Tball Round 2

Our first-ever baseball season ended in June.  Closing ceremonies included a medal.

Which Mac really liked.

Afterwards, there was some time to play on the nearby playground (which Belle liked),  We then cached in the last of our concessions tickets and set our blanket out on the field.  The entire Cal-Ripkin league sat together as the sun went down and watched Sandlot.

It was hilarious.

It always is, but it was especially so because we got to watch it with dozens of other baseball-loving boys, and hearing them all quote their favorite lines made the show even better.

Mac found a random group of 4 year olds, and together they raced to centerfield and back, practiced sliding into second base, and did push ups.

I think we're going to definitely love this league.

It ended just in time for the city league to start.  It's more of an intro to t-ball.  Games lasted 1/2 hour, there was no pitching involved, and most of these cute little four-year-olds had never even touched a baseball before.

Mac sort of stood out.

Thankfully, he only drilled a little boy once ... this poor little guy was playing in the dirt next to the pitcher's mound, and Mac really connected and sent the ball right up the middle, thankfully just skinning his thigh.

Yikes.

Still, he had a blast.  Any excuse to play ball for this boy!

Our Very Own Sharks

We recently split a season pass to the Aquarium with my sister-in-law Katie.

So now, Mac is certain these sharks are his.

Every time we go, it's straight back to the sharks.  If he has remembered to bring his little digital camera, he fills up the memory card with these creepy guys.

And if he forgets the camera, he takes my phone.

I have a lot of shark pictures on my phone.

We are then able to see the rest of the place.  Belle, of course, loves the touch pools; she can splash the water and actually maybe grab a fish.  We also love the tight rope; Mac feels like he's on American Ninja Warrior.

But mostly, we love having such an interesting, information-filled, well air conditioned place to go with some of the best cousins a kid could ask for.

Memorial Day

This was the best Memorial Day I've had in ages.

Why?

Well, we went to Panguitch.

We spent the weekend with Grandma Gunn, Benny, Katie and their three kids, and Sarah and Adam.  Hiking, biking four-wheeling, fishing, and writing letters to soldiers took up all our day time; and "Call the Midwife" soaked up our nights.  Pure bliss.

I even caught my first-ever-all-alone-nobody-baiting-or-casting-for-me fish.  I then cleaned it, and eventually ate it.  It made me feel very self sufficient.  And cool.

After this glorious fishing trip (we brought home six fish, released more), Mac and Belle begged to ride back to the cabin with their cousins.  So, child-free, Mark and I took a detour to do a little sight-seeing.  

Kind of amazing.

The Rest of May

The highlights of May went something like this:

• Mother's Day.  Incredibly sweet!  Got to share it with my mama.  I even snuck into her room in the morning, so my kids and my siblings could both "wake up Mom" with breakfast in bed.  It was fun to see Mom sneak out of bed and start getting ready for church as time moved on, and then lie back in bed - pretending to be asleep - and wait patiently for her meal.  And my sweet husband kept everyone together, cooking for us both and getting cards written.  Being a mom is the most incredible gift!
  
  
  
• Started showing this sweet little #3 enough that I could take a picture ... and not even out of my first trimester yet.  Here's to hoping I'll finally get a chunky baby!
  
• Mac practiced baseball every single day throughout the entire month, and had games twice a week.  Shadow swings and play visualization are about the closest I've ever seen to him playing pretend.  

Sliding into first ... which we corrected and he then began sliding at most other bases, head-first and feet-first.

• Baby ducklings were suddenly everywhere at our apartment complex.  My kids were in ducky-heaven, and we ventured out almost daily to feed them.

• After visiting Logan and watching my siblings Jake, Trent, and Rachel cram for their end-of-the-year finals, Mac decided homework sounded like the coolest thing in the world, so I found an online source and we began printing off papers for him to do.  He is currently doing worksheets for numbers 1-100, and has now (I'm writing this in July) gotten through number 75.  I'm so impressed and surprised this love of homework hasn't worn off yet ... we'll see how long it lasts!

• We had the eleventh anniversary of the passing of Mark's dad.  With the exception of our first year of marriage (where all the siblings who happened to be in St. George met at his grave and talked about memories ... a really sweet, incredible experience), we have always been alone in California for this day.  We've gone to the temple, talked on the phone with siblings, but this year, we actually got to be with them.  Those of us who could met at a crappy Mexican restaurant (their dad's favorite type of place to eat), and talked memories.  I never got to meet Spencer Homer Gunn in person, but I feel like I know him because I know his incredible kids.  Quite the man, indeed!

