Batter UP!

A lot of our nights in the month of June were spent at the ball park watching Logan play his very first season of Tball. It was quite entertaining! Logan really wanted to play last year when a lot of his friends did, but his birthday JUST missed the cutoff, so he was really excited for this season. He played every Tuesday and Thursday night from June 7 - June 30. And, I got to spend more time than I originally planned because I was the coach. It was a bit more challenging than I expected it to be. Tball is much harder to coach than soccer because they really don't know what to do, and you can't just tell them to go out there and kick the ball. Learning all the positions can be hard at this age. You have to tell them where to throw the ball every time and then none of them could really catch, so it was kind of hard and required a LOT of patience. And, they ALL wanted to be the pitcher or the catcher and got mad if they weren't! But, it was a fun season and Logan had a great time playing! Because I was the coach and not the photographer this season, the pictures are pretty limited... Logan all ready for his VERY first game! All the kids wanted to know what a Brewer was, since that was our team, but I wasn't too sure how to explain that one. Not the best mascot for little kids, I guess.
Logan running the bases - He is FAR away, but that is him on 3rd with the purple helmet. He loved running the bases!
Logan and his buddy from school, Brayden. He was on one of the other teams and he and Logan just kept talking and playing during the whole game.
Logan playing first base. He really liked this position! He ALMOST had that one! I think he might have made an out on this play - Or he was close! That didn't happen too often in our league.
Just being silly...
Ready for the throw. I don't know why the only pictures I have of him are playing first... He did play other things.
Our cute little first baseman at one of his last games. He really improved throughout the season. I made the kids each a little collage with a team and an individual picture as a gift for the last game. Here are Logan's individual pictures I took...
And.... Here is our team! The Brewers! I was a little sad that we only knew 3 of the other kids on the team, but it was fun to make some new friends. Back Row: Will, Gabby, Logan, Jayden and James Front Row: Gwen, Chad, Owen, Shaylee and Quin
Logan and Coach Mommy!

Logan's favorite positions to play this season were catcher, pitcher and 1st base (just like every other kid on the team...). For some reason, they thought it was really cool to get to wear the helmet to be the catcher. Some of my favorite memories are watching Logan play catcher. He would have to sing a little song before he would put the ball on the tee each time. It was hilarious! He would also do some commentary about who was up to bat. I will also remember his accident in the outfield and how he just came up to me and said, "Mom, I peed my pants." like it was something that happened every day (which it is NOT!) I couldn't believe he wasn't more stressed! I was!!! He also liked to talk to all the kids running the bases when he played a base. I kept telling him he needed to leave them alone and he would tell me he was giving them advice. Logan started the season out throwing underhand and not being able to catch too many balls, but by the end of the season, he was throwing overhand really well and was getting better at catching. He definitely improved and had a lot of fun! We had a good time, but we were pretty glad when Tball was over so we could have some of our summer nights back.

Just Plain Cuteness

Here are just a few of the funny things my kids have done over the last week or so.

Avery is starting to be a little bit hard to put down at night and really hard to put down for a nap. She has started to say "nuggle" when you go to put her down so you will hold her longer. It is my new favorite word that she says. It is really hard to put her down when she is asking to snuggle with you in the cutest little voice! She has never really been that cuddly of a baby, but lately she is always asking to "nuggle" all the time and I love it!

Avery is also getting quite opinionated. She is always telling us "No" when we pick bedtime stories and sometimes even wants a different baby to sleep with at night and she is getting very good at communicating what she wants. The other night I was putting her into her bed and she kept saying "La", which means she wants us to sing her another song and then she would say "God". I couldn't figure out what she wanted but after a minute or 2, I realized she wanted me to sing "I am a Child of God" to her after I put her in her crib. I think it is just another strategy to lengthen bedtime, but it is too cute to say no to, so it is now a part of her nightly bedtime routine.

Some of my very favorite conversations with my kids happen very first thing in the morning. Usually, our kids trickle into our room one by one in the morning (or at night...) and by the time we are getting up, the whole family is piled on our bed for a snuggle, or a wrestling match depending on the morning. One morning last week, I woke up to Logan just a few inches from my face and as soon as I started to open my eyes, he was telling me all about the 3 different Lego sets he was going to put on his Christmas list! He just wakes up and is ready to go! He kept going on and on... The kid is obsessed! I had to make a rule that we can't ask for anything for Christmas until Halloween is over. He was driving me crazy!

Another morning, we had another funny conversation that had me laughing all day long! We were telling the kids that we needed to get some chores done, and Logan was complaining about it. Our daddy told him that we needed to do some cleaning so our house wasn't dirty and stinky. He said it had been awhile since we had done chores, so it was starting to be a little stinky. Rylee then piped into the conversation and said, "Yeah. Our house is stinky because I tooted last night!" We were all cracking up! Somehow, farts seem to be SO funny so the kids kept talking about them. Our daddy said something about how his toots smell like flowers and the kids quickly disagreed! Logan said, "No dad! Your toots smell like OLD cheese!" Then Rylee said, "Dad, your toots smell like poop!" Gotta love the honesty of kids and the topic of toots! They giggle so much whenever that topic comes up!

