2 Over the fence Home Runs, 1 Double and 6 RBI's

What a game!! Toryen worked so hard tonight. He started out at first base for the first 3 innings and moved to catcher for the rest of the game. He had a great night.
The team won 16-3.

Toryen turned 12

Where in the world has time gone! My baby is 12. It was a wonderful weekend. Grandpa and Grandma Haynes came for the weekend and we were super busy. They got to see Christian play baseball, Toryen's game was cancelled and he was so upset they couldn't see him play, frankly so were they. They took us to dinner, lunches, shopping. They got Toryen a new suit and shoes.
Sunday was an amazing day. Toryen received the priesthood and all my favorite people were there. Bob and Sara Haynes, Bud and Malawna Mecham, Jed, Ashley and Jace Lyon, and Lorry and Linda Stratton. They are all the best humans ever. No matter what they are there. My family is the best ever and I love them to the Stars.

Bring it on week!

This week is going to be a good one! We have so much going on. Baseball practices, baseball games, lifeguard certification, Toryen's Birthday, Toryen gets the priesthood, Brandon is still sick, Brandon has to work, I have to work, my parents are here, Brandon's parents are coming, dinner with everyone.
Wow.

Sitting on my knee

I love my boys!! That's known if you have ever read anything about them on this blog. I love that they still want to sit on my knee and be close to me. I hope that never goes away. I'll be honest, I'm a mom that gets nervous about my boys finding a girl that takes him away. One day I won't be the most important woman in their life, however I am for now and i will take it!

Twin Bed Bench

This is what I have been working on the last couple weekends. It is a twin bed frame I got free off facebook. I cut the bottom in half for the sides and the top is the back. I used the slates for the seat, painted them different colors and then sanded them to make them look older and used. I just have to screw the bench slates all down and seal the wood :)

For the Boys

I Did It!!

Bread dough has always been a pain in the butt for me, you would think that something so simple would be easy! No no it's not. I have always struggled with it. Then hanging with one of the best peeps I know she made it all click and I got it. I have heard the same things and I just never got it.
I made 4 loafs and this amazing pan of cinnamon rolls.

New Hound Puppies

 "8 my brother got 8 new babies"!! They are the cutest, snuggly, fluffy little things. Toryen is loving them and it makes me happy that he can enjoy them after everything that he has gone through with his dogs. He misses Ruka and Mocha so much. He loves Ryder and I can't imagine what it will be like with out him.

Baseball Mom

The Life of a Baseball Player's Mom

I used to have a normal life. (Actually, my friends and family say the sentence should say, "I used to have a life, period".) It doesn't really seem all that long ago...Then I became the mother of two baseball players.

I used to think anything over $40 was an exorbitant price for a baseball bat  or glove and say things like, "I'm never paying that much for a glove!" Now the contents of my son's equipment bag are worth more than everything else in the house.

I used to work 8-5, sometimes longer and think I was over-worked and under-paid. Then I quit work so my children could have a full time maid, nanny, and chauffer and now I often think 8-5 wasn't so bad. Now my husband is the sole bread winner in the family. (You have to keep a good paycheck coming in if you want to support a baseball habit!)

I used to look for little restaurants that served amazing steak and chicken. Now I'm a connoisseur of nachos and hot dogs and rate a city by the quality of their baseball fields' concession stand!

Sunflower seeds used to be something I would see at a store and think "Who eats those things?" Now I know who eats them because they're everywhere! In every pants pocket, in the washing machine, all over the car.....

My lawn used to be like carpet. I had plants and pretty flowers in the yard and in pots. The grass was green and mowed. Now I have bare spots 50 feet apart, artificial plants and flowers, and dents in every thing around the house that can't move out of the way of a fastball!!

My car used to draw admiring looks. It was clean, waxed, and shiny. Now it only draws attention when it wins the "dirtiest car" prize and the kids write "Wash Me" in the rear glass. After we load the bat bag, the lawn chairs, the umbrellas (just in case it rains), the blankets (it gets cool when the sun goes down), the coolers, and the water bottles, there's barely room for us.

