Flying By...

The summer seems to be going by way too fast for us! Softball tournament week is here and then the season is over. Kylah played in Gordon last night. We lost 1-8. On the way home we drove through a nasty storm with rain, hail, and wind. Kylah's coach was on his 'bike' so he had to wait it out before heading the rest of the way home. Kylah's next game is tomorrow evening at 5pm in Chadron. Kaitlin plays either tomorrow night or Thursday night here depending on who wins this next game.

The weekend is going to be here before we know it. I am working the concessions Friday night at the rodeo with a few gals to raise money for the Baseball Association. We have Zeb, Rachael, and Alayna coming on Friday for the weekend. It will be a good time to have family around to enjoy the festivities, good food, pool time, and a few drinks. :)

Josh has been keeping busy farming. He enjoys it so much. He talks 'farm talk' to me and I am starting to understand a little more. I think he was impressed FINALLY last night when we drove through a tractor impliment and I said, "Look at that hydro-swing." He looked at me shocked and said, "Great job babe!" I thought to myself....I am so glad I didn't call that a rake. Lol!

I hope you are having a great day. I am grilling burgers for the daycare kids now that we are in for the afternoon. We spent the morning playing and trimming tree branches and a little weeding in the garden that needed to be done. Have a great day!!!

This Week...

(Our tree we transplanted from the garden to our backyard.)

Our week has went by rather fast. The girls had games on Tuesday and Wednesday evening so we went to those. Kaitlin's team won against Gordon on Tuesday and the rest we lost. It's okay though. The girls on both teams played very well and the weather held up nicely so I can't complain.


I have been having some eye issues since February off and on. I have that Cornia Erosion in my left eye and it hasn't been healing like it should. I went to the eye doctor yesterday and they put a contact in to help it heal. The doctor told me that if you get a cut on your arm or leg, the body heals from the inside out, but the human eye heals from the outside in. He put a contact lense in as a "band-aid" to help it heal faster. He said it usually takes 24-48 hours to heal but I keep irritating it when I sleep because it keeps drying out. I will tell you, having an irritated eye that feels like there is a bug in it constantly is VERY ANNOYING!!!! I can't read, watch tv, be outside without dark sunglasses, have to limit my computer time, (I am wearing sunglasses right now to type-lol) and it isn't very easy to drive. I had to have Josh's Grandma Noni drive me to my appointment yesterday because my eye was so sensitive to light. It worked out great though because the doctor numbed my eye so we hurried and ate Chinese afterwards. It was delicious as always!


Carter has a T-ball game tomorrow in Chadron in the morning. Then I am not sure what our plans are. Josh's dad and Mary will be busy so they asked us to have the kids feed their bucket calf. They will love that! If my eye is better, I wouldn't mind getting some fishing in later in the day when it is cooling down, maybe around 7pm.


The kids have been selling jerky for a fundraiser for the baseball association. Our girls have sold nearly $100 worth. They have been doing a great job. Over the 4th I will be helping out in the concessions at the rodeo and the girls are on trash duty early in the mornings following the rodeos to help keep it looking nice.


It is starting to get hot outside so I am going to close up the house and turn on the A/C. Have a nice day and a wonderful weekend!

Jayce
Brooklynn

Brooklynn

Brooklynn

Brooklynn and baby brother Jayce

Jayce

Jayce


Misty Jelinek took these pictures of my niece and nephew and she did a GREAT job! I loved them all so I had to post them for everyone to see. (Thanks Misty!)

Pool, Painting, Softball...a little of everything!

Tonight Josh and I took the kids to the pool. It was such a beautiful evening! One of the few clear evenings we have had in a long time. The kids had fun swimming. Kylah is getting better at learning how to swim. She tends to go under water and move her arms but not her legs so she doesn't move forward much. She would rather do flips under water and come up gasping for air. Sometimes it makes me nervous...

Carter loved the water and had a lot of fun with the noodle and a paddle board. He jumped off the edge to Josh a few times but had to be coaxed a lot. I wish I could get my kids to the pool more often but it just doesn't work with my daycare hours. With softball and t-ball going on we rarely have a night without games or a practice so we took advantage of tonight's trip to the pool.

Kaitlin had fun with her siblings but was off soon after to check out the ball game the boys were playing at the fields. She didn't last long there before she was back and wanting to ride bikes with two of her friends. She is getting to the age of wanting to spend more time with friends and less with family. (She is limited to friend time because I feel family time is very important.)

Well...most of you who know me know I tend to get tired of my house looking the same way every day since I am home A LOT. So, I was bored this morning and decided to paint our front north wall in our living room that has the front door on it. I painted it a Brick Road Red (the same as our kitchen) and we love it! It just makes the house seem more "updated" and fresh. I am so glad I did it!

Tomorrow is Kylah's double header in Rushville. They play at 10:30am and noon. The weather is supposed to be nice and there is a small playground there for Carter to play on. I can't wait to soak up some sun in my lawn chair and eat sunflower seeds (I eat them a lot since I quit smoking...4 months ago today!!) Kylah had a good hit last week so I am hoping she pulls through and has a good day tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

Kylah

Kylah...big slugger!

Thank you Becky for this picture! It made my day. Also, thanks for the awesome bracelet. I will definitely be wearing it over the 4th of July!

