Birthday Boy Simeon

WaHOOOO Simeon turned 11 on Wednesday!!! 
We don't seem to do birthDAYS, rather we do birthWEEKS! He was super excited for his birthday week and all the fun he got to do all week long.
He started his birthday celebration a day early with Daylight Donuts for their Spanish class in the morning, and chocolate cupcakes for his baseball team that night.
Then came Weds morning. We had waffles with strawberries and whip cream ( a mighty big treat in our house, especially on a school morning.)

His presents to open were a bit smaller on the actual day because we got him an early present last month. He really wanted a baseball bag, since he truly was the only kid on his team without one. So we decided to get him one with his name, number and Little Hawks logo on it as an early present. So on his birthday he got a new Chargers Jersey (Mathews for those interested) and a King sizes Resses peanut butter cup, which he nicely shared one with his siblings (and then one little hungry sibling finished off for him later that day.) 

He brought chocolate cupcakes to school for his class. He got to pick a prize out of the birthday box which we heard from his teacher he had been talking about for a while. He told us about a bowling set and that is exactly what he came home with.
We are doing home dinners this year instead of going out. He picked homemade mac n cheese for dinner.
This afternoon we were able to keep open from any activities (until scouts), so he got lots of playtime with our neighbor Joe and siblings, which may have been one of the highlights of the day. We've been so busy lately and with Joe also playing on a Little Hawks baseball team there are more days then not when one of them can't play together, so this afternoon was a treat for them both!
He got to go to his 1st Boy Scout activity that night and they had chocolate drumstick ice cream cones as a birthday treat!
Throughout the week he got a few cards in the mail, 2 with giftcards included! (I see more Lego's in our future.)
He finished his birthday week off on Sunday when he got to open more presents from his Smith grandparents. He was excited to get the Lego Master Builder Academy set. Every 2 months he'll get a new lego set in the mail. Each kit teaches a different concept of building and progressively gets harder as the kits advance throughout the year.

Also this week Simeon had some end of year activities.
Friday he had his band concert and WOW those kids have improved so much since the winter concert in December. One of the songs they played was Rumor has it. So now every time it's on the radio he wants it LOUD!


Saturday he had a baseball tournament where he scored the winning run in both their Saturday games. His team played 2 more games on Sunday and ended 2nd in the tournament!

Then this Weds was the 5th and 6th grade track and field met at West High. Simeon ran in the 300 meter dash, the triple throw and the agility course. His triple toss team had a rough start, but on their 2nd try they did much better and got 22 throws in in 30 seconds. On the agility course he was fun to watch. He got to do it twice. The 2nd time he busted some crazy rolling and jumping over the hurdles to finish with a very fast time.



We so love watching Simeon growing up into a young man.We love you!

Fall Ball

This fall was the 1st year of Boys Baseball's Fall league. We signed both the boys up. Ammon would get his first experience with the pitching machine and Simeon could get some practice in between Little Hawk's baseball.


There were more glitches in the season then we would have liked, but once things got rolling the boys enjoyed their practice and games and the girls LOVED going too. Because the days were getting shorter each week the times of games kept getting adjusted. We went from playing games on both Tuesday and Thursday, to playing double headers on Thursday, then back again to Tuesday and Thursday games and starting earlier. Hopefully with the 1st season under their belt, next season will go smoother.
Corrine met a sweet Cocker Spaniel Dog Echo that she fell head of heels in love with. Echo belonged to Parker's family who was on Ammon's team, which meant that Echo came to most of the games. Corrine would get so excited when she saw Echo coming into the park. Laura (Parkers) mom would let Corrine take Echo's leash and walk her around the diamonds. They'd always go find spilt popcorn since Echo LOVED popcorn!


Ammon was one of the youngest (if not the youngest) on his team. He was actually too young to play, but we knew kids younger then him who played last spring, so we decided to see if they'd let him play. There were kids on his team 3 years and 3 grades higher, and some kids were almost 2 heads taller!! We had 4 kids from Lemme and a friend from Mom's club on the team. It was nice for Ammon to know some friends on the team, but if he hadn't known them when the season started, they were friends by the end! The pitching machine was hard for Ammon to hit off of. At the end of the season he was finally figuring it out and getting more hits. Ammon's team took 1st place in their division.




Simeon played with the 2 others coaches boys from Little Hawks, but none of the dads coached the team. They all took a break and watched from the bleachers. The beginning of the season was a no hitter for Simeon, but towards the end of the season he started hitting more often. This league has very different rules, like starting the count at 1 strike and 1 ball and you can't walk. If you get 4 balls, then the coach under hand tosses you the ball. Simeon's team also took 1st place in their division with a 10-1-1 record.




