Tons of play time at the Baseball Field...Batter Up!

The weather has been so nice.  It’s the middle of March and we are seeing upper 70’s lower 80’s temperatures. As a result, Zoe is venturing outside more.  Which is great. She likes to go out and ride her scooter and big wheel.  She also likes to spend time in the dirt making castles and forts. This week in gymnastics Zoe was able to take in one parent so we could see what they have her working on. With Sonja traveling on business I got the pleasure to hang with Zoe.  During our time together, Zoe worked on the balance beam, uneven bars, pommel horse and the rings.  I was impressed on how far Zoe has come in the last 6 months.  Her balance and dexterity has improved significantly.  Now she is in the youngest group so their activities are relatively basic when compared to the older girls. I forgot how cool it was for your child to actually want you there versus our 14 year old who look for every excuse not to be seen with either of his parents (unless he wants something like food or money). Zoe really looks forward to  gymnastics, I am glad we found something she truly enjoys. Now, both Sonja and I have to learn a new sport...should be fun...

Sonja will be traveling again on a girl’s only mini vacation in a few weeks.  So Zoe gets to again spend time with her dad and brother. We will have to think of something fun while her mom is away at play. One thing I know for sure, I will be making at least one McDonald’s run. Zoe absolutely loves McDonald's cheeseburger happy meals.

The last few weeks for Nathaniel have been high drama as he competed for a slot on his high school baseball team.  He made the first cut and was waiting to hear the final decisions.  The good news is he made the team.  The coach said he was one of the three top players trying out and looked forward to having him on the team. During practice the coaches have him playing shortstop which is a new position for him. He had his first game and started playing shortstop.He made two really great plays.   One of the young men (Pat)  who is on his team.  Was on his traveling team for years. Nathaniel was always at First and Pat was at shortstop, now in high school it is reversed. Both sets of parents thought it was very ironic.  We are all excited to transition from wrestling to baseball. So this will be Zoe’s third season of baseball including last year’s spring/summer and fall leagues.  So she is now a veteran. She has already made friends with a few girls who are also their cheering on their brothers.  Zoe spends most of her time playing and does not take much notice of the game or her brother…great she enjoys being outside as she has another game to watch (scratch that)...I mean play at on Monday when Nathaniel plays against all his middle school and elementary school friends.

Zoe at the baseball park making mountains in the gravel

Nathaniel before his first High school game

Happy Birthday to Sonja (March 20th) and Nathaniel (March 24th).  Zoe your birthday is only about two months away! You will be five years old and you will have been with our family almosya  year! Wow...how time flies....

All is well otherwise…so glad we are heading into spring.  So many fun things to do…

Ready for Spring

Well, it is early March in Nebraska and most of the snow accumulation we had has melted.  We are in that Winter-Spring transition, I like to call Wing. We are getting cold mornings and evenings while the day temps are actually between the 40’s and 60’s. Zoe is getting more active outside.  She is riding her Dora big wheel and likes to go to the playground. She told me her favorite things to do on the playground is the monkey bars, slide and the swing set.  Oh, to be her age for one day!

Sonja and Zoe went to kindergarten round up at Zoe's new school for next year on Monday of this week. They took a tour of the school (which is only two years old) and met with some teachers.  Zoe is very excited and her preschool teacher believes she is ready for school next year.  We have been working with Zoe and I am just amazed at her progress. She can already recite her ABC’s and can count to 50 with just a few reminders.  It is just amazing that in less than a year she is ready to go to school.  Now, the only thing we believe she may need is some extra help from a speech teacher who can help her with some of the sounds she struggles with. It appears the school has these resources available which is really great.  Zoe seems really excited to take that next step.

Zoe continues to participate in gymnastics and just graduated from her first swim class. She will begin her advanced swim class next week.

Last night we took Zoe to watch her cousin play in the State High school basketball tournament.  Madison is a sophomore at weeping water who made their first ever state appearance at state for girls’ basketball.  It was fun to watch and needless to say, we are very proud of her.  She got in the game on several occasions.  Way to go Maddie!  Zoe watched the game and had pom-poms and beads that her Aunt Lisa gave her so she could cheer on her cousin. Zoe had fun.

Nathaniel is trying out for high school baseball.  The coach told all the boys trying out that this was a unique year in that they had a lot more freshman boys come out for try-outs than usual.  So, it is nail bite time for his parents.  I am sure we are more nervous than he is. 

It looks like the first cut to make the baseball team is this Saturday and the final cut is next Tuesday.   Nathaniel and Zoe’s cousin Hallie is trying out for varsity soccer at Pius so we are hoping for the best.  We hear it is quite competitive but Hallie is an awesome soccer player. Good luck Hallie. We also heard Nathaniel's cousin Tristan is academically ranked 7th in a class of approximatey 800 students.  Wow, that is impressive...way to go Tristan.

Sonja just came back from a business trip from Chicago and at the end of the month is getting ready for an all-girls trip to Las Vegas for her birthday.  Sonja, her sisters Lisa and Brenda and two high school friends plan to have a great time at the casino, maybe take in a show, shop and whatever else that catches their attention.

That’s about all for now…here are some pictures you might enjoy....