Baseball Saturday

Today we watched Kyle's baseball games...2 games back to back...many, many hours. Here's Grampy. He watches every second of every game. He and Grammy are, by far, the boys' biggest fans.

Larry wanted me to take this picture. See the snow on the mountains...it was so beautiful. But Chino Hills is hot, dusty, and it smells like cow poop...hey, kinda like Kansas!!!

Here's my boy up to bat. He played DH the first game and played 3rd base the second. He did great!

Nathan chatting to Grampy and Daddy. The boy NEVER SHUTS UP!!

Here's the whole team, they didn't wear their uniform shirts today, as this was only a scrimmage. Can you pick out Kyle?? He's the cute boy, right behind the kid with the helmet on. We did have a great time watching him, still can't believe he's 16 years old and in High School.

Wordless Wednesday #16 ~ Homemade Breakfast Sandwich

A Holly Day

Eldon and Holly (our neice and nephew) came over yesterday afternoon. Holly is such a girly-girl, however she does not take any crud from any of the boys. She is the only girl in our family, so we do all the "girly" stuff when she comes over...and I love it...probably more than she does!! We made cupcakes! Funfetti with heart print papers and white icing.

The boys and Holly eating dinner. The girl has a great appetite, and is still thin as a greenbean. I guess she doesn't take after me!

She read me a book. She loves to read. Notice how she crosses her legs...so girly and cute. Look in Eldon's hand at his "homemade paintball shooter." That's another story...we won't go there.

Here is Holly after she organized Molly's toys. A girl after my own heart...she loves to read AND organize! Last time she was here she organized all of my utensil drawers...I am not kidding.

Licking the beater after we made cupcakes...the best part!

I always have crafts for them to do. These are Easter frames ready for my Easter mantle. Nate made one too, but Eldon refused...too busy.

Holly playing Teacher. Hmm...maybe we'll have another teacher in the family some day.

We made meatloaf for dinner. Holly would not touch the raw meat or the egg...

Sick Boy = Time for Crafts

Look what I did today...They turned out SO cute...if I do say so myself!! Okay, um, these pictures posted in backwards order. So, I am going to leave it...work with me people. These are two Easter/Spring signs that I made today. Again, I got the wood in the "cut wood" bin at Lowe's. 71 cents each. I used paint that I already had (thanks Barbie!) and bought a few pages of scrapbook paper and some wooden letters.

This is what my kitchen table looked like all day. I mod-podged the paper to the front of the letters and sanded around the edges to take the excess paper off. Time consuming...yes. Difficult...no.

Some of the raw materials before I began.

Here's my sick boy...feeling better now. Hope he sleeps okay. He's such a trooper, basically he just laid around and watched movies all day. Love this boy so much, I always just wanna hug him and kiss him and tickle him. Even though he thinks he is too old...I'll always hug, kiss, and tickle him.

Schedule of a High School Athlete

Here is Kyle's schedule for today:
6:00- Shower, Breakfast, Ready (pack backpack, lunch, and baseball gear)
7:15- Leave for School
8:00- School Begins
2:45- Classes End
3:00- 5:30- Baseball Practice on the Muddy Field (however it was a beautiful day!)
6:45-8:00- Work out at the Baseball Training Facility (you should see the stuff he can do...)
8:00-8:45- Batting Lesson with Former Mets Baseball Player
9:00- Home to Eat Dinner and Start Homework (he has all accelerated classes...NO easy classes!)
12:00 Midnight- Hopefully to Bed. I'm never sure because I am asleep long before this.

I don't know how he maintains this schedule. He gets good grades and is still able to hang out with friends, send thousands of text messages per month, and play with his brother.

More Legos on the Kitchen Table

My kitchen table...

Lego people are so cute...notice the crumbs all around. Nathan was eating Saltines while he was building.

Nathan received Indiana Jones Legos from Grammy and Grampy for Valentine's Day. He worked for several hours to finish them. He loves Legos...thanks Grammy and Grampy.

