Pitcher

Well, Daddy has himself a pitcher.  And I don't have any pictures.

Emily had a game at 5:30, and I stayed with her while David took Eva to her game (at a different park 15-20 minutes away).  Tomorrow they each have a game, so perhaps I can go to hers and get some pictures, if she pitches.  There are 4 girls, maybe 5, who are trying out pitching, so it'll depend on who's up next. 

The rules for ages 9-10 softball (fastpitch) allow the girls to pitch until they walk 4 batters in.  After that, the coach comes out and pitches the rest of the inning.  Eva pitched the 2nd inning where she walked one, struck one out, walked one, struck 2 out.  She struck out 3 batters and their coach never had to go out to pitch.  Her team was so excited for her, telling her how awesome she was and jumping on her. David was so excited for her he even called me from the field to tell me about it.  Proud Papa. 

I'll update again, hopefully with pictures, after tomorrow's game.

Jazz Fest



We were not planning on going this year because of the cost, but we ended up getting free tickets. How could we refuse? 

 

It was a super-nice day.  The weather this spring has been pristine.  We were nomads - which is how we always did it before kids, and is how we prefer to do jazz fest.  

 

Great food, great music, great weather. A trifecta!

 

 

 

Goings On

Springtime is back and so have all of the activities that go along with it - not that I'm complaining...

 

Eva participated in her school's production of Once on This Island.  She and the rest of the cast did a great job.  The picture below is Eva and a few of her classmates.

 

Softball is back. Emily waffled back and forth whether to play or not, finally deciding to go for it.  She'll have fun, but I don' think this is something she's going to keep playing. She has said over and over that she wants to go back to ballet, so that might be her extracurricular activity next year (softball and ballet coincide in April and May) instead of softball.

Eva seems to get better and better. She is not exceptional any any one part of softball, but she can do it all - bat, throw, catch.  This year is when the girls start pitching, and Eva has stated she would like to learn. David isn't sure she is strong enough.  We'll see. I'm not sure she has it in her to practice - everyday - to get good. 

The next 6 weeks will be filled primarily with softball, not leaving much room for anything else.

Trips to our friend's camp on the Tickfaw is always on the top of our list of spring/summer things to do. It's so quiet and peaceful out there.  This time they had a paddle boat just big enough for the girls. 

Emily on the 'long' 30 minute drive to the camp. 

 

Driving to Uncle Michael and Aunt Debbie's house with Kali. 

 

Easter kids with Uncle Mitch. Can you tell how much he hates it?

 

Only four weeks of school left before summer break - can't believe I'm about to have a 2nd and 5th grader!!.  We have a busy summer ahead, which is great for the girls.  With Mimi and Popsie having moved and no pool, they need stuff to do. 

• VBS at Mimi's church
• Grand Isle trip
• Horsemanship camp (Emily isn't going to miss is again)
• Destin trip
• Possible camping trip in July
• Possibly getting some piano lessons in since they had to stop early (teacher's baby came 5 weeks early)
• Cousin's visiting

With some added sleepovers and such, they should be pretty occupied most of the summer, I hope. 

Hogs for the Cause

This year was the first year we attended Hogs for the Cause in City Pork (yes, Pork).  It raises money for kids with pediatric brain cancer.  About 80 or so teams cook and compete in the competition, and you can taste all of the glorious pork delights on Saturday.  

Unfortunately for David and me, we were in the middle of our 10 day cleanse so there was very little that we could eat. Note to self:  next year make sure not to be on a cleanse so we can eat some chocolate covered bacon if we choose. 

 Nice shades!

 Emily and Annie being silly.

Girls dancing to Benjamin Booker.

 David snoozing while getting sunburned.

 Eva and Addie playing.

 Emily and Annie playing.

 

 

Eva blocking the sun.

 

 

It was a lot of fun, good bands as well.  The only downside was that it rained for about 2 days before, including the night before, so it was quite muddy and sloppy. Otherwise, we'll definitely be back next year ready to eat!

Medical

The past two months have been quite trying on me. February started off with the flu.  The fever and achiness finally went away, but that cough just lingered. And lingered. And still lingers.  Two doctor visits (GP and finally, ENT), two antibiotics, and one celestone shot later, I'm still coughing a bit, but I think I see the light. I've got a small wheeze, it's a little work to get a deep breath (which makes running unenjoyable), and now this...

I've broken out with some rash. I called the doctor thinking it was due to my antibiotic, but they said it's more likely from my celestone shot, and it should take 2-3 days to go away. What makes it worse is that it popped up in my sunburn that I got Saturday (I got the shot Tuesday morning and the rash Wednesday morning at work).  It's bothersome, gross to look at, and even more gross to touch.  It feels (and looks like) blisters. In fact, I first thought it was my sunburn blistering, but it wouldn't have taken that long to blister.  I should have it covered up, but I don't like anything touching it, including fabric.  I just keep lathering it with hydrocortisone cream. 

I'm ready for all of this to be over and for me to be back to normal. 

Emily

Last night snuggling:

Emily:  I love you, Mama.
Me:  I love you, too.
Emily:  You're the only mama I'll ever have.
Me:  You're the only Emily I'll ever have.


Yesterday, Eva received a free pass to wear jeans today for surpassing her benchmark test score.  Eva usually never wears jeans when they are allowed, but Emily always does (she hates uniforms).  I knew Eva getting this pass would bother Emily, but she never showed it until this morning in the bathroom:

Emily:  I just want to rip up her card (the pass to wear jeans)!
Me:  Don't you dare!
Emily: It's not fair!
Me:  It is fair.  Eva was rewarded for something she did. 
Emily:  (tears)
Me:  (went to the kitchen to make sure the pass was still intact - it was)

Apparently, Eva had been bragging about getting to wear jeans, and it was just too much for Emily to take. 

Early Spring Recital

Due to the piano teacher's baby coming soon (turns out her water broke this morning), the girls had an early spring recital.  Emily's first song was Alouette followed by Ode to Joy as a duet with her teacher.  Eva played a simpler version of Fur Elise.  

 

Painting with a Twist

A few of us signed our girls up for a Painting with a Twist class Saturday. The all painted owls except for Emily who painted a butterfly. 

 

Before: 

 

After:

Cutting up. I love this picture because they all are so silly. You can see Emily and Annelise, the youngest two,  looking up at the older girls acting up. 

While the girls were painting, we parents were across the street having lunch and margaritas.  We walked back over to check on them after we were done and I was so surprised how quiet it was in there. Besides our girls, there were about 15 or more other girls we did not know. For having that many girls in one room, it really was shocking how quiet it was. They were all concentrating on their paintings listening intently to the teacher. It was so cute to watch.

Rocks and Minerals

Eva's class is studying rocks and minerals right now at school, so I volunteered to go to her class to show some of the rocks, minerals, and fossils that I had.  Below are the girls that helped me show them around to the other students.

 

Mardi Gras World

I know it's a little late, but I have finally gotten around to posting pictures from Mardi Gras World.  Again, it was lots of fun and very interesting, even for us locals.  I definitely recommend the tour for anyone.