Circles of Memories

When I was little, one of my favorite memories is the breakfast picnics that we would have at Spring Park, in Osage. We would get up very early, 6a.m. and be to the Park by 6:30ish and Uncle Pete would already be there and have the fire going. We would play, go for walks, go down by the river and eat the best eggs and bacon EVER!!! It is fun to see your children enjoy some of your own childhood memories.

Havin' fun in Osage Iowa

My cousin Clare and her son Luke

Clare and Luke arrived last Tuesday evening from Clovis, CA. I drove them up to Osage that evening then came back the next morning because my Luke had baseball.

Connor and "Big"Luke

On Thursday afternoon, my Mom, Connor and I drove up to Osage to hang out until Sunday. We had some fun. My Aunt Hess, Aunt Dona, My Mom, Clare and I are all very crafty in different areas. So before Clare came I surfed the Internet looking for a craft that we could all do BUT it had to be something with a recycled item because Clare is into "going green" and saving the world. (just kiddin Clare, you know I love you) Anyway, below are some photos if us all in action.

My Mother, Aunt Dona, & Aunt Hess.

None of these three sisters like having their picture taken, so I have to be sneaky but they know I blog now so they are trying to work with me:)

Here is our finished bracelet. These are made out of pop tops. Aren't they the cutest!!! It is not a great photo but they are fun to make and easy. I have a navy and a pink one also. So, if you are reading this please save ALL pop tops for me. If you drink energy drinks they have colored pop tops. Thank you in advanced:)

I love this picture of all of my favorite people with our bracelets on. This is at our favorite Coffee place in Mason City-Cabin Coffee Co. and their motto is "Just Be Happy & Have Fun". When we are together that is what we do!!

Cardinal's Clubhouse & Busch Stadium Tour

St. Louis - Just Chillin in the Cardinals Dugout

You never know when you are making a memory.

What do you do when 4 Mom's are left in the St. Louis Cardinals Dugout, while your children (boys) and Husbands are having a leisurely tour of the St. Louis Cardinals Clubhouse.

I will let you know what I did.

I made friends with Mike, from FOX news (on the left) and the Security Guard, who is so timid, that I wouldn't think of hiring him to protect me:) Mike was very interesting telling me some amazing stories of his profession but one thing he cannot do is get an autograph from any player. In 1999 he was face to face with Mark McGwire, interviewing him and he has some amazing pictures but he could not ask for an autograph and that also goes for when he is out in public.

You ask the security guard if you can go down a few steps to take a picture of where the players get their batting helmets and bats from before they go up to hit. Cool huh?? When I asked if I could do this he just looked at me so I took that for a yes:)

Yadier Molina's Batting Helmet. He is the catcher for the Cardinals and one of Luke's favorite players. You never know when you might need a photo, like this, for a scrapbook:)

Now it seemed like we had been in the dugout FOREVER, when Skip Schumaker happened to come in and take a seat. So again what am I supposed to do....Well, I went up and said "I apologize for us women being in your dugout but were stranded because our husbands and boys are in your Clubhouse and we had to stay up here" So, I continue on asking him where he plays, how long he's been with the Cardinals, he said some wonderful things about Cal Eldred, showed him the little scrapbook I made because he asked why we were there, then I suggested a picture of the wives with him. Before that I asked for an autograph on my baseball and as we were wrapping up he said "what about the picture"

Tammy, Skip and Denise and Danielle is seated below.

Here is me with Skip. Now I have to watch the Cardinals whenever possible because now I can put a face to it and it is so much more personal. Plus I told Skip that we will cheer him on, and keep in our prayers to stay healthy.

One other thing I did was I saw Albert Pujols coming in from warming up, and I look at Skip and said "I am going to get his autograph" like I was looking for reassurance because Albert Pujols looks very intimidating and not very approachable. Skip said "go for it" I wasn't going to leave that ballpark without his autograph, just in case the boys didn't get it. Isn't that what a Mom is supposed to do:) So, I go over as he is coming down the steps and I said "Mr. Pujols could I please have you sign this ball?" He did and I said thank you and he was on his way. I was very nervous.

Memories are like keepsakes...always to be treasured.

Brendan Ryan

Here is a funny story or at least one that us Mom's can appreciate. I cannot tell you how many times Luke will come up to me and say "Mom I can't find my glove". So, as we were hanging out in the dugout Brendan Ryan comes out looking for his glove because he couldn't find it. We, us Mom's, were excited that even in the Majors the boys still lose track of their gloves:)

"Before they can be men, they must be boys."

St Louis Cardinals-Busch Stadium

St. Louis - Part 2

Pre-game photo at the Hotel-Luke & his teammates

Saturday morning we had to be ready to go to Busch Stadium at 10:30ish in the morning. I don't think any of us knew what to really expect, so we just rolled with it.

