Baseball Banquet

I told myself that after we got home from vacation we would get ourselves back on a schedule so that it would be easier on all of us when school started again. It was MUCH easier than I thought...we were back on track by Monday! So glad the boys are adaptable and flexible! We had a fun week just playing and hanging out together. There were some stormy days, so we didn't get to the pool as much as I wanted to, but we did a couple of times. We played outside as much as possible, but it was pretty hot out most days, so that time was also limited.

Mason, did you use a marker???

Monday was Zane's last baseball practice. First they scrimaged, then we had a little "banquet," where the kids all got medals and we ate some snacks. It's so cute to watch these kids playing ball...they all want to get the ball every time, so they all leave their positions to run for it, and when the one (proud) child ends up with it, the rest go stomping/pouting off to their parents! Zane doesn't have a huge tolerance for being hot and tired either, so on top of not getting the ball every time, he doesn't always enjoy practice to the fullest!

Zane "fielding"

Zane batting

The "Parent Tunnel"

For the awards ceremony, Coach Scott had the parents "present" the medals to their child and tell them a little something. Matt wanted me to do it, but since he was the one that practiced with Zane every time, I had him do it! I don't know what he said, and he wouldn't tell me, but it was very cute!

Matt giving Zane his medal
Zane and his proud Daddy

Coach Scott congratulating Zane

Zane with his first baseball coaches

Both of the boys adore being outside, and Mason especially! When Mason wakes up, the first thing he does is point to the kitchen and say "hun-gee" (hungry). After his belly is full, he then points downstairs and says "ou-sigh" (outside). So usually we spend about an hour or more playing in the driveway/garage, before it gets too hot and muggy out! They each have a four-wheeler, and that is probably the most-used toy. Our rule is that they have to stay in the driveway and on the sidewalks, but as you can tell from this picture, they don't always follow the rules! But it's fun to see them playing together!

Mason wanting to be just like Zane!

This weekend we were at Matt's parents' house. Saturday sure looked rainy, but we didn't get any in Iowa, so the races were on. They didn't go as well for us as normal, Chris ended up 9th. Still a top 10, but we were hoping for higher! :) Sunday we spent the day at Grandma Beggs' house. Zane and Keaton really played well together for the most part (until they got hot and tired and were ready to go home). Poor little Mason would love to be able to keep up and do the same things as them, but he just can't. We did "catch" them throwing things at Mason...who just stood there taking it...and had to get after the big boys. They didn't realize we were watching out the window!

Craft time

Zane is pouting during Keaton's turn...
Hot wheels! They did this over and over...





Mason's Marvels

• Mason loves to look at books! We don't finish many, but we look at a lot! He already has some favorites, and one he's latched onto is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He calls it "Binchy." He'll bring it to me and want to find "Binchy" on every page, and on the inside covers, he finds the "Who." He seems to like tractor books and Dr. Seuss books. He says "hat" when he brings me The Cat in the Hat and says "No" when he brings me Green Eggs and Ham (cause the character is always saying no and I use a deep voice which he thinks is hilarious).
• I always said I'd never rock my children before going to bed because I didn't want them to become dependent...but recently I've started to and since Mason lets me I keep doing it. He isn't "dependent" on it, but after we read books, I'll ask if he wants to rock and he'll lay his head on my shoulder and cuddle up to me. So then I ask if he wants me to sing and he usually says "up-uh." This means he wants "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." He sings along and it goes like this, "Kinkle, how, up-uh, sky, kinkle, how." It's so adorable! He loves for me to sing. But lately he's been so super easy to put to bed. He'll throw his animal and blanket (or blankets) into bed, then want in, then blow me a kiss and point at the door for me to leave. What a great kid!

15-Year Class Reunion, Memorial Golfing, and Vacation

Two weeks worth of catching up to do...

Last weekend Matt and I had our 15-year class reunion. It was on Friday evening at the Country Club. Out of our 31 classmates, 11 of us were in attendance. We had a great time looking through our elementary yearbooks and reminiscing. The steak dinner was excellent! Here is a picture of the group...I don't think we've aged at all! :)

Class of 1995

High school sweethearts!

