Baseball is my favorite.

It really is.  I am gaining a love for swimming and the convenience of it but seriously, the feelings that you get in a close baseball game are just the best.  The game can go either way and you're cheering everyone on and it's just so much fun.  Pacen's season ended tonight, but they really went out with a bang.  They came in first in the regular season and were seeded No. 1 in the tournament.  They won their first two games, lost the second which put them in the losers bracket and had to win their way back up.  They beat a really good team on Friday night which made them have a game against the Braves, the team they lost to.  And their pitching was suffering because it was their third game in a week. These are the pics from that game.  

Gentry cheering on the boys.  It's been so hot.  All weekend up in the 100's. Not necessarily fun for baseball but we'll take it.  

 Pacen has been in a little hitting slump.  I think he's mostly afraid of getting hit with the ball but that all changed tonight.....

 But his pitching has been pretty awesome.  The game that they lost, Pacen had a pretty rough game.  But his coach put him in against the Braves again and he totally redeemed himself.  I was so proud that he didn't let the past get in his way and just went out there and had fun and pitched great.  

 He closed the game.  Two innings.  3 strike outs.  I think they scored two runs on him.  It was awesome.  He was throwing hard and I was so proud.  

 This was right after he struck out the last player!  Woohoo! 

 The coaches have been awesome.  They really teach these boys baseball and put the boys first....not just winning.  But they've been wining too so it's a win win. :)

 So, fast forward to tonight.  The championship game.  They had to beat these guys twice to win and move on to the Tournament of Champions.  They announce their names at the beginning.  So fun.  

 This was Pacen's first at bat.  You could tell he wanted a hit so bad and was going to get it.  There were two runners on and he swings and drives one into Right center!  It was awesome!  I was jumping up and down and then remembered I had my camera.  

 Rounding second.....

 Stop at third.  AAAhhhhhh yyeaaah!  

 Oh my gosh....he was so happy and so was I!  You just want you kid to perform to their best ability and he did tonight and it was so great.  

 And then he stole home and it was icing on the cake.  

 The next inning he pitched and did pretty great.  They did score three runs but they were up pretty good so it didn't seem to matter.  

 Then he played some third.  They were up the whole game.  11-4 at one point.  

 But they inched their way back.  On Pacen's second at bat he walked.....

 ...and scored! 

 But then there was one bad inning where the Braves scored 7 runs.  We had to come back and score 3 to tie and Pacen was up first.  And he struck out and was devastated.  And then the next two batters got out too.  It was a big cry fest for the boys but they had a great season and cheered up pretty quickly.  

Sorry...don't mind ths picture out of order.  This is when they called their names at the beginning.  

 And basically the cutest little baseball player ever.  

They had scheduled the end of the year pizza party after the game...win or lose.  I'm really glad Pacen had these coaches and this team this year.  Baseball is best and I hope he keeps on playing.  

 Great season, Reds! 

Tired.

Wednesdays are the worst.  I CANNOT WAIT for school to be over.  I CANNOT WAIT for school to be over.  Just to be clear.  I CANNOT WAIT FOR SCHOOL TO BE OVER.   June 13th, you can't come soon enough.  It's not even that bad but I just don't want the routine and it seems like summer is going to be too short.  And I just want time to wake up and not do anything for a while.  And it feels like summer and the kids don't want to go to bed and wake up early and I don't want to either.  So please June 13th.  Come fast.  

But back to my other first thought....wednesdays are the worst.  And it's my fault.  I get it.  I could cut things out but I don't and so we are busy.  

7:00am (I know I should get up earlier but we stayed up to watch Jack kill some people last night so I was tired) Get up and get ready for school. 

8:00am  Leave for school.  

8:15 ish.  Back home from drop off.  Start cleaning up the breakfast mess and getting everyone else dressed.  Usually put a show on for Maren and Gentry so I can get things done.  This morning I did that and gave them a bath because they were both disgusting messes.  

9:15 am.  Workout.  Today was hard.  "Nancy"  I do a modified version because i don't run anymore.  I only row which kills my arms.  The WOD was 5 rounds 400 M. row and 15 overhead squats @ 45 lbs. (Really it should have been 65 but I'm no good at overhead squats.  It took me 21 minutes and i was beat!  overhead squats are becoming my worst enemy.  

10:45.  Back at home and get in and have a smoothie and shower.  

11:30 am  Pick up Claira from Kindergarten. 

Hurry home to get Gentry ready for swim and dance and get everyone some lunch.  

