One of the highlights of every June is getting to celebrate my favorite son's birthday. Danny has brought so much to this family simply by being himself. We are so lucky to have him! For his birthday Danny got to get his learner's permit after attending in person driver's ed and acing his permit test. He's been driving the truck, which is pretty fun to watch and I keep saying it would be easier to learn on our VW like Kate but he is doing well in the larger vehicle and it's keeping him humble. The DMV experience was great and Natalie took a note from when Danny first drove with his best friend and made sure to wear all three seatbelts on Danny's first drive. He chose to keep driving as the main celebration and was satisfied to have Polish food for dinner and a Costco cheesecake with fresh blueberries on top for dessert. Of course, Michelle and I did take him to the local skateboard shop and he did get outfitted with a brand new board set up, grandparents delivered or sent money, and Hubby bought him some new headphones while his sisters bought him gift cards to his favorite fast food places, my mom delivered his favorite (cash) and my dad let him drive his car and gave him a framed photo and quote from Muhammad Ali and his old weight set. I asked Danny if there was anything he wished he had done when he was 14 that he didn't do and he said he didn't think so. Then Danny told me he couldn't believe he was 15 because that meant he was half way to 30. Mind blown.
Get ready for a ton of softball photos because Natalie's team participated in the "Swing Into Summer" tournament and ended up playing 3 games on Saturday and 6 -- yes, 6! -- games on Sunday! Those girls continue to amaze me with their ability to have fun and try their best no matter what the situation. They played in weather hotter than expected on Saturday with smiles on their faces after waking up at 5:40am and won all three games. Then the next day they felt lucky to have an 8am warm up time instead of 7am and ended up being at the fields for OVER 12 hours because they kept on winning! We are all so proud of them for making it to the championship game and glad they got to have a full tournament experience this spring.
Action shots!
Even a rain delay couldn't get these girls down!
Here is a little more about their schedule:
Saturday vs. Velocity: Won 7-6
vs. Eagles: Won 15-6
vs. Raptors: Won 12-3
Sunday vs. Riders: Won 15-6
vs. Hype: Won 11-8
vs. Elite: Lost 4-12
vs. Impact: Won 8-7
rematch vs. Elite in the championship game: Lost 5-15 but glad to bring home hardware!
Happy and exhausted! I was so glad the only thing on the calendar for Natalie the next day was her cello lesson in the afternoon. She needed a day to recover. Actually both she and AH both seemed a little more subdued than normal when AH came over for a play date before I took them to practice two days later. Then the next day they were ready to play in their double header with confidence! They dominated their first game and it was obvious the these girls were really understanding the game of softball and had put in the work. Their second game really made me want to watch Zombies again because their uniforms were rocking the neon pink and green and you should have seen the look on Natalie's face after the game when I told her I wanted to root for the Mighty Shrimp. But, Disney references aside, this was a really good game with two well matched teams, perfect weather and the sun setting as they played. Our girls were soooo close to tying the game but fell one run short before the other team got three outs. Oh, and I should have gotten a picture to celebrate the bleacher section because Michelle was there with us the entire time. But you can see in these photos Natalie rocking her new cleats. You should have seen how fast I grabbed them off the Goodwill shelf when I realized they were Vapors like Danny's favorite cleats, almost brand new condition and were only $11. All they needed was some of my laundry room expertise and Natalie was so excited to try them on when she got home.
Natalie and I got to watch Michelle’s first official tennis match on Friday morning. I loved how relaxed it was and how you watch all these teenagers using the honor system to call in or out and keep score. Michelle really liked it and I’m proud of her for trying something new. This is her first team experience vs. taking classes and I think she will learn a ton by getting out there and playing. I didn’t get great photos because there was another match being played between Natalie and I and Michelle's match and I didn't want to scare the girls closer to us.
The next day Michelle's dream of having Hubby take her and Natalie backpacking together came true! Although it was only an overnight they came home happy and full of stories to tell me, a new dent in the truck to show me, and these beautiful photos.
That evening we got to celebrate Hubby and Father's Day by fulfilling requests like a nice steak dinner and watching Fall Guy together as a family plus a new Yeti water bottle. We gave him our own presents as well but honestly the best part was just talking while we ate and having the children, unprompted, share memories and tell things they like about their dad. He is one very wonderful and very loved man.
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