Graduation day!

What a great weekend!  I think Beason's Graduation was the best Mother's Day gift he could have given his momma!  My family filling up my home - that was my gift!  Though I missed Lance so much, it was so wonderful to look around and see my mother, her mother, my sister, her daughters, and my brother, ready to take the next big step in life.  Blood is thick, and I love it!  :)  I hope your weekend was special as well.  Happy Mother's Day to all the sweet mothers in my life especially My mother, Lance's mother, Maw-Maw and Granny.  We love you more than we can say!

The table for B's party - the balloon in the back sang "Hey Now, your're an all star..." when you poke it.  When I was putting it in the car to get home, it was windy and sang it over and over as I tried to stuff it in there.  :)

Before Graduation - here are our sweeeeet girls feeding LJ his lunch so I can play in the kitchen :)

Halelujah!!!  Don't you know these two are happy?  Sweet mom and son pic.

And a cute one with his Maw-Maw!

Look at this crew!  Beason had a big cheering section :)

Now if these aren't the best kids, I don't know who are.

Graduate: May 2009

Congratulations, Beason!

The tassle IS worth the hassle!  

How handsome does he look?  On the quad, with Gorgas Library in the background.

His tassle, his shoe, his brick, his degree.  So proud of you!  If you look closely, you can see "finally" watermarked throughout the whole picture in different fonts, just like his brick.

Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahh...It's so good to be here!  All that is missing is our sweet Lance!  I have just  a few pics to post, but there will be more to come.  Beason's graduating this weekend!!!  Yay, B!

On our flight home, LJ got to go in the cockpit!  My big lens is on, so I couldn't get far enough back quickly, (read:  other passengers asking me to move), so this will have to do.  He thought it was so cool!

Our first night:  We both christened the big tub - me with a book, him with toys and bubbles!

Our friend, Tucker, got to come over yesterday.  He was so much fun!  Jarret and Anna, his parents, were sweet to let us borrow him.  Rookie is at his "class", so we miss him!

Buddies.

Seriously, what a dog, right?  Oh, and what a boy, too :)

someone else's home cookin' and rootbeer floats!

Last night was the fist night in a LONG Time that we've had Lance home.  We decided to to to a cajun restaurant, (It was good!) for crawfish.  On the way, we passed an A&W place, so we had dessert there after.  Lance leaves tomorrow, and so do LJ and I, so it was great to end a homestand on such a fun note!

Evidently, it was good :)

Poor little guys - at first LJ was scared, but he ended up playing with them after

One of these signs says "Lafayette" :)

How's that for a first float!?

DELICIOUS!

Redundant

I know, I know...all of the pictures I put up of LJ these days are of him playing baseball.  I gotta tell you, though - that's all he does.  Unless we're in the pool, (which I don't want to go near with my camera alone - prior incident), he is playing baseball.  Catching, throwing, pitching, sliding - you name it.  Right now, he has me waving a Rays car flag and saying "Go Rays" or "Go LJ" while he plays, (catcher mask on backwards, footy pj's, and glove).  If I type for longer than 10 seconds or so, he says, "Mom, Go Rays!", and back to waving I go!  

He's doing all this right now while he's sick.  The pictures below are of us outside with Rookie, keeping from adding cabin fever to our list of symptoms.  He's been running a good fever and coughing with a bit of a runny nose.  You can tell by his face, mainly his eyes, that he's not 100%, but he continues to play.  Like Cal Ripken, Jr., this boy is not going to sit one out.  The team's counting on him.  :)  He's getting better, so maybe he can actually go to Lance's game tomorrow before the Rays head out again...and we do, too!  LJ and I get to go home!

We hope you enjoy this post - sorry it looks so much like all the others!  I'd say it's a phase, but I don't think so.  This boy's got the bug, and I think it will last LONG past baseball season :)  

OK, one non-baseball one...he's probably praying for baseball-related things, though.  We pray for our entire extended family every night by name, then he adds his own tid-bits..."God bless the boys", etc. ("The boys" are the players)

 

Rookie sitting next to me as I play "catcher".  It's not ideal, but he's a trooper, just happy to be outside.

LJ's turn!  

The big pitch - I'm taking a risk by catching it and taking a picture at the same time.  Luckily, it didn't hit me in the head!

Sweet catcher.  If you look in his eyes, you can see he's not feeling great.  Also, you can see his "goggle marks" from the pool -- he wears those ALL DAY when we're out there, so he's got almost a permanent mark because he likes them TIGHT!  :)

This kid LOVES some baseball!

LJ and I just got back from a ball game.  We almost didn't go because I couldn't find my wallet, (I thought I lost it!!), but he was so sweet!  Ask Me-Maw, she was on the phone with me as I panicked.  He said, "Don't worry, Mommy.  You'll find it".  And, I did!  The blog has saved my wallet - it was in there with the camera that I never go without!   So....since he was so sweet, then asked, "Mommy, can we still go to the game?"...we went.  It was late, I might mess him up, but I told him we'd go.  He waited ten days for Lance to get home, and it was the least I could do!

We went to see Lance in the bullpen, and the bullpen coach gave LJ a baseball!  You would have thought it was his first EVER...he is so excited about it.  He told me all night, " I talk with my daddy...the man gave me baseball!".  He then proceeded to act like he was in the game with the glove and ball, (not throwing, just pretending...good boy!).  Fans everywhere stopped watching the game and started watching him.  Every game he goes to, people stop me.  They wonder - how can he love baseball so much, so early?  Especially now that he's old enough to imitate the players to a "t" - He gets a super serious look on his face.  He means business!  The kid has seen to much!  :)

I hope you have had a great day - word to the wise - keep an eye on those wallets!  Put 'em in a purse!  

The "face".  He's serious...looking for his sign!

By the way - this amazing playground is not a the baseball field, but at the Tampa mall.  LJ calls it "his" baseball "tield"  

It is Rays themed, so we always have to wear our Rays gear when we go.  After all, you wouldn't go play a game on your "tield" and not wear a jersey, right?  

He is so much fun!!!

Beach time, bike time and a little trip to the park!

Yesterday, I wanted to do a long bike ride outside of the city, so LJ and I decided to go to Fort Desoto Park.  It's huge, and it's the site of a sprint triathlon I hope to do later this summer.  It was funny to look at me on my normal bike, LJ on the back, pushing hard while some other triathletes training the course effortlessly zoomed by me on their road bikes.  It's like training with ankle weights on, I think.  I may rent a road bike for race day and feel super-light! Anyway, after our bike, we enjoyed some beach time.  We parked near the beach, brought our bathing suits and took advantage of our location!  LJ loved it, so did his mom.  After an hour or so, it was dinner time, and we ate at a local restaurant before heading back home.  It was a great day!  I am seeing that my goal of finishing this triathlon is tough, but I'm so excited!  I want to do an olympic-distance one, one day, if I like it enough.  We hope you are doing great, too!

Watch out, Mr. Seagull!

We played in a little sandbar before the real surf.  It was perfect for LJ to get "brave" in and wade out.

I know this face isn't a happy one, but it's a true face for LJ.  When I tell him no, or if we have to leave somewhere fun, this is his face.  I thought it captured it well.

This morning, we walked to starbucks for breakfast then to the park for playtime.  MMMM...and fun!

Rookie came, too.  He didn't like the part where he had to sit outside the fence, though...he actually chewed through his leash to get to us!  Hold on tight, LJ, he's coming for his momma!   :)