Game Day

This morning Daddy and CJ biked to the park and practiced t-ball. She was all ready for a good hit this evening at the game.

The thing about t-ball is that it gets kind of boring out in the field. Today found CJ kneeling down for a break.
The weather held out and CJ was excited for the promised slushie, but since we had a late game and the only game at this location, the snack shack closed while her team was playing. They didn't forget the kids and left them each a piece of Laffy Taffy for after the game. Still it's not a slushie and it was slushie weather. Bummer.

The Witches Performance

Coming Soon

Dress Rehearsal

Twice a week CJ's school walks over to a nearby dance studio for classes. Recently they've been practicing to play the role of witches in an upcoming performance of Happily Never After. Tonight was a dress rehearsal for the performance. We were too late for hair and makeup, but stayed for one run through of the show. It was 8:45 or so when we left and some of the other students told Mama that we had to stay for the second run through. Not on a school night - we were late enough. The one thing that came out of the practice was that CJ's witch hat from a couple of Halloweens ago is too small. We need to find a bigger one or to figure out how to keep this one on her head when she runs.

Rained Out

Not T-ball, but Mama's shift to volunteer at one of the Snack Shacks. Unfortunately I didn't get a call before I headed over. It really wasn't raining, but apparently the field was too wet for a game. Oh well. I had read all the instructions and in case you feel like some snack shack nachos, let me just tell you that the cheese that goes with those can be left in the heater, turned on, for up to ten days. 10 days!?!?!

Easter Book

CJ and her cousins asked for some paper to put together this book about the Easter Bunny. Cute.

A New Old Toy

Daddy and Grandma brought out a dollhouse that Grandma's father had made for her when she was little.

The kids had a blast playing with it.

That Tricky Bunny

Even at Grandma's house, the Easter Bunny again left CJ a map she had to follow in order to find a few of her eggs and finally, her Easter basket.

CJ found all 8 hidden eggs and the basket, but a few times she recruited help from Little B, who was happy to oblige. Turns out neither Big B nor Little B was a big jelly bean fan.

Look Who We Saw

As we were leaving Cousin B's party, we saw a flash across the yard. Mama only caught part of it, but if you look closely in the top right corner, you might see a little bunny trying to hide. Wonder if it is the famous bunny we've been expecting?

Happy Birthday Cousin B

We enjoyed celebrating with you. And the performance the kids put on for us was amazing. Dressing up and dancing and singing. Unforgettable.

Sunny Day Cousins

CJ and her cousins enjoyed some sunny time out in the yard before Cousin B's birthday party. Frisbee, catch, mowing the grass - we all enjoyed the nice afternoon.

Thanks to the Peach Pit

Thanks to Uncle P's neighborhood establishment for showing the Blazers playoff game 4. It was hard going inside on a nice sunny day, and even harder when Mama blinked and saw that her eyes weren't playing tricks - the score was 61-41 and the Blazers were losing. But Mama sat down and watched the end of the game and it was a good one. The Blazers somehow pulled out a win. Now we just need them to win two more games.

The Hunt

We're taking the day off from T-ball to hit the annual Easter Egg Hunt (like we did last year and the year before) and then we'll head to Cousin B's birthday party. The day started out well with good weather and lots of eggs for the finding. CJ doesn't quite have the competitive spirit enough to fill her basket, but she was happy with her loot. She even spied one up in a tree that Mama had to help knock down.

Easter Gifts

CJ brought home these handmade gifts from school. The jar is filled with lavender bath salts and a secret note rolled up that says "May you always have fun as a family. May your dreams come true. Happy Easter. I love you."

Happy Earth Day

Here's the card CJ made for Mama and Daddy. She even used recycled paper.

Downward Dog

Mama took advantage of the warm, sunny day to lay her yoga mat out back to dry. When she looked outside later, she had to go get her camera. Big B had decided to use the mat to take a little sun break. He's always been the sun dog.

A little while later Mama looked out again and Little B had joined him out there. They both are enjoying Daddy's new deck. Hopefully we'll get some more weather like this so we can all enjoy it.

Coloring Eggs

Somehow we never colored eggs last year and Mama still had the dye. We decided to make just a few eggs this year. CJ's orange one really turned out the best.