12:05. pm.  Leave for Swim lessons.  Gentry only has two more with Brett and I'm sad because she's done so well.  She's going to do otter pups at the pool so hopefully they go well and I don't regret taking her out of brett's lessons.  

12:50.  Pick up Tayla for Dance.  

1:00 pm.  Head to dance.  Claira and Gentry have done a Tap/ballet class this session.   I liked the other session better where they did the singing and dancing but this one is cute too.  Tap just isn't my thing.  Let's be honest....dance just really isn't my thing but Tap really isn't my thing.  

2:00.  Head home.  Put Maren to bed.  Get ready for the kids to walk home.  

2:50.  Pacen & Camry walk  in the door.  I made smoothies because it was super hot today.  

3:00 pm.  Piano lessons.  Lucky for us they are here at the house.  

3:15pm.  Take Claira to the pool for her swim time.  I let Gentry swim in the baby pool during Claira's swim time.  

3:30:  Pacen's Piano lesson. 

3:45  Cam's swim time.  

4:10pm  Pacen's coach came to pick him up (thank goodness!) for his game.  

4:30pm.  Get everyone somewhat fed so that they aren't super grumpy at Pacen's game.  

5:15.  Get everyone in the car to head to the game.  

5:30-7:30  Pacen's game.  They lost.  It was super sad.  Pacen pitched one inning and he just got lit up.  He hasn't had too many of those type of innings but tonight they just had his number.  The game was super close but it just wasn't their night.  

7:00pm. Than goes to Young Men's and takes Camry to Achievement Days. 

8:00pm.  Hit the Chick-Fil-A drive through for dinner.  The kids are happy.  So am i. 

8:30.  Second bath for Maren and Gentry.  

9:00pm.  Pacen STARTS his homework.  I finally get everyone in bed after we all pick up the house real quick.  

9:30 pm.  Pacen hops in the shower.  Than and Camry make it home from the church but Than has forgotten his backpack.  Boo.  Back to the church for him.  

And that's been about all.  Do you see why I hate Wednesdays but why it's also my fault?!?!  

Here's documentation of the smoothies and homework.  

And Thanks to Camry, here is some documentation of "dinner".

Busy days, but fun days.  I'm ready to plop myself down in front of the the TV though.  

This is from our walk on Sunday.  Just me, Penny, Claira and Gentry.  

 Gentry has been doing a lot of "working" and taking calls and shushing me.  Apparently that's what you do at work.  

 Maren is ready to be on swim team.  She is a wanderer and is hard to keep her in one place for very long. 

 Did you know that if you shove three CD's into the CD player, it'll break and you'll have to get the whole thing replaced by the honda dealership? 

 Last night was the girls end of the year pizza party for Softball.  Claira improved soooo much and got the Most improved award.  

 Camry got the energizer bunny award.  She loves softball and that makes me happy!

 Random pic of my kids sleeping.  I love them and want them to stop growing right now.  

 But I'm dang tired now.  Before I was just tired.  Now I'm dang tired.  

My lesson.

So I got to teach in Relief Society on Sunday.  It was a rough week and I found a few talks by Julie Beck and Sherri Dew (my favorites) that I wanted to base my lesson off of, but every time I sat down,  my mind was just all fuzzy and I couldn't get a cohesive lesson together.  But, Saturday night, Than took the kids and set up a tent in the backyard and watched a movie out there with them and slept out there, and I curled up on the couch to work on it.  Backstep, First thing I did when I got to the couch was kneel down and say a prayer because I was struggling so badly to get a lesson together and I really wanted to give our sisters a message that Heavenly Father would want them to hear and so I prayed that I could do it.  And guess what....in less than 2 hours...it was finished.  Totally done and I felt total confidence that it was what Heavenly Father wanted me to give because it turned out a lot different than what I had originally had in my head.  Know why....it's not my lesson.  It's not my ideas.  I'm not some amazing lesson maker but I really had a desire to say something that could help someone else.  And I think I was able to do that with the help of the Holy Ghost.  

Here is the first quote that I had read that started the whole thing.  It's from Women's Conference 2010 from Julie Beck. Funny story is that when I first saw this, Than and I were driving to go out to eat on Sunday---it was when we were on Vacation in San Diego---and when I read this I was like, Man!  I just want to be like Julie Beck!  She's so amazing.  And Than jokingly says, "I bet Julie Beck wouldn't be skipping church and eating out on Sunday!   Touché!   He's so funny.  

