Yet again, I am extremely behind in updating here.  Why hasn't anyone yelled at me yet? Joking of course!  Well, a lot has happened since the last time I updated here.

I have a new nephew!!!  His is so cute!!!  His name is Nathan and Matthew and Riley just love him.  Matthew seems a lot more interested in him and Riley is more cautious.  I can't wait for them to teach him how to play baseball and how to fish!  There are going to be some really fun times ahead for the three of them!  I wish that we were able to see him more than we have been able to see him so far.  Hopefully that will change.

We got a puppy!  His name is Cullen and he is an English Cream Retriever.  For this "crazy cat lady" adjusting to a puppy has been an adventure for sure!  Cullen is very well behaved though he does do the usual puppy things of course.  He is smart and a quick learner.  The best thing is that because of Cullen I have started taking walks around the neighborhood which is really good for me and I hope to really get into it and try to feel more fit.  Cullen loves the boys and daddy but he is a mommy's boy for sure which I find hilarious since I  have always been the cat lady.  I think it's because I am the one with him the most..or maybe I just smell like food hahaha.

School is officially over and I am so happy to say that summer vacation is in full swing!  I love summer vacation.  I love having my kids home and I love being able to go places and do fun things with them.  They both did very well in school this year and I am so proud of them both! I really can't believe that I will have a fifth grader and a second grader come the end of August.  Crazy!

We are currently enjoying baseball season.  I look forward to baseball so much.  I love to watch them play!!!

Summer also brings fishing!!! Our favorite family activity!!!  I hope that we get to go a lot this summer!  Matthew and Riley were in a kid's fishing derby not too long ago and Riley won the casting contest for his age group! He was very proud!! I keep a record of all the fish we catch and I have been doing so since 2010.  So far this year Matthew is in the lead, I have competition!!

We have been lucky enough to attend two Pittsburgh Pirate games this season.  So exciting!! My baseball boys really loved it!!!  We had such a great time at both games!!  We went on kid's day Sunday both times and the boys got to run the bases after the game, what a thrill!!!

All in all it's shaping up to be a very busy but very fun summer! I hope that everyone else has a great summer as well!! I will try to be better about updating here..TRY being the key word :-)

summer, baseball, school, and fall-oh my!

I can't believe I haven't updated since July! 

We had a really great summer full of baseball and fishing!  Matthew and Riley both entered a youth fishing derby and had a blast.  Here is the trout Riley caught:

Matthew caught quite a few big fish that day, here he is with one of his catches of the day: a nice catfish!

One of the most fun things we did was go camping for the first time!!  With as outdoorsy as we are as a family I can't believe it's taken us this long to go camping.  It's definitely going to become a regular thing.  Matthew and Riley had such a great time and even this reformed indoor girl has to say-it was fun!  We went to Audra State Park in West Virginia. 

The park was absolutely beautiful.  I really can't wait to go back.  The boys had a great time swimming and climbing and just being boys!

We also spent a lot of time at Kennywood this summer.  Some of my favorite memories with our family are from Kennywood.  The sweetest thing that happened at Kennywood this summer was that I got to see just how protective Matthew is of Riley.  He would put his arm around him and hold him tight.  So sweet for a mother to see her sons love eachother like that.

One of the most exciting things that we did this summer was go to our first concert as a family! We went to see Big Time Rush!! It was such a good show! I remember how I felt when I got to see my favorite band in person and it was great to see their eyes light up when they saw their favorite band right infront of them!

This was Riley's face when the band first came out on stage!

Matthew and Daddy enjoying the show!

So, as you can see we had a very busy but very AWESOME summer! We made memories that I know we will always remember.

Now it's finally my favorite season-FALL!!! Fall means pumpkins, hayrides, Halloween, and Fall Ball! 

Both of the boys have started their Fall Ball seasons and they are doing great!  Matt is helping coach Riley's team and it has been great seeing him enjoy it so much.  I know that Riley really likes having Daddy coach just as much as Matt really likes doing it!

