3 Birds - 1 Stone

Grammy knows how to kill several birds with one stone!  She managed to come out and see Abby play softball, Ben march at a football game and celebrate Ben's 16th birthday all in one short visit!  It was busy, but we all had a fun time.

Look at that beautiful sky!  Who would have thought it would turn out to be such a gorgeous night when prior to leaving Bartlesville it was raining cats and dogs and we fully expected the game to be cancelled.  Fortunately, it didn't rain nearly as much in Tulsa and the game was delayed, but wasn't cancelled.

It was a tough game, but the girls did a great job!

I am so glad Grammy got to watch Abby play softball!

The weather was fantastic for the Bartlesville homecoming football game!

Just look at that sky!

This year's marching band show is so cool!!  I'm so glad Grammy got to see it!  Well, part of it anyway.  The rest of the show will be finished by the time the band performs at Super-Regionals in St. Louis next month.  Thankfully, Grammy will get to be there for that too!

Ben's friends are the best!  They loved getting to meet Grammy!

My poor little Lukey managed to get sick while Grammy was visiting.  :(  We went to have lunch with him at school on Friday and he just didn't seem normal.  He was crying when we met him and when I hugged him to try to settle him down, he was warm.  It struck me that he was warm, but I just figured he was worn out from how busy we had been lately, his classroom was hot, he was worked up from crying... I just kind of let it go.  Well, he ended up coming home from school and going straight to bed.  Just for a nap so that he could make it through the football game that night.  In preparation for the game, I had to wake Luke from his nap.  That didn't go so well.  He didn't want to wake up.  Again, I assumed he was extremely worn out.  Jon offered to stay home with Luke until he snapped out of his funk and woke up.  Unfortunately, Luke had a fever.  Not good.

Saturday morning, Luke still had a fever.  It worked out well for snuggling with Grammy!  Later in the day, while he still had a fever, I discovered that Luke had a rash.  I knew immediately that he had strep.  A trip to the doctor the next day confirmed what my intuition told me.  Poor baby!  We did a lot of lounging and dozing that day!  We all needed that!

Ben had a few gifts that needed to be returned/exchanged in Tulsa, so Jon offered (again!) to stay home with Luke so that me, Mom. Ben and Abby could go do what we needed (or wanted (:) to do.  I felt bad, but it was so nice to get out with just the big kids!  We had a great time!  We found some great bargains, laughed a lot and had yummy food!

Abby chose The Cheesecake Factory.  While we were ordering, it struck Grammy that it was Ben's birthday.  Close enough, anyway. (:  Ben wasn't thrilled that he would be sung to, but he got over it real quick!  That boy was treated like royalty when the waitress found out that it was his 16th birthday!  She went well out of her way to make sure Ben had a great birthday dinner!

He still didn't love the singing, but he definitely enjoyed the dessert!

Ben chose the Chocolate Tuxedo Cream Cheesecake.  Mom, Abby and I shared Chris's Outrageous Cheesecake (quite possibly my new favorite!) and the White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake.  WOW!

I am so thankful that my mom is retired and is able to come out periodically to see that kids participate in their activities!  We had a great time despite me (I just had a cold) and Luke not feeling 100%.

Thank you, Mom, for coming out and spending time with us and making the kids feel special in coming to watch them! 

My Softball Sweetie

I love that Abby loves softball!

I don't always love softball season, only because of the extreme weather.  Maybe extreme is a harsh word.  The thing is, softball starts when it is cold outside, and ends when it is blazing hot.  Thankfully, this year was very mild and enjoyable.  I, actually, looked forward to going to Abby's games.  I love watching her play.  (Selfishly, I also love the excuse of sitting for an hour and a half!)

 This is where we have spent a lot of our summer evenings.

I love to watch my girl play!  This girl can hit the ball!

In the past, I have also dreaded taking Luke to Abby's softball games.  He would be all over the place and not very cooperative.  This year, it has been great!  Luke really looks forward to going to Abby's games.  He asks almost every morning if Abby has a game that night.   He is often disappointed when I say, "no".

My social little guy always finds a friend or group of friends to play with and is sad when the game is over and we have to leave.

 

Abby's team had a great season!  They won 7 games and only lost 2!  They were a great group of girls and awesome coaches!

Of course, they are silly girls!

Abby wasn't very happy with me at this point.  I told her coach that it was her birthday and the team sang happy birthday to her. (:  (We also found out that #8's, who became one of Abby's very good friends, birthday was the same week!)

Like I said in an earlier post, we decided that since Abby was scheduled to take snacks so close to her birthday, that we would make them birthday treats.  Abby requested softball cupcakes.  Perfect!  I think they turned out pretty cute.  The girls were all super impressed!

That's my girl!  Isn't she adorable?! I am so proud of her!

Abby's rec games are over, but school softball is only just beginning!

Springtime = Softball Season

 It's that time again.  Between practices and games, softball pretty much consumes our evenings.  But...that's what we do, and, because Abby loves it so much, I'm glad.

  I think we will all be happy if the weather will stay tolerable!  Hot, humid softball games aren't nearly as fun to watch!

Fun Friday!

Friday morning the guys left on their backpacking trip. The rest of us had a fairly busy day full of
jumping on the trampoline...
and playing in the sandbox.

Friday evening Abby had a softball game. I was happy for Abby to have a game while Grammy and Aunt Becca were here so they could see her play. (She was supposed to have one earlier in the week, but it was cancelled due to severe thunderstorms.)


Apparently the boys weren't interested in watching the game...
Look at these little stinkers! Could they be any cuter?!

After Abby's game our plan was to go to Kiddie Park. The boys had been looking forward to it all week! They talked about it constantly! I have to admit, I was really excited to take them! There's just something about seeing them having so much fun!

Fall Softball

Abby LOVED softball so much this past spring that she didn't hesitate when we asked her if she wanted to play in the fall league. The schedule is a little bit stressful with school, but she still loves it!!!
Check out that stance! The unfortunate thing about this age group is that it is "kid pitch". Obviously, at this age, they are all still learning, but very few balls actually get hit.
But Abby's ready if one actually makes it into her territory!Ben is rarely happy about going to Abby's practices and games and often stays home. Luke loves to go because he loves anything and everything about being outside! I really like it when Ben is there because he is a great helper with Luke. I often don't get to watch the games because of that rascally two year old!
Ben thought Luke would be better if had a big stick to play with!
What little boy doesn't like to play with sticks?
This little guy loved it!!