Humble Pie

A week ago last Saturday my boys had a baseball game.  OK, they have a baseball game just about every Saturday, but this one was different; they played the Cubs.  Unbeknownst to me (until after the game), the Cubs are the best team in the league.  They have the biggest kids, the best pitchers (at least 5 deep, I might add), the best hitters, the best fielders and the most overzealous, obnoxious coach on the planet.  You know, the kind that makes you sit on the sidelines quietly thanking the heavens above that your kid didn't end up on his team.

The game didn't go so well.  By the end of the 2nd inning we were down 9 to 1.  Apparently, however, this wasn't a large enough lead for the Cubbies' coach as he would still yell at his players, "C'mon we need more runs!"  Turns out, his goal of every game is to "mercy rule" the opposing team.  He got his wish.  After 4 innings, the score was 14-4 and it was over.  Our Braves were down, but our coaches kept telling them to keep their chins up as they played a great game.  And they did.

I guess 42 games isn't enough for 9 & 10 year-olds to play in a season because we get to play each team twice.  Last night was our second match up with the Grizzly Bear and his Cubs.  The Braves were fired up, just like we wanted them to be.  You should have seen Jonathan during the game, so focused, so intense.  Trevor made the following statement to our team parents after we scored 4 runs in the top of the 1st inning:  "There are two kinds of people in this world:  those who are humble and those who are about to be."  That's right, our boys fed Mr. Grizzly Bear some humble pie by pulling off an 8-4 win.  It was awesome.

I didn't get a lot of great video last night, but I was able to catch Jonathan getting a great hit (and an RBI).  Hopefully I'll get enough video by the end of the season to do another iMovie for your viewing pleasure.  Until then, you'll have to live with this:

And just to make things fair, here's one of Timothy from Saturday's game:

He may not have the best stance (I keep trying to help him but he doesn't want much help from his mom) or run the fastest, but I'll tell you what, he can sure hit the ball!

Way to go Braves!

The Timbertec Deck

Our deck is finished (well, almost-just a couple of minor things to fix and some staining of the storage doors)!  Dummy me forgot to take before photos, so these are what I could find of the old deck...

See how tiny the darn thing was?  Don't ask me what we were doing with a sandbox on it--nothing else would fit (taken Easter 2004)!

Not a great shot of the deck, but you get the idea of how old and ugly it was (taken Easter 2006).

The boys had an absolute blast ripping out the old deck.  No need to pay the contractor for demolition--just hand the boys a crowbar and a hammer and they'll take care of things!

(Sorry about the black lines in these photos.  I had to take them from inside the house through the screen!)

Notice how conscientious we were about safety:  Gloves? Check.  Safety glasses?  Check.

It kept them entertained for several days.  You certainly can't beat that!

And now, for the finished product.  It's approximately 3 times the size of the old deck, is maintenance free and we won't get splinters if we walk out there barefoot!  Woo hoo!  See the lattice door that's open?  Those are the doors that have to be stained.  Behind them is firewood storage...enough to hold a cord + of wood!

Look at the size of that bench.  Think we can host a few people?  We're looking forward to many a b-b-q.  All we need now is a table and some chairs and we're in business!

n. i. n. e.

Just before his birthday (about a month ago--I'm so on the ball), Jonathan announced his plans for an elaborate "Star Wars, Clone Wars" birthday party.  As my kids get older, the less I look forward to birthday parties--the planning, actually sending invitations, cleaning my house, games, a bunch of wild banshees running around my freshly cleaned house.  You get the idea.  When Jonathan presented his fantabulous birthday party idea, I enthusiastically replied, "How about you invite 1 friend and we hit Kings Island instead!"  I couldn't believe when he consented and was even excited about it.

Sooooo, we had our traditional "family party" complete with green pasta (rotini with pesto--better than you can get at any expensive italian restaurant), ice cream cake (yes, he requested the Carvel cake from Kroger) and a few presents on his "real" birthday.

I know the cake looks disgusting, it's actually pretty good.

I'm not sure what he was wishing for, but I'm pretty certain it didn't come true.

The following Friday, I loaded up the car, loaded up on Dramamine and Advil and headed to KI with 5 kids in tow.  The boys were stuck with me and the girls in the Nickelodeon area until Trevor arrived from work.  After loading up on pizza, we parted ways with Trevor and the girls and headed for the "big rides".  That was a brilliant thing to do after loading up on pizza.  There were hardly lines for anything, so we just kept riding.  One. after. another. after. another.  I told the boys that my limit was twice in a row for Vortex.  My 37 year-old, post-partum (4 times) body just can't take that kind of beating any more.  We were able to ride just about everything (longest wait:  30 minutes for Firehawk) except for Diamondback (they chickened out on me--except for Jonathan) and then finally got kicked off the Vortex (at closing) after riding it 8 times in a row (they never even had to get off).  Lucky for me, the boys (and apparently the girls) proclaimed, "This was the best night of our life!"

