Family Day

It turned out to be a gorgeous day today, so we took the kids to a Peoria Chief's baseball game this afternoon. The Chief's are a Minor League team owned by the Chicago Cubs, are managed by Ryne Sandberg and located right here in Peoria.

Still has a big gaping hole in his mouth!

There's Ryne Sandberg.

Ryan was fascinated by the mascot.

After the game (sadly, the Chief's lost) we went out for dinner and then stopped at a nearby park. We walked down to the little lake and fed the fish some bread and then let the kids play on the playground.

Almost home.

Highlights

Ryan had a baseball game tonight and had a really good hit during his first at bat.

While Ryan and I were at his game tonight, Ashley and Bret were at her first All Star game. (Yes, for some crazy reason we let her try out for TWO teams. It's insane.) This is a video I took with my digital camera at last night's practice game. It should have been a home run, but the umpire called her out since we were demolishing the other team. They won 28-4. They weren't so lucky tonight, and still have two games tomorrow.

Updates...

After 4 days of squeezing in time to work on Ryan's room, it's finished. Here's a before picture from earlier in the year...

Here's a now picture, minus his new bed. I ran into a problem with his new bedding last night. I tried to wash the comfortor and the darn thing ripped so now I need to return it and determine if I want to replace it with something else or chance it happening again. That's just fitting seeing as I decorated the room around his bedding. Regardless, I'm happy with the way it turned out and he loves it.

Father's Day was spent at Bret's brother's house with good food and family.

Ryan is doing very well in baseball. It's his favorite sport and he's working hard at it.

Speaking of working hard - Ryan started his Lose The Training Wheels class today. It's an adaptive bike riding class where the bike teaches the child how to ride. He rode that thing for the whole hour and fifteen minutes! He goes everyday this week and they guarantee that he'll be riding on two wheels by Thursday or Friday.

And the best part of the whole class? I don't have to run along side him!

Chief's Game

While Ashley and I stayed in and rented a movie (don't bother) last night, Bret and Ryan took in a Peoria Chief's game. Ryan was really excited because he got there in time to win a Derek Lee Bobble Head. He must have played hard, because he was exhausted when he got home. However, the day must have been harder on me because I was in bed before all of them last night.

This morning I was up early and out the door before everyone else was awake. I thought I had a hair appointment for 9am, but realized it wasn't until noon so I spent the morning shopping and treated myself to lunch out at Panera Bread. I've never sat and eaten lunch by myself before, but it was oddly calming and relaxing.

By noon I was back for my appointment with Shawn and got the works done. It had been a year since I had last gotten highlights and I was much over do for a cut. My last haircut had been at one of those cheap places and I've found that it's usually either a hit or miss experience - my last one being a total miss.

So now I'm ready for summer and can tuck my awful ponytail holders into the back of my bathroom drawer.

Perfect Day

What does the perfect Saturday consist of for you?

For me? It consists of a day that is warm and sunny that starts at my son's baseball practice, where he hits the machine pitched ball and runs to first base with the biggest smile on his face. Then he takes his turn in the outfield and misses catching the ball so badly that he smiles that goofy smile that is distinctly Ryan's. He'll keep trying and will soon enough be able to catch it. To see him so proud makes my heart swell with love.

Then it continues on to my daughter's softball scrimmage game where she hits a double. As soon as her game was over, the field began filling up with a team of 1st & 2nd grade girls and I found myself reflecting on how fast my daughter has grown up, as it only seems like yesterday that she was that small and still learning how to play the game. Now she's got a powerful swing and is one of the best girls on her team.

My perfect Saturday continued on to lunch out with my husband and children, then home where I sat on our deck in a comfy chair with my face offered up to the sun while the sounds of lawnmowers, children playing and neighbors landscaping swirled all around me.

I'm back in the house now and am going to start looking into some ideas we've been throwing around for a family vacation this summer. It won't be anything like last summer's Disney Vacation, but we'll get to spend uninterrupted time together - which is what really matters.

Spring Preview

As soon as the kids got home from school today, we headed outdoors to enjoy the warmer weather. While it reached 56 degrees today, it was still a little on the cold side.

Ryan and his friend that comes over after school played a game of baseball.

Both of them impressed me with how well they were hitting each other's pitches.
Both Ryan and his friend are moving up to machine pitch baseball this year, so this is very promising to see.

Ryan slams one out of the backyard.

Running to second base.

This kid is ready to learn how to slide!

Quick "cheese" for mom.

Chloe was happy to get outside for awhile, too.

She is determined to graduate to the big girl swing.

