Easter (in June!)

Seems silly now, but that's what you get when you skip posts for two months. Going waaay back, we had a great Easter! We followed the tradition of the egg hunt in the morning at our house followed by the big one outside at Kim and Rob's. Brian and I thought the kids might want to skip the morning one but they insisted. They also were very clear that we have made it too easy for them by leaving them in "plain sight" and they basically demanded that next year we make it much harder for them. Every year the outdoor hunt seems get multiply in the number of eggs and this year was another record. It was also an absolutely beautiful day so we loved being outside. The kids also had some competition since Milo the dog was also trying to get some eggs and I think ate a few of them whole, plastic and all. The kids went home with a giant loot of candy, stickers and money and it was another wonderful Easter.

The Blue Jays

Cameron's team had an incredible season, I think they only lost 2 games in the entire season and I was always amazed that I was watching 6, 7 and 8 year olds. Cameron improved so much throughout the season. At first he had a hard time adjusting to the pitching machine, but once he figured it out he was unstoppable! He got tons of hits including several doubles and his fielding was amazing. My favorite was when he would play third and his friend JR would play shortstop and they made such a great team and got a lot of outs together. Cameron loved playing catcher, but played all positions and did a great job. I'm so proud of these boys and how hard they played coming from behind to win the whole thing. What an amazing season!

The Champion Panthers!

Addy had a great softball season and was lucky that a lot of the girls from last season returned, but there were also a lot of new faces which made it fun. The girls improved so much throughout the season. We made double plays, caught pop-flies and even had the catcher catch a foul ball for the out. I don't think any of those things happened last season. The pitching also improved a lot, I think we had some of the best pitching of any of the teams. They still rotate and play all of the bases and Addy improved in all of them, pitching included! She was always walking around practicing her pitching form. All of their hard work must have really paid off because the girls won the whole tournament. The season ended with a double elimination tournament and the girls didn't lose any games! I am so proud of them and it was a great experience to be one of their coaches and I love that Addy will always remember this season. I think my favorite part of the whole season was returning to the fields to watch one of Cameron's game a couple days after Addy had won the tournament. She said to me, "I will never look at Field 2 the same again, from now on it will always be where we claimed victory and won the tournament."

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

We made it! Today was our last game of the Little League Season and BOTH Cam and Addy's teams won their tournaments and were the champions of their divisions! Addy clinched the championship last weekend and Cameron's team came from behind and won the final game today. I truly can't believe it and this made the season even more special. We all got to experience "the taste of victory" (as Addy calls it) because the whole family was either playing or coaching this season. I could not be more proud of these kids and how hard they worked and how much they improved. It really was fun watching them grow from the start of the season until now and to see how much fun they had. Congrats to the 2019 Champions, the Panthers and the Blue Jays!

Potato Chips and Little League

I have maintained this blog for almost 10 years, through 2 kids, new jobs, a new house, vacations, you name it. I don't think I've ever gone more than a week or two without a post. I love doing it because it is such a great way to document what is happening with the kids. I didn't think there was anything that would keep me from having time to do it. I was wrong. Apparently, major life events don't slow me down and won't stop the blog, but a season of Little League and a company that sells potato chips is all it took.

I'm joking, but not really. Between both kids, we had 57 baseball or softball games or practices in the past 85 days. That is an average of almost 5 games or practices a week, for 12 weeks. To say I underestimated the commitment of being a coach on Addy's team is more than an understatement. I loved being a part of the team and I am grateful that I got that experience, but it was a lot. And Brian was a coach for Cameron's team so it really was a lot. On top of this, work was the craziest it's ever been in my whole career and this not so little company that sells potato chips took up every minute of my life for 3 weeks straight. So... that is why you have not seen anything new here in a VERY. LONG. TIME.

But I'm back! The Little League season is almost over (Cam is in the championship game tomorrow and wait until you hear about Addy's team!) so there will many posts to catch up on life in the last 2 months. Stay tuned!

La Tarasca

If the kids favorite part was the hotel breakfast, mine was getting to go to my favorite mexican restaurant La Tarasca. I heard about this from my friend Oprah (yes that one) and it's an amazing restuarant in the middle of nowhere, but happened to be at the midway point of our drive. Luckily, that meant we were able to stop there both on the drive down and the drive back. It is the most authentic, delicious food and the owner is this awesome woman sharing her family recipes. We all love the food there and make an effort to stop there whenever we are in the area because the owner takes such good care of us!

Pics from the visit on the way there and the way back. 

Spring Break cont

Luckily we had plenty of indoor activities to do when the rain moved in. The kids loved visiting the Maritime Museum and learning about the history of the Columbia River, they were filled with facts for days! We went to the Aquatic Center and got even more swimming in and we had the entire theatre to ourselves for a 3D viewing of Dumbo. Brian and I got to enjoy our favorite brewery and the kids bought themselves some awesome toys and souvenirs. Ironically after all of the fun things we did, I asked the kids what their favorite part was and without hesitation, they both said, "The hotel breakfast!" They are nothing if not predictable! As long as every vacation we take includes a swimming pool and an all you can eat breakfast, my kids will be content.