We win some, we lose some... we LEARN something!

After buzzing through a super busy week, this past week we had a great time just doing things that kids do... we played, swam, and enjoyed the long summer days!! On Friday night, we had a boys night at home with Dad while Mommy and her friends went to the Miranda Lambert concert in Beaumont! We texted our love to Mom while she was out!!

Here is a picture of the Moms before the concert! They said the concert was fun, but I am pretty sure that our night was more exciting!!

We were excited to get up and going on Saturday morning to travel to Spring, Texas for some more Texas Roughrider Baseball!! Our first two games in the Nations 9U Select State Tournament were at 2 and 4.  In the traditional Texas summer heat we played two exhausting games, but we came out on top.  We defesated the Southeast Texas Venom 11-10; and in the second game, we came back in the last inning for an 8-7 victory over the Sandlot Beasts!  We left the field feeling very excited for our victories, but knowing that we were going to have to fight a little harder in order to make it to the championship game on Monday! 
Our celebration dinner of choice was pizza by the pool!

With the size of this tournament, we were up against a three-win Sunday in order to play in the championship on Monday. We came out strong for our noon game, defeating the Houston Knights 9-1.  Unfortunately, our quest for the championship ended at our 4:00 game against the Houston Hammer.  The score was 10-6 and even though the score shows that the Hammer defeated us, we truly defeated ourselves.  It was a very hard loss for the Texas Roughriders, but a loss that should make us stronger, smarter ball players!

We decided to clean up and go for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory before turning in for the night.  There was quite a wait, so we enjoyed the sights around The Woodlands Mall Courtyard and Waterway while we waited... we took a little rest on the giant horse at the neighboring restaurant, PF Changs!!

Once we were seated, we ordered and had a little more waiting to do.  Mom and Dad say that we should enjoy each others' company and visit with our friends while we are out for dinner at restaurants, but sometimes we take a break from the conversation for video GAMES!!

Now a break from games and on to... napkin COSTUMES!!

One more night in the hotel and then back to Nederland on Monday!  The Texas Roughriders played hard and made memories at the State Tournament.  We will come out ready for the thrill of victory in The USSSA World Series in July!!

A Fantastic Father's Day!

Our Father's Day weekend started as we finished up baseball camp at Lamar. After camp on Friday afternoon, we loaded up to travel to the USSSA State Tournament in Alvin, Texas! Before heading out of town, we stopped at Sams in Beaumont to pick up a few items for the cooler. While we were there, we each had an extra large slice of Sams pizza!! It may sound like a silly lunch, but we all cleaned our plates... it was delicious!!

I decided that I wanted to be in a picture with everyone, and then some... CHEEEESE!! I was still very excited from an awesome week at baseball camp!!

Next stop: our hotel in Kemah, Texas... and then immediately to the hotel pool!! We had fun splashing, swimming, and playing around!

All of that swimming made us HUNGRY, so we cleaned up and headed to dinner at T-Bone Tom's near the Kemah Boardwalk! Good food and good company... Friday was a great start to the weekend!!

On Saturday morning, we woke up and prepared for a good day of Roughrider Baseball. The team was warmed up and ready to face their first opponent at noon...

...BUT the weather had other plans!! It came a down-pour and lightning storm while the team was waiting for their game to begin. Daddy took the the boys into the batting cages for a few fielding drills while waiting out the rain delay!

There was so much rain in a short period of time that the parking lot looked like a lake before the games were called off and the entire tournament was CANCELLED for the 9AA division!!

At first we were disappointed that our baseball-filled Father's Day weekend was coming to an end and we were going to travel home; but after enjoying a Sunday, Funday at home with Dad, we weren't so bummed about the change in plans! Here we are with our first big harvest from Daddy's garden!!

Peyton's bell pepper wind up...

...and the PITCH...

...looks like this one will be a STRIKE!!

Daddy's pineapple plant... super cool! This plant came from a pineapple that we ate three summers ago!

After all of that gardening, Peyton headed in for a nap and we headed in for a friendly game of checkers... Wilson versus Daddy! It was a close game!!

Daddy is an amazing cook and even on HIS special day, he cooked a wonderful dinner for us to enjoy! Our grill is out of commission, so Daddy designed a temporary smoker for this Father's Day Feast! We usually use the fireplace to make smores, but tonight Daddy used it to grill a steak dinner!

Before settling down for the night, Wilson and I stopped by Nana's to check out the vegetable jars that Mom and Dad worked on this morning. They sliced the cucumbers and seasoned them to be bread and butter pickles!! They also made a sweet concoction for the banana peppers!

Finally, we settled down for a very happy ending to Daddy's very special day! Dad- we love you more than you know... we thank you for loving us, coaching us, supporting us, guiding us in our daily life, celebrating our successes and accomplishments, and comforting us through tough times. You are everything we could ask for and more!!

On Monday, we got a special surprise when Paw Paw McClenan stopped by to visit on his 97th Birthday!! We were so happy to see him and wish him a wonderful day!!

The Great BIG Sleepover!!

Kalynne and Hannah rode home with Nana and I after their dance recital last weekend. The girls were in Nederland for a week-long summer visit!! We had a blast swimming, playing in the backyard, riding on the golf cart to get snow cones, and swimming some more!! On Wednesday night (in the middle of our super fun, crazy week in June), we had a great BIG sleepover celebration in honor of Kaly and Hannah! We invited a few of Ryan's friends and their SISTERS to spend the night. We started the night in the pool!

Look at these super jumps off of the cave!

Fun times splashing around!!

A quick break to enjoy some pizza!!  YUMMY!!

The backyard baseball crew!

Peyton with his pal, Corbin Chandler!

We moved the party inside and it was time for skits!  Girls will be girls... or BOYS!!

We provided a tough guy performance... two intense scenes with an intermission between!!

After the grand finale (and grand cleanup) of our performances, we decided to hit the pavement and chalk the driveways of Dylan Drive!

CAUGHT!! by Logan Louvier as we chalked his driveway!!

Getting caught didn't stop us from moving along to another driveway to leave them some of our wonderful chalk art!!

We sure had a fun time with our cousins and good friends!!  The girls have gone back to Frisco and we miss them already, but we will hang on to the memories of our summer adventures until they come for their summer visit next year!!