Growing up

If you’ve never heard of Finding Joy by Rachel Martin, you need to look her up. I happened upon her website/blog sometime ago, and every once in a while, I slow down and take the time to read (and subsequently cry) over the words laid out in front of me. I recently had one of those nights. 

As I scrolled through my Facebook feed, I glanced at the words written. Powerful and tragic, I paused for moment..... 

“They grow. Oh sometimes it's subtle and sometimes it's crazy. A change here, some bravery there, but they don't stay small. They stop needing to hold your hand across the street and find friends and do daring things and read and grow up. The clothes are donated, the play food let go, the training wheels discarded, the new freedoms of growing up gained.”

Oh those words tugged hard at my heart strings. Yes, for all of our kiddos as we donate toys and clothes and Lincoln quickly learned to ride without training wheels. But mostly because it was only last week that I reminded Ryan we have just 5 more summers left with Regan. F.I.V.E.  

Here she’s 5 days old. 

5 years old. 

And 5 more years old. 

How on earth do the years slip by so quickly?

Tears streamed down my face tonight as I continued reading: 

"And then one day, they close the door and it is the last time..... Oh don't get me wrong-it will always be home....Maybe we don't talk about that space-that growing up, letting go space-when our homes, instead of becoming noisier, become the opposite. 

Quiet”. 

By this point I was pretty much sobbing. Maybe it's because we are embarking on a new school year, maybe it's because I have coworkers with college age (or older) kids that remind me daily to embrace this time because it goes too fast. Or maybe it's because I recalled that conversation reminding me that it won’t be long, and she’ll be the one heading off to new adventures. 

"Letting go is the deepest love of all". Thank goodness we don't have to let go quite yet. In the meantime, I’m going to hang on for dear life and remember to enjoy every second. I’m so proud of who these kiddos are becoming, it’s just happening so quickly. 

A week in review

In an effort to soak up as much sun and time off from school, I took off work for a full week of kid-centered fun. It was 10 days of finding fun, sometimes at home, sometimes not. Don't get me wrong, we did plenty of cleaning, cooking and projects around the house too :)

 

Regan started off with a quick trip north with a gaggle of girlfriends where she skied, surfed, played and had a complete blast. This girl would live on water if she could! She had an absolutely lovely time taking in as much water fun as she possibly could.  

 

 

Sidney decided to host her birthday party in August rather than wait until her real birthday in September so she could enjoy a pool party this year. She gathered up a group of friends who helped her celebrate on what turned into a sunny beautiful day. I'm so thankful we opted for this type of party this year, she was beyond excited and it was everything she wanted it to be (she planned it entirely herself, including doing most of the decorations!).

 

 

We started back up with fall ball season after a quick week off. Living with a pitcher and a catcher in the house, we tend to spend more time than many on the fields putting in extra hours. Sidney in particular has been working hard on achieving some of her own goals for this season. I'm so proud of how far she has come in a short time-span. She will start this next fall ball season as the starting pitcher and is so proud to have that title :) I'm happy to spend my day behind that plate acting as her catcher and encouraging her as she gets in some extra reps.

 

 

Not to be forgotten, our little man Lincoln had a great week hanging out at home. He loves to do tricks with Ryan in the pool (who can clearly toss him way higher than I can!). Lord help this boy who has no desire to sleep past 6:07am on most mornings, including my week off! Thanks buddy. I often chuckle at my friends when we talk about "sleeping in"....to me, that would mean anything past 6:40am. I don't ask for a lot, but I'd love to get an extra 30 minutes when I don't have to be up for work!

 

 

We headed out with the family for an early anniversary celebration (softball prevented celebrating on the actual date). If we couldn't actually re-live our Honeymoon in Hawaii this August, we could certainly pretend! The kids got a kick out of this place :)

 

 

And the atmosphere at Psycho Suzie's does not disappoint!....nor does this awesome face I get to look at daily.

 

 

Cheers to many more years!