Saturday was the 3rd annual Shane Sweeney memorial golf tournament. He was our classmate who passed away 2 1/2 years ago. There was a great turnout, the weather was gorgeous, and a fun time was had by all! I rode around on a golf cart with some of my classmates and ate way too much food!

Kim and I at the tournament

Saturday the boys headed to the Ozarks with Craig, Keeta, Carroll, Leann, and Marcy. We stayed back to go to the races, then were heading that way Sunday morning. Chris got 3rd that night, and we got back to KC about 1:30 a.m. Our intentions were to do laundry and pack, and leave by 7:00 the next morning. Well, that didn't get done...we were tired! So we went to sleep and got left about 9:30. It rained on us for quite awhile, so hard in fact that we had to go pretty slow. When we arrived, everyone was eating some lunch, so it was good timing. Our cabin was okay...not quite what it looked like in the brochure, but it worked for us! By the time we got there, the boys had already been in the lake and the pool and were having a great time. We were definitely ready to spend some quality time on the lake!

Mason reading Green Eggs and Ham

Mason picking on Zane while he was asleep...sweet revenge!

This summer the boys have been lazy...sleeping in anywhere from 8-10:00! On vacation, Zane was up and going by 7:30 at the latest every morning! I think he was afraid he would miss out on some boating action if he slept any longer! He spent a lot of time swimming in the lake, pool, and riding on the boat. He loved swimming in the lake with Marcy!

Zane and Marcy swimming in the lake

Zane & Matt driving the boat
So relaxing...
Mason & Matt driving the boat

Last summer we kept trying to get Zane to ride the tube, and he wouldn't. This year he was all over it! He wanted to take a ride with everyone, and did with almost all of us! It was fun for Matt and I to ride with him together! After riding in the tube, he made a list of all of the people he rode with. It was cute! He was asking me how to spell everyone's name so he could "add them to his list."

Zane & Papa tubing

Mason figured out he had pockets...studying the lake!

Little lion all wrapped up...

Sunday evening, I noticed Mason felt hot. He had a temperature, so we gave him some ibuprofen. Once it kicked in, he seemed to be better, but each day the fever would spike and you could just tell he didn't feel well and wasn't acting like himself. On Tuesday we decided we'd go-cart. You can tell by the next pictures just how he felt, but as soon as he saw us getting in the go-carts, he wanted in! He rode with Matt, but didn't fully enjoy them as he was bounced around with a fever!

Zane riding a kiddie cart

"Get away from me"

Mason and Matt

Wednesday was my birthday and I was excited to be at the lake to celebrate! Unfortunately that morning Mason woke up hot again, it was the 4th day in a row, so we ended up taking him to urgent care. In true fashion, when we got there, his ibuprofen had kicked in, so he was laughing, smiling, eating, etc...but we did find out that he had an ear infection, so we got an antibiotic for him. Whew, a reason for the fever, and relief in sight... While we were picking up his medicine, Matt bought me some beautiful roses, which decorated our cabin very nicely for the remainder of the week! For dinner we boated to a restaurant that also has a beach. It was so neat! Mason wasn't much of a fan of the boat ride (he hates wearing a life jacket) so it wasn't much fun getting there and leaving, but we had a nice dinner, played some video games, and swam on the beach. We could go there every day and not get bored! That night, I enjoyed strawberry pie that Keeta made for me...YUM!!!

Didn't have corn holders...so we made forks work!

Thursday they were calling for rain, so we decided that would be a great day to head to Dogpatch, an area full of shopping and games. We visited our favorites...the shirt shop, fudge shop, and arcade.

Mason squirting Papa and Grandma with a water gun!

Just when we thought Mason was getting better, we were proven wrong. He was completely out-of-sorts...only wanted "Mama" to hold him, clung to me, threw himself on the floor crying, wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, whined...you name it! I really think he just didn't feel good and was also in a strange place, so that didn't make things any better for him! He is always such a happy, playful kid, and didn't want to do much of anything other than cry and have us hold him and walk around outside. We couldn't even get him to want to swim in the pool!