Rebecca is so much like her big siblings in that she can play and have a great time at the ball park for hours without a single toy! She made friends along the way, played with Echo the dog, ran around, played in the dirt, swung on the swings behind Ammon's field and ran around some more.

A long hot weekend in Des Moines

Friday morning we took off for Des Moines to play and for Johann and Simeon to play baseball. The heat index this week was 115-120. The actual temp was upper 90's and the humidity was so high that it felt tropical outside.
Friday we went to the Science Center. There wasn't nearly as much as we thought there would be (especially for the admission price). We made rockets and shot them off in the cage, made an arch with blocks, built with legos in the space room (not sure how they totally fit into that room), the older kids were on the news with the weather guy and we watched some shows. The shows were hits with the kids. The 1st show was all about fire and explosions. She lit different gases on fire, made different colored fires and even lit a $1 bill of dads on fire (but don't worry it only got it wet). At the end of the show she lit bubbles on her hand on fire.
The 2nd show was about different kitchen experiments. She needed 3 helpers during the show and all 3 older kids got to go help. Simeon got to help get a polymer string out of water. Corrine got to pour water into a cup, then the experimenter put the cup upside down overs Corrine's head, but because of gel (like in diapers) the water was absorbed. Ammon got to help with alkaselzer film canister rockets. He took off running to get away from his rocket so fast. The last show was about reptiles and they got to pet them. We met a turtle, snake and skink.








Friday night we went to the hotel where the baseball team was staying. We swam for a while, then Johann and Simeon went to an Iowa Cub baseball game. The other 3 kids, plus a friend and I went to Sams club, McDonald's then came back to the room to play.
Saturday and Sunday were extremely hot days of baseball. We let Simeon play Sunday since it was his last game this season. Over the course of the weekend they played 12+ hours of baseball in the extreme heat. Fortunately none of our boys or boys we played had problems with the heat. We had the same umpires for all 4 games we played (they also umpired the 2 or 3 others games in our age bracket). It was so hot that if an inning went too long, they would call a timeout and have all the kids come in for drinks.
The kids watching the game stayed cool by sitting under the umbrellas playing in the dirt, pouring water on their heads and drinking LOTS of liquids. Rebecca was covered in dirt each day and loved it!













Sunday we played at 8:00, then we were done until noon. When we got back they were giving another team the 1st place trophy's before we had even started our game. Our record was 3-0, so there was no way we could have won the tournament, but the team we were playing could have won. They choose to not play a championship game if they beat us because of the heat. So our game was really just for fun because we already knew our places for the tournament since there were only 3 teams playing. Our game lasted over 3 hours going into over time. In overtime we got our second wind and scored run after run to finally win our very last game of the tournament. It was great to go home with a win after such a long weekend.

For the LOVE of baseball

We spent more hours then I can count over the last few months watching Simeon's baseball team playing, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Honestly! I'm pretty laid back about the kids getting dirty at games, and they came home covered in head to toe dirt and smiling. The kids made great friends they played with for hours each week at the games. This year I was able to watch Simeon play alittle more since Rebecca was older and played in the dirt with Corrine & Ammon.
After this weekend at the State tournament we get a week off before we start practicing for another tournament we are traveling too. I'm sure we'll all go through baseball withdraws this week.
Nothing says summer more to our family, then being at the ballpark watching baseball.

Simeon the Baseball Player

This year Simeon is playing for The Little Hawks 9U baseball team through City high school. It costs way more then the rec league, but they practice alot more and play different teams from the area.
This is the 1st year that Simeon has been old enough to have kid pitchers and right at the beginning he told us he was going to pitch. After I picked my heart back up and watched him pitch, I decided I could watch him without holding my breath the entire time!
His favorite positions are 2nd base, short stop and pitcher.





While Simeon plays on the field, Corrine and Ammon play with all the kids at the fields. At this game I had a dozen kids around me and a puppy. Our kids love all the friends to play with.

Saturday's Marathon

Today was one of those Saturdays where you could use an extra hand or two, or maybe an extra driver to get everyone where they need to be on time, but it's tax season, or better know as: single wife season. I thought it'd be fun to document the day so I can look back when they're teenagers and even busier and remember how easy this day was, or maybe I'll look back and think how crazy I was! Either way it's long post and probably boring-read at your own risk!

We started the day early. Simeon had his last indoor batting practice today at the most boring warehouse turned batting cage at Pleasant Valley nursery a few miles south of town. Boring because there is NOTHING to do while he's inside for 45 minutes since it's been winter and cold. Today it was high 20's with a strong breeze. We can go inside the building and the kids can climb on a dump truck, but the thought of a kid falling onto the cement in the oil smelling warehouse and Corrine freaking out at every movement because there is a cat and she is NOT a cat lover, while I make sure Rebecca doesn't fall or touch something she shouldn't, while a handful of boys are swinging bats around. We'll stay in the van! Luckily for us we have satellite tv and dvd's in the van to keep us occupied. Today we were watching Phineas and Ferb. Candace was complaining like normal to her mom about what her brothers were doing. Her mom said "I know Candace. They're just trying to show you how to have fun and to have joy in the journey." I so needed that message to start off this morning.