• And finally, my bitty baby brother Trent graduated from high school.  SO CRAZY.  I forgot my camera (what is wrong with me lately), but never fear, Mac remembered his (which is actually my old, semi-damaged, little box camera) and was thrilled to photo-shoot Uncle Trent's big day.

Pausing for lunch on the drive to Logan.

"Look, Mom!  It's our country's flag!"

The graduation boy and his biggest fan (yes, I'm quite certain the gazillion girls that keep chasing him don't hold a candle to the feelings my son has for this guy.)

So proud of this studly little brother of mine.  He has been through the wringer at an unfairly young age, but it has made a stallion of him.  What an incredible example of kindness, happiness, and contentment.  Go get 'em Trent, we love you!

Mark turns 31

I sure picked the perfect guy for me.

Mark is steady, strong, and kind.  He is everything I think a man should be.  He is not perfect of course, but his strengths and weakness seem to match up just perfectly with mine.

And most importantly, he loves us and he shows it.

He puts everything he has into our two little babies, bringing stern and fun together into the ultimate fatherly combination.  Belle does not like boys, but she hugs and kisses him and pats his arm.  Mac absolutely idolizes him; his favorite primary song is "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home". (It's even in the running with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and "ABC's.)  They play baseball and talk scores daily, and when we got a new bunkbed for the kids?  Mark asked the delivery guy not to set it up so he and Mac could do it together.  While wearing medals.

So on his birthdays, I rack my brains to come up with something big, something that will help me express his awesomeness.  Usually he puts up with my antics, but after nearly seven years of marriage, I've gotten the hint that he likes things simple.

Well, this year his birthday was on a Sunday, so that helped simplify things significantly.

I texted him a list of meals and asked him to pick one for his birthday dinner.  He asked for all of them.

So we spent his birthday weekend with lots of food, presents, and .... you guessed it .... the Angels.

They even won.

Happy birthday sweetheart.  31 never looked so good on a person.

Babysitter's Club

Mac has recently started babysitting.

Our friend's dog.

His name is Sobi, and Mac takes very good care of him.

Food, water, walks, and fetch happen all day long.  Mac even pulls out the old digital camera and gives Sobi his own photo shoot when he comes to play.

Mac is a very good babysitter, and it does my mama-heart good to see him feel so responsible for another little creature.

To My Sweet 2-Year-Old Belle

Hello my little Miss,

Oh how I love you!  You are two and a half now (your brother often reminds you), and you bring a whirlwind of sunshine and sweetness and craziness to our little family.

You, my little Belen, are an adventurer.  You couldn't care less where your loved ones are, or even if you're in familiar territory.  You look at the world and dive in, without hesitation and without telling your mother where your are going.

Your brother often brings you back to us, and as long as he says "ready, set, go!", you are usually willing to come.

But mostly, you'd rather be out exploring.  Chasing ducks, watching rocks and sticks splash in the water, petting flowers and saying hello to puppies and people passing by.

Sometimes you are very quick, and I have a hard time finding you.  This gets me in trouble, and is the reason we've decided we won't be staying at this apartment complex much longer; neighbors keep calling the office saying you've gotten too far from Mama and our landlords sure don't like that.

One day I thought you had escaped outside, but turns out you crawled under a pile of warm clothes fresh out of the drier and fell fast asleep.

Chasing you gets crazy, but if you keep this love and sincere interest in your own world for the rest of your life, I won't be sad to continue chasing you throughout every bit of it.

You have so much patience; I am often amazed at what you put up with.  I see you interact with grumpy kids, frustrated playmates, uncles teasing you, and grown-ups telling you "no".  Your response to me is always, "Mom, wait," even if my voice gets raised.  You already talk to me like you're the calm, put-together teenager who knows quite a bit more than those around her.  The other day I asked you to come to the grill with me so we could check on our dinner.  You patted my arm and replied, "Can't, Mom.  Watchin' duckies."  You are so deceptively sweet in your defiance, it's hard to get mad at you, and not a soul believes me when I tell them you can be difficult.

