Goals? What Goals?

So, how are those 2019 goals coming along that I set for myself? To be honest, I completely forgot about them while I was coaching softball. They've been resurfacing in the back of my mind, so I just read through them again. I've actually managed to accomplish a few, or partly, without even trying! But most of them, welllllllll....... I still have 5 months to at least make somewhat of a valiant effort, right?

1. Run in four races. Nope. Hasn't happened. I know I'll at least be able to check off one big race, as the Hood to Coast relay is fast approaching next month. However, I didn't do any races leading up to that big event. Softball kind of got in the way. I know there's still time in the Fall/Winter, so maybe I'll manage to get another race or two in there.
2. Lose 25 lbs. I haven't weighed myself in a very long time (over a year), so I'm not sure exactly how much I weigh. I know for sure that I lost some weight during softball season, but I also know for sure I've gained most of it back since then. Oops.
3. Self care. There's still time left in 2019 to make this happen! I did have my eyes checked, and have reading glasses to wear (whenever I remember to put them on). I still need to find a gynecologist and discuss perimenopause and should probably see my regular doctor for a general physical.
4. Mail birthday cards to all my nieces and nephews. Giant face palm! Hasn't happened. I've missed all of them so far. There's still three more birthdays this year, out of the eight total. Maybe I'll finally remember???
5. Send a love note once a month to a family member and/or a friend. This is a big fat fail so far. I've managed to send one, but that means I've missed six. This should be an easy one and one that I'd really like to do. I actually did buy a few cards and have them on hand, so I need to just do it!
6. Put together a resume and find a job. Outside of putting together my softball resume and getting that job, which was already done before this goal was set, I have not done this yet. I still need to. My plans have changed somewhat though. Instead of getting hired in a full time position within the school district, I'm going to get on as a sub first. That way I will still be pulling in an income, but will have the flexibility to not work when a kid is sick or anything else that might come up. We think this will help into the transition of the kids starting kindergarten and me starting back to work. Also, this should make it a million times easier to get hired on when the perfect job opens up.
7. Finish painting the kitchen and dining room, and also get the hallway painted. This hasn't happened yet, but we are hoping to make headway on this again soon.
8. Finish unpacking and organizing the garage. This is a work in progress. There hasn't been much more unpacking, but there has been some organization. Key word: some. We still have more time left in the year to make a dent in this as well.
9. Read five books. Other than reading books to the kids, no books have been read for my own enjoyment so far.
10. Make the state playoffs in softball. Done! Accomplished! We made it to the State Quarterfinals. This was the first time our softball program had made it to the quarterfinals in 7 years. And we came so close to advancing to the semi-final game!
11. Have a family adventure once per month, May-September. I honestly forgot about this goal. We didn't do anything remarkable in May, since I was still coaching softball and our season was extended with the playoffs. We did have a family adventure to Enchanted Forest in June for Father's Day though, and we made up for missing May with two trips to the beach this month!

From our day at the Enchanted Forest

While I'm not 100% on target to completing all my goals I originally set out to accomplish, I have made decent progress at some of them. Writing this post has served as a great reminder and motivator for me to get back on track and get some of this stuff done!

It's Been Awhile

I can't believe I haven't written a blog post since February. It definitely hasn't been for lack of thinking about it. It was a challenge juggling my family life and my first year back to coaching softball! It was a little overwhelming, but we all made it through.

So, how did softball go? We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the season, but we thankfully ended on a high note! We had to go through a lot of adversity with injuries and sickness through the first half of the season, but we pulled it together and made it to the state playoffs. In fact, we made it to the Quarterfinals and lost in a very exciting game to the eventual state champions. If we had to lose, there was no better way for it to happen, coming down to the very last play of the game. We lost 2-3 in the bottom of the 7th inning.

Ayden and Rylee weren't fond of me being gone at bedtime a couple nights a week. Tony struggled with having to get off work early to pick up the kids and go through the whole evening routine by himself. He also struggled with being jealous of not being able to be out there coaching with me. He was very supportive and helped me in every way he possibly could, but really would have liked to be on the field with me as well. But somebody has to support our family.... Sigh.

Here's a little snapshot of some of the things we've been up to in our personal little corner of the world:

This girl got glasses! She doesn't have to wear them all the time, but will need them for school and whenever we are reading/writing and crafting at home.

These two are officially registered for Kindergarten!

Rylee had her spring dance recital and loved every second of being up on stage performing.

Ayden was quite the little climber as a baby, and he continues to be a climber today!

She does her best to keep up with her brother's climbing skills.

But she is definitely still our little princess!

Dressing up in costumes is a regular occurrence around here.

They both played t-ball for the very first time! Thank goodness for grandparents who helped get the kids where they needed to be while I was back coaching softball.

This guy has mastered riding his big boy bike without training wheels! Rylee is still pretty timid about it. She can ride her little 12" bike without the training wheels, but it's a work in progress to get her confident on her big kid bike.

They've also been working on conquering the monkey bars. Ayden can now make it all the way across! Rylee can go about half way. It won't be long before she's going all the way across too!

On June 23rd, we celebrated their half birthday! The grandparents had us out for dinner and cake, and we sang them happy half birthday. No presents. Ayden and Rylee now tell ev.er.y.one how old they are, emphasizing that they are 5 and a HALF. It's a big deal!

Hopefully now that I've finally gotten this post done, there will be more to come. I've missed the blogging world. I've done an absolutely terrible job of keeping a baby book for these two, other than what I've documented here in this space. I want all these memories, not only for myself, but for my kiddos to look back on someday.

Even more than that, I really appreciate keeping in touch with all the friends I made through this blogging community. Many have stopped blogging, but there are some I keep in touch with via Facebook and text. A few are still blogging and continuing their story (which I love!), and some I've lost track of altogether but still think of them often and hope they are doing well.