Testing. Testing. Is this thing on?

I've been pretty terrible at this blogging gig since September. Buuuuuut I figured I would fire up the keyboard and see what happened.

We are in the midst of Spring t-ball, baseball, soccer, and softball season around here.  Which means we are spending 6 out of seven nights a week at practices and games. Finley is playing t-ball, Hudson is playing in his 6U division (coach pitch, but still with the tee), Reese is playing softball, and Wyatt is playing advanced soccer and travel baseball.  So basically, the fun never stops.

These two get to spend plenty of time cheering for their brothers at the ball field.

She crushes the ball.  I think she thrives on the pressure and the fun that she has when she plays softball.  Reese also really loves her team, and that makes it easy.  And fun.  They also trash talk each other more than any baseball team I've ever seen.  They have high standards, and they hold each other to them.  I've heard, "Why didn't you catch that?," "You've got to get prepped!," and "C'mon Reese, you should've had that!" more at her practices than I've ever heard at Wyatt's games!

Wyatt's spring season is underway, and he's spending lots of time behind the plate, on the mound, in the Hot Corner, and occasionally right field.  He could use a kid or two reminding him to get prepped every pitch!  Ha!

This kid is all heart!  He plays like he spends all of his time watching baseball.  He loves it!

And Fin is having a ball, and I know Brian is having an equally fun time coaching her.  She can hit a ball, and she can always make him laugh!

Now that I've brought the blog "up to speed," I will attempt to blog about Christmas 2016 before December 2017.Do not place any bets.

Chicago

When Brian and I first started talking about his work trip to Wisconsin, we immediately discussed going to a baseball game.  We looked at the Milwaukee schedule, but then we realized that the Cubs (with some of the best young talent in baseball) were playing the Angels (hello Mike Trout)!   The drive was only about 3 and a half hours, so we decided to go!

We left Wisconsin early Wednesday morning and headed to Chicago.  We were definitely nervous about finding parking, but we ended up snagging a spot immediately.  And we walked up to this pretty awesome view!

We spent some time walking around Wrigleyville, tried to get some autographs, and did a little shopping.  We stopped for some drinks before we went into the stadium.

And then we went in to watch the Angels batting practice.

We were able to get really close to the field for batting practice, so we got some pretty awesome pictures of the team.  There's Albert Pujols.

 Just posting ths one because of Mike Trout's expression.  Ha!

We were able to watch his batting practice, and then we went to explore the stadium.  It was amazing!

The game was incredible!  I almost took a Kris Bryant foul ball to the face, but the guy in front of me stopped it, thank goodness.  Although I'm sure Brian would have saved me!

 The Cubs won!

My baseball obsessed husband.  Can't go to a game and not keep score!  We didn't leave our seats. Totally unplanned, but the players on both teams are so good, and the game was so great, so we didn't get up to get any of the good ballpark food.

Wearing our pre-game purchases.  Brian had to get a Sandberg shirt (his favorite player, he went to Wrigley to see a game during his final season - and also purchased all of his Hall of Fame stuff), and I'm a big Joe Maddon fan (now that he's with the Cubs. Not when he was coaching in the AL East, obviously).

Got my "first trip to Wrigley field" certificate.

We stayed in Chicago overnight, and then caught an early flight home the next morning. Had to get ready for another adventure - with the kids!

Hello Wisconsin!

Brian's company switched things up a bit this year, and decided to send him on two research/development trips this year in lieu of his typical November trip to Orlando. After talking about it for a bit (and checking in with the grandparents), we decided to make on trip a little getaway for the two of us.

His first trip was to the Wisconsin Dells (water park capital of the world).  We flew into Milwaukee and then made the drive to the Dells.  Neither of us had ever been to Wisconsin, and the parts that we drove through we gorgeous.  The scenery, the farms, the old barns.  

We went straight to the water park and spent the day riding new rides, trying the food, and stopped for my personal favorite: Dole Whips!

After a long day we checked into our hotel, debated naps, and then decided to just keep going!  We woke up at 2:30AM, but we didn't stop and went to putt-putt at 7PM!  We had to stop and take a picture with our room number.  Who doesn't love 227?

We drove through the Dells a bit before we settled on putt putt.  We ended up choosing a course based on  it's view!

                                           

Because the view was seriously gorgeous.  

I really loved the trip to Wisconsin, and it would have been awesome to have more time there.  After our round of golf, we found a place to have a late dinner.  We woke up the next morning and headed off on the next leg of our trip - Chicago!

July Little Things

July...it always comes in with the excitement of SUMMER and ends with me huddled in a corner counting down the days until school starts.  Just kidding!  (Kind of).

