Family Picture Time!

Family pic.

Again.


Me and my main man!

My two handsome main men.

Love this one of my boy.

My handsome husband and me!

And, my favorite artsy pose.

Special thanks to my cousin, Kendra (DeeDah) Blount Harrell, for taking these awesome pictures for our family this year.

Man Hunt!

Look what happens when you play Man Hunt at night. I tried really hard not to react. I mean really....why should I be upset? A stick that was protruding out of the wood pile missed his eye by mere millimeters. As Todd said, "That is why we pray for his protection at all times!" Nathan said he got his revenge because he pulled the stick out of the woodpile, broke it over his knee and threw it in the fire.

Disturbing...

Nathan got off the bus the other day and when he got in the car he turned my attention to a very cute, blonde headed little girl. He said, "Mom, see that little girl over there?" I told him that I did and that she was very cute. He continued to explain to me that everyday when she gets off the bus, she stops at his seat and rubs her hands down his arms and says, "Bye Nathan, I love you." I think I said something to the effect of how sweet that was and he said, "mom, she's only in first grade." I tried to explain to him that she looks up to him and admires him. He didn't buy it. He said, "It's really disturbing."

Update on Fall Ball.

The only thing I can say about fall ball is that we have lost every game. Well, maybe not the only thing. The boys have learned a lot and have improved with every game. They have come close to winning a couple of games but just haven't been able to close the gap. There are only a couple of games left so, we will continue to hope.

God Is Working It Out!

Last night we were on our way to church and Nathan asked if he could call his cousin, Thaddeus, to see if he was coming to church. I told him that he didn't need to do that. We were almost to church and he could just wait until we got there. As we were pulling into the parking lot, Nathan once again asked, "Mom, is Thaddeus going to be at church." One more time, I told him that I didn't know, but that it looked like maybe he was because I spotted their car in the parking lot. He said, " Look, God is working it out." Todd and I cracked up. Indeed, he did work it out and Thaddeus was at church which made Nathan one happy boy.

Fall Ball!

Yay! Fall baseball is in full swing. And, I couldn't be happier. As I have said many times before there is nothing that I enjoy doing more than watching my boy play baseball. Our small league only has two teams for the fall because most of the regulars are playing football. Todd is coaching Nathan's team and he is a great coach. We have about four boys on our team that have never played. Nathan recruited a few of his school friends to come out and join the fun, which are the ones that haven't played before. Nathan's granddaddy was talking to him the other day and he asked him if "So n So" knew how to play. And, Nathan responded,"Well, let's just say my daddy needs to work with him." So, in other words....NO! :) We have had two games and lost both of them. But, to my great delight, they have shown great improvement in just two weeks of games and practices. Next game is Monday night and I can't wait!

Camping, Skiing and Tubing for Labor Day!

Isn't he just the most handsome kid you have ever seen in your life? I know, I couldn't agree more.

Anyway, for Labor Day weekend, we decided to do something different than going fishing. We all decided the kids were big enough to learn how to water ski. So, Todd and his daddy, Pappy, dug out the old water skiis and we bought an inflatable water tube and off we went. The kids were extremely excited but the I think the big kid was excited the most.

Todd found his old slalom. It still had the $50 sticker on it where he had tried to sell it in a yard sale we had a long time ago. He was glad it didn't sell. He showed us all that he's still got it.

Nathan tried and tried but this is about as good as he did. Each time he went a little further than the time before. If truth be told, I think he was a little scared to get out in the middle of the lake and fall. Because when he and I were tubing he kept telling me to be sure and come get him if he fell off.

Tubing was a blast. The kids especially loved it because as they rode it they would try to knock the other one off. It was sort of like 'king of the tube'. I must admit, I fell off but only because my arms got tired. :)

Thankfully we all survived and we all had a great time spending the weekend on Lake Luisa.

Yeah First Day of School!!!!!!!!!!

So handsome!

The Best News Ever!

