Fun in Moses Lake

We got up early last Saturday and travelled to Moses Lake, where Dave's softball team had a tournament. We had lots of fun! After our first two games in the morning our whole team went to a nearby park right on the lake and had a barbeque. Everyone brought goodies to share and we spent a few hours just relaxing and eating. My kids were the only ones there so they got everyone's attention when they started a whiffle-ball game. Soon all the guys were out there either trying to hit or strike each other out! It was fun and we all shared a lot of laughs. The next morning we were at the fields again, and after three games we'd claimed 1st place! This is the second year in a row that our team has won this particular tournament, so that was something they were all very proud of.

Even Uncle Kev got in on the action...(top left corner).

Coop can make anything into a bat...here he is using his Red Rope licorice to take a few cuts.

We are so close to our softball family! They are all very kind and fun people, and they treat my kids like their own. We're so lucky to have these guys as our friends!

Boys Will Be Boys

"Boys for sale, boys for sale!" Anyone need any cute but ornery boys?

Are any of you mothers of boys? God bless you gals. If I have to break up one more wrestling match I seriously don't know what I'll do. I told Dave not to let me go anywhere by myself...I may not come back. I'm joking of course, but I'm sure all you mothers out there understand my not-so-motherly attitude. To help my mood I headed to my computer to look at some recent pictures of my boys. Pictures usually make me laugh (and remember how truly sweet these guys really are). Anyway, here are my adorable hoodlums. . .

This pic of Coop was purely coincidental. I tried not to take it, but he jumped up on my lap and my finger pushed the button. Now every time they see it they laugh their heads off!

And now after looking at these pictures and watching them playing nicely with each other, I'm saying to myself, "God must love me a whole lot, to have given me such blessings as Hunter Reece and Cooper Chase. Where would I be without them?"

Track Stars!

On Monday Hunter & Coop competed in the Grandview Parks & Rec youth track meet. They've gone every year and had fun, but had never won anything...until this time! Hunter got 1st place in the 5-6 yr. old softball throw. He threw it 41 feet! Coop got 2nd place in the 1-2 yr. old softball throw AND the standing long jump! Hunter did better in the running events this year. He got 4th place in the 50 and 100 yard dashes, and he was even in the newspaper! Coop wouldn't run without Dave, so Dave took off running and Coop ran his fastest to catch up - all while crying and shouting, "Daddy, Daddy!" I was laughing so hard! Anyway, check out these action shots of our little track stars! Next year everyone will have to come out and cheer them on. It's always a lot of fun!

ROCK BAND

We bought a new Playstation game recently: Rock Band. It comes with a guitar, a drum set, and a microphone. (We bought an extra guitar so someone can play bass and the other person can play guitar). It has been a source of great entertainment for our entire family, as well as whoever else that happens to be here at the time. At first, Hunter was adamant he couldn't play the guitar. But soon he decided to give it a try and, boy, is he a whiz at that thing! He can play several songs with a high percentage of notes correct. It is amazing to us how quickly Hunter picks up on things like this. He is a smart, determined and coordinated little guy.

Coop also plays (or pretends to, at least). We let him have the drumsticks and he goes nuts. He has a favorite song, which is called Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Each time we're choosing a song to play, Coop says, "Play yeah-yeah...I love you, I love you." It's so cute! He also does some funny things when he's playing guitar. He either kicks one leg way high in the air or bends down on one knee and bobs his head up and down. He really rocks out!

Dave & I have had our fair share of fun, too. What I'm working on now is playing the guitar on the medium level. Dave's a master at medium and should be working on the hard level. I must say though, I am the best at the drums. I guess I just have better rhythm, haha! The first week we got it we became addicted and stayed up past midnight playing! I've told a few people I had to go put on my glasses because I wasn't blinking and my contacts were falling out! Anyway, everyone's invited over to play anytime! You can try to beat us, but you won't...Ha!

An Awesome 4th of July

Friday was just an absolutely wonderful day. The boys had been waiting to go to the Mariners all week, and finally the day arrived. We put the carseats in the new truck, packed up our gloves and snacks and sweatshirts and headed out. (Early, because Mommy needed to stop at the outlets). We were fortunate enough to be able to sit in the front row again. Dave, myself and Hunter had sat there before, but Coop never had. And who did we see as we were making our way to our seats, but the Mariner Moose himself, taking pictures with children just an aisle away. We quickly put our stuff down and ran over. He was about to leave, but was kind enough to pose for a quick picture!

The weather was great. Rain was predicted, but not one drop fell. The roof stayed open the entire time and it actually got pretty hot every once in awhile. The above pics are mostly of Hunter. He was so well behaved. His favorite part of the game was when Ichiro called "I got it! I got it!" and caught a fly ball. Hunter yelled in amazement, "Ichiro knows English! Did you hear him, he said 'I got it!'" Dave & I and all the people around us thought that was pretty hilarious.

These pictures are mostly of Cooper. He thought he owned the place, I swear. He stood up the whole time. He was right down there on the field, so I think he thought he was just a part of the game, you know? He kept his glove on waiting for a fly ball to come our way, but none ever did. He flirted with the ball girl, too. I caught him several times making goo-goo eyes at her and smiling. And she was flirting right back. I'm sure that comes as no surprise to those of you who know my little 2-year-old ladies man. Ha-ha!

The boys slept on the way home and when we got here they were ready to stay up late and watch fireworks. We didn't have to buy any because they were steadily going off in our neighborhood for about 3 hours! We popped some popcorn and sat on the tailgate of the truck for a long time, just watching and listening to the big booms.

It was just truly an awesome day that I hope we'll all remember forever. I really do treasure these times when it's just the four of us doing fun things together. It was a long day, just going up and back, but the laughs and the smiles and the fun we shared was worth it!

Dave's Newest Toy...

What is it with men and trucks? Well, whatever it is it got the best of us and we ended up with a brand spankin' new Chevy Silverado on Monday. It's beautiful! We didn't trade anything for it - actually my Uncle from Ohio, who is a retired GM employee, gave us a little number that allowed us to get the vehicle for the manufacturer's sticker price. No mark-ups! Add that to 0% interest and it was a deal we couldn't refuse. So Dave's dream of owning a new truck (again) has come true! He's already mentioned buying a new enclosed snowmobile trailer to go on the back of his new truck. Oy. Will it ever end?!