Summer of softball

I’m just going to throw these all in one post. 

Because this is our summer. 

Friends, practices, games and lessons. 

New ball fields to explore and new adventures to find. 

We sub on other teams, we eat our way through tournaments. 

And every day, we thank our lucky stars that these girls have found a love for the game. 

And if anyone knows a window guy....someone may have thrown a softball through our window the other day. 😬

JHS softball banquet

As one season ended, the other was just getting started. Regan spent about 8 weeks playing on 2 Softbsll teams (and still dancing). It was chaotic and wild, but she absolutely adored her high school softball  experience and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

High school teams always end the season with a banquet and Regan was pretty excited to have this opportunity. 

She spent the season playing on the 9th grade team, with other 7th-8th-9th graders. At the last game, each girl voted on the best defensive player, best offensive player and most improved. 

Much to all of our delight, Regan was voted best defensive player! 

She loved these two coaches her helped her grow and develop in the most amazing ways. 

A couple friends with their awards from various other teams too. 

We are so proud, and I love how she too is so proud of herself! 

We can’t have too many serious pictures; these guys had a little fun that night! 

Preschool graduation

Lincoln’s preschool does a pretty good job at the whole graduation thing. They rehearse songs, they put on ceps and gowns and even have a little reception with (healthy) snacks. 

Each night for the last month, he would sing me some of the songs they were learning and I was so excited to see him perform on his big day. Never mind that big day was smack dab at the start of a tournament, right when the girls were BOTH playing softball. 

He was simply adorable up there. No wonder why people tell me he’s going to break hearts someday. Gosh he’s such a sweetheart! 

And his plans for the future?....I hope he changes his career plans. 

Quick trip to Grandma Jan’s

(These pictures are all out of order, but it’s before 7am and I’m sitting in my car during pregame warm ups waiting for the rain to pass...so out of order they will stay!). 

Every spring, I try to get down to my mom’s house to offer any help with spring clean up, yard work, or just filling the house with kid-voices. 

While it was a quick trip, filled with attempts at yard work (who knew gas powered leaf blowers are such an arm workout just to get started!), we still found time for some adventures. 

My great aunt may have told Regan that her grandson has her favorite-llamas...which warranted a trip out to meet them :) 

These two “helped” by basking in the fresh air hanging in grandmas front yard. 

And a trip isn’t complete without a trip up Herman and playing at the nearby park. 

Pretty sure that Regans summer is now complete after being up close with those llamas! Thanks for the fun grandma....and letting me use power tools! 

Friendly competition

Last weekend Regan met up on the field with a friend on an opposing team. They previously played together on a winter dome ball team last year and were instant friends. And although Lily’s team won the game, Regan won the $5 bet by getting her out on a play at home plate. So they were both smiling after the game. Nothing wrong with a little friendly competition ;) 

spring is in the air

This sweet little boy has spent hours every week zipping around on his bike. We bring it to every softball practice and game, giving him boundaries but letting him explore as well. 

He knows our "home" softball complex and gets really excited when that is the destination for the evening. There is a pretty busy playground where he can join up with other kiddos and burn off energy, but even better, batting cages that sell freeze pops! Our little independent boy knows that freeze pops cost 50 cents, and if he brings a dollar, he will get 2 quarters back along with his freezie. We've spent at least $10 and it's only May. 

I had to chuckle this week when the cages owner found me at the end of the night to let me know how much he loves when Lincoln comes to say hello and buy a treat. And we know he spends too much time chatting with the staff when they comment on his new haircut! 

Looking forward to more great weather :) 

Spring sports seasons

I've decided that May is officially more challenging than the month of December. It's completely overscheduled with standardized testing, end of the year concerts, sports banquets and let's not forget work (where we are both supposed to put in a lot of time each week!).

If you haven't taken the time to read this blog post, do it. It puts May in perspective for our tribe of middle school (in a high school sport), elementary school and preschool. And it helped me to know that I'm not alone.