Matthew has had a great season so far! He's even recieved the game ball in two games so far! He was and is SO happy!  Here he is after getting the game ball last week

School is in full swing and infact, we just had Riley's open house tonight! Matthew's is coming up later on this week.  Here they are on the first day of school.  My 1st and 4th graders!

Tonight we got to go to Riley's open house.  I look forward to Open House every year.  I love going to see their classrooms and meeting their teachers.  This year the school is having two open houses-one for the lower grades and one for the higher grades.  So you know what that means?! TWO open houses for me! Woo hoo!  Here's my 3 favorite people waiting to go into open house tonight

Here's my first grader!!!!

Well, this has turned into a pretty big update! I really need to keep up on this better.  Hope you're all still out there ready-I promise to check in more often!  In closing-here's to a Fall that is filled with as much fun and as many memories as this summer!

 

Summer Fun and Baseball

It's hard to believe I haven't updated this since January! There are many times that I have wanted to sit down and write and have felt like no one reads this anyway so what's the big deal if I don't get to it. Well, the big deal is that I love to write and it shouldn't matter if anyone reads this or not (even though it still does) but I'm doing it anyway.

A lot has happened since the last time I updated back in January. Matthew and Riley are both done with school for the summer. I can't tell you how nice it has been to not have homework assignments due and fundraisers to keep up with. I really enjoy their school and I like to think I'm pretty active with everything but it is really nice to take a break for the summer and just be with my kids. Riley had a lot of fun this year in kindergarten, which is now full day, that's a huge change from when Matthew went just a few years ago. Riley made a lot of friends and he liked to come home and tell me all about them. He brought home wonderful pieces of his artwork and his reading and spelling skills are very good. Matthew had a great year in 3rd grade and at the end of the year he even brought home the super speller award for making 100% in spelling every single 9 weeks. Matthew also won first place in an art contest in the photography category. He was even awarded money! I think they both learned a lot this year and are well prepared for 1st and 4th grade.

 The main reason I haven't had much time to update is because of baseball. We're always either playing baseball or practicing for baseball. Matthew can't drive by the baseball field without asking to practice. I love that he wants to practice and improve and work hard. I love that he loves the sport so much. This year was Riley's last year of t ball and he is finally ready to move up to 8U baseball this fall! He can't wait! He has been wanting to move up for some time now and be like his big brother :-). It was kind of bittersweet when Riley's season ended. I knew it was the last time we'd be "t ball parents" and we were now officially "baseball parents." I am happy for him that he's doing so well and so excited to be moving up. This season in baseball and t ball was a season of firsts for the boys. After spending the last 5 years with one of my kids in t ball-FINALLY one of my kids was on the purple team. I think we all know that I'm a tad obsessed with the color purple so I was really happy haha. Riley was on the purple team and I really think he enjoyed every minute of this season. His coach was the nicest guy and really encouraging. Riley didn't use the tee this year, his coach would pitch to him to get him ready to move up to 8U. He had some really nice hits! I'm very proud of my Riley. Matthew was on the 10U team for the first time. He did play 10U for fall ball, but this was his first spring season in the 10U league. The big difference in 10U is that it is kid pitch instead of coach pitch. I am so proud of Matthew for the way he played this season, but more importantly than the way he played I am proud of him for the way he behaved. This season Matthew showed me yet again that while sometimes his emotions are hard to figure out as he is quiet and introspective like his father-when you get to see his heart..wow. Matthew never gave up this season, he kept trying and kept learning and kept going, all because he loves the game. A huge first for Matthew this season was that he started pitching! It was really exciting to watch!
I love watching my sons play a sport that they both really enjoy. I love being a baseball mom :-).

Baseball!

Well, this season of baseball has ended. Riley's t ball ended over a month ago but I have been waiting to write this entry until Matthew's baseball season ended. He just had his end of the season picnic so the season is officially over. Matthew's season was so much longer than Riley's because he had a tournament after the regular season and then was picked to be part of the All Star team and do another tournament. Both boys had a wonderful time playing and I really enjoyed watching them play! Matthew was so proud of himself for making the All Star team. It was such a nice thing for him because he worked so hard and to see his hard work pay off was very rewarding for him. He was also very excited because one of his good friends from school was also on the All Stars team and they finally got to play together after having been on different teams during the regular season.