 

 

I swear we didn't only play ball on my week off!, but by the pictures, it sort of looks like it. Lincoln loves when the girls have a private lesson because it means he gets to feed the pitching machine. Safety first, that blue helmet looks good on him.

 

 

We spent some time around Lake Harriet and the fun shops nearby. I had offered to take them on a day trip but no one was overly excited for an hour car ride, and so Lake Harriet sufficed. By mid week, Regan's allergies were raging and she was feeling pretty miserable (and too cranky to join this picture).

 

 

A trip near the lakes is never complete without a stop at Wild Rumpus, the coolest bookstore I have ever entered. Cats roaming around, rats (in cages!), birds and fish, sometimes even chickens. We love it!

 

 

And of course, I may have spent endless hours with the kiddos sitting poolside enjoying the sun, soaking up as much Vitamin D as humanly possible. Because like I continue to tell the girls, we can watch TV in January!

 

By the end of 10 days, I was sad it was over and thankful I have a job that I love so I didn't have to be too tearful leaving them.

New foods

Our summer adventures include some new foods lately. Sidney had an inkling to try a Dragonfruit recently, so we obliged and brought one home. She had a friend sleeping over when I decided to cut into it and we all took our first bites....later it was Ryan’s turn and he asked “what does it taste like?” We all agreed it tastes like nothing. He commented “so I’m going to take a bite and it won’t taste like anything? 

Yep. 

He took a bite, slowly chewed and said “it tastes like nothing”.  ha!

Our next food adventure was the exact opposite! We got wind of a new ice cream shop called Sota hot and cold. It’s rolled ice cream. Yummy goodness of deliciousness. I opted for the espresso and they brewed it right in front of me, added it to real cream and froze it on a large ice plate before rolling it up. Yum! Ryan and the girls were just as yummy looking, but they ate it up before I snapped a photo.

They were fantastic with Lincoln’s allergies too. Using a clean ice plate and freshly sanitized utensils. He requested just sprinkles, so not nearly as fancy, but clearly just as tasty! 

I found another new ice cream shop so that’s next on our list! Guess we should balance and find another new fruit :) 

Riding the rides

Each year Ryan’s company takes the employees and families on a fun local adventure. This year we were blessed to head into Valleyfair for a full day of rides. 

By far Lincoln enjoyed the day the most, announcing early in the day that he intended to go on rides alone this year. Apparently he's a big boy now :) While he went on ride after ride in the little kid area, Ryan got green in the face after only 2 big kid rides. Turns out, it’s finally catching up to him. He (and Regan) were quite disappointed that he wasn’t able to go on more. Thankfully Regan went back with friends just a few days later so it all worked out.

The girls had the best time on this water ride! And Lincoln loved dropping quarters in the squirt gun to give them an extra blast of water :) 

And what’s a trip to Valleyfair without filling this cup up 4 times over with slush mix. Most often, Lincoln picked the color and every time, he chooses orange! 

We are so thankful for Ryan’s company and their incredible work/family balance! 

Work a little, play a lot

When dad left us last year, I kinda knew my role would be to help mom (when time permitted) with projects she needed just a little extra help with (because thanks to a large extended family, she has had help with the bigger projects). 

So when she asked me to come down to help her with some things, the kids and I packed up and headed down one weekday. I got them super excited as I promised a stop at Minnesota's Largest Candy Store on the way.
This place does not disappoint! Sidney was giddy with excitement as we neared, worried continuously that I had missed the turn somehow. How on earth do you miss that gigantic yellow barn!? 

Everyone picked out their favorites for the day, and of course, Lincoln found a $6 container of all orange M&M's. I had to laugh...."$6!??!"
To which Regan replied "because someone did the work for you and picked out his favorite color".
Good point, he was in orange heaven!

