Making Music and Shooting Arrows

Making music is one of the greatest ways to spend time, and we have been enjoying a lot of music lately!  Emma is excelling at the cello- 

Leah worked extra hard for her first "solo ensemble" performance- 

And while she wasn't in this performance, we all enjoyed the finale at the Valley Orchestra Christmas concert!

Those of us who were there- Adam, Emma and Daddy had to leave early for archery practice! Our new school has so many fun extracurricular offerings- they are both trying out archery for the winter and enjoying it so far!

Adam's also in band, but they won't have a concert until spring.  But we enjoy hearing him play at home- along with everyone else, and sometimes all at the same time!

The End of the Season

 Adam's actual last game happened while we were in Glacier, so he played extra hard at his last game.  He had a great season and is planning on playing again next year!

Emma's season ended with a bang- her team won the tournament!

What a fun way to experience the highest highs of the game!

And Noah's team finished up last and strong. And with Daddy as the coach they got to do fun things like earn a "game ball" and come home after the last game with a little trophy.  According to Noah, his first and best tiny plastic trophy (true). 

Softball and Baseball

Softball and baseball season have been dominating our schedule over the last two months.  Some days are perfect for being outside, some are pretty chilly, some have been too rainy to play.  

Leah's season started first and she always played double-headers, bringing her season to a close much sooner than we thought it would be done. 

In a very rare because we live so far apart moment, Grandpa was able to attend one of her games!  I know Leah would have liked to continue playing for much longer than the short five or so weeks that her season lasted, but for now that's it for her!

Adam has really enjoyed his season.  Baseball here is much less intense than his level of Little League was getting in Ankeny. His games are long and he's always focused and right in the game. I'm glad that he is still playing!

Celebratory ice cream for his first run!  He stole off of third and slid into home. 

Emma has the natural talent but not always the desire to get dressed up and head out on the field. 

But when she plays she does great!

Her group and coach are pretty intense but she's stuck with it!

And Noah is loving coach pitch this year!

Especially because his coach is Daddy!

That's been a great way to make sure that he's at every game, and he's so fun to watch- scrunching up his mouth when he's at bat and hoping onto each base as he makes his way back to home plate.  I'm glad everyone is playing ball this spring, and I think we'll all be glad when we have a few more free nights in our calendar once it's over!

A Little Life

April is here and of course we had to kick it off with all kinds of April Fool's Day jokes!  These kids get trickier and trickier every year! April 1st also meant we finally got our windows washed- all 52 of them, inside and out and it has been the best money we've spent on this house so far!  I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when they started cleaning away who knows how many seasons of dirt and grime. Here comes the sun!

All of the kids have had a chance to be inside their new schools for testing over the last few weeks.  

They all reported the same thing- it's SO colorful, very vibrant, and there are birds!  What a fun school, even if they've only been able to explore a small section of it.  Soon enough they'll know this school inside and out. 

Going in for testing has helped, and it's been fun for them to see online classmates and teachers in person.

I think we all enjoyed the slight change of pace and routine, and I made sure to record Emma's gushing over the joys of going to school for future reference. 

She picked out donuts for her end-of-testing treat, but the shop was closed and we got cupcakes instead!

Adam, not surprisingly, chose Chick-fil-a. 

Noah isn't doing any testing, but he will get a treat after a week of staying on task and focused in class.  I'm impressed that we've made it all the way to mid-April before we encountered any distraction problems, and with only 33 days of online school left (but who's counting), I think we're going to make it to the end of this unique year of learning in one piece, with a whole lot more than just academic lessons learned. 

I'm guessing that recess will always be remembered as an absolute highlight of at-home learning. 

Emma is my birdwatching buddy.  Nutty the white-breasted nuthatch is her favorite visitor to the bird feeders, and he hasn't been around much lately.  Instead of worrying, we decided he must be out building a nest for his new family. Emma drew a picture of it!

She and Noah also in a serious bone collecting phase, which isn't too hard to fulfill based on the kinds of treasures we keep finding all around our new home!

I told Emma I would take her picture and post it on the blog as a reminder of the time she hated taking showers.  She said go for it.  This will pass, this will pass, this will pass... She's also been battling a stubborn wart on her foot, and boy are we going to celebrate when the battle is won and the darn thing is gone for good! 

Just a little pup in a basket. 

Baseball/softball season has started again, and that means lots of time for everyone outside and running around.  Or waiting for their turn. 

We live fairly close to the airport and that means lots of planes overhead during practice.

Adam went camping with the young men last weekend, and I was so happy to see him back at the church a little early.  He was thrilled to see me too... we just hid behind the van to take this quick happy selfie before he hurried back over to his group. He's not actually taller than me yet but boy is he getting close!

And we've started the landscaping in the front yard- bring on the green!

First Season of Softball

The softball season marked the end of summer for us, and quickly took over four nights a week at our house- two nights for Leah, two nights for Emma, and all the nights for Mom and/or Dad, the boys, and the pup!  

 Mostly the weather was great throughout the season

 and it was fun to watch them both learn new skills and take a turn on the fields after years of watching their brothers play ball (plus lots of backyard games at home).  

 Emma almost always got a good hit when she was up to bat, and she did a great job fielding, too.  Not a whole lot of drawing in the dirt here!

There were so many beautiful sunsets, 

and once the boys discovered the concession stands and the empty batting cages, they were happy to come to support their sisters at every game!  

 Emma played catcher a few times!  How cute is she??

  Leah was the one who first suggested trying softball back in the spring, and I'm so glad she did!  She definitely didn't have the most experience on her team, but she can crack a good ball!  It was really fun watching her be part of a team, with chants and cheers and a lot of goooooo team! energy.  Both girls had good coaches this year, and that made a huge difference from some of the sports experiences we've had in the past.  

On tournament day both girls were scheduled to play their first (and potentially last) game at the same time!  So we did a lot of texting updates and switching back and forth to try to get the best picture of both games.  

 It was a cloudy, somewhat drizzly day, but the weather held out while they both gave it their best one more time.  Emma even got to be catcher (which, at her level, means standing next to the coach while he pitches and then fielding any balls that come her way)!

Leah did her best in the outfield, on base, 

  

and at bat.  Her level is much harder in general because the girls are pitching- which can be crazy fast or totally off base- and catching, which means a lot of scrambling for the ball and was where most of the score came from. 

Leah's team started strong but lost steam over the innings, and Emma's team had a great catch-up-from-behind but still didn't make it to victory.  In the end they both lost their tournament game, which ended their seasons.  But overall they both had a great first experience with softball, thanks to good coaches and fun teammates... and supportive parents!

 And they got medals!

They are both planning on playing again next year- just parks and rec, none of the crazy competitive stuff for now- and I think they will both continue to do great!  And Emma's coach emailed us these kind words- 

Emma was one of our very best players! She almost always got a hit when she was up to bat and she was one of the few who knew all the field positions by the end of the year. Most girls needed me to tell them where to go every inning but with her I’d just say the position and she would take off running. I hope she had fun with the game because she is one of the girls who looks like she’ll be really really good at this when she gets older. I hope she sticks with it!

Our poor kids don't have a whole lot of competitive athletic genes in their bodies, but we are so proud of them for trying something new and doing their best!