“The first thing I learned from the history of Relief Society is that it strengthens and supports the identity of daughters of God. Our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, love, value, and rely on their daughters. God’s daughters, we know, have equal importance in His sight with His sons. They have unique responsibilities and duties in the plan of salvation, and they share some responsibilities in the plan with Heavenly Father’s sons. They also have a unified purpose in our Heavenly Father’s plan with His sons. There is an interesting, exciting, and female identity of greatness, richness, that is choice beyond comparison. This identity that the Lord has given us and that we understand through the gospel of Jesus Christ is in direct contrast to the debased and devalued identity of women that we find in the world today. We find an elevated, strong identity that comes from our Heavenly Father. This identity and purpose can only be fully understood through a spiritual confirmation. There is an intellectual study that can be made, but a spiritual confirmation is what teaches us who we are and what we are to do. There is much out in the world that is false by way of identity. There are identities of sensuality, women seeking power, prestige, money, leisure—all of these things are different identities. But the identity of a daughter of God is precious beyond compare—and rich and full. We know that women are the guardians of the hearth and the home. And they have the responsibility for the hearts and souls of men and women and the children of our Heavenly Father. They are given this powerful and influential leadership role. Female responsibilities include being a wife, include being a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend. This is all about nurturing, teaching, and influencing. These are non-negotiable responsibilities. We can’t delegate them. We can accept them and live them, but these are things we understood before we were born, and we can’t negotiate with the Lord about whether or not these are our responsibilities. They have been part of the plan from the beginning; they are not going to change because of any clamor to the contrary. These are our

responsibilities.” 

Here is another quote that I love.  It's from 1987 but still applies today.  

If I were Satan and wanted to destroy a society, I think I would stage a full-blown blitz on women. I would keep them so distraught and distracted that they would never find the calming strength and serenity for which their sex has always been known.

Satan has effectively done that, catching us in the crunch of trying to be superhuman instead of striving to reach our unique, God-given potential within such diversity. He tauntingly teases us that if we don’t have it all—fame, fortune, families, and fun, and have it all the time—we have been short-changed and are second-class citizens in the race of life. As a sex we are struggling, our families are struggling, and our society is struggling. Drugs, teenage pregnancies, divorce, family violence, and suicide are some of the ever-increasing side effects of our collective life in the express lane.

Patricia Holland; One Thing is Needful, 1987

Another one from a Julie Beck talk.  

“The question is, “Am I aligned with the Lord’s vision of me and what He needs me to become and the roles and responsibilities He gave me in heaven that are not negotiable? Am I aligned with that, or am I trying to escape my duties?” Those are the kinds of things we need to understand. Our Heavenly Father loves His daughters, and because He loves us and the reward at the end is so glorious, we do not get a pass from the responsibilities we were given. We cannot give them away. They are our sacred duties and we fulfill them under covenant.”   Julie Beck 

The whole lesson was on:  What is the true identity of a Woman of God?  What are her Responsibilities?  And then what?  How we can do it and how the Relief Society is there to help.  

Here's another one that I ended up not using because of time but I loved it.  From Julie beck.  

With the Lord’s Spirit, women can know what to do. I have been to places in the world where women aren’t able to read. They haven’t had the opportunity or have not been taught, but because of the Lord’s power that is placed upon them, the covenants they have made in the temple, and His Spirit that is poured out upon them, they are powerful women. They can discern His will, solve major problems, and feel peace, comfort, and guidance in their lives. Education is wonderful, but being able to feel the Lord’s power and Spirit upon us is the highest education we can achieve. With that, we have power and influence. Without it, we will not be able to navigate in this life. The adversary will pick us off one by one, and we will be drawn off course by the many, many voices that are out there distracting us. With the Lord’s Spirit upon us, we are strong and solid and will be able to walk with Him.  

I won't put everything on here but I love the feeling that I get from reading those talks and I really feel like if we know and understand our identity, as daughters of God....literal daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us.....every single one of us....we have a limitless potential and can have the power to do all things.  And as daughters of God we have certain responsibilities given to us and those are enough and they are important and we are to work really hard to fulfill those responsibilities.  

Anyway...I was relieved when Sunday was over and I got food feedback and I could relax a little.  

Now onto some cute pictures of my kids.  

Maren LOVES Penny.  And penny tolerates Maren.  Penny really loves Pacen because she gets to sleep with him every night.   Maren is a hugger.  She gives all of us big hugs whenever we want but she gives Penny hugs everyday.  She just loves sharing the love! 