FQB got new pajamas, and wanted to send a picture to Daddy.

Brian came across a Target ad and saw these chairs and mentioned that they were on sale and I should look at them. That wasn't a coincidence.  Ha!  My parents were selling their house and I inherited their dining room table, but we were looking for new chairs and a bench.  SOLD!

I (spent an entire day) deep cleaned the boys' bedroom.  They were pretty happy with the end result, and I was very happy that it was DONE.  And they've done a semi-decent job keeping it clean since then!

These two are best buddies.  Last night we went to hang out with my family and my sister told Finley that she was coming to live at her house.  Finley didn't cry about leaving me or Daddy.  She cried because she would miss her Jete-Jete.

At our final tournament of All Star season.  Aidan was ready to pitch, and Wyatt loves being behind the plate.

And the sky that night was perfection!

We spent some time practicing this girl's letters.

We were back at the fields the next night, and the sky put on another great show.  These boys played their hearts off that night and lost in a heartbreaker.  But it was a great game.

Huddy Buddy was exhausted from the late games.

We had swim lessons and then dropped Wyatt off at the waterpark for some fun with his friends.  Hudson was screaming that he needed to go to the bathroom, so we did something that we could only do for a few more days: stop at Didi and Pop Pop's house.

He peed in the backyard, and they took a few final jumps off the diving board at the house.

Wyatt had a double header one Sunday and didn't realize that he lost a tooth until we were home!

Reesie went to a three day Dogs & Cat art camp. She had so much fun learning new art techniques!

There was some Home Run Derby watching.  They love to have popcorn and watch baseball.

We went to support our local children's hospital at a lemonade stand.  Finley loved her green lemonade.

Reese participated in a 2 week summer enrichment program for the school system.  It was a really neat opportunity to explore topics and how they relate together in language arts, math, science, and history.  She had one of her best friends in class with her, so that made it extra fun.

At the end of her two week course, the parents were invited to come in and see what they had been learning about.  They had lots of fun showing off their new knowledge about math and science, especially since some of the things they covered were "sixth grade topics."

                                          

Reesie has been begging me for awhile to paint her boring brown room.  It truly was boring.  The beige color was great for Hudson's baby room, but wasn't so awesome for her room.  We went to Home Depot and chose the colors, and she helped with some of the painting.  We even added a little glitter to the pink wall.  She loves it and is doing a great job keeping it clean.

Wyatt spent the last week of July at soccer camp at a local college.  It was the hottest week of the year, but he was a champ.  It was a really great week full of learning about soccer and lots of fun.  He LOVED his coach, who is playing for the college this fall.  The top picture is his team..the bottom pictures are some action shots that were taken by the camp photographer.

And that's a wrap on July.

Finley's School Year Wrap Up

Finley's first year of preschool went so well.  She started the year in the 2 day 3's class, and finished the year going 5 days a week.  There were grumpy, tired moments in the afternoons while she got accustomed to having less down time at home, but she did really well.  She never asked to stay home from school, and she really loved going everyday and seeing her friends and teachers.

When she made the switch to 5 days, she stayed with her teacher and was in two "classes."  That meant she had lots of friends between the T/Th group and the M/W/F class!

She was definitely well behaved at school and was an eager helper.  She's not quite as interested in mastering her letters as the other three were at 3, but she's getting there.  She definitely has her "how to behave in a classroom" manners down.  And she practices them at home.

And here she is on her last day!  I can't believe how fast that year went by!  But I think I said that for all of them at this age.  And now we're done with 3 year old preschool for all 4.  I'll say it again: I jsut can't believe it!

Hudson's last day of 3's

Reese's last day of 3's

Wyatt's last day of 3's

And now everyone has a book signed by their teachers and special people in the school.  I guess I came across this idea on Pinterest when Wyatt was in his first year of school and it's proven to be a great idea.  I love reading their notes from their teachers each year.

And now that school is all wrapped up, maybe I'll move onto our actual summer before school starts in two weeks!

Hudson's School Year Wrap Up

Huddy Buddy is all finished with Pre-K!  He had such a fantastic final year of preschool.  When he started the year he knew all of his letters and sounds, and he was a beginning reader, but he flourished this year. 

His teacher gave him the time to get acclimated to Pre-K, and waited until he really had an interest in reading before she gave him a book.  That was all that it took.  Once he started reading, he didn't want to sopo!

I feel so lucky that I was able to work at his school for the last few months of the year!  I knew beforehand that he had a great group of friends, but being able to see them together all of the time was the best.  I know that he is going to miss his buddies in Kindergarten!  Fortunately he will still see them at his extended day Kindergarten, and at baseball!

And now this little fella is Kindergartner!  I can't believe it!