Coach Behn & Coach Whitey-I had asked for them to pose so I would have a picture of them not chewing out the boys on the ball field. When they were looking through the scrapbooks, they seem to think the only pictures I took of them were when they were chewing the boys out. So see what happens when you ask for a pose:)

Group picture!! What would you think if 22 young men invaded your club house(locker room) before you were going to play a MLB baseball game??

Coach Eldred, giving some etiquette rules before we invade the field, dugout, bull-pen and club house.

St Louis - Part One

We arrived in St. Louis on Friday around 1ish, I think. The boys and the Dads went to Busch Stadium for a tour. Some of the Moms and kids walked to the Union Station. It was VERY hot on our walk to and from the Union Station but very scenic, so I enjoyed every minute.

Brandon, Connor, Spencer and Tyler

Here is Connor with some of his buddies. It is nice that Luke's teammates have older brothers, Connor's age, so new friendships have been made :)

Connor and his buddies went to the Arch, Friday night, and here is a view of the stadium.

We stayed at the Drury Plaza, in downtown St. Louis. The Arch and the stadium are about a block away. The hotel also had free drinks and appetizers in the Lobby area until 7p.m. so we all hung out down there. This is when Luke passed out the scrapbooks I made each of his teammates. So, all of the parents and kids were able to pass them around, and take a look. It is amazing how the boys remember the game, or the tournament when they look at the pictures. Then you have the Coaches who are critiquing the way the boys are swinging the bat, pitching and what not. Then us Moms just look at how cute our boys are:)

It was a great start to our weekend to remember.

MLB Homerun Derby 2008

Last night I was sitting at the table, working on scrapbooks for Luke's baseball team. I had just dropped Luke off, at a friends, to watch the Homerun Derby, so I told Connor to turn it on so I could watch it while I was scrap booking. To be honest I don't think I have EVER watched one of these before. From the beginning Connor wanted Josh Hamilton to win it, so I was like cool so do I. When you have no idea what is going on with baseball, you side with your boys. When Josh Hamilton started, Connor was giving me play by play, then I just had to stop what I was doing and watch. It was incredible plus Mr. Hamilton has overcome some obstacles to be where he is today.

Here are a couple of quotes from the MLB website:

Hamilton's 28 opening-round homers shattered the record of 24 by Bobby Abreu. But after electing for an abridged Round 2, he couldn't regain the feeling and opened the door for Morneau's triumph.

Seriously, what did you expect from someone called The Natural who swings a black bat inscribed The Dream?

Here is a link http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200807143136482

“I’ve had so many dreams, so many nightmares that made me so scared,” says Hamilton, the Texas Rangers’ center fielder, “but there was always one that kept me going … gave me hope.
“It was making the All-Star Game, and being at the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium, and having the platform to tell my story.”

Knock it out of the Park!!!

Knock It Out Of The Park Champions!!

I was sooo excited when Coach Clark called to see if we all wanted to play in a 11U Tournament this weekend. There was a team that dropped out so they called to see if our 10U Team wanted to play. We went 0 and 2 in seed play, on Saturday. Came back, on Sunday, to win the Knock It Out of the Park Tournament- YAH!!!!!! The Cobras are a 11U AAA Team, that pulled away from the Cougar Organization this year. Luke and his teammate Jackson used to play for the Cougars also, so we know some boys on that team, even though they are a year older. Anyway they beat us on Saturday, only due to 1 inning of poor baseball. We beat them today to go on to the Championship game-it was great. I mean we played some good baseball teams, and we played sloppy at times but pulled it together to win the tournament.

Here is Luke warmin' up the bench. I haven't seen this that often, if at all, this season. I don't mind because sometimes I think the poor thing needs a break :)

Coach Whitey and Luke!

Here is Luke leading of at third. I like how is Coach is right behind coaching him all the way:)

I enjoy watching them play baseball so much that the season could go on until school starts. This weekend provided us with the best weather also, so it is hard to see the season end!!

Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way.-- Satchel Paige

Aren't They Beautiful

This is what I caught in our backyard this afternoon.

I think they are so beautiful.....The majority of people don't like them because they eat all of their plants. I did catch him eating my hosta but can you blame them......we just keep building and taking their land away.

“The world is beautiful, but has a disease called man”

Old Friends

Sharon(Becky's Mom), Cody(Becky's Son), and Becky

My Mom called this morning to see if I wanted to go have coffee with Becky, she was in town from New Mexico. Our parents have been friends since before we were all born. We grew up with Becky and her sister Tammy. I also remember that Becky babysat my brothers and I at one time. Now she doesn't seem much older than me. The time just flew by but it was a nice visit:)

Here is Luke just chillin' eating his dry cinnamon toast crunch cereal. He is a cerealholic!!

