It's a Hit!

I FINALLY got to see Cade get a hit on Tuesday! It was awesome. And I just happened to get it on video:



(And don't make fun of my cheering like Rusty and Cade did. I was in the moment. I was a proud mama.)

Lydia's Latest Mini Dance Recital

Lydia had another mini recital last Tuesday. She was especially psyched because Daddy and Cade got to see her perform this time.

Lydia Goes Fishing

For a while now, Lydia has been asking to get her own fishing pole and go to the lake to "go fishin'." She and Rusty went and picked out her first pole. A bright pink, Barbie fishing pole. She was so excited to learn how to use it.

Here she is trying to figure it out.

Looking pretty excited and sure of herself.

Daddy giving her some last minute advice.

She's doing it! She's casting all by herself and loving every minute of it.

She's looking pretty smug and proud of herself, no?

Check out the videos of her first time fishing:

Cade and Rusty didn't have any luck this time. Maybe tomorrow.

I hope it was all she hoped it would be. She's been asking nonstop ever since to go again. Not sure she completely understands that you can actually catch live fish when one is fishing and not just the plastic, glittery one that comes with her pole.
(Aaaannd...cue the theme song to the Andy Griffith show.)

Stormy Night

We had an intense evening of weather last Saturday evening. As reports of more and more fatalities from the night's storms elsewhere keep coming in, our little scare doesn't even register a blip on the radar in comparison. The two holes in our skylights are nothing compared to losing an entire home or worse...

This is the view from our porch as the hail started going from pea-size to more like golf ball and baseball size. It sounded horrible as it was hitting the roof.

And this is what happened east of town, just about where we were going to be right about then had Rusty not gone to the store and seen the clouds coming our way. We could see the rotation of the clouds from our windows on the east side of the house. Pretty weird. Even more weird to see it live on television.

Date Night

Last Friday Rusty and I had tickets to the Lisa Lampanelli show at TPAC. We weren't sure it was going to be an enjoyable evening, though, because all through the opening act (see guy below), the ladies directly behind us would not stop talking. It was beyond annoying. It was like the very exaggerated scenes you see in movies, only it was totally for real. But thank god they shut their yaps when The Queen of Mean took the stage. She was rude, crude, irreverent, callous, offensive and beyond raunchy. We had a blast!

I think this guy was funny. At times anyway. Between his drunken slurring and the chatty Cathies behind us, we couldn't quite hear his whole set.

Before the show, the WBC *puhtoooie* showed up to picket. Ms. Lampanelli went out to see what was going on and pledged to donate $1000 to the Gay Mens Health Crisis for every member that showed up to picket. And she said she was going to send in WBC's name.
Awesome.

A First...

For me, at least. I've always wanted to make an apple pie, but have been hesitant for any number of reasons. Mostly fear that it would turn out horrible. Not that I'm a terrible cook. Nine out of ten times when I try something new, it's a hit. My recent attempt at Chicken Paprikash notwithstanding. That one was an epic fail.
BUT! This! This was NOT. This. Was. Gooooooood.
Take a look:

How 'bout a close up, since I'm so proud.

And a shot of all the yummy goodness inside.
So. Good.

More Baseball...

Since all we've done the past few weeks involves baseball and gymnastics, we're just going to go through some more of the same.

A little pre-game drill action.

Typical of Lydia's pre-game shenanigans.

This time she had a fun playmate to hang out with.

A swing and a miss.

Making a play at first.

Getting worn out.

This is our great view of Lake Shawnee from just about any point at the complex.

"No, Mom! Don't take a picture of me right now!!"

"Now you can take a picture, Mom!"

Watching it all the way in.
Wasn't his pitch.

Getting too comfortable in my chair.

Good game, Rattlers.
Better luck next game.

Ouch.

The best part of the game: snacks!

Only in the Midwest...

Surely I'm not the only one out there bothered by this picture?
This kid was 3, maybe 4, tops.
I can't even begin to put myself in the drivers shoes and try to imagine what he was thinking when he put this tyke on the back of his bike. The kid's arms didn't touch in the front so he was left to hold on to the guys jacket? I'm sure the kid loved it. I. Was. Horrified.

What I Did for Mother's Day...

My Mother's Day weekend got off to an early, incredible start on Cinco de Mayo. After dinner downtown, we went to Wolfe's camera to 'look' at a camera I'd had my eyes and heart set on for a while now. We left with this in the bag:

Happy Mother's Day to me! It's the one I'd been wanting for a while. Thank you Rusty, Cade and Lydia. I love it.

The following photos are the first I've taken with my present. I have a few kinks to work out as we are still getting to know each other, but all in good time, readers. All in good time.

Next we head over to Cade's school for the annual Spring Fling. Lots of mirth and mayhem to report. Cade threw himself in jail twice (don't ask, I don't know), Lydia got her face painted for the first time and she also got rid of a nasty piece of abc gum from one of the bounce houses (more accurately, her sock found it somewhere in one of them, so that's the good thing, right? No more gum for anybody else to find, right?) Lots of games for the 6 & under set in Squire Land:

Gone Fishin'

Dino Dig

Disney Princess bounce house

Unfortunately, Cade is of the age where he now can 'roam about the cabin' at will at these events, so this is the only photo we got of him enjoying the activities.

This ride was the inspiration behind Lydia's face art.

She's sitting as still as she does when she gets her hair cut.

Getting just the right amount of glitter.

Super cute.

These were the other activities on the other side of the school where Cade spent most of his time. Looks like everyone had a blast. And how cool is that inflatable joust-looking thing? Reminds me of that show, American Gladiators, that we use to watch in high school.
Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.

Don't these slides look like a ton of fun??? The families in charge of the fling this year did a terrific job organizing the event. It's going to be hard to top it next year!

Later that day...
we made it to Wichita for our goddaughter's First Holy Communion.
Rusty treated me to a dinner sans kids andletmejusttellyou! It. Was. Wonderful. Nobody else's mouth to clean but my mine. And Rusty was on his own on that one. Thanks for letting the kids hang out and play while we went restaurant hopping, Mark and Steph.
(Yes, restaurant hopping. We went by 3 or 4 before finally making it to Margarita's. Who has prom the week before graduation?)

These two were a little restless waiting around to get to church. At one point, we weren't sure they were going to make it.

Mom and Dad with the star of the show, Hanna.

So. Pretty.

She's going to leave a trail of broken hearts, no doubt.

Rusty and me with our beautiful goddaughter.

Happy Mother's Day!!