A Sun-filled Weekend Part 2

After we got back from the doubleheader, Brian's mom Brenda called to ask if we wanted to go out on the Mississippi River on their pontoon boat on Sunday. Of course we accepted and spent the day playing/relaxing at the beach and tubing up and down the River. The weather was beautiful, we had a great lunch Ron grilled on the beach, and the kids had a great time playing in the sand and surf. We even got Brenda and Ron to do a little tubing-- check out the pics of Brenda before and after we started moving!

The next day (Monday 7-23), Brian and I took the boys to Six Flags for the first time. Alex & Brady received free tickets to Six Flags at a Cardinals game we went to earlier in the month, so it gave us a great excuse for Brian to take off and go on one of the weekly field trips with us. The boys are tall enough to ride almost every ride there and we rode everything we could. We rode the Screaming Eagle, The Boss, Ninja, Tony Hawk's Big Spin and of course Thunder River and Tidal Wave (the boys stood on the bridge twice and got completely soaked). Since we went on a Monday the lines weren't long at all (except the Moon Cars for some reason). Some rides we just walked right up and got on, so that was really nice! Most of the rides there I have ridden dozens of times, but it was neat getting to be with my children as they rode them all for the first time. Its a whole different experience when you don't know what to expect and it was very cool to share that with them. Sorry we don't have any pics from Six Flags, but who wants to carry a camera around all day?

It was a long three days, but we all had a lot of fun! Now its time to get ready for vacation-- Pittsburgh and Washington DC, here we come! Hopefully the Cards will keep up the winning streak for the roadtrip, so we can see some winners. I will post some vacation pics when we get back.

A Sun-filled Weekend

The weekend of July 21-23 was a fun, sun-filled weekend. The boys had their baseball pictures (see team pic) and a doubleheader on Saturday July 21st. Unfortunately the team suffered its first two losses of the season, but the boys played well. Alex was the catcher for a few innings both last weekend and this weekend, he likes that position and shortstop best. Brady has played about every position and even pitched for the first time this weekend and did pretty well. The pictures show Alex (red shorts) and Brady (blue shorts) having a great and helping out the team!

Alivia and Jack are 2

Last Sunday (7/15) we attended Alivia (Amy's daughter) and Jack (Jenny's son) second birthday party. Since they share a birthday Amy & Jenny decided to have a big circus themed party for both of them. It was so much fun! It was at Dame's Park in O'fallon, the weather was great and there was plenty of room for all the kids to run around. Rob and Joe did an excellent job BBQing and Alivia and Jack seemed to like the little tricycles we got them. There was even a guy drawing caricatures (see pic) and a pimped out snow cone mobile. The snow cone mobile probably had 50 different flavors to chose from and of course they all sounded good. I ended up eating 4 snow cones during the two hours it was there (pina colada, cream soda, strawberry cheesecake, and honey dew, in that order). As I told Amy, it was the bestest second birthday party I've ever been to, I can't wait to see what they do next year. Happy Birthday, Jack and Livy!

Trying to Stay Busy

The boys' summer vacation is now officially half way over. We have been trying to stay busy so they don't drive me too crazy. We go to the library every Monday to check out books and movies for the week and we try to go somewhere else either on Wednesday or Friday. Some weeks it's just a trip to the park and some weeks are a little more fun. A few weeks ago we went bowling. The boys are becoming better bowlers as they get older. We still used a bumper lane, but they really didn't need it half the time. Alena helped me bowl, although she kept stepping on or rolling the ball over the foul line so she really wasn't much help, but she had fun anyway. If anyone has any ideas for cheap, fun places we all can enjoy, please pass them along. Hope everyone is having a great summer!

The Neverending Fourth of July

So I finally downloaded pictures that had been accumulating on my memory card since June. Here are some pics from the 4th of July. It seemed like this year since the Fourth of July fell on a Wednesday, the holiday actually consisted of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th of July. Mike came over one night to shoot off fireworks; Joe, Joanne, and JD came over another night and shot off hundreds of dollars of explosives; on the 4th I took the kids to the fair in O'fallon and we watched the fireworks there with Brenda & Ron; then that Saturday we went over to our friend Abbe's house for a BBQ and another huge display. Needless to say, everyone had a great time and saw plenty of fireworks -- at least until New Years!

A Great Weekend for Baseball

Alex and Brady had their first baseball game last Saturday (7/7) and won 11-9! Alex played third base and Brady played shortstop, although they are all suppose to rotate so they may have to play a different position next week. Alex hit two singles and came around to score both times. Brady went 3 for 3 with a single, a double, and a triple in that order. His triple with the bases loaded scored the three runs the team needed to tie the game and then he scored from third to be the winning run! They both did really well and most importantly had a lot of fun. Way to go, boys!

On Sunday afternoon, Brian, the boys, and I went to the Cardinals vs. Giants game. It was a hot 95 degrees, but thankfully our regular seats are in the shade so it wasn't too unbearable. The Cardinals won 7-0 and Barry Bonds played, but didn't get a hit all game. It was a great weekend for baseball!!!

Happy 231st Birthday, America!

231 years ago today our forefathers declared our independence from Britain by proclaiming, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," and with these words the United States of America was born.

John Adams, the first Vice President, the Second President of the United States, and one of the members of the Second Continental Congress who signed the Declaration of Independence, wrote to his wife, "I believe that it (July 4th) will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival... it ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other..."

In honor of this momentous occasion we hope everyone takes John Adams' advice and has a safe and happy Independence Day. Happy Birthday, America!

Boys of Summer

Last week the boys started practice for their summer baseball league through the YMCA. They did really well at their first practice and they are anxiously awaiting their first real game this Sat (7/7) at 1:30. Their team, the Washington Nationals, is part of an instructional league, so they get to rotate positions and master the basics without any emphasis being placed on winning or competitiveness (which is good because they constantly compete with each other in everything). They are very excited about their new cleats and baseball attire, although they were a little disappointed their team was the Nationals and not the Cardinals, but it works out well since we are going to Washington DC at the end of this month to watch a Cards/Nationals game. Anyway, I though I would post their schedule so if anyone wanted to come see a game you could plan accordingly. All of the games are on Saturday and only take about an hour. Click on the location to get a map.

7-7-07 1:30 St. Charles YMCA Field #11

7-14-07 12:30 St. Charles YMCA Field #11

7-21-07 12:15 & 1:30 (Doubleheader) Founders Park, Field #5- Lake STL

7-28-07 1:30 Founders Park, Field #5- Lake STL

8-11-07 11:00 Founders Park, Field #4- Lake STL

8-18-07 12:15 Founders Park, Field #4- Lake STL