We Gave a Family a Place to Call Home

We have a basket of flowers that sits under our light by our front door. Its been there for about as long as we have lived in this house. Almost two years. I kept telling myself that I needed to take that basket down or at least update the flowers that were in the basket. I never got around to it. Over the last couple of months we have noticed birds flying in and out of our porch area by the front door. I didn't think much of it, until today. I saw the bird perched in the flowers and I wondered. My curiosity led me to get a chair from my dining room, stand on it and peek into the bunch of flowers. There was a nest packed full of baby birds. I don't know how old they are because I'm not an expert. I couldn't even tell you what kind of birds they are. Taylor's best friend Chance was over, so I took the opportunity to give these young guys an up close glimpse at what baby birds look like. I picked them (the kids) up one at a time and let them peek in for a few seconds. They were all amazed at the birds and couldn't believe that we actually had a nest there! Obviously we can't take the basket of flowers down. So the babies will stay there until they decide to leave the nest and we will keep watch on the basket to see if the birds completely leave or not. Since I'm not an expert, I'm not too sure as to what birds do. I'm assuming they venture off and find a new home that suits their needs. Anyhow, we wanted to share this with you all, and I even sneaked in a few pictures! We will try our hardest to update the baby bird pictures without disturbing the babies or the parents.

Austyn's FIRST Game!!

Austyn played his very first ever tee ball game bright and early this morning! He did awesome as did most of the kids on the team. They didn't get their uniforms until this morning. Which the coach said she didn't get them until last night, but somehow the other team already had names on their jerseys. Odd. Austyn is number 4. His uniform is a couple of sizes too big. We requested a size extra small, but for some reason no extra small sizes were ordered. All of the kids are wearing pants that are about 1/2 a foot too long, socks that come up to their thighs and shirts that could pass for dress.! lol. He still looked pretty darn cute in it though. He had two really good hits and he had about two or three good plays. He knows exactly what to do with the ball when he gets it and he knows where to go when he hits. He's awesome. He did get a little bored at one point and start running in the dirt. And then he got a little upset and thought that throwing his glove across the field would make him feel better. Anger management anyone? lol. All in all it was a great experience for him and he was excited about the whole thing. He was even more excited when he found out that he got a snack this time. lol. Oh the things that bring little kids joy. I'm putting all of the pictures in a slide show because quite frankly, there are so many!

After the game we headed out to the annual Pizza Festival in Lemoore. The kids had a lot of fun. Taylor had a black dragon painted onto his face, and about an hour later, Austyn decided he too would like to have his face painted. He didn't want it the first time around. They played on a giant slide and had pizza a funnel cake before we called it a day. It was a tiresome day, and to think, our day is only half over! Here are the pictures from the Festival in slide show format.

3 hits, 2 runs, 1 played out!

Taylor played his 3rd game (vs. Giants) last night, and he did AWESOME! He had a much better game than last Friday. He was working very hard to get the game ball, but he didn't get it this time around. The game ball went to Jack, who had 3 hits and 3 runs. We won the game. I'm not sure what the final score was, but I can tell you that the other team scored ZERO runs! In their defense, they haven't been able to have any practice on the pitching machine since the season started because of conflicting field practices. We have Little League and MWR Kid Zone sports on the base. Two completely different entities are practicing for games at the same time, and each has their own practice schedule. They don't consult (or at least I don't think they do) each other to avoid field conflicts. Anyhow. Taylor's first at bat, he had a great base hit and he made it home a couple of hits later. He played 3rd base, short stop, center field and 1st base in last night's game. He didn't see any action except during the last inning when he played 1st. Our team sort of fell asleep because there were no hits. And then, a kid just smacked the ball, clear to outfield and our kids were like, wait a minute...what just happened? They were able to get 2 kids on base, but unfortunately (for them) they didn't score a run. Taylor's second at bat, he had a nice solid hit to 2nd base and he made it home again. His 3rd at bat was kind of a dinker, and if he had ran a little faster, he may have been safe. It was a close call, but he did do his very best. When he played 1st, a hit came straight for him. He very quickly fielded the ball and then got a little dizzy and lost his place. He spun around a few times looking for 1st (lol), but luckily he found it, tagged the base, and was able to get the runner out! YAY Taylor. I believe that was his first out of the season. He was pretty excited about that and danced around a little bit. He cried a little bit and was a pretty hurt when he didn't get that game ball. I just had to explain to him at the end of it all, that even if he didn't get that ball, it doesn't mean that he didn't do awesome or his best. I told him that only one kid gets the ball, so does that mean that only one kid worked hard? Absolutely not. It just means that the coach thinks they worked hardest or played the best that game. I told him he just has to keep working hard for that game ball, and he will get it soon. He did so great, and I am so proud of him. I know Mark would have been proud to watch him play today, and in the end I know he (Taylor) was proud of how well he did!

