Pool Day!

No pictures, sorry. But what a fun day we had at the pool! The boys have been waiting anxiously since school got out. But, with all the rain and stuff, it hasn't been warm enough. Today was the PERFECT day to head out to the pool. Steven played in the water with Joshua and Zach while I played with Elijah on the side. He STILL does NOT like getting in the water. Plus, it was a bit cold for him anyway. His job was to throw back into the water whatever the other boys threw out. He loved it! Before we knew it, we had been there almost 3 hours!

Joshua has started his All-Star practices, 5 days/week. They had a scrimmage game on Saturday. He was the only pitcher on his to that DID NOT give up 5 runs! He gave up one and struck out the others. Way to go! He has to go back to the orthodontist this week to remove his spacers and get an expander. Then, in 2 weeks, braces. But only on his top 4 front teeth. Nothing major, at least not yet. We'll see when this is over.

Zach is still as happy-go-lucky as ever. He's pretty easy going. He likes to play with Joshua and Elijah and will pretty much take whichever one is available. If neither, he'll ask to go to the neighbor's house. That's cool with me. They have 3 little boys too, just the ages of Zach and Elijah. He actually misses school, but is enjoying being home.

Elijah has really become quite the Gwinnett Braves fan. (Hmm...I wonder why? :) He got a pack of their baseball cards and now, after going thru them MANY times, knows just about every one by heart. He COULD be their next announcer. He's quite good at it. This past week Steven and the boys got to come to their first G-Braves game. They loved it! So much so that they didn't want to leave their seats to come see Mommy at work or get a tour of the stadium! I guess I'll have to do that some other time BEFORE the game starts. I'm just glad they enjoyed it. Now they've done something I haven't yet...sat and watched a game! Maybe one day.

School Field Day

The kids had Field Day at school recently. MUCH different from what I remember Field Day as, but they enjoyed it. Zach helped out a bunch in the tug-of-war.

And he loves to play Castle Ball. He's a pretty good shot too.

Joshua enjoyed playing on the inflatables.

They got to move around to different stations. Tug-of-war, inflatables, relay races, water balloon toss. It was a lot of fun!



And Elijah got to come with me and enjoy it too!

Zach - the next Pele???

We had Zach try soccer this year because Tball, as much as he enjoys baseball, just wasn't holding his interest. He really seemed to enjoy soccer. He played their last game of the season this past week. He got a hat trick and ended up scoring about 9 goals this season. 4 in one game once. He says he can't wait to play again, this time with goalies! They recently had a party and got trophies. He was so excited! What a cutie!

Zach with some of his teammates at the party.

Look at Zach kicking that ball. He's a natural. Well....maybe not. But he sure had fun!

Joshua Julian - All Star and next pitching great!

JOSHUA MADE THE ALL STAR TEAM THIS YEAR. WOO HOO!

Joshua plays a lot of 1st and 3rd base. He's not a great runner, but loves getting on base. And, this year, he had a 13 game hitting streak!

But his FAVORITE thing is pitching. He could be the next Jonathan Papelbon! Right now his team is in the middle of a tournament. They won on Wednesday. They play on Sunday for a chance to get into the Championship game.

The Next Greg Maddux???

I am trying NOT to be the bragging mother, but I'm having a VERY hard time! Joshua (very nonchalantly) entered a Pitch, Hit, Run competition at the park. It was put on by the Athletic Assoc that runs his baseball league and headed up by his coach, Mike. Steven took him on Sunday to the competition. No one really thought anything of it.

He had to pitch 5 times and try to hit a certain target. Then he hit a ball off a tee to see how far he could hit it in the air. Then he was timed as to how fast he could run the bases. I know he can't run very fast. He can hit pretty well. But I know that (at least I think) he is a great pitcher. I didn't make a big deal out of it. When he and Steven came home, he told me that he tied for 1st place in his age group for the pitching part of the competition. I was floored! Wow! But, truthfully, as good as I think he is, I thought for sure someone would come up after him and would do better. NOPE! We were notified yesterday that he stayed tied for 1st place. That means that he gets to move up to the next level! He will compete on May 17 in Gainesville in all 3 categories again. He is so pumped! And so are we! IF (big IF) he wins that, he will go to another competition at Turner Field AND IF he wins that, he will go to St. Louis for the All-Star Game. Wow! I really don't expect him to get that far, but he certainly could! I can't even imagine! Could I have the next Greg Maddux on my hands?

I was listening to Don Sutton on the radio last night doing the Braves game. He said he started playing baseball at the age of 11 (Joshua started at 4 and loved it before then. He was just too young to play.) Don started as a shortstop. He said he couldn't run, hit or field. So the next year, at 12, he became a pitcher. He hasn't played another position since. And he played in the majors. If Joshua is good now, at 8, what will HE be like at 12? Could he REALLY be a major leaguer? Wow! I can't wrap my brain around that one. But wouldn't it be great!