 Sometimes I don't like that we have a pool.  It costs a lot.  It takes up a lot of space.  It can be unsafe.  We have a pool right down the street that we have to pay for anyway.  But, this spring we put a solar blanket on it and it has made it sooooooo much warmer.  It used to be 69 degrees and now it's 85!  The bottom is still colder but we all were in it the other day and it was amazing.  I was in for like 45 minutes and that never happened before because I was just too cold.  And the kids have been in it a lot and it does make me happy.  I just don't want it to be a waste and now that it's warmer I don't think it will be.  

 I swing Maren in the afternoon.  It just seems like an afternoon type of thing.  I pretend that she kicks me in the face and it makes me pretty much the funniest thing ever.  Not a new joke....all the kids loved it.  :)

 Just random pictures of Gentry on my phone.  And about 60 pictures of the floor.  

 Just to document my crazy short hair that I really love.  It takes me no time to get ready and I get compliments on it all the time.  It's a totally win win.  

 Pacen's baseball game on Friday night...which they won....was FREEZING! And I always forget that it's going to get cold because its sooooo hot in the afternoon so i'm never prepared with enough jackets.  It's something about fog and san Francisco and it'll make summer evenings super breezy and cool. 

There was a time in my life when I knew exactly what pictures had been blogged about and which ones hadn't and I edited my pictures and trashed all the ones I didn't need.  These are not those days.  I've been so behind but now I'm catching up.  

Random bubble bath with my two littlest.  They are good buddies.  

 I think I took this because I was getting rid of a bunch of stuff.  yes...i see the garbage bags in the hall.  Sometimes I feel bad because my little kids don't have as many toys as my big kids did but I have a much cleaner house now.  And they still have enough toys....obviously.  

 And this is Maren's favorite activity if I don't close the refrigerator soon enough.  She takes them all out and (mostly) puts them all back in.  

 Claira was super proud of her puzzles and wanted to take pictures of all the finished products.  She is going to make a great blogger someday!  Really I think I just counted 45 pictures of just these puzzles on my phone.  

 More pool love. 

We have strawberries!  But you have to be fast or the squirrels will eat them! 

 Claira is my garden helper.  She was sooooooo excited for strawberries.  

 Maren was looking cute in those super cute pants.  She will not keep a bow in, darn it! 

My Creative Claira.   

This is good parenting, right?

Hobby Lobby is finally in our area!  WHAT WHAT?!?!?!  Theres goes our bank account. :)

 One of Claira's perfect little curls.  I wonder if she'll have curly hair forever.  

What do we do to pass the time at swimming....take selfies of course! 

 Those teeth kill me. 

 Pacen and Camry walk home from school.  There has only been one time that it hasn't worked out well.  Camry came home crying and Pacen was not exactly being nice but it turned out Camry wasn't exactly being nice either so i made them both work it out and spent the rest of the day on their beds and then when Than called (I think he was out of town when it happened) he made them write letters to each other and believe it or not, there hasn't been a problem since!  Pacen even carries her backpack from time to time.  

 More Claira school work.  

 I have underestimated the power of sticker charts with my kids.  We finally started one a few months ago and it's been amazing!  The power of a silly sticker is wonderful!  This is one that I'm going to use this summer with Claira.  Her teacher uses it and they think it's the coolest thing ever.  Guess what she got when she filled up the chart??  A certificate!  It's so funny what motivates kids.  

 This was a few pages out of those bob books that kids read all the time.  Really?  Really you write about a person  sitting on a keg and taking a nap?!?!?  It seemed really funny to me.  

 Bonding over netflix. 

 Bonding at the ear doctor's office.  Still no word on the tubes.  The ear looked "better" so he was giving it another three weeks.  WE go back in on Monday to see.  Then he'll make his final decision.  Her speech is still behind so I don't think the problem is solved.  

 Hanging at the park. 

 This same park trip tried out miss Gentry pie.  It was so awesome having them both down for a nap at the same time!  

 Pacen had a Sacramento field trip a few weeks ago. They got to ride a bus and everything!  I didn't go but am sure glad good parents could get the whole day off to go support them.  

My buddies at home.  You can tell Maren is learning how to share. :)

a girl and her dog. 

 I was trying to figure out what sliding glass door she was in front of and then realized this is our big kitchen window.  Yep, just hanging on the counter.  That's how she rolls.