My John Deere Ridin', Ice Cream Cone Eatin' Girl

Sunday evening at grandpa's house and this is the excitement of the night...it doesn't get any better than this!

Ready! Set! Shoot!

Finally, the project that was never going to end, has ended.

Almost.

I mean, at least it's usable now. No lines/designs on the court, some landscaping still needs to be touched up, but by golly, you can shoot a basket.

Well, I can't really. I'm not very good.

But my kids can, and the neighbor kids can, and my kids' friends can...

You know what I mean!

Ridin' a Two Wheeler

Maddi finally decided she was ready to ride her bike.On 2 wheels, even.
Because before, she wouldn't even ride it with training wheels.

Now look at her go!

Storm

Just a shot of the sky before a(nother!) storm came rolling in this summer.

Fourth of July Feet

Well what fun would the 4th of July be without all of the festivities like parades, parties, and fireworks?

Nothing.

Unless your name is Maddi and you have Fourth of July Feet!

Hope you all had a fun weekend!!

Phipps' Visit!

Our good friends from Colorado decided to make a detour over to Eastern Iowa on their way to a family reunion in South Dakota. We got lucky with FABULOUS weather, and packed in lots of fun stuff while they were here, including a baseball game of Drew's, swimming at the Coralville pool, a trip downtown for some pizza at the Airliner, playing on the ped mall, and ice cream at Whitey's! All this in 36 hours? You betcha!ending the night with ice cream
playing downtown

Lars' question of the day..."Does it hurt to be bald?"
The Phipps' and the Kains

walking around downtown
playing at the pool
boys being boys
Emma before her deep water test
The Toilet Bowl (aka The Hurricane)
Lars doing a *360 twist* off the board
Drew
Alek heading for a *flat on his back* landing

Post-Win Pics

Drew and one of his best buds, Caleb
the bracket
Drew and his trophy
clapping for the White Sox
celebrating the win
unfortunately lots of these pics are a little blurry. wrong camera setting and a mom just as excited as the boys ;)

Pirates Win!

5 pm--Let the game begin!

I wish the simplicity of the title of this post represented the ease with which the boys won their championship, but not so. In reality, it was a grueling 4 hour and 10 minute nail biter of which had me at some points wanting to *throw up a little in my mouth* (sorry-hope you're not eating your breakfast or anything as you read this).

We went into the night only (ONLY!) needing to beat this team one time, but they came out swinging and before we knew it they had 3 runs on the board.

Not a good start.

Our fielding was lousy, our bats about the same. We were able to rally back and tie, then creep ahead, only to have them come back and tie again and finally be surpassed with a score of 9-6.

Ok. White Sox win. CRAP!

Let the game (number TWO, that is) begin!

The first game, apparently, was the kick in the pants they needed to realize that it's do or die time. If they wanted to win and be able to end their season on top of all the others, they needed to step it up, BIG time!

And they did.

This time it was US who had 4 runs by the end of the first inning, and we were finally playing Pirate baseball. Bats were swinging, plays were being made in the field, and we were able to hold them. Of course what would a tournament be without a little coaching drama (from both sides), but emotions were running high, everyone was very tense, and both teams were on edge, just wanting their boys to get the win. The boys overlooked it all and persevered. As parents we were so proud of their job well done and the tenacity they showed when they needed it. At the end of the day, it was really neat to see 20 boys on the field playing their hearts out, even though 10 of them had to walk away with 2nd place.

Glad that wasn't us.

Pirates win it, 9-3.

Way to go on your 16-1 season boys.

2010 Pirates-

(f) Drew, Tate, Caleb, Mitchell, Nick

(m) Cade, Brayden, Ethan, Ryan, Hunter

(b) Coach Jeff Adcock, Coach Troy Thomsen, Coach Dan Nugent

Day 3 of Tournament Play

Last night we played the White Sox, and this was the third time we met up with this team. They were none too happy to see us and were definitely out to get the Pirates, but our boys didn't let it shake 'em and played tough the whole game through.

Even had a player hit a grand slam!

Next up...the Championship game..Friday night...5:30.

Good Luck Pirates!

Pirates Tournament Play: Day 2

Tonight we played the Tigers and once again, our batting took a few innings to get off the ground {literally}. By the end of inning 2 it was tied: 1-1.

Inning 3 proved to be a little more fruitful as we closed it out by getting 5 runs. The boys were really getting comfortable with the bats and Drew even hit a triple!

Inning 4 gave us yet another triple by Drew (ok, this one was an *infield* triple, but hey, we'll take it) and a full-on home run by his good buddy Caleb. WOW! Way to go guys!

