A Weekend Away!

 A long time ago, Dale gave me a weekend at the cabin for my birthday.  I was able to go without kids and scrapbook the whole weekend.  I have done this several times but went several years without going.  Mostly because my birthday is at a really busy time in our lives and we can't make it work.  This year, I told him I wanted to do that again.  I have way too much on my plate right now and I really needed a break.  So Lisa and I went up late on a Thursday night and came home on Sunday night.  We didn't bring any scrapbooking stuff like we used to.  We didn't really even plan food.  We went to the store on the way up and bought what looked good.  I haven't done this in 4 years.  The last time we came up, Katie was 6 months old and she came with us. 

This time it was Kierra's turn to come.  Actually, I went down on Saturday to get her.  She had a volleyball game that I didn't want to miss so I went down for that and brought her back up with me.  She had a project for school that she needed help with so I brought her up to work on that.  She had to make civil war clothing for teddy bears.  At first, I was dreading the project but it turned out to be fun and the bears turned out really cute.  This is Javier the bear!
I had a fabulous time away.  I slept in every day and watched several movies that I had been wanting to see.  I did some things on the computer but not a lot.  Mostly, just relaxed and didn't worry about anything.  Well, I did worry about my family that was sick at home.  Luckily, Gladys had come to help out and took good care of everyone.  I love her! It was a much needed break.  I'm thankful that Dale was willing to do that for me!

The firecrackers

 Kierra finished up her volleyball season yesterday.  She had a great season.  Her team was called the firecrackers and they did really well. They played well together.  They went into the tournament last weekend undefeated.  They beat the teams they played last week and were really excited to play yesterday.  Unfortunately, they didn't have a very good day and lost both games.  It was sad because they definitely didn't play their best.  It was a fun season though.  I'm glad Kierra likes to play volleyball and has a fun time with her friends!

Loving Baseball

Kyson is really loving baseball this year.  He didn't play last year because he wasn't sure he liked it.  This year, he decided to play again and loves it.  He's really getting good too.  He has had some amazing plays this weeks.  On Tuesday night he came close to getting a grand slam.  If there wasn't a 6 run rule, it would have been a grand slam.  The bases were loaded when he got up to bat.  The first hit was a foul ball.  The 2nd hit he just slammed the ball all the way to the grass.  He made it to second but the 3 kids that came in before that made it so that the team scored 6 in an inning so the inning was over.  The whole team was cheering for him and the coaches were all so excited!  It was so much fun to see the big smile on his face.  He had another game last night against the same team.  He had two more great hits.  One singe and one double.  It is so much fun to watch him love the game!

3 wins!

Monday night was an awesome baseball night!  All 3 boys had games and all 3 boys won!  Jadon's team won against the pirates.  Jadon hit every time he got to bat and he had a great double one of the times at bat.  Jaxon's team beat the Yankees.  This was awesome because the Yankees were undefeated until this game.  I believe the O's won because of Jaxon's awesome pitching.  It was an amazing game!  Kyson's team also beat the Yankees.  He was really excited because their team hasn't had very many wins.  After all the victories, the boys stayed after and played on the field.  They had a great time together.  I love nights like this!

Happy Birthday Kierra!

 I guess I am starting a new tradition of blogging about my children a month after their birthday.  I can't seem to find the time to blog like I want to anymore. 
We had a good time celebrating Kierra's 14th birthday.  Like always, we had a baseball game the night of her birthday, so we went out to dinner a few days before.

 She picked Panda for her birthday dinner.  It was yummy and we all had a great time.

 This is Kierra on her actual birthday right before she left for school.  Can't believe that she's 14!

 The night of her birthday she was working in the snack bar.  This is her first real job.  It's a really fun place to work and she actually chose to work on her birthday.

 Here she is with a poster that her little brother's made her for her birthday present.

Dale and I gave Kierra a new bike for her birthday.  She's been riding the bike she had since she was 8 so it was definitely time for a new one.  She picked out this cute new bike.  Kierra is a great kid.  She has a lot of friends and does a lot with the.  She does well in school and is very responsible about taking care of her grades.  She's very artistic and creative.  It always amazes me how well she can draw.  She has set high standards for herself.  She has already earned her Young Women's medallion and is working on her 2nd one.  I'm so impressed with the young woman she is becoming and we are so happy that she is part of our family!

Let the games begin!

So the baseball season has begun!  It seems like we always have a new mit that needs to be worked in for the season.  This year we had three!  Jadon didn't play baseball last year and he grew so much that he needed a new mit.  Jaxon lost his mit, again, so he is paying for his new mit.  Kyson also outgrew his mitt so we had to get him a new one.  Luckily, we have about 3 weeks before games begin so we will have time to work them in.  I love the baseball season.  I love watching the boys play catch in the backyard.  I love the sounds of baseball!  This year I have volunteered to help at the snack bar.  Kierra, and Jadon when he has time, will also be working there.  Jaxon will be umping games.  Needless to say, we will be at the ballpark ALL the time.  Let's play ball!

Happy Birthday Jake!

When we were done eating, Jake asked us if he could have a McFlurry.  We told him to go ask the employees if he could have a free one since it's his birthday.  We were totally kidding around with him but he said Ok, and went and asked for one.  How could they tell a kid no?  He scored!

 Ok, so I know Jake's birthday was a month ago (to the day, in fact) but my computer was out of commission so I wasn't able to blog about it.
Jake had his golden birthday on 2-10-13.  He decided a long time ago that he wanted to go swimming.  His actual birthday was on Sunday so we planned on going the day before.  Unfortunately, I got really sick and we weren't able to go until the day after.  The kids had a great time swimming but I forgot to bring my camera so there are no pictures.  After swimming, we went to McDonald's for dinner.  We had a great time, like always, going out to dinner.  The Saturday after his birthday, we were able to go out to dinner with my family to celebrate Grandma Shingleton's birthday.  The kids love going to Golden Coral.  They love buffets, especially when they can get all the cotton candy they want.
Jake is a great kid.  He's super smart and loves to learn about new things.  He is always full of information that he loves to share with us.  He loves video games.  He loves it when it's Friday and he can play video games.  I wish he wasn't so addicted to them but we haven't been able to find something else that he loves as much.  He's generally a happy kid and gets along great with Kyson.  I'm glad that he is a part of our family and I hope he had a great birthday!  I love you Jake!

Jake and Grandma celebrating their birthday together

My handsome little 10 year old