Cousins

We have a close-knit family...and it is wonderful and rare. Dan has a lot of brother & sisters ( 3 sisters, 2 brothers & a half brother) and we all get along! And better than get along: we like each other. We have so much fun as a family together. I think it is completely unique that my children not only know their cousins but they are really really really good friends with their cousins!

For Mother's Day this year one of Dan's sisters had the genius idea to get a picture of all the grand kids for their mom (kids gramma - Dan's mom)...after MUCH himm hawwing back and forth about location....clothes... photographer...date we finally did it! Personally I think they turned out wonderful! 12 kids 15 & younger!...and there is one on the way. I guess we will have to re-do this picture when baby-boy Sarver gets here.

The Grandsons-
Left to right: Spencer, Ethan, Joel, Garrett, Maddox, Kingsley

The Granddaughters
Left to Right: Ashley, Daniella, Olivia, Addisyn, Jayda, Ryleigh

Ashley, Jayda & Ryleigh have always been close

Cory & Hayley's boys: Kingsley & Maddox

Nicole & Fred's kids: Daniella & Joel

Adam & Aubrey's kids: Ashley, Jayda, Garrett, Addisyn

Dan & Jeni's (our) kids: Ryleigh, Spencer, Ethan, Olivia

Mother's Day

I am not feeling overly inspired to post about anything specific today which is making this a difficult post for me. I have typed..erased...typed...delete... I just can't seem to put into words my feelings. Therefore I am going to be simple.

I am thankful and grateful to be a mother. I love my children so much. The only issue with motherhood that I have is that it is going by WAY too fast! I can't believe how rapid time moves! I want them to stay little and precious forever. I know that they are growing up and getting older but the good news is that I will ALWAYS be their mom... and I really lucked out in that department.

Ryleigh's First Dance

Ryleigh had her very first dance today! Of course it just happened to be the 8th Grade Formal! We couldn't start slow with an easy casual dance...noooo we had to start with a BANG! It was actually a lot of fun shopping for a dress with her and getting her all pretty. She looked like a little Goddess when she was all done.  She went with her bestie Macayla and apparently they had a great time. She told me that she danced with 1 boy.. and he was a little strange. It was so bittersweet to send her off (I really wanted to chaperon! but she was not nearly as excited about that idea) but I am so glad that she is such a great teenager so we the bitter was outweighed by the sweet!

Diamondbacks vs. Giants

Tonight Ryleigh took me to the Diamondbacks game...sorta. It started out that way at least.

Earlier in the week she won 2 D-backs tickets from one of her teachers at school. It was some sort of raffle. The tickets were certainly the type you would expect to win in a raffle. Section 329 row 30....nosebleeds. Nevertheless we were super excited to go, and be together.
Since my dad works at Chase field he has a handy parking pass that allows him to park in the player parking area for free! Jokingly I asked him if we could carpool with him to the game. A few days later he came to me and told me that YES I could carpool with him and he actually got some tickets for him, my mom & me & Ry. WAY BETTER SEATS than we had before! This time we were in section 129! Row 26! We had so much fun with my parents!
The diamondbacks even ended up winning - 5-1...ending a 5 game losing streak then after the show there was fireworks!! Then after that there was a concert!
One of my dads clients were the ones putting on the concert so we got VIP passes to go down on the field. As we stood down there amongst all these sweaty Christians with their eyes closed singing along and swaying we realized we were a little out of place. So we went and sat in some seats and gave our VIP passes to some little kids In a Christian youth group that was so excited to see "Crowder"! Our good deed of the day! Thanks for a great day Ry! I love you!!

Gold

As I said in my last post about club baseball the boys teams have been split. Spencer plays on the AAA team and the AA team (Also called Raptor's Gold) and Ethan plays exclusively for the AA team. Well this past weekend we played a Raptor's Gold (AA) tournament. I always love watching both the boys play together. I love hearing others talk about the boys and how much they look and act alike. I just think they are so dang cute.

For the Gold team Spencer plays short stop & third base and occasionally he will pitch. Ethan plays almost exclusively second base and he is dang good at it! He saved our team more than once this past weekend. I was blown away by just how all around fantastic he is defensively! Plus he is playing with boys 2+ years older than him - and you would never know.

The Gold team struggles a little bit with being able to bring home a win but I am hoping that will come over time. This last weekend they won 1 out of 4 game and they played really well, especially compared to how they were playing when they were first formed. They have made tremendous improvements and I am just so proud of them.

Owlz

    Ethan is playing on the Minor's Owlz team this season in little league. It has been a lot of fun to watch him shine! He is a clear leader on his team and his coach relies on his ability a lot. The other boys look up to him and it's easy to see why. He is so good! 
   It doesn't help that he is a giant! He is with kids his own age and older but he looks like he at least a year or two older than any of the other kids. It is comical to look out and see him sticking out over everyone else.

 His coach has him catching (of course, because that is his favorite position!) and pitching and playing short stop. At this point in the season no other kid has ever been able to steal second base on Ethan. He throws them out every time! It is so fun to watch him behind the plate... he is a total natural.  To my surprise, he is also a pretty talented pitcher. The other night he was able to pitch a complete game (5 innings) in 49 pitches! That was pretty amazing. He gave up 1 run - a home run - to the other team. Plus he is was involved in every defensive play except one. Then in his last game he his a GRAND SLAM to win the game for the Owlz! Obviously I am just super proud of my boy!

Diamondbacks vs. Phillies

Today Dan & I took Ryleigh to the Diamondbacks game...and by today I mean currently....I am using my handy blogger app on my iPhone to post this during the game. We are at the top of the 6th right now and the Diamondbacks are down 1-0. Ryleigh, our little Philly fan is happy, I am anxiously awaiting the time when Hamels gets tired and they have to go to the bullpen.