Look at That Perfect Form. . .

. . . That's what Evan told me as we browsed the pictures from his last Coach Pitch game on Friday. He was remarking on his impeccable batting form, and from the looks of it, I can't disagree -- I am a little biased, however.

Evan had a hilarious, fun season this year. Fortunately, for him, he won every game! I am not sure if you can attribute the amount of wins to his teams instinctive baseball skills or Evan's wild imagination, but either way, it was a great season.

He even took on the challenge of playing catcher, and he reveled in this position. When Evan donned the catcher's gear, exclamations of ooh and he's so cute reverberated through the stands because he looked adorable, took his job seriously, and had "perfect form."

Another fun season of sports is over as we head back to soccer with camp this week!

Are You Ready for a Miracle?

I have always liked the idea that miracles exist. When I had each of my boys, I felt the closest that I ever have to believing in miracles. Their little bodies materializing from mine seemed amazing. Yet, beyond that, I have not witnessed many miracles. I have never walked on water, turned water into wine, or even parted a sea.

But this week, Andrew made me a believer in miracles.

You see, Andrew has always been an obscenely early riser. Having Andrew appear at my door at 6am on the weekend is not uncommon. His body just works that way.

However, this Thursday, a miracle occurred. He slept in.

I don't mean a little bit-- like 7 or 8. I mean, slept in.

I had to go and wake him up at 9:15 because he had a swimming lesson at 9:30. He was groggy and didn't want to move.

Yes, I took a picture of him sleeping. I couldn't help myself!

As I watched him slowly rouse from the bed and I glanced at the clock, I smiled because I knew that I had just witnessed greatness. Who knows? Maybe next week I can get water from wine (maybe the other way would be better...)

Sore Legs and Wet Feet. .. Great day!

My basic components to a great day involve getting outside and being active, doing something with friends and family, and a ton of laughter. Earlier this week, we had a day like this.

We travelled to a nearby state park called Devil's Lake that is well-known for its high bluffs that people climb and its pretty lake for swimming. The boys and I joined forces with one of Brendan's best friends and his family and decided to go hike and swim.

Our first hike involved climbing the high bluffs with two adults and a group of seven enthusiastic kids. I am always amazed that my children who will complain because I make them take out the garbage or brush their teeth seem to have no problem climbing up a huge stone wall.

As they hiked, we all were sweating, but the kids kept talking about how much fun they were having. Evan commented that his legs were sore, but I asked him if he wanted to stop and he told me he was having too much fun.

We did have a couple of heartstopper moments as we got to the top and had to tell our adventurous children to veer from the edge of these beautiful bluffs. Unlike Little Bo Peep, we didn't want to have to hunt for these little sheep. And fortunately, they obliged.

Everyone was hot and sticky after the hike, so we journeyed to the lake and let them spend an hour or more trying to catch the little minnows that were all over the lake.

To add to the day, we also decided to do one more hike to a waterfall. At first, the hike seemed a little anticlimactic as the promise of creek crossings and a waterfall seemed to be inflated, but we were pleasantly surprised to come across more climbing on the rocks and a perfect sized waterfall for the kids.

We ended our day crossing the ferry and enjoying a little ice cream treat.

It was truly a great day.

Screech. . . Pedal. . . Screech!

Riding a bike behind Evan is a lesson in reaction time. To successfully complete a ride, you must be fully alert and physically prepared.

To Evan's defense, this was his first major bike ride of the summer (we have been slacking a little), and I chose to ride to the library which is a .7 mile ride. He enthusiastically agreed, donned his helmet, and said "Let's go, Mom!"

I -- excited about our new adventure-- gleefully jumped on Chris' bike and we set off. What I quickly found out was the Evan can't multitask on his bike. If he wanted to tell me something, he stopped. No warning. Just stopped.

Pedal. Pedal. Pedal. SCREECH. (I frantically veer into the grass.)

Mom, did you know that when I go to school next year I will be on this playground.

Yes, Evan.

Pedal. Pedal. Pedal. SCREECH. (I miss his tire by a millimeter and scape my leg in the effort.)

Mom, did you say something to me?

Nope, just cruising along.

Ok.

Pedal. Pedal. Pedal. SCREECH. (I blow by him because I can't stop, and I have to turn around, which causes him to try to turn around because he is confused.)

Mom, what are you doing?

I am trying not to hit you. Why did you stop?

Umm. . . .I don't know.

Pedal. Pedal. Pedal. . SCREECH.

And so it continued. After I adjusted my bike riding expectations, I found that I was really enjoying myself. Watching Evan discover this new activity and finding his pride in doing so was priceless. He even "bike danced" on the final path because he said bike riding was a snap (he was snapping his little fingers all over the place.) It was too precious.

I am sure that at some point, the ride will be fluid, but for now Pedal, pedal, pedal, screech is good enough for a smile from me.

Bust Out the Rally Caps

On the spur of the moment, we decided to use some of my sister's Christmas presents for the boys and go to a Brewers game last night. (She bought them all a Kids Club package that includes SIX free games a kid!) I packed the car with tailgate food, drinks, and chairs and we headed to the ballpark.

One of the unique aspects of Miller Park is that tailgating is strongly encouraged-- and enacted.

We even got to use a feature on our van that we had never used: tailgate chairs!

The boys took part in a age old tradition of tossing the ball around in the parking lot. I must admit a bit of chasing the ball also ensued, but they had a great time.

As for the game, it was great. Evan exclaimed as we sat down: "Wow! This is awesome. I can see a real field!" His enthusiasm quickly waned as he realized that he needed to stay seated and I wasn't going to buy him a drink whenever he asked. Poor little guy- his attention span isn't overly long. Fortunately, he enjoyed dancing like a hamster between innings in an effort to gain the attention of the Jumbotron cameras -- it never happened. ..

Unfortunately for Evan, the game went into extra innings. However, Andrew and Brendan were lovin' it. In the 8th inning, the Jumbotron told people to bust out the rally caps as the Brewers were only one run behind the Pirates. All of my boys and most of the grown ups reversed their hats and began screaming and cheering. I had to smile as I realized how silly everyone would feel if they were wearing a rally cap and the team didn't win.

But, alas, the Brewers won with a hit in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Truly, it was a great game! Thanks, Tif, for the tickets!

So You Think you Can Dance?

Here is my lame attempt at reliving the glory days through dancing at a student/ staff basketball game. Too crazy!

Funny Bunnies

As Easter approached this year, Brendan told me, "I'm not that into Easter this year mom." I stopped for a moment and felt sad. This is inevitable. Growing up. Maturing. Then, I asked him why he wasn't into it. His response entailed telling me how he still liked decorating eggs, the Easter egg hunt, and the candy. So, what isn't there to like about Easter? He relented that he must still like it.

You think?

We let each boy color about a dozen Easter eggs this year. This was the first year where they didn't completely color their hands as well as the eggs. (I miss those little colored hand pictures!)


Evan did feel that he was getting too messy, so he took his shirt off for this picture.
This year, the boys also colored the ugliest color eggs I have ever seen. They just kept dumping the eggs into each color to give the egg a great appeal. This was the result. .. Blah.

Browns, khakis, etc.

Even the traditional egg hunt was also a success. We had one egg missing for a week, however. Evan just found it this morning. Eww. . .
After our fun morning of hunts and heading to church, we relaxed for a wonderful afternoon.


Happy Easter from these funny bunnies!