Hoppy Easter!

 We have had quite the good week here.  It started with my softball game on Tuesday.  I was the lead off batter and I lead off with ......... a triple!!  It was pretty spectacular if you ask me.  We lost the game by one run but that's because the other coach was kind of a jerk and a poor sport.  Oh well, we had a good time anyway.

My school week was short.  I was off Thursday and Friday for Easter and am off tomorrow too.  It has been so very relaxing that mom is pondering the idea of hiring someone to home school me.

On Friday, we met our good friends Madeline, Camryn and Evan AND their parents at the county fair for a night of greasy, spinning fun!  Madeline and I stuck together the whole night and helped out with Camryn too.

Mom and dad were quite happy to have someone my age along to ride all the bad spinning rides with so they didn't have to.  Ms. Christina and Ms. Audrey went on the Rave Wave with us.  Because they are crazy.  It spins backward really fast and then a big tarp closes over the car making it dark inside.  It makes mom sick just thinking about it.  Once again, we are thankful for friends.

Mom did ride the ferris wheel- that is pretty much her speed.

After winning some quality prizes at the game booths,

we headed for something to eat.  It was a greasy, powdery sugary mess but goooood.  I had Indian fry bread with powdered sugar for dinner.  It was awesome.

On Saturday, we spent the day dying easter eggs and making our traditional bunny cake.  

Easter Sunday was so nice and relaxed.  We headed to the park before it got too warm to practice some softball, then grandpa Vern and Grandma Sue came for a yummy dinner and then we hit the pool.  The water was only 78 degrees but that was just about perfect for me.  For some reason, mom and dad declined my request for them to get in.  Their loss.

All in all, it was a wonderfully refreshing weekend!

And finally, if you notice in the picture below there is only one computer.  After multiple calls to technical support, multiple conversations with the senior technical advisors, a new USB cable, a new USB to ethernet cable, an external hard drive and many hours of frustration, mom FINALLY has a new, working computer and it is so very fun!

Have a great week!

A Good Excuse....

So, yes, we are late in posting again but we have a really, really good excuse this time.  We ended up having to take dad to the emergency room late Sunday afternoon.  He had not been feeling well all day and he was feeling just like he did when he had emergency surgery for a hernia 20 years ago.  So rather than doing our usual "wait until midnight to see if we feel better and then head in" thing, we decided to head in a little earlier this time.  After multiple tests, x-rays and CT scans, his old hernia repair is still intact and he was just severely dehydrated.  I guess he acclimated to Colorado a little too well and forgot about desert heat.  2 bags of IV fluid later, we headed home.  Dad still felt like he had been run over this morning but everything is better now.  

Here is the other reason we are not posting on time- mom still has not been able to transfer stuff from her ancient Mac to her state of the art MacBook Air.  She even managed to get on with the senior technical advisor at AppleCare and he didn't know what to do.  She got to do all kinds of fun computer geek stuff like creating a new network but no go.  Now it looks like we are off to the external hard drive to try this again.  Sigh.....

The rest of our previous week was pretty cool.  Our class did a field trip on Thursday to the Arizona Desert Museum and mom was one of our parent chaperones!  So super fun for all of us!

She drove and I got to have my friends Max and Claire in the car with me and then we stuck together through the day.  It wasn't even like a real field trip- it was just like a fun day with my friends.  And mom.  It was a roasty, toasty 95 daygrees that day so we totally earned the ice cream we talked mom into buying for us.

Our class all had lunch together and then we headed out for more fun in the sun.

 We finally left around 1:30 and headed back to school.  We were all kind of exhausted and lucky for me, mom took me home early and we crashed in the afternoon and were pretty much useless.

On Friday after dinner, we headed over to the park to practice some catching and throwing.  It was a little bit rough on me as the very first ball I tried to catch bent my fingernail back and made it bleed.  After about 5 hours of drama, I finally calmed down and we went back to catching and throwing.  We moved on to tossed pop ups when I misjudged and caught one with my nose.  This resulted in a bloody nose and more dramatics.  It was also the end of our practice session.

