We Love You Great-Grandma

Last weekend Mark's grandmother passed away. Not only was this a tremendous loss for our family, it was a hard discussion to have with the boys. When the boys and I were driving home just as I had picked them up after having had the opportunity to have visited with Christine (along with Mark and other family and friends) in the hospital...I felt it only fair to warn Trevor. He is very sensitive and I knew this would hurt his little heart. Trevor kept asking, "Is she sick? Does she have a cold? Why is Daddy still at the hospital? Great-Grandma is the one with curly blond hair, right? " I explained that Great Grandma was very sick and that she might go to Heaven soon. He instantly broke out in tears, thus, so did Darren, and did I. We prayed that God would take care of her and that he would tell her how much we all truly loved her and would miss her. Yesterday we made this stepping stone so that we could always remember her. The stars glow at night, forever shining down on us all. We all feel so blessed to have had shared life with her. Her strength, presence, and unconditional love and support can never be measured, only truly appreciated. God bless you Christine, as you have blessed us all.

More Fall Fun

The boys love Mommy's wheel barrel rides!!!! Mommy's arms, shoulders, and back are not loving the rides though:) What a work out!!!!

Woo-Hoo!
Hide and Seek /He's safe!

WE are very excited about Halloween this weekend. Trevor is going to be Iron Man and Darren is going to be a Vampire. Happy Hallween to all!

Fall

Happy Fall! The boys and I headed to a Fall festival last weekend. This particular spot is known for its huge corn maze. I think it spans 2.5 miles. It also offered a good old hay ride and some fun slides etc, but relatively small scale in comparison to a Cox Farm. This made it easier to keep track of both boys and allow them a bit of freedom in choosing where they wanted to play. I must say that I was a bit nervous about tackling the corn maze. Typical me, I was expecting the worst, which meant visions of not being able to keep track of Darren and being surrounded by corn. Trevor, on the other hand, was extremely confident that it would be fine. So, I went with it, and it actually turned out to be pretty cool. Trevor took the lead and led the troops. He was very thorough and seemed to be calculating every turn. I was just making sure that we never got to far away from the people ahead of us:) But we successfully brought our flag home and Darren didn't get lost in the corn. Success!

Darren continues to be quite a character. Let's just say, you can't leave him alone for too long. He enjoys pouring your soda or coffee down the drain at the exact moment you are not looking. Darren equally enjoys hiding items in places that you would not quite expect...I went for a towel and I found my flip flops. It certainly keeps things interesting around here:) On a positive, now that Trevor has homework everyday, I have been making Darren do some homework as well. I have been very pleased with attention to the task, the improvement in his fine motor skills (writing, coloring, cutting), and his noticeable pride in himself when the task is complete. As always, if you are not quick to praise him, he will happily do it himself. A true character.

My little stud. Look at that stance! What a great season it has been. The Rattlers have taken the league by storm. They unfortunately suffered their first lost this weekend, but coach was great at pointing out to the boys the difficult nature of going undefeated in any sport. I thought that was a great lesson. The team has made great improvements. Trevor is such a gamer. He may not make every single play, but man, he tries so hard. He has really taken to the role of first base. Mind you, he's the youngest kid on the team, and yet...he gets the job done. During one game, the second baseman was only a couple steps away from Trevor and at the last minute tossed it into Trevor's face. Without thinking, I ran (literally) across the field. A parent made fun of me after:) but that's my boy, what was I supposed to do???! Trevor handled it great...well, he was doing well... then he was up to bat and grounded out. Suddenly the injury intensified:) He never sat out though (that's my boy). A couple games back, he hit an official double! He really likes baseball. Sadly, there is just one game left. Next up, Basketball season!

Back to School and Baseball

It's official. The boys are back to school! Woo-Hoo! We are happy to report that both boys are doing well. Trevor is starting at a new school this year, and he is adjusting beautifully. He seems very content and is making new friends. The first couple of days when I asked him who he was playing with at school his list contained a lot of girls. So I asked him about it...he laughed and said "that"s just my style". OH, well excuse me. It actually is his style. Trevor is very smart, he knows that the girls will initially be very nice and "take care of him" which gives him time to assess the boys and find his "in". So I knew the day we were walking home and he told me that he got a warning in class that he had started working his way "in". He admitted to being a silly goofball in class. Darren is at the same school he finished up at last year and we are thrilled. This school has embraced him and we are very fortunate. This doesn't mean that Darren is a perfect angel everyday...it means that the staff work very hard to provide a safe, fun, and challenging environment for him. They applaud his successes and collaboratively work through his struggles. For these reasons, we feel blessed.
This is Trevor meeting his new coach. Go Rattlers!
This season Trevor has moved up a step and is playing on a machine pitch team. I think he is the youngest kid, but he is holding his own. The coach is a total baseball loving guy and Trevor is soaking it all up. Heck, we all are. It is a breath of fresh air to see good baseball. They say the pledge of allegiance before the game and then recite another little league pledge of sorts... yes, i tear up every time. It's these moments that instill pride in the hearts of our children. I can't say it enough...sports allow the opportunity for so many life lessons. These years are the building blocks that create our future men and women. It's not just baseball to me at least. Mark is doing a great job coaching third base...and Darren and I usually watching from the cheap seats way out there by the playground:) And yes, I still yell from there. Would you expect anything different????

Backyard Baseball

We are in a baseball state of mind around here these days. The past two mornings, Darren has been outside before 8am hitting balls off the tee. His choice..probably not the neighbors preference but oh well:) Last night, Trevor wanted to hit some balls, so Mark was pitching to him. Then Darren came outside and this playtime began. It was exciting to watch and certainly very entertaining.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

We were fortunate enough to get some great seats and truly enjoyed watching the Washington Nationals take on the Hot-lanta Braves (as Mark likes to call them:)

We got our program, checked out the field, and grabbed a pretzel and hat, in no time flat!

Trevor was lucky enough to be given a ball by the first base coach!!! Very exciting!!

The Nationals played well, even after an hour rain delay, they pulled off a win! Go Nats!

Just Another Day in Paradise

That's what my parents always say! Well, we were able to enjoy a little piece of paradise once again. Our trip included: Dancing and Singing at Duck"s

Then we hit the beach!
Football fun

Surf"s up!
Rode a rollercoaster!

Dragon Boom (Broadway at the Beach):

A great time was had by all.