Out of nowhere

Yesterday the forecast called for a slight chance of a thunderstorm. Weather people totally missed the mark on that one. I was hanging laundry out about 10:30 and kept wondering if I was making a big mistake. The sky looked ominous, but I kept thinking maybe it would pass us over. About 11:30 I just decided it wasn't worth the risk and brought it all in to finish in the dryer. I heard thunder while I was out there, but it sounded distant. About 11:40, the sky just absolutely opened up. There was unbelievably loud thunder which terrified my children, and big bolts of lightening. My wonderful husband had headed to the mall area to buy a new grill, and JR was at two hours of science camp so it was just the little ones in me. I had completely forgotten however, that JR was finished at noon and we had told him to walk home. No way that could happen! The lightening was way to dangerous, and it was raining so hard the streets were flooding. I grabbed the two little ones and threw them in the car. I felt so badly because they were so terrified, but I couldn't let JR deal with the weather alone. It was hard to drive because of the water on the road, and the windshield wipers had no setting nearly fast enough to keep up. We finally had JR safely in our car and were on our way home again. We were all soaked just from running a few yards to the car and back. My little guy was shaking uncontrollably and I just kept holding him and rocking him. It was definitely not a storm that you see around here everyday. We checked the weather channel again and they had updated the weather for an 80% chance of rain and severe storms likely. Gee, you think?

Blessings of fathers

We had a wonderful Father's Day this year. Last year on Father's Day, we spent 14 hours in the car on the way to Outer Banks. It was still nice though because my husband got to see his dad on that day, and of course my kids obviously had a lot of togetherness with their dad! Originally, for this year we had thought there could be a baseball tournament so we had planned to hang out at home. We had spent the previous Sunday with my dad at the lake, and this coming Sunday we will be in PA with my in-laws. However, the tournament hasn't even started yet, so we decided to head to the lake again this past week. I treasured every moment of being with my dad this past Sunday. Given his health situation, I treasure all moments we are together, but being Father's Day made it even more special. And my husband loves going up there as well! It was a treat for us all, and I'm so blessed to have my own wonderful dad, and to be married to an amazing man who is also an amazing father!

Summer is a flyin'

We've been out of school for two weeks now. Because this is the first year we haven't been attending scout camp, basketball camp, VBS or some other function that requires us to be up early, it feels as though summer is moving slowly. However, in reality, our days are absolutely flying by once we do get up. I'm so enjoying the memories we are making this summer though.

My wonderful husband took the kids camping Wednesday night. His best friend from college (JC's Godfather) and five year old daughter also joined them. It was HT's first camping experience and he really enjoyed it. My husband had decided to sleep underneath the stars, but moved to the tent when he was awakened by a sniffing noise that turned out to be a skunk. No one ever wants to be close enough to touch a skunk! We've also had a pool party to attend this week, dinner with friends after a game one evening this week, and we have yet another birthday party to attend tonight. Lots and lots of summer fun!

My heart might explode

Parenting has so many rewards, but few are as obvious as the one that occurred last night. JC and I had our final game of the season. Our record before the game was only 2-7, but I have been so impressed with how well the girls have played lately. The progress from the beginning of the season has really been amazing. Last night we were playing well, but the other team had one explosive inning. Heading into the bottom of the last inning, we were down by three runs. JC came up to bat and by then we had pulled to within one run. I'll be honest, I really wanted to win that game. I wanted the girls to be able to take the feeling of victory with them throughout the rest of the summer. JC hit a ball right down the first base line. She was tagged out, but our runner on third was able to make it home and tie the game. I was ecstatic! The girls didn't realize we had tied the game, but the next batter was able to drive in another run and we won! The girls were excited and so were the parents. If we could only win three, having two of those wins be the first and last games of the season is the right way to go about it. The best part happened when we came home. JC came up to hug me and said, "Thanks for coaching me Mom. I had a great season." I thought my heart might explode at that very moment. I just felt so lucky and blessed to be able to share this experience with her. I was so giddy about the whole thing I couldn't sleep last night. I just kept replaying some of the highlights of the season over and over in my head...memories I'll cherish forever.

Ready for the end

As happens with every season, I'm ready for the end of the kids' baseball. I've enjoyed coaching, and I've enjoyed watching my kids play and have fun. And especially with the older two, I've enjoyed watching them develop skills and make progress in playing the game. At the same time, I'm ready to have our lives back. I'm ready for dinners again, real dinners that don't involve hot dogs, mac & cheese, or cereal. I'm ready for carefree, relaxed summer evenings of bike rides, walks, and just hanging out. This week was supposed to be a hint to that lifestyle, with the original schedule having games only tonight and Thursday. But, with makeups, we are now scheduled to be there every evening this week...all five nights in a row. So, for one more week, hot dogs, mac & cheese, and cereal for dinner it is!

So much fun

We had so much fun this weekend...it's been great! The kids and hubby all enjoyed the Reds game Friday evening. The game went into extra innings and there were fireworks after the game, so it was almost 1AM before they made it home. That didn't particularly make me happy. Fortunately, everyone slept in Saturday. In the middle of the afternoon, we took off for northern Kentucky to attend the graduation party of a cousin. I wasn't sure what to expect and really didn't plan to stay long. It was, however, the best part of the weekend. Many other relatives had made the 90 minute trip down and I loved having the opportunity to visit with everyone. And the kids absolutely had a blast. It was held on a farm and the kids loved having the opportunity to fish and ride the gator and climb the hills and just run around and have a great time. We ended up staying much longer than I had anticipated, but it was worth it. Yesterday we ventured up to the lake to have an early Father's Day with my dad, and my mom and Grandma joined us as well. We didn't make an entire day of it because everyone was pretty much worn down yesterday, but we still had a great time. I'm so grateful for so much fun this weekend...it's pretty hard to get motivated for our real life responsibilities today!

Triple Play

It was so awesome tonight! While at the baseball game for JR (during which he was in Cincinnati with his dad) our team recorded a triple play. Michael is the son of our best friends here in town, and one of my "nephews". He was able to catch the fly ball, step on third to double up the runner, and then throw to first to get that runner who was off the bag. It was amazing. Sadly, neither of his parents was there to see it, but I was so excited for him...everyone was talking about it. I felt badly that my husband wasn't there to coach it, but I'm sure he's enjoyed himself at the game tonight.