Quote of the game goes to Lars. "Mom! Did you see Drew hit another three-er?!"

Yes Lars, I did. And it was pretty cool.

Final score 10-1. Pirates win it.

See ya tomorrow night!

Let the Tournament Begin

Last night we started our final week of baseball with the first round of tournament play! We came into the tournament UNDEFEATED, 12-0, with the knowledge that all these teams that we have beaten are ready to knock our socks off. We played the Coralville Dodgers and both teams were playing very well defensively but the batting proved to be a little slow.

That is until the fourth inning.

Then we were able to swing those bats and get our five runs (5 run rule per at bat for this league).

And that was all she wrote.

5-0--Pirates WIN!

Game 2--Tonite. 7:10. Bring it on.

Coach Adcock giving Drew some advice and a little *congrats*

(Un)Patiently Waiting...

We have been trying to get a basketball court (ok, concrete slab) poured in our backyard for about 2 1/2 weeks now, and I have been (un)patiently waiting to post the final product. The 30'x30' square has been meticulously laid out, the skid loader came and leveled it all out, (Lars even got to DRIVE the skid loader), and the boards and rebar have been laid.

But no concrete.

Not for lack of trying.

But EVERY stinkin' day for what seems like an eternity, it has managed to rain, making the dirt too wet to pour on. Even if the day starts out beautiful, there has been rain every afternoon, meaning they can't pour because it wouldn't have time to set.

Or like today. The sun is shining, it is HOT! and muggy, but our torrential showers from yesterday and last night have left the surface too wet to pour on.

Not to mention my kids are chomping at the proverbial bit to start shootin' some hoops. The NBA championships this week only fueled that fire and made them obsess about it even more. I know that someday soon, it will get done, and I really shouldn't complain.

But I will.

coming to life...
smoothing out the rough spots
pools of water that won't go away...

10-0

look at that serious face!
you can do it, bud!!
i'm sure this was a strike! ;)

WOW! Only two more weeks of baseball until we bring Drew's season to a close. What a difference a year makes...last year, we were 0-11, this year, so far, we are 10-0! Even though it's not about winning, (ummmm, right?) Drew has enjoyed his time on the field this summer and has definitely become a more confident ball player.

*For the record, I should let it be known that even though he was on a losing team last year, he did always feel like he was having fun. Ya gotta love the fact that in the end, kids just like hangin' out with their friends and don't always have to be so serious.*

*Again, for the record, even though Drew enjoyed his team this year, he was still ticked when he learned that he wouldn't be able to play his first few weeks of his 3 on 3 basketball summer league due to conflicts with baseball. I think the direct quote was, "I can't believe baseball is getting in the way of my playing basketball! That is ridiculous!"

Well bud, ridiculous or not, them's the breaks--now get out there and play some (base)ball!

Let the Fun Begin!

Well folks, school is officially out for the summer! The kids have already taken advantage of the mostly nice weather we have had this spring and have played LOTS of basketball, eaten popsicles that melt and run down your whole face, and broken out the slip n' slide! We have three words for you summer...BRING. IT. ON!

my basketball kid
slip 'n slide
popsicle faces!

Hello Again!

Well it has certainly been awhile and I have no witty (or worthy) excuses for being away so long. I thought about putting up 7 or 8 different posts just to get caught up, then I decided--naaahh! Too much effort! Not that you're all not worth it, of course! ;) However, in the interest of time (which I don't have enough of BTW) I'll just start with some recent *happenings* and see where that takes me!

For Memorial Day, we went with some friends to Decorah for a scenic and leisurely float down the Upper Iowa River on kayaks. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Drew got to go solo in his own kayak for the first time while the other two kiddos rode *passenger style*. If I were a good mom I would have photos of this, but I'm not. Ok, I am, but the battery in my point and shoot was dead. No juice. Nothin'. Bummer. *Sigh*. Guess we'll have to go back next year!

The boys and their carving sticks
sleeping beauty
ok, so maybe the coffee pot was a bit much. nope, just perfectness!
again, just wanted to share with you how we like to rough it.
this might have been about 9:15?? our group had some stimulating conversation by the fire that night!!
check out the white eyebrows after a day in the sun
our view from our campsite. not too shabby for Iowa, eh??
josh and our chili. don't ask. it's a tradition. and it rocks.
yep. that's pizza. leftovers from the graduation party in CF we were at prior to our arrival at the campsite. proves there is no bad time or improper way to eat pizza.