American Style

We decided that since it was the 4th of July Weekend, that we should probably do something "American".  So, we headed over to the American history camp - not sure what it's exactly called.

 We had fun posing in all kinds of costumes and get ups.  Somehow, I don't think knights wore flip flogs or that soldiers wore Ray Ban sunglasses, 

 What do you think?  Should we let him out?

 Ya - I'd be sad, too, if I had to wear that.

 Awesome.

It was fun to get out and do something different this year, but I'll have to say that it was HOT.  I honestly don't know how the people working there handled being in old fashioned clothing all day long, let alone the people in olden times who wore it for reals.  Yikes.  

Let Summer Begin

Summer doesn't really officially begin around here until the pool is up and running.  This year it was quite cold, but that didn't stop Landon from taking the first plunge.  It was nippy.

Baseball 2014

This year was a very busy baseball season with 3 boys playing and 1 umpiring.  This was Jayden's first year umpiring and he did an amazing job.  Some didn't take him seriously because he was small, but after seeing his confidence and ability, the comments about his size stopped.  It was interesting being a mom of an umpire and having to hear and see the coaches and parents make comments about "the umpire", not knowing that his mom was sitting right there.  Jayden got to umpire a lot of Landon's games, so we got to see a lot of him in action.  Some of the best calls to watch were when he had to call his own brother out.  Good times.  

 What a fun season - all smiles - what more could you ask for?  I'm looking forward to next year, for sure.  It's super busy and crazy, but I love it.

Diamond Backs 2014

This was Landon' first year playing for the city league.  He was pretty stoked to have a "real" uniform and a "real" team.  He had an awesome coach and a great time.  He made a lot of friends on his team, which was often the best part of playing for Landon.

 Because Landon was the only kid on the team with some catcher experience, he got recruited for the job.  I'd have to say that he made a darn cute catcher.  He wasn't too bad at it, either.

Landon got the name of being the clean up guy - he always managed to get on base and "get it done", as his coach would say.  I'm looking forward to many more years of watching Landon play baseball.  He's a lot of fun to watch.

Go, D-backs!

Nationals 2014

Cameron got put on the Nationals team this year.  They were a fun team to watch with some pretty good players.  After their first win, the team had dreams and aspirations of making it to the championship.  Well, a team can dream, but boys this age have a hard time with over-confidence.  They played well enough and had their struggles.  You know, I honestly can't remember how far they made it into the playoffs, but there is no trophy hanging around here, so that means they took no better than 3rd place.  Oh, well - you can't win 'em all.  Cameron had a blast playing baseball this year, so that's what matters, right?

Cameron is one of those players who "has a lot of heart".  He loves playing, hardly ever gets discourages, puts his all into every game and practice, and loves to talk about each game.

Go, Nationals!

Royals 2014

This being Jayden's last year playing baseball has been fun and difficult for me to watch.  I absolutely love watching Jayden play baseball and tried to enjoy each and every game, knowing it was his last season.  It was difficult to see his team struggle through just about every game, but that just made their victories that much sweeter.  Jayden and I are both pretty bummed that he's too old to play.  Baseball is probably his all-time favorite sport to play and mine to watch.  He looks cute/handsome in his uniform, too.  :)

This being the oldest league of players, Jayden was definitely one of the smallest and least developed players.  This didn't seem to phase him too much, though.  It was a year of injuries (a fast ball to the shoulder, and a pretty gnarly finger injury that required my lancing skills - eww), but that just means he was playing hard with the big boys.

Go, Royals!

Landon's Birthday at Extreme Airsports

Landon had heard all of his brothers talk about Extreme Airsports and has felt a bit left out as the only one who hasn't been there.  So, for his birthday we took the family there for some fun.  Grandma Visnaw was even here for a visit, so she and I got to hang out together and watch the boys.

Trampolines everywhere..... 

 Soft foamy-things to rough around with....

 Trapeze to swing on.....

 Walls to climb....

Jumping around......

I'd probably pee my pants if I did as much jumping as these guys did.

I have to document the Parkour Ninja course just because this was the end of it all.  Leon that he was "all that" and decided he was going to run up the half wall (I'm sure there's an official word for it).  On his second attempt, he felt/heard a "pop" in the back of his leg and thought someone threw something at him.  He came limping back to the side all broken and officially done for the day.  He learned that 40+ year-old men shouldn't attempt the Ninja course unless in stellar shape.  It ended up that he had torn his calf muscle, which developed a gnarly bruise down his leg and foot.  Yikes.

Happy birthday, Boots!  

Spanish Dance Festival 2014

I know, I know - this was so long ago, but I just had to sneak it in to get it documented.  I just think this dance festival is the cutest.  I've said it before, but there's something about a kid in a hat that cracks me up.

