Dressing Up

Bobby's mom showed up at our house the other day with a box full of old shirts, baseball cards, and random whatnots. It was like Christmas for the boys. They dug through and picked out some favorites: Rhett and Grant found Bobby's old practice jerseys from highschool. Number 20 was from his freshman year and from then on he wore the number 26. 

 Grant found the practice shorts and cap to go along with the jersey. I'm not kidding you when I say he wore this outfit at some point of the day for the next 12 days. He tried to run errands with me wearing it but I told him I felt like I was running around with Babe Ruth so he changed into his regular clothes. 

 Later on in the week we headed over to my parents' house and Grant came out wearing my dad's Army uniform from back in the day when he served in Vietnam. I feel certain that Dad could've only weighed about 120 lbs soaking wet. Grant loved trying it on and playing like an army man. Army man jet pilot was his career choice for many years of his young life until he found out you could die doing that job. He's now changed to the less lethal career choice of an architect. 

 Cade took a gander at the uniform.....

 And, not to be outdone, Elaina marched in and gave it a go. Looks like her heads not quite big enough:)

 There's that face! 

It's always a fun time digging through old memorabilia! 

4th of July Extravaganza Celebration Jubilee 2012!

Fourth of July rolled around this year just as usual but for some reason I forgot to buy new t-shirts for the kiddos. Thank goodness Eliza handed her dress down for Elaina to wear! Check out the Sistas from another Mista:

Here are my All-American kiddos (whose shirts are more than likely made in China :/).

 I pulled out old tees for the boys.....I prefer to think of them as vintage. Can a shirt from 2010 be considered vintage? Sure. 

 I may or may not have had to get the children dressed back in their 4th colors on the 5th because I forgot to take their picture. But really, that's between me, myself, and I and I really don't feel the need to share that information with you. So, just know they were truly thrilled about these pics! 

 Girlfriend here would wear this snazzy dress every day if she could. She was lovin' herself in the mirror on Independence Day! 

With the lack of rain, this year's Extravaganza was quite a bit less extravagant. It's hard to have a complete Extravaganza Celebration Jubilee with no fireworks. It was a sad, sad day in the Morgan home when word came out that the Mayor was banning the festivities :( That didn't stop us from hosting a slew of our favorite kiddos though! 

 The annual kid's firework collection wasn't completely stifled. Bobby "hid" in the back yard and lit them on our little bridge. I was standing by with my camera because if the PoPo showed up to handcuff Bobby I wanted to be there to snap a few pics. That would have been a great blog post but it didn't happen. 

 Loved this one:)

We had some army tanks, some big rig trucks and lots of other things that popped really loudly but presented a low risk of burning down our community. 

 Most kids found the tanks pretty awesome despite the loud noise. 

 Some kids did NOT. Like my own. I'm thankful she had a little army of mommies that were taking care of her. She's going to have to toughen up if she's going to live in the home of a man with a firework addiction! 

I'm happy to report that Rhett went through the entire day with no bone breaks and no injuries. That's a win in my book! 

Our clan of girls is growing up too quickly! 

I'm glad we've added a few new ones to the group :)

Nothing says Happy Independence Day like a beautiful Hondurican American....

 and a big bowed American beauty! 

 Here's the crew of women that made it this year. Oddly enough the picture is quite tame with no one stealing our thunder! Where's Jon this year??

You know the party's getting crazy when the pregnant lady starts doing handstands! 

Here's me with my little lady in our 4th of July best:

Let's pray that we get rain before next July 4th. Pretty soon my home is going to be considered an explosion hazard. Even though the pictures don't do it justice, here is our downstairs closet (Yes, that's my prom 2012 dress. You can borrow it if you want. It's precious.). Note that the top is FULL of firework boxes. 

 But, wait! Here is our downstairs bedroom closet. ALSO FULL of firework boxes. 

I thought it was plum crazy until I happened upon what "crazy" really was. In my OWN closet. I was startled by the stash of explosives that had taken over the top part of my space. Two things came to mind at that quiet moment in my sacred space: Dr. Phil and intervention. I think it's safe to say that someone needs both. Bad. 

What I need is another 4th of July that's nice and green and slightly damp. We can't harbor these forever. And, if for some awful turn of fate our house goes up in flames before then, bring your lawn chairs. There'd be quite a show! Happy Independence Day!!

Adios Tennesse! Hola Puerto Rico!

Thanks to some hard work at the office Bobby was rewarded with a trip to sunny Puerto Rico! We boarded a big bird on Monday morning and headed down for a little rest and relaxation. Thanks Mom and Dad! 

We didn't do much while we were there which was actually quite nice. We did head out on a catamaran sunset cruise. If I had known it was going to take us over an hour to drive to the boat dock I would've scrapped it. Hindsight is always 20/20! 

