Weekend again

It has been a very fun, but exhausting weekend! We started out the weekend with a backyard camp-out for Colin's birthday. So what do 11 year old boys do at a backyard camp out? Well, they eat, they game, and they eat some more. And they remind Jim and I that we are much too old to stay up until 3 am! What do they not do? Why sleep in the tents that we put up in the back yard of course! They decided it was too hot, and the temptation of playing video games all night was too high!

Yesterday was my grandma's annual 4th of July family reunion and party. We had a great time shooting off fireworks and getting caught up with the cousins from everywhere! We had a huge turn out and I think that we all enjoyed ourselves. Luckily, we attended mass with grandma last night, so sleeping in this morning was possible! But being the bad mom that I am, I forgot my camera, so I have no photos to share!

Today we are doing a bit of catching up, a few household projects that have been needing attention, and cleaning out a pig pen. And most importantly, we are getting the boys packed up to leave for Rock Springs 4-H camp. They are really excited about it! I hope that the county pays for having the air conditioning on this year! It sure has been hot! I have to confess that I am looking forward to having a small break from the ball park this week! Of course, we will still have the girls and Preston to attend games for, but still the number of nights is significantly decreased!!

Future 4-Her

When we cleaned the pigs out today, we let them out for a bit of exercise. Quincy walked the pigs all over grandma's yard. She has no fear of these guys whatsoever! She hugs them, says "Hello little piggy" to them and she sings to them. She thinks they are her friends! Her Godmother will be so proud!! A couple of months ago, the 'little piggy' part was correct, but as they are approaching 200 pounds or more, it hardly fits! This photo is of Quincy and Sarah Piglin. Yesterday Sarah Piglin got stuck in the mud under the barn wall. My brother had to perform a pig rescue! She was scraped up pretty good, but not hurt, thank goodness!

Wild Wednesday

Colin's b-day cake, chocolate with chocolate frosting, served over chocolate ice cream. This is definitely my kid!

Craft day at Overbrook Library

The little ones attended Craft Day at the Library today. They made a ton of cool stuff. My favorite was the magnetic kites. Their favorite part was the snowcones at the end! This is the last day for summer story time. I think they enjoyed it! Of course, we will continue to visit our library, we love to read, and Preston is a movie junkie!

Colin had a good birthday I think. He got a new tent from Aunt Amy, so that will be handy for his sleepover on Friday night! He has invited 7 boys over for backyard camping. Some of them have to get up early for a swim meet, so I hope they will get at least some sleep! Our neighbors to the north are on vacation this week, so at least they won't be disturbing EVERYONE in the neighborhood!

I made Colin his special birthday dinner...most important part of the menu - watermelon. And steaks on the grill. While I was cooking the dinner, Madison baked the cookies for the Melvern Fair that we were donating for the 4-H cookie jar. We got those done and delivered just before a huge storm blew in. This caused Colin's ball game to be cancelled, so we have had a nice evening at home.

Happy Birthday Colin!

Today my big guy turns 11! I can't believe he is this old already! He is such a joy to our family! Colin wanted a new bike for his birthday. We were happy to get him one, as he is a kid who truly uses a bike, and his old bike has been broken for a couple of months now. He has been riding Mallory's bike, but that comes with lots of strings attached (you can ride my bike if you bring me some gum from the store, or you can ride my bike if you wash it when you are done). We took him with us so he could pick out exactly what he wanted, and I am very happy that we did, because what he picked is not what we would have gotten! I especially was suprised by the color that he chose!

And now, because I have been married to Jim for so long, I have to add this sappy part. Colin, we are very proud of you! You are a true blessing to our family, and we thank God every day for entrusting us to raise you! Because of you, we now understand wrestling rules, we know more about fishing, pig raising, dancing altar boys, dirt, diving board tricks, laughter and love.

And because I am still me, I have to add this little story from last night. We had 3 ballgames in 3 locations, all at the same time. My mom took Colin to Eskridge for his game there. When she brought him home she tells us that Colin played a really good game, and that there was a pretty cute girl who was the outfield umpire. When the game was over, Colin's team was all lined up talking and this umpire walks by. Colin looks right at her and says "Call Me" - which made everyone there crack up! What a nut!

