Closing of Spring Baseball - May, 2008

Caleb's end of the year baseball party went well, at PPP. I forgot my camera at the big celebration and awards ceremony, but the "Big Hurt" (Caleb's nickname) did well. They all got trophy's for being "undefeated" for the season.Half of the Caleb's team came from his basketball team. Call it a small sports club, a group of boys who play together in all sports...basketball, football, wrestling, and baseball... That's part of the reason they play NYS (National Youth Sports)...so they can stick together. They wouldn't be able to do that with National Little League, where every team has to do a draft. Anyway, it's great to watch these athletes stay together, becoming great friends, getting great excercise, and kicking some butt every now and then...
No one could touch them this season. I really enjoyed watching them have fun and kick some butt at the same time. Caleb did very well, playing 1st base the majority of the time. He did get a chance at pitcher a few times and did quite well. He definitely has the speed, but needs a little better accuracy...which would come if he actually practiced the position. He had 3 KO's each time he was on the mound, which is awesome! He also had an in-the-park homerun (no fence), along with a few doubles and many singles.

Joseph helped E-Rock's (Erik) dad coach. Caleb really liked having his Dad out there coaching...most of the time. Joseph is hard on him and expects a lot out of him, but he is his best friend and would do anything for him, and is so proud of him (notice he's almost as tall as his dad at age 9...Joseph better start being nicer to him :).

Overall, he had a great season...the team had a great season. Now, on to the next sport...football...to be continued...

Abby's Preschool Graduation - May, 2008

Abigail graduated preschool on May 22nd, 2008, from Arnette Montesorri Preschool. She went there for only 1 year, even though it was a 2 year program, and did absolutely phenominal! She grew so much socially, mentally, physically, and especially educationally (is that a word)! Her teacher's Ms Camille and Ms Suzanne, who were a mother/daughter duo, were just wonderful. The Montessori method is a little different than what Caleb and Madelyn did in preschool. However, I am quite impressed. Abby left there being able to know by recognition and sound out every letter in the alphabet. She also knows how to spell her name, first and last. And she is starting to sound out words. I've started working with her on the "Sam" books that are introduced in Kindergarten at Edu-Prize. She can sound out a word, but still has difficulty combining it together and saying it smoothly. It seems her penmanship is miles ahead of where Caleb and Madelyn were at this time...not sure if her neatness is because of the Montessori, or because it's just Abby. Either way, she is doing awesome and is ready for Kindergarten.

Abigail got along so well with her preschool class. All of them were her best friends, although she talked a lot about Brooklyn and Maggie. Of course Gracie and Nathan were top of her list too. Jacob even joined the fun and can't wait to go to Ms Camille's for preschool. Hopefully when he's 4 he'll have an opportunity to go...Abby is going to miss her preschool but is so excited for Kindergarten; to go to school with her big sister and brother. I am so excited for her too, and I know she is going to do very well.

Extra Birthday Celebrations - May, 2008

The Bounce U just wasn't enough for my girls and their birthday's...we like to call it their birthday week. For Madelyn on her special day, we ordered pizza and a cake. PopPop and Nana came by and visited. She came from Arsenal assessments, so there wasn't much we could do. She is a free-spirited girl and was happy with anything.

For Abigail's special day, we took her to dinner of her choice...her favorite, McDonalds. I think she had "play" on her mind.

Caleb had basketball practice and wasn't able to make it to the McDonald's fun. But it's more for the smaller kids anyway...

The life of the party was of course, Jacob, who is just as crazy as ever...always...

We went back to the house and sang Happy Birthday and had cupcakes to finish off the night. Abigail had a blast, and that's all that matters for today!

Even Bella came for the celebration...and enjoyed eating all the crumbs off the floor...

