Long Time Gone!

Has it really been almost a MONTH since I've updated? Geez, guys, it's not for lack of activity around here -- That's for sure. I've got oodles of pictures stored up and I'm going to update those later this weekend, but I'm just saying a quick hello before I head out for a softball tourney this weekend. I just thought if I didn't update while I had all this junk in my head it might be another month before I got around to it. So let's get started!

First, Joey's high school baseball season has mercifully ended. He ended up getting in at least an inning a game for most of the remainder of the season. A small victory, but a victory all the same. So summer season has started and life is back to normal. We're gearing up for trips to Mt. Juliet, Kingsport, East Cobb and Charleston with his team this summer. Then we've got our annual Daytona family trip coming up. We're storing up our dough for a trip to the Daytona Beach Kennel Club. "Give me the straight trifecta, 7-1-4, please, ma'am!"

The girls have a week and a half of school left and we're preparing for end of the year luau parties, final report cards and fun day at school. It's hard to believe we're moving to 4th and 2nd grades next year. Little Syd is not so little anymore and Kelsey has grown so much this year she's wearing women's size shoes and junior-sized clothing. Time marches on.

They both did great grade-wise this year, no Bs on either report card. They tested great on their standardized tests (not that I have any love for those things -- I could write a book about the loathing I have for them.), with Kelsey testing at Post-high school in several subjects and Sydney testing at a sixth grade level in a couple of things. Whether that's truly accurate or not, who knows, but I do know that they are learning and progressing tremendously in their studies. I'm glad I'm able to have a hand in that actually. Watching their academic progress has been one of the greatest experiences I've ever had.

In other news, Kelsey had her first pitching outing last month and did pretty well. She got out of the first inning with no runs, walking the first two batters. Batter #1 got thrown out trying to steal second and Batter #2 got called out for leaving the base too early (a little help from Blue, thank you very much). Then she was down in the count 3-0 on Batter #3, but came back and fired 3 right down the middle! Inning over! Woohoo! Now, in the second inning, things didn't run quite as smoothly, but it was exciting nonetheless. Let's see. With control issues, she threw a few behind the batters' backs and hit one in the head. Her dad brought in another pitcher soon after, but all-in-all, for a first time ever outing, she did great. I'm hoping to post some video on Vimeo later in the week, so I'll let you know when I get around to that.

Sydney had her spring musical May 1 at the co-op. I usually dread the spring musical simply because it's the typical, boring, school program. It's hot in the auditorium, crowded and you can't hear anything for all the babies fussing and crying all around the room. Kel missed out on this production because she had a softball game. (As is custom, I let her decide which event she preferred to attend, and she (BIG SHOCKER) chose to play ball.) Anyhoo, Syd had two songs in this production, one with the 1st and 2nd grade classes and one during the big finale with the entire school on stage. It was such a great little show this year! It was very upbeat and the music was contemporary Christian, so the kids danced and did sign language and it was beautiful. It was a very simplistic performance with minimal set design. The kids were dressed in khaki bottoms and spring colors on top, so it looked like a bunch of Easter eggs up on stage!

I have to say it was very enjoyable and Syd also came out of her shell this year and actually did the hand motions. For those of you in attendance last year, you will remember it was a little like the episode of the Brady Bunch where they went on the TV show as the group, "The Silver Platters", to perform a song and one of them froze up -- Was it Jan? (If you know the answer to this one, please leave it in the comment section below!) Anyway, Syd was kinda like that last year, but this year she was loosey-goosey and really enjoyed herself. I'm hoping to upload that on Vimeo this week, too.

We also took a quick trip to Pigeon Forge for our annual cabin vacation. It was tons of fun (even though it was Rod Run weekend and driving on the main drag was IMPOSSIBLE!). The cabin had a hot tub, two video game machines, foosball, air hockey, pinball, a jukebox and a pool table. So the kids -- Dad included -- had a ball! We visited the Gatlinburg Aquarium on Friday and then we invited the fam up on Saturday for a cookout. The girls got in the hot tub with their cousins after we ate burgers and horsed around for about an hour. Then after the family was leaving, we were stalked by a peacock for the remainder of our trip. It was beautiful, but kinda creepy, too. Evidently it was mating season for the little guy and he spent most of Saturday night squawking right outside the cabin -- Joe was thrilled, let me tell 'ya! Then on Sunday morning as we were getting up and getting ready to come home, Mr. Peacock was sitting perched on our front porch! AAAHHH! Anybody who knows me knows how much I fear birds, so it was not a big treat for me. Neither was the big pile of hmmm, how can I put this delicately, bird stuff he left on the front porch! I've got pics of all the festivities and I will upload those to the blog later this week.

Well, kids, I think that's all for now -- I know you're thanking the Good Lord that the babbling is ending! Kel's got three games today and it's time to get ponytails pulled up, Under Armour donned and cleats laced. If any of you have a 9 year old, you know this is not a quick process. So I gotta run. I hope everybody is healthy, allergy-free and in a good place. I'm hoping once school is out I'll be more attentive to the blog. There are lots of things coming up!

Finally, tomorrow is Mother's Day. I don't have a whole lot to say about that except I am thankful I still have a mother, two grandmothers, a mother-in-law and two sweet aunts (not to mention many friends) who are still around to share this experience with me. We will gather tomorrow at Mom's house as we always do, having sub sandwiches and chips and cookies and we will laugh and poke fun and enjoy the day. While I always say my idea of the perfect Mom's Day is laying in my comfy PJs all day watching movies and napping, I have to say I am so fortunate to still have so many mothers (this phrase is open to interpretation!!) to spend my day with tomorrow. Being a mom has been the greatest challenge of my life, but also the greatest privilege. I never regret for a single moment making the choice to be one. I am richer for having done so. So for all the moms reading this, Happy, Happy Mother's Day!

~Peace