Is Baseball Over Already???

 I don't know if it's because it is the last of 3 (or 4, depending on the kid) sports for the year, or if it is because it really is a long season, but baseball seems to last forever.  I don't want to think what it's going to be like when we have 3 kids playing.  Anyway, baseball finally came to an end for the year.  Joseph's team party was after a 7:30 game, so only he and Tony went to it.  We were all able to go to Joshua's party, though.

First, there was pizza, watermelon, and cookies:

 Then it was time for Coach Tony to hand out the trophies:

And one final hands-in cheer:

 

 "A's!"

Krazy Kow 5K

Our church has a 5K and fun run to raise funds for the students to go on a summer mission trip.  This year Tony and Joseph decided they would participate.  Then Joshua decided he would like to do it, too.

First up was Tony's 5K:

There was a BIG downhill/turn around/uphill at the beginning of the race.  This picture was after that, when the course flattened out for the most part.

Tony approaching the finish line:

Even though the clock says 21:37 as Tony crosses the line, his official time was 21:42.  His watch also said 21:42, so that's the time we're going with.

One of the perks of being 40:  Tony won his age division (40-49)!

The (real) meat was just for picture purposes, although he did win a certificate for a 14 oz. ribeye from a local butcher shop.

Next, it was time for the kids to line up for the staggered start of the Kowabunga Fun Run.  While they were lining up, Jeremiah took full advantage of the empty bounce house:

Tony ran with Joshua to help encourage him along:

Joseph stayed ahead of Joshua the whole run, even though he walked some and Joshua ran the whole time.

There were several stops along the way on the fun run.  There was cow-tipping (they had to knock over the mascot from the award picture), corn hole, cow "milking," and I think something else I'm forgetting.  Joseph won two cowtails with his corn hole expertise, which he then had to carry the rest of the race:

Joshua "milking" the "cow:"

Joseph approaching the finish line:

Joshua at the finish, where each runner received a "cow pie" that was really a Chick-Fil-A brownie:

We had a great time and are looking forward to next year!

More Birthday Celebration

We managed to spread Joshua's birthday celebration out over several days.  After his Sunday party, he got to open presents from Uncle Chris's family and from Grammy on Wednesday.  (Grammy's flight was Thursday afternoon, the actual birthday, so Joshua opened those presents early.)  Here he is with a new Beyblade and stadium (one of his current obsessions):

Then he helped decorate the cupcakes to take for his class the next day:

(The gummy worms are 7's.  Could you tell?)

Finally, it was the actual day.  After taking Grammy to the airport and eating dinner at Pizza Inn (Joshua's choice), we came home and opened gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and from our family.

Opening one of the two presents he wanted most:

Daddy and Joseph had to head out to Joseph's last baseball game (thank goodness baseball season is over), and Joshua got started learning to play his new Wii game.  After jumping up and down for a solid hour, Mr. Sweats-a-lot's head looked like this:

It was a fitting end to a celebratory week!

Greenville Zoo

Grammy was here for Joshua's birthday week, so of course we headed to the zoo.

Joshua took this picture himself.  He decided it was time to face his fears by photographing one of the spiders.  He also decided NOT to face his worst fear, so he didn't photograph the black widow.

Impressive giraffe flexibility:

One of the new young amur leopards:

I have no idea if this is the same leopard or a different one:

Traditional bear statue photo:

(Joshua was being goofy and apparently Jeremiah felt the need to watch.)

We had an unexpected cool spell, so Grammy had to borrow some of my cool-weather clothes.  Also, do you know how much longer it takes to go through the zoo if your three year old walks all the balance beams?  We limited it to this one stretch.

This goat was especially friendly that day.  It's hard to tell, but Joshua is petting it.

We watched this black snake and its friend slither through the chicken enclosure and then climb the fence.  It isn't unusual to see "wild" black snakes in the zoo.

Joshua's Birthday Party

Joshua celebrated his 7th birthday with a Mad Science birthday party.

Tony and Joseph created the welcome sign:

(It's hard to see, but Joseph drew a bottom line to make the "F" into an "E" on "scientists.")

The cake:

The Mad Science presentation started with a card trick, with Joshua as the assistant:

Each kid got to hit a drum-like thing to blow out a candle:

Jeremiah kept scooting closer and closer to the action:

Joshua's face didn't register excitement as much as some of the other kids', but he was soaking it all in:

All the kids got to make silly putty to take home:

After the presentation (which included many more demonstrations), it was time for cake and presents:

There was even a little extra time to break out the red light/green light flags from parties past:



Mother's Day

Here's a peek at my Mother's Day.

Joseph made me a card in Spanish class at school.  It shows his sense of humor perfectly.

The outside:

The inside:

Joshua wrote a cinquain poem at school:

(I asked him why he drew me with brown hair.  He looked at me really funny and said, "Because you have brown hair."  I cannot convince my children I am still blond.)



Tony took pictures of the boys giving me a hug and kiss and posted them on Facebook, each with a message.

 "Mom, Happy Mother's Day! Thanks for being a great mom! Here is a hug and kiss from me. Love, Joseph"

 "Mom, Happy Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day! I just wanted to make sure you heard me. Here is a hug and kiss from me. Love, Joshua"

"Mommy, Happy Mother's Day! You are the greatest! Here is a hug and kiss from me. Love, Jeremiah"

Tony's FB message to me:

Proverbs 31:10-31 "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. ... Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." I couldn't find the city gate, so I thought Facebook would work. The boys and I are richly blessed. Happy Mother's day! Love, Tony

Cardinals Game

Back at the end of April, we headed to Atlanta to watch the Braves play the Cardinals.  We got there early enough to watch batting practice.  There had been a late game the night before, so the Cards didn't actually take batting practice, but we got to see the pitchers go through their workouts.  Note for next time:  take a Sharpie if you'd like to ask for autographs!

We met up with our college friend, Melody, who works for the Cardinals:

(Ignore the man with the cell phone.  He was in every one of the shots with Melody.)

Here's the view from our seats--note that we were in the shade, which made for perfect baseball weather:

 I'm not sure who this is batting, but I thought it was cool that you can see the ball on its way to the plate:

Final score:

 Jeremiah lost interest soon after batting practice, but he survived and could still smile after the game:

On the drive home, Jeremiah napped while his brothers read:

Joseph underestimated the amount of reading material he would need and finished both of his books on the drive down.  On the drive home, he read all of the books Joshua had brought and any spare books left in the van.  He then began asking for more reading material, so I handed him the van's owner's manual.  He promptly turned to the table of contents, chose a subject, and started reading it!