We finished the trek to Grandma Jan's house, taking the scenic route due to detours and hearing some complaints from the backseat :)
As we walked in the house, Lincoln looked around and asked:
"Where is Papa Leo?"
long pause....
"Is he still in heaven?"
My mom replies: "Yep, he is"
big groan "UGH!, when is he gonna be back?!?"
As if he is on a vacation.
Our heart strings are pulled out every time. But I'm glad he still thinks about Papa Leo, especially wondering where he is when he can't find him in his usual spots.

I didn't take many pictures of my busy babies at work. We dug out pavers, laid rock, sprayed weeds and threatened to perch myself above a set of stairs to finish a painting project (mom vetoed my plan with a stern: "Liz, no!").

Loved having these two helpers, their teamwork was exceptional!

Unfortunately for me, while we were busy in the yard, Lincoln noticed his fishing pole hanging in the garage and insisted we go fishing after the work was over. (I don't love fishing...especially in the river).
So we set out on an adventure, and trekked through the woods as though we were on Naked and Afraid (except no one was Naked and no one was really Afraid...but our family loves that show so we had fun pretending).

I'm pretty sure I have never fished in the Cottonwood River. And I'm 100% certain that mom and I were happy the only things the kids caught were weeds.
Because ewwww. Gross. 

Ahhh, yes, I took one for the team here. The bugs were horrendous.
The polar opposite expressions in this photo just crack me up.
Lincoln was focused and determined, having a lovely time.
I was bundled up and begging to leave :)

Finally after only catching sludge from the river, the kiddos were ready to pack up and take our adventures to the nearby brewery. We shopped (thanks mom!) and took a stroll through the park, admiring the flowers and posing for some silly pictures.

Awww, such a sweet picture. Minus Regan photo-bombing in the background :)

Honestly these kids were being complete goofballs! We had a great time and I just loved that at least they were allowing me to photo them, even though they were making silly faces.

Isn't that so much better? Boy are they getting big, and so stinkin' adorable.

After all of that whoopla and action, this little buddy couldn't handle it and zonked out in the car. The girls couldn't get enough of his peaceful sleeping. I love that they love a sleeping child as much as I do. There's something so sweet and innocent about a sleeping kiddo :) 

We had a busy jam-packed full of work and adventure sort of trip.
It's a good lesson for the kids, work a little, play a lot! 

That's a wrap: 3 National Tournaments

The summer softball team has come to an end, following 2 weekends of some exciting ball and 3 National Tournaments. Say what!?  Yea, three.
Regan's team earned their berth to a national tournament way back in May by taking home the Championship in the Gold bracket. With two National options this year, our coaches decided on taking the first of two weekends and attending NAFA nationals. 

It was a very rainy weekend. Very. I'm pretty sure I sat through rain Thursday from 7am-7pm. 

And so did my side-kick :) 

I had taken the full week off from work which meant he was out of pre-school all week and got to tag along to every. single. game. 

By the end of the weekend, he was bored out of his mind. 

Sadly they didn't seem to play well in the rain and lost out unfortunately, but they are a team that grew together and had an incredible year filled with memories.

And thankfully, most of them would be coming back for round two the following weekend!

As for Sidney's team, while they did not earn a National berth, being a host team for the tournament was sufficient to allow them a berth.
Day one is always the parade, and those girls were busy the weekend prior coming up with a theme for the team. Fitting they choose Emojis.
Weren't they cute!

Sadly's Sidney's team this year was not strong enough to face the competition at nationals. There were a lot of newer kiddos on her team to this age division (her included) and those who were experienced, didn't seem to shine. Sidney was our lead off batter all season, she was nervous and it took her a few games to realize this was privilege and should be taken as a complement.
She did so incredible well as lead off; but I cannot get out of my head the silly chant they would sing to her all year long: "Lead off Lead off Lead off, we want a double....."

Though she was a "new to 10" kid, we were surprised to see that she got quite a bit of time on the mound, which only helped her to grow. When she can get past the devil in her head, she will do great! In the meantime, she needs all the support from her teammates cheering her on. The muscle memory is coming, and I'm so proud of her for having the courage to get on that pitching rubber and do her best. She was one of only three pitchers on her team.

