World's Best Mariners Fans Visit Safeco...

...and by "World's Best", I do mean my children...Hunter and Coop! There is no other way to describe them, actually - if anyone loves the Mariners, it's those two. I wanted to keep it a secret that we were taking them to Safeco for Fanfest, but they heard me talking to my dad about it and their little ears perked up. Even so, the anticipation was wonderful knowing that on that specific Saturday we'd be waking up early, driving to Seattle, and actually playing and running on that beautiful field! The word 'excited' just doesn't do it justice. They were ECSTATIC!

It wasn't all fun and games though. The standing-in-line part wasn't a big hit, and there was quite a bit of that while we were waiting to get into the field and also while we were waiting for an autograph. But after all that waiting, we got to do some amazing things...including catching a fly ball in the outfield, hitting a ball over the center field wall and running the bases. :) There were so many other fun things we could have done, but we simply didn't have enough time. Maybe next year...'cause I really wanted to visit the clubhouse and the weight room!

1 1/2 hrs. later and we were at the table where Chone Figgens and Casey Kotchman were signing autographs! Whew!

Yup...Hunter struck out Raul Ibanez. Look at that pitching form!

Coop tried too...his pitching skills need some work...but he's got the batting ones down!

Coop thought if he just stood there the ball would fall into his glove. LOL!

Hunter actually ran to catch his ball...it hit his glove, but fell to the ground.

Ummm...this picture is self-explanatory...

Me and the boys in the visitors' dugout.

Daddy and his boys. Maybe one day one of our kids will be sitting there playing! Okay, that is a big maybe, but hey...we can dream!

I will say that Dave did not only put the ball over the wall...he almost cleared the stadium! He is such a showoff...

I still got it! Ha!

It was a great day and it just confirmed what I have known all along, which is that we REALLY do have the MOST fun when we are all together as a family. Now please be sure to scroll down and take a peek at my post about Hunter's 8th birthday!

Say It Ain't So...Our Hunter is 8?!

Okay, people, there is absolutely NO excuse for these posts being so late...truthfully, I have just been a lazy bum!

I guess the biggest news around here is that we have an 8 year old. I won't cry right now, since I already did that last week...but seriously, I just can't believe that Hunter is 8! But I'll tell ya this...he is the greatest 8 year old we know! We celebrated on his actual birthday, which was the 4th, by bringing cupcakes to his class during lunch. The kids have a tradition of singing Happy Birthday, but in between the "happy-birthday-to-you's", they shout, "cha cha cha". It is the funniest thing EVER! I am so glad I get to do things like this on my kids' birthdays...spending just a little time in the classroom tells me a lot about what their day at school is like.

Hunter's best friend, Ruben, got to hold the cupcakes while Hunter handed them out.

Then that evening we had family over for pizza, MORE cupcakes and rootbeer floats.

He got a lot of good stuff!

On Saturday, we had a few of his friends and cousins come to the bowling alley for a couple of hours of bowling, food and video games! We could not have had more fun even if we tried!

I just have to say that a bowling party is the way to go. They all had a blast! And when they got tired of bowling, they just played the video games (special thanks to Papa Gil and Papa Chuck and Daddy for supplying lots of quarters:).

And even though Coop's birthday is 6 months away, he is already planning his birthday...which will be at Chuck E. Cheese, the bowling alley and our backyard - LOL. He has big plans, I'm tellin' ya!

Thanks to all of you who that made it to one (or both) of Hunter's birthday parties! It wouldn't be the same without each of you there! He really knows he's loved, that's for sure...but I hope I don't have a nervous breakdown when he turns 9! Ahhhhh!