Today, I told Avery she was a little stink! Then, she said, "No! Ry!" It was so funny! After that, it became a bit of a game. I would say, "Are you a stink?" and she would say, "NO! Daddy!" or "No! Ry stink!" She thought she was hilarious! She is talking so much now and loves to tease.

Rylee is a very observant child. She seems to notice just about everything. Like my zits! They never get past her. She is always asking me why I have them. The other day, I had one that was pretty large. Rylee said, "Oh mom! You have a goose egg!" I told her it was just a zit and she said, "No mom. Zits don't look like that. Big bumps are goose eggs." Thanks Rylee!

Logan has a rather funny vocabulary and sometimes I just think he sounds like an old man. The other day, he said, "Sorry about all that ruckus." Today, we were having a conversation, and I don't remember what it was about, but at the end of it he said, "Yeah, mom. Lit-ER-AL-LY!" What???? He is SIX!

Our nice neighbors shared some of the zucchini from their garden with us since our garden didn't do so well this year. Rylee loves all veggies and was talking about something but she kept saying "zuzukis" instead of zucchinis. Daddy asked her what a zuzuki was and she said, "You know. It is just like a squash, but about the size of a rabbit and our neighbors gave them to us." Not sure where the rabbit comparison came from...

I love the funny things my kids do and say! I wish I was better at remembering them all! I am going to miss being entertained all day when they go back to school in a couple weeks!

Jedi Training Party

June 28 - One more day of birthday fun for Logan! This time, it was with his friends! Logan said he wanted a Star Wars party and I found lots of fun ideas for a Jedi Training birthday. It turned out to be so much fun for the kids and I had a lot of fun planning it, too. First, were the invitations. The front had a picture of Yoda and said, "Master Yoda says, Attend Logan's 6th Birthday Party, You Must!" Then, the inside was in the official Star Wars font and read: "

In a galaxy far, far away...

a boy of destiny was born. The Jedi Council named him Logan. He was the Chosen One. In the six years that has followed his birth, he has been learning the powers of the Force. Master Yoda is urging the younglings to complete their Jedi training and take part in the upcoming trials at coordinates (our house address) on Tuesday, june 28^th at 3:00 pm. Your padawan’s presence is requested to complete his Jedi Training.

Please advise the Jedi Council

as to whether your Padawan will accept the challenge.

I made the invitations late one night and when Logan saw them the next morning, he thought it was pretty awesome! I love it when I win cool mom points! He was SO excited to have of his friends over and for them to all become REAL Jedi. Logan got all dressed and ready in his Jedi robes to welcome all his Padawan friends.