And unless it involves your brother (because you two know exactly how to push each others' buttons), you take criticism and direction with complete indifference.  Even someone trying to get you to look at the camera doesn't seem to phase you.

I love your will of iron.

 But you certainly are not indifferent to people.  Your adventurous nature and pleasant disposition make you friends easily.  Everywhere we go, you find some little girl to follow and mimic, and before long you are giggling and running with new playmates.

You also love playing on your own.  Electronics and shows only hold you attention for so long before you wander off, and I find you in your room playing with trains, your baseball bat, (you always ask if it's time for "Belle's ball bame", since we go to Mac's a lot these days) princesses, and My Little Ponies.  They prance and jump and say, "Happy [to] see you," to one another.  And they love taking "bathies" to get "buggies" out of their hairs.

You love to put on a "princess", and get ecstatic when you find Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast on anything.  "Wook Mom," you tell me, "Princess Belle!  Like me!"

Your other favorites would undoubtedly be Anna and Elsa from Frozen.  You ask for "Anna Hairs" almost every single day, and I love to see you smile at yourself in the mirror once your braids are in place.  I hope you always like what you see when you look at yourself!  I just think you are the most beautiful girl in the world.

You also love to eat.  Junk food, preferably.  I like junk food too, but I do try to steer you towards things that will keep your body strong and your mind sharp.  Avocados are something you would eat every single day, by themselves or with pretzels.  You love hummus and yogurt and eggs, peaches and apples and berries of all kinds, and are getting better at crunching on plain veggies every now and then.

But if you had your own meal planning to do?  I'm pretty sure you would have cereal, raman noodles, and sweets every single meal.  We don't let you do that, but we definitely enjoy treats together.

Like oreos.

And lemonade and Slurpees.

But no matter what you're eating, it must be accompanied by every single colorful piece of silverware we own.

And if I say, "No food," you take matters into your own hands and have no problems feeding yourself.  (Capes must help you scale the dishwasher ... it shocks me every time I find you up there.)

You are so very smart, I am always impressed by you.  Mac helps you learn numbers; I often hear you counting in your room together.  You can get up to ten without a problem, and work on the rest daily.  You love finding letters, but most all of them are "R"s and "L"s to you.  When I ask you about colors and shapes, you'll try a couple of times, and then turn it on me.  "Mom's turn.  What color this one?"  You are quite the caretaker.

What amazes and humbles me the most about you, my two-year-old Belle, is how much you love me.  You take my face in your two little hands.  You tell me things and ask if I'm okay.  You mimic everything I do, if not to your toys and Mac, then right back at me.  When I try to tickle your back and tell you stories, you tickle my back and talk to me.  You love our boys, but I constantly hear you telling Dad and Mac, "No, Mommy do it."  

I hope I can be everything you need me to be, sweet girl.  Thank you for helping me to grow into someone better than I ever thought I could be.  I love you!

Love,

Mom

Guided

Remember my little sister Jamie?

Well she's pretty great.

I somehow roped her into coming and talking with my young women at a Wednesday night activity.

See, the theme for the month was the Restoration.  And my darling sister returned from her LDS mission just over a year ago, where she learned and retold detailed story after story of how the complete Gospel of Jesus Christ was returned to the earth.  And they aren't the regular stories you see in lesson manuals, they're incredible tiny side stories that all add up to one thing:

God is in control. 

I wanted the girls to hear these stories and get the sense that our Father in Heaven knows everything about everyone, and directs and guides those who are willing.

Her stories were perfect.  She said she was nervous to retell them all, but I would have never known.  She spoke with authority and sincerity, and the Spirit was tangible.

Since then, I've been thinking a lot about how God has directed my life, and even began keeping a journal.  I wanted to document little things I noticed throughout the day that stood out, that felt too perfect to be mere coincidence.

What an experience that has been.  I know the Lord cares and understands where I am at in life, and where I need to go.  Keeping this journal has shown me His hand in so many little things, and the more I look, the more I realize that He is literally in everything.  It gives me incredible comfort and inflames my faith; I do not need to stress about where my family will end up, I only need to do what I can and enjoy the adventure.

I am so grateful for the experience, and so grateful for a sister who took a year and a half out of her life to serve, and has used what she learned to continue to serve all around her ... including me!