Group Hug

Mesquite Dual Swim Meet #2 7/12/14

We got to Mesquite and set up camp-settling in to enjoy the well over 100 degree weather. We survived-although Landon did run to Wal-Mart at one point and bought us a personal misting system.

Chloe and Bryce doing a little dance to celebrate-they both sure were happy at an early hour.

Chillin in his camp chair-isn't he the cutest thing ever?!

We brought lots of books, snacks, drinks, and of course electronic devices to keep the kids entertained and to help pass the time.

This swim meet was between Dixie and Mesquite. Chloe preformed so well in all of her events. Unfortunately the video on my camera for some reason didn't work it had some sort of glitch going on, so we lost all of the footage of her races-GRRR!!! Not very happy-but alas that's life and not much I can do about it now. Chloe easily won in every heat she swam in. She also got personal bests on all of her times.

They use an app called meet mobile at some of the swim meets. As we drove home we waited to be able to get good enough service to view the final results. The whole car broke into cheers as Chloe announced she had taken 1st overall in both the freestyle and individual medley. Woot Woot! Way to go Chloe!!! We love our little swimmer and couldn't be prouder of her-she has worked so hard this year. #ourgirl #partfish

Chloe and Makele

Of course Makele had to come stay for a few days since all of the other cousins had a turn ;) We traded for her for Jack one night at Tanner's all-star game in Cedar City. Despite all of the traveling to ball games and swim meets that we did during the week Makele was here I think the girls still managed to have some fun.
I took them to Fiesta Fun one afternoon for mini golf; arcade games; and bumper boats.

 Of course they swam in the red-neck swimming pool! It has become a favorite activity this summer ;)

 And we went to the park a few times...although I don't quite know where Makele was when I took these pictures.

We love having cousins come to visit, but after 3 and a half weeks straight of having extra kids I sure was glad when it was all over and things were back to normal around here at least for a few days.

Little Monkey

Bryce has decided he likes to climb...his favorite thing to climb is Tanners bunk-bed. Oh no look out we are in trouble now!!!

All-Star Week

Both of the kids made the all-star teams this year. The all star tournaments were held last week in Cedar City. So we ended up traveling up there for games Mon.-Thurs. It was lots of back and forth and late nights. Many nights we didn't get home until after 10, but we had fun, and are glad the kids had this experience.

Chloe was on the 10 year old all-star softball team. Her birthday when she turned 10 was actually not until after the deadline so she was one of the youngest players on the team and would actually still be able to play on the same team again next year. Her team was very unprepared for the tournament not that they didn't practice lots in the weeks before, but the whole softball season they were not properly prepared. They didn't even play the same rules and stuff that they played in the tournament so it was kind of hard on them. They lost all of their games by a lot. In fact they were run ruled every time. Chloe's coach was kind of "special"  I guess you would say...he knew Chloe could pitch-she had done so all year, but for some reason he refused to let her even though the other girls he was having pitch were really struggling. It was just hard to watch; so Chloe played right field for the whole tournament which is okay-she had fun and the few balls that got hit to her she fielded with and threw to first base with perfect accuracy. She didn't get up to hit many times, over the course of the 3 day period, but when she did she really battled. She did strike out once-but only once. Another time the ball barely beat her to the base but other than that she made it on base. Hopefully next year things will be better all around with the softball program. We are proud of Chloe though and most especially proud of her happy attitude about playing even when things weren't the greatest she was always upbeat and ready to play. 

Before the first game Chloe and I made these for all of her teammates. The girls loved them! Their team name was the Dixie Crushers. So we got cans of orange crush and added a tag that said "Crush It". The bag also included a picture of a softball diamond that said diamonds are a girls best friend attached to a ring pop.

 All-Star Hair-do

 These picts show her sassy little attitude-excited to play!

 Ready to hit...

 Sporting some eye black...

 Right Field...

 Hanging with cousins after one of her games...

 little monkey...

 little bro sporting his orange to support sis...

 All-Star Siblings

 Trying to get onto the baseball field

 Our happy girl...

 Loving on little bro..

 That's are girl!!!

One of Chloe's hits...she looked safe or at least looked like a tie, but they ended up calling her out.

Tanner was on the 13 year old all-star team. There were actually only 3 teams in his age bracket. Tanner played two and a half games. If your wondering what the half is all about its because they started one of the games and ended up calling it early. It had been raining a lot and the game was just turning into a complete debacle for Tanners team. Plus they were playing the same team the next night in the game that mattered-this was more of a practice game that didn't really count-so they just called it early. Everyone was relieved. His team ended up losing both of their games. They were able to hang with the other teams, but just could never pull off a win. Tanner played some of the best baseball he has ever played. For the most part he played shortstop. As shortstop he was unstoppable-he jumped to catch balls, dove to stop balls, got lots of outs and even rolled a double play. He did a little pitching as well--in the first game he kind of struggled, but in the second game he did alright and even ended up getting the last out of the game when the batter popped on up right to him. His hitting was a little off the first game, but the second game he connected with the ball every time and either got on base or brought in a run at all of his at bats.
Reading the Little League Oath

 Getting Ready to Hit taking some Practice Swings...

 Jack got into the baseball spirit and donned some of Tanner catching gear :)

 In the dugout...

 On deck...

 Hanging out with little bro after the game...

One of Tanners hits...

A video of Tanner pitching...I should have kept the camera rolling this is where he got the last out of the game.

If Tanner makes the 9th Grade team next year then there won't be any more little league games-cause they can't play if they are on the high-school team...so hopefully that is the case. If so I think we can all feel good about how his little league days ended-we couldn't have been prouder than knowing he was our son out there on the field. Although he will be done with it I'm sure Chloe will be back and little Bryce will just be starting up in a few short years :)

A plug for Baby Signing

I just have to put in a little plug for baby signing. I knew that I wanted to do it with Bryce for the time I got pregnant with him. I knew that kids who are signed to have an increased knowledge of language and that they are better able to communicate. They learn words faster and can understand what you are saying to them earlier and better than other kids their age.
I felt so strongly about it that I got the whole family on board. I sat down with them one night and taught them all the 10 most basic signs. We made sure we did them to him all of the time. At first it didn't seem like it was working. We did it for months and months.There became a point where I  grew frustrated because I didn't know if it was making a difference. There were some days or weeks we didn't sign at all, but then all of the sudden things started to click. He started signing to us. One sign one week then another, and another. Soon he was singing new signs all the time or at least trying to. Now he is 17 months old and we can see a huge benefit in his language and reasoning skills already compared to other kids his age. He says tons of words not just the normal handful of words that kids his age say, but he says at least 100 words and learns more every day. He will try and repeat almost anything you say. Along with many of the words he says he will give the sign as well. He has even started putting two or three words together to get what he wants.

Some of his favorite words...
Mom
Dad
Tanner
Chloe
Ball
Puppy
Bath
Bottle
Milk
Monster
Popcorn
Cereal
No :)
Hi
Bye
Love You
balloon

Some of his favorite signs...
bath
dog
shoes
more
milk
hot dog
baseball
ice cream
alligator

I can't say enough good things about signing with your child. I can definitely see a huge difference in our little guy and I think this will give him a great start in life. Glad we decided to try it with him.