After Ryan's friend got picked, Ryan and I took Chloe and the dog for a walk.

Camera oops.

I tried to get a picture of Ryan and Chloe walking, but the dog had other ideas. Every time Ryan would get ahead of Chloe, she would run with her arms out, trying to catch up with him, yelling "Eye-an!"

After dinner Ryan really wanted to see if any of his friends were out playing so we went for another (much longer) walk. No one was outside and now the sore muscles are really kicking in. I may have overdone it today, but I really needed that second walk after taking a second helping of spaghetti tonight.

Is it bedtime yet? It's all hitting me now.

Spring Fever

I'm not sure what to do with myself. I've spent the last week getting my PTO binder in order, updating all of the paperwork in it and making sure it's ready to go for next year. There are only a few receipts left to come in and it's looking like our profit is going to be $14,600.00.

I could (and should) spend the day doing laundry and housework, but it's too hard to get serious work done around the house when everyone is home and sitting in front of the TV - makes you want to curl up and take a nap. The downstairs area that the girls spent the night in is a total mess. I should really do something about it, but am pretty much unmotivated at this point.

It's hard to snap back to normal daily life after being so consumed by RTH. There are a million things I need to do now that I've got the time, but I just can't seem to focus. I'm looking forward to Spring when we can get out of the house with the kids and have some fun. I'm getting sick of being cooped up in the house all the time.

I've got our zoo membership application on the counter and ready to be sent in. The Peoria Zoo is undergoing a major renovation right now and by Spring it's suppose to be completed. There is also a huge wooden park with mazes and tunnels next to the zoo that the kids love. Our membership will get us into any zoo all the way from St. Louis to Chicago and more for free. I'm thinking some road trips are going to be in order once the weather gets nice.

So, no more snow and ice. I'm done and over it. I want to see trees and plants bloom and come to life again. I'm ready for Volleyball matches and Baseball and Softball games. Bring me cool spring nights with friends, bonfires and Margaritas. Please, bring it soon!

Santa Visit Turned Photo Shoot

Tonight we took the kids over to the mall to see Santa and were pleasantly surprised to find that it was not busy and that you are free to take your own pictures. Ryan was instantly in awe, while Ashley acted like one of the grown ups. Ryan climbed up on his lap and proceeded to tell Santa his whole. entire. list. of. things. he. wants. for. Christmas. Yes, it kind of dragged on like that. LoL.

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Ryan happily poses for pictures with his new best friend.

Ashley joins in.

Santa has quite a sense of humor. He and Bret clashed a bit over their favorite baseball teams.

If you live here in the Peoria area, you have got to try and get over to see Santa and his wife at The Shoppes at Grand Prairie. They are the most friendly people ever, who enjoy what they do and so obviously love children. Santa was even trying to corral little Mitchell in the store when we had no luck.

I have more pictures, but for some reason the internet isn't being too cooperative tonight. I'll try to add them later. (If it even lets me post this.)

Taking It To Another Level

Ryan's baseball craze is now being taken to the next level. This morning, Bret and his dad headed out for some guy time - fixing snowblowers, shopping, lunch, etc. They came back with a box of this year's baseball cards for Ryan, who is thrilled and has been going through and organizing them by team ever since. Bret finally has someone to pass down years of baseball card collecting to. (They can stay in his parents' basement for now though!)

A Crying Shame

Ryan is seriously bummed, as is Bret I'm sure.

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I feel your pain, man.

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Ryan's First Ball Game

Bret took Ryan to his very first Peoria Chief's game tonight. To Bret's satisfaction, Ryan has shown a huge interest in baseball since playing t-ball this summer. He can now tell you the names of most of the Chicago Cub's players and a few from some of the other teams. However, it looks as though Ryan may be destined to become a Dodger's fan. I'm not sure if it's to get his dad all riled up, but I suspect it may just be the colors of their jerseys. Any how, tonight was kind of a test to see if Ryan was ready for a trip to Wrigley Field for his first Cub's Game. Looks like he had a great time, so hopefully my brother will come across some Cub's tickets again this year.
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Ryan with the field in the background.

Ryan prepares to hit his own pretend ball out of the park.

Yep, Dad's a sucker. Ryan got a Chief's hat and a big finger.

Yep, he's a cutie.

Creative Genius

Because I have nothing better to do today than playing on the computer. . . like vacuuming, laundry or cleaning bathrooms.

A Day At The Ball Park

Ashley had a good time with her dad and my brother at the Cub's game on Friday.

The Cubs won the game...

However, parking didn't end up being "free" at all.

So long Chicago!

There's more over at Flickr.