Softball Season Starts

Today marked the first day of softball season.  This will be Maddie's third year, and she is super excited about the new season.  Rob McAllister and I are coaching again and looking forward to another awesome season.  This year the girls move out of what I call "T-ball" mode and start actually playing the game...outs, counting runs, pitching, etc.  For many of the girls this is their 3rd year so they are ready to take this step.  In general, at this age,  I think they are all ready to start being a bit more competitive.

We have a great group of girls and families this year as well.  There are 6 returning from last years team, 4 from another team, and then 5 new girls.  A great mix I would say!  There are two notable new girls on the team..The first is from a family where we got to know them when we went through birthing classes with Maddie...now 9 yrs later, the two of them are on the same team.  The other, is a friend from Maddie's Pre-school class at Hope.  With Kindergarten, they went to a different school just down the street, but a few years later, here we are.

We will post pictures throughout the year, as well as give an update on what the team name is once all the girls vote...this was their homework assignment after practice today :-)

Birthday Recap

Kenzie wrapped up a full week of birthday celebrations.  Starting with sharing with friends on Thursday, moving to her Doll Doctor party on Saturday, and wrapping up with family party on Sunday at the Spaghetti factory.  She (and we) had a lot of fun turning five.  We caught a few pics of her blowing out all of her various birthday candles

Happy Birthday Kenzie!

Today little Makenzie turned the big #5.  From the moment she got up, she was excited about her day.  What may have been the most exciting for her, was that she singing the "5...5 dollar" Subway theme song to match up with her birthday.

The day was packed...from a birthday breakfast, to her shining star day at school, to an afternoon with the Nana's at Bellevue Square, to her birthday dinner with friends...we got it all in.  Her birthday doesnt stop here...she is looking forward to festivities on both Saturday and Sunday, so this is technically her birthday week!  We will post more pics and updates from all her activities.

Happy Birthday to our little ball of fire...aka...KK!

80's Recap

Realized that we had not updated the blog since the 80's event last weekend so here it goes. The day started early, we were at the grocery store by 10, then to the gym by 11. We got all the big stuff setup before squeezing in a bball game for Maddie. After getting back from that the gym had been fully transformed into an 80's HS dance scene with balloon arches, game area, band setup, etc. We were able to get home, get our "Costumes" on and get back up for things to start rolling. It was awesome to see all the outfits that people put together. Here are a couple pics to give you a taste of it.

 

 

 

Overall the event was a great success, fun was had by ALL, and we raised a bunch of money for the school. It is always rewarding to be part of these kind of things. Thanks to everyone that helped make it happen!  From donations, to giving, to helping, etc...It was a Great event!

The Final Countdown

One week from tonight, we roll back the clock for the 80's "Hope School Rocks" fundraiser. This song seemed fitting for many reasons. If you havent got your tickets yet, let us know, this is going to be a great event!!!



If the embedded video doesnt come through, here is the YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

Moving Downstairs

Well, for the last few months Maddie has been asking about the possibility of moving from the top bunk, sharing a bedroom with KK, to the spare bedroom downstairs. Over Christmas she got new bedding, pillows, etc. and last night out of the blue she asked again if she could sleep downstairs...and after thinking about we said OK. Hard to know who had a tougher time with...Maddie, sleeping by herself...KK, now sleeping by herself...or Mommy, having her little girls sleeping separately :-) We are on night #2 and it it already a bit easier...Kenzie likes the idea that she has her own big room...Maddie is planning how to move lamps around, etc...while Mom and Dad just get more exercise walking up and down the stairs. We expect a few bumps here and there, but we are starting into a new phase. We'll keep you posted.

Back in the swing of things

No, we are not talking about golf swings (although that sounds pretty nice right now), rather the day to day routines around here.  After the hustle and bustle that was the Holidays, in a wierd sort of way, it is kind of nice to get back to "normal."  Dont get me wrong, having family around, visiting with friends, parties, presents, no work, etc...is ALL GOOD.  It can just get a bit hectic.  Oh well, it is what it is.  Like every year, we were blessed with a great Christmas and awesome New Year.  This year did lack the "surprise" of last year with all the snow...and the kids (and us) were bummed we didnt get to see any around this year.  We did our best to make up for it by heading up to the Hyak Sledding hill for some sledding with the Doerrs.  As always a ton of fun, but it was almost a bust as they just havent had enough snow yet to really get the hill going.  Luckily, they opened it up after about an hour there...In fact the kids were the "test sledders" for the park ranger.  So, we can take some credit for opening up the hill for the hundreds of people that were waiting as well.



Our biggest "happenings" right now are 1) Maddie playing basketball and 2) Steph helping put on the Hope School Rocks Fundraiser.  As for Basketball, Maddie is really enjoying playing ball.  As Steph says, you can tell she is "passionate" about it as she is playing super hard.  Nothing against Soccer, even Maddie says she still like Soccer, but Hoops might be here thing.  She especially likes to shoot...a lot!  So we are working on passing a bit more. 



The other big activity going on is the Hope School Rocks fundraiser. Steph graciously agreed to be the "leader" of the event. It is shaping up to be a great time..80's themed with a live band, catered food, dancing, etc. A lot of people are helping out and it is going to be "Totally Awesome" for sure. The ultimate goal is to raise money for the school and what Hope is doing for kids and families. If you are interesting in attending, donating, or even helping...give us a shout!