Happy Birthday big guy! We all love ya!

weekend recap

Amazingly, the only ball game we had going this weekend was for this kid.

Even though they don't keep score in t-ball, I tried to convince my cousin Melissa that our team beat her son's team and that the losers had to buy the winners a steak dinner. She didn't buy it!

As for the bedroom painting, well it is going SLOWLY. I have finished part of it. A normal person would realize that if you mom got a huge bucket of paint, she painted one bedroom with it, and then your sister took it and painted 2 bedrooms with it, and then the paint became yours and you already used it to paint your bathroom, you are going to run out of paint before you get your bedroom done. Of course, I never said I was a normal thinking person!! So I am running very low on paint. I have a couple of options as I see it...I can test that hardware store who claims to be able to match any color on earth. OR I can mix some paints together from previous jobs and come up with a muted color for an "accent wall" which I keep seeing on those design shows on DYI network! I would prefer the accent wall...seems more adventurous and fun, but I am guessing that my husband is not going to go for that idea!

Speaking of husbands, Happy Father's day to all! I think ours was ok - we accomplished a lot of laundry folding and putting away, and some painting. Nice to be home for sure!

Colin is camping out at the lake with friends. He was looking very forward to the trip. He was only a little upset with me when I told him he could not under any circumstances swim in the lake without a life jacket. He was convinced he would not drown because he is a fabulous swimmer. Luckily, all the other boys who were camping were wearing life jackets, so it was an easy fight!

And now for my exciting Sunday story. I am sitting in church this morning, when I realize that the shirt I have on has a rather large hole right in the boob area. Now how did I manage to get out the door and not realize this? OK so I can fold the shirt over and maybe nobody would notice? Except that this morning I was the Eucharistic minister. So yep, I had to stand in front of everyone and hand out the Eucharist with a hole in my chest. I am all class! Hopefully the people were so focused on the real reason we go to mass, and didn't notice my insanity!

Fun in the sun

We are truly enjoying the heat now! The sun has finally decided to shine, the pool(s) are warming up nicely, and we had no games tonight, so we spent the entire afternoon at the city pool. We then went out to grandma's to take care of the pigs, and we ended up in her pool as well. Until today, Preston has been pretty terrified of grandma's "deep water pool" but today, he decided he can swim well enough especially if he stayed by the ladder, to get in. I think maybe the sitting out in the hot, hot sun might have helped convince him! I gave up on swimming lessons quite a few years back. I have seen that if you take your kids and put them in the water consistently, they will learn to swim. Preston's swimming has really taken off this week.

I am liking having an evening away from the ball park. I am trying to get my laundry caught up (again) and starting to get my bedroom ready to paint. The painting is a project I started a while back, and never finished. I have to get it done, its starting to really bother me!

Colin is busy making plans for his birthday next week. He wants to have a back yard camp out. That sounds easy enough. The big kicker is how many kids to let him invite. He tends to be friends with every kid in town...he is my "Mr. Social Pants" I swear that there is not a kid around who he doesn't know and like! I suppose that is a good thing, until it is time to try to narrow down a list! AAAAH the drama of turning 11! Of course, when he was born 11 years ago, I remember thinking how nice it would be to have a summer birthday. That could mean endless possibilities with swimming parties, back yard cookouts, and parties in the park. Little did I know that when he got a little older simply finding time to fit in a party among the endless summer activities would be next to impossible!

Things I learned yesterday

1. A 3 pm doctor appointment does not mean that you will be welcomed into the doctor's office at 3 pm.

2. The magazines that you will be reading while waiting for your doctor are pretty much the same exact ones that you read the last time you were at the doctor's office.

3. My arm hair is more than one color.

4. The infield fly rule, is a fine rule if you are a major league ball player, but if you are a 13 year old girl, it was a made up rule by a horrible umpire, that will cause your team to lose, cause you undue stress and make your whole softball team cry.

5. Colin's baseball team can beat the boys from Osage City, even though those boys are 2 feet taller, 30 pounds heavier, and are already shaving at the age of 11.

6. Summer ball games cause me to not get to bed until well after midnight which means that my brain is a bit foggy and my arm hair is entertaining.