bomp pop

One night when we were out playing with the neighbor kids the Ice Cream Man drove by.  The neighbor kids all got ice cream - and hey - what's summertime without at least once treat from the ice cream man?  

So we let the boy's share a bomb pop.  (I didn't think Tate would really care (boy, was I wrong!) and I already paid $3 just for the one popsicle, so I was NOT going to buy another one!

Happy again!

Summer Vacation 2012

We took the boys back (well, back for Hudson.  Tate hadn't ever been there!) to Turner Falls for our summer vacation.  This time we rented a different cabin, but in the same area as the one we rented last time.  The cabins are awesome! 

There was plenty of room for all of us, although this cabin wasn't really ideal for little ones.  The master bedroom was upstairs, while the 2 other bedrooms and futon were downstairs.  And these were the stairs:

The hole in the floor and ladder totally freaked me out the whole time we were there.  We didn't have any accidents though.  You could also go outside and down the deck stairs and come in the outside door to get in the basement, which is what we did most of the time.

The boys had a blast playing down by the river and digging in the mud. 

On the first full day there we went to Turner Falls.  Hudson loved this the first time we went, and he was about Hudson's age, so I thought Tate would have a blast.  Unfortunately, Tate had BAD diaper rash that day and was pretty miserable playing in the water. :(   We had thought we'd go back again in the afternoon after naps, but with how bad Tate felt, we ended up just staying at the cabin the rest of the day.  There was still some fun to be had while we are the falls.  The boys enjoyed throwing the rocks the most.

We brought along the boy's 4 wheelers for the trip.  Unfortunately, neither one could go very well in the grass, so they mostly just rode on the deck.  Which was a little dangerous when they got to the edge.

We were there over 4th of July so we took some of our own fireworks.  We drove down (about 30 minutes) to lake Murray for their firework show.  Waited forever for it to get dark enough, almost ran out of gas, and then when we got back, saw that the people in the cabin closest to us had put on quite their own firework show.  We should have just stayed there and let the boys watch theirs!  

The highlight of the trip was most definitely the hot tub.  We kept it pretty cool and the boys (especially Hudson) loved swimming in it. 

I bought some worms and Jamie tried to take Hudson fishing.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to get hooks, so we had to improvise.  No fish were caught. Surprise, surprise.

On our last day there we took the boys down to Lake Murray (again) to go swimming in the lake there.  Again, neither of them really wanted to get in the water.  Hudson enjoyed climbing on the rocks and Tate stayed on the beach for the most part.  After lunch, Hudson finally decided he'd go in and he and Jamie went out and played for awhile in the deeper water.

All in all, it was a lot of work to take a family vacation.  We cooked most of our meals at the cabin so I had a lot of food I'd prepared beforehand, plus the packing, going to the store once we got there, and all the planning and driving to our destinations.  We decided if we ever go back there, we'll just plan on hanging out at the cabin the entire time and not worry about day trips.  And Jamie and I said the next vacation we should go on will be "kid free"!  We needed our own vacation after the family vacation!

one happy family!

So, it's been a little while....

I took a little, okay, long hiatus from blogging.  But I'm back.  Hopefully.  No promises, but I'm going to try my best!   First up, I'm going to blog some pics of Tate's 2nd birthday party (6 months ago) and maybe a few other things from the past year, just so that I have them here for posterity sake.  So bear with me.

Hudson's Major League Birthday Party!

(Yes, I am WAY behind but better late than never!)

I can't believe my baby is 4!  How did that happen?  We celebrated Hudson's 4th birthday party with a Major League baseball party.  Hudson LOVES baseball.  It seems to have surpassed basketball as his favorite over the last few months....of course, that's probably only cause it's baseball season....come winter, we'll be back to basketball, I'm sure!  But anyway, he had told me long ago that he wanted a baseball birthday party this year....so baseball it was!

The invites:

                                (Front)                                                                          (Back)

Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd....buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks....and sunflower seeds, cotton candy, pickles, pretzels and popcorn too!   For the food I went with all traditional baseball style food.....and the main dish was hot dogs, of course.   I decorated in red and blue, and even made cute little pennant flags with baseball quotes on them to put in each dish. But it was pretty windy so those didn't cooperate....along with the CONCESSIONS sign I made.  It was blown up on top of the pavilion and stayed up there the rest of the party.  Oh well.