School starts soon!!!!! Nathan is excited and so am I. Today we received the much anticipated letter from the school telling us who his fourth grade teacher would be. He got who he wanted. He is so excited. He thinks he has the best luck ever. But, I know that I wrote a letter to his principal requesting the teacher he wanted. Thank goodness he wanted a good teacher or he would have been one disappointed little boy.

We have had a great summer. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Nathan and I did get to go to the mountains for a week but other than that and a few day trips we hung pretty close to home.

The next best thing that can happen is fall ball can start. Because it has been so hot, he hasn't gotten a lot of exercise and has chunked up a little. This has made school shopping a little challenging. But, all in all, for school to start it is well worth it. There is no news I would rather hear than that because I am tired of hearing, "Mom, I'm bored."

Boing!

About two weeks before Nathan's birthday, I informed him that we weren't going to have a big party for him this year. After all the explanations as to why we weren't, I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday. He told me he wanted to go to Boing. I had never heard of Boing before. He told me it was a place covered in trampolines and you jump around and play games. So, we took him to Boing with his cousin Walker, who was visiting from Mississippi.
Todd, checked them in and paid the $12 and hour fee. They were issued special jumping shoes and also a soft padded helmet.

They were very eager to get to the fun part, but after they were suited up they humored me and posed for a before shot.

In one of the arenas they held intense games of dodge ball. The team that won got to stay in until they lost by a challenging team. Walker and Nathan patiently waited to get another chance to defeat the champions. The jumping is so intense and tiring, I think they secretly enjoyed the rest of waiting in line.

There are three rooms of trampolines. This is one of the free jump rooms. Many were doing flips, bouncing over the padded dividers and flipping off the walls. Nathan was a little apprehensive of the walls.

But, as I expected, before his hour was over, he got a little braver and started jumping on the walls and having a great time.

Another Birthday!

Tomorrow is my baby boys 9th birthday. I don't know where time has gone! We have a day full of fun plans. Stay tuned!

Home...

...is where we are. We had a great time in the high mountains. Monday we drove home and Tuesday it was back to work. Yesterday, I was called to the hospital. My cousin's daughter was having seizures. So, needless to say, I am exhausted. I haven't even unpacked yet. Nathan has had a ball at his DeeDee and Grandaddy's. He stayed with Grandaddy while Mama and I went to the hospital. She told him he was in charge and he had to take care of Grandaddy. Today she told me that he had cleaned up that house and straightened things on the table and had even hung his clothes up before he laid down. Tonight at supper I asked him why he cleaned up DeeDee's house but not mine. He simply said, "because I was in charge." If he only knew....

The High Mountains!

My brother has a log cabin in North Georgia. We love it there. Ever since Nathan could talk he he has referred to the mountains as, "the High mountains." I thought that was just a "baby" thing and now that he is eight almost nine he would just call them the mountains. But, the other day I heard him ask his uncle when were we going to he High mountains. Well, we are on our way to the High mountains and we are very excited!

I Miss Baseball!

Baseball is over and I miss it. Our boys did really good in their little tournament. Nathan ended up playing first base instead of his usual catcher spot. He played it like he had played it all year long. We lost the first two qualifying rounds which seeded us. We won the next one and returned to play a fourth game on Sunday morning. The team we played against was a powerhouse. The game started off with them running away with the score. But, our little Pinecrest boys fought back hard! They came within 2 runs and we ran out of time and the umps called the game. The final score was 14-16. I think the parents were more upset than the boys. They just wanted to go run around and play football or hide-n-seek.

We watch the Rays most every night that they are on TV but it's just not the same as watching my boy round the bases after smacking that little white ball, or throw a runner out at second from home plate, or strike a batter out with his "fast ball."

So, again I say it, "I miss baseball!"

My Homerun Homeboy!

That's right, my boy hit a home run in the first game of the All Star tournament. Even though we lost, Nathan played a great game. He played first base and had ten outs with two of them on a double play. The third baseman threw the ball to Nathan and he turned around and threw it right back to him for a double play. He had his mama screaming her head off in the bleachers. There are very few things I like to do more than watch my boy play baseball.

