Go LAKERS!!

Gabe heading off to 2nd base!!

Last night Gabe's team had another game! The boys worked very hard at practice on Tuesday night and the hard work was very evident last night!! The boys all did a better job of hitting the ball; we had 8 runs all together!! The final score was 11-8, so we came up on the short end, but there was definite improvement over Saturday's game! Well, enough about the whole team...I will now be focusing my bragging on one little fella...Gabe! He had an AWESOME game! He started off with a pop fly to the short stop---who happened to be the best on the team--who of course caught it, but it gets better! When they headed on to the field Gabe was put at short stop...and who's pop fly do you suppose he caught????? Yep, the little all star that caught his---Shawn and I were beaming!!! It was Gabe's first ever pop fly catch...his eyes were as big as saucers!!! Gabe had 3 more great hits...with 2 RBI's. He played short stop, second base, pitcher, and right field. He had a couple of good assists at pitcher, getting one out on first base!! He has made so much improvement over last year....I think he is really getting the hang of it now!!! We have another game on Saturday....I'll keep you posted! GO LAKERS!!

A full of action pic---Gabe is in purple, heading to 3rd base!

Meerkerk Gardens!

The boys and the rhodies!!

Chillin' in the garden!

On Sunday, after church and baseball pictures we took Mom over to Whidbey Island! When they were up here at Christmas we had taken a trip over to the Island, but most all of the little shops and restaurants were closed because of the snow, so with a beautiful afternoon we decided to try it again! We started off in Freeland at a glass studio--my step dad collects marbles and we thought we may stumble upon a future gift??!! The gentleman who owns the shop is very talented and had many beautiful items....which I am happy to report my children did not break!! After the glass studio we headed to a little further north to Greenbank and the Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens! The peak time for blooming rhodies---that is what all the cool garden buffs call them!--is late April and Early May, so we hit this one just right! I guess all of the rain that Washington gets is good for something....there are the most beautiful gardens here! The gardens were all in bloom...there were neat little paths through the different areas in the garden, so that kept our little fellas entertained as well! We also had the opportunity to get a little history from the volunteer gardeners working as well---I am so glad we found this place! After leaving the gardens, we headed to the little town of Langley! It is one of my favorite places...there is a little main street full of little shops and eateries and it is all nestled right on the beach...does it get any better?! We shopped a little and grabbed some supper---what a great way to spend a sunshiney day!!

Trail blazer!

The Laker's Season Opener!

Gabe's first at bat of the baseball season!!

Today was Gabe's first baseball game of the season! I must first tell you, I have never seen Gabe nervous about a game like he was this morning...he said he didn't feel like they had enough practice and thought they just weren't ready. This broke my heart...I have always thought this should just be fun, but I know he takes this much more seriously, so I want him to do well and feel confident! I reassured him that the other teams had the same amount of practice time and to just have fun! With that said, I have to tell you with a heavy heart, the Laker's did not win :( Gabe's nerves got the best of him his first at bat...he struck out...his first time ever in a game! I could tell this really bothered him and he bumbled the ball a couple of times in the outfield after that. Finally during the 4th inning, I just couldn't take it anymore. As embarrassing as it may have been I yelled out to Gabe, "Shake it off, this is just a game. Let's have some fun!! No one is going to the majors today!" While I'm sure this was not the magical statement to change the way of the game, all of the kids seemed to loosen up and all of them started getting hits and on base! The last inning was definitely our best...if only we could have started out as well as we ended! Gabe had a good hit with an RBI and some good plays while he was in field during the last inning. He played 2nd base a couple of innings and right field for the other few innings! I hope our next game on Wednesday night goes a little better for the kiddos----GO LAKERS!!!!

Gabe stopping a grounder!

It's Tulip Time!!

On Friday, Grady and I took Nana up to Mt. Vernon to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival! We had a beautiful day to tiptoe through the tulips! We started out at Roozengaarde Garden and then ventured to some of the nearby fields! Grady had us smelling each and every flower, telling us, "this one smells like watermelon, oh, this one smells like cantelope, oh, this one is unstinked!" What a sniffer that little fella has! We took some great pics, ate some yummy kettle korn, and sniffed some gorgeous flowers!

Spring Sing!

After T-Ball practice on Thursday night, Nana and I rushed to get Grady dressed in the Army and off to his preschool spring concert! T-ball is over at 6:15 and we were supposed to be at the preschool by 6:45 at the very latest....we were a little rushed to say the least! Well, we made it with time to spare....so, we were able to save seats for Dad and Gabe who had practice until 6:30! I even had time to bid in the Silent Auction for some tickets to the Seattle Children's Museum--which I won!! Grady's class performed 3 songs for the Spring Sing...and they did an awesome job! They sang "My God Is So Big", "God Is Good To Me", and "When I Grow Up". With each song there were an array of actions...most of the kids had their own actions, every once in a while they would all have a similar action, but most of the time it seemed they made them up as the mood struck them! There is just nothing better than getting to watch your child perform something they have worked so hard on! He has been coming home the last few months and practicing his pieces..you could tell this was very important to him! I can't believe his first year of preschool is almost over. He will be graduating in one month...what happened to my baby??!!