Landon took his singing part very seriously, apparently.  

 The boys often complain about having to dance, but I think they secretly like it.

 Cameron looked very jaunty in his hat - keeping it out of the way of his curly hair.  That poor kid in the front row needs to learn to keep his hands away from his nose at times like these. 

 The 6th Graders have performed this "La Bomba" dance for years.  It has become like a rite of passage for these kids and they take the tying of the bow very seriously.  No one wants to be the last one finished and NO ONE wants to mess up.

Landon is just plain cute when he dances.  However, in this particular dance he fell at least twice, but I missed it on video BOTH times.  The first time he fell I thought, "Darn, I missed it."  The second time he fell I thought, "That won't happen again."  And, then the third time he slipped but didn't fall, I was kicking myself for not having the camera rolling anyway.  Socks on a gym floor can be dangerous.  But, each time he messed up, he got up smiling away.

Dallin's Preference

I'm taking the liberty of blogging about my son's date only because it's not an embarrassing moment yet.  Many of my own high school dates were too embarrassing to want to remember.  But, I think I'm safe with this one.

~

So, back in February, Dallin was asked to Preference.  It's difficult for me to believe that he's old enough to date.  These two are cute together and mutually "like" each other, and not just the Facebook kind of "like."

Jessalyn and Dallin - Ah, aren't they cute?

I thought this was a cute picture.

 The night before the actual dance the girls planned a video game night.  I guess they know what teenage boys like to do most.  The night of the dance they got together for pictures, dinner, and then off to the dance.  Dallin said he had a great time.

The whole group.

Basketball

Basketball season was a lot of frustrating fun for Landon's team.  They are old enough to get the idea, but not coordinated enough to really "play".  There is a whole lot of traveling and double-dribbling going on, but they get good exercise and have fun doing it, so what more can you ask?

Landon had a fun team this year and they worked hard.

~

Basketball is one of Jayden's all-time favorite sports to play.  It's just too bad that he's so short.  But, being short has its advantages sometimes, especially when the opponent thinks you're not a threat.  Jayden is a pretty good ball-handler since he's low to the ground and quick.  

Jayden's team was a whole lot of fun to watch.  There are some talented kids on the team and they all play really well together.  There was a game where everyone had scored at least one basket except for one kid.  During the last quarter they all decided to pass the ball as much as possible to that other kid so they could say that "everyone scored."  When the kid sunk his basket, the whole team celebrated.  Those of us in the bleachers didn't quite understand what all the celebrating was about until after the game.  What a good group of boys.

 Now, onto the next sport - Baseball, here we come!

December Catch Up

I got a new camera for my birthday, and let's just say that it is a bit more technical that I can handle.  Pictures have been held hostage on it for several months until Leon came to the rescue and set them free.  

So....a bit of catching up.

~

December is always full of performances, including the junior high band concert.  Jayden is the cute kid in back with a bow tie.  He worked really hard on his part and did a great job.

December also means getting the house ready for Christmas.  Decorating the tree is always fun for the kids, but apparently, not me so much.  I don't know why I'm not smiling, it really WAS fun.

This picture of Landon posing with an ornament is just for documentation purposes.  Let's just say a certain brother (cough, Jayden) was playing with a bouncy ball in the living room and this ornament that Landon made in 1st Grade with his hand print wrapped around it got in the way.  Who would know that the whole backside is a bouncy ball sized crater?

Christmas morning is what it's all about.

 Sometimes we wonder if the 3 minutes that it takes to open gifts is worth all of the effort, but it is. 

Now, this picture just had to make it on the blog since we may never get to see Jayden and Landon playing Barbies ever again.  The kids always look forward to spending time at Grandma and Grandpa's house with their cousins.

 Great-Grandma's Christmas party is always a highlight, too.  Great-Grandma is so thoughtful and generous to give to all of the grand kids and great-grandkids.  She has SO many gifts to give and I don't think she has ever forgotten anyone. 

 One of my favorite things about Christmas time is just spending time with family.  Everyone seems to be in a better mood during Christmas break.  Jayden cracks me up. 

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday to Me!

 So, I was going through some papers today and ran across this cute picture that my nephew sent me for my birthday last month.  I just had to scan it in and blog about it so I can come back and visit it every now and then.  This sure made me smile when I got it in the mail an again today when I came upon it.

I'm pretty sure this says, "I love you, Aunt Stephanie.  Love, Joel.  Happy birthday."  At least that's what I'm translating it to say.  Such a cute way to spell.  You can tell that he really thought it out and did it himself.  

Thanks, Joel, for the card.  It made my day on my birthday and again a month later.