Valentine's Dinner

Mom, Larry, Eldon, Holly, Darrell, Kyle, Nathan, and I all had Valentine's dinner here. Larry eating homeade Tomato Bisque soup...so delicious...salad, and a Scotch and water! What more could a guy want??

Kyle and his Grammy...eating Creamed Chicken, Kyle and Darrell's favorite meal. See the orange soda?? I bought it at the Mexican market, it's called "Jarritos."

The Grandkids with their favorite Valentine's!! Those are some lucky kids to have such fantastic Grandparents...spoiled with love and time...

Darrell and I. This is our 20th Valentine together! WOW...can you believe it?

Chocolate covered strawberries...

We had a great Valentine dinner. I made everyone's favorite foods and we just sat around for several hours and chatted while the kids ran amuck throughout the house playing hide-and-go seek. What did you do for Valentine's Day??

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL OF OUR CHERISHED FRIENDS AND DEAR FAMILY MEMBERS!! You are all such a special part of our lives...WE LOVE YOU!! Will you be our Valentine??

You can tell who the boys' favorite Valentine is, huh?? The most-loved, spoiled dog in the World...

Valentine's Mantle

A side view. A bottom view is at the bottom of these pictures...cleaver huh??

I bought these cheap wooden frames at Target in the $1 section and painted them white. Then, I just printed words on my printer and put them in the frames. The Love sign and the hot pink beads were actually Christmas decorations...90% off at Kohls. I think the beads were 29 cents and the Love "ornament" was 99 cents.

The frame on the far left and far right were from Michaels, unfinished, for $1. I just bought cute scrapbook paper and glued it on. I bought the heart frame last yeat at a garage sale for 50 cents and the white frame was a weird turquoise color, from Joann's $1, that I painted white and added ribbon. Easy!

Nathan made this frame for me for Mother's Day when he was in Preschool, it goes perfectly into this mix. I love it so much, that it is usually on my mantle always.

I change my mantle with the holidays...so these are pictures for Valentine's Day. In years past, I have used mostly red for this month, but this year changed to hot pink, pink, and white. I mostly just repainted and covered with scrapbook paper what I already had. I love the way it turned out...pictures of my favorite people in the Whole World.

Valentine Exchange

Nathan had his Valentine exchange today at school. I remember Valentine's Day as a kid...actually my first day of school in California (in 5th grade) was on Valentine's Day. My Mom didn't realize this when she sent us to school. Well, we had no Valentine's to give and did not receive any...not a great start at a new school in a new State, but we got over it eventually.

Happy Valentine's Day to you. Tomorrow I'll try to show pictures of my Valentine mantle.

Wordless Wednesday #15 ~ February Front Porch

I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Varsity Baseball

Check this out Grammy and Grampy...

We're very proud that Kyle made the Varsity Baseball Team at his new school. Today he got his uniform...tons of stuff...sweatshirts, t-shirts, jerseys, shorts, pants...unbelieveable. I just thought he would get one uniform shirt and a pair of pants. By the way, he has to get several businesses to sponsor his team...any takers?? Kyle is such a great kid, I don't know what we did to deserve to be his parents, but I know I am blessed and extremely grateful!!!

Teaching...One of My Favorite Things!

These are some of my "girls"...I love them and love working with them. Their parents are also delightful and so ready to learn.

Look how excited they get when they're learning about Mandarins! I hope and pray that I have a long-lasting impact on these little minds. They teach me something new everyday....

A Walk Through California

A rare photo of Nathan dancing.

A Kansas boy at heart!! He he

Nate was the "Team Captain."

Nathan was the expert on Capital and Capitol. He had to memorize his lines and answer several questions on the subject. Would you know the capitals of California before Sacramento?? If you ever want to know...ask Nathan.

Today Nathan's forth grade class had their "Walk Through California" presentation. Basically a teacher/actor comes to the school and literally walks the children through the history of California. From the beginning when it was called "New Spain" to the present. It was fantastic, and the kids learned so much...and so did I.