How Does Your Garden Grow?

We have benefitted from the gardens of friends and have wanted to plant our own garden since we have moved to Southern California.  This spring we have finally tried it for ourselves. Scott built a small planter box.  I lined it and filled it with soil.  Kam and I picked out some veggies from the local Home Depot and here we go!  So far so good.  My plants are now even bigger than in the last picture.  Here's to a great season of homegrown goodness.

My Favorites This Spring

A few of my favorite things this spring...

 Fellow A's players signing the game ball for Troy.

 Local strawberries from the stand that taste better than candy.

 Beautiful fields where kids play baseball.

 Teammates celebrating because a boy named Reuben hit the ball for the first time and won the game!

  New friends.

 Kam dominating on the softball field with her new composite bat.

 

RCS girls basketball.

Happy Spring!

Might Regret This...

On the way home today, we passed by this gem setting by the road with a for sale sign on it.  Troy saw it and was immediately intrigued. We ended up driving back later for a closer look.  The price was quite low.  Troy talked Scott into taking him back again for another look.  They ended up making the man an offer which he countered at a lower price. :)  Everything works great and has provided hours of fun already!  Now we just need to find a place for it...I'm beginning to realize why it was so cheap. 

Playing

This is just a documentation of how Kam and Troy still play outside together.  Troy is typically outside everyday with neighborhood friends, but there are also times when Kamryn will still head out and join in the games.  This day it was tennis on the driveway.  The goal was for Troy to hit it past Kamryn into the garage.  Thankfully we have gracious neighbors who aren't picky about their grass getting a bit trampled and cars hit by tennis balls once in awhile. :)

                                               

March Madness

This year we thought it would be fun to introduce Troy to March Madness.  Let's just say he fell in love with the whole tournament and hype.  He typically watches ESPN each morning for a while before school and is pretty knowledgeable about what's going on in the sports world.  It was hilarious (and a bit annoying) when we were all filling out our brackets listening to his commentary: "Why would we choose a certain team to win that game?  Did we know their record?!" Well, in the end Troy did come out on top in the family brackets.  There was no prize-except for the pride that comes with winning.  (Huge in our family!)  It was also fun watching his excitement over his Michigan team go to the final.  He did choose Louisville to win.  Although in looking at this picture, I'm noticing some changes being made.  Hmmm...Anyway, it was the start of a fun family tradition which I'm sure will continue.

Little Get-A-Way

We were blessed with a little get-a-way to one of our favorite places this spring break...Santa Barbara!  We met my family there and had a nice time hanging out, eating meals together, celebrating mom's birthday a little early, exploring the beach, playing full-contact three flies up, shopping, riding crazy tourist bike-things, coloring, playing tractors and lots of other activities.  Again, we missed Katie, but still had a great time. :)

Easter

It's almost hard to believe that Easter has come and gone already.  Since I was teaching yet, the week before   Easter was a busy one.  The last week of school was a short one, though and we were able to have a nice time with family and friends celebrating the death and resurrection of our Savior.  Scott had a busy week preparing for church services, but was able to squeeze in some time on a field trip with Kamryn and helping out with the Friendship Games at school.  On Easter we had a great church service, nice meal at home with my parents, dessert with friends, and a competitive egg hunt in the backyard.  All great things!  We missed Katie this year, but know that she had a fun time in Ohio with college friends.  Here are some highlights of the egg hunt. (Somehow I missed the picture of everyone all dressed up this year.  Bummer!)

Spring Sports

Baseball and Softball seasons continue here.  We just have a blast watching the kids play ball.  Kamryn and Troy both do very well on the ball fields.  Kam's been playing shortstop mostly, and also some third and first bases.  Her new bat is paying off and she's become quite a slugger.  She's not afraid to steal and loves to add to the excitement of the game by stealing home.  Troy's also having a great season.  We love cheering on all the Oakland A's players.  It's quite a fun little team.  Troy also plays short, first and pitches for his team.  He's gotten a couple home runs and just loves the game.  We love to see the kids excel athletically, but also watch them interact with their teammates and coaches.  So proud of them both! It was fun to have Boppa and Grandma here last weekend to experience a game or two.