Someone got REAL football pants from his daddy! I mean, the ones with pads...big boy style :) He's ready for the season now!!

THIS, friends and family, is just one example of how baseball season can get long and we can really feel Lance's absence. LOL Think we need some consistent male influence around this house? :) Hurry home, Lance!!!

Skype lunches simply aren't cutting it anymore :)

Speaking of the "lights in my life" (see the post below about Rookie),...the biggest one of all is turning 30 in just 30 minutes!! I have known Lance for about 12 years, (just before he turned 18!!), and I love him more now than ever. Sometimes, I get the opportunity to just look at him when he doesn't know, and I am so overwhelmed with love for him that I have to hold back tears.

I am so sad that we can't be with him on his birthday, so I made him as many baked goods as he could take with him today. LJ cried when he found out we were missing his birthday, (he thinks we are skipping out on his party), so we are planning an "Alabama football party" when Lance returns. LJ chose the Bama theme...Double Doozie cookie cake, balloons and a great chicken fricasse for lunch.

When I think of where we started - kids driving cross-country with an 18-year-old poodle in the car, (with a can of lysol - Magic's breath!)...the dreams we had that we are realizing and attaining together, I am amazed by God's grace and where we are now. Here's to 60 more blessed years for my precious husband! Lance, I can promise that there is no man on God's green earth loved more than you!!!

The assortment of baked goods

I told him, I tried to bake as much as we wish we could be there... :)

Rookie rarely gets a mention these days, much less his own blog post! Here's just a little post to one of the brightest little lights in my life. I don't know what I'd do without him. He's absolutely the best! Here are some pics of them after a great game of fetch...both of them are tired! (The Jamie Cormier Photography writing on the top two are just so I can use them as blog pics if I want to :) )

Rookie rarely gets a picture or

I forgot to post these the other day, and they are "CAN'T MISS!!!" LOL He and I were playing outside all day - most of it in the rain. He was really into being a catcher that day. (He changes position and sometimes sports from day to day) :) I hope you enjoy these - he will never know how much I enjoyed taking them!

He said this was his "Scoreboard Picture" :)

He had his mask on and was ready to catch. I said, "Lj, you are so cute". He took off his mask and hat and said, "Mom...do I look handsome?" I can't make this up! :)

ready.

Putting on his gear. No matter how hard it is to watch him do it on his own, I have to let him. I ask if I can help, and he says, "No, I can do it by myself" :)

Photography blog

Well, I'm not done with my actual photography site yet, but the blog is up and running! It is lacking a few shoots, but I'm finishing it soon. If you'd like to take a look:

http://jamiecormierphotography.blogspot.com

What a day!!! We had such a great time on the boat with Mr. Bob today. He's like family to us, and always makes sure we don't get lonely while Lance is gone. We usually spend an off-day here and there on the boat, but Mr. Bob asked LJ and I to go today while Lance was away. What a fun time!! Mr. Bob totally takes over and plays with LJ so I just shell-hunted and played with my camera :)

My little boy before we left. He wakes up on his own in the mornings, digs in his "uniform drawer" and puts on a baseball uniform. I walked in to find him reading his lightening Mcqueen book and "tightening his tires" :)

Throughout the boat ride, LJ and Mr. Bob sat in the driver's seat. I love this view from the rearview mirror :)

I was building a Christmas tree, and LJ and Mr. Bob built a "Pirate Castle", (according to LJ) :) So cute...It's all done! If you look closely, you can see LJ is about to throw sand on it.

Here's my Christmas tree with seaweed garland and all!!! :) So fun! LJ and Mr. Bob are working hard on their castle in the back.

And of course...no matter where we are, we must play baseball. Even if it's with a stick and shell!

This little guy didn't make it to the boat, but he's just so sweet and cute, I had to throw him in this post. What a dog!!

While Daddy's away, we will play! We miss him so much, so we are filling our days full!! Above, you see LJ ready to swim at the pool with our friends, The Paparesta's. We visited them in Tampa - their dad is the trainer for the Rays, so we get to play with Noah and Elena a lot. Noah and LJ are great friends despite the age difference. He's always so kind to LJ and treats him like he's an 8 year old, too :)

At the pool, Noah wanted to swim on the "big kid" slides. Of course, he's big enough and knows how to swim well. The lifeguard told LJ he had to pass a swim test if he wanted to slide. The swim test was a lap in the lap pool then treading water for one minute. I automatically said, " No, it's o.k. We'll just swim over there" ( in a roped-off part of the stairs). LJ wasn't having it - he wanted to slide. So, he proceeds to swim a full lap, then treads water for the full minute. Afterwards, we went to stand in line to get his arm band that allows him to slide, (below).

The man asks LJ, "What's your name?" He says, "L.J. Cormier"...the guy writes it. Then the lifeguards asks, "How old are you?" LJ holds up 3 fingers...the guys says, "3???...You have to be 5 to slide." WHAT??!! We did all that and now no arm band???? No slide??? I was worried LJ might lose it. That was a tough test to pass!! Why didn't they ask his age before? That's my question! However....

The kids area opened up just in time. I think we might have had a riot if there was no beautiful, multi-colored kids play area. It was closed earlier because a little girl threw up - yuck!!! They had to clean it up, readjust chemicals, etc. before allowing us back in.

Oh well...all's well that ends well! LJ, Noah and Elena had such a good time. No big boy slides, but lots of big boy fun :)

I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I posted!!! Since my last post, we've been SO busy. I helped put together a fun baby shower for a teammate's wife, then we had some family in, and I have done two photo sessions as well. The "family" I mentioned, Ross and Ben were so much fun! Talk about great guests - Here below are just a few pics of a day they were here. We took Ross and LJ to a local field to play ball, and it was BURNING up!!! They held out longer than Lance, Ben and I - they were having a great time. I will post more pics soon, but I wanted to get these up!

LJ tagging Ross out

BP :)

During a gatorade break in the dugout :)

My view of that little body from the dugout