More Baseball

Grandma Marilyn and my parents each made it to a handful of baseball games this summer and took some great pictures. These are some of my favorite shots from the season. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm already kind of missing little league for the year!

A smile from 1st base

1st grade season and a new buddy

The team put nicknames on their shirts. Brian calls him "Spud" at home.

A consistent batter

He's become a great fielder!

Always ready

I love his determination and focus in each game!

Coach of the year...coached both boys which meant M-Th nights!

3rd Grade Team ~ 3rd place

Summer Days

We're finding that the lazy days of summer aren't always so lazy when you've got a house of 3 boys and both parents home all summer! We do have our days of lounging around, but our summer has been busy, even though we didn't have any big trips this year. We end up having a lot of impromptu playdates and sleepovers at our house, but honestly, that's what I've always wanted. When we bought our house 7 years ago, the openness of it appealed to me and I remember saying to Brian, "Can't you just see a crew of junior high boys in the basement with pizza boxes all over?" Brian and both like giving our kids the opportunities to have friends over, but like knowing the kids well and knowing what is going on.

Random summer shots:

Sleepover that used every spare blanket in our house to make a fort!

Snow-Cones on a hot day

Trying on fire gear at a local festial

Wanting to be like Uncle Luke

Yes, this entire crew spent much of the day at our hosue

How Ben entertains himself when he's not allowed to be on the computer and doesn't have a friend over...

Scum!

**UPDATE** I DID IT!! After feeling very frustrated, I did some thinking and remembered that when we bought this house, the previous owners had lived for 2 years here without a water softener. What I thought was soap scum was probably hard water build-up. I read all the labels at Menards today and bought some CLR and a bottle of Bar Keepers Friend. The combination of scrubbing with these, letting them sit on the doors for a while to work their magic, and then using Windex to clean it all up has WORKED! You should see my shower doors! They look fabulous! I was NOT going to give in to these doors; am I pathetic or what?!

I have been trying to remove stubborn soap scum from my shower door for the past 4 hours! No joke. I am DETERMINED to solve this ugly problem. The most luck I've had has been with a small razor blade, slowly, very slowly, scraping the film away. I'm not sure if I can get a consistent look doing it this way. Other things I've tried, most from online suggestions:

• just about any typical cleaner you can imagine, although I might try some Lime Away next
• magic eraser-plain & with dishwashing soap
• goo-gone
• bleach
• vinegar
• scouring pad
• soaking a dryer sheet and scrubbing with it
• corn starch & water

Anyone have any great ideas?!

Home Alone

Brian left with all 3 boys this morning for 3 days visiting Grandma and Opa in SD. I wasn't able to go because summer school is in session. I'll be honest, I'm looking forward to a few days of a quiet house and being able to clean and have things stay clean, but I will miss my boys.

****UPDATE****

As I was typing this, Brian called, an hour into their 4 hour drive, and Adam has thrown up twice! Once in the car, and once as soon as Brian was able to pull the car over and get him out.

I thought for sure he was joking when he told me, but he wasn't. This has happened once before to us, and we're suspicious now that he's just very sensitive to getting carsick. Brian's got things as cleaned up as possible and is back on the road, with a load of laundry ready to go as soon as he gets to Grandma's house!

****************

Now I'm feeling VERY guilty for not being there. In addition to summer school, cleaning and re-caulking a shower, I'll be packing for our first ever camping trip coming up next weekend; unless they decide to turn around and come home early.

More adventures to come, I'm sure!

Swimming Lessons

Matt and Adam have just finished a month of swimming lessons, and each of them has come so far! Matt, who literally wouldn't LOOK at the water when he was 2, is becoming a very strong swimmer. He glides through the water with ease doing his freestyle stroke and his butterfly is amazing for a 7 year old! He now loves to go on the waterslides at Lifetime over and over and over again...something he wasn't willing to do last year.

This was Adam's first summer in lessons, and after only a day of feeling a little timid, he did great! He loves going under water for sticks, is able to swim about 20 yards on his own before needing a breath, and loves to be in the water. It's been a very fun summer watching both of them improve so much!

