Neighborhood Birthday Party

The 4th of July festivities have begun! Today was our annual neighborhood BBQ and party. We always have it on our cul-de-sac, and so my neighbors and I are the ones who get to arrange everything. It is always so fun to see our planning come to life, as everyone shows up and has a great time for a few hours!

We stated off with the bike parade, led by Bro. Lepak on his 4-wheeler.

There were lots of hamburgers, hotdogs, and delicious sides. Later in the evening we had snow cones and mini soft-serve ice cream cones. The kids stayed busy with the bounce house obstacle course, relay games, and water balloons.

best friends Izzy and Elizabeth

As we started the evening, we had a prayer on the food. Right after, before everyone scattered to get their food, Ryan walked up with a HUGE cake and everyone started singing Happy Birthday to me! So I guess they all figured out that I was really planning my own birthday party ;)

As far as the rest of my birthday goes, my main present is the new fireplace. It's not quite done, but the built-in shelves and cabinets were just completed yesterday! I also got a new camera bag that doubles as a purse, which I am SO excited to use for our upcoming Disneyland trip!

My Dad is My Superhero!

Yesterday was Father's Day. Ryan is a patient, loving, involved dad. The gifts we gave and dinner I made are small tokens, but hopefully they let him know that we love him and are so grateful for all he does for us!

now he has all Star Wars movies on Blu-ray :)

dressed to impress!

Earlier in the week, we created 2 "My Dad is My Superhero" booklets. One is a "you're my superhero because . . ." book, and the other one is a coupon book. Each kid created at least 2 coupons, with Nathan and Joshua making extras.

Joshua's coupon: "Making you art."

Elizabeth: "lots of hugs, kisses, and snuggling!"

Nathan: "having a good attitude all day (reusable)"

Benjamin: "take out the trash"

Play Ball: Joshua

Joshua is enjoying his first year of baseball. He is at the age where they do T-ball, but sometimes his coach will pitch to him. He knows many of the kids on his team from school, and it has been great that Coach Brady is our backyard neighbor!

It definitely helps to have 2 older brothers . . . you can tell that he knows what to do a lot more than most of his teammates! They take turns getting to play the different field positions, and I was very impressed today when he got to play catcher. He has been listening to his dad tell Nathan's friend that "your job as catcher is to not let that ball get past you"!

getting ready to run to 3rd base

Grade Money

Grandma-ma and Grandpa Long were so kind to send all of the kids grade money for the end of the school year. Elizabeth even got some money since she is so good for her momma. Since Benjamin didn't have summer school today, we had time to go shopping!

Elizabeth and I had fun picking out something for her dolls -- a stroller. She had a little money left, and I found a "birthday princess" crown and wand on sale for about 75% off. She will love it for dress-ups, no matter what it says!

The boys had fun picking out new Legos (of course!), and when we got home they disappeared to play with them. I got so distracted with a cute Elizabeth that I didn't take a picture of the boys!

Cub Scout Day Camp

On Monday Benjamin went to his first Cub Scout Day Camp. He came home with many fun souvenirs he had made and a big smile on his face! I was not able to go, but another mom who chaperoned took pictures and sent them to everyone. They got to do many different activities throughout the day:

archery

BB guns

pulling a handcart

rowing on a raft

silly boys eating lunch

Lagoon

Lagoon is an amusement park about an hour and 20 minutes from our house. Although Ryan and I have lived here for 13+ years, we have never been. Honestly, having grown up near Disney World for me, and going often to Disneyland for Ryan, we both were pretty sure we'd be disappointed if we went to Lagoon.

When we learned that the summer company party was going to be at Lagoon, and that we would be able to go (last year we were out of town), we got excited! It may not be Disney, but if it is free and includes food, then it sounds good to us!

Joshua had a baseball game Saturday morning. As soon as he was done we left for Lagoon. Although we were on the late side, we got there in time for the Control4 barbecue at one of the pavilions at Lagoon. Of course the kids loved the popsicles, ice cream bars, and cookies for dessert!

this ride squirts water at you as you go around -- it was a cold day for this ride!

Elizabeth -- before we got soaked!

Benjamin and Nathan excited to ride the first roller coaster of the day

We spent the afternoon exploring the park. We usually split up: one parent with Joshua and Elizabeth riding the kid rides, and the other parent with Nathan and Benjamin doing the roller coasters. I was very pleased with how many rides they had that Elizabeth could go on! Nathan and Benjamin loved that there were so many roller coasters! Lagoon has a few things to learn from Disney about line management, but overall we had a great day!

Pitcher Perfect

Nathan had a very exciting baseball game last night! After Jordan, our team's main pitcher got tired, they put in another teammate. Our team, the Twins, was in the lead by over 10 runs, but they started to catch up. The replacement pitcher did okay for a batter or two, but then he was walking everyone and the score kept getting closer. So the coach switched him out and brought in the second replacement pitcher. Again, he quickly started walking everyone and our lead was diminishing quickly.

earlier in the game

Then the coach called a timeout, and suddenly Nathan was being called to the pitcher's mound! He has been practicing to be a pitcher. But after he had a rough start at the beginning of a game for his first time ever pitching, the coaches have not had him pitch since. I know he was excited, but also probably really nervous. There was a lot of pressure! This was the last inning of the game, and they had no outs. There really aren't any other kids on the team who have trained as pitchers, so I didn't know what the coach would do if Nathan had a rough time.

Nathan was AMAZING! He pitched really well, usually getting the ball right in the strike zone. He walked 2 players, but he also got 1 strike-out, caught a fly ball for an out, and fielded a grounder and threw it to first base in time to make the out. I was one proud momma, and he was so excited! Best of all, the coach now knows that he can count on Nathan to be a pitcher for our team -- hopefully Nathan will get the chance to pitch many more times this season!

Play Ball: Benjamin

Benjamin is in the machine-pitch league this baseball season. He is not into the sport as much as Nathan is, but from what I can tell he is enjoying it. (Nathan wasn't excited about baseball when he was in this league, so I guess I shouldn't compare them.)

He does really well with his fielding. He knows what to do with the ball when he gets it. He is a funny baseman, though, because he talks to the runner. In his stern "Benjamin voice" he tells them that they better not step off the base until the ball is hit!

This is the first year the city has done machine-pitch. It used to be coach pitch. I appreciate that the coaches are not busy pitching and can be there to help their team. But there are still a lot of things to work out with the machines! You would think that as long as no one changed any settings, they would be fairly consistent from one pitch to the next. Unfortunately for the kids, sometimes the ball is pitched too short, sometimes too long, and once in a while it will be right to them. The rule is that they get 5 pitches -- no matter the quality of those pitches! So Benjamin has been frustrated that he has struck out a lot so far this season. But as you can see, he sure tries his hardest to hit the ball!

Reading Buddies

I walked in Elizabeth's room this evening to find her snuggled up in the chair with Nathan as he read a book to her. This is one of those sweet moments that I try to cherish. I love when the kids are showing their love for each other and taking care of each other!