Read me a story

We went to Kristin & Dan's Sunday for our monthly dinner. After dessert James went and relaxed on the recliner. Carly climbed in the chair with him and it wasn't long before Nicolas joined them. Of course they wanted him to read them a book which he happily did - several times.

Lights

Over the weekend we installed 2 new lights on the garage and changed the light on the front of the house. Our driveway is now fully lit at night.

More softball

Katlyn started her last game and we finally have some pictures of her batting. She only was up to the plate once and was walked. Her team won the game 6-5.

Katlyn and softball 1

Unfortunately we don't have too many pictures of Katlyn playing. The first few games of the season she played quite a bit. But that didn't last long. Now if they put her in it is for the last inning to inning and a half. And she usually is only up to bat once if that. This was one of the rare days that she played and we had the camera on us.

The JV team started the year off with 3 wins in a row - in fact they mercied the other teams. Then it went downhill from there. They have 1 game left which is tomorrow (5/23) and they have only won 2 games in their district. But Katlyn isn't done with softball when the high school season is over. She then goes straight into the summer league. Hopefully we will have more pictures of her playing then.

Katlyn and softball 2

The pitcher was struggling and getting frustrated so they called a time out and had an infield huddle to settle her down.

Tyler and Baseball 1

We are so glad we got the digital camera. We just love the great close ups we get of their facial expressions.

Just what every ball player needs in order to play a great ball game - sunflower seeds.

Team meeting after the hard fought 1-0 win. And of course they all are listening to every word patiently waiting for their treat tickets to the concession stand.

The Marlins record is 6-3 and they have 9 games left.

Tyler and Baseball 2

Dave figured he would try a few black and white images. I told him I like those kind because you can't see all the gray hairs. This is the only good picture he has of Tyler in the outfield.

Look closely at his mouth - click on it to enlarge the picture if necessary. He takes after his sister.

"Was that the ball?"

"I'm going to hit it this time - I hope."

Tyler and baseball 3

Tyler's facial expression shows he is determined he will make contact with the ball and send it out of the park. Well he hasn't yet but he seems to be the good luck charm for his team. His team has 5 home runs so far this season and 4 of those Tyler was next in the lineup.

James and Baseball 1

Here are pictures from opening day. Unfortunately his team lost the game - they gave up a 9-2 lead to lose 13-9. Even at this age it all comes down to pitching.

What do you want me to do Coach?

Oh that's right - hit the ball. James has dramatically improved his hitting this year.

James had no desire to play ball this year. I asked him the other day if he was enjoying this year and he actually smiled and said yes. I don't know if it is because he has improved with his hitting, if it is the team and coach, going to a pitching coach, or the combination of them all.

James and Baseball 2

Here are a few pictures of James pitching. For his first time pitching at this level he did a pretty decent job. He struck out a few and I think he only walked 1. Unfortunately they lost this game 6-5.
Make sure you look closely at his facial expression (click on the picture so you can get a close up).

Here's Mr. Terradactyl Man getting ready for flight.

Mother's Day

For mother's day the kids gave me a bird bath and some flowers to plant out front. We got out this weekend and planted the flowers. They seem so small right now but hopefully once they fully bloom they will fill in the space better. FYI - the kids picked the flowers out themselves and they actually helped plant them as well as place the bricks around the gravel.

House

Back in August right before we left for vacation our garage door opener died on us. So when we returned home we purchased a new opener as well as a new garage door. Even though the siding on the house was white we went with a sandstone garage door because we knew the siding would change at some point. Here is a picture of the new garage door.

House 2

After having the new garage door on for a week or two Dave decided he was ready for new siding on the house. It really bugged him to come home and see the old white dingy siding next to the new garage door. So we looked around and got a few quotes and went with a local company to have new siding put on. The job was finished the end of October. Katlyn and Dave picked the new shutter color of plum. Well after having plum shutters on top windows and black on the bottom windows for almost 4 months we were told the plum didn't come in the right size. So we picked midnight green and they finally were installed a few weeks ago.

So after the new garage door and new siding we decided to get rid of the front door. We picked one with glass in it to add more light on the inside. Dave stained it himself and we had a friend install it. I think for now we are done with upgrading the house. The next few items we want to do are a little more involved and costly - redoing the kitchen, redoing the basement and we would love to put an addition on above the garage to give us a spacious master suite. But these items are going to have to wait for now.

New family member

Below you will find the newest member of the Greenawalt clan. Bailee is a 10 week old black lab. And as you can tell by the pictures her and Baron get along great. We are hoping she keeps Baron young and in shape. Baron is our 128 lb big baby and Bailee is our little runt.