Cousin A, the instructor, and Matt chit chatting while kickboarding

Adam smiling and relaxing on his back

It's Hit Me

My almost 26 weeks of pregnancy have finally hit me. Up until lately, I've honestly been feeling really well. Lots of energy, upbeat, still exercising, etc... Last week I started teaching summer school, and I don't know if that's what's doing it to me or what, but every day I am wiped out! I can't wait to take a nap or get to bed early. I don't feel like doing much around the house with cleaning or cooking (okay, I've never really cooked much...)and the exercise has completely taken a back seat. I'm just not feeling like myself lately.

Tournament Weekend

**Update** Friday through Saturday Ben's team went 3-0. They were pretty excited going into Sunday, but as they began playing, it was pretty clear that they were running low on gas. They lost their first two games today which eliminated them from the tournament, but they did end up with 3rd place out of a 10-team league. Having a husband coaching and a son playing makes for some pretty intense moments, but we had a great time! It was a fun weekend and we're so proud of how far Ben has come in his baseball playing!

Ben is back row, right

Ben's 3-day baseball tournament weekend is upon us, and it is going to be a HOT and STEAMY one! The other day the heat index was 109 because of the high, high humidity. I don't think it'll be quite that hot, but it's going to feel swampy. I can handle heat, but humidity can really do me in. Add to that trying to keep Matt and Adam entertained during a Friday night game and as many as 3 games each Saturday and Sunday, and it could get interesting. Ben's team has the potential to do well, so hopefully I'll get to see most of the action.

I'll keep you updated!

Family Times

The past week and a half has been busy, but fun around here. Here's a quick recap:

Relatives in Town

Last week Brian's brother, Richard, and his family were here from Indiana due to business. They had a busy week already scheduled, but we were able to see them for a little bit. Our nephew, Leighton, spent a couple of days and nights with us. He and Ben are only 4 months apart, and they had a great time together. They went golfing, we went to the pool, and they were able to catch a Twins game together! We finished up one of our nights together with some pretty big fireworks, courtesy of Uncle Rob!

Robert, Brian's second oldest brother, was here on vacation from Kentucky the same week as Richard's family. He spent the week with us and enjoyed some trips to Target Field! Dare I say, he might even be a bigger Twins fan than Brian?! The boys always have a good time hanging out with their "Uncle Weebzy", the loving nickname Matt gave him a few years ago.

Grandma Marilyn is with us now, and while she's here we made a trip to MOA to do a little shopping and mini-golf, we've enjoyed seeing Matt and Adam make huge improvements in their swimming lessons, we've spent lots of time playing together in the basement and outside, and later this week we'll watch Ben play baseball.

Turning 36

I cannot believe I am now closer to 40 than to 30. And pregnant no less!! I had a nice, low-key birthday which is just the way I like to spend it. Brian picked up a Caribou, per my request, we ran a few errands together as a family that I wanted to get done before I start teaching summer school next week, and then we went out to lunch. Ben had baseball practice the night of my birthday, so while he and Brian were there, Grandma and I played badmitton outside with Matt and Adam. It was hot and humid, so I got everyone through the shower and into pjs, ready to settle down by about 8:00. Around 8:15, I hear quite a ruckus coming through the door, and it was Ben, a set of triplets from his baseball team, and two other friends. At this point, I dashed to my bedroom to put real clothes on! They were loud, smelly, dirty and shouting "We're going to light off bottle rockets!" After singing happy birthday to me, the crew headed outside to light off some fireworks and eventually brought their stinky selves back inside for some birthday ice cream with me. Had you told me when I woke up that day that I'd be celebrating my 36th with 7 nine- year olds and some bottle rockets, I don't think I would have believed you!

12 years!

On Sunday Brian and I will celebrate our 12th anniversary. Honestly, we don't have any plans. Is that terrible? I start teaching summer school on Monday, so I'm sure I'll have a mild version of the "Sunday blues" setting in. Our 12 years have gone by like a blink of an eye, and we have been incredibly blessed with 3+ healthy boys, stable jobs that allow us lots of quality family time, good health for ourselves, a safe and secure home, and countless memories to look back upon and smile!

Pictures of the Twins game with Richard, Leighton, Ben and Brian

They checked out all of the statues around the ballpark


MN legend, Kirby Puckett

Brothers, sons and Rod Carew
Ben with Twins' pitcher Jon Rauch before the game

Big fireworks show following the game

In awe (or maybe just really tired!)