Sometimes You Just Need A Day Off...

....at the beach. And, that's what we did. Todd's brother, Tripp, got a room for a couple of nights and invited us down for the day. So, after church, we threw our suits and some towels in a bag and headed to Pass A Grille beach in St. Pete. The beach is not my favorite place, but my son loves it and once I get there, I do enjoy the serenity of it all. We arrived around three in the afternoon which was just after the heat of the day and so we got just enough sun and managed to leave without getting blistered.

Nathan loved diving for shells. Every so ofter, he would come up to the beach where I was and show me a treasure he had found. Most of his treasures were broken shells...except for this one...

...a perfect sand dollar. I even managed to get it home without breaking it. Which scored me a lot of points with my son. When we lived in Jamaica, we visited Negril and the boys went snorkeling. Nathan found a really cool sand dollar and I put it in the sink in the motel room. When we got back home, his sand dollar was still in Negril. He has never let me forget it.

We ate dinner at the famous Hurricane. I wasn't very impressed with my salad and Todd wasn't very impressed with his grouper sandwich, but Nathan's cheeseburger was good. I was definitely impressed with the butter pecan ice cream I got in the waffle cone at the ice cream shop, too.

Thanks, Uncle Tripp, for sharing you room with us and inviting us down.

Muffins With Mom and Mother's Day.

Mother's Day weekend started off with a bang. Friday morning I had muffins with my son in his class. His teacher invited all mothers to come to the class and enjoy muffins and juice with their children. The kids had poems they had written to present to mom and they put on a little mother's day play. Mrs. Flagg worked hard to pull it together and make us moms feel special.

Saturday, Nathan had a baseball game and what an exciting game it was. Nathan's team beat the strongest team in the league. I was so proud of him. He played a solid game as did his teammates.

Sunday, we went to Mama's for lunch. I struggled with her cooking the feast she did, but neither one of us wanted to go out to eat and wait for hours to get served. We took lots of family pictures which were well over due.

I love this picture. My son is a mama's boys and I love that he loves me the way he does.

The three of us. We haven't had a family picture taken in a long time. Nathan of course has changed the most.

This one was funny. We had just moved into the sun and Nathan was caught in mid sneeze.

It has been a really long time since I have seen my brother with a tie. Isn't he handsome?

Picture with Mama and Daddy. I love them so much. I have a wonderful family.

And, now you know where my white hair comes from. Love this woman.

The Ray's Game!

Last Sunday we took Nathan to his first professional baseball game. It was little league day at Tropicana Field, home of the Rays. Nathan plays for district 13, so we went with some of his teammates and some of the players and parents of other teams from Pinecrest Little League. Needless to say, Nathan loved it. Not long after we were seated, he looked at me and said, "Mom, I'm going to do this when I grow up."

The game began with presentation of the colors. The Rays were playing the Toronto Blue Jays so the special guest sang the Canadian national anthem as well as our Star Spangled Banner.

He was even happy to oblige me and pose for a few pictures. That made me happy because I didn't have to bribe him.

Our seats were just behind left field. Perfect to catch a Crawford or Upton home run ball.

We had a perfect view of Carl Crawford, who plays left field. He showed off a few times for us.

Nathan had his glove ready at all times. But, just as I suspected, when an opportunity to catch a ball didn't come in the first five minutes of our arrival, he was ready for something different.

First, came the $4 bag of cotton candy. Todd helped him eat that. I didn't.

More waiting. Then he convinced his daddy to take him to the concession stand. I was so glad they went.

Because, they came back with a Papa John's pizza and an ice cold Diet Coke. I was more than ready for the Diet Coke. Before they left to go get the pizza, Nathan handed me his glove with strict instructions to put it on in case a ball come our way. The little boy behind me had a ball he had gotten in warm ups. I asked him if I could borrow it to play a trick on my son and husband. So, when Todd and Nathan returned, I had a ball in Nathan's glove. The look on his face was priceless. And, I and the boys behind me, got a good laugh.

