Well Nick's obsession with baseball has funneled down to Lily. He figured if his friends aren't over, it's better to play with your sister (who you'll have to teach) than play by yourself. Nick did a great job instructing Lily how to be baseball ready and Lily did a great job implementing his instructions. With Lily hitting pitches, I think she can skip t-ball :-) Just have to love the bent knees!

Puttin' Them to Work!

It seems like the bucket list just gets bigger and bigger. Things waiting to get done and then new issues popping up in the meantime. Too much to do and no time to do it, or too tired, overwhelmed, uninspired or just not enough money. Well, things have to change and these things have to get done. My husband is never one to volunteer or start a project without taking months to think about it. I am too busy playing taxi driver and being a multi-tasking handler for 3 way too busy kids, so I have enlisted the help of a few good volunteers. Don't they look enthusiastic and willing. Hey, how bad could it be?

Giants vs. Padres

Today was the first game in the tournament for Tustin Eastern Little League (Nick's league) and Tustin Western Little League. Both teams were playing their best defensive games. The Padres scored 2 runs before the 3rd inning and the Giants could not score. In the 5th inning, the Giants (Nick's team) scored 5 runs, (a mercy inning) with 0 outs.  Giants kept up the defense and the Padres were only granted one more run in the top of the 6th. Giants won 5-3. Thank goodness for that spectacular inning, which by the way, started out with Nick hitting a double, and the rest is history.  That's my boy :-)

Was Nick afraid of getting hit when arriving at second? What's up with his tipping of the helmet?

The Hyatt Regency

Nick's friend Ralph, who is the son of our friends had a birthday party at the Hyatt Regency. They rented a pool side cabana and we were all treated to the water slides, pool, drinks and food. It was like a mini vacation. Nick stayed in the pool for close to 6 hours playing catch. It wasn't like his baseball tournament was the next day. Wait a minute, it was. We got there at noon and had to drag ourselves out after 7:00 p.m. We had a great time, but would cringe if we were the ones paying the bill. I must say they made a mean margarita.

Now I know I call her my little piggy, but this brings on a whole new meaning:-) 

A Typical Day

Well, everyone knows my kids love being outside. I have to drag them in when it gets dark. It use to be that we were the only ones who would play in our front yard in the entire neighborhood. Now, of course when my little freaks go outside, they are so loud that they now attract the other kids who flock to our house. Does it keep the kids busy? Yes. Does it create mass amounts of mess? Yes? As you can tell from the video sometimes the kids act so strange that even the wild animals go into hiding. Enjoy this clip of my demented 4 yr. old and her Janice Joplin sister.

Make sure to stop the music at the bottom of the page in my play list, so you can get the full effect (strangeness) of the video.

SF Giants

Well, Saturday was the end of the regular season, now this week the boys are practicing for the city tournament starting Saturday. Not much time off. Nick of course can't get enough. I just wanted to post a few more of my favorite pics because Nick is just so handsome.

I think Nick was trying to give me the hint that I take too many pictures.

Tanaka Farm - Strawberry picking

Once again, after how many trips to these places it is finally Lily's turn. We had a great time on her field trip learning about fruits and vegetables. The best part? Being able to eat as many strawberries out in the field that we wanted to. Lily alone got our money's worth, and we got to bring a little container home for her brother and sister.

Teddy Bear Tea

My girls had some fun last week attending a teddy bear tea put on by a troop of junior girl scouts. My Daisy troop really enjoyed this because they got to bring their teddies and learn new songs. Cassie's favorite part of course was making a marshmallow polar bear which she quickly digested upon completion. The girls also made cards which will be handed out to sick kids at a local hospital.

Making "feel better" cards for kids.

A few of the girls in my troop.

Mom "can I eat it now?"

Mother's Day

What better thing to be given as a early Mother's Day gift than a tea with Lily at her preschool. Lily presented me with a bouquet of flowers (made from pool noodles, great idea) and a card. I will seriously miss these events and all the crafts at this level when Lily is out of preschool. Too much academics and work in the upper grades, so I have to savor everything even more now.

Love Baseball and Love our Country

Nick got to hold the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance at his game. Before every game the boys do the Pledge of Allegiance, but the field flag is located at the major league field which is not visible to our field. One of our good friends grandfather, a retired Marine, provided the flag and now our team has one player during each game hold the flag in center field. They also invite a player from the other team to help hold the flag also. Love this, because it is more of a visual for our boys and more of a ceremony before each game. Nick of course enjoyed this. Got to love patriotism.

I Pledge of Allegiance to our flag.......

Is this really necessary?

Apparently the deal is, that if I want to get a good posed picture, I must let them do a natural picture, i.e. crazy and strange. Otherwise, all my shots need to be done with the zoom and without their knowledge.

Easter Egg Hunt

I had to get a little more creative this year when hiding the eggs. I actually had to give Nick and Cassie a limit so that Lily could actually get some. This worked out perfect because when they got their amount, they had fun helping Lily find hers. After they found their eggs they were off to find their baskets. Of course, Lily got a monkey and Cassie a Lamb. Yes, Lily is still obsessed with monkeys, but as she puts it "cute monkeyssssssssss" Nick on the other hand is obsessed with baseball so he got a print on canvas of his favorite Angel's player Torii Hunter, who he actually got to see at the Majors field before his game started. Apparently Torii's son plays on the Tustin League.

The starting line.

Stretch Lily