And, of course, he couldn't just smile and hold his lightsaber so he had to pull some crazy faces and poses with his lightsaber in true Jedi fashion. I didn't do a whole lot of decorating. I didn't really see a point with 6 year old boys since they don't pay too much attention to that stuff. Here is the cake and a few things I used.
We decided to dress up the girls, too. Since Logan was Yoda for Halloween, I already had this little mask and guess who made the CUTEST Yoda EVER??? Avery fit right into the party with her Yoda costume and she thought she was just as big as all the boys! We also had a Princess Leia. Perfect!!! My 3 JediAfter I tortured them with a MILLION pictures, we were REALLY ready for the party to start! First, we gave each Jedi their special robes and a lightsaber that we made from pool noodles. They turned out awesome and were so much fun for the kids. And I wasn't so stressed with all the lightsaber fighting going on over injuries and stuff getting broken. Then, we had them sit and listen to a little bit about becoming a Jedi. I didn't think this would go over very well, but they were all very into it. It was so cute! Next, they had to complete some Jedi training. Their first task was lightsaber training. In some of Logan's books about Star Wars, it talks about forms with your lightsaber. I think there are six of them and they are basically poses like the one Logan is striking above to use when fighting. Logan has all of them memorized and their names, so we first went through all 6 forms and Logan led the group in performing them. He was in heaven! I was so impressed that he actually knew all this stuff - some of the names were really hard! I was worried the other kids wouldn't listen to him, but he totally took charge and was even correcting some of the kids and was a pretty darn good teacher. Once again, I was a little worried the kids might think this stuff was nerdy or not want to do it, but they were SO into it and listened to every word Logan said! Here is the group going through their forms. Avery tried, too. I know I have to think she is cute since she belongs to me, but seriously! She is just SO darn cute!!! Logan showing off his movesAvery actually did do a pretty good job copying. She was hilarious! Looking so focused...The kids listening to their next assignment - Now they had to perform a lightsaber challenge! They had to use their lightsaber to bounce a balloon 10 times without it touching the floor. The original plan was to do this outside, but it was a windy day so we had to do it indoors and it was a little crowded, but they had fun and all succeeded! Gracie bouncing her balloon
Then, it was time for another Jedi mission - I loved how attentive they were when I would explain the next thing! They were really serious about becoming Jedis, I guess. The next mission was to free Han Solo from the carbonite, which was really a block of ice. We had 2 different Han action figures frozen in ice and 2 teams each with a bucket of warm water. They had to take fill a cup of water and run across the patio, dump it on Han and then run back and hand it to the next teammate. It was a pretty simple game, but it was one of Logan's favorite things of the whole day! Han is almost free...Han is out!
I couldn't resist taking pictures of this Jedi all day! She was SO cute and so funny!Next, we had the kids complete a Jedi obstacle course. The weather wasn't cooperating too well, so we kind of had to improvise, but the kids had fun and didn't really seem to know the difference. We started with a Pod Racer course where they had to race the Pod Racer (Wiggle Racer) around the cones on the patio. Then, they had to run across the rocks and get the soccer ball and test their aim by shooting the ball into the goal. Then, they had to cross the balance beam (by walking across the hose) and then climb the rock wall on the playground and slide down. The last and final mission was to destroy the Death Star (or this pinata...). I had planned to get a round one and spray paint it black to look like the Death Star, but we couldn't find a plain enough round one for it to work, so we ended up with this Star Wars one instead. The birthday boy - Everyone always loves a pinata, right?
Rylee taking a swing
That pinata was tough! We finally had some help from our dad and managed to crack it!
You should have seen little Yoda go crazy for the candy! She didn't know which way to go first! It was so funny to watch. She really wanted to eat what she had already picked up, but she wanted to get more, too. She seemed pretty conflicted! Lots of candy!
A sucker will always make Avery's day! She LOVES her candy! Lots of it broke when it hit the sidewalk and there were little pieces all over the driveway and she was finding little pieces and eating them for days afterwards. She would just sit in the middle of the driveway and eat them as fast as she could. A little gross, but so funny!
Once the Death Star was destroyed, the Jedi training was complete and they each received an official Jedi certificate. I found them on the internet and was able to edit them so that they had the kids' names on them. They turned out really fun and official looking! Logan's friend Morgan wanted to know what he could use his for - He thought it must get him in somewhere like a ticket or something. He was pretty funny about it.
Our cute little Jedi Knights! This is such a cute and fun bunch of kids! I love that we live in a neighborhood and ward with so many friends for our kids. Even though it was a lot of six year old boys they were very well behaved and fun to have over! Poor Gracie was the only girl besides Rylee and Avery, but she held her own against the boys and I think she had fun.
Back Row: Morgan, Gracie, Logan, Brayden and James Front: Tyler, Rylee, Spencer, Carter and SpencerThe kids went outside to play a little Jedi Vs Sith (a variation of Freeze tag) and Darren and I got all the treats ready. After the ceremony to make them Jedi Knights, it was time to celebrate! We had some of these yummy Yoda Sodas and cupcakes.
A Yoda Soda - It was lime sherbet with some marshmallow eyes and we used Laffy Taffy to make the other parts of the face. Then we poured Sprite on it. My kids thought it was the funniest name and we would use it for lots of things for awhile just to make each other laugh. I think they would have turned out a little better if we could have frozen the ice cream into balls first (like the recipe said...), but we didn't have enough room in our freezer. It turned out pretty cute though.
Ready for some cake and candle blowing!
The birthday boy!
Logan and Mom
Logan and Dad - I am SO glad that he was able to be there! So much more fun to have Dad around and he was a HUGE help for me! Happy Birthday To YOu, Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday Dear Logan...
Making a wish and blowing out the candles...
Since the candles were so spread out, it took him a few tries.
The little party group before we cut the cake. Tyler, Spencer, Morgan, James, Logan, Carter, Rylee, Gracie, Brayden and Spencer
The cupcakes - Logan picked these out and had to have them for his party and since his cake wasn't quite enough for everyone, these worked out perfectly!
Logan with his BLUE lightsaber cupcake and Yoda Soda
This was the quietest part of the whole party - while everyone was eating!
Avery liked her cupcake, too
BLUE frosting is never the best idea!
After cake and Yoda Sodas, we unwrapped presents. Logan's friends were so cute and so excited to give Logan their gifts and Logan loved all the stuff he got! Watching the present opening
Reading one of his cards.

I love all the faces and how excited he gets!
MORE Star Wars Legos??? Are you kidding me? Logan got lots of fun things! He got 2 more sets of Star Wars Legos and also got a Hero Factory Lego set. He also got a set of Harry Potter legos and a Lego Star Wars tshirt. He got an awesome squirt gun for the pool that he loves and a Nerf gun set. And he got a really cool set of sea animals that his friend Spencer brought him back from Sea World.
Then it was time to send our guests home. They got to take home their Jedi robes and their lightsabers and some candy from the pinata and we also made these little party favors. They were the really long pretzels covered in blue chocolate and then the end was wrapped in foil so that it looked like a lightsaber. Logan is always telling his friends, "May the Force be With You...always" when they leave, so I thought this was appropriate.

What a fun party we had! I am glad that birthdays are only once a year, because they take so much effort and planning and a little bit of stress, but I love doing them! I think sometimes I get more excited than my kids! Logan is quickly following in my footsteps because he already has his next 2 parties planned - He says he is going to have a Harry Potter birthday next year and then a science and nature party. Such a funny kid! We are so glad Logan had a birthday and so glad that we have Logan! He is a special part of our family and we love him a lot!