've never met! My goal for 2014 is to be more consistent and keep in touch with my blogging world a little better than I did in 2013.

1). Wishes for blessings in 2014!!

Summer Baseball has come to an End...

I absolutely love to watch my boys play their sports but I won't lie... I'm absolutely thrilled  over the moon that this summer travel season is over! This was our first venture into a private travel league and although we were proud of Caleb it's a world we're not ready for!

I encourage and yell for my boys (sometimes too much-I know) but some of the parents in travel baseball must think their children are ready for MLB. I'm a realist...Caleb is good and he loves playing baseball but he's no Joey Votto or Brandon Phillips! Did you catch that one?! Yes, we are huge REDS fans in our house!

Anyway, back to Caleb and his baseball. The team had a few issues: a couple obnoxious boisterous coaches (thankfully not my husband this year), a continuous losing streak, and over 50 games between May and July 20th! Exactly!! Tough! All in all, we learned a lot and he still loves the game of baseball so it's not a fail...

Most importantly, we have a few weekends back before school starts!! Woohoo!

Baseball weekend in Cincinnati

If you have children in sports you understand that it's a love hate relationship...I love to watch my son play baseball, but I hate spending three days in the sun watching game after game!  Needless to say, that's what this weekend had been all about! So Friday morning at 7:45 am we headed out from Indianapolis to play a tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 This was our start...

Fortunately, it was not that my husband was speeding down the interstate (although I think he was) but we had a massive tire blowout! An hour and 3 police officers later we finally got all the lug nuts off and we're back on our way.

We were late for the first game, but we're guaranteed to play four games so no worries!

Sun blazing down on us for back to back games and we got crushed! Ugh! So a couple drinks later and we went to the Red's game where we knew we'd be happy! Have you ever taken 12 nine year old boys, their siblings and parents to a MLB game...hysterical!

Saturday at 1:30pm we're onto game #3. Boys are ready! Hyped up! Excited and ready to play ball...

 

Unfortunately, the other team was much more ready...lost 0-15. Next game in five hours at 8:30pm...give me strength!

Poor boys played with such heart, such joy and such determination...thank goodness for the parents; the diamonds sell alcohol! Ha Ha Ha!

As I tell my son, "As long as you do your best and have fun I don't care if you lose every game you play"...I do mean that, but for 9 year old boys it's hard to digest!