It's crazy how much they have grown since they started playing with the BYA. This is Matthew in his first season of t ball:



Here he is this year during the All Star tournament:



He has grown so much!!!

Here is Riley during his first season of t ball:



This is Riley during this season:



Time is just flying by. I think that's part of the reason I love photography so much, to capture these moments that are gone in the blink of an eye.

The All Stars tournament was very exciting for Matthew. He got a snazzy new jersey with his name on it! His number has been the number 1 every year that he has played baseball and he got to keep that number for All Stars as well. I loved seeing both of the boys in their uniforms, they always look so cute. It was definitely neat to see Matthew wearing a jersey with his last name on the back.



I'm a proud mommy :-)




If enough kids in his age group sign up we will be starting baseball again in the fall for "fall ball" and if not then it will be Spring time again by the time we get around to more baseball. Until then, we have a lot of things to look forward to and I can't wait for everything we have coming up.

baseball, t ball, and swimming, oh my!

It's finally here, that time of year full of baseballs, dirt stains, and cheering for my boys!

Yep, that's right, it's baseball season! This is Matthew's second year of baseball and his fourth year with the BYA. This is Riley's second year of t ball. Things get pretty crazy around here once baseball season starts.

I often find myself wondering how two little boys can create so much dirty laundry. For the majority of the year one would really think that I have about 10 kids instead of 2. Then baseball season comes around. I thought the laundry was never ending before, ha! Grass stains, dirt stains, stinky socks, and sweaty hats galore! I must say though after a fresh wash and fluffy dry, my boys sure look splendidly handsome in their uniforms.



I love watching their games. In the times I watch them out there having fun and playing it makes all the stress that came before disappear. What stress you may ask? Well, as fun as having your kids in sports is there is a lot of work that goes into it! It gets especially interesting when you have more than one kid in a sport. Somehow I've managed to get myself, both kids, and my husband to different places at the same time. Yes, I'm magical. Last week I was able to get Matthew to cub scouts, attend his meeting with him where he made a presentation about the hockey game his Aunt Jenny took him to, while at the same time I got Matt and Riley to Riley's T ball game in time, and was also able to make it back to Riley's game to see him have a great hit without using the Tee!

It's still the beginning of the season but the boys have both been doing very well and having a ton of fun!



There are so many things that I love about watching the boys play sports and I've talked about about that here before. I love when they look to make sure I'm watching, I love cheering them on when they succeed and yelling "good try!!" when they strike out. One of the things I love the most though is that they have such a wonderful Dad that comes to every single game, supports them whether they win or lose. I tell them often how lucky they are to have a Daddy that cares so much. We are both very proud parents indeed!



Another fun thing we've started is swimming lessons! We take the boys swimming quite a bit but they have always needed assistance of a noodle or other floatation device. So, we thought it would be a good idea to sign them up for swimming lessons. They are only once a week and Matthew has class with kids his age and Riley's class follow immediately after with kids his age. They had their first class and absolutely loved it!! Matthew was so confident after that first class, it was just great to see. The teacher came over and told us that both boys did very well! Matthew is a lot like his dad in that he isn't overly expressive, so to see him smiling that big and laughing and being so confident, it was great!! Riley looked so cute, his little feet splashing all around. They had so much fun and it's a great thing for them to learn!

So, we have a lot going on but it's all fun! I don't ever want to over schedule my kids but I do think having certain activities to look forward to is a good thing. The first rule, however, is always: school comes first. Things get hectic around baseball but it's only for a short time in the spring and then the leisurely days of summer are quick to follow. I think it's important for them to have things to look forward to, exercise, learning, team work and most importantly FUN.

Spring is here!

It may be rainy and kind of chilly out there right now, but don't let that fool you..Spring is here!!

