Summer Vacation

I think I would be rich if I could invent some sort of contraption that would slow time down in the summer.  How can three months go by so quickly?  Three whole months of sports, friends, sun, fun and relaxation.  I'm not sure, but they did.   And in those three months, I only managed to put together two blog posts.  Only two?  My kids started back to school last tuesday, Sept 2nd  (which is, and will be, a blog post of it's own) and I have finally sat myself down in front of the computer to catch up.

Although I didn't blog much, we indeed did have a fun summer, let me show you:

Warning: Here comes the photo overload

Action had a fun baseball season.  

A short break during a 13 mile bike ride with the family

Sassy's softball team played in a Nationals Tournament.  They placed 4th out of 72 teams.  

They played 10 games and Sassy pitched in every one of them.

Hanging out between games 

Sassy even got Smiley to pitch a little

A very relaxing day on the lake

When we were on a weekend camping trip with friends, this stray cat decided it wanted to be part of our group.

I celebrated my birthday with my family ~ and mmmm..... an ice-cream cake!

A fun morning doing a little painting at our local Color Me Mine

Some state fair fun which included seeing a not quite 1 day old baby pig, rides and treats to name a few things:

 And even when the summer softball season ends, the pitching never does.  Lets just say she is very happy her fall softball season has started up.  She didn't like having to take two whole weeks off :)

And it has been our tradition the last few years to make gak the week before school starts, 

this year was no different.

This is simply a snapshot!  There was so much more we did, more softball, more baseball, more lake time, more crafts, more playing, and great times with friends, bonfires, crafts, water fun and just time relaxing.  It was a great summer!  

Summer is flying by.....

July, the time of the year when the sun rises early and sets late.  The days are long and we are all trying to enjoy these carefree summer days.  Vacation bible school has come and gone, volleyball camps are over and high school open gyms are in full swing before next month's tryouts.  Baseball is winding down for Action with only a couple of games left, same with Sassy and softball.  She has her final tournament this coming weekend ~ Nationals.  However she is not looking forward to a break from softball and is already looking forward to some late summer clinics and fall softball.   Smiley has been participating in a variety sports class and has played a little t-ball and soccer so far.  She asks to play catch and "hit" about every day though.  Action is currently involved in a golf camp ~ another passion of his.

Summer is flying by, our days are full (my blogging time is very little), but we are still finding time to relax and enjoy each other.  We have found time to hang together, see a few movies, hit the pool, the lake and spend time with friends.  I am looking forward to filling the next 6 weeks with more ~ more fun, more sports, more family and friend time and more relaxation.

Forever

(note ~ pictures are random, just go with it ☺)

 (gorgeous blue teeth via a blue ring pop)

It feels like it's been forever since I've sat down to write an actual post.  I've written many in my head, but finding time to get them out in black and white has been a problem.  

(Action hitting a single)

A lot has been going on in my little world ~ organizing games for 200 elementary school kiddos for  a week of vacation bible school, driving 45 mins one way to get Sassy to pitching clinics, sports every night and weekend, job stress, and simply finding time to breathe and simply enjoy the kids whenever I can (after all it is summer vacation).  

(Smiley ~ passing the time playing in the dirt instead of watching the game ~ gone are the every other night baths ~ it has to be daily)

What I'm trying to say is my little blog here has definitely taken a backseat to life.  It's not that I haven't been making things ~ I designed a banner for Sassy's Fastpitch team for their State and National tournaments coming up later in July, I've created some fun chalkboard subway art for our home and as a gift for some friends (they haven't seen it yet), I've make a few cosmetic updates to our teeny tiny master bathroom, have redone Smiley and Action's rooms (except for a few accessories for Action), not to mention all of the recipes I've made off of pinterest (definitely some highs and lows there).  And it's looking like I may be transforming our guest bedroom into a home office and hopefully incorporating the guest part into it too. 

(Sassy ~ proud of her 1st place tournament win)

My camera has been gathering too much dust, I'm missing the weekly "Embrace the Camera" link up, as I rarely have any pictures of myself or hubby anymore.  I do believe the host of that link up stopped doing it, but I may have to revive it ~ so important to be in pictures ~ I personally love looking at old pictures of my parents alone, or with myself or my siblings.  To me pictures are such a treasure.

(Hubby playing catch with Action's baseball team)

Anyway ~ The fourth of July is almost upon us.  We've got some family and friend time coming up in the next few days and I am very much looking forward to a little relaxation.  We've got  two more fabulous months of summer vacation with the kids and I plan to enjoy them.  Hopefully I can get back here more consistently ~ I'm missing all of you!

(Action, just chillin' between Sassy's softball games)

What We've Been Up To

Each day, the daylight hangs around longer and night comes later.

The temperatures are slowly creeping up.

The end of the school year is within the kiddo's reach (7 more days).

Spring sports are in full swing.

And we are savoring the minutes we are together and not rushing from here to there... and sometimes back again.  

I admit, I have not been very good at pulling the camera out, but here is a little snip-it of what we've been up to:

Watching and Cheering  Sassy at her Softball games:

(Action has had many baseball games, but it's been too chilly and rainy to pull out the camera ~ maybe tomorrow......)

Riding 4 wheelers at Grandpa and Grandma's house:

A weekend of fishing:

Smiley's first catch of the day ~ a little Walleye ~ which she was absolutely NOT going to touch! She almost wouldn't take her picture with it, because it was "too close":

A little golfing:

Shade Rockin' while doing some yard work:

Honoring our Service Men and Women who have and still fight for our Freedom and Safety:

A day at the Horse Races with friends:

Having fun at the race track (and acting like they like each other ~ ha!):

And learning ~ our friend was teaching Smiley how to braid in between races.

What have you been up to?