Mason, Matt, & Zane in the pool

Zane "diving"

Of course we had to make S'Mores a couple of times...yummy! Zane enjoyed helping Matt get the fire going for it.

Zane helping the fire by blowing air on it...


S'More time!

Zane explaining the hand signals he made up for when he's tubing...

Before going to bed Thursday night, I went on the deck to lay our wet towels out to dry, and this greeted me...I was scared to death! Matt walked right out on the deck and took this picture, I could never have done that!

Well hello friend...NOT!

Thursday night was ROUGH! Mason woke up about 2:00 and was up until 4:00 and then was restless for the remainder of the "night." He was SCREAMING! I didn't know what to do...everywhere I thought of taking him would wake everyone else up...so I just stayed put and tried to keep him quiet. Then at 6:00 I ended up walking around outside with him just to keep him quiet. I couldn't imagine he wasn't feeling better, he had been on medicine for a couple of days at that point...and started worrying that something else was wrong. Friday we wanted to go back to the beach, but I was so tired from being up all night that I stayed at the cabin with Mason. He ended up sleeping for 3 hours, but woke up crying and fussy. He was really inconsolable and I was getting worn out and felt bad that I couldn't do anything to make him happy. By the time they all got back from the beach, I was ready to pack up and go home! Matt had rented a jet-ski, so we did that for an hour, then tried to go to the pool, but Mason wanted nothing to do with that...so we ended up packing our things and headed for home.

We got home late and ate a little bit before putting the boys to bed. I could tell that they were both glad to see their own house, toys, and beds. Mason slept like a log, only fussing once in the night, and woke up his regular old self! I was thrilled! We were starting to think we should take him back to our doctor. I decided that it probably wouldn't be good to travel another 2 hours to Iowa and have Mason sleeping another new place...so Matt headed there and the boys and I stayed home. They played and played and played all day and we had fun! I was so glad to see Mason back to his normal happy self! It was a complete 180 for him! Matt ended up not coming home until Sunday. It felt weird to be home for a weekend, I kind of feel like it's halfway through the week already!

I'd love to have a "do-0ver" for vacation...with a healthy Mason, but even though he didn't have much fun, it was a great time with family! When I didn't have a kid clinging to me, I did enjoy relaxing on the water! Until next year...

Zane-isms

• Whenever we go on vacation with Matt's grandparents, she always brings presents for each day for the boys. One day she gave them toy boats that they could play with in the water. Zane was walking with her and said, "Grandma, do I get to keep that boat?" She said yeah and he said, "You mean I get to take it to my house and you're not taking it to your house?" She said yeah, she gave it to him. He said, "I never dreamed of that!"
• Saturday we went to Target and I told Zane he could get a new toy. He found a semi-truck that he's been wanting, and he asked if he could have it. I noticed it was marked down on clearance, so I said yeah he could. He was a little dumbstruck because he's been asking for it for awhile, so he didn't quite believe he could have it. Later, at home, he said, "Mom, why did you buy this truck for me, is it because you love me?" I said yes, I love him very much, I love him all the time. He said, "Even when I'm bad you love me?" I said that yes, even when he's bad and I'm angry with his behaviors, I still love him. He just kept asking me over and over about why I got him that truck!

Mason's Marvels

• Lately Mason's been playing a little game with us...if you ask him for a hug or kiss, he'll smile and say, "No!" He did this on vacation with everyone too...and when Old Grandma would ask him, he'd grin and say "No!" and then she would say "Oh, shoot!" He got to where he would repeat her saying "shoot!" but it sounded like another bad word...it was pretty cute how he'd say it after her though!
• One time when Matt asked Mason for a hug and kiss, he said his typical "No!" and then Matt ask him why not. His response was, "I no no (I don't know)."
• Mason talks and talks about "No-ee (Nora)" from daycare. So the other day I asked him who her sister is and he said "Sis-ter...Ma-de-en (Sister, Madelyn)."
• When we were at Target, we went back into the school supplies and were looking at backpacks for Zane. Mason looked over, pointed, and said "Doh-ee (Dora)!" Oh my, we are already recognizing cartoon characters!