I think all those injuries made for a good thing though.  We had a game the next day and we actually won!  We haven't won a game in I don't know how long so it was pretty cool.  Even more cool was the fact that I got an actual real live hit.  Off the pitcher and not off my coach!  It was awesome because then I scored the winning run!  So exciting!

Sunday was pretty quiet (see opening paragraph) but that was OK with me.  Mom brought home the first book in the Harry Potter series and I have not put it down.  I even passed on MineCraft and Skylanders to read.  How crazy is that!  Mom is doing a happy dance inside her head right now!

That's about it this week.  Going to try and get the computer up and running.  We'll let you know how it goes....

Getting Serious

We are a little late in posting this week.  Mom bought a new Mac on Saturday and has been trying desperately to transfer all the information from her old computer.  It takes hours and hours and then stalls out 1/4 of the way through.  We are on our 5th attempt once our blog is up.  See how important you readers are?

Anyway, on Tuesday dad went out and got a batting tee and backstop so I could practice all my up and coming softball skills.  I started with pitching....

Then went to batting.....

And then soft toss batting....

I'm kind of still liking this softball thing which is good since dad signed up for a softball in Texas in June.  It happens to be in the same town Uncle Tim lives in so I think that is how that happened.  We're going to make a vacation out of it and spend some extra time with Dallas Fam.

On Thursday at school, we had some engineers from Raytheon come into our class and help us build rockets and then on Friday, we got to launch them!  So fun!  It was a beautiful day and all of our rockets went off without a hitch.

After that fun afternoon, mom took me out of school a little early and we headed up to Molino Basin to meet dad for a night of RVing.  He had the day off so he headed up first to get us a good spot.  We did a little hiking and even found some water which is kind of amazing since it hasn't rained here since last December.

Everybody crashed early and we slept until 6 the next morning and headed home.

We spent Saturday getting stuff done around the house (and buying stupid computers).  While dad was cleaning out the pool, he saw a little bird floating around in the cold water.  He rescued it with the net and I spent the next hour nursing it back health.  He finally dried off and after an initial flight back into the pool, which required another rescue, he finally hopped into the grass to hide and wait for the hawks to leave.  He must have eventually dried out because he left a few minutes later.

Sunday was low keyed day but in the afternoon, we got to celebrate Grandma Sue's birthday.  We went to a yummy Korean restaurant and I actually ate (and liked!) something that wasn't a noodle or nugget.  I ate a pork stuffed dumpling and chicken teriyaki.  I tried the edamame but didn't care too much for that.  Mom and dad are just impressed that I actually tried anything new!  We got a ton of food which meant awesome leftovers for lunch on Monday.

That was our week in a nutshell- now back to computer crap.  Yeah!  Have a happy week.

Some of Everything

Mom is staying up late to get this blog written tonight so it may be short.  But good I'm sure.

I had my second softball game of the season on Monday and got to play third base and catcher.  I had an actual, real live play at third with a throw to first base and everything.  It was pretty awesome.  I had one at bat and struck out, which made me cry but coach Tricia was good about pepping me up.

On Friday, mom had a night out with some friends from work.  There is a little local candle shop that makes all their own candles and they also allow groups to come in after hours and make their own candles (and bring wine!).  About 10 of them got together and got creative.

First step is to stuff your cylinder full of yummy smelling wax bits in pretty colors....

Then you pour hot wax over the whole thing....

(Apparently, mom was a little concerned about this whole process)

Then you wait 24 hours and go pick up your amazing smelling candle.  It was quick and fun.

Saturday was another softball game for me.  We have to get to the field an hour early to warm up so it gave mom and dad a good, long look at our competition.  It was pretty obvious from the get-go that we were completely and totally outmatched.  These girls were serious.  They led their own warm stretches- without coaches intervening and there was no "grab assing" as dad likes to call it.  Then they could throw hard and straight.  From their knees.  And then they actually caught the balls that were thrown to them.  They hit the balls.  Really hard.  Meanwhile, over at the Ballerina Bombers (sigh) dugout, we were prancing around, swinging from the rafters in the dugout, wearing ourselves out chasing down missed balls, picking daisies.
The game itself was not quite the blow out mom and dad expected.  I think because they could not hit our super slow pitchers and sometimes, they threw so hard at each other that they couldn't handle the ball.  We didn't help our cause any though.  We had one or two girls hit the ball and then just stand at home plate, not sure what to do.  Of course they were out.  We did make some plays, me included and I even got a hit AND remembered to run.  The final score was 8-0 (thank goodness for the mercy rule) and I think it exposed a few of weak areas that we might a teensy bit of work on.