"Mom, why are you torturing us?  Let's get to the rides!"

Plankton's Plunge is deceiving and they are all feigning boredom...

I love how they can't hold back the laughter...

This one actually makes me laugh--especially Hannah's missing teeth!

Mom does it again!  :)

Easter

While Trevor and Timothy were out on the "AT", we were in need of some fun activities at home.  I'm usually not a fan of "messy" fun (I can't stand Play-doh, glitter or other childhood obsessions that find themselves stuck between the grooves of my hardwood floor).  However, my kids begged me to dye easter eggs and I gave in.  I even allowed a neighbor friend to join in.

Applause, please.

I tried really hard not to be too controlling and dye all of the eggs myself so my table and their clothing wouldn't get stained.  I succeeded in letting them do it themselves, and they succeeded in getting the dye all over the table (even though I covered it in garbage bags) and on their clothes.  OK, in reality, there was a tiny bit of dye on the plastic and Hannah got a tiny bit of dye on her shirt.  They decorated 2 dozen eggs in record time and I was one happy momma to get it all cleaned up!

Believe it or not, this was Rachel's first time dying eggs!

This takes some serious concentration!

The happy clan.  I was just as happy as it was time to clean up!  :)

The result.

I know, you think my kids are deprived.  So do they.

Hardly.

Left Alone

Picture this:

It's Sunday morning and it's time to get the girls in the shower so I can help them get ready for Church.  I help Rachel take off her jammies and pull-up and this is what I find...

Upon questioning how this ginormous band-aid got stuck to her cheeks she replied,  "Yesterday, I kept yelling for someone to help me wipe my bottom and nobody came."  (Hannah and I were at the boys' baseball game and Trevor was out mowing the lawn).    I'm not quite sure if it was meant to protect the bottom or the undies.  This is a girl with some serious problem solving skills.  She showed me just this morning that she knows where the Desitin is kept and that she knows how to use it.  Trevor and I were in tears and we couldn't resist documenting the moment for the future.

Poor kid.

She's going to be in need of serious therapy when she grows up.

P.S.  Why does she feel such a strong need to get into band-aids?  Remember this? 

Hiking the AT

Every year Trevor takes a father/son trip with one of the boys.  It was Timothy's turn to go this year.  I'm not sure how it came about, but they decided they were going to hike part of the Appalachian Trail.  For weeks they talked about their backpacking trip and planned their hike.  The day before they were supposed to leave it was freezing and even snowing (that's Spring Break for you in Ohio).  I kept asking them if they had a back up plan as I could just see them being completely miserable for 3 days and Timothy deciding he was never going to go backpacking again.  I even put in a bid on Priceline for really cheap tickets to Phoenix so they could hike the Grand Canyon instead.  Since the airlines weren't desperate enough to accept my low-ball bid (you would think they would want every 20 bucks they could get), my boys were stuck with their plans.  I kept reminding myself that it would be OK, because I was going to be at home in my nice warm bed!

I'm pretty sure God wants these boys to have a good experience on these trips as last year Trevor and Jonathan were expecting poor weather and it turned out to beautiful for them.  This year was no different.  I called Trevor for a weather update when they were about 15 miles from the trailhead.  He said the weather was gorgeous:  mid 50's and blue skies as far as the eye could see.  All I could think was, "Whew!"  They ended up having a fabulous time hiking 15+ miles in 3 days, meeting all kinds of "through hikers" (those hiking the entire trail from Georgia to Maine; a 6-month adventure) and managed to steer clear of any bears.  Here are a few photos (out of a couple hundred) for your viewing pleasure...

Doesn't he look so clean and anxious to hike?

Looking cool crossing the "bridge".

Playing Uno with the "Taliban" (as Trevor referred to them) in their shelter the first night.  Apparently, most of these "through" hikers were jobless, waiting out the recession on the trail!

Grateful for a loo, no matter how primitive.

These shelters sure came in handy.  Too bad this one slept 26 people the first night, when it was meant to hold about 16!

Lucky for them, all of the snow was on the ground!  It could have been much, much worse!

Slush and muck.

YIKES!

Taking appropriate precaution with the bear bag!

He was so thrilled to be able to build a fire the second night.  He even whittled a marshmallow stick for everyone in their shelter, earning him the trail name, "Blade".  Are you imagining the laundry I got to deal with upon their return?

Day three brought rain.  Good thing they were hiking out!

He found a vine to swing on along the trail!  Looks like fun, doesn't it?

A little reward at the end of the trail.  That night they stayed in a hotel and were grateful for a hot shower, plenty of toilet paper and a huge steak dinner!

Jonathan's already started planning his backpacking trip for next year...

Serious ADD

I can't seem to keep focused on anything these days...including this blog.  I keep jumping from project to project, not really accomplishing anything.  I have a million photos to post and I'm sure even more stories to tell--I just can't seem to get focused long enough to land any of them here.

Soon.

I promise.