Is there life before a latte?

Morning Brunch

This morning, I met my friend and mentor, Betty, at a Christian Women's Brunch. I met Betty 6 years ago, at a Bible Study that was held at her house. Anyway, one of the speakers was Nancy, one of the owners of my favorite coffee shop, Brewed Awakenings. She gave us the history of the coffee shop and how it is family owned, and all the pastries are homemade, along with the homemade soups, in the winter months. It was a great way to start my day.

If you look at my "Favorite Blogs" , 3 of them are her daughters. I so enjoy keeping up with them and all of Betty's grand kids.

Another quick fact that involves Betty. She is the one who found our kitty in her lilies of the valley. It has been 2 years, as of July 6th, that we received the phone call from Betty that she had found this little kitty. We even gave our kitty her last name, Criddle.

A friend is someone who reaches for your hand,
but touches your heart.

Family Portrait

Today, I decided to post our Family picture for all to see. I have always wanted to pose for a picture in my bikini but it is kind of hard when you can't even imagine yourself putting one on. I look great though, don't I?? Plus I am the Queen, notice the crown, I love it!! It is mt EXTREME make over come true :)

Cool Down!

It is hot and humid today........I am not complaining because I really don't mind it BUT I wasn't in the mood to go sit at the pool for 3 hours. So, I asked Luke if it would be okay to just go to the splash pad for an hour to cool off. He actually siad yes.

Luke will be 10 at the end of July. I think, at first, he thought he was too big to go to a splash pad.

We took Olyvia, our neighbor, with us.

Isn't he the cutest :0)

More of our 4th of July

This 4th has been a little different for me. We thought about going to the fireworks at Kirkwood but we didn't want to fight a crowd. So, after our dinner we decided to go for a ride. We stopped at the Dairy Queen, then drove around the Czech Village area and by the train bridge that collapsed. We got out and even walked the trail because it was such a nice evening. I was amazed at all the people who had the same idea as we did.

There used to be a bench here, so the boys pretended like they were sitting on it.

Look at how high the water was on this house:(

IMAGINE........

A bowl of Connor:)

I love this picture. These are planters that used to be full of flowers in the downtown area.

All for one and one for all, My brother and my friend, What fun we have, The time we share, Brothers 'til the end.~Author Unknown

Random Act of Kindness

I took a drive this morning through downtown....the flags were flying but no one was around. You did see people working BUT shouldn't there be a parade and other festivities going on, I thought. Then I went down Ellis Blvd. and it was like a ghost town, there were people here and there working on their homes....that's when it hit me that I needed to do something today. I called Brian, then my parents and told them my idea. We pooled some money together, bought 6 $25 gift cards to Hy-Vee and my Mom and I went and handed them out randomly to people in the TimeCheck area, that we saw working.

The first house we walked up to, there was an older lady with a 4th of July shirt on, rubber gloves on, and a mask. I said " This isn't much but my Mom and I wanted to make your 4th of July a little brighter with this gift card to HyVee". She was speechless, then she was crying, Mom was crying....her daughters were so thankful....they gave us hugs....and said this gesture meant more than anything to date, strangers affiliated with no one just giving me this means so much.

The last house we stopped at the lady invited me in to see the inside of the house. I was leary, at first, but I went in. I lost it....there aren't words to describe what I saw. It is every worldly possession this woman owned, from framed pictures of her family, to a collection of Barbie dolls soaked in filth and grime. She isn't as fortunate, as some, because she doesn't have anyone to help gut her house but she does have insurance which will help her, along with what she gets from FEMA. She had to take 3 weeks, unpaid, from her job at Whirlpool, so that is taxing her too. The curb separates her from the 100 year and 500 year flood plan, so she will not get a buy out. Her neighbor has already received his FEMA check, for a mere $28,000, which is the base amount to get your house to be livable, what ever that means. When he called to find out why that is all he received, that is what he was told....he said they don't even take in to consideration drywall, plumbing costs, electrical. Well, how is a house livable if you don't have those things I asked him. He told me to call FEMA, and be happy this isn't me. These are people who have lost EVERYTHING, who don't have an extra $50,ooo hanging around for a remodel. Then FEMA tells him they do have low interests loans available.

The lady gave me her name and phone number. I told Mom, I would like to keep in touch with her to see how things turn out. Also, I would like her to be our adopted flood friend, who we check up on, to make sure she is getting the help she needs or continue to do random acts of kindness for her.

I could give you stories of all 6 people we encountered and gave a card to, that are almost identical to the first one. Tears just flowed, hugs were given, I can still see the smiles on their faces.....it was better than any fireworks that I will ever see.

Once you choose hope, anything's possible.

Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.