Colorful Girl

Living in the NW means we have to dress in layers. Who knows why they give out a short-sleeved t-shirt for T-ball. The forecast was supposed to be for sunny days all week, but tonight we actually had a bit of rain as the other team finished up their batting order in the first inning. The plan was to call the game after CJ's team batted. By that time, the skies had cleared a little bit so they went ahead and finished the game. With raincoats on, it is a bit harder to tell what team the kids are on.

We've Got a Sprout

And the winner is? The Ceylon. It was the first of our tomato seeds to sprout.

The Bunny Hop

Like last year, we decided to take part in The Pearl District's annual Bunny Hop. Unlike last year, the weather wasn't so nice. CJ's T-ball game was cold, but dry. As soon as they finished their free slushies after the game, we got a bit of drizzle. Luckily it didn't last long and it certainly didn't deter her from heading out for free candy and other goodies.

Her favorite part was likely a coloring contest at the paper store. And she even got an honorable mention on their blog. The funny thing was that we didn't see the real "watercolors" bird, until after CJ had done her drawing. He didn't have quite as much color as her picture did.

Check out her loot! Even dog cookies for the pups. We hit about 17 out of the 21 places that participated so we did get some good walking in as well.

Couldn't Believe It

Mama couldn't believe it. CJ had a T-ball game tonight. After school she went to gymnastics and we rushed home to grab a bite before the game. It started to pour down hail! Mama kept checking her email, but there were no messages about the game being rained out. We wondered if we'd drive there, only to be told to go home. But we packed up and headed out. And guess what? The sun did, too. The field was in good condition and both teams made it so they went ahead and played the full three innings. This weather is crazy.

Ceylon vs Super Sweet

Here are the tomato seeds in their newspaper pots from the other night. Mama selected a Ceylon Heirloom seed and CJ picked Super Sweet 100. We hope they both grow well. You can't have too many fresh tomatoes.

A Home Run

Today was CJ's second game and this time she was the last batter in each inning, which meant when she hit, she was to run all the bases to end the inning. Three home runs! She's got quite an interesting throw - we are still working on that a bit. And she played first base for one inning, which is where almost all of the action is in t-ball. The kids were looking forward to slushies at the snack shack after the game (they were playing their one game at the biggest and most official looking field with a real snack shack), but they seemed ok when we found out that all they got was a tiny Laffy Taffy candy. The parents were happy to see some warmer weather for the game and the sun even showed up for a while.

Super Seedlings

Tonite the family attended a Super Seedlings event with a local garden group. We guessed which seeds were which, had a little snack and talked about planting a garden. We took home a rosemary plant and CJ and Mama each planted a tomato seed in a newspaper pot that we made. We'll have to see how these grow - historically Mama hasn't had much luck with seeds.

Big B aka Sun Dog

Big B went outside for a little break and since the sun actually made an appearance, he decided to lay down for a while in the vinca and take a break. He's always loved the sun.

Healthy Eating

This art of CJ's has been hanging in a window in the front door for a little while. See how she is eating a healthy apple on her plate? The funny thing is how great she captured the kitchen table and bench area. She's getting good.

And the First Batter Is...

The weather was iffy for the first t-ball game, but turned out to be cool and dry. CJ was slotted in as the first batter for each of the three innings, while she played several different positions in the outfield. The night ended with a chocolate cupcake one of the families brought. Daddy filled in as 3rd base coach, telling the kids to run and Mama helped keep the batters in their lineup order. It takes a village.

Opening Day

We joined many other kids and parents for the opening day pancake breakfast celebration. Here's CJ showing off her uniform:

And enjoying "running the bases" with her team, giving high fives to all the other kiddos.
The sun was out for the majority of the morning, but just as we were leaving the hail arrived. We didn't have a game today, but did have practice scheduled and the sun was nice enough to come back for that, with wind and rain blowing in just as we were about to wrap up anyway. First game is next week. Weather permitting.

Chuck E Cheese, The Artist

CJ's been on a short school schedule the last two weeks for Spring Break. Today there was no school and we had planned to meet up with some friends. We were planning on doing something outside, but the weather wasn't looking so good in the morning so we ended up at Chuck E Cheese for lunch and some fun. CJ was lucky enough to win 34 tickets at one game, but really one of the more fun things to do for a token was to have your picture "drawn" by Chuck E at this photo booth. Of course when we got out of there we realized that the sun had come out...