District Champions

This picture is from this morning. The boys were interviewed at the local radio station. They also recorded a commercial.

After winning the district title last night.

Jack and his team will be travelling to Botetourt County VA to compete in the Dixie Youth Majors State Tournament. This is an exciting opportunity for these boys and we're looking forward to watching them play. Opening ceremonies are to be held next Friday, July 22nd. Jack's team's first game will be Saturday, July 23rd, at 4:00 PM. The local radio station (Rewind 101.9) will be broadcasting the game live. The team will be playing until eliminated. Possibly all the way until the following Thursday!

Oregon people: You can Google the station (because I'm too lazy to provide the link) and listen via your computer. Remember the time difference though!

Jack's game.

Sorry that the picture is so shaky--I had a baby on my lap!

Oh, hello there!

Where have we been? Well, let's see.....

Madeline has been working one day each week doing data entry for a friend's business. She has to deal with truck drivers! Poor girl. I know there's been some knitting going on--something about knitting a roll of toilet paper. Seriously. There's also been a lot of reading, per the usual.

Jack has been at baseball practice. A lot. Like everyday for the past 14 days we've either run him to and from practice or been watching a scrimmage game. Be sure to ask me about the awesome EMT skills I've learned while being a spectator. This weekend is the district tournament so we'll just have to see where that takes us.

Jon has been further studying World War II history. Though now he's pursuing an interest in the Korean War/Conflict. He has entered an interesting developmental stage where he is overly paranoid about germs, poop, and life in general. Makes for some remarkable conversations.

Sarah is talking like crazy. Just today she told Madeline that last night's thunderstorm "scared the pee out of me!" Hmmmm. And there was one day of successful pottying. Just one day.

Bill has been wowing the locals with his incredible baseball skills. Oh yeah, he still has it. Last night he threw BP (batting practice) to a bunch of 12 year old boys and struck them all out. Except the one who hit the ball W-A-Y over the center field fence. I'm told he did make an unbelievable catch and throw a kid out at first. We're proud of dad.

I've been busy Momming. Lots of driving, cooking, knitting, and coordinating everyone's different agendas. I've finished freezing the zucchini, almost finished with the pickles, picked countless blueberries to freeze (and certain people ended up with chiggers!), made another batch of soap, and nailed a new cheese recipe. I've pulled ticks off of kids, procured new swimwear for everyone, completed this year's lesson plans for school, and unsuccessfully fought off Japanese beetles on my beans. Heck, that's all I'm going to say about me because listing it all makes me tired. Did I ever explain that I'm a totally overzealous, workaholic, type-A person? Oh, and that I don't sleep anymore because of insomnia? I'm a ton of fun to be around sometimes.

Summer Solstice

It was THIS hot yesterday. Lucky the Cat is assuming the perfect position for the kind of heat we experienced on the first day of Summer.

Sarah is demonstrating our new favorite paint.

Outdoor "Chalk" Paint

mix together equal(ish) parts cornstarch and water

add food coloring and a squirt of dish soap

Mix well and start painting!

This paint goes on pretty light, but it dries to a darker, more opaque color. And it squirts right off with the hose. No staining, and no scrubbing necessary.

We celebrated the longest day of the year by having a fondue feast for dinner, chocolate mousse for dessert, and a fireworks display for the entertainment.

Yes, we've gone Laux at our house!

All-Stars

Before closing ceremonies.

Jack receiving his all-star trophy.

Jack receiving his participation trophy.

This year Jack was chosen to play on the major league all-star team. The team is made up of 12 boys chosen from the 4 local Dixie Youth teams. The district tournament begins on July 8th, and is (luckily) being held at our local baseball complex, Parker Park.

We're proud of Jack's accomplishment and hope that this team has a successful summer.

Lemonade Stand

Jon declared that today was THE day to set up his lemonade stand. Forget the fact that I desperately needed to go grocery shopping and therefore had nothing even resembling a lemon anywhere in my house. A quick trip to the store for lemons and lemonade and we were in business.

Jon "worked" patiently for over two hours. With only 6 customers total, it was not a very successful venture. He said we'll try again another day. Woo-hoo.

Holding the sign up, hoping for more business.

The official taste-tester.

Finished projects.

Table runner, made from a charm pack I bought in Oregon--last summer. Totally forgot I had it. Project inspiration from Tami in CA.

The Shalom Cardie. Pattern can be found on Ravelry. I call it "The Baseball Sweater" because it was my goal to complete it during the season. Now it will sit in my closet until Autumn.

The "Plain Vest by Pickles." Pattern can be found on the Pickles website. This is my favorite baby knit. Quick, cute, and versatile. This one is knit in a double strand of navy cotton for a little friend's first birthday.