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.