And don't forget...

A big part of Nate's summer fun began with the College World Series, and I can't believe I forgot to post the pictures! (The pics are from BL's phone, so they're not the greatest, but they'll do.)  Nate and Brandon spent a day in Omaha at the new stadium watching a couple of games.  Nate was so excited to go no matter who was playing, but he was especially excited to watch the Florida Gators!

First things first, Dad got him a Gators hat and a 2011 CWS tshirt.  Last year the tshirt was one of Nate's most favorite things, and this year he was just as excited to get one with the new teams.  You may remember last year, he picked one out with the bracket on the back, and creating brackets for all sports and games remains one of his favorite past times.  This year he chose one with all the team logos including teams from the regional tournaments.  And yes, like last year, he still insists on wearing the new shirt backwards so he can see the teams.

 Attending CWS games in June promises to be a father-son (one day sons-plural) tradition.

Great new ball park.  The first year of games at Ameritrade park.

All decked out and ready for a day of baseball...Nate even learned to keep score and did a great job of keeping a record of the games he watched.

Unfortunately, the second game was interrupted by the tornado sirens.  Nate and BL had to spend some time under the stairwell before finally heading home.  Thankfully, it was a false alarm, and some nice girls spent time talking to Nate and taking his mind off the tornado threat.  It was a little scary for a while, but the great memories from the day seemed to have trumped those scary moments. 

Summer Holidays

We've had a fun, relaxed summer so far.  I have shots from both Father's Day and the Fourth of July to share....

For Father's Day, Brandon and MC did a duathlon together.  It included a 2 mile run, followed by a 9 mile bike and finished with another 2 mile run.  MC did great and Brandon was one proud, happy Dad.  Nate, Caz and I had a great time hanging out and watching them pass us by each leg.

Pre-race...

All set up at the transition station...

A little face time with their biggest fan...

Coming around the first loop of the 9 mile bike...

And the second loop...

She was the last to come in on the bike which disappointed her a bit.  But she used it as motivation to track down two ladies in front of her on the run.  So ultimately, she finished in front of them.  Brandon said he couldn't believe how determined she was.  Check her out with her tracking face headed out on the last leg...

Coming up to the finish line, everyone cheered her on.  The finish area was abuzz with talk about the young girl racing with her dad...

All done...finishing with a hug from her very proud Dad as her very proud Mom and brothers cheered her on...

We had to get up pretty early to get to the race, so between the early start and the race itself, she was pooped and passed out on the ride home...

We enjoyed a fun-filled 4th with neighborhood fun.  Below are shots of the neighborhood parade which we followed with afternoon fun at a neighbor's pool.  We will finish off the night with fireworks courtesy of another of our hospitable neighbors.  So much to be thankful for on this holiday...

My three angels in their red, white and blue which includes Braves jerseys for Nate and Caz or should I say, Heyward and McCann.

MC decorated and pushed Caz's stroller in the parade.  A friend of hers joined her for the parade walk.

Nate was all about speed on the route.  I missed him completely as he came around to finish.

The girls put the jogging stroller to the test as they tried to keep up with the bikes.  As I watched, I was afraid Caz might get frightened, but he just pulled himself up as far as he could as if to say, "Faster, faster!"

Posing for a group picture...

We wish everyone a very happy summer!!

Visitors

With our trips back home limited this summer, we truly appreciated our special visitors in our second week of summer vacation!  Aunt Kristen braved a flight with Hudson and baby Evangeline all on her own to come see us, and we are so grateful!  We all loved spending time with them doing lots of fun things.  We got to take Hudson and Evangeline to a state park for a picnic and water park fun.  And we enjoyed a trip to the children's museum.  Nate was super excited to have them come to one of his baseball games too.  We hope Hudson and Evangeline enjoyed it all as much as we did, and that Aunt Kristen has fully recovered from the stress of the flights. :)

Caz and Evangeline were mildly curious of one another this visit, but as they grow older, I know they'll have lots of fun together since they are so close in age.

 Caz surprised us as he went for Evangeline's cheek.  We like to say he's giving her a kiss, but it's probably more accurate to say he's giving her a taste. :)

Nate and Hudson were busy, busy playing together....

Nate at his ballgame, trying not to eye his special spectators.

Picnic and water park at one of our great state parks...

 

 

My camera battery died before we got to the water park, but BL did get this one of Caz with his phone... 

Caz and Evangeline pose in the big chair at the museum...

 

We had a great week!  We hope we were able to show Hudson, Evangeline and Kristen a good time too!

Back Home

Summer is in full swing, but I need to go back to the beginning.....Mari Cagle, Caz and I started the summer with a trip back home over Memorial Day weekend.  It was a busy weekend to say the least, but fun as always.  Mari Cagle had lots of fun with all the kids as Jack, Winnie and James were all there too.  She got lots of practice babysitting as the grown-ups had all kinds of parties and showers to attend.  She is such a great helper and her cousins all love her.  It's going to be hard to wait until the Fall to see everyone again, but we'll make do with Skype and lots of phone calls.  Hugs to everyone!

 Caz loved all the new toys.  He had just learned to sit up and scoot around a little before the trip.  Playing with the big kids, Winnie and Jack, he certainly perfected his new skills.

  As these three get older, they are really going to enjoy each other!!

What a beautiful pair at Aunt Jodie's baby shower!

We had time for a very short visit with Grammy & PopPop too.  We were so grateful that Aunt Kim & Uncle Britton were able to come down and bring Quinn and Payton to play for a little while.  It was a short trip, but very sweet.  I didn't get any good pictures of the three girls together, but they had fun as always at Uncle Tim & Aunt Sharon's awesome pool and playing house and dress-up.  Such beautiful, sweet girls, it's really a shame I didn't get my camera out!!!

Caz got to take a bath in a big boy tub.  He really enjoyed it, as you can tell, lots of fun toys and room to splash around.  We are having to make the transition a permanent one back home; he's taken to the splashing so much, it's made the baby tub impossible!

It was such a short visit, and so far between our next.  If it weren't for the milder summer temps and lush green grass here, we'd really be hating the Midwest! :)

Happy Birthday Nate! Part 2

Today we continued the celebration of Nate's birthday with a few of his friends for a baseball party.  We met at home for cupcakes, peanuts and cracker jacks, and then headed to a Husker baseball game.  Despite all the rain we've had in the last few days, it was great weather this afternoon with nice breezes and seats in the shade.  We all had a great time!

 I always love doing the invitations, cakes, decorations and party favor bags, so I'm proud of my handy work.

 The birthday boy blows out the candle and makes a wish.

Ready for the game, stopping just long enough on our way in to humor mom with a picture.

I wasn't sure how the attention spans would fare for 9 full innings, but the boys were pretty focused on the game waiting and hoping for a foul ball to be hit our way.

After the game, they posed one more time for mom.  We cheered the Huskers to victory in their final game of the season.

Though today was all about Nate, I got some cute shots of MC and Caz too.  This was Caz's first baseball game so it was a great occasion for him too.  He was a trooper all 9 innings as well.  He didn't even nap until the ride home!

He has a real fascination with Brandon's baseball hats.  He always reaches for it and pulls it off so he can, of course, eat it. :)

MC was hoping just as much as the boys that she might get a chance to catch a foul ball.  She brought her mitt and everything.

We had a great time celebrating and enjoying the Husker game.  It was a great 7th birthday that we hope Nate will always remember.