With the end of competitive volleyball and dance, I feel like whenever I’m headed somewhere it is either to buy food or go to a field. Lol. I love seeing how much fun Natalie is having with softball and it has been great to see Danny playing in some baseball games again. After the tournament in Eaton they had two local games that week. The first one I dropped Danny off for warm ups, went home to be able to take Michelle to dance class, and got back to the field right before game. (Apparently the coach took mug shots with a trash can before I got back. Lol.) I was glad I was on time because my boy had great catch in center during the first inning. At one point he turned a little bounce into a triple. He then had a solid hit to first but got out at second. I felt kind of sorry for the other team but without trying (no stealing bases and using a back up pitcher) our team still mercy ruled them 16-1 in the 3rd inning. Well, at least that meant we got to eat dinner sooner that way. (Hubby had made shredded chicken burritos and they were delicious.) Danny took this selfie of us as we walked back to my car. He later made a Tick Tock video stating that I was the nicest girl he was ever going to meet due to all the little notes I leave my children. I watched that 9 second video over and over again. It is so nice that he notices and shows appreciation that I am trying my best.
We had a surprise when it was time to go to middle school. This was my view out my front door and it was even worse the next morning. Good thing the weather has been nice enough to walk. Lol. Life has been a little rough for our local middle schoolers due to state standardized testing. The 6th & 7th graders tested for 6 days and the poor 8th graders had another three days on top of that. As I looked at the schedule changes I couldn’t believe how many hours would be devoted to testing over two weeks. Michelle convinced me to opt Danny out so my mom and I took care of him in the mornings and he arrived after the testing window ended. After all that testing I am convinced I should opt Michelle out next year. It’s just insane. My mom has commented more than once she thinks it’s child abuse. Somehow her saying that helped me feel better as I witnessed our special needs students dealing with the schedule changes even though their testing is one on one and much less time consuming. I might opt Natalie out of the language arts portion next year as well. Here is a picture I was sent after she finished her testing with the marvelous Mrs L. (:
On Wednesday we seriously wondered if Danny’s Wednesday game would be rained out or not. Michelle, Danny, Natalie and I all got in my car, dropped Natalie off at softball practice, stopped at Chick Fil A, and waited in the car while it rained and rained. Our head coach stayed positive and knew it would blow over and he was right. Danny got out to warm up and Michelle and I went to the new Costco gas station to fill up (the rest of the store isn’t open yet) and then we got out of the car when the game was about to start. The game didn’t begin so well for our boys with three up and three out but our defense had some great catches and plays as well. It was a very low scoring game until the very end when the other team was able to win with an eventual score of 9-1. I felt sorry for Michelle because the game a couple days before had so much better weather and outcome for our guys. I’m glad she was there, though. Danny and C & I got a good chuckle out of the "mug" shots a parent took of the boys due to the black background eliminating the bats from some of the photos. Somehow baseball just isn't as cool without a tool that could double as a weapon if you were in danger. I'm only saying it like that because of what the volleyball team did together as an end of season celebration. I'll get to that later.
Saturday morning we woke up to more snow. At this point I am resigned to snow being my reality this spring. Regardless, Michelle and I had a blast enjoyed the professional artistry of Rebecca Mabey as she did her job and did it well. I was instantly impressed by her preparation. Michelle got to wear 6 different outfits to go with the different poses and we spent over two hours there. We won’t see the edited photos for a while but we are excited to have some nice pictures of Michelle with her viola.
After returning Michelle to our house, I got to go with my Iowa City friend to Swaylos for her first time. She is wonderful and I’m glad she bought a house in our town but sad she won’t be within walking distance anymore.
Meanwhile, Hubby spent almost all morning and afternoon (aside from taking Kate to a sleepover) upgrading the audio system on his car. I am amazed at what he can do! One of these days I'm going to ask him for his autograph but I'm pretty sure I could forge it at living with him for so long. Ha! He also updated my computer, tuned up Natalie’s bicycle, and we attempted to fix the washing machine again and said if that didn’t work it was time to buy a new one. Well, that $35 part off Amazon + some elbow grease did the trick and the washing machine is up and running again. Nice save, Hubby!
For a grand finale, Kate’s club volleyball team decided to book a rage room to destroy things in honor of their season ending. It was definitely entertaining and a bit of a work out, depending on how much the girls got into wielding a sledge hammer or baseball bat or crowbar. Kate told me not to take any photos but you know I had to. Hubby paid $50 for her to be there and it took me half an hour (x2) to drive there (and back). I’m not walking away without any pictures. And the team mom is willing to text group photos to me. Lol.
P.S. Michelle and Natalie got into Secrets of Sulphur Springs, a show on Disney+, and it sucked me in too. Time travel and ghosts?!? Oh, and I really enjoyed listening to the book They Both Die at the End. Yes, the story is so sad but beautiful. A great reminder to do the things that are most important before it is too late. And that we cannot control as much as we think we can so just try your best.
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