Then we headed to the University Hospital where we dropped Corrine and Ammon off at the Brother and Sister Club. The hospital puts this group on each momnh during the school year. It's for any child who has a sibling treated at the hospital. Corrine and Ammon LOVE going. Today the exploded their feelings, and loved it. Diet Coke and Mentos helped with that explosion! They always come home with crafts and a prize. Today was lots of talking about feelings so they made feeling pillow cases. Ammon got silly bands on top of his prize today-Toys Story 3 games.



While they were at the hospital Simeon, Rebecca and I went to Hills bank to see what else-baby animals. We got to pet 2 grey hounds dogs which were the calmest dogs I've ever seen in my life! Then we headed over to the baby chicks. Rebecca and I made 3 trips to the bank closer to us to see the chicks this week, so being able to pet one just sealed the deal with her. She LOVES baby chicks. While she was petting the baby chick and I was taking her picture a man was holding an iguana just inches away from her face. If she had turned, she would have met the iguana eye to eye real quick! Luckily for us when we did meet the iguana she liked it and pet it. We also saw a frog, snake, 2 lizards, a sheep and a calf.



We left there and headed to the mall to say hi the the horses (carousel) which we rode last night out here while Simeon was at baseball practice, (at another indoor facility that doesn't have room for 3 kids to play without getting hit by a ball for 1 1/2 hours) and Rebecca despite being scared stayed on her horse next to Ammon on the Dragon the whole ride. We did a quick run through Target to get a wish list for Simeon's 10th birthday coming up too soon. He followed miss independent Rebecca around who had to walk through the store and Simeon thought that would be a great idea. I think he realized real quick why I didn't want her out of the cart. She touches everything and gets stuck at everything and you move 2 inches an hour! Then we had lunch at Subway for boy and me and Taco Bell for girl. After we tried to go to Walmart so I could get new sunglasses because I am one of the worst squinter in the world and the 24 hours I'd gone since misplacing my sunglasses was driving me crazy and I HAD to get new ones. Targets were too expensive for me, but Rebecca feel alseep so we drove to City Park to see the ducks because we were 20 minutes early to pick Corrine and Ammon up.

Rebecca on her horse last night.


Simeon babysat sleeping Rebecca in the van while I went in to get Corrine and Ammon. They weren't ready so it took 20 minutes to get them.
When I got back to the van Simeon said "Do you notice anything different?" He had lost his tooth in the 20 minutes I was in the hospital getting the others.

At this point I should have been taking Simeon to the bowling alley for a birthday party, but he couldn't because of later plans, and so sweetly understood why he had to miss out on the party.

We went home, Corrine and Ammon cut up her playdoh from sibling group into bite size pieces, I wrapped the birthday present fo Olivia and Corrine got packed. We took Corrine to Olivia's sleepover (or late nighter for Corrine). They got manicures and pedicures, made pizza and watched a movie before 4 giggling girls delivered Corrine home at 10pm. She had a blast and has the coolest looking fingernails and toes.





Then I drove home and got 3 kids and myself into church clothes while asking Simeon to go over his talk. Yes talk. Simeon's friend Connor was getting baptized. Johann was baptizing him (he also baptized his little sister Haley 3 weeks ago and Corrine the week earlier.) and Simeon was giving a talk on the Holy Ghost. I heard the talk from the hallway because Rebecca was in a dad mood and dad couldn't hold her and Ammon was being a pickle and sitting still wasn't on his to-do list. I ended up watching another moms kids in the nursery so she could lead the music and her not wanting to sit quietly kids could move around with my kids doing the same thing. We then headed over to their house for dinner.



We came home and I left for a Young Women dinner then broadcast. We had 6 of our 7 girls there, with 5 moms and 3 leaders!! On our table sat a jelly bean boot. The theme for Girls camp this year, which I will be going to, is Boot Camp. Building on our testimonies. (I'm pretty sure that's what it is.) I'm so excited to go, but I hear it's way different from when I went so many years ago. And just fyi-Simeon and I will be in the same small town at camp at the same time. Him at oncology, me at girls camp.

I came home and crawled into bed with my cuddling girl Rebecca. We watched a little tv and she fell asleep cuddled right next to me.

Corrine came to do the door with her 4 giggling friends at 10:00 and she joined us in bed for a while to tell me about the party.