Back to Regan's team.....the berth to the MOA National tournament came in the form of sponsorship. They had the talent (sadly we lost a few players when we added this tournament on at the end, so we had to recruit some other talented girls) and the berth, but it required extra funds. The team was lucky enough to have several sponsors pay the way on their behalf. On day 3 of the tournament, these girls battled through 3 International Rule innings where they hung in there just until the end before losing :( That one game was the equivalent of playing 2 full games when we looked at the clock. Two hours and 4 minutes.
And it was intense. Like, really really really intense!
I, like many other parents, spent the bulk of that game pacing in the background. 
And sadly, it was lost only on account of a new umpire who didn't know the game. Shucks.

As their tournament weekend came to a close and the season ended, I couldn't resist taking a picture of these long-lost cousins who were fortunate enough to meet up on this team.
We didn't know it at the time, and wouldn't have known it, except my mom happened to be at the first game of the season back in May and asked my new friend-Dana (the mom of the cute girl on the left) if her parents were Carol and Jerry. Um....what!? Yep, turns out our grandparents are siblings.
Which means this pitcher/catcher duo are long-lost cousins. 

We hosted Regan's team party on Sunday to wrap up the season. Proud of these girls who now have the option to spread their wings and fly as they make the big decisions to head off to Club level fastpitch. They're sure growing up too fast!

Summer lovin'

In between our summer of fields, we have had an opportunity to take advantage of the gorgeous Minnesota weather. It saddens me that we really only have 3 great months of weather. And I continually question why on earth we live in such a climate. But I digress....

 

One goal this summer is to venture to a few Waterparks that our great metro area has to offer. We recently headed to Cascade Bay for a day of fun in the sun. The kids went non stop for 4 hours, moving from one slide to the other. Lincoln continues to prove his skills to every Lifeguard he encounters, politely first asking if he can go down the particular slide in mind. The folks at this place insisted on asking one of the girls for verification (nearly every time) that he could, in fact, make it to the side.
And he had no problem at all.

 

Ryan's goal this summer was to get me back out on the golf course. For those that don't know, we met on a golf course, many (many many) years ago! So with Hope's gracious babysitting skills, we were able to double date with some friends for a round of golf and dinner. It felt really good to be back out there, having played only once in the last 12 years. Shockingly I didn't do so bad either! I joked that Ryan better look out, I may start crashing more of his golf outings :)

 

 

We have spent many evenings pool side, complete with dilly bars in hand :) When a family with a pint-sized friend comes over, Lincoln gets super excited and giddy. We love having some built in entertainment just steps from our door.

 

 

One other focus this summer was for Lincoln to learn to ride his 2 wheel bike. This little boy was determined I tell you. And with the help of his incredible Strider bike, it took him just 3 tries and he was off. There was none of the "run behind and hold onto the seat" business. He just picked up his feet and rode! Now that heavy orange bike is carted around everywhere with us. I somehow managed to get his bike, Sidney's softball bag and Regan's big catcher bag into my tiny trunk along with all of our other items (collapsible wagon, extra clothes, balls, etc) each weekend.

 

 

I tend to take off a lot of time from work in the summer. Sometimes I'm better at unplugging than others. When we venture out to explore, I have little choice. Since Lincoln loves the zoo, we decided to head over to Como to not only see the animals, but also enjoy Como Town.

Sid might look a little big for those cars, but I promise she had fun :)

 

 

With a tiny white lie, Regan was able to take him on some extra rides (shhhh, don't tell anyone that she isn't actually 14 years old). He was so excited to ride on this tiger ride!

 

 

Oh my goodness I could have watched them on this ride all day long! I love their sweet giggles as the Frog Hopper went up and down. Sidney's endearing glance over to Lincoln is enough to melt my heart. She was so interested in ensuring he was having fun!

 

 

We sure are packing a lot in these 3 months of summer. I know it's already August, but I'm not ready to let these days go and head back to school in just another month.