After my game, mom took me to get my hair cut.  She finally bit the bullet and took me to her salon.  She was so tired of bad haircuts.  I got the full treatment with a shampoo, head massage (to which I replied "Jordan likey!"), cut and blow dry.  Unfortunately for mom, I loved it and I look good so it looks like I'll be back.

We made it home from that and dad has started his annual pool prep and clean up.  I'm not one to waste a good pool cleaning so I jumped right in, softball uniform and all and enjoyed the 78 degree water.  I finally got out when my teeth wouldn't stop chattering.  Good times!

On Sunday, we made a trip up to Phoenix to go to Dave and Busters for lunch and a few games.  I managed to win yet another huge stuffed animal.  Not sure where this one is going to go but we'll worry about that later.

 Dave and Busters is located in a big out door mall so while dad and I were winning stuffies, mom was out shopping so it was a "win-win" kind of day for everyone.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Enjoying Spring

Aaaaahhhh- we love spring.  Now, if only mom were healthy and able to enjoy it.....  She was on the right path and feeling almost OK when she was hit again with a new sickness.  This one was bad enough to keep her home from work on Friday (which was also dad's day off, so that was extra fun for him).  After copious amounts of drugs, she is finally feeling good.  Yeah!  

Enough about her, now onto me!

I had a fun week- St. Patrick's day and a school field trip on Monday and then on Thursday evening, Grandpa Vern picked me up and took me out to dinner, just the two of us.  I put on my sparkly headband and a squirt of perfume and I was ready.   It was so super, duper fun!  He took me to my favorite steak place and then to the candy store after and we had good grandpa/grand daughter talks.  I can't wait to go again!

Saturday rolled around and with it came my first softball game as a Ballerina Bomber.  The parents let out a collective groan when our team name was revealed.  You can't blame me though because my suggestion was the Purple Panthers.  Our coach is very good- she played college ball at Regis University up in Denver.  She is very fun, motivating and makes us work hard.

I'm playing in a U8 league here and we pitch to each other which is definitely fun.  The pitcher pitches until the batter strikes out or the pitcher throws four balls.  Once 4 balls are thrown, the coach steps in and pitches until we strike out or get a hit.  The innings went fast which is always nice.  We even had a real, live umpire wearing the blue shirt, grey pants and protective gear.  Mom and dad figured he drew the short straw- having to ump U8 girls softball.
Here I am at bat.  I didn't get a hit but my form is pretty dang good so when I do make contact, it's a usually a  hard hit.

 I got to play catcher this game and that was fun too but I have been working on my pitching and can't wait to try that in a game.

  After our game, dad, mom, grandpa and I stuck around to practice some more.  I'm really kind of liking softball this time around so maybe I'll stick with it long enough to actually get decent!

The rest of Saturday was low keyed, mom was still catching up on her rest and hacking up lungs.
Sunday was good day.  Dad got in a bike ride and then we headed to Agua Caliente Park to wander around.  Agua Caliente used to be a big cattle ranch and it has a natural lake on it with ducks, tadpoles and turtles.  It's been so dry for so many years though that the lake is drying up.  It's still a nice oasis in the desert though so we enjoyed it.

We spent the rest of the day lounging around listening to the sound track from Frozen.  It is my absolute favorite thing to listen to now.  Yes, me.  The dragon loving, dinosaur digging, monster truck rally going, princess hating girl loves Frozen.  I love to blast it out of my room and sing at the top of my lungs.  Occasionally, mom will join me and that is especially pretty sounding.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

We're Baaaaack- I Think

Well, apparently, mom takes a little longer to get out of vacation mode than others- thus the missing blog last week and the late one this week.  We'll try to catch every one up on our super, duper exciting lives.

