Baseball

Anden's baseball season is in full swing!

(yes pun intended!)

His team is doing awesome and improving each game!

Anden is turning out to be quite the little player!

I have to brag a bit.

Most kids still strike out at least twice a game.

But not Anden!

He's been 4 for 4 in the last few games!

Such a little slugger!

Now to emphasize to him that defensive skills are just as important! :)

He has 2 games per week.

So rather than inundate you with baseball pics documenting each and every game,

I'll just post updates throughout the season.

Monday 3/24 Game:

They won 7-0!

Anden was 4 for 4

and scored 3 times!!

Taylee had basketball practice first.
Then we grabbed dinner
and ran to Anden's game next.

Crew and Grace are pretty interchangeable with my kids

since basically everyone's about the same age.

Today Grace had gymnastics

so Crew was the lucky one to come with us.

Giving Anden last minute tips prior to the first pitch!

He's off around the bases!

Love this pic of him scoring while slapping his coach's hand

He really enjoys playing catcher.

I'm pretty sure it's that he feels cool in all that gear! ;)

Finally Tyler and Grace stopped by after gymnastics.

Now Anden really had a fan club!

But his fave Super Star moment was when he got to pass out the game treats afterwards!

Now some video highlights

Taylee - Kindergarten

I was cleaning out media files and realized I never posted this precious little video!!

It had problems uploading originally and I guess I set it aside and forgot. :(

Anyway she's only halfway done with Kindergarten

so it's not that late to post it right??!

I'm still in the same school year at least! :)

It brought back a tear to my eye watching it.

I hope you enjoy it too!

Taylee's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Spring Break Finale

Friday:

The Final Day of Spring Break

The kids spent the morning playing on the roof.

Somehow it's become their new fort.

I had to chuckle when I looked outside and Lynette (Ash's Mom)

was relaxing on the KIDS lounger reading in the warm sun.

Only a little 5 ft women could fit on that lounger!

Then we spent the afternoon at the pool!

Ryan got off work early and jumped in.

The kids were more than excited!

Apparently it's pretty exclusive to ride the Ryan Train.

I guess that random kid in red wasn't on the VIP list.

(seeing how he's desperately waiting in every picture lol)

Then Ryan disappeared (hhmm wonder why)

 and the girls searched the park playing hide and seek for him

while the boys moved on to the diving boards

Finally the Russos even ended up joining in as well!

Noah even got brave and went off the high dive!

Cute little Mattie hung out with us Mommies!

Then my freezing little girl (although still being blinded by the sun) joined in too!

We love lazy Spring Break days!!

Now Monday... it's all back to reality! :(

Spring Break

We spent Spring Break lounging in the glorious 80+ degree weather!

Which means we spent a lot of time swimming!!

Later the kids were swimming and I noticed something odd.

"Honey um what are you doing with the dive sticks?!"

"Mommy they're my extra ammo!"

Hhmm looks like someone has been hanging out with Ryan too much! lol

Eventually Ryan got off work and met us at the pool.

The kids had to show them their tricks on the diving boards.

Likewise he showed them his!

Then it was the usual Ryan mauling in the pool.

He's much cooler than me when it comes to swimming with the kids!

And some live footage for your entertainment!

It's a......!!!!

The big 

GENDER REVEAL ULTRASOUND

was on March 18th.

Here's a picture of my baby belly that morning!

The kids and I were both off for Spring Break.

So we figured it was a perfect way to include them in the baby excitement

and brought them along to the appointment.

All bets were officially placed prior to walking in.

Boys wanted a boy.

Girls wanted a girl.

(But Mommy & Daddy were actually happy with either!!)

Sneaking a picture in the Ultrasound Room!

Taylee was most excited about the big reveal

and had to be sitting as close to me as possible.

After what felt like forever, for her, to wait while they measured the baby's

heart, brain, legs, arms, etc, etc,

The Dr finally got to the gender reveal part...

AND....

It's a.... 

GIRL!!

Taylee literally SQUEALED with sheer joy!!