The main entertainment for the party was a baseball game, of course!

 And then a water balloon fight...and a little kite flying by the princess.

Then Hudson opened all his presents....

And then it was time for cake...balls.  Baseball cake balls this year.  They didn't turn out as I had envisioned, and then the heat got to them as well...but they were still delicious.  And I served the kids' cake and ice cream in the cute little baseball helmets.

Then it was time to break the pinata....We have done a pinata at all his parties (except his first birthday) and he demanded another one this year.  So I made this one.  I might have put a few too many layers of paper on - it took a lot of hitting to break it open!

And enjoy all the goodies inside!  I bought baseball cards, baseball tattoos, pencils, and fun dip, blow pops and sour gum balls (all the good stuff I always bought at the concession stand at a ball game when I was little!)

Thanks to everyone who came to help us celebrate Hudson's birthday!  He had a great time and is very much enjoying being a BIG 4 year old now.

Blastball!

Hudson LOVED playing Blastball this year.  It was actually for 4-5 year olds, so I had to fudge on his birthdate (just a little) to get him on the team.  He turned 4 on the day of the last game.  He missed the first practice because he was sick, so we weren't real sure how he'd do at his first game.  But the hitting was not a problem.  Got right up and slugged it past everyone on his first hit.  Of course, with the fielding skills that wasn't real hard to do!  

So Blastball is intended to teach the kids the basics of the game and get used to playing a team sport.  There is only a first base (and when you step on it it squeaks!) and every kid bats every inning (getting as many tries as they need to actually hit the ball) and then they run to first base.  After they jump on the base and make it squeak, they go back to the bench.  So there's no actual base running.  Then for fielding, all the kids have a base to stand on along the infield baseline and it's a free for all as to whoever gets the ball.  Some use mitts, some don't.  Whoever ends up with the ball holds it up in the air and yells "blastball" and then throws it back to the coach.  So they don't even try to get an "out".  They play 3 innings or the 45 minute time limit and that's it.  So it goes pretty quick (except for those few who REALLY struggle to hit the ball!)

Here he is after getting to first base after his first hit.  He was pretty proud of himself! 

The fielding part he was not so sure of.  He's always preferred to bat over fielding the ball (although that has changed since playing blastball) so when he got out there he just stood there and waited for the ball to come to him.  Typical ball game that would have been fine - but with 4-5 year olds, everyone just swarms to the ball, wherever it is on the field.

So the first game he stood out there with his arms crossed, huffing about not catching any balls.

But after a couple games, he figured it out and got right in there.  He had several really great stops, using his mitt even!  Notice the tongue.  He did like to complain though that Kylin (the little girl) was too fast and always beat him to the ball.  Which was true. She was a fast runner.

So you'll recall all they are supposed to do is hit the ball and run to first base, then go back to the bench.  Hudson did that fine the first game, but the second game he didn't see the point in only running to first.  Not when the balls were rolling all the way to the outfield!

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He hit "homeruns" every time up to bat that game, but never did it again at any of the other games.  Although after every game he always asked how many homeruns he had and who won.

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Team Huddle

Good Game

You made me a mom

Although this day is supposed to be all about me, today, I find myself reflecting more on you…

You made me a mom.

Every day you discover new things and explore the world…but it is really me who has learned so much and had my eyes opened to the real beauty of life.

You made me a mom.

I take care of you when you’re sick, snuggle with you when you’re scared, hold you when you have an “ouchie” but it is really you who has taught me so much about love and selflessness.

You made me a mom.

You are the one hitting the home runs, learning new words, absorbing life and climbing to new heights – literally – every day.  But I am the one filled with pride and joy at what you have become and will become.

                                                                     You made me a mom.

Although it is you who thinks I am so smart and I have so much to teach you,

it is you who have taught me:

unconditional love

forgiveness

kindness

innocence

honesty.

                                                              I love you.

Love, 

Mommy

No caption needed :)