Another track season

When Regan was in middle school, she had athletic opportunities like track and cross country. The school board had sent a message last spring that among other items, middle school sports were being eliminated. 

You can imagine our surprise, when we received registration information for middle school sports this spring. And Sidney jumped on the opportunity to hang with some friends and try track and field. 

Sadly the weather hasn't cooperated too much, but yesterday they were able to hold their first "meet". 

Sidney did discus, 4x4 relay, 100m and hurdles. 

It was so fun to watch her! 

Here she is (Lane 4) doing the 4x4. 
While it looks like her team isn't doing well, they actually placed high considering both blue teams were disqualified for passing the baton in the wrong part of the track. 

She had been terrified to try hurdles because if anyone remembers, Regan bit the dust big time trying hurdles (though she was speedy on them). Sidney came home from practice last week after trying them for the first time and was flying high. She claimed the coaches were impressed by her form. 

And by golly, she was right! 
Look at that form. 

And she is speedy quick leaping over those things. 
Most kids just jump over them, but she's doing it correctly!

Super proud of this one here :)  

Nice job kiddo! 

 

Go Jags!

Regan's high school softball team started their season this month and it's been so great to see these girls back together again. 

They haven't played on the same team in 2 years, as they are all on separate club teams. So when they all made the JV team this season, it felt like we won our own lottery!
And to make it better, their parents are pretty fun too :) 

I had to purchase their "Covid mask" team picture from the professional photographer. It certainly is a memory. 

Regan has been catching Maria since 10U and she absolutely loves to catch her now just as much as she did then! She's consistent and hits her spots; and it was so fun to see this duo back out there together again. 

She's having a good season, working hard behind the plate and getting some great hits at bat. High school ball isn't nearly as competitive as club. Her coaches move around the girls to various positions, she even played outfield last weekend. A place she hasn't played in years! She was a little relieved not to get any balls hit to her :) 

No matter where she's at, we sure love to watch her play!

 

Tournament season

With high school season started, most of the older girls' club teams are on "pause". However, Sidney's age group is in full-force and has started their tournament season. 

They've been practicing hard, even though it has mostly been all indoors thanks to Mother Nature. 

With just a few outdoor practices under their belts, we packed up and headed south to Des Moines for the first tournament of the season. And Sidney's first ever out of state tournament.

Sidney had a great weekend, playing all 6 games in their entirety, never sitting a single inning. I love watching her do her thing on that dirt. She is an incredibly aggressive baserunner, sneaky and loves to delay steal (shhh, don't tell the opposing team her secrets!).

They didn't come out as the top winner, but they played their hearts out, learned a lot and made so many memories. 

Third base is by far her most favorite position. Since giving up pitching last summer, she loves playing the corners with third being on top of it all. She enjoys being in on the action. 

These girls are a great team, and their parents are pretty fun too! 

Looking forward to the next month and two more tournaments before things get real crazy this summer! 

 

Easter 2021

Our Easter was not as traditional as most years, but we had a surprise up our sleeves that may turn into a new tradition. 

Lincoln woke up early for an egg hunt and to see what the Easter bunny had left him. Since he's super loud, it didn't take long before Sidney was awake and joined him. Eventually we dragged Regan out of her bed, to let her know we were headed to....

THE LLAMA FARM!!

All three of the kiddos had been begging us for months to take a trip to the llama farm. Apparently it's been a big hit since the pandemic (great for social distancing!). I had tried getting a reservation in the fall before the snow but struck out. 

And then I tried again about a month ago, only to find out they were booked out 4 weeks. At that point, the girls' softball schedule was unknown and it seemed impossible to schedule something without risking overlapping with a practice. 

So when the farm offered an Easter appointment, we knew it was perfect timing! There was no way anyone would have softball, and at the time, we had  no plans for Easter anyway (thanks to Covid). 

Everyone was screaming with excitement as we got dressed and headed to the farm. It was a beautifully gorgeous sunny day to pet, walk, feed and brush the llamas. 

And we had nearly the entire farm to ourselves :) 

Perhaps the best part of it all, was meeting baby llamas! 

They had 2 new llamas, this little guy only 2 weeks old! Regan was nearly crying as she held him, she was so happy. And boy are baby llamas soft. We had to go back before leaving to give them one more squeeze. 

Who needs a dog?, we'll just walk llamas. 

We headed back home to meet up with the grandparents in the backyard in the most safe manner we could: no food, stay outside and keep your distance from one another. 

My mom has been begging to recreate this photo for a couple of years; and unfortunately we haven't been able to get close enough to one another for even a few seconds to snap a photo. 

Until now, since Grandma Jan is fully vaccinated. We made this a quick photo and then everyone quickly scattered again. 

But sadly the girls aren't in the right order so we'll need a retake! 

Easter looked a little different, but it was 100% better over the last year. And I think it's safe to say, the llamas made everything better.