Let's Play Ball

Last weekend the Braves, with the addition of new player Linc, participated in the preseason tournament.  Rusty from the off season, both boys both struck out every time at bat for the first two games, which upset and frustrated them (not to mention mom and dad!). Despite that, the team finished in first place!  They're still undefeated after two regular season games and Lex & Linc are slowly getting their groove back- both hit and scored.

Scott is now an official member of the coaching staff--we call him dugout mom! He lines the boys up to bat in the correct order, keeps the dugout silliness to a minimum and organizes helmets, bats and supplies (of course, this is an abbreviated list of what he describes as his responsibilities).

The pop up camper is sold! We advertised on line all summer long, but apparently camping in an oven on wheels during blistering heat just wasn't appealing, so we were happy to sell it to the first serious lookers.  They're a nice couple from Dallas with two boys and we gave them a three hour set up and take down crash course.  I have to admit I felt a little like a parent leaving a child with a babysitter the first time; explaining all the little tips & tricks to make it successful, hoping that all goes well. Even though selling it is a relief, I did have a twinge of sadness as it drove down our street for the last time. I hope they get a lot of enjoyment out of it; they've camped before and are talking about hauling it to NY and camping for several weeks next summer, wow!

Before

I love the huge evergreen privacy trees called Leland Cypress along the exterior of two sides of our fence. This summer has been rough on them, one died and was cut down several weeks ago so I've been hand watering the rest to try to save the others.  Sadly the remaining four were chopped this week. The community landscapers said they will replace them with something else in the fall.

After the clear cutting

Since missing two days of school's first week and battling a fever for nearly 7 days, Linc is finally back to 100%.  The other night I told the kids I'd let them stay up past bedtime to watch an additional 10 minutes of TV if they promised to brush quickly and cooperate afterwards. Lincoln replied, "If we go up now do we have to cooperate?"

I told Danica how fortunate she is to have a ride-on horse, Jeep and some other toys that I didn't have when I was her age to which she responded "Ya, but that was the 70's."

Four precious children!