The Jet's Second Practice!!!

So, as you may have read in an earlier post, Grady's team is enthralled by the airplanes that fly over during practice..so, it just seemed natural when it was time to come up with a team name they should be called the JETS!!! It was unanimous...the kids even voted...After the all important voting of team name, the kids got right down to business. They practice running the bases, which went much better this week. Most of the kids ran all of the bases in order this week...quite an improvement! They also practiced some catching and batting. Grady had a really good hit right into center field, and actually stopped a grounder at 2nd base!! His attention span seemed to improve this week, there were only a couple of times I could tell he was losing interest! This was a very important practice for the Fox Family this week....it was our turn to take snack! Grady was so cute...when I took him to the store to pick out the snack, it took him FOREVER..it had to be just right. We ended up with Wild Cherry Roarin' Water and Smores' granola bars! GO JETS!!
Grady listening carefully to the next instructions from Coach Matt!!

Gabe's Field Trip Day!!!

Gabe and his classmate, Hedra checking out the butterflies!!

On Thursday, Gabe's 2nd grade class took a field trip to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle! I had the opportunity to be one of the parent helpers on the trip...it was our first trip to the Pacific Science Center, so Gabe and I were both excited to get to go! We got to see dinosaurs, a water works area - where kids used water to make things move-, sound and music area, an area where we learned about the make up of the human DNA--admittedly, the kiddos thought this was the most BORING area, while I found it completely interesting!- a periscope that you were able to use to see the Seattle skyline, a butterfly and insect house, and an IMAX 3-D Under The Sea Film. The film was awesome...the 3-D made the movie. Most of the kids had never seen a 3-D film, so I probably had more fun watching the kids grabbing in the air than the actual movie!!! I will admit though, there were a couple of times I had to stop myself from reaching out to touch one of the animals...it was definitely one of the better 3-D movies I have seen! We enjoyed a brown bag lunch outside...one of the boys in our group had part of his sandwich eaten by a pigeon...those things are brazen! We had a great time...especially when I had the chance to spend all day with Gabe!!

Gabe checking out the Seattle Skyline using the periscope!!

A Quick Trip to Bellingham!

On Saturday we hadn't really thought we would be doing too much....well sometimes plans change! We had a somewhat late night at some friends' house having a game night on Friday night, so the kiddos actually slept until 8:30, plus Shawn had some mechanics in from Wichita, so he had to go into work on Saturday, not to mention Gabe had a report on dinosaurs that was due Monday, so needless to say I had kind of planned on a lazy Saturday!! But as I said plans change...Gabe had 3 of his 6 paragraphs done by 11:30, Shawn surprised us by coming home at noon, and we were all hungry, so we were in search of some place new to have lunch! I have been reading this book about the best places to go in Washington..so I mentioned, "How about lunch in Bellingham?" Everyone was game, so away we went! Bellingham is a little over an hour to the north of our house...and there are 2 ways to get there. You can take I-5 the whole way or take the Chuckanut Scenic Route! Well, of course we opted for the scenic way...and it did not disappoint! The book had warned that the driver should not do too much sightseeing as the road is very narrow and very curvy and filled with bikers on nice afternoons....well that was an understatement!!! Obviously, when they built this road back in the early 1900's they had not imagined a huge red tank, a.k.a. the Armada, would be wanting to take a stroll down Route 11! I was the lucky driver on the way----on one side of the Army was a huge rock cliff...close enough Shawn could have reached his hand out and grabbed a couple of souveniers...and on the other side cars heading south...close enough I could have "high-fived" the other driver! I was a little white-knuckled to say the least! But the drive was beautiful....the road winded along the coast and through a wooded state park..gorgeous! When we arrived in Bellingham, we landed in the Fairview District, a little artsy, shopsy area! We found a restaurant named The Big Fat Fish Co.--everything was scrumptious, aside from my venturing to try an oyster! I really thought I could eat anything fried...obviously this is not true--I won't be slurpin' down oysters again anytime soon! After a yummy lunch, we went shopping! We didn't find anything we couldn't live without...almost!! The boys and I sniffed out a cupcake shop!!! We found Shawn some coffee, so he was happy too! We all thoroughly enjoyed our snack and went back to window browsing! Before we headed back home, we found a pier that stretched a good length of the Fairview District so we took a wonderful walk along the water! Shawn drove on the way home...I'm not sure it was any easier being the passenger...I had a fantastic view of a 100 foot drop off on the other side of my door!!! yikes! We made some stops along the way home to enjoy the viewof the coast line....what a wonderful quick trip kind of day...sometimes not planning makes everything that much better!!!