 

Regan has wrapped up her first season as part of the Jefferson High School fastpitch team. She was placed on the 9th grade team with some amazing coaches. She took part in pre-season "Captain's Practices" with the varsity/JV squads back in March, then trained during spring break with the coaches from all levels before finally falling into stride with her 9th grade team.

Boy did she develop over these few months. As a player and a teammate. She learned from some of the best coaches out there, young women who did what I like to call "coaching during practice" and letting the girls play during games. They ended the season 5-1 (or 7-1 if you count the double header where the other team forgot to show up and had to forfeit). Those coaches knew a thing or two about this sport and about coaching these early teenagers. And Regan learned a thing or two: calling pitches with complicated signs, throwing down to make outs and becoming explosive with her bat. We had so much fun watching her, that I shed a tear at the last game. Neither her nor I wanted to see it come to an end.  

 

Meanwhile, this little dude asked to try soccer. We were both a little dumbfounded at his request, seeing as though neither of us have ever played this sport. I obliged and the Easter bunny brought all sorts of soccer gear for him :)

Including a bright orange ball!

I could tell after the first practice just why he wanted to play soccer. They never stop moving! It's right up his alley. This boy would be bored on a ball field at age 5, but at soccer, he just runs and runs and runs. We giggle because those kiddos are so sweet, never wanting to "steal" the ball away from an opposing teammate, probably thinking the parents would all be upset that they weren't sharing. He's getting the hang of it now, and is finally starting to get aggressive and is having the time of his life! He is seriously all smiles during that one hour each week, and boy do I love to watch him!

 

 

Sidney branched out on a limb this spring and asked to play volleyball. Yet another new sport for her. This girl doesn't nothing partway.

Go big or go home.

And she was incredibly frustrated that her team had some of the most timid volleyball players I had ever seen. Some didn't pay attention, some didn't seem to care about scoring points. And then there's Sidney, who is fiercely competitive.

That girl wants to win!

 

So you can imagine her frustration when the team ended regular season play in 14th place. They headed into the league tournament playing the 3rd ranked team. I was so pessimistic about their ability to win that I had deleted the rest of the tournament from our calendars :)

And then they went and won! She played hard in night two of the tournament, while Ryan was out of state on a work trip, and I had kids in different parts of the city, one on a field practicing, the other on a court playing her heart out. Sadly they lost on night two, but not after a good fight, winning 1 of the matches.

Sid was sad to end the season, tears and all.

 

In the thick of all the spring activities, Regan was gearing up for the spring dance recitals. She danced almost 6 hours every week since September: pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical and two ballet classes. As luck would have it, she was slated to perform in 3 recitals the same weekend as a 5+ game softball tournament.

Let's just say: thank GOD for rain!

It might make a future weekend more challenging, seeing as both girls were slated for that tournament and will now likely be on opposite ends of the city sometime in the future. We'll figure that out when the time comes. Back to the recital...

Oh she was so cute out there! Just a beauty on stage. Every dance I would say "this is my favorite"! Even now, after watching three shows plus dress rehearsal, I still cannot pick a favorite. Lyrical, ballet (which one!?), jazz, tap, and oh watching her up on those pointe shoes! I simply cannot pick a favorite. Hoping to upload a video soon, but in the midst of this lovely month, my computer has died.

 



 

But the sheer joy on her face during this dance makes the chaos of spring all worth it. She shined on stage and for the first year ever, looked confident and was having FUN in every dance. It was amazing! Lincoln loved watching the show, and asked me if he would go on stage when he got big? Without answering his question, I first asked if he wanted to dance on stage?

His reply, a hesitant "sure....but I'm not very good at dancing"! 😄

We finished up several sports at the end of this week. Our weeks have slowed to one activity/day which may sound horribly busy to some, but gives us breathing room we haven't seen in months.

Spring time!

This spring has been a bit of one for the record books as far as the weather is concerned. Minnesota can't seem to make up her mind. 

When it first started to thaw, Lincoln took out his sticks, and some left-handed ones from grandma Jan and started to practice. Just don't tell the city as we're letting him hit on a nearby ball field. Shhh! 

