Just another game we made up…..

Not much to do at great grandma’s house, so we had to get creative..

Then we made a rope swing until the tree started to sound like it was splitting in two.

Please don’t tell G.G. that we were playing with her tree.

Anybody ever read this blog?

I almost forgot we even had a blog.  You may ask why I don’t update it?  Well, the answer is the same for why I don’t write in my journal enough.   I just don’t make the time. 

Stay tuned, I just might update my blog……

Happy Birthday Meredith!

It was Meredith’s birthday on the 18th and I wanted to make sure she had a great day.  Rachelle helped out and watched our kids while Meredith and I went out on Friday night.  We ate at Palomino’s.  I totally recommend that place.  The food was amazing and I’m not really a food person.  We spent the night at a new hotel called Aloft which was cool, but not as cool as your hotel Martin!  It was fun to get away and spend time together.

Now for some pictures:

Tell me I am not in trouble.  Both of the girls in my life LOVE shoes!  I can’t tell who is more excited, Lauren or Meredith!

Mere’s sister, Stephanie, made her his nice apron for her Birthday.  Pretty crafty gal that Stephanie.  (Just pay me $100 and I might be able to talk Stephanie in to making one for you! :-) )

Emma, Lauren and Mere enjoying  the birthday celebration with family.

Papa and Cate looking very relaxed.  Gotta love the Northwest.  Look at plants.  Good job Granny!

Why is Mere so excited?  

Ice cream cake!

Ziza was enjoying the party.  Yes, I know, she is way too cute! 

Happy Birthday Meredith!  I love you!

-Nathan

What can be learned by playing baseball?

Tyler is playing baseball this year and he is really enjoying it.  It has been fun to watch him grow and improve as he learns this fun sport.  He has a great coach that is helping him learn the fundamentals.  He also has a cousin who is a little older than him who is really talented at baseball.  Watching his cousin play has helped Tyler learn this sport better as well.

Lately Tyler has been struggling a little with batting.  He has lacked the confidence needed to get up there and let it rip.  So, he and I have been working in the backyard on some batting drills and also we have talked about being confident when he goes to bat.  My goal isn’t to get him into the MLB.  My goal is to get him to do hard things and know that if he works hard, he will succeed.

Last night he had a game and I asked him before the game, “What are you going to do at the plate tonight.”  If you know Tyler very well, he is a little bit reserved.  However, his answer surprised me.  He said, “If he throws a strike I am going to crush it.”  That type of response is not usually something he would say.  He was totally confident.

He got up to bat and crushed one out to left field and turned it into a triple.  He had a big grin on his face as he stood on third base.  To sweeten the moment, his Granny and Papa and the Dahle’s were there to see it.  (You gotta love family and friends!)

His next at bat he grounded out to 2nd baseman but helped score a run.

In the last inning, coach called him in to pitch to close the game out.  He did a great job and secured the win.

Why do I share this with you?  Well, it is so fun and rewarding  to see Tyler work hard at something and then see the results of his hard work.  I want him to know that if he is willing to work hard, he can achieve his goals.  He will know that he can do hard things.  That is a skill that he will need long after baseball.

--Another proud Dad

Memorable Arizona Trip

My sister Rachelle posted a nice slideshow of our Trip to AZ.  I must say that it was one of the best trips we have done as a family.  Besides the Blazers losing Game 1 to the Rockets.  Everything else was perfect.

We wanted to thank Martin (aka Marlin) for getting us setup at the Courtyard!  We loved the hotel and could tell that the people there liked working with you.  (They may have just said that because they work for you.)

Thanks to MaSan for letting us invade your home.  That was so much fun.  We hope your house survived.  We love your home and hope to come visit again.

Thanks to Maeser, Savanna and Bailee!  Thanks for driving us everywhere.  The food was great and we are concrete converts!  We think about it all the time now.  Thanks for playing Xbox too.

Thanks for Doug, Erica, Chase, Trey, Ben and Tess.  The carnival was fun and yes, you guys still make the best popcorn this side of the Mississippi.  It was fun to go to your office Doug and have you work us out.  Yes, we know, we are out of shape.

Thanks to Kristin and Brooklyn.  It was so much fun to hang out with you guys.  Brooklyn is so cute and we miss her sweet little voice.  I wake up and am sad because I don’t here Brooklyn saying “Mom?”

Thanks to Rachie and Ashlyn!  Thanks for coming down you guys.  Lauren obviously loves hanging with Ashlyn.  We had some good times.  I must say that Rachie is not a DC.

One of the most memorable moments of the trip was when we were driving home from getting ice cream and we got Maeser laughing so hard that he couldn’t breathe.  I have never seen him like that!  I thought he was going to pass out like the time he was in a Chilean hospital strapped to a table. :-)

Well, as we were in the Phoenix airport coming home, Tyler was crying.  We asked him what was wrong and he said that he didn’t want to leave.  He had so much fun and was sad to see it end.

Thanks to everyone for making this such a memorable trip.  We love you all!

New Olympic Sport

Ok, so when my brothers and I get together, we always make up games to play to keep things interesting.  When we were at a park in Mesa, AZ last week, we started a competition.  The goal was to see who could jump the farthest out of a swing.

Kids, do not try this at home….because it’s more fun to try at the park!

My sister took some pictures and I find them to be pretty funny:

This first picture is of Maser:

 

This one is of Doug:

 

This is Chase doing his Air Jordan pose:

 

This is Tyler.  He shoots out sideways and even tied my record:

 

This is of Trey:

 

This is me:

 

The best part was watching Doug try to beat our records.  I think his face says it all.  We were laughing pretty hard!

Our First Pinewood Derby

So the pressure is off.  The car didn’t finish dead last.  In fact, Tyler was second place in his Den and 6th overall in the pack.  Not bad for our first try!