Summer officially begins

Again, I started this over a week ago and have failed to complete the post.  So this will take us up to about July 10 or so.  We have done a lot more since then, but I'll save those for the next post.

Happy Birthday Nick!


I changed it up a little this year and made strawberry pie instead of the usually requested cheesecake.  I hope I did ok.  I'm not a big pie fan, so I don't know how it was.  Gracie approved and Nick didn't complain, so maybe it turned out ok.  It was officially the second strawberry pie I've ever made.  The first one was back in college and ended up more like soup.  This one at least looked better.  The addition of ice cream never hurts, either.

Dig in!

One more weekend of softball.


Gracie played with a team in Colombia.  They had a pretty good weekend.  The team went 3-2 over three days.  They ended up being one of the last 4 teams left in the tournament.  It was pretty competitive and fun to watch.

Gracie sliding into home.

Look who Gracie found!
Rylee Pierce showed up at the tournament and Gracie was really excited to get a picture with her.  Rylee has been the first baseman at Mizzou for a few years, now, but is transferring to Arizona.  She is a fantastic role model for these young girls!

Gracie and the pitcher chatting a little.

Gracie and Nick 

Playing catcher

Happy Birthday DAD!

After losing the last game in the tournament, it was early enough in the afternoon to make it down to the lake and help my dad celebrate his birthday!

Gracie with the birthday boy!

We have managed to get a little riding in, since softball and baseball have ended.  When I say "we" I mean the kids and Nick.  I just watch and take pictures. :)
Nick and Owen on Sonita

Gracie with Indee

Gracie getting a ride on Sonita

I believe this makes Nick happy.

4th of July fun!

Our neighbors invited us over to their house for the evening of the 4th. We had dinner and got to shoot off some fireworks in the evening. It was a late night, but a lot of fun.  Everyone left with no injuries, as well.  

The kids with sparklers


Owen playing with his sparkler

The following weekend Annie came to visit and we went to see my parents at the Lake for a fun afternoon of swimming.
Gramma KK with River

Annie with the kids in the pool

Owen relaxing

More fun in the water

Grandpa Tom even went swimming!

A little more progress...

We started working on the barn.  All of the holes are dug, we just need to put the posts in them.  Slowly but surely.

Nick also did a lot more work on the retaining wall on the back of the house. It looks really good, but will look even better with plants and flowers in it!

That's a lot of rock!  And there's still more in our front yard!

I cannot believe how fast this month is passing.  We have been pretty busy despite baseball and softball getting done. The kids have been in swimming lessons and we took a short trip to southeastern Missouri to go kayaking.  We had friends from Iowa visit us and took them to Rock Bridge State Park last weekend, as well as showed them around Mizzou Sports Park.  It was so fun to have friends come see us!

I have more to come, so will update again when I get a chance!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dreams and Goals Realized

Image
  I have to start with this.  I have been hoping and waiting to post this for so long, and it is finally a reality for Gracie!  I'm sure that November 12 will be a day remembered for a very, very long time.  This fall has been such a roller coaster of emotions for all of us, revolving around Gracie's recruiting opportunities opening with D1 schools.  September 1 began the time of uncertainty, and navigating the past couple months has been challenging to say the least.  She has always known where she wants to be, but not sure if that goal would be her reality.  She has done everything she can to put herself in that place, and she finally got the call from Coach Anderson asking if she wanted to "officially be a tiger." I have never felt more impatient than the past 2 months, and we were told to enjoy the recruiting process...ugh. NO.  I know God has a plan, but sometimes it's so hard to be patient and wait for it to unfold.  Anticipation vs Anx...
Read more

Fall Fun

Image
Homecoming 2024! Owen is looking pretty good all dressed up And Gracie is beautiful again. Look!  We match! Chase came over to "officially" ask her to homecoming the week before the dance. She was surprised and it was a success. Homecoming parade Owen looks a little bored. But Gracie is definitely having fun The whole weekend was beautiful, sunny, and warm.   Much better than last year during the parade. Chase picked Gracie up to go to Hartsburg for pics Owen wasn't quite ready yet. I love this pic of Gracie and Kate. This is a good one, too. Kind of crazy, 3rd homecoming together. With softball friends Chase, Gracie, Kate, and Pryce Lainie and Gracie More pics with Nova The junior class met down at the Katy Trail in Hartsburg again this year for pictures.  There were a lot of kids down there.  I thought that I got a pic of Brook in there, but I can't find it.  Then Chase and Gracie went out to eat at Chick Fil-A, of all places.  Then to the dance....
Read more

Gym Season!!!

Image
It is officially the season of sitting in gyms.  Basketball and wrestling are in full force, and we have 2 high school schedules going on.  Both kids have had their team pics taken and have each competed a handful of times.  Owen has had 2 tournaments and 2 duals and is wrestling varsity at 165 pounds.  It's not the weight that he expected to be at, but so far, he is doing ok.  He weighs in at just over 160 on a good day, so we are not having to worry about cutting/maintining weight at all.  At least not yet.  So, this is great!  The downside of this is that he is a freshman in a higher weight class, which means that he will most likely see a lot of juniors and seniors in his brackets. So far he is holding his own and getting better every day. Versailles tournament Last Saturday was spent in Versailles.  This was the most recent competition.  Owen did pretty well and placed 5th going 4-1 on the day.  I think there were 19 or 20 kids...
Read more