Baseball tournament

Ryan had a baseball tournament in Bemidji this weekend. We left Saturday morning. Shortly after we got on the road, I am reminded why we don't always travel together as a family...unless it's to Disneyworld or some place special. Bickering....complaining.....all that great stuff. I put on my headphones and cranked up the music.
The boys played awesome on Saturday and won both games!


One game is okay for the kids. Two gets long...especially when both are during naptime. That doesn't bode so well for Brady.
Here is Kate and Kenzie...Brady's little girlfriend.

Don't ask me what Brady is doing here...well I know he's pretending to hold a bat. I guess the mitt on his head is a helmet? This child is....interesting.

Brady in a time out. Yes I even do this in public...in the middle of grass....i dont' care.

Swimming with Dad. Kate kept begging me to get on my suit. She asked why I didn't want to. I said, "Well...I've had four babies." She said, "Well I haven't what's your point."

The boys (and one girl who rocks!) treat Brady like a little king. It is so sweet...and everytime I get mad at Ryan, I need to remember that he is the first to kiss Brady goodnight. So fun.

The kids got trampled on Sunday. It was like the Bad News Bears. They were off...too off.
Last night much of the team was over playing a game of baseball after batting practice. I brought out Brady to say good night to Ryan. Wow...he got high fives, knuckles, hugs, the works.
All this sweetness just may psych me up to go again in a month for the state tournament.

trip

I've just returned from what I can look back on and call the trip of a lifetime. I saw places and things that I'd never have the opportunity to see otherwise. I saw more pieces of history than I can share. Also, how many of you care?!?!?! We went to Memphis...the highlight was the Civil Rights Museum which is built around the location where Martin Luther King was killed. We were required to a read a book about it prior, and all I can say is, wow, did it bring it home.
We hit Beale Street both nights. Another wow! So cool...so fun. We did hit a lot of other places there too.
Lorraine Motel where King was killed.

Bad picture of Beale street

My adorable roomie Kacie for the week...on a bus ride through Mississippi. The highlight for me was the seeing the places surrounding the Emmett Till murder in 1955. We read a novel in my history class. It hit home. Very creepy. A gentlemen even drove up as we were overlooking a bayou to talk. He was there the first week of the trial! So.dang.cool.

Our group of teachers at the Vicksburg battlefield in Mississippi at the Minnesota monument.

Then we went to New Orleans. Holy stinky city! Ewwww....we saw everything...stayed in the French Quarter, did a six hour bus tour based on Hurricane Katrina. Powerful. We went to the WWII museum. Moving.
But it was hot. This was after a surprise two hour walk through a neighborhood that we didn't know would happen. We were cranky.

But you can always clean up and have dinner with the girls!

I had so much fun. I slept little. I was a little too crazy a few nights...yes a few nights. Eek. But I learned so much.

Birthday & Baseball

Last weekend was a busy one. Kate turned nine on June 4th. Where has the time gone? Seriously....I feel old. She ended up spending the day with Delormes because she didn't want to sit at Ryan's baseball games. Then we went shopping that night. You'd think a little mother/daughter shopping (okay Grandpa Wayne came too) would be fun. Not with Kate. She is only into scoping out junk. She likes to look at stuff, shows me things she likes, but wants nothing. And trying on clothes? Torture. She'd rather just look at herself in the mirror and make faces. Not my style at all.
On Saturday and Sunday, Ryan had a baseball tournament in West Fargo. The weather was perfect. Oh my god do I love watching baseball. When it's sunny, a light breeze, how does it get better? It also hit me that I can actually see the faces of the players. During hockey and football, you can't see a dang thing. Ahhh I love it. Ryan pitched the entire first game. He did very well, but the other team's pitcher was a beast. I don't even know if we scored at all. I can't remember. But the boys won the next two games, and took the consolation championship. Very cool.

This little guy sits intently during the games....for awhile. Then he grabs his ball and finds a stick for a bat, and mimics the big boys. So.stinkin.cute.


Sunday night after another game, Kate had her birthday party at Space Aliens. For the first time, I pared the number of guests way down. That, coupled with a few girls at the lakes made for a nice small party! Well how small do you get when you own family consists of six people? Ryan asked to bring two boys. At first I said no, it was Kate's day. Then he reminded me that he never had a party....okay I said. Plus these two boys are sweet. And they treat Brady like he's their little brother.

It was a good weekend. Crazy busy, but good.
The rest of the week I spent in a seminar. And guess what? Today...as in a few hours, I am flying to Memphis for two nights, Vicksburg, MS, for one night, and New Orleans for three nights. Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!