A Little Baseball

I have to say that I think this is one of the cutest little baseball players on the planet. 

 Baseball has been a learning curve for Pierson but it has been a sharp fast curve. He has done really well (says his mom who doesn't really know a lot about the sport).

 They have played three games so far. He has been up to bat eight times... of those eight he has hit the ball all but once! Now I'll say that 4 of the 7 hits he has gotten thrown out at first but for a kid who has never played baseball I am so proud of him!

 His team is doing well! They won their first two games and lost the third by one point.

 He looks so grown up!

 He has been playing outfield and has a pretty good arm. He has made a couple of great plays!

 So far he has been enjoying it. The only draw back (compared to soccer) is that the ball is "very hard and it hurts!" He does however like to camaraderie of his team. 

Maybe I'll be a baseball mom... maybe I won't? But for now he is having fun and that is all that matters! 

Preteam

Doing a lot of this

 at home and in the gym leads to this...

Tonight as her regular gymnastics class wrapped up her coach called her over as the other girls were leaving. I wondered what they were talking about and wondered what the paper the coach was handing her said but thought I would let Maylin handle this on her own.  When Maylin turned around, she was trying to contain herself but had the biggest grin on her face. She came right over and asked me to read the letter to her. She told me that her coach said she was proud of her and that she was ready for a harder class!

Maylin can be hard to read and is extremely guarded with her feelings but as I read the full letter to her in the car she was physically shaking with excitement. I SO wish I had videoed her reaction as I read. She clasped her hands together and clenched her jaw as she grinned and giggled with excitement! It was nice to see her truly happy about something she accomplished on her own. It was beautiful to watch. I'll cherish that ride home together for years to come.

 I was so happy for her! We talked and laughed the whole way home. She couldn't wait to tell Daddy so I called him and had him meet us outside in the driveway! She about jumped out of the car before it stopped! But as soon as she got out of the car she slowed down and nonchalantly walked up to him to show him the paper. I think she was just waiting to see if she earned his approval before she showed him how excited she was. Of coarse Daddy equally shared his excitement with her and she relished it.

Maylin loves gymnastics. We would NEVER encourage her to put more hours in at the gym or push her into a sport if it wasn't her idea. Adding another hour a week at the gym... well it really isn't going to change our lives that much, but for one little girl it meant the world that someone saw something special in her and that the people who love her the most celebrated her accomplishments.

(PS she slept with this letter last night and came out with it in her hands this morning!)

Dying eggs

At this house we dye eggs even if it is 9:00pm Easter Eve before we start! 

so I am a few weeks behind but...

 Hoppy Easter everybunny!  

Cassie that was for you because I know how you love a play on words! lol

40 is Just a number...

...a big number... but still just a number! ;)

 My big sister turns 40 this day!

GASP!!!

 the big 4-0!!!

Of course I could rub it in and brag that she is older than me...

but ultimately what this means is that this begins the 2 years and 9 months countdown until I turn the big 40!  "NOOOOOOOOooooooo"... lol

 
Happy Birthday Kristi! I hope your day is full of laughter, hugs and love!!!
Love your YOUNGER sister,
Traci

You're just over the hill at forty;

You went down without a fight.

Time rushes on, and soon enough

That "hill" will be out of sight!

Easter pictures... the formal ones. ;)

These are the "formal" pictures before the chaos of Easter afternoon began! 

These are a few of his favorite things.

Archery? Who would have thought? Not me! That is not until November on our last trip Honduras 

when we visited a local market. While there Pierson picked out a handmade toy bow and arrow set as his treat. This set has provided him HOURS of entertainment. He has shot it at virtually anything that stands still... and well... for that matter his sister who doesn't stand so still. 

So naturally when someone in our local home school group mentioned that there was a home school archery class nearby I knew that Pierson would jump at the chance! 

He loved it and he hasn't stopped asking for his own bow and arrow set since! gulp!

 As you can see he did a great job! On his first day of class the teacher made a point to tell me that "He has great form!"  Pierson was so proud!

 One balloon down! Even though this session is over I fear there will be many more downed balloons to come. ;)

Another one of his favorite things right now is his brand new skateboard (which he bought with his own money). On an afternoon trip to Walmart Pierson carried in his box of change. He had $16 worth of quarters dimes, nickles and many pennies. We walked up and down the aisles... and we walked. He was determined to buy something that day even as I reminded him that he could hold onto his money and buy something next time. All the sudden his eyes lit up. He remembered from at least 6 months ago that there were skateboards behind the bike section... so off we rushed. I was shocked at how expensive skateboards can be! geeze! At least there were a few which were under $15!  
And now, after painfully paying with loose change, I have a skateboarding son! :o

We should probably get him some knee pads that fit a little better!?

Field Trip to the Mint

Have I told you how much I love Home Schooling?  Let me just say it again! I love it! Not only do I get quality time with my kids all week but we also get to plan field trips any time we like and with who we like.

This time it was to a local art museum with the Murray's. I have to admit even though I had heard several people rave about the things this museum offered for kids I was still nervous. Would the kids run wild? Would they be too loud? Would they try to touch everything? Would their attention spans hold?

Turns out all my worries were in vain! The day went perfect! It was so much fun.

When we arrived they gave us two backpacks. Each backpack had a picture of a specific piece of art and what floor to find it on. Once it was found there were several activities inside the backpack that pertained to that piece of art.  

On the hunt for the first piece of art.  

 How cool is this piece of glass? It was our first activity pack. The instructions in the pack encouraged the kids to look at the sculpture from every angel, see what was behind it and see how it seemed to change as you walked past it. They took this task very seriously.

 Pierson and Calvary were peeking behind the glass to see how the colorful shapes were reflected.

 There was plenty of space for the kids to spread out on the floor with sketch pads from the backpacks to draw what they saw. This kept the kids focused on one piece of art for at least 30 minutes if not longer.

The packs also had a kaleidoscopes, frames and interesting information about the artist.  

 The second backpack pertained to a beach painting. It too came with artist info, drawing supplies, and games It came with miniature figurines to play a memory game which Cassie led. The kids were loving this!  It was a great way to keep the kid interested in the museum.

 They enjoyed drawing sea shells that went along with the theme of the painting.

 Pierson did a great job! He was very proud of his accomplished drawing. This made the former art teacher proud!

  Fortunately the museum allowed us to leave for lunch then come back to finish. Our crew was getting hungry so we headed out for lunch at Fuel Pizza.

 Along the way we stopped for pictures with sculptures. I call this one "Rio".  :)

 Along the way we crossed the park which has a literature theme. The learning possibilities never end. The kids enjoyed playing on the sculptures in the park so much that we had to remind them that they were hungry!

 Pizza was ordered! Not a crumb ended up being left! This crew was hungry!

 On the way back to the museum Pierson did some pole hopping. (That was a parked car by the way.)

 The second half of our time at the museum was in a room designed just for kids. We spent hours here.

 Maylin was in HEAVEN! This area had an endless supply of paper, tape, staples, drawing supplies, pipe cleaners... the list goes on and on. Maylin and Harper spent most of their time sitting here being creative!

 Pierson enjoyed the magnetic pipes. He worked and worked to make just the right path for the balls to fall down and land in the appropriate hole. The enthusiasm he exuded each time a new path worked was priceless.

To finish out the day the kids worked together building magnetic towers. It was great to see the kids play so well together while getting a little culture on the way!

I have been so blessed to have amazing people to share this homeschooling journey with!