Blackhams on the Run: baseball

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Spring

Spring is a busy time of year when it seems there is barely time to catch our breath between activities. Add to that, being in my last trimester of pregnancy and there hasn't been any time or energy to keep up on things like blogging. So here's an attempt to cover a few highlights of the last couple months.

The kids always love the school 5K fundraiser. Andrew was determined to beat all his classmates in his age group this year. He trained hard and even though he moved up to a harder age group this year he still placed 3rd only getting beaten by a couple of older Jr. High kids. Jared decided to give the 5K a try for the first time this year. Jason ran with him and he loved out sprinting dad at the end! Kaitlyn was supposed to walk/jog the mile with me but as soon as she got to the downhill in the second half she took off. I couldn't catch up to her until the end!

Kaitlyn had her spring dance recital. Here's a picture of her with her teacher Brynn, who she adores! She was super cute and wasn't a bit shy about being on stage in front of everyone!

Jason ran the Ogden Marathon this year. He spent all winter training hard with our coach and was in great shape. We went up to Ogden Valley to watch him on the first half of the course.

We got stuck in traffic on the way back from Huntsville and just missed him at the finish. The kids were really disappointed not to see him finish. He was 17th place and ran 2:54:02! The kids were amazed though when we got to the point we had to turn around in Huntsville and they saw the thousands of runners that stretched for miles behind him. It really put it into perspective how fast that really is!

The boys had their spring piano recital. It was fun to see how far they have both come in almost a year since they started! They both received awards from their piano teacher for their performances at federation and gold medals for the Olympics program she has been doing.

Kaitlyn finished up her year of kindergarten. It is such a fun age that I am always sad to see it end. They had a cute graduation party for her class.

Here she is with her teacher Mr. Miehlke.

Spring is super busy with sports...soccer, baseball, and track. Unfortunately I've been terrible at bringing the camera but here's a picture of Kaitlyn in one of her t-ball games.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Angels, Dolls, Princesses....and Yankees

The Yankees were really the whole reason for our trip. Everything else was just extra. Jason's dad is a huge Yankee's fan and for a while we have wanted to take him to California to see them play the Angels but it seemed like every time they were in Anaheim we always had conflicts. The Yankees were scheduled to play in Anaheim last weekend and although I felt guilty taking the kids out of school we finally decided we just needed to do it. It was a great trip and I'm so glad that we went! We had a great time with Jason's dad and really appreciated my parents putting us up.

In front of Angels Stadium before Friday's game.

My dad and brother, Spencer, joined us for Friday's game. It was a little strange watching my two favorite baseball teams play each other. We love the Angels but Jason convinced me to be a Yankees fan shortly after we were married. I was excited to see the Yankees for the first time in person. (Sometime when you have time ask me why I skipped out of college classes to drive to San Diego so the Jason and the rest of my siblings could see the Yankees win the 1998 World Series while I watched it on TV. So, I'm still a little bitter about that...) Anyway, I was excited to see the Yankees but have to say I was a little disappointed in them from the two games we watched. The Angels ended up winning both Friday and Saturday night's games. Not that that is a bad thing. Our kids are huge Angels fans since they have grown up going to Angels games every time we go to see my parents during baseball season. It was easy to get caught up in the excitement Friday night when it was a tie game and the rally monkey came out! Here's Kaitlyn with her rally monkey!

We loved spending the weekend with Jason's dad. It was hilarious to watch my dad sitting next to Jason's dad at the game since they were cheering for opposite teams. They were both giving each other a hard time and my dad really got into the game.

Last weekend was the 10 year anniversary of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Towers. It brought back a lot of touching memories and gave me time to reflect on the wonderful country we live in! God bless America and thank you to all those who have and are protecting our freedom!

Notice you can even see the jets flying overhead on the score board!

A trip to California is never complete without a trip to the beach. We pulled out all the sand toys we've been taking to the beach for years but the kids were more interested in body boarding and digging for sand crabs this year than building sand castles! I guess it's just another sign they are growing up.

Saturday my mom and I took Kaitlyn to the American Girl store in Los Angeles. Kaitlyn was so excited to take her doll, Kanani. She was in heaven in the store! She just ran from on thing to the next. Jason called while we were getting Kanani's hair styled. He said, "You're doing what?!" Kaitlyn thought it was lots of fun though and my mom and I thought it was awfully cute. It made for a fun girls outing.

The American Girl Doll Salon

Kaitlyn with Kanani in front or the American Girl Store

The last few times we have gone to Disneyland it has been on a holiday break from school and it has been so crowded that we stood in line all day. We decided since the kids were already missing school we would stay one more day and surprise the kids with a trip to Disneyland. We did have a wonderful day with light crowds and short waits. The down side was that some of our favorite rides were closed to get ready for Halloween. The weather was perfect and the kids loved having Grandpa Earl with us as well as having my parents join us for the afternoon.