Big Wheels Keep On Turnin'....

Well today was a very exciting day for Mr. Austyn because he learned how to ride a real big kid bike. Not to worry, it still has training wheels on it! lol. Last year, a friend gave us a bike that her son grew out of. Mind you, we had to buy new pedals because one was missing and new training wheels. How do you lose a pedal? haha. Anyway, today he decided he was ready to try it. We tried months ago and he wasn't digging it at all. We ventured over to the basketball court by our house and I gave him some tips and pointers and he was pretty much off on his own. He was so proud of himself! He of course, had some set backs and meltdowns along the way. He kept pedaling backwards and hitting the brakes and then had a rough time getting going again. I helped him at first, but then after that I insisted that he do it all on his own. He was mad at me, of course, but with lots of encouraging words and enthusiasm, he was fine all on his own! Taylor rode around on his bike and looked really cool to Austyn. I'm sure he can't wait to learn to ride without training wheels. Taylor was also an amazing big brother. He kept telling Austyn that he was doing awesome, and that he was so big for learning how to do this. Austyn of course, thought that was the most wonderful thing in the world. Who doesn't love praise from their older sibling. Taylor gave him 2 stickers when we came home, and that just topped the cake. I love that my kids are so simple and get such great joy from silly things like stickers. Meanwhile, Ryleigh was swinging away in the baby swing. She finally agreed to get out after a while and she walked around the park looking at everything, and then she found a cat. The child is obsessed with cats and dogs! Her favorite word is dog. She found the cat, and kept saying 'Cat' and signing it at the same time. She is doing amazing with potty training. She had 6 accidents today, which by the way is totally awesome!!! She pooped in the potty again today, and Austyn rewarded her with another big star sticker. She loves it when he gives her those. She still doesn't say pee-pee or poo-poo but we are working on that. Taylor is also doing very good with baseball. We went to the batting cages on Sunday and he hit almost every single ball that was pitched to him. That made him happy. :o) Mark just left Hong Kong not long ago. Not much longer until he will be home again. Time is flying with all of this baseball, bike riding and potty training!

Opening Day, Pancakes Galore & Poop!

This weekend has been quite busy and crazy. It started out very early on Saturday morning. We had opening day ceremonies to attend to for Little League. They had a 'free' pancake breakfast for the players and their families. They were taking donations since Little League is funded by donations, fundraising and volunteers. After the breakfast we awaited the announcement of the teams. The two little league tee-ball teams were the first up, then AA was up next. There are only four AA teams, so we will see the same old faces for the next two months! lol. Taylor's team came out with their giant felt banner. A coach from each team announced the players by name and number. I'm sure that was an exciting moment for Taylor! The entire event was cute and the kids had lots of fun until the flyover of a local based F-18 Super Hornet. :o) Of course, we heard absolutely nothing until the president of the league announced that the flyover was about to happen, and bam, the jet was literally right there and it hit the after-burners and roared over the field and crowd. Ryleigh was so scared that she fell down and was screaming while Austyn was just in awe of the whole situation because he of course loves jets. It was freezing cold the whole morning, so the boys spent some time snuggling under a blanket and pretending to like each other.This morning was our usual Pancake Sunday filled with pancakes cooked by yours truly. I'm working on mastering the pancake. Its my least favorite food to cook and I'm quite possibly THE worst pancake maker in the universe! The kids are proof of that. They are not shy about telling me that Dad's pancakes are better. I agree, they are awesome and we can't wait to have his pancakes back! Either the kids are getting used to my mediocre pancakes or my skills are improving. They started out with eating only one pancake every Sunday versus the three or four of Mark's they would eat. They are now eating about three or four of my pancakes. They still say Mark's are better, but its okay because I happen to agree! I can admit my weakness. lol
And then there was poop! Yeah, I know, it really isn't a lovely topic to talk about, but when it is a 17 month old little girl by the name of Ryleigh who pooped in the potty for the first time ever, it suddenly becomes glamorous. lol. So, yes, this morning, Ryleigh poo-pooed in the potty for the first time ever! It was so exciting and when she was done, she looked in the potty and we did the whole celebration thing we do every time she potties. She looked a little confused because it wasn't just pee. She kept looking in the potty and looking at me, like what the heck is that?! We told her she poo-pooed and Austyn rewarded her with the biggest star sticker he could find. So...HOORAY for Ryleigh! Her potty training is going fantastic and I couldn't be more pleased with her. She of course still has accidents, but I'm not asking for perfection here, just progress. And she has made phenomenal progress. My kids are the greatest! ;o)

Oh and Taylor played his second game of the season on Friday. They smoked the Cardinals! Taylor had a rough game and struck out twice. EEK! He let the game get to his head a little. But he did get a killer hit to left field!! Despite his batting struggles, he, along with the rest of the team played awesome! We are headed to the batting cages today so he can work out his personal issues with his hitting.

