Saturday, June 18, 2016

Sandlot Legends Orange 7U Finish Strong

Clapping for teammates

Weston getting his gold championship ring


State champions

On top of the world

Tough guys

It's official

Daddy and Weston

The dugout helper, a coach, and a champion

Weston and his buddy Luke

So proud of this guy

Great finish for a great group of guys

We're #1 in the nation in our division
We are so proud of our Sandlot Orange boys. They finished strong and won the state championship!! And to think, we only won 1 game in the Fall season vs. the Oxford Rebels.  Spring season, however, brought more than we imagined.  These boys worked so hard, practiced long hours, and became a good team along the way.  We thoroughly enjoyed our first year of travel ball.  Even with four kids in tow, it proved to be lots of fun family time away from home.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

First Big Tournament Win

Sandlot Legends Orange 7U

Weston and Daddy excited after a big win

Connor and Weston wearing their new shades

Too cool

Lining up on the field after the win

Tournament champions in New Albany

Weston and his trophy


Team Trophy Pic

Legends on the Field
We finally won our first tournament.  We finished second place in two tournaments this Spring, but this victory feels a little sweeter!  Fourteen teams went head to head in New Albany this weekend, most were AA division, and we came out on top.  We won five games in a row!  In the championship game, we beat Kenny's Cardinals by one point. Now, on to State Tournament next weekend!!

Saturday, June 4, 2016

James Gives Himself a Haircut

All those curls...Gone!
 


It was a nice, quiet Saturday morning around the house.  Then, James walked into the kitchen where Will and I were doing laundry and washing dishes.  I said, "Look, Daddy, James fixed his hair."  I thought he had just taken a water spray bottle and given himself a comb-over.  At closer look, Will said, "Uh, he CUT his hair."  It was so bad that we both laughed.  I laughed so hard that tears came out my eyes.  All those long, beautiful curls--GONE!!  He had finally gotten a nice, handsome head of hair, and then this happened.  I asked James, "Did Connor cut your hair?"  He proudly replied, "Damesey (Jamesey) did!"  Come to find out, Connor and James were in our bathroom together.  Connor pulled Will's electric beard trimmer out, did a quick demonstration (yes, he cut a small triangle out of his hair, too), and then passed the trimmer for James to do some damage. 

If cutting is involved, we always suspect Connor has something to do with it.  He's cut his own hair four times, his favorite clothes and pajamas several times, and Weston's fingers twice (once with safety scissors, the other time with a box cutter). Although Connor has cut his hair four times, James's first attempt at a haircut has topped them all! I told Will that he better put that trimmer way out of reach or poor little Hannah girl would be the next victim.  Connor may be a cutter, but James is our colorer.  I keep finding new pencil markings around the house, and he recently added a little purple crayon doodling near a window in the sunroom and ink pen writing on my sheets.  It's hard to keep all the writing tools out of reach when James's two big brothers pull out pencils, crayons, and markers every day.   

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Hannah's 1st Birthday Beach Trip

The birthday girl
Car loaded down and headed to Orange Beach
Weston and James teaming up to build sand castles
Hannah resting on Daddy
Three happy brothers
Awake and ready to play
James with his net
The smiling "Dory Fish" Weston caught in his net
After two summers of trying to catch a fish, it finally happened

Boys riding in a raft in the surf, pulled by someone's daddy
Hanging out in Mimi and Grandy's condo
Hannah's very own cake
The Family Cake
Weston trying to bury himself in the sand
Mommy and the birthday girl dressed for the party
A whole lot of love from big brothers
Touching the icing
Pushing away cake and icing
First (and only) taste
FaceTime call with Mimi, Grandy, and Uncle Brian
Happy Birthday to You
James enjoying his piece of cake
About to go crabbin'
Big brothers
Hannah walking with her Daddy
Beach photo session
Too cute
Smiling for the camera
Happy in her Daddy's arms
James and Connor at Pirate's Adventure Putt-Putt
Jolly James
Hole in One for Weston
There's one in every bunch
Hole in One for Connor
Hole in One for Daddy
Me and my loves
Connor-man on the beach
Hannah taking a good nap on Mommy
Weston with his net again
Best buddies
We went to Mimi and Grandy's condo at Orange Beach to celebrate Hannah's first birthday.  Mimi and Grandy were in Colorado for a whole month, so they couldn't join us.  However, they made a FaceTime call to see the birthday girl at her poolside party.  Hannah enjoyed staying on the beach with us all day.  When she got tired, she napped on Mommy or Daddy.  We went for long family walks down the beach with Hannah in the carrier strapped to Mommy. We watched the boys play in the sand or in the water with their nets.  Weston was very determined to "catch a Dory fish" this trip, and he finally did!  The little fish's gills made it look like it was smiling in the picture. 

We got Hannah's mermaid birthday cake from A Specialty Bakery in Gulf Shores.  The baker actually used to work at a bakery in Tupelo for a long time.  It was neat to make that home-town connection.  The cake was very delicious.  Hannah didn't care much for foods other than baby food yet, so she didn't even dig into her cake.  She took one taste of icing, and that was it.  We tried to feed her, but she just pushed it away.  That little girl didn't know what she was missing!

One fun memory from the trip was when we went crab hunting at night.  This was the first time we had ever done this with the kids.  The boys seemed to have a great time!  We also made our usual putt-putt outing to the Pirate's Adventure Island.  As always, it was hard to come back home.  The boys chanted, "Let me live at the beach," on the ride home. 

Our little Hannah doll is 1 year old!  We love you so much, little girl!  Your brothers are absolutely crazy about you.  It is a lot of fun being a family of six and watching you all grow.  We are abundantly blessed to have each other.