It's Over!

Softball season is finally over for the year.  Despite many ups and downs this season, they ended on a really great note.  The Rodies ended the Sunday afternoon league in a 3 way tie for first, but somehow came out on top.  I have no idea how they figure it out, but I'm just excited for them!

We played the last game of the night, which always means we end up with a few short Rodies on the field after the game.

Girls too!

And even little Teegan!

The following week was the tournament for that league.  Apparently, our guys have never actually finished in first for both the season and the tournament.  This year they finally did it!  Of course, with a little more help from the fans!

No, she's not mine, but she's stinkin' CUTE!!

A couple of weeks ago, Kevin and I spent a few days with his sister's 4 kiddos while she and her hubby were out of town.  The thing is, Kevin and his brothers were playing in a softball tournament the same weekend.  My van only seats seven, that leaves no place for 3 of us.  So we divied up the munchkins, girls with Daddy/Uncle Kevin and boys with Mommy/Aunt Becca, and drove both our cars over to the tournament.  While we waited for the games to start, I took all 8 kids over to the really great playground.  I learned a couple of things while I was over there.


1.  Trying to count to 8 children when only one of them is still is quite a challenge.


and 2. Lydia...

likes to climb...

a lot!!

I don't think I realized she was actually trying to push Luke off the steps here.

The things cute 2 year olds get away with.  Maybe Aunt Becca should come out from behind that camera a little more. 

Going to the Game!

Yesterday I was having camera withdrawals, so as we were headed out the door to yet another softball game I grabbed my bag, intent on actually using it this time. While there are some thrilling photos to be taken of the actual game, they require paying attention with your finger on the trigger for the entire game to get that split second shot and I just am not that dedicated.  And besides, I have 4 kids.  Enough said. So rather than show take a bunch of shots that all look like this

I took some photos of what the rest of us do while the Daddies play.

Zac has been showing off his beautiful new teeth.  He's very proud of them.

Aunt Megan brought jelly beans to hand out to the kiddos.

What else would Micah be doing?

Chloe has been learning to make friendship bracelets, so she's teaching the other kids.  That's right up her alley.

Last night was so humid, my glasses fogged up as soon as I opened the car door.  Jadon was dripping with sweat within minutes.

After a win, sometimes even a loss, we usually end up at Dairy Queen. The kids do a lot of begging and we usually cave.

Zac was pretty perturbed that he didn't have anything. But don't worry, little guy, Uncle Mark's got your back!

It's HOT, HOT, HOT

This weekend was one of the hottest of the summer. So what do we do? Have a softball tournament of course. Kevin and his brothers played 5 games between 9am and midnight Saturday. The kids and I headed over for the afternoon, for some fun watching the game as well as some playtime at the park. Poor kids, they really wanted to play, but they were just baking in the sun. That certainly didn't stop this kiddo's fun.


When you're two years old, nothing makes a 95 degree day better than digging in the dirt.

Giant slides with Daddy and Sister aren't bad either.


Jadon wasn't the only one having fun. Micah discovered this bag toss game and loved every second of it.


And of course, we can't forget the whole reason for the trip: for Daddy to get dirty!

The kids and I left before the tournament was actually over. But what we saw was pretty fun. We stayed until the end of the fourth game. All three kids were incredibly well behaved, but I figured 9:30 was long enough to push my luck. The Rodies had managed to win every game up to that point, so it was pretty hard to leave, but the kids had to sing at church at 8 the next morning. We probably shouldn't have stayed that long.

Kevin called as soon as the last game was over at midnight. And the Rodies won!! Needless to say, they were pretty excited. This has been a pretty tough year for our guys so I was glad they pulled out a great win at this tournament. Let's just hope they do so well in the next couple of weeks. I've completely lost count of the number of games being played this week and next. Let's just say, it's a lot. But it's certainly fun to watch them win!

State Softball and a Little Trip

Well this past weekend was once again an attempt by the Rodies to conquer the state softball tournament. Kevin and I had decided to leave on our vacation to Michigan as soon as we were finished with the tournament. Historically speaking, that meant we were leaving after losing the first two games of the weekend.

I decided not to go Friday night because it's a long drive into the Cities and frankly, I'm a little tired of watching them lose and get all upset about how they play so much worse there then any other games. The game was at 5:30 that night and I got a phone call right after supper at 6:36. Now, anyone who knows my husband knows that there is no way on earth he would ever call me immediately following losing a softball game. Evidently the kids and I are not good luck charms because they played very well and won the game 5 to 2 (or 3, I can't remember).

So the next morning we packed up the kids and the car and headed off to the Cities for another ball game at 11am. They started off very well, spending much of the game ahead by 1 or 2 runs. In the end, they had 2 injuries and lost by 1 run. I swear there were several times during that game that I almost peed my pants. I am definitely not made for such nail-biting excitement.

Since they lost at 11, they had to play again at 2pm. Hoping that the kids and I weren't completely bad luck, we headed off to Mickey D's and back just in time for that game which happened to be the first team that they lost to last year.