Softball

Last night Kylah and Kaitlin both had double-headers: Kait in Chadron and Ky in Crawford. I went to Chadron and met up with Alayna and her mom Rachael for supper at the China House...yum!! Then we went to Kaitlin's games and watched. She hit a triple and had a couple other great hits. The girls played well and won their first game. They lost their second game by 2. My brother Craig and his family came to watch the game for awhile. We got to see Brooklynn and Baby Jayce. My mom, Josh's mom, and his grandma Noni were able to come watch too so we all had fun. It was a good time! Then after the games we stopped to see Brooklynn and Jayce for a few minutes before heading to Walmart and then home. We didn't get back to our house until 11:30pm!

Kylah played two games here in Crawford and had a good hit. She told me she wasn't happy that the girl caught the pop-fly she hit towards third base to get her out. I was told she played first base some of the night and seemed to enjoy it. Augh- it's tough having to be in two places at once and can only be in one place. Kylah had a big group of people there to watch her too so I didn't feel as bad. Josh, his dad and Mary, Carter, and two of our neighbors went to watch. Josh's grandma Susie may have went too but I am not sure.

Yesterday was our anniversary. It's been 8 years...We have had many blessings these past few years and are looking forward to more in the future. Since we had games last night, Josh and I are going to go out for supper tonight at Fort Robinson. I may take the kids to the pool for an hour or so before supper if it doesn't rain. They want to go so badly and have yet to go swimming this summer. The only one who has gone is Kaitlin. Then after the pool, I am hoping for an enjoyable meal at the Fort with Josh and maybe a walk later on.

Have a great day! I am off to weed some of the garden!

It's A Boy!

Brooklynn with her new baby brother.

So happy to be a big sister!

Sticking his tongue out...he is so cute!!

First picture of Jayce Joseph Hoffman.

We love him so much!

It's a boy! Jayce Joseph Hoffman was born yesterday in Rapid City to my brother Craig and his wife Tara. Brooklynn is now a big sister to a very handsome baby boy! (We think he is PERFECT!) He weighed 7 lb 7oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. He has a head of dark hair and looks so much like his daddy! We had to hold him and love him before we came home. Brooklynn got to stay with us and it has been a great time. She is so much fun and we have enjoyed her company! Here are a few pictures I took on my cell phone. (Of course I forgot my digital camera.)

One Win, One Loss

Last night Kylah's softball game was cancelled. Kaitlin's games weren't cancelled though so we drove to Rushville in the pouring rain to play ball. We played against Martin, SD and last night was the only night Crawford and Martin could meet up to play, so rain or shine the games were to be played.

The fields were totally soft and soggy. Towards the end of the first game, third base sort of just disappeared. At one point, I heard our coach telling one of our players that her foot was a couple feet off third base. You could see home plate every few minutes if the mud washed off it just right. Many times I looked out and Kaitlin's shoes were invisable. If the ball was hit out towards her at short stop, once it hit the ground it stopped.

The second game was not so bad as it had quit raining by then. It was just getting really chilly and a breeze had hit. By the end of the game, it was drizzling once again and it was nearly 9:30p.m..

The first game we lost 5-8. The second game we won 9-7. The girls had fun sitting on the sidelines under a row of umbrellas. It was a muddy mess but we all had a good time. Of course most of the time we were in our warm Durango. I did sit in the bleachers the second game to help call out plays for the scorekeeper.

Hopefully this rain is about over. We need some warm days to get our garden growing again. The corn seems to be in a pause mode at the moment.

Games...or Maybe Not...?

We have had so many rainy days this month. Tonight Kaitlin has a game in Rushville and Kylah has a game here at home. Well, they have games if the rain stops and they don't get called off that is. A few softball moms and I were talking the other night how nearly every game has been either rescheduled or the girls played in the rain or moist fields. This is so different than the past years. Even Kaitlin's double-header in Gordon last Saturday was chilly for part of it. (The girls did take 3rd place though so that was exciting!) I will be sure to get a pic of the kids in their softball/t-ball uniforms soon. I should have last night when they all had their shirts on for pictures at the ball fields. Thanks Deb! I know there were a lot of pictures that you took.

I don't even know if I have any news to share. Kaitlin is headed home from Scottsbluff with a friend. Kylah and Carter are perfecting their skills with the game Garfield on the PS and I am wishing the rain would let up a bit so I can walk the trail...

I hope you are all having a great week and enjoying your early summer.

Woo Hoo It's Friday!

I am SO glad it is Friday! After having two weeks in a row of working 4 days, a full week seemed to last forever. We have a full weekend ahead of us. Kylah is going to Gillette with Nick and Mary to see Zeb, Rachael, and Alayna tomorrow. We were all going to go but my back was hurting earlier this week so I didn't want to risk it going "out" while traveling. Kaitlin has a double header in Gordon tomorrow for softball and Carter has t-ball games in Chadron. Grandma Dana is going to take Carter to t-ball so Josh and I can watch Kait's games. It's getting difficult having three kids playing sports this summer. On top of that, Kylah and Kaitlin start golf next Thursday. I was looking through some pictures on my computer tonight before I put them on a disk and wanted to share a few with you. Have a great weekend and enjoy the pictures!

Kaitlin and Kylah

Alayna with all the puppies.
Carter wanted a picture with me. We hardly have any together.

Kaitlin with her cousin Brooklynn.

Carter with his chain saw and glasses.

I will try and post some more later. Have a GREAT weekend!!!

Turning 2

Happy 2nd Birthday Alayna!

We sure miss you lots! Have a great birthday! Love you :)