I used to have a car garage. Now I have a covered batting area, poles to wrap the hit-away around, If I can get out, I get to climb over whatever ball equipment, hitting machine, ball bag, and/or cleats are stored in the garage to keep them from getting wet.

My friends and I used to spend time talking about the new outfit we bought or movie we had just seen. Now I bore them to death with detailed play-by-play descriptions of five or six ball games.

My summer wardrobe used to consist of breezy sun dresses in bright colors, cute sandals, and the occasional frilly shirt. Now I have a closet full of the coolest, thinnest shirts I can wear without being arrested, the most comfortable shoes I can find, and T-shirts that have baseball team names on the front or statements of me being a strong baseball supporter.

We used to spend our summer vacation relaxing somewhere. Now I have no vacation. We hit the road with other parents in a caravan that could rival some small town parades.

I used to be concerned that I would fall into the trap of living my life through my children. Now I know that I'm privileged to live my life WITH my children. Yes, I'm a Baseball Mom and I wouldn't trade it for anything! Of course in July when it's 100 degrees in the shade, REMIND ME OF THAT!!

Here's to our boys and baseball!!

Jackie Robinson Day

Well hello again! It has been a long time. I am sad that I couldn't find and recover my old blog. I checked and I am going to keep looking for a way that I can get it back. It had a lot of history :)
With that being said Today is a great day to start blogging again. Jackie Robinson Day is a great day at our house. Christian and Toryen both have baseball games today.
What a man;

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised Jackie and her four other children. They were the only black family on their block, and the prejudice they encountered only strengthened their bond. From this humble beginning would grow the first baseball player to break Major League Baseball's color barrier that segregated the sport for more than 50 years.

Growing up in a large, single-parent family, Jackie excelled early at all sports and learned to make his own way in life. At UCLA, Jackie became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. In 1941, he was named to the All-American football team. Due to financial difficulties, he was forced to leave college, and eventually decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. After two years in the army, he had progressed to second lieutenant. Jackie's army career was cut short when he was court-martialed in relation to his objections with incidents of racial discrimination. In the end, Jackie left the Army with an honorable discharge.

In 1945, Jackie played one season in the Negro Baseball League, traveling all over the Midwest with the Kansas City Monarchs. But greater challenges and achievements were in store for him. In 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey approached Jackie about joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Major Leagues had not had an African-American player since 1889, when baseball became segregated. When Jackie first donned a Brooklyn Dodger uniform, he pioneered the integration of professional athletics in America. By breaking the color barrier in baseball, the nation's preeminent sport, he courageously challenged the deeply rooted custom of racial segregation in both the North and the South.

At the end of Robinson's rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he had become National League Rookie of the Year with 12 homers, a league-leading 29 steals, and a .297 average. In 1949, he was selected as the NL's Most Valuable player of the Year and also won the batting title with a .342 average that same year. As a result of his great success, Jackie was eventually inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Jackie married Rachel Isum, a nursing student he met at UCLA, in 1946. As an African-American baseball player, Jackie was on display for the whole country to judge. Rachel and their three children, Jackie Jr., Sharon and David, provided Jackie with the emotional support and sense of purpose essential for bearing the pressure during the early years of baseball.

Jackie Robinson's life and legacy will be remembered as one of the most important in American history. In 1997, the world celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Jackie's breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier. In doing so, we honored the man who stood defiantly against those who would work against racial equality and acknowledged the profound influence of one man's life on the American culture. On the date of Robinson's historic debut, all Major League teams across the nation celebrated this milestone. Also that year, The United States Post Office honored Robinson by making him the subject of a commemorative postage stamp. On Tuesday, April 15 President Bill Clinton paid tribute to Jackie at Shea Stadium in New York in a special ceremony.

I love thee example that Jackie set as a baseball player. He had so many reasons for being angry and yet through it all he was kind and patient with stupid people that were so mean and cruel.

I hope that my boys can remember his example!