This time they started off very well again. By the start of the 7th inning, the score was tied 6 to 6. I'm telling you, I had about 3 heart attacks and peed my pants twice that day. Shelly and I spent the 7th inning silently telling our guys exactly where to hit the ball and would you believe, they actually listened! Kevin and Todd (and I think Scott, although I wouldn't swear to it) all got base hits just in time for BJ to come up to the plate. Of course that is a great time for a home run, don't you think? They also scored 2 more runs to bring the score to 12 to 6. Winning this game should be a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, the other team also hit 2 homeruns that inning. 9 to 12 with 2 outs and I have absolutely no idea what the next out was, but they got it and the Rodies won another game!!

Their next game was another close one, but they didn't manage to pull it out. So we all cheered for our guys who played really well and finally pulled themselves out of a winless State Tournament streak. Kevin and I took off on a LONNNNGGGGG drive for vacation and here we are. Sorry I didn't take any photos at the games, but you'll survive. I'll be sure to take a bunch this week (I've already filled one memory card) and post them up here sometime the end of next week.

Another long weekend and a few more ballgames

We had another Rodie softball game on Friday night, it didn't start until 8pm after our already long day of movie watching and cousin playing. So Saturday morning we got a very sleepy start. Kevin's hip was hurting after the game Friday so he didn't get around to doing much. He won't even turn 30 until later this year, but you'd think he was already an old man. Chloe and Micah and I went down to Michelle's house with her and the girls Saturday afternoon. She and I spent about 4 hours painting her living room a dark red color. Although its kinda like the "horse of a different color" from The Wizard of Oz because it sometimes looks orange and sometimes maroon and sometimes really chocolatey. Whatever color it is, its really pretty and I can't wait to check it out when the room is put back together.

Anyway Saturday turned into another late night for the kids, so Sunday morning I actually had to wake Chloe up for church. We were only a little late(about 20) minutes. But that's what usually happens when Mommy has to get 2 kids a bath and dress the 3rd one (besides getting herself ready) so we can leave by 8am. I've not yet figured out how to do that when Kevin has to be at church at 7:45. Maybe someday we'll make it on time. But someday certainly didn't make it this week.

After church and a run to Menards, because we didn't have quite enough paint to cover the whole living room twice, we headed home to get ready for two more ballgames. Kevin and Chloe went down to the games early with Kevin's dad, while I stayed at home to let the boys get a nap in before the 3 o'clock game. Micah had a little difficulty going to sleep(maybe if he had stopped kicking the wall it would have gone a little better) but eventually all three of us drifted off, and didn't wake up until after 4. So much for game number 1. We did make it in plenty of time for the 5 o'clock game, which they won by 10 in the 5th inning(Way to go Tyler!). Then off to DQ for dinner and Aunt Shelly's for swimming. The kids had a great time in the pool and even JJ got in for a bit. This time, as soon as Micah got in he was ordering Kevin to "LET GO DADDY, LET GO!" Yay, Micah!

As fun as the rest of the day was, with ballgames and ice cream and swimming, the highlight of the day came as we were getting ready to leave. Kevin and the kids were in the kitchen and found a bug crawling around on the floor. It was only about 1/2 inch long and started jumping about 8-10 inches in the air! It was pretty funny, but what was even funnier was the crowd of moms and dad and kids all watching and laughing at this tiny little bug as it ran around the kitchen bouncing all over the floor. Jadon and Micah in particular got a great kick out of it. Who needs cable? We've got bugs. So when we were all bugged out, Kevin looks at Micah and says, "you wanna kill it?" Of course he does. So my question for you is this, "Is it wrong that it made me a little sad?

In Daddy's Footsteps

As most of you already know, we are a baseball/softball devoted family. Kevin plays on three softball teams every week and in various other tournaments throughout the summer. Basically wherever he is invited to play, that's where he goes and we all trek right along with him. But this year, Chloe is old enough to play tee ball and she asked to play. So we signed her up and bought her a pink glove and a shiny new helmet. Of course we had to get some pink tee balls, too. She had a couple of practices before her first game and although she was a little shy at the first one, she has really seemed to enjoy it.

Last week was her very first game and we all walked down to the park to watch. We got there a little early, so Chloe had to watch the girls playing before her. She was giddy with anticipation. When it was finally her turn to play, she hesitated just a little until I got up to go with her. I went out into the field with her during the first inning, but she did it all by herself during the second. I'm sure you're all aware of how long a tee ball game can seem for parents and siblings watching, so I won't bore you with too many details. But Chloe did hit the ball without the tee both times she batted and she even got to field the ball once and throw to first (narrowly missing the head of the girl running to second) I did get quite a few good pictures of her and some other girls that I will email the link for if you email me or leave a comment with your email. But here are a few that I really liked.


Despite a few nerves, Chloe stepped up to bat. After just a couple of swings, she hit the ball and ran the bases with a huge grin on her face. Look at my girl go!!Chloe has seen enough softball games, that she had no trouble knowing when or where she was supposed to run around the bases. She's an old pro.


By the time the girls were ready for their second time at bat, it was 85 degrees and humid and they were exhausted. They perked up in the field, but you'd never guess they were having fun by those expressions.