Anden gave a disappointed look for a split second

then also flashed a beaming smile!

Phew 4 for 4 were happy with the outcome!! :)

Now to officially start the fluffy frilly pink planning process!
I already have nursery designs swirling in my head! lol

(Ok now I'll admit that the Dr told me at my 12 wk ultrasound that it was a girl! I was extremely skeptical to trust that news so early on seeing as they're wrong often.  But I also knew it was girl! So I guess the Dr was right with the mini 12 wk peanut...or at least a really good guesser!)

Leprechauns & Lucky Birthdays

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

We awoke to all sorts of mischief that 

Lucky the Leprechaun

had caused!!

The kids LOVE seeing his pranks and trying to catch him!

He knocked over the couch

Put the chairs on the table and hung toys from the chandelier

Walked on the mirrors, pictures and doors

Drew a self portrait in the bathroom and peed (green) in each toilet

Switched plants into different places

But he wasn't all tricks.

He did leave us some treats.

His favorite snack

And buckets of green and gold for everyone!

Testing out the new green gear!

Then we switched to birthday mode.

Ahh balloons with money wrapped inside.

My favorite kind! :)

Next up:

Shamrock Bingo!

Then we went back to bday presents.
More green!
Taylee realized she doesn't like green apple twizzlers! lol

To our shock,

 we figured out that Lucky even snuck into their bedrooms and kissed 

(or pooped on depending on who you ask)

their foreheads!

Next we had breakfast on the patio!
Nothing like a green pancake the size of my plate!

We lounged around on our green sugar high
then got ready to head to Spring Training Baseball

San Diego Padres vs Colorado Rockies

Normally I handpick the festive outfits the kids will wear.

But I let them have free reign this time.

Taylee wanted to wear as much green as possible.

Mission complete! lol

We laid out our blankets in the grass

then ventured off to the kids baseball field.

We've learned over the years to bring your bats, mitts and whiffle balls

and get to the game early!

Taylee at bat!

Next Batter: Anden

He had a deep hit

and really chased his sister around those bases!

It's always funny to me how the second we break out our baseball gear

and start playing a game,

kids crawl out of the woodwork to ask to play with us!

One random guy finally says to me

"Aren't you Taylee's mom?"

Why yes I am!

He's from Anthem also and sub coached her basketball team practice 5 wks ago.

Apparently she made an impression on him!

He raved about what a cute athlete she was! lol

So he and his son joined the game and the fun continued!

I always know it's time for a break
when I see this wee one hanging on the outfield wall!

So we headed back to our blanket to relax for a bit
and watch the start of the REAL game!

After a couple innings we wandered back over to the bleachers.

It was a HOT one today!

Much better with the sun at our backs than our faces!

The teams were both wearing special green baseball hats that day in honor of
good 'ole St. Patty's Day.

Anden and Ryan went on a mission to get a player to throw them a hat.

At the railing begging players as they left the field

After several attempts,
a hat was thrown in Ryan's direction.
A lady reached in front of him to steal it from him.
But his mighty paws ripped it from her grasp!
Dad and I were cracking up laughing watching from afar.
Anden was BEAMING that he got a new green REAL hat!

 

While we were sweating to our seats and feeling the sunburn on our arms,

our Idaho family were texting pictures of their current snowstorm.

Ahhh I love where we live!!

Eventually we made our way back to our grass seats.

The kids played on the outfield fence while the game wrapped up.

Then Ryan and the kids ran to try to get a ball thrown up to them after the game.

Three minutes later he texted me that he was already successful!

And even managed to get 2 balls.

2 cute kids = 2 game balls thrown their way!

What a super fun day at the ballpark!!

The kids were so hyper on the drive home

then suddenly decided to practice their zen moves.

It was finally quiet so I had to document the rare occasion!

We relaxed for a bit at home before heading out to dinner.

The kids gave me their cute bday cards!

What a great birthday!!

Thank you to all my fabulous family and friends for making it a special day!

And yes we did milk the birthday dinners & desserts for multiple nights afterwards! :)