There are certain things that I love about every season. With Summer it's that I have the boys home from school, no schedules, just fun from sun up to sun down. Fishing is our staple summer activity, we go pretty much every night. Trips to Kennywood, walking to get ice cream, so much fun! Fall is my favorite season. I love the weather. I love that I can cover up in a cozy hoodie on some days and then walk out of the house with no jacket other days. I love the pumpkins and farms and don't even get me started on Halloween. Winter, well snow is beautiful to look at though I absolutely loathe driving in it. Still, building snowmen, having snow ball fights, and trying my best to push my husband into a pile of snow (though he always manages to get me first!), is so much fun! Finally, there is Spring. Beautiful weather, the beginning of fishing season, sports for the boys, lots of outside activities!

We've been lucky enough to have been able to go fishing a couple times already this Spring. Hopefully the weather gets nicer in May! The nicer the weather gets, the more fishing we can do! The boys love fishing so much! Spending the day at the lake is probably my favorite thing to do. It's peaceful and relaxing yet exciting at the same time. The boys always find something new to explore. Matthew is becoming quite the master fisherman, he has caught over 100 fish!! Each time we go fishing I bring along my notebook. It's not just any notebook mind you, it's THE notebook. It's a purple (of course) notebook in which I record each day we go fishing, where we are fishing, and all the fish we catch listed by who catches it, what kind of fish it is, and how many of those fish that person has caught. Yes, I'm a dork. It may sound silly but I know it will be something we will look back on years from now and it will be so great to flip through. The boys like it too because they can keep track of just how many fish we catch! Riley loves looking at the fish that we catch but for the last couple years he's been more interested in finding frogs and butterflies, though this year he wants to be the one catching all the fish! It's exciting that they are both so excited about it. I'm so glad that 3 years ago we decided to take a chance and see how the boys (and indoor girl, me!) would like fishing at the lake. I never could have guessed the great memories and wonderful times that would follow.

The other thing that comes along with Spring is the start of baseball and t ball season! This will be Matthew's 4th year playing with the BYA, he played 2 years of t ball and this will be his second year of baseball. For Riley, this will be his second year of t ball. I love watching their games and can't wait for them to start. So far they've each had a few practices and games are starting really soon. In fact, Matthew's first game is in less than a week! I can't wait! Matthew is doing very well at practice and having a great time! Riley is doing well and has surprised me with how well he is throwing. I'm glad that they enjoy it so much, I know I sure love watching them play. Even though I know they should be focusing on their game/practice, I have to admit that the thing I love the best is when I catch them looking to make sure that I was just watching. It just makes me want to yell out "Yes, I'm watching you, I love you!!!!" Do you think that would embarrass them?! haha!

Well, I may be just a little embarrassing but one thing is for sure, they know I love them and that's worth a little embarrassment I think.

Sports Mom

Well, now that both my boys are on sports teams I guess you could officially call me a "sports mom." It's crazy to think that both of my kids are old enough to be playing sports. Weren't they just wearing diapers and sleeping in cribs yesterday?



Matthew has played t-ball for 2 years and this year he moved up to baseball. So far, two weeks into practicing, things are going great. Riley has only had one week of practice so far but he is definitely enjoying his first year of t-ball! A lot goes into having your kids active in organized sports. You have to make sure they have the equipment they need, practice with them, teach them about good sportsmanship, clear your schedule to make room for their schedule, get homework done before practice (or you will regret it later that evening), get them where they need to be when they need to be there, and the most important thing-be their biggest cheerleader.



I am very excited for them to get their uniforms, they both got the team colors they wanted! Matthew's team is black and Riley's is green. I can't wait until the first day that they both get to wear their uniforms and have their first game. Even at their young ages I've seen parents who are really hard on their kids when they don't do things exactly right. I'd like to tell those parents to sit back and enjoy watching their kids have fun and to stop stressing them out by yelling at them! It is definitely an awesome feeling to see your child excel at sports, you feel so proud! On the other side of that it does make you feel like you want to fix it for them when they aren't quite getting it-but I would never yell at my 4 year old son that he "just can't do anything right!" like I heard one parent say to their son. As long as they are having fun and giving it their all it won't matter if they hit a million home runs or strike out every time at bat-I'll still be their number one fan!