Its good that I like Baseball

Austyn has his first practice!

His first practice was yesterday (Monday). He is on the (drum roll and an eye roll please, lol) THE RED SOX! He was so excited for baseball and it was so much fun for me to watch him. The kids on his team seem so teeny tiny. I swear I don't remember Taylor's team being that little, but then again, that was four years ago. (gasp..am I that much older?) Hailey (pink pants) used to be our neighbor, and we are so excited that she and Austyn get to play on the same team! His coach is a woman. No problem. We've had a woman coach before, but no offense ladies....the men do it way better. I'm totally not one of those women who thinks that women should only do certain things. I'm sure some women (like *ahem* myself, hehe) would make a fantastic coach. I'm all for women coaching..if they know what they are doing and are organized. This lady, well she did say that this is her first time coaching, so I guess I could cut her some slack, but I'm not going to. Here's why: She said that she used to play sports her whole life and she played in college and yada, yada, yada...let's not relive the glory days! So, I'm thinking...okay, good, this girl will know what she is doing.
EXHIBIT A: When coaching a team of any nature, one should wear the proper gear...ie...shoes. FLIP-FLOPS are not appropriate footwear for coaching a baseball team...at any age! Set a good example for your team. PLEASE. EXHIBIT B: Please teach the children the proper rules of the game, and especially ones that are meant to enhance safety, not hinder it. So, please teach the kids to run ONE base at a time as stated in the tee-ball rules, AND DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT show them to run the bases with a baseball bat in your hand!!Also, teaching the kids to run to the pitcher's mound (instead of going to the dugout where they would normally go) after running to home-plate, probably isn't a good idea either. WOW. For someone who knows sports, she sure doesn't know a whole lot.To top it all off, when I asked if she needed any help or a team mom (because that's ME!) she replied with a solid, "No, I think I have it pretty well under control. I am really organized and I know what to do. I played sports all my life (again with the sports thing), so I know what I am doing." My mouth dropped open. I just said...Yeah, okay, well you let me know if you need anything. I am kicking myself in the butt for having not coached this year. I just know I could have done everything a million times better than the way things went at the first practice. Granted, first practices are usually a little rough and you have to work out the kinks, but seriously, come on! I'm coaching from now on if Mark isn't here! I can't handle another bad coach.
Even though I went on a rant, I can find something nice to say about her. She is very nice, and she seems to like kids. Anyway, so check out this awesome hit Austyn got!

Taylor's First Game

Today, Taylor had his very first game in Little League. He did awesome! The whole team did awesome! Oh and by the way, they are the BEST, and I mean THE BEST team ever! Let me tell you why. Yesterday at practice, there was a tee-ball team practicing on the field we normally practice on. The coaches were upset and just let the situation get the best of them and said there would be no practice. This was not going to stop the Indians from practicing. They formed a circle in between two fields and started playing catch and warming up. Are these kids awesome or what?! They ended up getting a field a few minutes later. Okay, okay, so back to the game. Taylor was the first up to bat in the line up.
(First at bat)He got two strikes and a sweet hit to 2nd base. He made it home two hits later to score the first point of the game. WOOHOO! Go Taylor!
(On 3rd about to run Home to score the first point!) The first couple of innings he didn't play the field. His second at bat, he struck out. :o( He didn't get angry or upset, he just walked it off and went back to the dugout.
(Can you say SSSSTTTTRRRRRRRRIIIIIIKKKKEEE!) He played outfield once and then he played 1st base twice. He did a great job along with everyone else. I think he felt so cool and grown up to be playing a game much like his Dad. Sadly they did lose to the Red Sox. Yeah, yeah. I don't want to hear it. lol. Everyone had a great time and they can't wait for their next game on Friday.
(Good Game Guys!) We will be doing baseball FIVE times a week very soon. Austyn luckily doesn't start his games until the 19th. When he does, we will have practice on Mondays/Wednesdays, 5-6 or 6:30 for Taylor, and 6-6:45 for Austyn. Some weeks, Taylor has Tuesday/Friday games, and some weeks he has Thursday/Friday games. All of Austyn's games are on Saturdays, so we will be pretty busy! I am very thankful that they both practice within the same vicinity of each other, just a field or two away, so it will be pretty easy to handle. I'm also very happy that I actually like baseball, otherwise I would be going nuts right now!! haha All of this baseball is also going to make time fly by, so we will get closer to Mark coming home much faster! YAY for baseball!