Easter-time rolled around and Sidney saw this giant thing at Target, insisting on bringing it home. She purchased him with her own money (and Lincoln a bunny the same size) and I ended up with Ducky riding shotgun on the drive home. 

Safety first: she even buckled him in! 

Regan started playing for the high school team! We are so amazed and proud at how far she has come in her softball skills. This team practices 5 days/week on top of her already busy schedule. I'm not saying there haven't been tears, but we are sure enjoying this new adventure. 

And then it snowed again. A lot. 

It was heavy and wet and in the middle of April. 

I was so over the white wet-stuff that I ended up going all "Dukes of Hazard" and flew over the piles at the bottom up the driveway and into the garage. I had to stop pretty quickly to avoid busting through the back wall and landing in the pool shed! 

And then it melted again. Ryan and Regan ran the Gopher 5K which ended on the TCF field. Lincoln and I joined in to cheer them on. There was a sea of people but we managed to watch them both cross the finish line and then gathered up for a quick photo op with Goldy himself. 

It's been a spring full of school, work and activities. We're ready for things to calm down a little, though know full well that this season will get worse before better. 

Bring it on :) 

Easter 2019

Just a quick post on Easter 2019, I'll have to add more pictures when I have more time. 

We both laughed out loud when Lincoln's school sent us a picture of him wearing these bunny ears. In the middle of our work days, the photo on the right showed up on our phones. I immediately thought of my favorite Christmas movie "A Christmas Story" with the bunny suit. 

Lincoln looks just about as thrilled with those ears on. 

Easter morning we started with Easter baskets filled to the brim with useful gifts (toys and trinkets that get tossed in a bin are not welcome): soccer gear for Lincoln, make-up for Sidney (because...she's 10!) and a Valleyfair pass for Regan. After an egg hunt, we ventured to church, which ended up being quite an adventure.  

We sat only about 4 rows back, which sent Ryan into a little panic..."why are we sitting so close!?". For many reasons, it's been a while since we've been to church.  

Lincoln sat quietly through the first reading (where the name Peter was mentioned), listening like he would a story from a schoolteacher. She finished and a quick song began. Lincoln immediately pointed to the cross suspended from the ceiling and loudly asked "when are they going to take Peter down?" 

Oh buddy, we have a lot to catch up on!

We enjoyed the rest of Easter back at home with grandparents, a cousin and a pseudo Aunt with service dog. It was a beautiful day to spend basking in the sun and enjoying our company. 

Mama Mia

Back at Christmastime, we gifted the girls and my mom (and myself!) a visit to Chanhassen Dinner Theater to see Mama Mia. My mom and I have seen this show in the main theater district twice already.

And after months of waiting, and Sidney learning the songs and singing along, we finally got to enjoy the show again!

I think our favorite part of the show is when Regan had just announced that she liked Hamilton better than Mama Mia, and then the second half of the show started and an actor came right up next to her and asked "how are you doing?" :)
She may have blushed a little!

Our girls date was so much fun. We sang along, mom and I cried (darn songs pulling our heart-strings!) and we sure did laugh.

Might have to make this an annual gift at Christmas.



Goldy run 2019

Regan's got a thing for these 5K's. She's quite a good runner that teenager of ours. But we don't quite trust her to run alone on those courses so one of us tends to run with her. Since I had just recently done a 7K with my girlfriends, Ryan was the lucky one :)

Lincoln and I tagged along to hang out and cheer them on. He had so much fun racing round on the field while we waited and even more fun when Goldy came around!

Congrats on a great run Regan (and Ryan....although he's not terribly excited about his time but it was a good warm up for his upcoming 5K in May, and at this age, sometimes it's good just to finish!).



Two years

It's been two years since we said good-bye to my dad for the last time. And every year since then, one of my closest friends has checked in with me, sent a reminder and just simply been there.

This year, she sent me this picture.

Mom happened to be driving through the metro after delivering her brother to the airport so she swung by at the hospital, I re-arranged some meetings and we managed to grab a late lunch. It was nice to sit across the table and have an uninterrupted conversation.

And that sunset, like he had a part of it, was simply spectacular.