Mr. Baseball!!

Grady had his first baseball practice last night!! He actually did very well...he stopped the ball a couple of times, he threw the ball very well and accurately-I may add!, and hit the ball off the tee every time at bat! He had a great time...there are 10 children total on his team, 2 girls and 8 boys! The highlight of the practice was not the hitting, catching, or running...it was the 6 planes that were flying over the practice field!! Every time one would fly over all of the kids would stop and just watch--the coach just played it up...he would ask "Who sees a plane?" and all of the kids would yell and raise their hands!! The practice field is right next to Boeing's test flight area, so I'm sure this will be a regular occurance! Grady will have practice every Thursday night for the next month and a half... so stayed tuned for more updates! By the way....Gabe also started practice this week...however, it is very "uncool" of me to take pictures during practice....He is doing awesome though...he is fielding the ball like a pro and had a couple of great hits during practice on Tuesday! He will have his first game next Saturday....so perhaps it will be acceptable for a proud Momma to take some pics then!!!

Spring Collection 2009!

Last night was our annual Easter Egg Coloring Extravaganza!! It is when we do an activity like this that I see how much our young men are changing!! Gabe has always been our perfectionist and while this is not changing...he seems to be rubbing off on his little brother! Grady watched Gabe's every move, wanting to do everything just right! Last year he was all helter skelter---there was egg dye everywhere, but this year the drips were minimal, and he very carefully put his name on all of his eggs! Gabe has been into shipwrecks for the last 6 months or so, in particular the Titanic, so it didn't surprise me to see an egg bearing the name Titanic! Shawn of course out did himself with the best Easter 2009 egg again this year...and well, I stuck with the same old MOM on a pink egg!! Hey, if it isn't broke...don't fix it! I love coloring Easter Eggs with my guys...I hope this isn't something they outgrow to quickly!

Sunning ourselves!

Yesterday was another wonderfully sunny day...so the boys and I headed down to the beach for some sunning and a picnic!! The boys played in the sand and water while I enjoyed some long overdue magazine reading! We had a very relaxing day....but all that relaxing came to an abrupt end when a certain little 3 year old decided to go for a swim!!! I had let the boys wade around in a little stream of water that was headed down to the sound, but I had told them to NOT get in the water above their knees! Well, a certain 7 year old threw a ball into the stream and apparently the only way to stop it was to send in Grady!! Before I could utter the N for NO, Grady was up to his chest in water, but he had rescued the ball...well thank goodness for that! After the dip into the very frigid water, we packed up and headed for home....3 hours and one very wet and cold little boy later!!

What is that glowing ball in the sky......Oh it's called Sunshine!!!

It has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL for the last 3 days in the usually soggy Seattle area!! We have been blessed with sunshine galore and mid-60's close to 70 degree temps. So with the gorgeous weather, we have been taking full advantage of the "glowing globe"!!! On Saturday, we headed south to Puyallup to Alpacapalooza! It was an alpaca, a llama-camelish looking animal, livestock show! We watched people spin alpaca wool, watched alpaca judging, and walked through barns with hundreds of alpacas just chillin'! We had a great time... but it is one of those things, once you've done it..it is not something you are going to need to do again! Right across from the Alpaca show was a Jeep and Truck show, so with abundance of testosterone in our house..we had to go check that out! Shawn and the boys tried talking me into coming home with one of the souped up jeeps or big trucks---they even found an off-road Armada--they thought perhaps our Armada needed a few improvements! I finally dragged them out of there and we headed off to do some baseball season shopping and supper!! Yesterday we went to church, had our usual Sunday afternoon nap, and then headed back out into the sunshine to practice some baseball!! Both of the boys will be starting baseball in the next couple of weeks, so we felt like it was time to start polishing up on our swing! Today was the first day of Spring Break, and you just can't ask for better weather!! Gabe headed over to Ben, one of his buddies, house for a day of play and one of Grady's buddies, Josiah, came over to our house! Carla and I took the boys to the park and had a Wendy's picnic lunch and 2 hours of sunshine playtime!! After we got home, Grady played outside for another hour, riding his scooter up and down our hill---that little boy is going to have some calf muscles!!! Tonight we are going to dine on our back deck----you just have to soak up the sun when it is here!!!

Gabe's Class Egg Hunt!

On Friday, Gabe's class had an Easter Egg Hunt! Grady and I got to be the bunnies, so we had to hide all of the eggs....and remember where we put them!!! Needless to say, I made a map of the eggs...there was absolutely no way I could remember where they all were!!

On your mark.....get set.....go!!!!

Go find the eggs...kiddos!!!

Checking out their loot!!!