Happy 69th Birthday PopPop May 17, 2008

Lots of birthday's in May. It's PopPop's turn for a party. It wasn't much, but hopefully meant something to him. Hollin and Scott were in Strawberry, so Ryan and Lisa came over for a BBQ with PopPop and Grandma. We just hung out and visited and let the kids play. Not much different than most family get-togethers...just hanging out and having a good time.

My Dad is such a great man, father, and grandfather. He is always babysitting someone's kids, watching someone's sporting events or school production, or just spending time with family. He is absolutely wonderful with the children...he is a big kid himself still, at 69 years of age. He can still get down and wrestle with the kids. It's so fun to watch him with them. And he is always willing to help and be there for you!

He has done so much me, and continues to do for me over the years, and I am forever grateful for everything he has done. I really enjoy our conversations we have, whether it be sports, scriptures, grandchildren, or just shootin' the breeze...it's something I'll always treasure.

Happy Birthday PopPop. We love you!

Happy Birthday Madelyn & Abigail - May, 2008

It's time to party again...Madelyn turning 8 and Abigail turning 5, we threw a combined birthday party at the Bounce U. Between family and friends, we had 35 kids running around. It's was absolutely crazy.

We started at our home for pizza and play.

Then we headed for Bounce U for major craziness...

There were so many kids and so much craziness, I can only hope they all had fun. Thank goodness it was self-entertaining and I didn't have to entertain all of these kids.

We had a combined group of cousins, school friends, church and neighbor friends, work friends, soccer friends, and basketball friends...so I was a little worried that they all wouldn't get along. But it seemed to go pretty smooth...as smooth as 35 kids can go, and everyone seemed to have fun.

Back to the house for cupcakes and presents. This year was definitely a Webkinz year for the girls. Although they received a variety of gifts, they mainly got Webkinz, which they were absolutely thrilled about. Maddy now has 9 and Abby has 4 Webkinz.

The adults even got to sit for a minute at the end of the night to chit chat and enjoy some cake.

Whew...not sure if I'll do that again. But it was definitely memorable to Maddy and Abby. Happy Birthday baby girls. Mom loves you!

Happy 85th Birthday Grandma Chona - May 10, 2008

Joseph's Grandma Chona's 80th birthday party was held in Casa Grande at Amber's house. The Casa Grande kids really know how to throw parties. It was a surprise party for Grandma and boy was she surprised!!!! She was definitely the Princess of the night.

They had a D.J., a dance floor, tons of food, and lots of family. It was great to see everyone.

They even somehow got me out there on the dance floor, dancing to Selena...

Even though Casa Grande is not too far away, it still seems impossible to get down and visit. It was nice for the kids to see their cousins they don't get to see very often. We had a great night hanging out, visiting, dancing, eating, playing...

Joseph was able to see Aunt Juanita from Tucson, and see his sister Debra's 2 grandchildren...who are absolutely adorable...Tiera and Ramsey.

I can't believe Joseph's sister is a Grandma, and Marcy is a Great Grandma. I can definitely wait for that time to come for me.
It was a great night and we're glad we were able to be a part of, that we'll remember always!

We Are The Champions - Cinco de Mayo

The beginning of May started with another basketball tourney for Caleb...The Cinco de Mayo tournament. This time the boys coming out on top...of them all. Their first '1st place' finish and they are so proud of themselves. They were all on cloud nine...even the coaches and parents. We even had other parents comment on the enthusiasm and feel of the gym when they walked in to watch the championship game. They felt like they were at a High School game. It was great...and even greater to win. The boys lost their first game of the tourney, and went on to win 6 straight games, all the way to the Championship!!! Jordan was voted MVP of the tourney, hitting a 3 pointer at a crucial time. He had a great tourney. Caleb was outstanding on defense, and continues to improve always on offense. He had a few 16 point games, but then had a few 4 point games. He needs to keep working on his consistency, and always being BIG under the basket.

I think Caleb slept with the trophy for the first week after, and even took it to school to show his class and teacher. Joseph tells Caleb to remember that great feeling of winning, and continue to always work hard for the next one.