pins and needles

This is what I feel like I am sitting on :) There is a way to 'watch' Cody's games on the computer, so guess what I have been doing all day...shhhh, don't tell my boss. She may send me home early. HA!

They are up 10-1 bottom of the 7th...Cody hit a 3 run homer, as did another guy on the team (the gametracker doesn't do them justice...they are much taller than the little guys it shows on the field!) so proud of these guys. It's much cooler to know someone on a team like this than just be randomly cheering for any old team...

Super Sunday!!

We were able to head up to Bozeman Sunday after church to see our nephew Cody play in an American Legion tournament. I can't wait to share photos, but I can't wait even more to tell everyone that his team WON and now they are headed to NC to play in the world series for AL. So excited! Congrats, Cody and good luck!
I will post photos soon :)

So the picture of Cody and Tyler is kind of funny. Tyler is the same age Cody was when Jeff and I got married...he's grown a bit in 10 years, hasn't he. :) Ty loves his big Cody cousin. Poor Cody had pitched 126 pitches in the Saturday game and Ty (the smallish 67# kid) was trying to hang off his pitching arm. Jeff wanted a picture taken of he and Cody a few years ago mentioning that it would probably be the last picture taken with Cody being the shorter of the two...he is in fact taller now...and possibly in better shape...who am I kidding? He is in better shape :) The next one is of Cody's homerun hit. The cool thing, we have that ball :) Signed even. I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the pictures. I wonder if they need a team photographer for the series this weekend??? It would just cost a plane ticket and lodging...and well, possibly my marriage if I were to leave Jeff home...

Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy baseball?

Sad day

Two days ago my sweet little long tail lizard passed on to heaven.

We had services for him and I cried. Like a baby. Over a lizard.

I know that he wasn't a cuddly little creature, but he was stinkin' cute and always made me smile. Plus, my boys and Jeff got him for me for my birthday because they knew how much I would like one.

You can see most of him here, part of his tail goes behind the branch where one of the anoles is.

Bye, Mike. You are already missed.

Today is a cleaning day.

Wish us luck. It could get nasty.

Faster than a guacomole rabbit and acorns

First of all I just have to say I love that dimpled face...and the photo isn't too bad, if I do say so myself. Little urchin :) No matter how often this boy is cleaned he rarely looks it, so a mostly clean face is remarkable in our world.

We went up to Rigby Lake a couple of weeks ago. Actually, the first day Hunter was at Scout Camp. You know, back when it was only $2 to park for awhile. Now it's $5. I am pretty sure that unless we plan to make a huge event out of it, we won't be paying $5 to catch whatever cooties are floating around. Now, I am not saying that there are cooties at this time, but I am saying that paying to park somewhere that you know kids are peeing, fish can bite you (it was such a good idea to add fish...nothing like a good rusted hook in your foot to make you appreciate the sport...) and really, there have been times where cooties have been found (remember last year? Cooties from here to SLC) Maybe it's the sand we love so much...we seem to bring a lot of it home with us...can I just note that these pics were taken AFTER the boys had rinsed? Twice. And my boys do in fact wear swim shirts. All four of them. You see boy #3, in the red, has his momma's skin and it burns. Not pretty. So, all my boys get them...in fact they aske for them. Makes me a little less paranoid (and yes, I do still slather them in spf 50)

Summer is almost over for us and I am sad. It seems that there is never enough time in the summer to do all the things I want to with the boys. We missed swimming lessons...now football has started for Hunter and soccer and flag football will begin soon for Carson and Tyler.

As Tyler put it, time has passed faster than a guacomole rabbit and acorns...have I ever mentioned this kid cracks me up?

Scout Camp

My baby went to scout camp. He was gone for 5 1/2 days and 4 nights. He wrote one letter that made me cry...I suppose I am just too sentimental...or just a mom.

The last night they were up at camp the familes were invited. As you may remember, I was having a bit of stress with the whole planning of that night, it all worked out well in the end, as it tends to (does this mean I should stop worrying about everything and just let it work itself out? What would I do with all of that extra energy???)

It was great to see the boy and be able to tour the place where he had been hanging out. I was kind of surprised at how few other familes were there. And in the end I made it just in time to pick up my copy of Breaking Dawn from Lori and her friends and begin the book by 12:30am.

So now the boys is all cleaned up, the stains are out of the pants (mostly) and he is back to antagonizing his younger brothers....gosh we missed that.

Retiring the flag

I was born on an air force base in Montana. My brothers and sister (except for one) were born on an airforce base in Washington. My other brother was born on an airforce base in Taiwan. My husband, my brother, my Grandpa, a brother in law and a niece were all in the military. Back when I was pregnant with Q the flag made me cry just to look at it.
I love the fourth of July. I love patriotic songs and seeing men in uniform (women too, but the guys are more attractive to me.) I love the pride my husband has for the time he spent in the military and the stories from back in the day. I
remember living on base and hearing Taps each night as the flags were lowered.
The last night of scout camp we were invited to participate in a closing ceremonies of sorts. The last thing they did was retire two flags that had spent their time flying over the camp. They were ripped and torn and needed to be replaced. All of the veterans or those who were currently serving in the US military were invited down to help in this. They were passed the retired flags and at the end of the ceremony the flags were carried out to a floating fire and burned. I cried.
Then I got annoyed. Not by the ceremony, it was beautiful. Jeff appreciated being up there and I loved seeing him so proud of his time served. I was annoyed at the man sitting behind us. You see, we have a question asker. This particular son of ours will ask questions for DAYS on end, non-stop. And then remember the answer and spit it back to us at a future time. He didn't understand what was happening and instead of shooshing him as apparently the man with the group of rowdy kids behind us thought I should do, I explained. This was a learning experience that will probably not be experienced again for awhile and I refuse to let that pass by. In whispers I explained what was happening and why...and in 5 years when this kid gets to camp, I fully expect that he will remember every word and be able to share his knowledge with someone who doesn't have it. My boys need to know and appreciate not only the symbols of our country, but how to respect and care for them. They need to know what is going on in the world and why it is happening. Why? Because with a military type background there is every possibility I could have a son enter the service.
So, man with rowdy scouts, lay off and let my kids learn. There is NEVER an inappropriate question, perhaps the timing could have been better, but the best time to learn is when you are seeing it occur. Yes, his questions can be annoying, I more than anyone, realize this. However, his brain is huge and hungry for information that I plan to share with him to the best of my ability.