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!

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!

Summer School

One of the great things about homeschooling is that almost anything can be a teaching opportunity.  This summer, we've taken advantage of a lot of local farms that have Upick berries.  In the spring we picked strawberries, which we've done quite a bit.

Last month we got to pick blueberries, which is something we've never done before.  We've had lots of fun learning about seeds and sun how things grow. 

The really great part is that everyone gets to do it together.  Jadon picked about a quart of blueberries himself.

Chloe did great, she picked more than half a gallon!  What a champ!

Even Isaac got in on the fun, riding along on Momma's back.

Micah got a little distracted, but still managed to get quite a few berries in his bucket!

Fun on the Lake and a Little, Big River

When all was said and done, and we were on our ridiculously long drive home, Kevin and I asked the kids what they thought about our vacation in Minnesota.  We asked for their 3 favorite things that they did.  Their responses varied of course.  Jadon loved tubing with Daddy

and swimming in the lake.

Micah had a great time fishing

and doing the boys vs girls photo scavenger hunt.

Chloe asked to have her birthday on vacation every year, it was obvious she loved being the center of attention.

But the one thing they all said was that they LOVED going to the headwaters of the Mississippi!

It was drissly and dreary that day, but we decided to go anyway.  All the kids ended up soaked, falling into the river at one time or another (sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident). We all had such a great time and the kids really thought the idea of walking across such a HUGE river was awesome!
Jadon got to cross with Kevin.

And even Lydia made it across with Mark, although convincing her to let Daddy help was quite a trick.

Even Mommy and Zac got a picture taken on the rocks, although we did cheat and cross the little bridge.

(something about slipping on the rocks with a baby strapped to me didn't sound all that appealing)
What great memories we made! And I love that most of the fun was just enjoying God's world!

One Week

some of our kids at Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River

1200 + miles
18 children
28 adults (give or take)
1 lake
4 boats
2 kayaks
7? cabins
800 + photos
1 river
2 birthdays
1 fish fry
1 campfire
3 potlucks
TONS of fun

Berry Hunting

What do you do when you see this?

My kids know.

For a couple of weeks I've been waiting for the signs advertising strawberries and I finally saw them last week.  So we made a plan to go out and get some a couple of days later.  I wasn't really sure how it would go with 4 kids along, but we decided we were up for an adventure. 

So with specific instructions to pick only pretty red berries with no white and no green, off they went into the patch with Isaac strapped to Momma's back. 

They did a really great job and picked gorgeous baskets full of bright red berries!

Those kiddos were hot and sweaty after all that hard work, but it was so much fun!!

And of course I rewarded them with yummy Strawberry Stuffed French Toast the next morning.

Daddy's are the BEST!

A couple weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit a different park with the whole family.  We had a great time together running around and exploring new things. 

For some reason, parks are always more fun when Daddy comes along.  I'm thinking it may be the crazy ideas he comes up with, like putting 3 kids together on one swing. 

Or just the simple fact that he plays on the equipment with the kids.

Divide and conquer.  Daddy plays on the equipment while Mommy mans the baby and the camera.

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!

10 Years

Kevin and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary last Friday. We thought about taking a cruise sometime this summer, but apparently pregnant women are not welcome. Something about being away from any hospitals in emergency situations or some other such nonsense. Anyway, we decided to take the train to Chicago for the occasion.

We had an absolutely fantastic time! The kids stayed with Aunt Jody while we were off and of course we knew they were perfectly safe. Except for the time that Jadon fell into the neighbors stagnant, nasty pond in the backyard. Thankfully, Micah was there to pull him out. A fantastic story, that I am tired of telling because of the strain it puts on my poor heart.

Back to our trip, Kevin and I had a great time. The train was a great idea! Not only was it nice for Kevin to avoid the responsibility of driving, it was significantly cheaper than driving! Parking at our hotel was $50/ night and that doesn't even account for the cost of mileage to and from Chicago. We also decided to just take the trains and buses around town, rather than taking cabs in the city. We were just a few blocks from the El, and it was really quite convenient and certainly a new experience for us.

We stayed at the Avenue Hotel, just a half a block from Michigan Avenue. It was beautiful. These funky chairs are their trademark, don't ask me why. And they have a heated pool on the roof of the building with a great view of the city. Unfortunately we forgot to get a shot at night, but it was very cool.

After we got into Chicago, we went to Navy Pier for dinner and stayed for the fireworks that night. They weren't very long (they do them every Wed and Fri and that could get pretty expensive) but they were very cool.

Thursday, we went to the Cubs/Astros game. That was my anniversary gift to Kevin. (I suppose his gift to me was the trip in general, you know, since he makes about 98% of the money in our house) We left for Wrigleyville early in the day and just spent a couple hours wandering around, enjoying all the excitement. It really is a fun atmosphere. The game was great! The Cubs won 12 to 3 with back to back homeruns in the third or fourth inning. Kevin actually got a photo of Milton Bradley's homerun swing! Micah loved that. If you've never been to a Cubs game, it's quite an experience! The stadium was full, as it always is and it seems like everyone you meet is a die hard fan. I'm sure many baseball teams have great followings, but there is just something special about the Cubs. (K says it's WGN broadcasting nationwide and I'm sure he's right. Even though I was raised a Cardinal fan and really am not all that interested in the Cubs, I thought the whole thing was awesome!

After the game, we went back to our hotel and my brother joined us after he got off of work. We walked over to Gino's East, just a block away and got one of their famous deep dish pizzas. If you're ever in the Chicago area, Gino's Pizza is a must.

Friday we spent most of the day on Michigan Avenue. We didn't really buy much, we just had a good time walking around together. That evening, we took the River Tour from Navy Pier, my brother gave us tickets for our anniversary. It was really neat. Chicago has some really interesting buildings and I thought it was cool despite the fact I don't care a bit about architecture.

The best part was just the fact that we got to spend three uninterupted days together: something that doesn't come very often and will surely come even less once the baby is born.