It was nice to hang with my man and take in the scenery though. One thing I did NOT take in was the aluminum pan of fried fried things that the overly suntanned lady pulled out from who-knows-where. People always amaze me at the things they'll eat. If we're not on Ryan Secrest's yacht, I'm not eating it. Who wants GI distress in the middle of the ocean on a boat with a tiny potty that you have to climb below deck to sit on? Not me, people. Not me.

I didn't get up from my spot much because the water was a little choppy. Mix that in with my high shoes and you've got a recipe for disaster! Thankfully I didn't fall into the water. I would've hated to lose one of my kicks. 

We had dinners provided for us several of the nights. The food was spectacular! I had some fish, and of course, some chicken one night. 

I didn't get to take many pics. Partly because Bobby banned me from carrying my tripod everywhere with me because apparently it's embarrasing....whatevs...and partly because I spent most of my days doing this.

The pool area was phenomenal! We tried to sun at the beach but after about 10 minutes my entire face and body had been fully exfoliated by blowing sand and my teeth had a nice coating of crunchy. We did stroll and take in the sights and I collected several really unique seashells for the boys that I unfortunately left lying under my pool chair:( Bobby took a pause to Tebow. We all need to thank the Lord for alone time! 

We had a grand time getting some peace and quiet, eating good meals that I didn't have to cook, and sleeping in to whenever our hearts desired.

Thank you, God, for your faithful provision through Bobby's job, for beautiful creation like Puerto Rican beaches, and for Grandparents that are crazy enough to agree to keep 4 kids for 5 days! 

Little Hammers

Bobby was asked to be a coach on the 7-8 All-Star team which made Rhett a shoo-in if he wanted it. Neither Bobby nor myself were down with that and we both wanted him to earn his position. So, off to tryouts we went and much to my surprise Rhett was able to secure a spot all on his own. ( I know  saying "surprise" doesn't exactly make me the most supportive sounding mother but he's only six playing in 7-8's and there was a LOT of improvement that needed to be done....I'm a realist, people :) Here's his first team picture (Bobby and I were vacaying in the PR).

 I was low on the pictures when it came to Rhett's team because being that Bobby coached it, I was always in charge of being at Cade's games. Luckily, with his bestie on the team as well I could count on Ashley to get me a few photos!

There's nothing cuter than my little buddy in his baseball uniform. I looooove it!

 Our boys pulled out an unexpected second place in the district tournament.

Rhett was thrilled to get another trophy for his dresser! 

 I think the most fun was getting to spend all that extra time Silas and Garrett. 

 Next time, if there IS a next time, I'm going to get a picture of Bobby in his uniform. I thought it was hilarious that for 7-8 year old baseball the coaches had to wear complete uniforms including the white baseball pant. Brings back memories of watching him play in college...sorta...without all the home runs and great infield plays. 

Cute....

and dirty. Really dirty. Who's idea was it to put boys in all white baseball uniforms? Definitely NOT a mom.

Long days at baseball made for one tired little kid.

And a creepy brother to stare at you while you're sleeping. 

I had a great time watching Rhett improve with his all-star team. If nothing else he was the cutest kid out there:)

Hammer Time!

Cade got the opportunity to play on the All-Star team this season! You make the all-star team by trying out towards the beginning of the spring season (which was strange to Bobby and me). The way that Bobby grew up you were selected for the team based on your play throughout the season. In any case, Cade tried out and made it and we were proud of the hard work he had put in to improve! 

I love seeing our last name on the back of a jersey. Too bad they don't get paid to play yet:)

A mother on the team took some team pictures before the season started. I thought this tough one was pretty cute!

We traveled all around Nashville for games on the weekend. It was a small taste of what travel ball would be like and I'll be honest....it was a challenge scheduling everyone (since Rhett made all-stars as well!) and keeping up with Elaina. We made it work though!

We lucked out on days that Rhett's games fell at the same park as Cade's. He and Garrett spent alot of time together since they were both on the same team and their brothers were on the same team as well. I don't know how he managed it but Rhett was pretty much always the dirtiest kid at the ball park! 

Cade had a few opportunities to try his hand at pitching this season. It really helped him to build some confidence on the mound after he had a few pretty good showings. (It didn't help me though. I remember hating it when Bobby pitched. It makes me a nervous wreck! The pressure!!)

The Hammers pulled out a couple second place finishes. We never could seem to get the whole team playing great at the same time. 

Elaina was a trooper missing naps and being out in the hot sun. My dad got some sweetness from her on this particular game day! 

I will be the first to admit that I was glad to see the all-star season come to a close. By this point in the season, having 3 playing ball and 2 that made the all-star team (Grant's determined to make it next year!) baseball season had been loooooong!

Good thing sister didn't mind! She was a champ even in the 100 degree weather!

It was fun watching Cade grow and improve and make some new friends!