Happy Rained-Out 4th of July!

What a busy week! We started the week by getting a couple of ever-important photo ops out of the way. The first was a suit picture...Matt's mom has a suit that Matt, his brother, his cousin, and Zane have all had their pictures taken in, so we had to get a picture with Mason wearing it to carry on the tradition. He thought it was funny at first, but it didn't take long for him to want it off! I did get a photo out of it though!

Mason with the suit in the chair Grandpa Beggs made

The second photo-op was with Zane. When Zane was a baby, I would take a picture of him beside Big Bird each month, to document his growth. I also did this with Mason. Now I take their picture with Big Bird each year. Wonder what they'll think when I make them lay beside Big Bird at 16???

Zane and Big Bird

We spent a lot of time at home this week, playing, reading, etc. We went swimming a couple of times, but stayed home more. The boys had a couple of "nice" moments with one another, when they weren't arguing over toys!

Zane reading to Mason

The boys watching t.v. and eating Doritos!

This week was Zane's last week of swim lessons. He did great, I was so proud of him! We had been working with him on swimming without a life jacket, but he kept saying "I can't do it, I'll just sink" and wouldn't really try. I guess it took someone else helping/showing him, because he did really well! Thursday was his last day and we got a report from his teacher...he passed! Next summer he'll be ready for level 2 lessons. He actually is already able to do most of what is required for level 2, but needs some practice for a few of the skills.

Mason watching Zane's lessons

Zane's class (he's to the right of the teacher)
Zane and his swim teacher, Kyle

Thursday night we celebrated Zane passing swim lessons by getting fireworks! Of course we had to come right home and try some sparklers out! Both boys had a lot of fun with this!

Zane with his sparkler

Mason with his sparkler

Friday we headed to Iowa for the long holiday weekend. We stayed with Matt's parents. Zane was excited to be on the farm again!

Tired Zane on the way to Iowa

Mason's first motorcycle ride!

Saturday we had Jennie (Matt's cousin) and Richard's wedding. Zane was very excited to get to dance after the wedding! There were a few glitches in the evening...first of all the CD wouldn't play, so we ended up getting our laptop out of the van and using it...the wedding started 15 minutes late. Then they took pictures after the wedding, they took a long time, and when they got to the reception, none of those CDs would work...but it was a beautiful wedding and now they can breathe because it's over! It was fun to celebrate with everyone!

The kids waiting patiently to dance...

Mason playing with balloons!
Zane was all over the "line dances!"

Mason was quite the dancer...

Sunday we were hoping to go boating, then go to Clearfield to ride rides, eat food, and watch fireworks. Unfortunately, none of that happened due to the rain! Everything but the ice cream social was cancelled for the day, so we ate lunch at home, then Matt, Craig, Zane, and I went to see Toy Story 3. We had been wanting to see it, but just hadn't gotten there yet. It was really cute! Then we went home, ate ice cream on the way, and then ordered pizza for supper. Today was also yucky...rainy again! We hung out at home, ate some lunch, then headed back home. Even though it was raining, the boys couldn't stop themselves from playing outside! They were playing in the pouring rain but couldn't be happier! After it stopped raining we saw Mason on his 4-wheeler like this...giving his lion a ride and packing his blankies in the back!

Mason with his favorite things...

Zane-isms

• At the wedding Saturday night, Zane and I were sitting at the table eating. He looked at me and said, "Mom, let's get married." I said, "I'm already married to Daddy, who do you want to marry?" He pointed to me and said, "You, Mom!"
• In the van the other day, Zane said, "We need to have two more babies. Two girl babies." I asked him why and he said, "So we could have three and three (boys and girls). Now we only have one and three!" Oh my!

Mason's Marvels

• Mason LOVES to be rocked before going to bed. So usually we rock and sing a couple of songs. One of his favorites is Rock-a-Bye Baby. He has now started singing it and when he does you can hear, "Rock, baby, tee top, down." He did this a lot this weekend when rocking Matt's old cradle. It was cute!
• Matt's mom was singing the Mickey song "Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog" and Mason was repeating her by saying "Dog, dog, ditty dog."