The Rays won 6-0, so it was a good day. After the game, Nathan and Logan posed for me in front of a Rays banner.

A Day On The Boat!

Saturday was a good day for us. We decided to take a day and have some family fun. Unfortunately, we didn't catch enough fish for supper. Never the less, it was a great day of fun.

Grammy and Pappy came with us and brought their boat. We launched at a new place in Riverview and rode up by the port of Tampa. We even passed a cruise ship that had just set sail. Even though the ship was sailing slow, we had quite the ride as we rode over it's wake. Nathan of course thought that was cool. I, on the other hand, was a little concerned at one point.

And, true to his ways, Nathan fell asleep on the ride home. We have taken him on the boat since he was a baby, and he always falls asleep. I guess the rocking and hum of the motor lulls him to sleep. And, I don't complain one bit.

Wacky Tacky Day.

The week before spring break is Spirit Week. Today was Wacky Tacky Day. My boy did a good job picking out his outfit. He fixed his faux hawk, with his plaid shirt and shorts, a red sock, a black sock and two different colored shoes. How can a mother not be proud?

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Why is this cow in my front yard? I know she is trying to get to her baby, which you can see in the background, but in my non-bovine opinion she should have stayed with her baby and not tried to get to the greener grass on the other side of the fence. Oh, and somebody should tell her that my front yard has no grass, it is all dirt!

Doing Better!

We have won both of our last games. The team seems to be gelling. It appears that everyone is getting use to each other and learning to anticipate what the other is going to do. We have had two kids that have been sick but in spite of the illnesses we have prevailed.

Tomorrow we travel to Antioch. We beat Antioch last time we played them. Hopefully we can pull out another win tomorrow. That will bring us up to 3-3.

Nathan is continuing to improve. He is doing really good pitching and his catching is almost flawless. What can I say? He lets very few balls get by him. I am so proud of him and watching him play is still one of my favorite things to do.

Baseball Update!

We have had a slow start to our baseball season. We have only played 2 games and unfortunately we have lost them both. We were suppose to play last night but the rain put a damper on that. No pun intended. Our next game is tomorrow morning and I am really looking forward to it.

In fall ball, Nathan pitched. By the end of the season he was doing really well. This season however, he seems to have been a little intimidated by the bigger boys. Last game he told his daddy before the game that he didn't want to pitch and Todd didn't make him. That night all of our pitchers were off. And that is all the encouragement he needed. He has practiced extra hard and is back and ready to pitch. And, I am ready for him too. I was very disappointed when our game got cancelled last night. So, needless to say, tomorrows game can't get here soon enough.

Opening Ceremonies 2010!

Last Friday we had opening ceremonies for this season's spring baseball. It was a lovely evening despite the wind and cold. The above picture shows our team managed by Todd. This year we are the Rays. What a handsome group of players and coaches!

And how about these two handsome boys? Aren't they the best. I was able to bribe Nathan to sit still long enough to let me get his picture with Coach Dad. We had our first game last night and lost 11-4. The boys did good. Nathan caught the whole game. He has lost his interest in pitching for some reason, but we hope to get it back. Next game, Saturday morning.

Play Ball!

Practice. Practice. Practice. I am so ready for some game action. At least a scrimmage game. Something. But, Coach Dad is not ready. He thinks we just need to practice this week and maybe (keyword maybe) have a scrimmage game next week. Ugh. That means I have to endure another week of practices.

The weather here has been less than cooperative. Florida is suppose to be warm. Not lately. Saturday morning I had to dig out the hardcore winter apparel. It was brutal out there. I would have given anything to have a little portable heater under the bleachers. Layering was definitely the key. Tonight shouldn't be too bad if the wind will lay down.

So, off to another practice I go. Next week can't get here soon enough.

Let The Season Begin!

Tryouts are done. The draft is over, and the season is off. Tonight we had our first practice and parent meeting. Coach Dad did a great job and I can't wait until the games start.