Last weekend was a kind of "everyone doing their own thing" weekend.  Each of us had a spectacular time at too.  We love, love, love being together as a family but sometimes branching out and actually engaging with other people is a good thing!

Dad left to go on a boys only camping trip on Friday.  He went 4 wheeling and camping for one night with the old gang.  He said the 4 wheeling was really rough and a couple of the guys lost some internal organs.  I think it sounds like a perfect trip for boys only....

While dad was out camping, mom was thoroughly enjoying a girl's night at her friend Janet's house.  Janet did all the cooking and had the beer cold when the ladies arrived.  They even got to enjoy desert out on the patio with the firepit burning and beautiful views of the city.  It was perfect.

While mom and dad were off doing their thing, I was home doing laundry and mopping the floors.

Ha!  Just kidding!  I was having a blast spending the night at my friend Madeline's house!  Madeline's mom was at Janet's house too so Madeline and I got to hang out with her dad all night.  So. Much. Fun.  We got to eat pizza, make ice cream sundaes, slide down her stairs into a pile of pillows and the best part for Mr. Mike was that we were crashed out by 9 o'clock.  Woo-hoo!  When mom was driving me over to drop me off, I pointed out that it had been waaaay to long since I've had a sleep over with any friends- since Colorado.  Mom had to agree with me- we need to do stuff like that more often.

Saturday was a recoup day for all of us since we were a little tired.  It's exhausting being out of our routine but we were back it on Sunday.  Mom's good friend Shari was in town from Wisconsin so they headed out for a nice, long hike up Phone Line trail in Sabino Canyon and then to another friend's house for brunch.  I had a play date with my friends Max and Claire all afternoon.  While mom and I were enjoying friends and good food, dad was having good times of his own, doing our taxes.  Don't think that wasn't loads of fun!

This past week went by kind of slow.  Mom was sick all week and she is never fun when she's sick but  we survived and so far dad and I have avoided her cooties.

We were certainly ready for the weekend!  Dad was in a 3 day bike race with the first race being a time trial on Friday afternoon.  Everything was looking good for him when a freak wind/rain squall started just has he took off.  Cleared up as soon as finished riding.  That's his excuse anyway.  But really, he didn't do too bad.

I got to bring our class hamster, Fluffernutter, home for the weekend, so I spent Friday afternoon chasing her around the house.

On Saturday, dad had stage two of his race.  No rain, just wind this time but he managed to finish with the leaders.  When he got home, we headed out to do some shopping and pizza eating.  (We love pizza here and it's been MONTHS since we've had any.  It was good.....)

Sunday was another really fun day.  Dad had stage three of his race and again he finished with the lead pack and ended up 27th overall.  He is however, paying for it with complete exhaustion.  He's taken the last two days off from riding so you know it was bad.  He and mom decided on a new categorization system for cyclists.  Instead of Categories 1-5 or age groupings, it should be "people with jobs and kids", "retired people" and "young people with no obligations other than riding".  That would be more fair.

Mom and I spent our Sunday in a more cerebral way, enjoying the Tucson Festival of Books.  This is an enormous, fun event put on every year.  This year, we didn't see too many books but spent most our time in Science City, enjoying all the fun things there.  We learned about comets and I'm going to have my name put on the space capsule that is going to the astroid Bennu then I made a bracelet out of test tubes from the microbiology department at the UofA, I rode on a hover craft thingy, ate pretzels and just generally had a fun time with my old mom.  

Now that spring has sprung, mom had resumed her daily patrols of our yard looking at all the stuff in bloom.  We put in a bunch of pictures in honor of our friend Heidi who is in Stockholm, Sweden with a case of cabin fever.  These are for you!

Our blood orange tree blossoms.  If you've never smelled orange blossoms, oh, you are missing something!  Almost as good as roasting green chile!

Our pomegranate tree- no real pomegranates though:(

Our bouganvilla

Our roses 

Penstammon

Pretty purple flowers.....

Our basil plant, only because mom likes her pot